Maks Petrov

Maksim Mikhailovich Petrov is a green-band Beta with the power of enhanced bioelectromagnetism. He comes from a long line of performers, and was an aerialist and contortionist in his family's circus before an incident involving his posterpowers forced them out of business. Following the circus's closure and his parents' deaths, Maks' community raised the funds to send him to Maillardets.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Maks was born in Gibsonton, Flordia, to a circus strongwoman and an acrobat. Both sides of his family had been in the circus for generations, dating right back to his paternal great-great-grandparents (who emigrated to the US from Russia, seeking escape from persecution) and his maternal great-grandmother (who joined the circus during the Great Depression).Origins, Issue #3, p. 102 His early life followed a cycle, touring and performing for most of the year and wintering in the showbiz-oriented community of Gibsonton. Maks was the first known poster in his family, but his community embraced it.
When Maks was twelve, the family's circus folded. Business had been in decline for some time, but the killing blow for the Petrovs had been an incident in which an audience member at a show deliberately tried to provoke one of the tigers. Maks acted quickly, distracting the tiger and using his powers to get the man out of the way. He wound up with some ugly scratches for his efforts, and the audience member - who was quite unharmed - showed his gratitude by suing the circus. The media got involved, and between the bad press, the legal fees and the stress on Maks' family, Kozlov's Candy Apple Circus ended up going under.Origins, Issue #3, p. 138
After the circus closed, the Petrovs settled permanently in Gibsonton. Within a year, both of Maks' parents were dead - his mother to a heart attack, then his depressed father to an accident. Maks wanted to stay with his extended circus family but, seeing few opportunities for him in Florida, they raised the funds to send him to Maillardet's Academy with the hope of offering him a better future.
===At the Academy===
As a newcomer at the beginning of the third block, Maks met fellow new student June Hovick, as well as legacy poster Ernest Wright, at the campus tour.Origins, Issue #1
==Personality==
To the uninitiated, Maks only seems to have one mood, which is loud and exuberant. What many fail to recognise is that he was a performer from a young age; he knows how to work a crowd and is an excellent actor. He keeps his fears, anxieties and anger hidden, and when he can't maintain a cheerful facade he disappears. "Make 'em laugh, but don't let 'em see you cry" is his philosophy.quipquipquip: "Maks: mood" When his emotions are over-the-top, as most of them are, he plays them off as a joke.quipquipquip: "Sometimes I just cry because MAKS." Although he does not seem it, he is every bit as controlled as Mal.quipquipquip: "I just finished Grinder, and wow."
For Maks, physical humor and bravery are intrinsically linked. Other kids think of police officers and firemen when they think of heroes, but some of the bravest people he has known have been clowns. Although he can seem shameless, he is actually quite proud. He doesn't like it when people feel sorry for him as he refuses to feel sorry for himself.quipquipquip: "What all did Maks manage to lose under his cast?"
Given his sunny demeanor and penchant for slapstick, it is easy to write him off as an airhead, but Maks is smarter than he lets on. It takes cleverness to work a smile out of someone determined not to crack.
==Physical appearance==
Maks is slim, with curly black hair, olive skin and dimples.Origins, Issue #1, p. 11quipquipquip: "What is Maks's ethnicity?"  His eyes are hazel, with bright blue flecks that seem to shift every time he blinks.Origins, Issue #2, p. 59 June derisively calls them "sparkly anime eyes".Origins, Issue #3, p. 137 Like most aerialists, he shaves his legs and armpits, which are naturally very hirsute.Grinder When he laughs, he does so with his whole body.Origins, Issue #1, p. 17
Maks is capable of giving off a bioelectric glow, a hazy blue light that is brightest where his skin is thinnest.Origins, Issue #3, p. 136 Most of the time he does this without thinking, but when he concentrates he is able to intensify the glow.
At the end of Origins, he is 5'3" and still growing.quipquipquip: "How tall are the kids?"
==Powers and abilities==
Maks is capable of storing and manipulating the bioelectric energy that living organic matter produces, on top of being able to generate a huge amount of it himself. He needs to be careful how much he drains from others, because by pulling too much he could easily stop a person's heart. When he is charged, he gives off light, trailing little blue motes.quipquipquip: Things To Know About Maksim Mikhailovich Petrov
Maks is still learning to control his power and is in the process of exploring the extent of what he can do with his ability. He often glows without meaning to, particularly in response to embarrassment and other strong emotions. He is making progress, however: when he first came to Foundation, he could barely turn his ambient glow on and off.quipquipquip: "Can Maks isolate his glowing?"
