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J O H N S O N
β½ βThough I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. I see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. And my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum.β βΎ
Get it Right || Diplo ft. MΓ /|\ One of Them Days || Kiana Lede
Fα΄α΄α΄ α΄Κα΄Ιͺα΄ β¦ Bryshere Y. Gray
DΙͺα΄Κα΄Ι’α΄α΄ Cα΄Κα΄Κ β§ #E9AB17
TΚα΄α΄Ι’Κα΄ Cα΄Κα΄Κ β¦ #995B00
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Ivan Gregory Johnson
β§NΙͺα΄α΄Ι΄α΄α΄α΄β§
Ivy {Only by baby Kat} || Vin or Vinny {Common; the latter is mostly used by his sister} || Lux or Lux Lyfe {Stage name}
β¦BΙͺΚα΄Κα΄ α΄Κ & Sα΄α΄Κ SΙͺΙ’Ι΄β¦
Dec 18th & Sagittarius
β§AΙ’α΄β§
16
β¦Eα΄ΚΙ΄Ιͺα΄Ιͺα΄Κβ¦
100% African American
β§Sα΄xα΄α΄ΚΙͺα΄Κ & Mα΄Κα΄Ιͺα΄Κ Sα΄α΄α΄α΄sβ§
Demi-bisexual & Single
β¦Rα΄Κα΄β¦
The Sweetheart
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5'8 & 156 lbs
β¦Lα΄α΄α΄sβ¦
Although this occasionally lovable goofball will say oftentimes not acknowledge his own attractiveness and say that Nurys is the gorgeous sibling, there's a reason that Ivan has gotten some attention over the years, especially since coming to New York. Now better fed and being taken care of properly, he's no longer underweight. He'll never be able to bulk up like so many guys want, but his wiry yet strong build fits his rather petite frame, which he definitely will growl about if you ever called him petite to his face. Whoever his father was contributed to a browner complexion than either his mother or sister, and to the hints of gold in his soft brown eyes. He's known for toting various low cut styles on his natural hair, courtesy of his sister and complete with designs on high-top fades and sponge-twists. Both of his ears are also pierced.
β§Sα΄ΚΚα΄β§
Outside of St. Jude's, Ivan notably adheres to an urban street-wear wardrobe that, much like his sister, doesn't include the most expensive clothes money can buy. Which is what Ivan is most comfortable with, to begin with. From time to time, Michelle has enabled him to get expensive shoes and his jewelry does tend to wind up being designer simply because she doesn't like him wearing anything fake since that was what he came to New York wearing.He doesn't even try to spruce up his uniform because he doesn't see the point of going to such extreme lengths for something that was made to be strict on their freedom.
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XXXHonest β¦ Optimistic β§ Vivacious β¦ Impulsive
Compassionate β§ Loyal β¦ Passive β§ Erratic
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i. Much like his sister, Ivan is very much upfront about a lot of things. He doesn't bother playing the mysterious role or anything of that nature. If someone asks him a question, he's not about to be coy and keep them guessing. He won't be the first to admit to every bad thing that has ever happened to him or every bad thing that he has done, but best believe that if he won't be going around trying to make himself out to be the puzzle that someone wants to solve. That's too much, even for himself. Plus, unlike his sister, he likes giving people and situations the benefit of the doubt. He believes in the grays of the world, that everything isn't so bleak in the black-and-white scheme of things that others think is the only thing that exists. This optimism and desire to trust could very much be his downfall as Ivan could very much get manipulated without wanting to, trying to give people chances when he honestly shouldn't. He's not dumb, he obviously reads social cues. But he's also not trying to be jaded.
ii. One thing to note about Ivan is that though he won't be the one most people are drawn to because he's either not rich enough to gain a following or not...complicated enough to gain the aforementioned, for those who are friends with him, he's an entertaining individual nonetheless. Ivan can be relaxed, sure, and can maintain very easygoing vibes, but at the end of the day, he's like a live wire waiting to get sparked up. Whether you're talking about a show, comic, movie or even music, Ivan's energy shines through and it's notably infectious. The kid who liked to shrink in on himself doesn't make as much of an appearance, though at least that kid had a bit more control over himself. Because he's so easy to rile up and get excited on a good day, Ivan is also easy to make angry or easy to get to do something that he normally shouldn't, practically to the point of recklessness. He doesn't always think his actions through and instead, has to deal with the consequences even when he's not even sure why he's doing it. Though if you asked his former therapist, there's a pretty damn good reason why he's so impulsive on most days.
