Application: Vanyel Ashkevron

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

Character: Vanyel Ashkevron from Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books. The character is being apped immediately after attempting suicide following the suicide of his lover, Tylendel. Rather than being Chosen, as he was in the books, he insetad woke from his suicide attempt to find himself here.



Vanyel was slumped in the corner, the fresh slices in his arms having just stopped bleeding. He was rather a mess, although to those with a good eye, it was rather obvious that he’d started the evening looking rather fashionable. His eyes opened, and he sat rather stiffly in the corner, looking at the room with an air of confusion, before a cold look settled over his features..

1. What is your favorite cheese? Why is it your favorite?

Vanyel sighed expressively. They wanted to know about cheese. Not only was he in a strange place, alone, but the questions were inane and pointless. He raised one eyebrow artfully. “I fail to see how my taste in cheese is terribly relevant, unless, of course, you’re looking for me to set the fashion. In any case, I prefer Edam.”



His eyes are watering, on the edge of tears, as he attempts to reconstruct the ice that had let him survive before this. Trying to die, and then ending up here, it was just too much to handle. “I prefer it because it’s both sharp and creamy, which is an interesting mix in a cheese.”



2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

“Kill?” he asked. The only person he really wanted to kill was himself, and he could see how well that was turnng out. “I don’t know. Maybe both of them. IS there any reason anyone should be happy, when the world is such a wretched place?”



He took a deep breath, again trying to restore his composure. “Oh, Barney, I suppose, if I have to pick. His colouring is atrocious. That purple is eye shatteringly bright, and the inane cheeriness, well, I just can’t fathom it.”



3. What time is it where you are?

“It was around midnight. Before all this strangeness,” he said. Why did anyone think the time mattered now? He was alone, and any time without Tylendel was just too much.



4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.



He sighed. Sex was the last thing he wanted to think about right now. All it spoke of to him was loss. Why couldn’t people understand that. “I wouldn’t. It’s all meaningless now, anyways.”



5. If you are pushing to be in:



A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.



“The Listing Lute,” he said. “Music and drinks in the dark, where people could enjoy the illusion of solitude. It certainly would allow me to drink behind the bar,” he said. He was getting tired of all these questions. Couldn’t people just leave him to grieve in peace? Everything hurt, and he wanted no more than to pass out in a corner.



B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.



An eyebrow raised again. “They don’t mind that here? Men with other men? Once upon a time I’d have found it a pleasant place to be. And really, I don’t see why he shouldn’t be married to the both of them.” He rubbed at his face. Mythology had never been his forte, and at the moment, it was not something he gave two figs for anyways. Why did he care which of the men paired off, when he was without ‘Lendel?





C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.



“Disposing of it? That doesn’t say a word about actually completing it. And a busy man often has more work to do than he’s the time for, especially if he’s actually bothered to be literate. Too few people see the value of knowledge as it is. And the more one knows, the easier it is to understand that world.”



D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.


Head suddenly flung high, he looked down his nose to reply. “Useless? At the very least, I’m fashionable. Not to mention witty, and reasonably educated. How many of you have taught yourselves to play music?” he aske rhetorically, before shaking his head. “No matter. But it’s clear enough I’m hardly useless.”



6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.



“I’ll play music for one of your little soirees. The Bards respected my abilities, and that should be enough for a dinner party, or some such.”







"I have read the hogwarts_hocus faq, and understand it is a crazy, cracktastic sorting community and RPG. ____________ Van

I have read the hogwarts_hocus rules and agree to abide by each and every one of them. ___________Van.

I agree to be a good sport and not get my knickers in a bunch. ___________.Van

One day, marmalade will rule the world. _____________Van "

Comments

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

He reached out his hand awkwardly and set it on top of Van's head, trying to be comforting.

"At least you tried," he said. He sighed, if it kept him from crying, maybe... "You didn't watch him bleed to death and then turn your back to save your own life. You didn't keep your distance, or run, or" okay, i'm guessing, but he'll want to hear it "think 'every man for himself.' You couldn't stop him, but you stayed with him."
I didn't. But then, I'm not like you.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"But I just wasn't fast enough. Everything hurt, and I couldn't get there in time. He ran right past me." He seemed for the most part, to be lost in the painful memories of the events of earlier that night.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Kurama set his mouth to a firm line and rested his hands on Vanyel's shoulders, moving so that they looked each other in the eyes once again.

"But - Look at me, Vanyel Askevron - you tried, and that is so much more than many could say. You weren't fast enough, he ran past you, but you tried, and you were there, and you would have walked into the the pits of hell to help him if you could have. You can't blame yourself for trying and failing, only for failing to try."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He looked up at Kurama, doubt and loss in his eyes. "I could've told someone, before," he said. "There has to have been something I should've done differently."

He took a deep breaht. "And now, now there's a deep hole in me where 'Lendel used to be," he managed to get out, before sinking back into tears.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"It's not likely to ever leave, either," he murmured, pulling back and letting Vanyel cry. If he wanted comfort, he would have to reach for it.

"It'll stick in you and stay forever, it won't get smaller, it won't fade with time. But," he tilted his head back and took a deep breath, thinking hard about what he wanted to say. "You can use it to remember who it is that needs remembering. Tylendel, his brother, his Companion, because if you don't remember them fondly, they'll be forgotten by people who're too cowardly to remember those that go out in a bad way. Everyone else will do their best to forget what happened. You," He jabbed a finger to Van's chest, right over his heart, "are alive to remember that they were better than the rumors and stories. And you should remain that way, as long as you can."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He sniffled a bit, and then spoke. "I used to be able to feel him, even when he wasn't in the room, and now it's gone," he said, his voice almost a wail at the end.

He took a couple of deep breaths, trying not to cry anymore at a man whose name he didn't even know. "I don't think I could forget, ever," he said.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Oh damn, those kinds of relationships were always big trouble with humans.
"Good, because if you do, then you've lost him in a way even more permanent than death," he nodded with finality and rummaged in his jacket for a handkercheif.

"You must never, ever forget, never leave anything behind. You memories make the world, Vanyel Ashkevron." Where had he put that damn hankie?

"Where I come from, the dead can only rest when their loved ones make an effort to remember them. If they are forgotten, their souls are plummeted into hell and devoured by demons."
at least, I think that's what someone told me. he finally found the hankie, and handed it over to Vanyel.

"I don't believe Tylendel would be very grateful if you didn't at least keep his memory alive."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Thanks," he said with a sniffle. He wiped his face with the handkerchief before speaking.

His eyes were red-rimmed, but the tears seemed to have stopped for the moment.

"I'll remember them, but I can't think about them now," he said. "It all hurts too much. It's a mess of things, things gone wrong, and the unending bloodfeud, and Tylendel being trapped by his position as a Herald," he said.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"I don't know what a Herald is," he addmitted "but I understand how hard it is to be trapped by your position, when you would wish to be with the ones you care for, and help them." He'd lived with that for a few thousand years, and it got old fast.

"As long as you remember, that is all that matters. For now, wait until you get sorted, as I will, and try not to dwell on the 'what ifs' and 'had I but knowns.' They're of no use to you now."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He nodded. "I'm trying," he said. "It's just hard, and everyone wants to ask about it."

He sighed. "I just want to pass out in a corner, and not have anything hurt for a while. BUt it seems I have to survive the sorting process first."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Tell them to shut up, then. You probably should have told me to piss off, but that's in the past anyway. Hopefully, whoever does the sorting here will find you quickly and get you processed so you can go hide from the good samaritans. I'd vote to help move you along, but," he shrugged helplessly "I haven't even been sorted myself."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He laughed. "I figured it was best not to start of being a snarky bastard any more than I could help it," he said.

"And I think I confuse people. I've got votes for all the houses at this point, or at least all the main four."

He rubbed at his reddened eyes. "This is not exactly the best time to judge my personality, I don't think."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Wow, I wish I'd had your common sense," he barked out a laugh of his own. "That's exactly what happens when someone doesn't keep me in check, if you couldn't tell."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"I managed to piss off the people I needed on my side initially, last time I moved, because I was too busy being arrogant," he said.

He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. "So I'm trying. And sometimes failing."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

He shrugged "It happens. You're what, fourteen? Fifteen? You're still at the age where people will think you're stupid no matter what you do, and where, I'm sure, you think you're right to be arrogant. You'll grow out of it."

God, was I ever that young? I mean, in a non-tchnical sense?

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Fifteen," he said resolutely.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you'll grow out of it," he rolled his eyes over to Vanyel and gave him a slightly comical look. "I hope."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Because you have?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"I was never a child," he said archly, putting on a vain air. "I never had to."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He laughed. "If you were never a child, then what, exactly, are you?" He decided that he might as well be curious, after all, because this sounded interesting.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Aaaaauuuum." He stopped. Well, way to walk right into a wall, Kurama. Good fucking job. He looked away and clapped his hands together, stalling for time.
"I was... just very short," he said weakly. Oh, he's going to ask, and I'll have to tell him. Damn stupid rules and regulations, way to talk himself right into a corner.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He blinked, unsure if this was a joke or not. "Is that an evasion?" he asked teasingly.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Kurama stared at him deadpan for a while.
"How old do I look?"

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Old enough," he said. "You're clearly older than me, and you certainly look younger than my father," he said, sensing a trail of evasion, but not at all sure what was going on.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

He smiled a little, and looked around, making sure there was no one in ear-shot. Satisfied that they were relatively alone, he took a breath and looked Vanyel in the eyes once again.

"My body is eighteen," he said. "I, however, am quite a bit older."