fifty things
Jan. 14th, 2011 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holliI had extremely involved and plotty Lovecrafty dreams last night. In the first one, I was babysitting and a changeling creature tried to impersonate the kid so I would take it away from its eviler twin. I ended up taking it with me anyway when the charade failed, because it begged me to. In the second dream, I was a bookbinder who was brought a copy of The King in Yellow by a little girl (who I knew in the dream was the eviler twin) and the book tried to make me read it. I was rescued by the less-evil twin. There was a bit where I was hiding in the bathroom and pages of the book were being pushed under the door that was really scary.
So I did a "five true things" meme, and here's what I came up with:
1. Ivan Vorpatril:
1. The two biggest reliefs of his life have been the days when Miles and Gregor, respectively, cracked the bottle on their first kids. Both because he was glad to be that much further out of the line offire succession, and because he thought fatherhood would be good for them both.
2. The only person he doesn't like feeling like a disappointment to is his mother. Everyone else can go hang.
3. He had a heavily built-up daydream involving a dacha on Sergyar, a disgraced Cetagandan haut lady, the banning of comconsoles from his personal property, and never setting foot on a ship again, for times when the quiet life seems particularly far away.
4. If Miles hadn't snagged Ekaterin, he would have courted her without the slightest reservation.
5. He'll never admit it, but he sometimes enjoys the nonsense Miles drags him into.
2. Xander Harris:
1. The eyepatch gets him dates. Xander does not question this, for fear that it will stop happening.
2. He doesn't worry about his friends not needing him anymore. Instead he worries about his friends needing him, and him not having time to be there for them.
3. Now that he's got his own pack of teenagers to worry about, he feels pretty bad for all the crap they put Giles through. At the same time, he kind of think his own Slayers lack imagination, compared to him and Buffy and Willow at that age.
4. If he ever sees Angel again, he's gonna punch that guy right in the face for not telling him about Cordelia.
5. Sometimes he wishes Jonathan had been the one to shank Andrew, instead of the other way around. Mostly only when he's had to be in a enclosed space with Andrew for more than a couple hours, but-- well. Jonathan had been a friend.
3. Pteppic:
1. It took him a while, but eventually he figured out that plenty of Assassin's Guild students never actually killed anyone, nor particularly wanted to. Being a gentleman was the point, not the inhuming.
2. He keeps up a correspondence with Ptraci. She's getting on remarkably well; the Kingdom even seems to be getting the hang of plumbing.
3. He misses his father, and he's glad he got that one last chance to talk to him.
4. He kind of liked the sideways walk, once he got the hang of it again.
5. He is terribly, terribly relieved to not have the whole weight of a kingdom on his shoulders. He can't escape the conviction that he would have made a mess of it. Well, a bigger mess than the one he did make, and they were finding chunks of pyramid for *miles*.
4. Sokka:
1. He doesn't kiss Suki under the full moon. Ever.
2. He finds it a little embarrassing, actually, when his dad goes on about how proud he is of him. Especially when he does it in front of the Fire Nation peace delegation. *Especially* because it makes Zuko glare at him, for some reason.
3. He doesn't remember being an only child.
4. He's kind of glad he's not a bender. Sometimes magic powers seem like more trouble than they're worth.
5. Had circumstances been different, he would have been the world's worst overbearing big brother towards any and all potential boyfriends of Katara's. As things stand, he's cool with Aang.
5. Byerly Vorrutyer:
1. He's intimidated as hell by Alys Vorpatril. (Well, who isn't?)
2. For much of his life, the town clown act wasn't an act at all. His life is much more satisfying now that it's mostly fake.
3. His security clearance means he knows a lot more than he wants to about certain long-dead members of the family. The main result of this has been to make By much more choosy about his intimate partners.
4. He acts a lot more worldly than he actually is. Kareen Koudelka's probably seen more shocking things than By, who's spent very little time off-planet.
5. The things By would be willing to do to protect his Emperor would probably surprise anyone who doesn't know him very, very well. Which is practically no one.
6. Nikolai Vorsoisson:
1. He didn't really understand about the Vorzohn's Dystrophy until he was a bit older and looked it up in the medical encyclopedia. Then the narrowness of his escape really hit him.
2. He loves adventure stories; Old Barrayar fascinates him. If he doesn't become a jump pilot (though he *will*) he thinks he wouldn't mind being a historian like Great-Aunt Vorthys. Or maybe write adventure stories of his own.
3. He got in a fight at school over his step-da once. Just once. The lecture he got at home didn't have a lot of force behind it, but the disappontment in Mama's eyes was enough to keep it from happening again.
4. He'd always wanted brothers and sisters, and if they're a bit younger than the ones he'd hoped for, well, they'll grow, and they're still an awful lot of fun.
5. He misses his Da, but not as often as he thinks he should.
7. Donna Noble:
1. She types so fast these days, she often has to wait a mo while the computer's buffer catches up.
2. She had a funny wort of wriggly feeling in her stomach at that Roman exhibit at the National Museum last month. Funny, because she was never the sort for museums before (before what?) but she loves them now. Anyway, it was only an old stone tablet, and half-broken at that.
