ways_back_room | Weekend Entertainment

Entry tags:

daily entertainment

Weekend Entertainment

Passing out at 12 and waking up at 4:30 is the worst.

Is your character doing the job they always thought they wanted to do when they grew up? If so, is it all they thought it would be? If not, why not and do they have any regrets?

I'm taking a break next week, so the DEs for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will all be up for grabs on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*looks at Natasha and laaaaughs*

Natasha as a girl went through several possible careers; classical violinist, classical cellist (when she worked out aged four that the violin really wasn't her thing, sorry, Papa), librarian, linguist. The linguist stuck, except then rolled around a little conflict known as World War Two/The Great Patriotic War. After several months as vigilante and scout for the Red Army, Natasha was talent-spotted by the NKVD at the age of fourteen, in Stalingrad.

After all, doesn't every girl want to serve her country?

So, in a way, being a highly talented spy and professional badass whose job it is to protect people is exactly what Natasha, as a teenager, wanted to do. Except of course espionage and clandestine activity isn't the best fit it you want to keep your idealism, particularly not when you are in the hands of people who view you as an experimental weapon. And then there was that whole period where she went freelance for a few decades...

She regrets the freelance part of her career, and she's never going to stop trying to make up for it.

That bit would have been a surprise to her teenage self. As would the fact tat a life of travelling around being other people might have some serious downsides.

(She also, for the record, has never wanted to be a ballerina.)

Edited 2013-09-07 12:39 (UTC)

There's no denying it, sometimes Voodoo hates his job. But in the end, he is the tip of the spear for American foreign policy, and sometimes that's a very cool place to be.

I imagine John would much prefer farming to his current profession.

"Want" doesn't figure into it for Adult!Connor, either. Quoth canon: "The others in the village - they thought this was something I wanted. Something I chose to do. But it never felt that way to me. No, it was not a choice. It was an obligation. Because if not me, then who?"

(I'll take Thursday and Friday definitely, and Saturday if no one else does.)

Joshua kinda laughs at this question. However, picking it apart, he is and he isn't. He absolutely never wanted to be That Scientist who has a degree, but all they do is administrate a lab, or work for a corporation. In some ways he feels like he's sold out. However, he is currently doing ground-breaking science that hasn't been touched since Newton. There's an up and down side to everything. He loves what he does when he's not trying to convince himself he's selling out.

Helena is working for the Warehouse. It's what she's wanted to do since she found out about it.

Fantine never ever ever ever wanted to be a prostitute. She has every last regret. (in song, even!)

Valentine is twelve. She's eying me.

Edited 2013-09-07 13:59 (UTC)

Oswin: Regrets, so many, omg - she never really had a 'dream job', but more a dream life where she got to see all the wonderful things out in the universe. She was very much a 'can't wait to get out of this town' kid, and saw serving on board the Alaska as a way to do that. It went so well.

Clara: ... In her 'real life', the one that everyone else knows about? Regrets, but... not? She answered the question of 'what do you want to be when you grow up' as 'an adventurer' rather than with a job, mostly thanks to her mum. She didn't really have a super-clear plan on how to accomplish these adventures, just that she was going to go. She did graduate college (no really, there's a picture in canon, true facts) though there's never any real clue as to what her major might have been (it certainly wasn't culinary school or computer science). Maybe something with a literary bent - the library is one of the rooms she actually bothered to stop and check out while being chased around by a monster in the TARDIS. ANYWAY. No real regrets now that she's met the Doctor, for lo, ADVENTURES. Weird adventures. But still. She's having them, and it's grand.

Ace: Had absolutely no plans whatsoever on getting older. Live fast, die young, probably get nicked a few times for something or other along the way. She has no regrets, but getting older is weird. Getting older in a stable family relationship is weirder.

