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Entry tags:
Tu Shanshu Application
Player Information:
Name: Orlando
Age: 24
Contact: agreylady[at]gmail[dot]com, ElspethVimes on plurk and AIM
Game Cast: n/a
Character Information:
Name: Samuel Vimes
Canon: the Discworld series of novels by Terry Pratchett
Canon Point: following his appearance in Monstrous Regiment, before Thud!
Age: somewhere in his fifties (exact ages and Discworld are not friends)
Reference: wikipedia, fan wiki
Setting:
Discworld is one of those other places located on a turtle. Though in this case, with four elephants as middlemen*. It is, in fact, a flat world, being carried through space by that turtle (the Great A'Tuin), who is also carrying the elephants. No, a flat world shouldn't work. But it does, because of magic.
The Disc is a special place. It's a fantastic world, with significant populations of dwarves, trolls (silicon-based lifeforms, who tend to have difficulty in hotter climates), vampires (many of whom have now joined the League of Temperance, forswearing the red sticky stuff), werewolves, witches,and wizards (not elves, unless you are extremely dumb and/or unlucky). The high amount of magical energy on the Disc leads to oddities like showers of frogs being commonplace. And the walls separating dimensions tend to be thin, which can lead to ideas, archetypes, and the occasional horror from the Dungeon Dimension leaking in. When they're not just flat-out making holes. Life on the Disc can be a little unstable and, well, designed to parody or satirize things from the real world. It's a place where you find bizarre things, like a clock tower that tolls sound-destroying silences, and bizarre things that arguably are just the end result of a logical train of thought, like the pork futures warehouse (if pork futures are being traded, surely they are also stored somewhere, right? and so there is a warehouse full of pork which is slowly becoming real).
The most notable city on the Disc is the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, a metropolis on the Sto Plains, divided by the river** Ankh. It has a long and rather tumultuous history. It was once ruled by royalty, until a Commander of the Watch decided that kings should not be above the law and cut off the last king's head. Since then, the city has been ruled by Patricians, who have more or less been set in place by the nobility, Guilds, and other influential members of Ankh-Morpork society. There are always, of course, rumors of a long-lost heir to the throne, but nothing ever comes of stories like that, of course not. The current Patrician, Lord Vetinari, is a remarkably forward-thinking man, and under his stewardship the city has mad great economic and some cultural advances, along with becoming probably the most multi-species city on the Disc.
Sam Vimes is an Ankh-Morpork man through and through. He grew up in Cockbill Street, one of the poorest areas of the city, raised mostly by his mother due to his father's death. He had basic schooling, and did decently at it. He spent time in a gang, because more or less every child did. From a long line of policemen, he joined the Night Watch in his late teens. He stuck to the job, having a brief but very important education at the hands of a good copper named John Keel. And he continued to stick to the job, believing in the importance of protecting the people without fear or favor, but the job didn't keep up its end. The Watch was completely ineffective in addressing any substantial crimes, and Vimes' efforts at making them more effective simple earned him enemies that further hobbled the Watch. Vimes did make it to the rank of Captain, the highest rank in the Watch at the time, but he also became a deeply bitter alcoholic. The Night Watch dwindled to a mere three members.
Then a new recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson, arrived and shook the Watch up. Of course, it helped that this coincided with criminal plots at the highest level and a dragon attacking the city. The Watch saved Ankh-Morpork and Lord Vetinari, and the Patrician began to see the Watch as something potentially useful, basically eliminating the Day Watch and turning the Night Watch into the Watch as a whole. Vimes stopped drinking, and made the acquaintance of one Lady Sybil. He almost retired upon his marriage to the outrageously wealthy Sybil, but thanks to his involvement in cleaning up another set of particularly dangerous events, he was offered the resurrected position of Commander instead. Vimes not really being Vimes unless he had work, he accepted it, and Sybil approved. Vimes was also made a knight, much to his distress. The Watch continued to expand. Due to his efforts in an almost-war against Klatch (in which he threatened to arrest armies for, among other crimes, breach of the peace), Vimes was made a Duke, to his further distress. He continued travels abroad with a visit to Uberwald, in which to everyone's surprise he proved a valuable ambassador and helped make good connections with the Low King of the dwarves. It also turned out that Sybil was pregnant. After Vimes took a trip through time and impersonated John Keel in order to teach himself everything he knew and ensure history happened, the baby was born. Sybil insisted on naming their son Samuel. Vimes' world tour continued, as he was sent as a special envoy to Zlobenia and covertly took a hand in Borogravia's war with Zlobenia. He would be arriving in Keeilai after this point.