3. She hardly ever stargazes with Granddad anymore, but she still gets a bit of a thrill from looking up at the night sky.
4. The temp agency keeps sending her for higher and higher security clearances. At this rate, she'll be subbing in for the Prime Minister's PA when he goes on vacations.
5. There is something she doesn't remember, and she knows it's important, but she is, despite it, happy. And she supposes that's enough.
8. Sam Vimes:
1. He doesn't want a drink. 'Want' isn't the right word for it, anyway. It's a bit like being just a little hungry all the time, just enough that the smell of food from next door is driving you slightly mad, and... not eating. Forever.
2. He doesn't, actually mind this. 'Mind' isn't the right word for it, anyway.
3. He takes Young Sam to Cockbill street at least once a year. It usually means the loss of whatever jacket the boy wore that day, and sometimes his boots as well, but Sam counts this as acceptable.
4. He is starting to get used to having money. Not to *being rich*, that's still damned peculiar, but he no longer hesitates before for buying something, or does the necessary back-of-the-head math that ensures this purchase won't come at the cost of something vital, later.
5. He sometimes wonders if his mum think he's being a good dad. His dad's opinion on this matter is not really considered worth considering.
9. Tim Drake:
1. He didn't keep his scrapbooks, after he became Robin. He did make digital archive copies, though.
2. He thinks about his mother rarely enough that every time he does, it's with a little pang of guilt.
3. He had the most confusing sex dreams of his *life* in the months after joining Young Justice. But really, who could blame him? They all had things to recommend them, even if he'd never act on the attraction.
4. He loves a lot of people. It's doing something *about* it that proves troublesome.
5. Really, if Steph had just gone ahead and handcuffed Tim to the bed in exasperation, they could have gotten pretty far around the bases before Tim picked the cuffs.
10. Laisa Vorbarra:
1. One of her favorite things about Barrayar: being able to see sky from horizon to horizon. That never gets old.
2. Growing up, Laisa's favorite vids had been costume dramas. The first time she visited Barrayar, it felt a little bit like she'd stepped into one.
3. She was expecting to have to argue with Gregor about those antique Barrayaran naming traditions when the children were born, but to her surprise he agreed with her completely.
4. Laisa adores Gregor's foster family, much to her surprise. Cordelia is a wonder, of course, and Miles proves impossible to dislike, but she's also found a friend in Ekaterin and a business-minded verbal fencing partner in Mark. And Aral-- Aral, against all odds, she likes and respects.
5. If she's intimidated by anyone on Barrayar (Alys Vorpatril doesn't count, because *everyone's* intimidated by her) it's Madame Koudelka.
So I did a "five true things" meme, and here's what I came up with:
1. Ivan Vorpatril:
1. The two biggest reliefs of his life have been the days when Miles and Gregor, respectively, cracked the bottle on their first kids. Both because he was glad to be that much further out of the line of
2. The only person he doesn't like feeling like a disappointment to is his mother. Everyone else can go hang.
3. He had a heavily built-up daydream involving a dacha on Sergyar, a disgraced Cetagandan haut lady, the banning of comconsoles from his personal property, and never setting foot on a ship again, for times when the quiet life seems particularly far away.
4. If Miles hadn't snagged Ekaterin, he would have courted her without the slightest reservation.
5. He'll never admit it, but he sometimes enjoys the nonsense Miles drags him into.
2. Xander Harris:
1. The eyepatch gets him dates. Xander does not question this, for fear that it will stop happening.
2. He doesn't worry about his friends not needing him anymore. Instead he worries about his friends needing him, and him not having time to be there for them.
3. Now that he's got his own pack of teenagers to worry about, he feels pretty bad for all the crap they put Giles through. At the same time, he kind of think his own Slayers lack imagination, compared to him and Buffy and Willow at that age.
4. If he ever sees Angel again, he's gonna punch that guy right in the face for not telling him about Cordelia.
5. Sometimes he wishes Jonathan had been the one to shank Andrew, instead of the other way around. Mostly only when he's had to be in a enclosed space with Andrew for more than a couple hours, but-- well. Jonathan had been a friend.
3. Pteppic:
1. It took him a while, but eventually he figured out that plenty of Assassin's Guild students never actually killed anyone, nor particularly wanted to. Being a gentleman was the point, not the inhuming.
2. He keeps up a correspondence with Ptraci. She's getting on remarkably well; the Kingdom even seems to be getting the hang of plumbing.
3. He misses his father, and he's glad he got that one last chance to talk to him.
4. He kind of liked the sideways walk, once he got the hang of it again.
5. He is terribly, terribly relieved to not have the whole weight of a kingdom on his shoulders. He can't escape the conviction that he would have made a mess of it. Well, a bigger mess than the one he did make, and they were finding chunks of pyramid for *miles*.
4. Sokka:
1. He doesn't kiss Suki under the full moon. Ever.
2. He finds it a little embarrassing, actually, when his dad goes on about how proud he is of him. Especially when he does it in front of the Fire Nation peace delegation. *Especially* because it makes Zuko glare at him, for some reason.