Balthazar: If you'd asked itty!bitty!lordling!B what he wanted, before he figured out what was expected of third sons when your eldest brother had already married and produced an heir to the title, he would have said dragon slayer. But that was before he figured out that sort of thing and before he met Merlin, which pretty much sealed his fate. No regrets (except maybe about being in Spain when the Inquisition started), but he certainly never expected to be in the 21st century whilst dragon slaying.

Katya: ... it's a regret, kinda? She has natural talents towards being a healer, and she probably could have been a good one. But that's not what Moscow needed at the time, so. She didn't become one. But Skellig's chronic injuries bother her quite a lot, and she helps as best she can, but she knows that an Other trained as a healer could have repaired it all ages ago.

Haymitch: ...................... LET'S NOT ASK HAYMITCH HE HAS A KNIFE.

Glorfindel: No, this isn't what he planned on doing while growing up - sorta. He did plan to be in a 'not in command but commanding' position, because there were houses with higher rank than his. He didn't expect the kinslaying. Or to be following his chosen king across the ice. Or to lose said king after a betrayal. Or to come back to the land that killed him so he could continue to serve the family of his king. But he certainly isn't unhappy about his place in life.

Bones: Is doing exactly what he wanted to do as a kid. He comes from a family of doctors, and has been idolizing them his whole life. He just... does it in space. Which some days he regrets deeply. He's looking at you, Kirk. Just. Really. Really</>.

When Tommy was five, he wanted to be a cowboy. When he was ten, he wanted to be an outfielder for the New York Yankees. When he was fifteen, he wanted to be a forward for the New York Rangers. But then his cousin and best friend Jimmy said he was going to be a fireman, and whatever Jimmy did, Tommy had to do, too, because they did everything together. It was the best decision Tommy ever made. Despite all the hardships and the things he's seen and been through, he honest-to-God loves his job and there's nothing else he'd rather be doing.

This one only applies to one of mine, since Stiles is only a high school sophomore, and Lady Mary does not and never intended to have a job.

Carol wanted to be a pilot, and she became one of the very best.

Granted, she never thought she would be a super-powered alien mutate hero. She also didn't expect that along the way she'd be an intelligence officer, magazine editor, and novelist.

Bumi is doing pretty much exactly what he thought he'd be doing. He planned on joining the service the very first time he saw the United Forces battleships sail past Air Temple Island.

Raph always wanted to wander the earth like Kane from Kung Fu, or be a roadie for Stevie Ray Vaughan. I suppose now he's doing just that. Well not the touring musician thing, but wandering Tortall righting wrongs and so forth.

Mike dreamed of becoming a writer. He still dreams of becoming a writer. Never in his wildest dreams, and he's had a wild dream or two in his day, did he ever think he'd be a Barman at the end of the Universe.

Splinter doesn't remember his dreams from when he was a pup. That's probably for the best.

Aang still is a kid, and...up until 9 months ago he only really dreamed of becoming a full fledged Air Nomad travelling the world with his friends. Maybe finding his parents. Being the Avatar kind of took him by surprise.
Being frozen in ice for 100 years was unexpected as well.

The Loompas never thought they'd be able to make their own hours. They're grateful for that.

Bean isn't no. But that's because he's 4.

Erik is a scientist. This is... pretty much his dream job. He'll never admit it, but he'd rather not be being employed by super-secret-government-agency-spies. But then again, effectively unlimited funds to investigate this thing.

Alfred isn't no. But then, he's already been there, done that, with regards to his 'dream job'. He was SAS for a long while, he won't pretend that he doesn't have any regrets, but at the same time, it was everything he thought it would be and he'd do it again in a heartbeat. And he has no regrets about the change of career. He couldn't have become a paper pusher, which is where he'd have ended up if he'd stayed any longer.

Max is, pretty much. And yes, it's as hard and challenging as he expected. Having a partner is a nice unexpected bonus, though.

Jack: Eh maybe. Ah, who's he kidding? nope. Not what he thought he'd be doing.

Gene and Javert - yes, yes, a thousand times yes. The outcome for both was...not great, but the police was the only thing both wanted.

