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OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Ammay
Are you 16 or older: 20+
Contact: robutts
Current Characters: n/a
Tag: ivan vorpatril

IN CHARACTER
Name: Ivan Xav Vorpatril
Canon: The Vorkosigan Saga
Canon Point: Post Brothers in Arms
Age: 25

History:

Barrayar is one of no small number of colonized planets in the far off future of 3000 and something, unique in its universe due to having been lost for 700 years and reverting to a sort of feudalism based on oaths and resting on the backs of a military caste — the Vor. Once discovered, the planet as a whole jumped from horses to spaceships in a single generation. Already sporting a bloody history by the time it was rediscovered, Barrayar earned a reputation for being particularly ruthless by fighting a planetary invasion by a more advanced empire for twenty years (and eventually winning), a bloody massacre of members of the royal family, a civil war, and then a near-bloodless takeover of the planet that had allowed the previous invasion to occur in the first place. The failed invasion of another planet twenty years later was in fact a secret assassination of the Crown Prince as orchestrated by the ruling Emperor, who died soon after — leaving an empire of three planets to a five year old boy. A regent was appointed, but shortly after a minor war of succession regarding the Barrayaran Imperium broke out.

Lord Ivan Xav Vorpatril was born to Lady Alys Vorpatril and her husband, Lord Padma Xav Vorpatril in the middle of that same war. Unfortunately for Ivan, his father’s status as a possible Imperial heir meant that both he and the then-unborn Ivan were high-profile targets; Lord Padma Vorpatril was murdered in the streets of the capital in front of his wife, who started to go into labor shortly after. Raised by his mother with the occasional intervention by his uncle, the Regent of Barrayar, Ivan’s childhood is presumably happy and filled with his cousin, Miles Vorkosigan, getting him into an obscene amount of trouble even as children. Their ever increasing ridiculous competitions are legendary, and Ivan describes it as being bullied into doing things that Miles told them to, even if it got them into trouble. Bullied isn’t quite the correct term — Ivan and the daughter of Miles’ bodyguard found them at the end of Miles’ considerable charm and willpower. It was, however, a relatively happy childhood.

Like most of the military caste he was born into, Ivan enrolled in the Imperial Service Academy after passing the exams at seventeen — he produced no record of note, performed to a satisfactory level, and was given desk duty in Vorbarr Sultana even though he’d mentioned wanting ship duty. Nothing overly exciting happens to Ivan Vorpatril when left to his own devices, and that suits him just fine.

The brief moments of life or death risks that occasionally happen to Ivan all share one thing in common — they happen because of Ivan’s cousin, Miles Vorkosigan. At seventeen he nearly escapes dying due to his womanizing ways before ending up in the middle of a Barrayaran plot to frame Miles for treason. Surviving that, he and Miles go to Cetaganda when they’re both twenty-two as lieutenants, where Ivan is kidnapped by another politically motivated plot - this time because the Cetagandans think Ivan is the brains of the outfit, and not his cousin Miles. Lucky for Ivan, this is the last major upset in his life until he’s twenty-five.

Recently posted to the Barrayaran Embassy on Earth, Ivan’s found it a nice vacation away from the politics of home and the somewhat cloistering affection of his mother under the guise of ‘getting cultured’. Except that, like always, Miles shows up and Ivan’s thrown back into events that involve a clone of his cousin, his second kidnapping, and being stuffed into a small, inclosed space that left Ivan with a mild case of claustrophobia that Ivan swears doesn’t exist.

After that mess, however, he’s ready for a break from his cousin for as long as possible.

Personality:

Known by variations of ‘Ivan, you idiot’ by his family and close family friends, Lieutenant Lord Ivan Xav Vorpatril is affable, easy going, and otherwise completely unassuming. He wakes up, does his job, and spends his nights like any young Vor lord should - drinking and womanizing. His astounding good looks coupled with his personality mean that he lives a rather charmed life — everyone, including his superior officers, consider Ivan relatively harmless in the grand scheme of things. The trouble that he does cause by occasionally oversleeping when out with a woman or just by his laid back attitude towards everything is frustrating, but overall a non-issue. A non-entity not worth excessive energy — that’s Ivan.

Far more obtuse and a lout in his relative youth, Ivan has mellowed out by the time he’s posted to Earth. He still speaks without thinking much of the time, and everyone would point out that not thinking is perhaps Ivan’s biggest overall flaw. He has a surprisingly healthy respect for the chain of command and his military superiors, but it’s not really out of any belief in it so much as it is they deal with things he doesn’t want to deal with so that he doesn’t have to. Getting into trouble is not Ivan’s style in the slightest — he likes his completely normal, average, unassuming life just as much as everyone’s content to let him have it.