3. He doesn't remember being an only child.
4. He's kind of glad he's not a bender. Sometimes magic powers seem like more trouble than they're worth.
5. Had circumstances been different, he would have been the world's worst overbearing big brother towards any and all potential boyfriends of Katara's. As things stand, he's cool with Aang.
5. Byerly Vorrutyer:
1. He's intimidated as hell by Alys Vorpatril. (Well, who isn't?)
2. For much of his life, the town clown act wasn't an act at all. His life is much more satisfying now that it's mostly fake.
3. His security clearance means he knows a lot more than he wants to about certain long-dead members of the family. The main result of this has been to make By much more choosy about his intimate partners.
4. He acts a lot more worldly than he actually is. Kareen Koudelka's probably seen more shocking things than By, who's spent very little time off-planet.
5. The things By would be willing to do to protect his Emperor would probably surprise anyone who doesn't know him very, very well. Which is practically no one.
6. Nikolai Vorsoisson:
1. He didn't really understand about the Vorzohn's Dystrophy until he was a bit older and looked it up in the medical encyclopedia. Then the narrowness of his escape really hit him.
2. He loves adventure stories; Old Barrayar fascinates him. If he doesn't become a jump pilot (though he *will*) he thinks he wouldn't mind being a historian like Great-Aunt Vorthys. Or maybe write adventure stories of his own.
3. He got in a fight at school over his step-da once. Just once. The lecture he got at home didn't have a lot of force behind it, but the disappontment in Mama's eyes was enough to keep it from happening again.
4. He'd always wanted brothers and sisters, and if they're a bit younger than the ones he'd hoped for, well, they'll grow, and they're still an awful lot of fun.
5. He misses his Da, but not as often as he thinks he should.
7. Donna Noble:
1. She types so fast these days, she often has to wait a mo while the computer's buffer catches up.
2. She had a funny wort of wriggly feeling in her stomach at that Roman exhibit at the National Museum last month. Funny, because she was never the sort for museums before (before what?) but she loves them now. Anyway, it was only an old stone tablet, and half-broken at that.
3. She hardly ever stargazes with Granddad anymore, but she still gets a bit of a thrill from looking up at the night sky.
4. The temp agency keeps sending her for higher and higher security clearances. At this rate, she'll be subbing in for the Prime Minister's PA when he goes on vacations.
5. There is something she doesn't remember, and she knows it's important, but she is, despite it, happy. And she supposes that's enough.
8. Sam Vimes:
1. He doesn't want a drink. 'Want' isn't the right word for it, anyway. It's a bit like being just a little hungry all the time, just enough that the smell of food from next door is driving you slightly mad, and... not eating. Forever.
2. He doesn't, actually mind this. 'Mind' isn't the right word for it, anyway.
3. He takes Young Sam to Cockbill street at least once a year. It usually means the loss of whatever jacket the boy wore that day, and sometimes his boots as well, but Sam counts this as acceptable.
4. He is starting to get used to having money. Not to *being rich*, that's still damned peculiar, but he no longer hesitates before for buying something, or does the necessary back-of-the-head math that ensures this purchase won't come at the cost of something vital, later.
5. He sometimes wonders if his mum think he's being a good dad. His dad's opinion on this matter is not really considered worth considering.
9. Tim Drake:
1. He didn't keep his scrapbooks, after he became Robin. He did make digital archive copies, though.
2. He thinks about his mother rarely enough that every time he does, it's with a little pang of guilt.
3. He had the most confusing sex dreams of his *life* in the months after joining Young Justice. But really, who could blame him? They all had things to recommend them, even if he'd never act on the attraction.
4. He loves a lot of people. It's doing something *about* it that proves troublesome.
5. Really, if Steph had just gone ahead and handcuffed Tim to the bed in exasperation, they could have gotten pretty far around the bases before Tim picked the cuffs.
10. Laisa Vorbarra:
1. One of her favorite things about Barrayar: being able to see sky from horizon to horizon. That never gets old.
2. Growing up, Laisa's favorite vids had been costume dramas. The first time she visited Barrayar, it felt a little bit like she'd stepped into one.
3. She was expecting to have to argue with Gregor about those antique Barrayaran naming traditions when the children were born, but to her surprise he agreed with her completely.
4. Laisa adores Gregor's foster family, much to her surprise. Cordelia is a wonder, of course, and Miles proves impossible to dislike, but she's also found a friend in Ekaterin and a business-minded verbal fencing partner in Mark. And Aral-- Aral, against all odds, she likes and respects.
5. If she's intimidated by anyone on Barrayar (Alys Vorpatril doesn't count, because *everyone's* intimidated by her) it's Madame Koudelka.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 04:30 pm (UTC)And I love that you start and end with how everyone is intimidated by Alys Vorpatril. *g*
Oh, and I really like the one about By.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 06:30 pm (UTC)2. He doesn't worry about his friends not needing him anymore. Instead he worries about his friends needing him, and him not having time to be there for them.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-15 02:50 pm (UTC)