| “ | Looking back, I realized that the False Gang was far more than a group of serial killer teens. We were basically terrorists, but on a very tiny scale. For eight years, I had my own amount of fun, but when one of our own died, I stopped my actions and tried to reform myself into a better person. Broll, however, never forgave, and never forgot. I said nothing, for the hopes that he would eventually get caught. Boy, was I wrong. | „ |
| ~ An excerpt of Ivan Paul’s confession to his eight year murder spree, 2038. |
Ivan Paul was a serial killer, a very close friend of Wilson Broll and partner-in-crime of his as well. Together with a few other friends, he managed to frighten his home city of Philadelphia by committing countless murders throughout eight years. When the False Gang was disbanded in 2026, Paul tried for years to start his life anew, and for awhile he did. When Broll was paralyzed in 2038, the two decided to turn themselves in.
Story[]
Ivan was born in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, in 2003. The first seven years of his life were largely uneventful. He had a childhood that was as normal as one can be. He showed above-average intelligence at age five, but resented it at the time because “it gave [him] headaches.” At age eight, things began to take a turn: during Halloween, he managed to recall an incident with his friends in which he witnessed a man get beaten up by his father, at the young age of two years. Normally, this would not cause any alarm, however, his recollection of all details - from what day of the week it happened, to what time of day it happened, to even the amount of blood stains on his father’s sweater - completely changed the mood. Things only got more concerning when his father, overhearing the conversation, stepped in and confirmed it all. It was then that everyone realized that Ivan was to be seen by someone. After all, a person should not be able to recall this much detail from one day, right?
Apparently, yes, according to the doctor that saw him. Ivan had a super rare condition called Hyperthymesia, in which his memory was absolutely perfect. His parents were thrilled at the possibility that their son could be “gifted,” but Ivan didn’t want it to be that way. He didn’t want any unwanted attention his parents tried to give him. He just wanted to be normal like everyone else. No matter how hard he tried, though, Ivan’s flawless memory revealed itself in every situation, and it only made his life worse for him. Every occasion of his burden taking over a conversation mostly caused a lot of people to approach him to try and poke fun at him, and that in turn made his life unbearable.
It wasn’t until third grade that Ivan made his first true friend in years: Wilson Broll. The two were a very odd couple: many people of the time noted how Broll, while smart and frail-looking, was a person who was said to have packed a punch whenever he got into fights, while Paul, appearing completely normal, saw nothing wrong with it. This friendship didn’t truly take off until one morning before winter break, when the two were approached by the Tetrasi children, notorious for their deplorable behavior towards everyone outside their family. As normal, the Tetrasis began to attack the two, but Broll fought back, managing to land several considerable punches and even drew blood. While he and Paul ended up retreating, it was then that the latter realized that he had found himself the first true friend in his lifetime.
Ivan Paul in his “prime”
As the years, grew by, the two’s mentalities began to change, with Broll’s being the more noticeable. While the two maintained their friendship over the years, Broll began to start having a more irritable demeanor each day. Paul, on the other hand, kept his cool and still hung out with Broll. By the time the two were freshmen in high school, Paul had managed to keep his “burden” under control, but yet people still picked on him for it. On the first day, however, he managed to find new friends: Joy Durham, Tiberius Edison, Von Chrutches, and Maggie Richter. Paul, realizing that his best friend would fit in perfectly with these other people here, Ivan introduced Wilson to them, and Wilson instantly grew to like them. Unfortunately that day was the last truly peaceful day of Ivan Paul’s life... for the next eight years.
Following a consecutive four mysterious deaths, Ivan eventually realized that it was Broll doing all the deeds, and thanked him for doing so, because Broll’s victims were people who had given the rest of the False Gang a hard time as well. Things further escalated when Broll, feeling no remorse for his actions, proposed that everyone else in the False Gang stand up to their bullies, in the worst possible way. To both his and Ivan’s surprise, they agreed, and thus began an eight-year killing spree that frightened the entire Delaware Valley.