(If you're thinking that this is the extreme cliff notes version of Vimes' history, that's because it would look more like this if I let myself, and I am inflicting a high enough word count on you already.)
Personality:
Sam Vimes is is a suspicious, cynical, sarcastic, angry man. He is also determined, loyal, and a firm believer in certain ideals. Above all, Vimes is a copper.
Vimes is very aware of reality, sometimes painfully so. He is naturally somewhat knurd (the opposite of drunk, a state in which the illusions people have in order to function in the world are stripped away). He knows that people are, overall, petty- unduly concerned with little things like whether their neighbor is taking proper care of the hedge, largely unaware of other people, guilty of some crime, and mostly intent on having the status quo continue. He knows that while people in the lower classes get punished for committing crimes like stealing so that they'll have something to eat while living in their slum, the people in the upper classes don't get punished for committing crimes like creating and owning slums. He knows that the world is unequal, that people hurt each other all the time, and that the upper class largely ignores the law because they believe they make it.
But Vimes still believes in the concept of an equal law, a law for all people, that all people must answer to. Nobody is better than anybody else, and the law should reflect that. The enforcement of the law should reflect that. This is, above all, what he fights for.
Vimes' deep-seated prejudice against authority and the upper classes (which he maintains in spite of joining both groups) is rooted in that knowledge that they get away with big crimes, while the lower classes suffer for little crimes. His marked soft spot for the underdog, which causes him to do things like aid small groups or let certain people off for small crimes, is him trying to level the playing field a little.
On the other hand, he knows that people are able to do remarkably good things. The painful awareness comes into play again with the fact that he knows that many of the most heroic feats are carried out quietly by people that no one notices. So Vimes does his best to notice, and help. While things such as famous last stands are at the best the cause for bitter remarks from Vimes, he has a sometimes overwhelming respect for the heroism some people display just as part of their lives, a mother raising seven children mostly on her own or a copper doing the job that's in front of him. In some cases he can see the good, or at least the tolerable, in people society has mostly given up on (Fred Colon and Nobby Nobbs certainly fall into this category).
Once he has decided that someone is decent, he will go to great lengths for their sakes, often quite willing to sacrifice himself in some way for their protection. In many cases, he'll look out for others before he'll look out for himself. For years, before the proper revival of the Watch, Vimes gave most of his salary to the family members of dead watchmen. He was the widows and orphans fund.
As kind of indicated above, Vimes does not naturally like people. Of any kind. This makes it possible for him to come across as speciesist, since he does not like and will make disparaging remarks about dwarves, trolls, the undead, ect. But the truth of the matter is that he's every bit as biased against humans, a fact which does come out if you pay attention to everything he says. He starts out assuming people of any species are bastards, but people of any species can earn his respect. He will defend the members of his Watch to the bitter end, because they're good coppers, which matters much more than what species they are. Vimes has also demonstrated the fact that his is fully able to change his mind, as shown by the fact that when he learned more about golems, he ceased to be prejudiced against them and came to respect them. The notable exceptions here are vampires and gargoyles. Vimes is, if you will pardon the pun, dead set against vampires. To a large extent this is his populist tendencies at work, vampires are almost always upper class and, in Vimes' view, prey on less fortunate people, whether or not they are actively drinking blood. Gargoyles, on the other hand, Vimes is very well inclined towards, primarily because they stay above the street, don't say much if anything, and the only crimes they could be said to commit are against the pigeon population.
In the end, Vimes views people (of any species) as people, often nasty and sometimes amazing. You can't change them, and you shouldn't try. What you can do is your best to help them do their best and lock the rotten bastards away for a legally appropriate amount of time, and that's what Vimes tries to do.
Vimes is naturally a pretty angry person. In his default state he is pissed off at the gods for having made the world wrong (in a sort of general sense, coppers being less religious than most people on the Disc***). Then there are ways to make him angrier. Treating people as less than people (this can be manifest in a number of ways, from exploiting workers to attacking people for their ethnicity to killing people). Underestimating people (especially Vimes) and the rich variety of life. Being stupid and especially displaying a complete lack of common sense. Threatening any of his officers. Worst of all is a threat to his family. You do not want to threaten his family.
Vimes calls the darkest side of his nature “the Beast,” and with good reason. This is the part of himself he lets out in fights, the part that is vicious and wants to hurt the other guy. He tries to keep tight control on that rage outside of life-or-death situations, though when faced with certain things (i.e. torturers) that can be difficult.
