Mikhail Banovic
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:24 pm
Player Nickname: Aymz
Name: Mikhail Banovic
Codename:
Age: 24
Date of Birth: June 21
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: blue-green
Place of Origin: Eastern Europe. Born in Serbia, but traveled. Never in one place long enough to call it home.
Nationality/Race: Romani
Classification/Origin of Powers: Mutant
Status: Refugee, hopefully resident
Occupation: Street Performer
Personality Profile: Raised in a traditional Romani family, Mikhal comes complete with beliefs that many of his associates consider outdated, superstitious or odd. He is friendly and charming, but by nature while he enjoys the spotlight, he shares very little of his inner self, relying on flashy tricks, misdirection and quick wit to steer people away from personal questions. He makes many 'friends' but very few who are taken into any sort of confidence, and rarely does he ever turn to them for anything more than a fun time or intelligent conversation.
Physical Description: Tall and athletic, Mikhail has the swarthy skin and dark hair of his romani lineage and deep set blue-green eyes. Usually sporting a scruff of five o'clock shadow, windswept short hair casually disarrayed and a wardrobe of clothing that while functional and rugged, are also at times showy and brightly colored.
---------------------------------
Powerset: Mikhail's form has adapted to a mutation that thankfully has, up until recently, aided in his busking and street performance. Contortionism and an uncanny aim.
Ability One: Contortionism. Mikhail is able to twist, bend, dislocate and maneuver his body into positions that are highly unnatural, even amongst the most accomplished of human acrobats. He of course retains his usual mass and his flesh stays only mildly elastic, but with careful maneuvering he can fold that mass into frightful shapes.
Ability Two: Exceptional Aim. Honed to a fine art throwing blades at targets in street performance, his aim has improved to include distance shots and 'trick' throws involving improbable angles.
Drawbacks & Weaknesses: Thanks to his extreme luck of having his mutations -aid- in his career, he has become something of a perfectionist when it comes to his own endeavors. He can become extremely aggitated if he fails in a trick or feat he attempts. Also, when using his contortion abilities, if he tries to strain disjointed limbs too far for the elasticity of his skin, he has, at times, developed tears in his skin or damaged muscles. Given his unorthodox upbringing, he is not able to read above an elementary school level, nor write, and aside from topics that would aid in his day to day business, he is not very educated, though he is quick witted and intelligent.
Projected Power Growth & Development: Mikhail would hopefully learn how to control his body in ways that would improve elasticity of his skin, and control over the shapes his body can take on.
Skills: Though the culture of the Romani people has certainly changed overtime in the mainstream , his family never did stay in one place for too long, leaving him easily adaptable to different cultures and languages. Though not fluent in more than english, serbian and his own native tongue, he can usually make some basic sense of languages spoken around him. He is extremely athletic and acrobatic, and is adept at slight of hand and misdirection. Also, thanks to his skill with carnivale tricks such as blade throwing, and the dangerous nomadic lifestyle, he is quite capable of handling himself in an altercation. Given a family love of music, he is a passably good singer and quite skilled with drums and flute. Travelling with horses in his earlier years has made horseback riding both a skill and a great love.
Background: Even from his earliest days, Mikhail Banovic was raised outside of the norms of society. Born of a romani couple still traveling with their kampania in a nomadic lifestyle more in tune with centuries ago, Mikhail was not born in a hospital, never formally educated, and never recorded in immunization records, medical files or government institutes. His life, while spent in constant motion was beautifully simple. His earliest days were spent in study of nature, of the animals they traveled with. He would listen to folk stories on his grandmother's knee, sing with his relatives songs of their kumpania's history and that of the romani people. He grew understanding that his lifestyle was unique. That his people had long ago settled into communities...but the wanderlust was never pressed out of his own family. From Serbia, through Croatia and into Hungary his family wandered living off of the sale of crafts, and the performances that his family put on when they found receptive audiences. It is a lifestyle that while it taught him many useful skills and allowed him to see the world, also trained into him a subtle distrust of people outside of his own kampania and stole from him a more formal education.
