th-vanity

[th-vanity]

"Now..." Vanity stared at Lucky. Sure, it might've been offensive for her to suggest that she was capable of doing that, but then again, she admired the fact that Lucky had been one of the only people who asked that to her face. "What would I even do with three bullets and no gun? Seems like a waste. If I had stolen, which I didn't- " Vanity raised a finger, as to drive her point across "... but if I had, I would've taken a whole box and then changed the numbers on the forms." Perhaps someone had stolen the bullets, but Vanity's best guess was that they had fallen some place in the tent, and it had taken far too many hours to find them. Not that she would ever admit it outloud, of course. "It's just that people around here love to act like they are perfect, but no one is. Don't you think?"

It might have appeared as though Lucky wasn't listening, reclined as she was on a bench, picking at a loose thread on her sweatshirt. But, when Vanity finished, she lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. Her fingers fell still, ceasing their tugging, and she turned her head to look at Vanity with one eyebrow raised.

"Depends. Were you capable enough to steal ammo?"

[th-vanity]

"I like the sound of that last part. The whole 'them looking dumb for ever doubting me'." Vanity smirked, even if her life story proved that she had a hard time with the whole 'going above and beyond', but it might be time to change that. If not in the aftermath of the apocalypsis, when? "You are always going above and beyond, aren't you? Every time I see you you're working. Is it being a pharmacist as busy as you make it seem?"

she cocks her head with a hum that had an undertone of uncertainty behind it. anu wasn't sure if it was her place to add her two cents and just let vanity rant. sometimes it wasn't about the solutions or the opinions, but more about needing a listening ear. but she could see both sides. it made sense why everyone was so hard on her about the armoury and the missing ammo but it also wasn't nice to be blamed for something without any evidence. "do you have any reason for them to think that you can't do the job?" her words are spoken slowly, like she's trying to tread carefully without causing too much offence. "i mean, maybe you just need to show them that you're more than capable. like go above and beyond and then they'll have no reason to doubt you. and then they'll look dumb for ever thinking it in the first place."

[th-vanity]

"I could take offense on your comment, but you're lucky I have been drinking tonight." The fact that they were able to have alcohol in the apocalypse was miraculous to Vanity, and a clear sign of human nature even in the worst contexts. Vanity took a sip of her drink, looking at Killian in the eyes. "I thought you might have something good, considering you have been at the sanctuary for far longer than I have." Interesting things ought to happen sooner or later, no?

"You know my conversation is the best ones around, especially when drinking." he playfully winked. He sat down, eyes narrowing as he waited for the proposition. Knowing her, he could think of a lot of things that she would ask. "I love the fact you think I have any gossip, I feel like it'd be more in character if I asked you about that. However-- you are in luck, I may or may not know something"

[th-vanity]

@dannysummers Continuing this thread

"I have another question for you: Do you ever stop sounding like a sickeningly uplifting motivational quote inside a fortune cookie?" Perhaps to anyone else it would've been a rather hash comment, but Vanity hoped Danny was close enough to her to know she meant no harm. Considering the circumstances, his attitude was pretty admirable, really.

Not wanting her friend to worry, Vanity shook her head, eyes closed as if she was over it already. "It's whatever." It was the end of the world. Who cared about personal development? "Tell me something that's going on with you right now, I would hate to be one of those people who can only talk about themselves."

[th-vanity]

"I feel like everyone is being too dramatic about it. Like, it's not like I don't know that it's an important job." Vanity wasn't sure why she cared so much about it, either. So what if she wasn't in charge of the armory? She had never been the hard-working type. Perhaps having turnt thirty only a couple weeks ago made her reflect on 'having a purpose', and all that philosophical bullshit. "And the missing ammo incident, no one was ever able to trace that back to me, so I don't get why people keep blaming me for that one."

She turnt towards the other person, trying to figure out if what she was on the wrong. "I'm asking you honestly: Don't you think I would be capable enough to do it?"

