NIKOLAI MINAYEV
DRAMA DIVISION — PERFORMER
"
my whole life is controversial. what can i do? i'm like britney spears!"
For the Record
nikolai vasily minayev
║ Acceptable Nicknames ║niko, nikki
║ Birthday & Age ║october 20; 24 years old
║ Gender & Sexual Orientation ║this is about as complicated as it gets. nikolai is biologically a male, and is currently closeted transgender; to others, he is simply perceived as an androgynous male. he doesn't care who he's dating.
║ Other Labels ║nikolai was born in tuzla, bosnia and herzegovnia, and is informally known as the token russian around mortimer.
║ Occupation ║nikolai is an escort and does theatre work across the nation. he has no 'steady' job or set career.
║ Appearance ║nikolai is, in all senses of the word, androgynous. people often confuse themselves when referring to him because his face is so feminine and pointed like a pixie's, but that is precisely what he is going for. undergoing a secret transition all on his own, he does his best to maintain youthful and glowing skin like a biological female might, and in fact succeeds in it. his jawline is not as squared and uniform as most other men because he desperately tries to keep it that way. his nose is elongated and pointed - a 'paris hilton nose,' as he might call it - and his lips are curved and puckered, like he's always preparing for a quick kiss. his eyes are grey-green and solemn, very contradictory to his actual personality, but made lively by his constant widening as if he is just naturally enthusiastic.
he is six feet and one inch tall, about 1.81 meters. he is a very thin individual, all bones and skin, weighing 145 pounds - just above the underweight line for his height. that fact only worsens his mysterious gender identity, because he has no masculine muscle to be seen or feminine curves to fawn over; in fact, nikolai's body is a stick of sorts, simply trailing straight down from piercing shoulders into long, runway model legs. he certainly lives up to the modelesque trope, considering how he only ever wears name-brand and designer clothes. it's rather shallow of him, truthfully.
║ Personality ║ The Positive:
- nikolai considers himself to be an artist of personality, and a very modern kind at that. he grew up sustaining himseld by feeding on media and pop culture, exhilerated by the birth of mass technology. he has mastered some of the tropes of mime and burlesque to harness the imagination of the world, not just of his age, but of future ages. despite his father's authoritarian approach to parenting, he played with gender, sex, and what it means to be a young person in a way that was part parody and part deconstruction. he put on a mask to reveal himself. the reason people fall in love with him is because they see that not only is he masquerading as a sexpot and pushing the boundaries of what should be considered acceptable behavior as a society, but also that he is openingly displaying a vulnerability that transcends all that. he is desperate to be seen.
- despite his apparent humility, niko is not embarrassed of his body—everyone has something they're scared of showing or talking about, and his way of handling it is by... well, exposing himself to the whole world, in all aspects of the word. he will give away secrets, pose for the physical art division's paintings, wear the tightest clothing; nikolai is simply comforted in the idea of an entirely self-conscious humanity that doesn't care what he is doing because they have their own business.
- he is often made to represent something very unattainable and fantastic, so much so that his borderline vulnerability could seem aggressive. nikolai is a diffident actor (and -ress, truly and metaphorically) who is intimidated by his place in the world. he has made himself a confident caricature oozing sex and power. his personal goal is to personify both the secret hopes of men and the secret fears of women, to be entirely heteronormative. scary to women by representing a mythical, unreachable sexuality, and at the same time reminding them how vulnerable it can feel to be a woman. nikolai presents an expert sketch of gender (his own personal take on it).
The Negative:
- nikolai has problems with anxiety and self-esteem that is mistaken for narcissism. he often sits in front of the mirrors for hours, not because he is full of himself but because he is deathly afraid of not being the 'perfect' nikolai that people expect him to be. he is too often paralyzed with fear that he won't present a good external appearance despite his obvious blessings and constantly asks his sisters how he looks.
- though he does very well to ensure he is well-liked, nikolai experiences intense abandonment fears and inappropriate anger, even when faced with a realistic separation or when there are unavoidable changes in plans. in fact, niko fears solitude, and finds solace in constantly clinging to his sisters or forcing his mother to stay around when she visits. he seems shallow after all of this usage and abuse of other peoples' company, but in the end, niko experiences anxiety like any other. the only potentially "shallow" thing about him would probably be his sometimes needy or attention-seeking behavior: when he's gone too long without a compliment or niko-focused interaction, he will usually force himself upon you or take much worse, self-destructive action.
- nikolai has an unhealthy streak with impulsive behavior. since learning to drive, he has never learned to stop; he has made many lovers out of good friends and subsequently tarnished relationships; and, less seriously, has an issue with the philosophy of "all things in moderation"... nikolai may be smart and completely able to understand his morals, but that does not mean he takes the initiative to follow them.