At first, while he was young, Mikhail sang along to his parents instrumental performances. Who doesn't enjoy watching children perform? They lived modestly but comfortably...but as harder times crept up on them, the young Mikhail began studying more eye-catching forms of performance. In Hungary, they traveled a while with a carnivale company, sharing stories of the road, and eventually..sharing skills with a very knowledge-ravenous little boy. Studying with the carnivales acrobats, Mikhail developed impressive hand-eye coordination, and a center of balance that soon let to acrobatic feats and the understanding that his form was unusually malleable. It was merely a skill at first. The flexibility of youth and athletic form. Training in proper handling of a blade came later, and as he proved to have a fine eye and a good hand he was trained further in blade throwing, his grandfather gifting him with a set of weighted throwing blades for his fifteenth birthday.
A show was scheduled just outside of Budapest when Mikhail was 16 years old. It was to be a remarkably large show, combining the kampania with the carnivale, a large score that would supply the caravan with not only stock for further journey, but a safety net for a cold upcoming winter. For days, Mikhal had felt vaguely ill, achey, a pain in his joints that he put off to the chill in the air and too many hour spent in training, his perfectionistic nature already in full swing. On th evening of the performance, unwilling to let his family down, he took to the stage in a prformance displaying his contortionism. The first few feats were remarkable to the audience, but unremarkable to the trained young man, and for a moment...he forgot the fear. Forgot the aches and pain, and the worry that he would somehow let down his family. His mind was blissfully clear, and it was as if the world had cut out all distractions, all thoughts. He moved by habit, by natural instinct, and it wasn't until the discomforted murmurs of the crowd began, and he could hear the frightened cries of his mother that he snapped to the realization that something may not be quite right.
The loosening of pain in his joints wasn't simply a sign of nerves passing or relaxation...his joints had all spontaneously altered allowing his admittedly flexible form warp into such drastic bend that each individual vertebrae had swung backward in it's bend, his knees warped to a backward bend and as his head turned to worriedly look to his mother, even that movement bent his head nearly backward.
Needless to say, the crowd was by then terrified and aside from a few morbidly curious hangers-on the crowd was dispursing and several calling for medical aide for what they assumed was a show gone wrong. However, a superstitious culture in many ways his family could assume only one thing...some form of spirit had overtaken their son, leaving him 'marime'...impure. Kept apart from his family, not allowed to enter their caravans or the tents they set up, he remains...heartbroken by the sudden segregation and terrified once they called for the Bandolier. It was decided the Kris must be called. The council debated for many hours, discudding with the elders, with Mikhail's parents...even a heated plea by the young man, but in time it was decided that the man was indeed impure, and was to be banished from the Kampania.
There were no goodbyes. His family no longer concidered him to be -their- Mikhail. Already he was lost to them, his family adorned in white, the color of mourning. His belongings were burned...it was only luck that he managed to grab a bag of clothing and his beloved flute and throwing daggers before being chased from the small camp they had set up. Thoroughly shamed and wary of the gadje communities around them, Mikhail traveled by way of hitchhiking, stowing away in large trucks or trains and performed to earn money to survive. Skilled as he was, and training himself in that perfectionist way of his, he managed to amass enough money over those 4 years to buy passage on a boat headed to America from France.
New to the states, it took years for him to train himself in the language, and as much time investigating those rare cases of people like him...tips from rare sources leading him to Cobalt Hill, a new community of people that he still doesn't feel as if he truly belongs to.
Criminal Record: none
Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts: Coming from a background and lineage with many uncommon beliefs and practices, many of his habits appear unusual. His compulsion for cleanliness, his mistrust of people. He rarely ever wears white, as it is a reserved color of mourning to his people, and he rarely makes physical contact with anyone when it isn't necessary. He dislikes cats greatly, and will not eat foods he considers marime. He is religious, though not pushy about it to others, and has a distinct love for bright flashy things or appealing people...though aquaintences rarely are allowed to turn into abiding friendships.