Somewhat less extreme forms of anger have him cheerfully yelling at and possibly punching people, or going still and making things very clear. The former is when he's getting some satisfaction from a way to express his anger. The latter is when he's too pissed off for that.
In spite of all this, Vimes does not believe in killing people when it is at all possible to avoid it. Neither does he believe in torture. Fighting dirty is fine, but the aim is to incapacitate and/or arrest the person, not to permanently damage or kill them. Because you are going up against a person, and a life is never something to be treated casually. He also keeps close watch on himself to make sure he doesn't do anything that he would condemn in another. He tries to make sure that his actions, at least, are good or towards a good end. He uses symbols to help his self control. His shield-shaped badge to reminds him to protect people. The Commander's truncheon (jokes about the spelling of the engraving on it aside) to remind him to keep the peace.
The justice that Vimes believes in, the law that he fights for, is one that protects the innocent. Not one that punishes the guilty.
To a large extent, Vimes' life is his job. Back when he lived in a room at the Watch House, his room was almost entirely empty, with only a map of the city for decoration and a sheet of cardboard providing insight into his priorities (he used it to replace the soles of his boots). His room was for sleeping, he lived in the rest of the Watch House and on the streets. If Vimes has a best friend, it's Fred Colon, mainly through the simple fact that they've worked together for so many years. Even now, Vimes feels the most like himself and in a way may be happiest when he's watching the streets at 2 A.M. in the rain.
But he loves his family, and tries to make room for them, because they're important and do make him happy. He tries to spend a decent amount of time at home, enough that you can say he lives there. Vimes tries to make sure to do things with Sybil, such as having lunch a few times a week (barring something big coming up). He supports Sybil, attending or even trying to be a host (gracious is too much to ask for) for dinner parties with the despised elite, who he will put up with for Sybil's sake. Though he does welcome policework to interrupt dreaded social events. These days he is certain to be home at 6 P.M. to read to young Sam. He will not allow for anything to get in the way of that, because if he rationalizes missing it for a good reason he may miss it for a bad one, and rationalization in one area may carry over to another.
Vimes is, generally, a very honest man. He does not take bribes, and will fire any officer who does. He values the truth, even if the truth is not in his favor. He expects people to tell him the truth, and if necessary he will fight to uncover it. He will tell the truth, even if it causes problems for him. But even more than an honest man, he is a practical one. If he needs to lie, cheat, or creatively misunderstand in order to achieve a goal, he'll do it.
Vimes' tendency to be blunt, his straightforward approach to problems, and that belief of his that everyone is accountable to the law earns him a lot of enemies, especially amongst the powerful. Far from minding this, it's something of a point of pride for him. When the Assassins' Guild stopped taking contracts on him, he thought about appealing the decision, because he had liked knowing he was pissing off people who ought to be pissed off.
Many of his enemies would say that Vimes is not intelligent. Often, Vimes would say that he is not intelligent. But that is not true. Vimes catches on to many things quickly. He makes full use of his experience. He's able to think ahead and plan well. He's often able to anticipate what his enemies will do. He can unravel complex plots, though it may take some time. He knows a lot of tricks, and when they're likely to be used. He can even be a good researcher when it's called for. Just because he prefers to move in a straight line, doesn't mean he can't follow the corkscrew paths some people take.
Vimes' relationships with others are often contentious. The best example of this is his professional relationship with Lord Vetinari. While Vetinari is his boss, and generally Vimes will obey him, Vimes will pull out obfuscating stupidity, deliberate misunderstanding, and occasional flat-out disobedience in order to get what he thinks should be done done (often this is exactly what Vetinari intends, but that's another matter). Vimes will even talk back to Vetinari if he feels strongly enough that it's needed. Vimes also encourages certain levels of contention. He promotes independent thought and initiative amongst his officers, and if they disagree with him they are at the very least allowed to do so to his face. He may even end up agreeing with them. It does, however take a confident officer to speak up, Vimes has a way of being very forbidding.
In his less contentious relationships, he is awkward about showing affection. But he does try regularly.
Vimes has a prominent sense of humor. But it's a dark one, and tends strongly towards the sarcastic. He's known for some dry commentary and sarcastic statements. He is fond of irony.
Being told that he's landed in a place in between life, death, and dreams won't, honestly, impact him all that much. He'll consider the implications, sometimes, at quiet points when he's alone, but as Lu Tze points out in Night Watch, Vimes defaults to being a copper. Rather than be struck by existential doubt, he'll be pissed off. Kidnapping is a crime. He and many of the others here have been kidnapped, regardless of the exact metaphysics involved. The parties responsible should be arrested.