But beneath the surface of mediocracy is someone who has figured out exactly what he wants out of life and how to get it. Ivan shares his birthday with the day of his father’s death, half of his extended family died long before he was born due to Mad Emperor Yuri’s Massacre — the systematic butchering of all possible heirs to the Barrayaran Imperium, and his closest friend and relative — Miles Vorkosigan — is severely physically deformed due to an assassination attempt on his parents. Growing up surrounded by the obvious reminds of the cost of standing out in Barrayar, Ivan has no desire to be either those exemplary individuals nor part of the collateral damage that surrounds their sudden and violent demise. He wants to live, and much of his personality is a purposeful attempt to keep himself out of the line of fire.

The easiest mistake to make when it comes to Ivan is to assume he is, in fact, an idiot. When compared to his extended family, yes — Ivan is hardly the smartest person in the room. But his family contains the brightest and most intelligent people on Barrayar — it’s not a fair comparison. Much of his bland looks, the helpless deferral to people higher up the command chain, and his own ignorance is a cultivated act of at least nine years. He doesn’t want to be involved, will do anything to not be involved in the trouble that always follows his family. This act, it’s been remarked upon by those who know of it, is a very betrayal of how observant and intelligent Ivan is — he would have had to have realized both what was in store for him and how to avoid it sometime in childhood in order to have throughly convinced everyone around him.

Yet even beneath his adamant and often professed desire to not get involved, Ivan is the sort of man who, having found himself inevitably involved, will do what’s asked of him. He’s dependable and surprisingly honest by nature, and competent when forced by no other choice to act. “Miles needed a donkey, and I’m the first ass he thought of,” is how Ivan puts his relationship with his cousin when it comes to being the support that Miles falls back on on more than one occasion — Ivan’s convenient and he knows it. But part of the reason that Miles can just turn to Ivan and rope him in is Ivan’s depth of loyalty. He’s there when his family really needs him, even when he’d rather be doing something else, and even when they don’t realize they need him — surprisingly, but incredibly dependable.

Despite his numerous character flaws, like not thinking when he talks, Ivan cares deeply for the individuals in his life. He’s moved by acts he thinks are cruel and will set aside his own self-serving act to do what needs to be done to protect those that can’t protect themselves if they need it — and sometimes, in the case of women, even when they don’t. Generally honest in his interactions with individuals, mostly to the point of being ‘too blunt’, it helps him appear as nonthreatening as possible but it’s also just part of who Ivan is.

Ivan Vorpatril is, through more hard work than is evident at first glance, completely and utterly average. And as far as he’s concerned, he’s going to stay that way.

Abilities/Skills:

Military Training; Ivan graduated from Barrayar’s officer school and has the requisite military training that comes with it. Barrayar, being military mad, most likely puts its military men through a rigorous program when compared to the rest of the universe it inhabits. Ivan is in excellent physical shape and has a good grasp of hand to hand combat thanks to a monthly refresher course by Imperial Security due to his status as a possible heir to the Barrayaran Imperium.

Social Skills; Through the grace of God (and the influence of his mother), Ivan is blessed with a surprising amount of social charm and ease — he’s good at chatting with the people he’s supposed to be chatting with about the appropriate things to be chatting about. If he tries.

Strengths/Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:

Women

Claustrophobia
Strengths:

Information recall

Flowcharts

General office work

Items:

Barrayaran Imperial Service undress greens

Stunner

Plasma Arc

Nerve Disruptor

All of the above are standard military issue

SAMPLES
Network Sample:

( The face that appears is open and handsome, smiling charmingly and with wavy black hair parted smartly to one side. It’s clear from the feed that he’s unusually tall, and his accent when he speaks is rich and warm, though guttural. A cousin to Russian, maybe, if someone was familiar with that particular accent. He’s dressed in the given uniforms of the ship, reclining in his assigned quarters that are, for once, blissfully quiet. )

I’m looking to set my two friends slash relatives up on a blind date. Or else they’re going to drive me mad, so I’ve got a vested interest in their wellbeing. I can vouch for them both if you like, give an honest opinion of them to interested parties, but I think they’d like to speak for themselves. Well, one of them you won’t be able to get to stop.

He likes tall women. Dark hair, and with the ability to break him in half if they wanted to. Not actually that hard to do, so be careful when throwing him around. I’m told he’s charming, but it comes across as him being an egotistical prat. Damned clever and knows it, so be prepared to suffer if you can’t keep up. Requirements include being open to sexual creativity and unusual partners.

( You’re welcome, Miles Vorkosigan. )

Anyway, the other one’s your typical tall, dark, silent fellow. I don’t actually know what his type is, come to think of it, and I’m not sure anyone does. My mother would have thrown every woman that fit it at him until he married one of them if she knew. If the phrase ‘let’s wait and see what happens’ won’t drive you up the wall, he’s the guy for you. Requirements include being open to having five children. At least.

( You’re also welcome, Gregor Vorbarra. Please find a nice woman and get married and have as many children as there are uterine replicators on Barrayar. )

So! Interested? Let me know and I’ll set you up.

Prose/Action Sample: ivan and miles take on the mass effect universe