Solovyov, Ivan Alexei

[ivan]

IVAN ALEXEI SOLOVYOV

"Well, tell me a little about yourself. What's your name?"

According to my birth certificate, I am Tatiana Irina Solovyov. I was named after my grandmothers, Tatiana being my mother's mother and Irina my father's. However, I go by Ivan Alexei Solovyov. Ivan was my father's name, and Alexei was the name of a favorite childhood friend. I always thought that it would be fantastic to be named that. Most of my friends call me Ivan, and my mother and girlfriend called me Vanya. Don't call me Tatiana- I am no girl.

"Next question, how has your High School career gone thus far?"

High school was okay, I suppose. I was teased by some of my classmates, for various reasons. That wasn't important, though. My friends accepted me, and those who didn't could go screw themselves. My teachers didn't entirely understand me, so they were more neutral towards me than anything else. There were a few that I got along with pretty well, but mostly they were just there. Classes were okay. I wasn't at the top of my class, but I wasn't failing. I passed, and that's what mattered. I'm not a genius, but I'm no idiot. If I try, I can do very well in school.

"What did you do when you weren't in school? Any hobbies or sports, anything like that?"

At the urging of my mother, I joined the LGBT+ alliance at my high school. I spent a lot of time at meetings, or just hanging out with other club members. My girlfriend and I were together a lot, and when I wasn't with her, I was with friends. I had friends both in and out of the club, though the ones in the club were more accepting of me.

I did the normal teenage stuff, I guess. I went to parties, hung out at the mall, played video games with the guys. I was in a band. We did covers of metal songs. I played guitar and was one of the lead vocalists. We were pretty good. I've written a couple of original songs, but I didn't get the chance to do them with the band. I still wish I could have done that. It would have been pretty cool, to play a song I wrote.

"Family and friends are pretty important. Tell me about them. How are your relationships with them?"

I had a few friends. The band, mostly. We all hung out together. Then there were friends from the club, though I wasn't really all that close to any of them. Most of the kids at school either ignored my existence, or mocked me. The friends I had, though, were good ones. They stuck with me. And then there was my girlfriend. Hope. Her name was perfect for her... She was the most important person in my world. That's why I lost it when everything happened...

Anyway, family now. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but when I was six years old, my parents moved to the United States. My father was a scientist, and did work for the government here, until he died three years ago. My mother is a teacher, and teaches Russian history at a university. I don't have any siblings, and my grandparents all died either before I was born, or when I was very young. My mother was an only child, and my father and his only sister were estranged. Because it was just the three of us, we were always very close. My parents always told me I could talk to them about anything. They always knew about me. About who I really am. They've always accepted it... I think it's because they had so much time to get used to it. Losing Dad hurt, though. I was just starting to realize who I was, and to lose him during that? I didn't know what to do. Mom helped me, though.

"Thank you for sharing that with me. So those are your family and friends, what about yourself? Describe yourself to me."

My name is Ivan Solovyov. I'm seventeen years old, and a whole slew of heritages. I've got Russian-Armenian-Iranian on my mother's side, and Colombian-Russian-Mongolian on my father's. Russia is where my parents were born, though, and it's where I was born. I still consider myself Russian, even though I've lived in America for the past eleven years. I like to consider myself to have parts of my other heritages too, though. It's definitely where I get my coloring, though. I was one of the only kids in my neighborhood, back in St. Petersburg, to have tan skin and dark hair and eyes.

I've always been different, both inside and outside. As far as anyone could tell when I was a child, I was an average little girl, if a little tomboyish. But... I wasn't. I was a boy, stuck dressing and being told to act like a girl. Sometimes I think I'm lucky, that my parents were so accepting of who I really am. My mother even supported me in going through hormone treatments, and helped me learn how to bind my chest... She's helped me start becoming the boy that I've always been inside. I'm so grateful to my mom for that. Even if I know she's a little disappointed in me for ending up here, I do know that when I'm out, she'll be right back to being my biggest support. Hell, she tried to be a groupie for my band. How many other moms would do that?

I still haven't began telling you about myself. I'm a musician. I play drums, guitar, and a little bass. I can sing as well, and actually used to be the front man in my band. I write music, though I've never recorded anything, or performed any of my original stuff with the band. I play metal. Nothing too weird. No death or black metal. I grew up listening to System of a Down, though... They really influenced me as a kid. Now that I'm older, I'm into more kinds of metal. Symphonic, progressive, alternative, speed, folk... I like pretty much all of it. I'm not sure what else you want to know about me. Nothing else seems that important.

Unless you want to know about my tattoos and piercings. I have a few. Both my ears are pierced, along with my nose, eyebrows, and lip. Tattoos are all over the place. I have several on my arms, none of which my mom approved of. I had a friend, though, who was a tattoo artist, and she hooked me up. I've got an eagle, sun, and a sword on one arm, and various beetles and bugs, the Star of David, and a few other small ones on the other arm. My back is mostly blank, except for the Tree of Life in the middle of my back. The ones on my arms are black and white, but that one is in greens. And I think that's it.