Appearance:
Vimes is a middle-aged man, not in ideal physical shape but still generally fit and far from overweight. He can be described as "weathered," with years of keeping watch on rainy nights worn into his face and a tendency to favor battered clothing (from his armor to his boots). His hair is going grey. He has a few giveaways regarding his career- small scars here and there, particularly on his hands, one larger scar across the right half of his face (centered around his eye), and legs that are a lot more tan from the knees down as a result of the Watch uniform. His generally stoic attitude, combined with a lean and not overly expressive face, is largely responsible for his nickname of "Old Stoneface."
I am very attached to Paul Kidby's illustrations of Vimes, and use icons of his art as much as I can. I supplement these with Jeremy Irons as a played-bybecause it's impossible to find decent icons of Clint Eastwood at the right age, because he has some of the same angularity, especially in his cheeks.
Abilities:
Vimes has no supernatural or superhuman powers, and he he's happy to keep it that way.
Vimes is a quick thinking suspicious bastard. This means he knows most of the dirty tricks, has no problem using them (as long as they're not deadly), and will even prepare them if he thinks there's good reason. He belongs to the dirty but effective school of street fighting, and can hold his own in sword fight (though he'd rather not use swords if he has a choice). He's aware of his surroundings- both how to use them and how to blend into them. He can famously tell where he is in Ankh-Morpork by the feel of the street beneath his thin-soled boots. He's a determined man who won't stop until he's settled the problem at hand or until he drops (...and if he drops he'll probably just get right back up).
And he has something of a knack for making powerful enemies (along with occasional allies).
Inventory:
Clothing (trousers, shirt, boots, cloak, socks)
One perfectly ordinary sword
One Ankh-Morpork Watch badge (number 177)
One silver cigar case (with cigars)
One pocket-sized notebook
One pencil stub
One rather crumpled edition of The Ankh-Morpork Times
Suite:
EA 2-B
Incredibly fair but incredibly grumpy, and a working man all his life, Vimes should be well-suited to the Earth Sector. He's used to living on second or third stories, either at the watch house or in Sybil's ancestral home.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
Commander Samuel Vimes considered his inbox.
At least, it had begun life as an inbox. Then papers had spilled out around its edges, making more of an in-corner. The latest paperwork hadn't been put on the desk at all, but onto a growing pile next to it. It was an in-area.
He picked up a letter that had been dangling half off the desk. Another complaint from the Campaign for Equal Heights about where dwarf officers patrolled. They were insulted if dwarves mostly patrolled the heavily dwarfish areas, they were insulted if anyone but dwarves patrolled the heavily dwarfish areas, they were especially insulted if dwarves and trolls patrolled anywhere together... With a groan, Vimes tossed the letter back onto a less formal pile a little behind and to the side of his chair, which could be labeled “things the Commander has better things to do than to bother with.”
Politics. Why did damn politics keep coming into things? Things could be so much simpler... Not if you're doing it right, a little voice in the back of his head whispered. He scowled. And sighed, picking up another letter from a concerned citizen. The city seemed to have an endless supply of them. They were probably kept sheltered in an attic somewhere only to be brought down in continuous waves to voice complaints.
He looked at the piles again.
He was supposed to delegate, wasn't he? Vetinari had hinted at that again recently, after Vimes had been involved in another foot chase at rush hour (they had caught the man). This probably wasn't what the Patrician had meant, of course, but the man hadn't been specific. Who could this lot be passed on to?
Did anyone deserve it?
Network:
[Voice]
[It's a gruff, male voice, sounding a bit as if the words are being dragged out from between his teeth.]
This...thing [There's a thud, as if someone hit his console. (He did.)] is one of the worst ideas I've heard of in days. [His tone implies that "days" is, in fact, a fairly long time for the speaker and demonstrates extent to which this idea is wrongheaded.] You just talk to everyone who also has one of these?
[There's a pause.] Fine. [With his misgivings out of the way, he moves on to what seems to be his actual point, his voice picking up a note of command.] They keep telling me I can't get home. Is that true?
There has to be some way off this turtle, at least.
--------------------------------
*Some say their was a fifth elephant which crashed into the Disc, creating some of the more notable fat deposits. This has not been proven.
**The word "river" is admittedly a generous term for the Ankh, the crust of which can be walked across not infrequently.
***With a few exceptions to prove the rule, most notably Constable Visit-the-Unfaithful-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets, a devout and devoutly evangelical Omnian.