iii. The thing that no one can take from Ivan is that he is a rather caring soul and he doesn't need to hide that part of him. It just is. He empathizes deeply with others and if he actually did offend, or hurt someone, he'll be the first to genuinely apologize. Hell, he'll apologize with the utmost sincerity on his sister's behalf, mainly because he doesn't want that to be a reflection of who she is, even if it is. That's just how much he cares. He acts out against guys being douche-bags to classmates who aren't as bold, regardless of if he's big enough or strong enough, and he's a gentleman three-hundred and sixty five days of the year. And to have Ivan in your life is to have someone who stands beside you irrevocably. He doesn't believe in betrayal and he doesn't believe in turning his back on people that you care about, not when they've stood with you when you couldn't stand for yourself.
iv. But for all that, the boy who shrinks back when he's unsure still makes a comeback, particularly because Ivan isn't a dominant person. His backbone only lasts for so long and in certain environments. He'll still be his fun-loving self, best believe, but he's too used to being pushed to the background for various reasons, that he doesn't always recognize that his own beliefs and ideas are just as powerful as those around him. That what he says and what he wants to say will and can matter to someone other than himself. He follows more often than not and it honestly shouldn't be a wonder that he can be unpredictable at times with all that has been said of his person. Ivan sublimates the occasionally bolder and impulsive side of himself in order to not feel like he's going to displease someone, most notably his sister and the adults in his life, and then winds up acting out worse than his normal impulsiveness requires of him. Either he crashes and the depressive episodes overwhelm him, or he lashes out and the manic side comes into play. Which he doesn't know how to truly deal with. He just tries and hopes like hell his sister never calls him psycho again.
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Ivan has a really bad sweet tooth, particularly for baked goods. Much like his sister, he has a rather deep love - though his is definitely deeper - for waffles, but never frozen. No, they have to be home-made. But honestly put anything baked and sweet in his face, and he's ten years old again. Ivan is a really good rapper and he loves writing his own lyrics, or lyrics that he'd share with his sister. He'd fallen in love with the hip hop genre as a child, though since he's of this generation, Ivan does listen to a lot of trap music. Not his favorite because he favors songs with an actual message,but he'll turn up to most anything, to be quite honest. Also, Ivan likes taking photos, not just to post on social media, but to collect because he likes collecting memories. He couldn't do that before and some part of him fears that what he has now - even though it's not perfect - could be taken at any point. He wants to chronicle it all. She gets on his last nerves, but Ivan really does like his sister just as much as he loves her, but only because she's pretty bomb at video games for someone who claims she never has time for childish stuff.
β§DΙͺsΚΙͺα΄α΄sβ§
The one thing Ivan was never really fond of, surprisingly, was candy. A lot of things have artificial flavors in them, but he just couldn't get with the obsession that most children had with it. Not when one could get cookies instead. With that being said, he absolutely hates oatmeal raisin cookies, as trivial as it sounds. He just couldn't stand oats unless they were cooked, like with oatmeal, and he hates raisins in general. While he is used to it and even resigns himself to it, Ivan hates feeling invisible. Everyone's always focused on his sister or just someone else, so they always miss him and what's happening with him. He also hates medication, even though he technically needs it and refuses to take it because he hated the initial reaction his body had to them. A novel thing when considering his generation and how they function, Ivan's not a fan of meaningless sex or random hook-ups. He already isn't inclined to do it much or at all because of a lot of factors, most notably his orientation and just not really feeling it, but he doesn't need to be slobbered down by a complete stranger to gain pleasure. Conversations, listening to music, and writing work just as well, thanks.
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i. academics - regardless of what his mental illness might have one to believe, but the simple truth of the matter is that Ivan is pretty darn good when it comes to academics and more importantly, he actually likes it. He likes the structure of it all (which is in extreme contrast to his sister who requires the freedom that the education system currently does not always allow) as that seems to provide a sort of comfort that his home life never could, though there's no denying that his greatest strength comes in being able to read and analyze the text, and to write, whether his writing consist of essays or lyrics. Ivan isn't some genius who's going to revolutionize some long since coveted scientific theory or anything of that nature, but if he were to actually decide what he wanted to do in college (if he goes), he would more than likely succeed.