In 2026, Maggie Richter, one of the killers, died of a heart attack, causing the False Gang to disband and cease their horrific ways. Ivan, who at this point realized that he needed to turn his life around, began searching for a job. He eventually managed to find a teaching profession at Temple University, and stayed that way for the next twelve years, eventually becoming wealthy enough to afford a penthouse in the center of the city. Throughout this time, he kept in touch with his former partners-in-crime, including Broll.
Paul was surprised to learn that his friend was also wealthy, considering that he never knew what Broll’s main job was. Things went sour when Broll confessed to Paul that he was still carrying out murders long after the False Gang’s end. Broll had basically broke an oath that was sworn years ago, but the man himself had a different view, saying that it’s all he is now, and that he does have some standards of his own, stating that he never once killed children or the elderly. Wilson’s argument was that so long as he doesn’t have any close calls with the law, he’ll be safe. Because of this, Ivan kept some distance from his friend, but he didn’t isolate from him completely - after all, he was still his best friend. He figured that if Broll were to keep up his activities, then he’ll eventually slip up and get arrested. This was in 2032.
In 2038, six years later, Wilson Broll was finally “vanquished” by his parasitic infection Toxo, when the protozoan decided to take matters into his own hands and paralyze his own host. The event, once it was realized to be irreversible, proved to be a wake-up call for Broll, and he quickly called Ivan to help him out. After a few days of being pushed in a makeshift wheelchair, Wilson eventually decided to confess to the authorities. Ivan agreed, stating that he needed to do the same as well.
At the confession, the two admitted to countless murders throughout the last 20 years. Ivan was sentenced to thirty years in a medium security prison across the country, due to the amount of crimes he committed, as well as the fact that he actually managed try to turn his life around. Broll, on the other hand, was sentenced to life behind his house walls, wearing an ankle bracelet at all times and also guarded with a heavily armed security detail, on account of the amount of crimes he committed. To this day, both men are in prison, and Ivan especially, breathes a lot easier now that he’s got no extreme stress on him. Here, he is, ironically, at peace.
Appearance[]
Ivan Paul never once appeared out of the ordinary. His face was slightly tired and pale, with thick, black, greasy hair. He was the same build as Broll’s, but didn’t have the same stamina as his friend, and as such, speed-walked most of the time. Ivan’s mask during his dark days was one that was electronic in nature. He wore a full face-covering LED mask, the features of which he rarely used, unless he was alone with his friends. He often wore a thin, black, velvety jacket when killing, and often wore firefighting gloves in addition to this. Ivan’s traditional killing methods were to stab his victims with whatever large sharp object that was poking out of the ground, in their own home. However, during any time in which there were too many people not too far from the victim, he would often just stab them with a pencil and then push them down the stairs to save time, energy, and to reduce any unnecessary risks. It was these only two methods Ivan used, and Broll, being the most creative of the False Gang, was always a tad disappointed in him for this, eventually saying that Paul was the “most boring killer of [them] all.”
Personality[]
Ivan Paul was not one who made peace with most of his troubles in life, at least not right away. After a few minutes of trying to get the justice he so-deserved, he reluctantly just walked away. As a result, his bullies considered him to be one of the easiest targets around, however, after they realized that this routine would be the only response that they got from him, they stopped going after him. When Wilson Broll came around, Ivan began to get better at making peace with his enemies(at least until he started killing them). While he was still one who got agitated easily, he managed to keep this under control, unlike his friend, who responded in the worst possible way for 20 years.
When the False Gang was active, Paul had a sneaking suspicion that his actions were awful, but shrugged them off as a mere tingling sensation. He continued to do so until the group disbanded in 2026. At that point, Ivan actually vomited due to stress and had a breakdown when he realized what he had been doing for the past eight years. In a few short weeks, he managed to get his life together.