Name: Orlando
Age: 24
Contact: agreylady[at]gmail[dot]com, ElspethVimes on plurk and AIM
Game Cast: n/a
Character Information:
Name: Samuel Vimes
Canon: the Discworld series of novels by Terry Pratchett
Canon Point: following his appearance in Monstrous Regiment, before Thud!
Age: somewhere in his fifties (exact ages and Discworld are not friends)
Reference: wikipedia, fan wiki
Setting:
Discworld is one of those other places located on a turtle. Though in this case, with four elephants as middlemen*. It is, in fact, a flat world, being carried through space by that turtle (the Great A'Tuin), who is also carrying the elephants. No, a flat world shouldn't work. But it does, because of magic.
The Disc is a special place. It's a fantastic world, with significant populations of dwarves, trolls (silicon-based lifeforms, who tend to have difficulty in hotter climates), vampires (many of whom have now joined the League of Temperance, forswearing the red sticky stuff), werewolves, witches,and wizards (not elves, unless you are extremely dumb and/or unlucky). The high amount of magical energy on the Disc leads to oddities like showers of frogs being commonplace. And the walls separating dimensions tend to be thin, which can lead to ideas, archetypes, and the occasional horror from the Dungeon Dimension leaking in. When they're not just flat-out making holes. Life on the Disc can be a little unstable and, well, designed to parody or satirize things from the real world. It's a place where you find bizarre things, like a clock tower that tolls sound-destroying silences, and bizarre things that arguably are just the end result of a logical train of thought, like the pork futures warehouse (if pork futures are being traded, surely they are also stored somewhere, right? and so there is a warehouse full of pork which is slowly becoming real).
The most notable city on the Disc is the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, a metropolis on the Sto Plains, divided by the river** Ankh. It has a long and rather tumultuous history. It was once ruled by royalty, until a Commander of the Watch decided that kings should not be above the law and cut off the last king's head. Since then, the city has been ruled by Patricians, who have more or less been set in place by the nobility, Guilds, and other influential members of Ankh-Morpork society. There are always, of course, rumors of a long-lost heir to the throne, but nothing ever comes of stories like that, of course not. The current Patrician, Lord Vetinari, is a remarkably forward-thinking man, and under his stewardship the city has mad great economic and some cultural advances, along with becoming probably the most multi-species city on the Disc.
Sam Vimes is an Ankh-Morpork man through and through. He grew up in Cockbill Street, one of the poorest areas of the city, raised mostly by his mother due to his father's death. He had basic schooling, and did decently at it. He spent time in a gang, because more or less every child did. From a long line of policemen, he joined the Night Watch in his late teens. He stuck to the job, having a brief but very important education at the hands of a good copper named John Keel. And he continued to stick to the job, believing in the importance of protecting the people without fear or favor, but the job didn't keep up its end. The Watch was completely ineffective in addressing any substantial crimes, and Vimes' efforts at making them more effective simple earned him enemies that further hobbled the Watch. Vimes did make it to the rank of Captain, the highest rank in the Watch at the time, but he also became a deeply bitter alcoholic. The Night Watch dwindled to a mere three members.
Then a new recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson, arrived and shook the Watch up. Of course, it helped that this coincided with criminal plots at the highest level and a dragon attacking the city. The Watch saved Ankh-Morpork and Lord Vetinari, and the Patrician began to see the Watch as something potentially useful, basically eliminating the Day Watch and turning the Night Watch into the Watch as a whole. Vimes stopped drinking, and made the acquaintance of one Lady Sybil. He almost retired upon his marriage to the outrageously wealthy Sybil, but thanks to his involvement in cleaning up another set of particularly dangerous events, he was offered the resurrected position of Commander instead. Vimes not really being Vimes unless he had work, he accepted it, and Sybil approved. Vimes was also made a knight, much to his distress. The Watch continued to expand. Due to his efforts in an almost-war against Klatch (in which he threatened to arrest armies for, among other crimes, breach of the peace), Vimes was made a Duke, to his further distress. He continued travels abroad with a visit to Uberwald, in which to everyone's surprise he proved a valuable ambassador and helped make good connections with the Low King of the dwarves. It also turned out that Sybil was pregnant. After Vimes took a trip through time and impersonated John Keel in order to teach himself everything he knew and ensure history happened, the baby was born. Sybil insisted on naming their son Samuel. Vimes' world tour continued, as he was sent as a special envoy to Zlobenia and covertly took a hand in Borogravia's war with Zlobenia. He would be arriving in Keeilai after this point.