[th-vanity]

"God, no, please no. Anything but conversation." Drinking sorrows away was never a great activity to do by oneself, so despite her mocking complains, Vanity welcomed the interruption. "Fine, I will let you stay, but with one condition." The woman leaned over the table, as if she was about to share a secret, and only then she spoke. "You must have something good to share. And I'm talking about a big piece of gossip, I won't take anything less."

Killian can often be found in the rainstorm, the place gave him peace. Seeing how it grew-- feeling like how it felt before all of this had a calming effect on him. At the end of his day he always liked to close it off with simply one drink in the place before going back to his room and resetting.

It's a place he can be social, or just listen to other people's conversations. Today was a particularly social day, he didn't feel like being alone. So he ordered himself a drink, took a long hard look around before deciding who he'd strike up a conversation with. Walking over, drinking in hand and a warm smile on his face. "Mind if I join you? Fair warning I am in desperate need of conversation so I will talk to you for hours if you allow me to"

[th-vanity]

"When I was a little girl all I ever wanted to be was a weirdo, so I think it's great that I managed to achieve that, actually." Vanity's tone was humorous, hands tucked in her jacket's pocket as she raised her hands in a questioning motion. "You closed already? What is it, like, 12 p.m.? That's high-key biased against people who work until late, you know."

LEAVING WORK FOR THE NIGHT was always a bittersweet experience. While Loren was all too happy to get away from the inebriated inhabitants of the bar, she had become something of a night owl throughout the course of her stay in Colorado, and the end of a shift usually signified the beginning of a long night in the company of her own thoughts. She sighed as she exited the building, unenthusiastically beginning the walk back to her room when someone caught her eye, causing her to halt almost immediately. "You know, you look like a total weirdo standing out here by yourself." She called out half-jokingly.

[th-vanity]

Wanted connections

The opposite (0/1): Someone caring, loyal and trustworthy who agrees with the decision to close the gates and that can be the other side of Vanity's coin. Despite not agreeing on anything, they find each other's company somewhat comforting, and at this point they are almost friends.

Friends (0/?): Pretty straight forward! No one can survive the apocalypse on their own. They can be dorm partners, they could've entered at the same time, they could like to smoke together or just talk shit of those who wronged them.

Enemies (0/?): Perhaps they don't like how Vanity does things (or doesn't do them), or is annoyed at her for her general attitude. She definitely has some unlikable traits, so if you're looking for an antagonist to your character hit me up.

The gunsmith (0/1): Please someone bring the gunsmith in! Vanity is eyeing the job a lot, so having the current gunsmith could be super interesting. Perhaps they can be someone who doesn't really like working there but they ended up doing the job because of circumstances of life, perhaps they do like the job and are warry of Vanity for wanting to take it from them, perhaps they can be a sort of mentor to her. Either way, it'd be super fun.

An ex-something (0/1): They never officially dated, but Vanity did officially bail when things got too serious. Absolutely commitment-phobic, I can definitely see Vanity running away the second they started to spend a little too much time together. Since she's bi, this the gender of the person is completely UTP!

The brother (0/1): Vanity's older brother. He's supposed to be four-ish year older than her, grew up in the same town as her. I barely mentioned him in Vanity's bio so it can all be UTP. They weren't the closest ones growing up, but they definitely looked out for each other.

[th-vanity]

(   laura harrier.  cis woman. she/her.   )   ⸺   🦬   greetings, buffalos ! walking around campus, sporting her untrustworthy smirk we’ve spotted VANITY RYMES, a thirty year old who contributes to our thriving community as an armorer. according to our intel, they’ve been around the sanctuary for three years and what we know about her, aside from the fact that they DON'T agree with the decision to close the gates, is that she aspires to become the gunsmith but is not considered responsible enough to do so; she grew up in a small town in Alabama, and learnt how to hunt with her dad and older brothers from a young age ; she’s an adrenaline junkie and doesn’t mind putting her life at risk . doesn’t that make them fantastic ? we think it does, and that’s why we appreciate her so much, grateful for what they give to our community.

name: Vanity Rymes nicknames: Vee, Rymes age: thirty gender: cis woman sexuality: bisexual occupation: armorer + traits: skilled, good-humored, resilient - traits: unreliable, impulsive, uncommitted aesthetic: the smell of gunpowder, leaning the chair back almost to the point of falling, the smile of someone who knows something you don’t, cheap wine in an unmarked bottle, military green, undone worksheets.