"Other then the reason your here, at Blackwood Academy, have you had any other issues with law enforcement?"

Uh... Well, nothing too bad. Some underage drinking busts. Those mostly got me driven home in the back of a squad car, along with a lecture. A few speeding tickets, though those were more because I really didn't care enough to slow down a bit. And a minor assault charge, though that was dropped. I got into a fight with a kid at school. He was going to press charges, because I broke his nose, but then he realized his involvement in the fight, like throwing the first punch, would come to light. So he dropped the charges, and I wasn't arrested. So... No. Besides this, no real issues. At least, nothing major.

"What is the worst thing you've done? Why did you feel the need to do that?"

Worst thing I've done? ...You're kidding, right? You do know why I'm here, don't you? I mean, that's kind of hard to beat. So a close second would be... Don't think badly of me for this, okay? I beat up this kid, from the LGBT+ club at school. He was a total loser, and was creeping on my girlfriend. That just wasn't cool. So I beat him up, and threatened to get him arrested for stalking her if he showed his face around us again. He transferred schools a week later, so I think it all worked out. He scared Hope. No one did that and got away with it. At least not with me around.

"What the one things you're most proud of?"

I dunno. There are a few things. How well I've started the transition process is one. I mean, it's a pain in the ass, between the treatments and paperwork, but... I think it's worth it. And the social aspect is a pain too. Then there is my band, and music. I was good at that. I'm proud of that... I think that if I could get good band mates again, I could do it for real someday. And... I'm proud of getting Hope. She was so perfect, and for her to like me? It was the most amazing feeling. I felt proud of myself, that I was able to keep her interested.

"Other then your trouble with law enforcement, do you have any vices or addictions?"

I smoke, sometimes. And drink. Actually- I smoke a lot. That's going to be a pain here, isn't it? I tend to go through about half a pack, to a full pack of cigarettes, a day. Depending on how stressed I am, of course. I don't drink that much, though. I'm a social drinker. If I'm at a party, sure, I'll have a beer or a couple of shots. On my own, though, I don't really do it. And drugs aren't my thing. I'm not a fan of the side affects they tend to have, and besides, I like to maintain control of myself. So, drinking, smoking, no drugs. Would my music count as a vice? Back home, I was almost constantly listening to music or playing something. It's actually kind of a nervous habit, even to just drum on a nearby surface.

"If you could change one thing about your life what would it be?"

That's a hard one. I don't know if I'd stop my dad from dying, or Hope. Then again, by stopping my dad's death, I could inadvertently stop Hope's. A whole butterfly effect type thing. Which would be cool and all, but I don't know if things would actually end up any happier for me. Dad would have died eventually anyway. He was getting old. Hope, though, was so young. She was sixteen. She had her whole life ahead of her. A life with me... I think that's what I'd change. Not being able to save her. Having to watch her die.

"What criminal act got you sent here and who recommended it?"

Murder. I killed the guy that shot Hope. I didn't even realize what I'd done until after it had all happened. All I remember is seeing her get shot, and jumping at him as soon as I got free of the guys he had holding me back. I hit him until he stopped moving... By the time I was done, they couldn't even use his dental records to identify him. They had to use his finger prints. Luckily, the bastard had a record, so they knew who he was.

He deserved it, though. The stupid son of a b*tch killed Hope for no reason. No reason beyond her being brave enough to be who she was. If I was given the opportunity to do it again, I would. She was scared as she died. She shouldn't have been scared like that. What kind of sick bastard would kill a girl, just because he could? Because he didn't like who she was? Especially a girl like Hope. She was practically an angel. Who was he to take her away from this world?

Anyway... The cop that arrested me suggested this place. He called it self defense, what I did to him. By the time he'd gotten there, after all, his buddies had beaten me as well as they could. Besides, the way they saw it, I'd done them a favor. The guy that shot Hope had been evading arrest for over a year. He was a drug dealer, thief, and prime suspect in three murders. If I hadn't killed him, he probably would have killed me, and more people after that. So, here I am. Between this and prison, I guess this is the lesser of the two evils.

"Do think that you deserve to be here?"

Well, yeah. I killed a guy. Even if I didn't mean to- at the time- I did it. Yeah, I deserve to be here. Hell, some people probably think I deserve prison. I guess I'm lucky, though. This may not be exactly where I want to be, but it's better than a cell. Here at least I can be a somewhat normal teenager, instead of just another inmate. But then again, this is just another kind of prison, isn't it? A more subtle form of it.

"Tell me about your life before Blackwood Academy contacted you, what led up to your stay here."

I was born to Ivan and Maria Solovyov by complete accident. My mother was forty, and had been thirty when she'd married my father. He was forty when they married, and fifty at the time of my birth. They didn't expect to be able to have children. My mother hadn't had any children in her first marriage, despite years of trying, and thought herself infertile. It turned out that her ex-husband was the infertile one. Anyway, they hadn't been trying for a child. I was just a lucky surprise, they've always told me.