(If you're thinking that this is the extreme cliff notes version of Vimes' history, that's because it would look more like this if I let myself, and I am inflicting a high enough word count on you already.)
Personality:
Sam Vimes is is a suspicious, cynical, sarcastic, angry man. He is also determined, loyal, and a firm believer in certain ideals. Above all, Vimes is a copper.
Vimes is very aware of reality, sometimes painfully so. He is naturally somewhat knurd (the opposite of drunk, a state in which the illusions people have in order to function in the world are stripped away). He knows that people are, overall, petty- unduly concerned with little things like whether their neighbor is taking proper care of the hedge, largely unaware of other people, guilty of some crime, and mostly intent on having the status quo continue. He knows that while people in the lower classes get punished for committing crimes like stealing so that they'll have something to eat while living in their slum, the people in the upper classes don't get punished for committing crimes like creating and owning slums. He knows that the world is unequal, that people hurt each other all the time, and that the upper class largely ignores the law because they believe they make it.
But Vimes still believes in the concept of an equal law, a law for all people, that all people must answer to. Nobody is better than anybody else, and the law should reflect that. The enforcement of the law should reflect that. This is, above all, what he fights for.
Vimes' deep-seated prejudice against authority and the upper classes (which he maintains in spite of joining both groups) is rooted in that knowledge that they get away with big crimes, while the lower classes suffer for little crimes. His marked soft spot for the underdog, which causes him to do things like aid small groups or let certain people off for small crimes, is him trying to level the playing field a little.
On the other hand, he knows that people are able to do remarkably good things. The painful awareness comes into play again with the fact that he knows that many of the most heroic feats are carried out quietly by people that no one notices. So Vimes does his best to notice, and help. While things such as famous last stands are at the best the cause for bitter remarks from Vimes, he has a sometimes overwhelming respect for the heroism some people display just as part of their lives, a mother raising seven children mostly on her own or a copper doing the job that's in front of him. In some cases he can see the good, or at least the tolerable, in people society has mostly given up on (Fred Colon and Nobby Nobbs certainly fall into this category).
Once he has decided that someone is decent, he will go to great lengths for their sakes, often quite willing to sacrifice himself in some way for their protection. In many cases, he'll look out for others before he'll look out for himself. For years, before the proper revival of the Watch, Vimes gave most of his salary to the family members of dead watchmen. He was the widows and orphans fund.
As kind of indicated above, Vimes does not naturally like people. Of any kind. This makes it possible for him to come across as speciesist, since he does not like and will make disparaging remarks about dwarves, trolls, the undead, ect. But the truth of the matter is that he's every bit as biased against humans, a fact which does come out if you pay attention to everything he says. He starts out assuming people of any species are bastards, but people of any species can earn his respect. He will defend the members of his Watch to the bitter end, because they're good coppers, which matters much more than what species they are. Vimes has also demonstrated the fact that his is fully able to change his mind, as shown by the fact that when he learned more about golems, he ceased to be prejudiced against them and came to respect them. The notable exceptions here are vampires and gargoyles. Vimes is, if you will pardon the pun, dead set against vampires. To a large extent this is his populist tendencies at work, vampires are almost always upper class and, in Vimes' view, prey on less fortunate people, whether or not they are actively drinking blood. Gargoyles, on the other hand, Vimes is very well inclined towards, primarily because they stay above the street, don't say much if anything, and the only crimes they could be said to commit are against the pigeon population.
In the end, Vimes views people (of any species) as people, often nasty and sometimes amazing. You can't change them, and you shouldn't try. What you can do is your best to help them do their best and lock the rotten bastards away for a legally appropriate amount of time, and that's what Vimes tries to do.
Vimes is naturally a pretty angry person. In his default state he is pissed off at the gods for having made the world wrong (in a sort of general sense, coppers being less religious than most people on the Disc***). Then there are ways to make him angrier. Treating people as less than people (this can be manifest in a number of ways, from exploiting workers to attacking people for their ethnicity to killing people). Underestimating people (especially Vimes) and the rich variety of life. Being stupid and especially displaying a complete lack of common sense. Threatening any of his officers. Worst of all is a threat to his family. You do not want to threaten his family.
Vimes calls the darkest side of his nature “the Beast,” and with good reason. This is the part of himself he lets out in fights, the part that is vicious and wants to hurt the other guy. He tries to keep tight control on that rage outside of life-or-death situations, though when faced with certain things (i.e. torturers) that can be difficult.