ii. music - even if he could say that it wouldn't be the first thing in the world he'd want to do, music just comes naturally to Ivan. He didn't get the luxury of learning how to play an instrument or get vocally trained, but like his sister, he belonged to his mother and that warranted some kind of natural talent. Combine that with the fact that he's a pretty good writer in terms of telling stories and providing powerful messages - where his sister will keep things current in terms of ebonics and such - and they're a force of nature together. Ivan is a pretty damn good rapper whose verses actually mean something unlike a lot of the current music on the radio. Surprisingly enough, despite never having taken a lesson, Ivan does know how to play the drums. When they didn't want to go back to their homes for various reasons, Ivan and the two friends he did manage to make at his old home snuck into the music room after school and would just chill there. It didn't take Ivan long to learn how to actually sound good.
β§FΚα΄α΄‘sβ§
i. bipolar depression - it's not a flaw, not really, but let Ivan tell it and it is. Most of this false conception has been given its foundation, unwittingly, by his sister. During the beginning of their court-allowed stay with Michelle, both teens were signed up for counseling and before Nurys ended their visits, Ivan was diagnosed with bipolar depression. With no medication, despite Michelle's urging, and no more counseling as buffers, Ivan's mood and temperament notably shift and are sometimes hard to contain. On the one hand, he can be good, too good even. He'll be talkative, able to become excited over nothing and everything, and energetic to the point that he needs a lot more reckless activity in order to find everyday pleasure such as drinking, staying out late, or even hanging with the wrong crowd. Those are his manic symptoms. When the depression hits - and when it hits, it hits - he is no longer interested in doing his normal day-to-day activities, he's more irritable and prone to snapping if he has the energy to even do that, he feels unworthy or dirty, he's not doing school work, and his insomnia doesn't stand a chance to the constant need to sleep. He tried to be strong for Nurys' sake, hell for his own since he knows being a latecomer to St. Jude's and black are already strikes against his person, but trying to pretend like these symptoms and these episodes do not exist cause him to act out and, unbeknownst to his sister and caretaker, make his suicidal thoughts return.
ii. meek - perhaps meek isn't the right word, too insulting to a degree. The issue with Ivan isn't that he can't aggressive. Give him one of his manic episodes or say something about his mother or sister, and he's more than likely going to show you how aggressive he can be in zero point five seconds, african-american male stereotypes be damned. But he also doesn't seem to possess that same backbone when he really needs it, particularly in the case of those who talk over him and his desires such as his sister, even if he knows that it's well-meaning on her part. There was no gradual loosening of Nurys' reigns on him, such as the case for really anyone who Ivan considered to be someone he should look to for leadership. He doesn't see himself as a leader of any kind, and especially not one of his own destiny. So, despite his potential to become something good in the academic world, he lets his sister take charge and contend with the idea of them being a duo in the music industry because at least at some point, in his head, Nurys is going to start focusing on herself and then he'll be able to figure his own stuff out. He doesn't recognize that now is his time to go about things his way and maybe help out his depressive episodes in terms of feeling powerless in his own life, and like he has no purpose and is invisible.
iii. impulsive - Ivan, as much as he is a dear heart, acts out. Not on a regular basis as his sister does as he wouldn't be known as such a good guy if he did, but it's definitely notable. He just doesn't really think all of his actions through, whether they be shoving an older or bulkier bully back because he's messing with someone who clearly doesn't want to be bothered, or kissing someone he really likes in the moment because it just hits him to do so without actually considering whether or not it'll end well. He doesn't mean to, it just happens. A part of that could be attributed to the aforementioned powerlessness he feels when everything is happening around and to him. In a way, Ivan is subconsciously acting because most of the times, he's trying so damn hard to please the people he cares the most about in order for them to not be done with him, or feel left alone.
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In all honesty, Nurys and Christina did a good job at keeping Ivan from seeing the worst of her addiction and health, because his memories are jumbled of her. Granted, because Ivan is so intimately involved with his sister's voice, he recognizes that a lot of the lullabies and soothing melodies that put him to sleep back then were her and not his mother, but unlike his sister, he can't resent Christina. He has nothing bad to say about her. In fact, being with Michelle and knowing that she knew his mother long before either of them were ever thought of, influences a natural curiosity to understand her better. He wants to know who this woman was before life screwed her over...he just knows to ask when his sister isn't around.
