● abilities: Ivar has immense upper body strength from literally crawling around most of his life. According to showrunners, he has brittle bone syndrome, so in order to get around, he's either got to move himself using only his arms, or wait around for someone willing to carry him. Being without the use of his legs didn't keep him from learning how to wield weapons and he's shown to actually be better at archery and with a throwing ax than three of his brothers. He can also wield a sword well enough to end in a tied draw with one of them too. He's very intelligent, and despite being young, can devise military strategies good enough to win battles.
● strengths: One of Ivar's greatest strengths is that he's very intelligent. Whereas most other Vikings are all about just attacking something until they knock it down, he'll be the one looking around for a battering ram instead. Being somewhat immobile means he has more time to think and figure out both how people and things work. He's very good at this and even his brothers take note of his skill at figuring out battlefield strategies.
Ivar is also extremely loyal to those he cares about. There aren't many that fall into this category, but the love he feels for his mother and father are a great motivator for him for most of the series. When he finds out his mother is dead, he challenges her killer to single combat, even though it might mean his own death. When that doesn't work, he plots with Ubbe, his older brother, to bring her down, even though they know their oldest brother Bjorn will try to stop them. When his father dies, Ivar works with his brothers, with whom he doesn't always have the best of relationships, purely because he wants revenge as badly as they do. He wants to avenge the death of the only man who ever believed in him, and before all the gods, he'll get it if he has to raze all of England to do so.
The last good trait Ivar has is his determination. Other people in that particular time period and in his position, in his own words of being "a cripple and a reject", might have just wallowed in self-pity. Ivar decided early on that not only was he going to be a true Viking, but he was actually going to be better than others at certain things. That's why he works so hard to learn combat weapons and to be smarter than everyone else around him. He figures if he does all this, people will respect and fear him. Even if he can't be physically the same as everyone, he can still be great. All he needs to do is be pointed in the right direction and he'll let nothing stop him from achieving his goals.
● weaknesses: One of Ivar's worst qualities, by his own admission, is his anger. While it might be a good quality for a Viking warrior to have, it does make it hard to form meaningful relationships. He's got a huge chip on his shoulder. Everyone he meets is someone he expects to not take him seriously, pity him, or talk down to him because of his physical problems. Therefore, everyone is a potential enemy rather than friend. His anger runs in two forms: either the temporary white hot fury that will be discussed in the impulsive section or the slow burning kind that makes him hold onto grudges until the end of time. Both tend to get him into trouble.
The second bad quality is that he's quite literally psychopathic. There's just something a little bit wrong with him emotionally. Even as a small child of no more than five or six, he impulsively kills another boy because he was frustrated over a game they were playing. He doesn't react to things appropriately, laughing when his niece dies, and not caring about the slaughter of the Vikings in Wessex. He flat out admits he likes killing far more than even the warrior society he's surrounded by does. Between his anger and his cold, uncaring nature, even his brothers, whom he does love to some degree, are rightfully afraid of him.
The last weakness he has is being impulsive. Caused partially by the two qualities above, Ivar is extremely impulsive when he gets upset or angry. Even as a young boy, this caused someone's death. As an adult, he makes several attempts on his brother Sigurd's life because of a feud between them, before finally succeeding. Immediately after, he looks shocked and sorry, but taking a life can't be undone. Neither can the occasional cruel, biting things he says out of anger.
● skills (optional): He can fight, despite his disability, and has a good mind for strategy. He can also be very loyal if properly motivated. ● housing (optional): Communal housing, por favor!
● network username: the boneless
● network sample: [It's clear whoever is using this device is unused to it. The picture shifts around for a few minutes, and Ivar's face furrowed in concentration is seen several times before he finally realizes that it's on. He points it outward, showing that he's in the kitchen, seated on a chair. His voice, when he speaks, has a vaguely European accent.] I have figured out what these do.
[He shows in turn the fridge, the sink, and the stove. The last one had caused a few burnt fingers, but hey, he'll survive.] But I still have no idea what this does. [He turns the device to the microwave. He's been playing around with the buttons, and while he's been able to turn it on, he hasn't yet realized food is supposed to go inside of it.] Anyone care to enlighten me?
● prose/action sample: He didn't really trust any of the people he was sleeping in this communal room with. Ivar had the bad habit of viewing everyone around him with suspicion and anger. He always suspected the worst of people. After all, what did they see him as? A cripple, someone to be pitied, someone who was lesser than they were just by virtue of not having use of his legs. It didn't matter that they probably didn't, this was what his own anger-fueled mind had come up with. He would need to prove to them that he could do whatever they could.
As he lay there in bed, his sleeping mind turned to the past. Once again, he was in battle in England, for once an equal as he was able to fight alongside the other Vikings. No one had pitied him that day as he hacked away at the soldiers that made up King Aelle's force. His body twitched a little in old remembrances of the battlefield. The memory was vivid enough that when one of his roommates entered, his eyes snapped open, and he threw the ax propped up against his bed without thinking.
As he blinked and became fully awake, he noticed their goggle-eyed expression. Huh. He was getting sloppy. That throw should have taken off an ear. Instead, the ax was embedded in the wall next to their head. Ivar didn't offer an apology as he slid off the bed, dragging himself over to the wall to remove the ax. That was going to leave a dent.
Ivar "The Boneless" Ragnarsson | Vikings | Not Reserved
● name: Shade
● age: 26
● contact:
● other characters: None
character information
● name: Ivar "The Boneless" Ragnarsson
● canon: Vikings
● canon point: Post 4.18
● age: 16
● (canon) background: Here!