Somewhat less extreme forms of anger have him cheerfully yelling at and possibly punching people, or going still and making things very clear. The former is when he's getting some satisfaction from a way to express his anger. The latter is when he's too pissed off for that.
In spite of all this, Vimes does not believe in killing people when it is at all possible to avoid it. Neither does he believe in torture. Fighting dirty is fine, but the aim is to incapacitate and/or arrest the person, not to permanently damage or kill them. Because you are going up against a person, and a life is never something to be treated casually. He also keeps close watch on himself to make sure he doesn't do anything that he would condemn in another. He tries to make sure that his actions, at least, are good or towards a good end. He uses symbols to help his self control. His shield-shaped badge to reminds him to protect people. The Commander's truncheon (jokes about the spelling of the engraving on it aside) to remind him to keep the peace.
The justice that Vimes believes in, the law that he fights for, is one that protects the innocent. Not one that punishes the guilty.
To a large extent, Vimes' life is his job. Back when he lived in a room at the Watch House, his room was almost entirely empty, with only a map of the city for decoration and a sheet of cardboard providing insight into his priorities (he used it to replace the soles of his boots). His room was for sleeping, he lived in the rest of the Watch House and on the streets. If Vimes has a best friend, it's Fred Colon, mainly through the simple fact that they've worked together for so many years. Even now, Vimes feels the most like himself and in a way may be happiest when he's watching the streets at 2 A.M. in the rain.
But he loves his family, and tries to make room for them, because they're important and do make him happy. He tries to spend a decent amount of time at home, enough that you can say he lives there. Vimes tries to make sure to do things with Sybil, such as having lunch a few times a week (barring something big coming up). He supports Sybil, attending or even trying to be a host (gracious is too much to ask for) for dinner parties with the despised elite, who he will put up with for Sybil's sake. Though he does welcome policework to interrupt dreaded social events. These days he is certain to be home at 6 P.M. to read to young Sam. He will not allow for anything to get in the way of that, because if he rationalizes missing it for a good reason he may miss it for a bad one, and rationalization in one area may carry over to another.
Vimes is, generally, a very honest man. He does not take bribes, and will fire any officer who does. He values the truth, even if the truth is not in his favor. He expects people to tell him the truth, and if necessary he will fight to uncover it. He will tell the truth, even if it causes problems for him. But even more than an honest man, he is a practical one. If he needs to lie, cheat, or creatively misunderstand in order to achieve a goal, he'll do it.
Vimes' tendency to be blunt, his straightforward approach to problems, and that belief of his that everyone is accountable to the law earns him a lot of enemies, especially amongst the powerful. Far from minding this, it's something of a point of pride for him. When the Assassins' Guild stopped taking contracts on him, he thought about appealing the decision, because he had liked knowing he was pissing off people who ought to be pissed off.
Many of his enemies would say that Vimes is not intelligent. Often, Vimes would say that he is not intelligent. But that is not true. Vimes catches on to many things quickly. He makes full use of his experience. He's able to think ahead and plan well. He's often able to anticipate what his enemies will do. He can unravel complex plots, though it may take some time. He knows a lot of tricks, and when they're likely to be used. He can even be a good researcher when it's called for. Just because he prefers to move in a straight line, doesn't mean he can't follow the corkscrew paths some people take.
Vimes' relationships with others are often contentious. The best example of this is his professional relationship with Lord Vetinari. While Vetinari is his boss, and generally Vimes will obey him, Vimes will pull out obfuscating stupidity, deliberate misunderstanding, and occasional flat-out disobedience in order to get what he thinks should be done done (often this is exactly what Vetinari intends, but that's another matter). Vimes will even talk back to Vetinari if he feels strongly enough that it's needed. Vimes also encourages certain levels of contention. He promotes independent thought and initiative amongst his officers, and if they disagree with him they are at the very least allowed to do so to his face. He may even end up agreeing with them. It does, however take a confident officer to speak up, Vimes has a way of being very forbidding.
In his less contentious relationships, he is awkward about showing affection. But he does try regularly.
Vimes has a prominent sense of humor. But it's a dark one, and tends strongly towards the sarcastic. He's known for some dry commentary and sarcastic statements. He is fond of irony.
Being told that he's landed in a place in between life, death, and dreams won't, honestly, impact him all that much. He'll consider the implications, sometimes, at quiet points when he's alone, but as Lu Tze points out in Night Watch, Vimes defaults to being a copper. Rather than be struck by existential doubt, he'll be pissed off. Kidnapping is a crime. He and many of the others here have been kidnapped, regardless of the exact metaphysics involved. The parties responsible should be arrested.