Bruce Wayne - pre parents!murder would have grown up to take over the business. And he's kind of done that? But he could always have been a doctor too, like his dad. I don't think he'd formed plans yet, and the. Life intervened. Now Batman is his life, and it's the only thing he can do, so...yeah.

Bruce Banner - he was always going to be a scientist, yes. Now the Hulk has happened, so he's nowhere near happy with not having a job anymore. But it'll get better.

Elle hasn't really had the chance to think about what job she'd want since she was six, but she is pretty much doing what she expected to do.

Katara is too young for this question, though older!Katara can say that the person she ended up being as an adult was in every way... completely beyond anything she'd imagined as a child. But for the most part, that's in a good way.

Marceline was a child during an apocalypse, and so never really considered anything like what kind of job she'd have in the future. And still doesn't.

Leslie wanted to be President of the United States as a child, and she sees herself as currently working toward that now. She definitely did always see herself as a civil servant, and has no regrets about pursuing that, even when it can be incredibly frustrating. (Someone started rewatching Parks and Rec the other night, whatever.)

Manny didn't plan on dying as young as he did, and definitely didn't plan on having to work after death. Where's the justice???

And Asami and Hiccup are really both too young for this question.

Ray, like any New York area child (he grew up in Mineola), wanted to be about seven million different things as a kid. He is very, very happy with the job he has now, though. Except on the days when unspeakable horrors from beyond the walls of sanity come to visit and wish him a happy new year YES THAT HAPPENED ONCE.

Gordon wanted to be a scientist. Not a politician and not the goddamned Messiah.

Mordin always wanted to do science. Always.

Shephard more or less knew he wanted to go into uniformed service since he was about six as a kid, as that's when he was rescued by National Guardsmen when the Cheat River flooded. However, he also passed through a few phases where he wanted to be Tarzan, and he didn't actually decide on the Marines until high school and talking to the recruiters who came to visit. He's pretty happy with what he's got now.

Varric and Santo are both thoroughly satisfied with their lots in life and I suspect Santo, at least, wanted something like this as a child. He just exceeded his original hopes by a factor of a thousand.

Medic... I don't know about what he wanted as a kid.

And Ellen is just going to laugh for a good long while now. Because oh Lord nothing at all in the WORLD is what she wanted it to be.

Amascut is not doing what she thought she would be doing. She isn't doing what anyone expected her to do. She was supposed to be one half of a duo that ferried the dead across to the afterlife, specifically ensuring that the bodies that the souls left behind were taken care of properly and that the souls had a new body waiting for them. Then everything went horribly wrong. Canon isn't specific on the details. Maybe at the end of October there will be answers when Missing, Presumed Death comes out.

As for Keli Raven, the current alter ego she is playing with at the canon point I am bringing Amascut in from -- Keli wanted to grow up to be a Pirate Queen. She sort of gets her wish, only it is Amascut, not Keli herself that gets to live that out.

Ok, enough sad. Unfortunately, I am not clear yet on what Fairy Fixit's childhood was like. I haven't even nailed down the lifecycle of the Zanaris Fairies. :p

Evil Chicken has too many backstories.

Thalia wanted to be in a punk rock band. Given she's a daughter of Zeus, I am sure it was a famous punk rock band as well. That didn't work out so well. Then, once she found out about her heritage, she wanted to protect half-bloods since her slacker of a father refused to, or seemed to. She did this for 4 years when she was transformed into a tree to save her life by her father. Go Dad! She regrets losing those four years and wonders if she would have been able to save Luke if she had.

Quinlan was going to become a Guardian (his race's cop, judge and jury) and he didn't have much choice in the matter. Then it was discovered he was force sensitive and the jedi temple successfully negotiated for him; his matriarch was very resentful this. At the time, he loved his new life and I am not sure if his older self regrets the change. I think not since he discovered the terrible things his grandmother (the matriarch) did to try and "ruin" him for the temple. Nothing like experiencing your parents death through psychometry to liven up a childhood.