● (original) world: N/A
● abilities: Ivar has immense upper body strength from literally crawling around most of his life. According to showrunners, he has brittle bone syndrome, so in order to get around, he's either got to move himself using only his arms, or wait around for someone willing to carry him. Being without the use of his legs didn't keep him from learning how to wield weapons and he's shown to actually be better at archery and with a throwing ax than three of his brothers. He can also wield a sword well enough to end in a tied draw with one of them too. He's very intelligent, and despite being young, can devise military strategies good enough to win battles.
● strengths: One of Ivar's greatest strengths is that he's very intelligent. Whereas most other Vikings are all about just attacking something until they knock it down, he'll be the one looking around for a battering ram instead. Being somewhat immobile means he has more time to think and figure out both how people and things work. He's very good at this and even his brothers take note of his skill at figuring out battlefield strategies.
Ivar is also extremely loyal to those he cares about. There aren't many that fall into this category, but the love he feels for his mother and father are a great motivator for him for most of the series. When he finds out his mother is dead, he challenges her killer to single combat, even though it might mean his own death. When that doesn't work, he plots with Ubbe, his older brother, to bring her down, even though they know their oldest brother Bjorn will try to stop them. When his father dies, Ivar works with his brothers, with whom he doesn't always have the best of relationships, purely because he wants revenge as badly as they do. He wants to avenge the death of the only man who ever believed in him, and before all the gods, he'll get it if he has to raze all of England to do so.
The last good trait Ivar has is his determination. Other people in that particular time period and in his position, in his own words of being "a cripple and a reject", might have just wallowed in self-pity. Ivar decided early on that not only was he going to be a true Viking, but he was actually going to be better than others at certain things. That's why he works so hard to learn combat weapons and to be smarter than everyone else around him. He figures if he does all this, people will respect and fear him. Even if he can't be physically the same as everyone, he can still be great. All he needs to do is be pointed in the right direction and he'll let nothing stop him from achieving his goals.
● weaknesses: One of Ivar's worst qualities, by his own admission, is his anger. While it might be a good quality for a Viking warrior to have, it does make it hard to form meaningful relationships. He's got a huge chip on his shoulder. Everyone he meets is someone he expects to not take him seriously, pity him, or talk down to him because of his physical problems. Therefore, everyone is a potential enemy rather than friend. His anger runs in two forms: either the temporary white hot fury that will be discussed in the impulsive section or the slow burning kind that makes him hold onto grudges until the end of time. Both tend to get him into trouble.
The second bad quality is that he's quite literally psychopathic. There's just something a little bit wrong with him emotionally. Even as a small child of no more than five or six, he impulsively kills another boy because he was frustrated over a game they were playing. He doesn't react to things appropriately, laughing when his niece dies, and not caring about the slaughter of the Vikings in Wessex. He flat out admits he likes killing far more than even the warrior society he's surrounded by does. Between his anger and his cold, uncaring nature, even his brothers, whom he does love to some degree, are rightfully afraid of him.
The last weakness he has is being impulsive. Caused partially by the two qualities above, Ivar is extremely impulsive when he gets upset or angry. Even as a young boy, this caused someone's death. As an adult, he makes several attempts on his brother Sigurd's life because of a feud between them, before finally succeeding. Immediately after, he looks shocked and sorry, but taking a life can't be undone. Neither can the occasional cruel, biting things he says out of anger.
● skills (optional): He can fight, despite his disability, and has a good mind for strategy. He can also be very loyal if properly motivated.
● housing (optional): Communal housing, por favor!
● network username: the boneless
● network sample: [It's clear whoever is using this device is unused to it. The picture shifts around for a few minutes, and Ivar's face furrowed in concentration is seen several times before he finally realizes that it's on. He points it outward, showing that he's in the kitchen, seated on a chair. His voice, when he speaks, has a vaguely European accent.] I have figured out what these do.
[He shows in turn the fridge, the sink, and the stove. The last one had caused a few burnt fingers, but hey, he'll survive.] But I still have no idea what this does. [He turns the device to the microwave. He's been playing around with the buttons, and while he's been able to turn it on, he hasn't yet realized food is supposed to go inside of it.] Anyone care to enlighten me?
● prose/action sample: He didn't really trust any of the people he was sleeping in this communal room with. Ivar had the bad habit of viewing everyone around him with suspicion and anger. He always suspected the worst of people. After all, what did they see him as? A cripple, someone to be pitied, someone who was lesser than they were just by virtue of not having use of his legs. It didn't matter that they probably didn't, this was what his own anger-fueled mind had come up with. He would need to prove to them that he could do whatever they could.
As he lay there in bed, his sleeping mind turned to the past. Once again, he was in battle in England, for once an equal as he was able to fight alongside the other Vikings. No one had pitied him that day as he hacked away at the soldiers that made up King Aelle's force. His body twitched a little in old remembrances of the battlefield. The memory was vivid enough that when one of his roommates entered, his eyes snapped open, and he threw the ax propped up against his bed without thinking.
As he blinked and became fully awake, he noticed their goggle-eyed expression. Huh. He was getting sloppy. That throw should have taken off an ear. Instead, the ax was embedded in the wall next to their head. Ivar didn't offer an apology as he slid off the bed, dragging himself over to the wall to remove the ax. That was going to leave a dent.