β§Aleixo Bonifacio || Biological Father || 43 || Undisclosed Locationβ§
In this case, Ivan also wants answers. Aleixo isn't his father, but he was the only thing Ivan had close to one and so there's an attachment to this man that he honestly doesn't know how to let go of like his sister wants. He wants to empathize with both of his parents, understand what the hell made them do the things that they did. After all, he remembered watching cartoons with this man. There was a good time with him, so what the hell happened?
β¦ Michelle DuBois || Godmother & Legal Guardian || 41 || Founder and Head Stylist of DuBois Couture Hairβ¦
Ivan will be the first to say that his last home wasn't the greatest and for various reasons, and so he's probably the most obvious in his gratefulness for being in Michelle's home. Not only is it pretty much a penthouse, though not of the same standard as some of his classmates, but he actually has his own room to run away to. More than that, he's loved, constantly. Every single day. You can't not be grateful for that; that's just poor showmanship. He clashes a lot less with Michelle than his sister does and he respects her literally putting herself out there for them when they're not even her kids. He is curious about what made her and his mother's music fall out so badly all those years ago because he's not buying what he and Nurys were told, but to some extent, he knows that it's not all on Michelle, but it also isn't all on his mom either.
β§Jada DuBois || Godsister || 20 || Part-time stylist at DuBois Couture Hair & Cosmetology Studentβ§
Ivan and Jada get along pretty well, but it's obvious that she's closer to Nurys. Jada does wind up putting up excuses when Ivan decides to get away for a bit or that he needs to be holed away, mostly because she's begun to recognize when his episodes are coming in despite not living with them.
β¦ Nurys Johnson || Half-Sister || 18 || Constance Billard Studentβ¦
Back when they were small and to an extent, even to this day, there is no one Ivan admired and trusted more than his big sister. She had all the strength of the world on her tiny shoulders back in the day, soothing him with her voice while rocking him in their mother's chair, making sure that he was fed, standing up to bullies who might have picked on them because their clothes weren't as new as theirs, or just about anything really. So, when Nurys came and pretty much told him to trust her again, there was no hesitation on his part. He knew that wherever he went, as long as she was there, he was safe. And that dependence is somewhat costly. To this day, because neither will discuss fully what happened in their separation, Ivan is at a loss on what to do with the selfishness and arrogance his sister has. On most days, she's fine and she's his playful sister who will beat the bricks off of anyone who smears his name, and makes the best waffles ever. And then there are other days where she's thinking about the same life that destroyed their mother and wanting him to be in it with her, and he does - he wants anything that keeps them together and also brings them closer to their mom to some extent - but it just feels like she's going down their mother's path and he has yet to even figure himself out to just follow her so wholly like that.
β§Katiana DuBois || Play-Cousin || 2 || Currently ruling the loft β§
Katiana is his little monster. He sends her into Nurys' room when he needs his sister to be distracted from knowing when he's going out. She's not controlling or anything, and doesn't let Ivan out, but she's protective and gets wary when he gets drawn into activities he knows no one would approve of. Katiana, though, is literally god-sent and she's a little tyrant most of the time. Contrary to popular belief, it's actually Ivan teaching her curse words and only because she says them so adorably.
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15 Washington Street Brooklyn, NY : Former Humphrey Residence
Seven years ago, upon the commercial success of DuBois Couture Hair - along with aid from wealthier friends and clientele - Michelle DuBois purchased the loft along with the building it occupied in order to renovate and create what is now her home base in New York for both her wig and extension store, along with the salon that occupies the full first floor of the ten story. On the second floor, in accompaniment with the various wig and extensions she sells, Michelle's own hair care products which are cruelty, sulfate and paraben free, are sold. The second floor also holds the waiting room for clients who are awaiting their appointments or to be fitted into the schedule. The third floor up to the ninth floor are apartments she is able to rent out and earn income from, a collection of studio, two-family and three-family units. The tenth floor consists of the spacious three-bedroom residence complete with two full baths, a large kitchen to satisfy any home chef, and views of Manhattan from large floor to ceiling windows, and a fire escape balcony. It also comes with a rooftop terrace that Michelle keeps maintained for the pleasure of her family and tenants, complete with an assortment of lawn chairs, fake grass, a small garden, small tables with umbrellas, sofas, and strung-up lights.
Nurys' Bedroom: [X]
Ivan's Bedroom: [X]
β§HΙͺsα΄α΄ΚΚβ§
Words.
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