My childhood was very happy. Being as old as they were, both of my parents were established and successful in their careers. That's actually how they met. They worked together, at a university in St. Petersburg. Mom taught Russian history, and Dad taught astrophysics. A coworker introduced them, and they got along very well. They fell in love, and married soon after. So, they were in love, successful, and a very happy couple. They were even happier with a child.

I was given anything and everything I could want or need. They were able to do that for me. And then, when I was six years old, my father was offered a job by the American government. It was an amazing opportunity, and so we immigrated to America. My mother got a job at a university in L.A., and my father enjoyed his new job.

It wasn't until I was about eleven that I realized just who I was. As a kid, I'd thought myself a tomboy. But when I was eleven... I dunno. I just realized... I wasn't a girl. I wasn't meant to be a girl. I was supposed to be a boy. It freaked me out a bit, to be totally honest. Feeling that way wasn't normal, was it? So, like I always did, I ran to my parents, and told them everything.

They weren't surprised at all. They'd seen it coming, they told me. I'd been terrified of rejection, but all I got was acceptance. While they thought I was too young to begin any kind of transition, they let me begin seeing a psychiatrist. Mom and Dad wanted me to be more secure with it, and they thought seeing a professional who would tell me it was okay and I wasn't crazy would help. It did, actually.

I started going by Ivan, after my dad. He's always been my hero. Even now... Things were going pretty great, actually. Our family was closer than ever, as Mom and Dad helped me come to accept myself. I was going to look into starting the transition process. Mom and Dad thought I was ready, but then... Dad had a heart attack. There wasn't any warning. It... It was fatal.

After Dad died, things were kind of rough. I mean... Mom and I really missed him. I was only fourteen. It messed with my head a bit. That's when I got into metal more, actually. I threw myself into my music, to cope with losing him. The treatments were put on hold, until I was mentally ready for them.

Time passed, and it got easier to deal with having lost him. I was living life as a boy, going by Ivan instead of Tatiana, and dressing like a boy... Binding my chest every day is a pain in the ass. I can't wait to stop having to do that. Anyway... It felt good, not having to pretend I was a girl anymore. I feel right.

My mom thought that meeting other kids going through similar things would be good for me. She suggested that I joined the LGBT+ club at school. We all just called it 'the club'. We were kind of a gang... Except nonviolent and nonexclusive. Anyone willing to accept us, even as just an ally, was accepted. It was nice, having friends I could tell about my past. Some who were going through the same thing.

That's where I met Hope. She was like me. Except the opposite. She was born a boy, but knew she was meant to be a girl. I don't know how I fell in love with her. It wasn't a physical thing... We never went any farther than kissing. But... We started as friends. Before I knew it, I'd fallen in love with her. She was perfect. Her name fit her perfectly. She brought hope to the world.

We dated for about a year. It was great. I'd never been happier in my life. The band was going great, I had just been approved again, to start the transition process, and Hope and I had secretly gotten engaged. My mom would have been so mad, but we knew that as soon as we could, we wanted to get married.

We never got that chance. One afternoon, we were walking home together. There'd been a club meeting after school, and it wasn't too hot, so we decided to walk alone instead of driving with everyone else. That's when some guy approached us. We both recognized him. His picture had been on the news a lot. There were two other guys with him, and they grabbed me. He started ranting about how Hope and I were wrong. How we were abominations. Then... He shot her. It killed her immediately, and... I lost it. I dove at him, and beat him until I couldn't any more. My knuckles were bruised and bloody, but his face... It was destroyed. Even his dental records wouldn't have identified him at that point.

I was beaten by his buddies, and then arrested. I was charged with murder, though the lawyer my mom hired managed to work it that it was self defense. They didn't entirely buy that, which I can get. Still, they didn't send me to prison. Why is beyond me, but I'm grateful all the same. And that's it. That's what led up to me being here.

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Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial: Solovyov, Ivan A./ Solovyov, Tatiana I.

Race: Armenian-Russian-Iranian-Colombian-Mongolian

DOB and Age: 11/5/93, 17 years old

Age admitted to Blackwood's Academy: 17, has been at Blackwood for 2 months

Grade: junior

Health issues: is in the middle of hormone treatments, is f-to-m, no surgeries performed yet; vitamin D deficiency, and low levels of iron (has to take vitamins daily to avoid getting sick)

Other: Ivan was cleared to begin his hormone treatments to begin his transition shortly before being sent to Blackwood, and still hasn't had a chance to legally change his name, though he's hoping to do so soon. He's very, very sensitive about the topic of his gender, and wants to be 'stealth' at Blackwood, meaning that he wants everyone to see him as just a guy, not a transguy.

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Your name: Mairead
How you found us: Emmy-kins! (Not to mention I already have Chloe here, lol!)
Code word in the Rules: ADMIN EDIT
Play by: Omahyra Mota


This Application was created by JEZ! A.K.A Two.Last Words. Do not steal or remove credit. Or I will sick my doggy Drako on you. He enjoys biting the butts of others so BEWARE!

[ivan]

Finished! Sorry to have taken so long with him, I'd have been done sooner, but the move limits my time to work on things. Anyway, let me know if I need to fix things!

[zack]

ACCEPTED!

Make all claims and whatnot asap.