Jessica never got a chance to dream of a future career but I imagine she would have dreamed to be a scientist like her parents (or like she thought her parents were like) or an archaeologist who discovers a new ancient civilization or a paleontologist who discovers a new dinosaur.

Furthermore:
I have no idea what Anton wanted to be as a kid but I know he wishes he could go back to be an analyst and IT person for the Watch rather than being a field operative.

Ben wanted to be the leader of the Yancy Street Gang, a pirate, a cowboy, a soldier, a fighter pilot, Flash Gordon and Captain America. He's been all of this; well, not Captain America but he's gotten pretty close. It'd be hard for him to regret much though.

Henry's too little.

Lois generally harbors no regrets. It is not a Lois Lane way of life. Smallville flavor, she honestly didn't have a life plan and then stumbled into journalism; every other version, Investigative Journalism Is Her Thing. So she's exactly where she wants to be and delighted with it.

Tavi: tl;dr is not doing even close to the job he wanted or expected, and his list of regrets is headed by "none, but if I had time or right to them they would start with SCIENCE! and HISTORY!..."

The longer version: honestly, when Tavi was little, all he really wanted to do was prove he was useful to the Realm even without furycrafting by going to the Academy, getting a patron, and making himself Useful. However, when it came to specific jobs... not so much planning. He never intended to be a spy, that's for sure. By the time he'd found his niche he was already a spy and being carefully groomed for Other Pursuits. Being a Legion captain was nowhere on his radar. Of course, his post-canon job... yeah. He never wanted it and never dreamed he might have it. But he says explicitly that he's had everything and he's had nothing and made his peace with both. So not exactly a regret, but an 'if things were different,' which he sees as slightly different, he'd be an archaeologist/engineer. He doesn't allow himself much time to wallow in regrets.

The Ice King, back when he was Simon Petrikov, was an antiquarian and he enjoyed it very much. If he remembered being Simin there's a lot he'd regret, but since he doesn't remember...

Steve wanted to a artist from a young age, and he still enjoys drawing. He doesn't regret not being a professional artist anymore, though--saving people is so much more important.

Jack was raised to follow in his father's footsteps, and while he has regrets, it's not related to being a prince or to being a soldier.

Lydia is still in high school. The world is nothing but possibility right now.

Merlin never saw himself being a manservant, but since it allows him the freedom to follow his destiny, he can't regret it, even the most painful parts. Not yet, anyway.

Bilbo doesn't really work for a living...I think after the Quest, he may regret certain choices, but considering how things worked out in the bigger picture, he can't regret them for long.

Cecil is doing exactly what he was born to do. Perhaps in a very literal sense, too.

Edited 2013-09-07 19:07 (UTC)

Rabastan: no, but what he is doing now is a lot better than what his options once were.

Rad, Unicron, Strength, Wheel: there are other jobs?

Xamot and Tomax: no, but they're not complaining about what they are doing.

Scootaloo: too young.

Megabyte: it's what he was created[?] to be.

Matrix: not quite doing the job he wanted to do. I mean, he is a Guardian; he's just not "standard issue". And I think he's perfectly fine with that.

Pffffffffffhaaaaaaa

Sorry, no, I shouldn't laugh like that. Anyway...

Felix doesn't tell me a lot about his early life, but I think it's safe to say that he never intended or expected to be the guardian of his world. He certainly has regrets, but there's no way he's giving it up until he's dead (and even then, only if he's got successors he can trust to do a good job).

Fluttershy... is, I think, not subject to the same kinds of occupation expectations that we are, as a combination of the effects of cutie marks and the way Equestrian society seems to work. So... aspects of "yes", "no", and "N/A".

Kain has always wanted to be a dragoon. So yes. Is it all he thought it would be? No, but what is? Besides, he figures if it were, he wouldn't deserve it. Guy's got significant self-esteem issues.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Weekend Entertainment

tl:dr because the mun is steadfastly ignoring election news

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject