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]

"Psychosis is... It's like a fancy medical term for how a person thinks." He noticed the slightly glazed expression on Vanyel's face, and paused.

Hm, teach with an example.

"Essentially, where I was born - really born, a very long time ago - was a very dangerous place. Most children are either eaten by their parents or left for dead soon after birth, and those that survive have to quickly learn to adapt and stay alive. So, my body may have been one of a child's, but my mind," he tapped his temple, for emphasis "had to be one of an adult. Elsewise I would have died." he spread his hands and gave Vanyel a winning smile, as if he'd described the desk.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Oh," he said. "Is that all?" He didn't mean to be dismissive, it was simply something he could relate to, in a sense.

"It's the way you showed the right face to survive. I've done a fair bit of that myself," he said quietly.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"You know, I can really appreciate that you don't take it as seriously as other people do," he said, laughing a little. "I do hope your parents didn't try to eat you, though."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"No," he said. "Mother was.. a bit ineffectual, and my father wanted me to be a duplicate of him. My sister was really the only one I could trust," he said.

"Father just let the armsmaster try to beat the life out of me regularly," he said.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Oh, that's lovely. Things like that make me glad I killed mine-" He clapped his mouth shut. That was another little detail he shouldn't have let out.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He nodded. "The arrogance let me get out safely, when he decided to send me to court."

For reasons he didn't quite understand, knowing that the man in front of him had killed his own parents didn't bother him much. "Sounds like they deserved it, if they tried to eat you," he commented almost casually.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

He snickered. "They deserved a lot of things, death the least of it." He shook his head, wondering at Vanyel's easy acceptance of anything he said. It was probably the shock talking, or exhaustion, but he didn't mind the more honest, less circular logic-based conversation.

"They sent you to - No, you mean Noble court, as in a Palace, yes?" That might be a bad topic. Palace meant Nobility, Nobility was directly synonymous with a lot of things to do with blood feuds, and he doubted that Vanyel had met his Tylendel anywhere other than court.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"My Aunt, at the Palace," he said. "She serves the Queen," he added.

"She was more than fair, after a time, but I had no way of knowing that. I was afraid she's be worse than Father." He stopped there for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Instead, she ripped up his letter, and although she was a bit harsh, she gave me a mostly fair shot."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"She sounds fun," he said, making sure to keep the neutral smile on his face. "What did she set you to learning?"

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Swordwork, which was better than I'd feared, and History and Religions," he said.

"She was Tylendel's mentor," he said. "That was how we met."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Kurama nodded, and waited. If Vanyel wanted to continue on that thread, he could; he wouldn't push it.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Anyways," he said. Family's not always what it's cracked up to be. And that's true for a lot of people."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"No," he agreed "it isn't. As time goes on, blood ties become noticeably less relevant. Your blood relatives may try to stab you in the back, and a person you're not even remotely related to might take a bullet for you." Or a sword to the gut...

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He nodded. "Makes sense to me, even in the short life I've had. I wonder why people put so much weight on blood ties, though?" he asked.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Because they're stupid, he thought.

"Humans seem to have a need to be connected to something, to feel validated in their existance. The closest thing they can get to validation is being part of a group."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"Why that groups is so often their blood relatives though, that's the question."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"I don't really understand either. My first parents I didn't care for, but the mother of this body, I'd kill for her," he smiled, shaking his head. It was truly a conundrum.
"I've often wondered just why. Aside from one or two things, there's no reason why I should feel so connected to a person. Maybe it's that blood calls people, that it's more concentrated than just liking someone."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

Vanyel shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe. So why is it you keep coming back, anyhow?" he asked.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Coming back? How do you mean?" He tilted his head a little, slightly confused. Vanyel was good at switching gears on a dime when he wanted to, though he doubted this was intentional.

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"From being just spirit, to being in a body, I mean?" he asked. "It's just that talking got me curious," he said.

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was a fun one to answer.
Not.

"I had unfinished business. In my first life, I had become very powerful and lived quite a long time, and I couldn't leave that behind," he narrowed his eyes, looking away. "I never leave anything behind. So I found a body that was suitable, and possessed it before it was to be born."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

He laughed lightly. "So little time, so many things to do, eh?" he asked.

"At least you've figured out how, which, to be honest, is rather impressive."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"A little over a thousand years, and I still didn't get everything done that I needed to. What does that say about me, eh?" He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head.

"It wasn't the easiest thing in the world. I think I pissed off a few Gods in the process, and I'll pay for that later."

[vanyel-peacock.livejournal.com]

"I wonder if anyone ever finishes all they intend? Wouldn't that be boring, to live afterwards?" He looked lost in thought.

"And I imagine there were new goals over time, as well."

[serrulata.livejournal.com]

"Single-mindedness is only foolish in retrospect, I'm afraid," he sighed, his old plans and goals had seemed so important back then. Part of him still looked at Enki's throne and wanted. No need, not anymore, but it had been so great a drive...

"Now I find my goals are far different from then; I can't use who I used to be as a crutch."