Name: Mikhail Banovic
Codename:
Age: 24
Date of Birth: June 21
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 180lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: blue-green
Place of Origin: Eastern Europe. Born in Serbia, but traveled. Never in one place long enough to call it home.
Nationality/Race: Romani
Classification/Origin of Powers: Mutant
Status: Refugee, hopefully resident
Occupation: Street Performer
Personality Profile: Raised in a traditional Romani family, Mikhal comes complete with beliefs that many of his associates consider outdated, superstitious or odd. He is friendly and charming, but by nature while he enjoys the spotlight, he shares very little of his inner self, relying on flashy tricks, misdirection and quick wit to steer people away from personal questions. He makes many 'friends' but very few who are taken into any sort of confidence, and rarely does he ever turn to them for anything more than a fun time or intelligent conversation.
Physical Description: Tall and athletic, Mikhail has the swarthy skin and dark hair of his romani lineage and deep set blue-green eyes. Usually sporting a scruff of five o'clock shadow, windswept short hair casually disarrayed and a wardrobe of clothing that while functional and rugged, are also at times showy and brightly colored.
---------------------------------
Powerset: Mikhail's form has adapted to a mutation that thankfully has, up until recently, aided in his busking and street performance. Contortionism and an uncanny aim.
Ability One: Contortionism. Mikhail is able to twist, bend, dislocate and maneuver his body into positions that are highly unnatural, even amongst the most accomplished of human acrobats. He of course retains his usual mass and his flesh stays only mildly elastic, but with careful maneuvering he can fold that mass into frightful shapes.
Ability Two: Exceptional Aim. Honed to a fine art throwing blades at targets in street performance, his aim has improved to include distance shots and 'trick' throws involving improbable angles.
Drawbacks & Weaknesses: Thanks to his extreme luck of having his mutations -aid- in his career, he has become something of a perfectionist when it comes to his own endeavors. He can become extremely aggitated if he fails in a trick or feat he attempts. Also, when using his contortion abilities, if he tries to strain disjointed limbs too far for the elasticity of his skin, he has, at times, developed tears in his skin or damaged muscles. Given his unorthodox upbringing, he is not able to read above an elementary school level, nor write, and aside from topics that would aid in his day to day business, he is not very educated, though he is quick witted and intelligent.
Projected Power Growth & Development: Mikhail would hopefully learn how to control his body in ways that would improve elasticity of his skin, and control over the shapes his body can take on.
Skills: Though the culture of the Romani people has certainly changed overtime in the mainstream , his family never did stay in one place for too long, leaving him easily adaptable to different cultures and languages. Though not fluent in more than english, serbian and his own native tongue, he can usually make some basic sense of languages spoken around him. He is extremely athletic and acrobatic, and is adept at slight of hand and misdirection. Also, thanks to his skill with carnivale tricks such as blade throwing, and the dangerous nomadic lifestyle, he is quite capable of handling himself in an altercation. Given a family love of music, he is a passably good singer and quite skilled with drums and flute. Travelling with horses in his earlier years has made horseback riding both a skill and a great love.
Background: Even from his earliest days, Mikhail Banovic was raised outside of the norms of society. Born of a romani couple still traveling with their kampania in a nomadic lifestyle more in tune with centuries ago, Mikhail was not born in a hospital, never formally educated, and never recorded in immunization records, medical files or government institutes. His life, while spent in constant motion was beautifully simple. His earliest days were spent in study of nature, of the animals they traveled with. He would listen to folk stories on his grandmother's knee, sing with his relatives songs of their kumpania's history and that of the romani people. He grew understanding that his lifestyle was unique. That his people had long ago settled into communities...but the wanderlust was never pressed out of his own family. From Serbia, through Croatia and into Hungary his family wandered living off of the sale of crafts, and the performances that his family put on when they found receptive audiences. It is a lifestyle that while it taught him many useful skills and allowed him to see the world, also trained into him a subtle distrust of people outside of his own kampania and stole from him a more formal education.
At first, while he was young, Mikhail sang along to his parents instrumental performances. Who doesn't enjoy watching children perform? They lived modestly but comfortably...but as harder times crept up on them, the young Mikhail began studying more eye-catching forms of performance. In Hungary, they traveled a while with a carnivale company, sharing stories of the road, and eventually..sharing skills with a very knowledge-ravenous little boy. Studying with the carnivales acrobats, Mikhail developed impressive hand-eye coordination, and a center of balance that soon let to acrobatic feats and the understanding that his form was unusually malleable. It was merely a skill at first. The flexibility of youth and athletic form. Training in proper handling of a blade came later, and as he proved to have a fine eye and a good hand he was trained further in blade throwing, his grandfather gifting him with a set of weighted throwing blades for his fifteenth birthday.
A show was scheduled just outside of Budapest when Mikhail was 16 years old. It was to be a remarkably large show, combining the kampania with the carnivale, a large score that would supply the caravan with not only stock for further journey, but a safety net for a cold upcoming winter. For days, Mikhal had felt vaguely ill, achey, a pain in his joints that he put off to the chill in the air and too many hour spent in training, his perfectionistic nature already in full swing. On th evening of the performance, unwilling to let his family down, he took to the stage in a prformance displaying his contortionism. The first few feats were remarkable to the audience, but unremarkable to the trained young man, and for a moment...he forgot the fear. Forgot the aches and pain, and the worry that he would somehow let down his family. His mind was blissfully clear, and it was as if the world had cut out all distractions, all thoughts. He moved by habit, by natural instinct, and it wasn't until the discomforted murmurs of the crowd began, and he could hear the frightened cries of his mother that he snapped to the realization that something may not be quite right.
The loosening of pain in his joints wasn't simply a sign of nerves passing or relaxation...his joints had all spontaneously altered allowing his admittedly flexible form warp into such drastic bend that each individual vertebrae had swung backward in it's bend, his knees warped to a backward bend and as his head turned to worriedly look to his mother, even that movement bent his head nearly backward.
Needless to say, the crowd was by then terrified and aside from a few morbidly curious hangers-on the crowd was dispursing and several calling for medical aide for what they assumed was a show gone wrong. However, a superstitious culture in many ways his family could assume only one thing...some form of spirit had overtaken their son, leaving him 'marime'...impure. Kept apart from his family, not allowed to enter their caravans or the tents they set up, he remains...heartbroken by the sudden segregation and terrified once they called for the Bandolier. It was decided the Kris must be called. The council debated for many hours, discudding with the elders, with Mikhail's parents...even a heated plea by the young man, but in time it was decided that the man was indeed impure, and was to be banished from the Kampania.
There were no goodbyes. His family no longer concidered him to be -their- Mikhail. Already he was lost to them, his family adorned in white, the color of mourning. His belongings were burned...it was only luck that he managed to grab a bag of clothing and his beloved flute and throwing daggers before being chased from the small camp they had set up. Thoroughly shamed and wary of the gadje communities around them, Mikhail traveled by way of hitchhiking, stowing away in large trucks or trains and performed to earn money to survive. Skilled as he was, and training himself in that perfectionist way of his, he managed to amass enough money over those 4 years to buy passage on a boat headed to America from France.
New to the states, it took years for him to train himself in the language, and as much time investigating those rare cases of people like him...tips from rare sources leading him to Cobalt Hill, a new community of people that he still doesn't feel as if he truly belongs to.
Criminal Record: none
Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts: Coming from a background and lineage with many uncommon beliefs and practices, many of his habits appear unusual. His compulsion for cleanliness, his mistrust of people. He rarely ever wears white, as it is a reserved color of mourning to his people, and he rarely makes physical contact with anyone when it isn't necessary. He dislikes cats greatly, and will not eat foods he considers marime. He is religious, though not pushy about it to others, and has a distinct love for bright flashy things or appealing people...though aquaintences rarely are allowed to turn into abiding friendships.