Appearance:
Vimes is a middle-aged man, not in ideal physical shape but still generally fit and far from overweight. He can be described as "weathered," with years of keeping watch on rainy nights worn into his face and a tendency to favor battered clothing (from his armor to his boots). His hair is going grey. He has a few giveaways regarding his career- small scars here and there, particularly on his hands, one larger scar across the right half of his face (centered around his eye), and legs that are a lot more tan from the knees down as a result of the Watch uniform. His generally stoic attitude, combined with a lean and not overly expressive face, is largely responsible for his nickname of "Old Stoneface."
I am very attached to Paul Kidby's illustrations of Vimes, and use icons of his art as much as I can. I supplement these with Jeremy Irons as a played-by
Abilities:
Vimes has no supernatural or superhuman powers, and he he's happy to keep it that way.
Vimes is a quick thinking suspicious bastard. This means he knows most of the dirty tricks, has no problem using them (as long as they're not deadly), and will even prepare them if he thinks there's good reason. He belongs to the dirty but effective school of street fighting, and can hold his own in sword fight (though he'd rather not use swords if he has a choice). He's aware of his surroundings- both how to use them and how to blend into them. He can famously tell where he is in Ankh-Morpork by the feel of the street beneath his thin-soled boots. He's a determined man who won't stop until he's settled the problem at hand or until he drops (...and if he drops he'll probably just get right back up).
And he has something of a knack for making powerful enemies (along with occasional allies).
Inventory:
Clothing (trousers, shirt, boots, cloak, socks)
One perfectly ordinary sword
One Ankh-Morpork Watch badge (number 177)
One silver cigar case (with cigars)
One pocket-sized notebook
One pencil stub
One rather crumpled edition of The Ankh-Morpork Times
Suite:
EA 2-B
Incredibly fair but incredibly grumpy, and a working man all his life, Vimes should be well-suited to the Earth Sector. He's used to living on second or third stories, either at the watch house or in Sybil's ancestral home.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person:
Commander Samuel Vimes considered his inbox.
At least, it had begun life as an inbox. Then papers had spilled out around its edges, making more of an in-corner. The latest paperwork hadn't been put on the desk at all, but onto a growing pile next to it. It was an in-area.
He picked up a letter that had been dangling half off the desk. Another complaint from the Campaign for Equal Heights about where dwarf officers patrolled. They were insulted if dwarves mostly patrolled the heavily dwarfish areas, they were insulted if anyone but dwarves patrolled the heavily dwarfish areas, they were especially insulted if dwarves and trolls patrolled anywhere together... With a groan, Vimes tossed the letter back onto a less formal pile a little behind and to the side of his chair, which could be labeled “things the Commander has better things to do than to bother with.”
Politics. Why did damn politics keep coming into things? Things could be so much simpler... Not if you're doing it right, a little voice in the back of his head whispered. He scowled. And sighed, picking up another letter from a concerned citizen. The city seemed to have an endless supply of them. They were probably kept sheltered in an attic somewhere only to be brought down in continuous waves to voice complaints.
He looked at the piles again.
He was supposed to delegate, wasn't he? Vetinari had hinted at that again recently, after Vimes had been involved in another foot chase at rush hour (they had caught the man). This probably wasn't what the Patrician had meant, of course, but the man hadn't been specific. Who could this lot be passed on to?
Did anyone deserve it?
Network:
[Voice]
[It's a gruff, male voice, sounding a bit as if the words are being dragged out from between his teeth.]
This...thing [There's a thud, as if someone hit his console. (He did.)] is one of the worst ideas I've heard of in days. [His tone implies that "days" is, in fact, a fairly long time for the speaker and demonstrates extent to which this idea is wrongheaded.] You just talk to everyone who also has one of these?
[There's a pause.] Fine. [With his misgivings out of the way, he moves on to what seems to be his actual point, his voice picking up a note of command.] They keep telling me I can't get home. Is that true?
There has to be some way off this turtle, at least.
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*Some say their was a fifth elephant which crashed into the Disc, creating some of the more notable fat deposits. This has not been proven.
**The word "river" is admittedly a generous term for the Ankh, the crust of which can be walked across not infrequently.
***With a few exceptions to prove the rule, most notably Constable Visit-the-Unfaithful-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets, a devout and devoutly evangelical Omnian.