I.

Vanity was the last child of Ernest Rymes, the only daughter out of the three he had. As a child, she liked toy cars, watching t.v. and causing mayhem. The teachers said that she was smart enough, but her grades would’ve greatly improved had she not spent her whole time at school causing trouble. Most of them saw in her behavior a call for attention; her mother appeared once every few months, without any real explanation of where she had been nor how long she would stay, and her father was often gone too, since he was a merchant that had to travel a lot. 

For the most part, Vanity was left at the care of her older brothers (who weren’t that much older nor responsable than her), or with his grandfather at his armory shop. Her brothers didn’t spent a lot of time with her, but they provided the basics: made sure she ate and that she was at the house to sleep at night. And while her grandfather could be sometimes cold and distant, he cared for her in a way that few other adults did. He passed away when she was sixteen.

Wyatt, the middle sibling, took possession of the armory. Vanity didn’t mind; even if she was the one who spent most time with her grandfather, she had no interest in working. And this didn’t change once she graduated. 

Once she got her diploma - a miracle, according to the principal, due to how many classes she skipped just to smoke at the parking lot -, there were few useful activities she was interested in doing. For the most part, she did small jobs, enough to buy chips and a can of coke from now and then, and sometimes, when her brother insisted enough, covered a shift at the armory. 

II.

Things changed overnight in the town when the pandemic hit. As soon as the first infected person arrived, it was over for them; it spread like a wildfire. Vanity only got out of there alive because Wyatt, who was at the house while she covered a shift at the shop, called to let her know what was going on. The call ended by a shout of panic and the distant sound of growling in the background. Vanity closed the armory shop, used a couple hours to get ready, and left with as much ammunition as she could carry. Perhaps it would’ve been smarter to wait there; after all, the doors and windows were covered with metal bars. Vanity had never been good at sitting put, though. 

She never found her older brother, nor is she sure if he’s still alive. He was out of town when the epidemic hit, so she can only hope.

She went solo for a while, until a hostile encounter with another group of survivors made her realize her chances of living multiplied if she wasn’t alone.She found a group with whom she lived for a couple of years, led by an ex-militar with whom she started a romantic relationship. However, a miscalculation of threat while they were traveling caused everyone to die at the hand of the infected while Vanity was out scouting, rendering her the only survivor. 

Still believing that there was strength in numbers, but not wanting to rush into any group in order to make sure they were people whom she wouldn’t mind living with first, she spent a couple months on her own, avoiding hoards of infected and investigating group of survivors she run into, until finally, she decided that the University of Colorado had what she was looking for. 

III.

She likes living on campus enough. It’s a safe space, she has her needs covered, she found a job she can do without causing much of a fuss. The skills and experience she possesses are enough to be the gunsmith, but the fact that she sometimes skips work and that she’s known for not paying enough attention makes it difficult for her to secure that promotion. However, she’s no longer than the eighteen year old kid she was when the epidemic first hit - over the years she learnt how to be slightly more responsible, meaning she might fight for the position a little harder in the future. 

Vanity is against the rule of not letting new people in only because she finds newcomers exciting; since she’s not a scout, that’s the only way she has to find out what’s going on on the outside. Her worst enemy is boredom, and she’s willing to sacrifice safety in order to avoid it; after all, they won the first coup, didn’t they? They can win another one. 

[th-vanity]

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (2017–2023)

[th-vanity]

if ur in a tough situation and don't know what to do immediately escalate to violence. follow me for more life advice ❤️