What You See:
nikolai's external charade is, for all intents and purposes, more easily broken down into little anecdotes like this. he knows what he likes. he's crazy about diamonds. he aways seems to be making things happen, adding fuel to the fire of relationships he's not even involved in and assisting in helping plan events whenever he can. he's something of a heartbreaker, and entirely unsentimental. he is resourceful. he's used instant coffee as eyeshadow before. he's stylish and refuses to wear anything less than givenchy. niko knows never to stumble into bad lighting, metaphorical or otherwise. "certain shades of limelight wreck a girl's complexion." he's spontaneous.
not really planning his days or caring where they go, nikolai "lives in the moment." he has got sticky fingers. if the shopkeep is not looking, niko will likely swipe a pack of gum or a bit of pastry here or there. niko finds attractive qualities in everyone... even if it is usually the size of their bank balance. he's vague. on any given location input, he gives his address as "travelling." he's provocative. niko often gets his way by offering suggestive favours in return, despite the message he may be sending to onlookers. he appears to be fabulously naïve.
What I Know:
niko is a sight to behold in college - for someone so exuberant, he rarely gets drunk with others, avoids any drugs that are trafficked between students, and manages to duck into a private room whenever people he deems 'better than him' are around. let the record show that nikolai is not as withholding about his feelings. he is usually very quick-witted and sarcastic, but often seems to lapse into different personalities and pick up new characteristics. it is confusing how to deal with him, as he reacts and responds depending on his temperament that day/hour/minute, and that sometimes warrants some yelling at him... which, obviously, only frustrates nikolai further.
so nikolai is a difficult individual, but nobody sees that and scrutinizes it as much as he does. there may not be much reason to be, but minayev spends most of his time standing in front of the mirror and picking apart a rather shapeless body, a pixie face, whatever flaws aren't immediate to the naked eye. the criticism he places on himself has a large part to play in his interactions: nikolai despises most social events when people he is close to are going to be attending, and he is quite withdrawn from most of mortimer because he leads a sort of double life personality-wise.
"we are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle." - marilyn monroe
║ My Dreams ║nikolai truly believes he's going to be famous one day, a name that shows up in the start and end of films, a name spoken by designers and cited as inspiration, someone for teenagers to hang up as a poster in their rooms. he thinks he has the right attitude and a fine enough exterior to go far in the film and theatre industry. additionally, but on a lesser scale (as niko suppresses this pretty deeply), he hopes to come out to a welcoming world someday and be able to use a name and pronouns that are comfortable for him.
║ Fears ║
- being "seen," in the sense that nikolai is afraid of judgment for his secretly very impulsive and reckless character. he doesn't very much like being figured out or read like a book.
- candy. while nikolai may be a skinny little thing, he's also got a big sweet tooth that makes it difficult to maintain his figure.
- parties. nikolai is a socialite by all means, taking it upon himself to be the life of the party wherever he goes.
- adrenaline. niko throws himself into situations that spike a rush whenever possible.
- for someone who put themself in a position where constant criticism is aflow (acting), niko is very sensitive to judgment and never takes it well.
- he avoids deep conversations that dig into his character if he can. nikolai is not a very sentimental individual.
- niko despises capitalism and makes a point to go off on rants about 'the man' - which his friends usually don't take very well to, admittedly. it's at the point where it's almost annoying to listen to.
nikolai was born in tuzla, bosnia and herzegovina and has seven older sisters. minayev's mother is a bosnian serb, and nikolai's father is a bosnian croat. the couple divorced shortly after his birth. during the bosnian war, nikolai and two of his sisters fled to serbia with their mother and grandmother, settling in a refugee camp near belgrade. after the refugee camp, the family settled in vojska village near svilajnac.
after the 1999 NATO bombing of yugoslavia, niko's mother felt unsafe and decided to initiate the process of emigration to america. in 2000, the family moved to detroit as political refugees when nikolai was eight years old. he did well there for such a young child, making his way through school as a supposedly 'academically brilliant' kid - although niko doesn't speak of it, nor does he allow anyone to look at his a-average record - but on the side making deals that kept him looking like a troublemaker. he was never explicitly a dealer, but more of a middle-man throughout his teens, using the charisma that so surrounded him to transport drugs and more shady devices throughout detroit and dirty cities. it helped that he was a good-looking teen, truthfully; being white and conventionally attractive made him more trustworthy to authorities.
after graduating as valedictorian, nikolai moved to new york by his lonesome and made money through being a playboy of sorts. he hopped into older mens' cars and was paraded like a showpony however long these individuals requested, and by the end of each night earned upwards of one hundred US dollars. this was how he paid his way through his top choice school: mortimer. his online application looked impressive enough, leaving out the details of his emigration and completely neglecting any stories about his shenanigans through high school, but he did receive an honourable mention from his high school drama teacher (thankfully). his grades, while not the most important aspect of the application, certainly helped make an impression. no one in his family expected it, but he was eventually one of the 2,000 who made it through to the end stages.
║ Area of Study ║majoring in performance acting (film)
║ About My Audition ║see history - good grades & valedictorian, a letter from his high school drama coach, and the ability to actually pay his way through school
║ Year ║this is his fourth year
║ Living Arrangement ║33 park point drive, apartment 3A (if it's all right)
║ Extra information ║n/a