Maks inherited his father's aptitude for contortionism, earning him the childhood nickname Jellybones. He is a highly skilled acrobat and gymnast; in his first try on one of the school's obstacle courses, he manages to beat the best recorded time by 28 seconds.
Maks has not used Russian regularly since he was around eleven, but he has retained most of his fluency.quipquipquip: "Does Maks know any Russian?"
==Relationships==
===Ernest Wright===
Maks admired Ernest before he even met him. Growing up, the Li'l Champ was his favorite sidekick because they were a few weeks apart in age and had started their careers around the same time. He found Ernest's tendency to trip over his own words comforting; whenever pre-show nerves got to him, he reminded himself that even the Li'l Champ, the best sidekick in the world, got nervous sometimes. He subscribed the the Commander and Champ's quarterly newsletter and even wrote them a fan letter.
After Ernest steps in to save Maks from a beating, Maks falls for Ernest hard. Not believing that Ernest will reciprocate his feelings, he keeps them hidden, but as the year progresses the two become good friends, even sharing some seemingly innocent flirtation.
===June Hovick===
Maks initially pays attention to June because her partner is Ernest, but he soon comes to genuinely like her and look forward to the classes he has with her. As they see more of each other, the two develop a strong rapport. Maks loves "tickling the hornet's nest" that is June, and June enjoys ragging on him in return (which is, Ernest observes, her way of expressing affection).Origins, Issue #5, p. 197 By the end of their first year at the Academy, they are close friends, and Maks finds himself falling her her as well as Ernest.
===Ida Mae Sullivan===
Maks struggles with his partner, Ida Mae Sullivan, as the two of them have very different ideas of what they want out of their Maillardet's education. Ida Mae is strong career-oriented, intent on equipping herself with the knowledge she needs to get fast-tracked into the police force, while putting no effort into the classes she sees as a waste of her time. Maks is unsure what he wants to do after graduation and sees Maillardet's as an opportunity to be exposed to new experiences and skills that he would never have otherwise learned. The classes he enjoys the most — Acting, Language and PR — are the very ones his partner considers useless. As a result, Ida Mae finds Maks frustrating and regards him as dead weight.quipquipquip: "Can you tell us more about the dynamic between Maks and his partner?"
Maks initially tries to befriend Ida Mae, but his attempt goes badly wrong, ending with her boyfriend Kenneth beating him up. After this, he decides simply to avoid her and her friends.
===Family===
Maks remains close with his extended family while he is at the Academy.  His aunts, uncles, and cousins, both biological and adopted, send him letters almost weekly.  He has an entire wall of his room dedicated to the pictures they send him.quipquipquip: "Maks doesn’t own very many physical belongings."
==Trivia==
*Maks managed to lose a comical amount of things down the cast on his arm. By the time it came off, it held one dime, three nickels, eight pennies, a ruler, a green felt-tipped marker, two of June's chalk pencils, half a stick of sugarless gum and a tube of tinted lip balm (which he tried to claim was his, but the color was Shimmer Rose).
*Maks has yet to have any kind of penetrative sex, but has done just about everything but. In the past, he has sought out semi-anonymous partners; he craves intimacy, but avoids it all the same.
*He enjoys giving oral more than anything else, because he is less likely to start glowing in front of people he doesn't trust. He likes clubs, because it is harder to tell where the bright lights are coming from so he is able to relax and let himself glow a little.
*He has had more male partners than female ones, on about a 3:1 ratio. People generally assume he is gay rather than bi and he finds it easier to roll with it.quipquipquip: "What can you tell us about Maks' sex life?"
*Maks is almost completely tone deaf.quipquipquip: "Do any of you character in The Posterchildren ever randomly break into song?"
*At the end of their first year, June bought Maks a cell phone as a Christmas present, so he can call his grandmother whenever he wants.maillardets: "When June called Maks from NY, was she calling the Wright's house phone?"
*Maks is messy, but does not have enough possessions for it to show. Until the circus went under, he lived in a trailer with his parents for most of the year, so he is used to not having much space and traveling light.
*Catherine Newmeyer set Maks up with her rig so he could practice tissu, ribbon dancing, at Maillardets.
*If Maks were at Hogwarts, he'd be a Gryffindor.quipquipquip: "Hogwarts houses"
==Appearances==
*Origins
*Grinder (POV character)
*Target Practice (POV character)
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:Green-bands
Category:Betas
Category:Origins characters
Category:Grinder characters
Category:Target Practice characters