As an adult, Ivan has now completely become more calm and peaceful. His appearance as a teacher has many people thinking that he’s constantly nervous, with an occasional fit of shaky hands at a seemingly random trigger. While he is indeed happy, he’s also well aware of his past; with a perfect memory like his, he literally can’t forget or repress his memories as a serial killer. Despite this, he manages to press on, all the while secretly under stress(as is explained in the biography portion of this page, when Ivan eventually goes to prison for confessing his crimes, he actually finds peace, mainly because he finally managed to get it off his chest).
Relationships[]
Allies: Wilson Broll, Bludgeon, Toxo, Strangle
Enemies: Zero, Clockwork, The Slenderman, Rouge, Wilson the Basher, Kate the Chaser
In the case of Zero and Clockwork, it’s more like a frenemy-type relationship. While fights will occasionally happen between him, there are no actual incidents of bloodshed, especially if Broll is around. While he and Zero and/or Clockwork have had civilized conversations in the past, the truth of the matter is Ivan does not trust them at all, despite the former of the two stating that any friend of Wilson Broll’s is a friend of hers. Ivan still keeps a pencil near him at all times for this and other reasons.
Regarding the Slenderman and his proxies, however, it is very clear that they are all evil and cannot be talked to in any way. The only reason he knows of Slenderman’s existence is because Broll confided in him his “summer job” of the past twenty years. Paul, being the uneasy judge mental man he was at this point, asked if he could see them, to which Broll responded yes. It was the first and last time that he came across the legendary tall man and his proxies, as well as the only time he had a literal conversation with Toxo. The whole time he stayed within the being’s territory, it was obvious that everyone wanted to either kill him or turn him into another horrid recruit. The only reason no such thing ever happened is because of Broll’s insistence of Paul never intending to come near these woods again. But even he agrees that even with his interference, Ivan would never have left the Slender woods in one piece.
Facts[]
- His mask was rarely turned on during killings. In fact, the only occurrences in which it was on were the killings that took place in the areas on the outskirts of the city. The reason for this is unknown.
- In terms of combat, Ivan is the weakest of the False Gang. He certainly has the strength for pushing people onto sharp objects, but in a self-defensive situation, he would be beaten almost instantly, due to his constant migraines causing him to not see and hear properly.
- Ivan Paul eventually became a physics professor at Temple University, during which time he often gave his students extra homework problems detailing rather... unusual circumstances. It should be no one’s surprise that these extra problems were written from his own personal experiences.
- Ivan is of Ukrainian descent. In fact due to his flawless memory he managed to teach himself Ukrainian. As a result, he is fluent in it.
- On the day of his incarceration, Ivan somehow disposed of all documents that directly talk about his parents. The reason for doing so: he doesn’t want his parents to be involved in any of this whole matter 20 years later. As a result, the current names and statuses of his parents are unknown.
- In his younger days, he used to play the concertina, especially while in the company of his friends. In fact the prison he’s in has his instrument, for whenever Ivan wants to simply play a few songs. The prisoners all agree that Ivan Paul plays a damn fine concertina.
- On the day he met Slenderman, Paul was actually ready to threaten the tall man with his “personal defense pencil.” Broll had to convince him on why this was a foolish idea.
- Ivan has a slight emetophobia. This means that he has a (slight) fear of vomit. The worst this phobia manifested itself was the moment that he vomited due to the stress of realizing what he had done for years. Upon realizing that he had vomited, he vomited some more.
Notable Quotes[]
- “Wilson, old friend, I am a physics teacher now, not a serial killer. That mask I wore during those days was promptly thrown into a bonfire, and I added as much fuel to it as I could. I’m sorry that you and I can’t live in the same past, but I am more than willing to help you out of this situation”- Trying to convince Wilson Broll to stop killing people forever.
- “If I were to go up against you in a match... let’s just say my lights would be knocked out after 20 seconds”- To Bludgeon
- “You and I are not so subtle. Just last week I got the bizarre idea to write a bonus question on my students’ work, detailing my kills. At the very least, no one knows what I’m actually talking about, but still. You don’t exactly have a right to discuss subtlety with anyone in this area, seeing as how you literally puppeteer your host’s body to the point of paralysis!”- A heated debate against Toxo.