Thorvald of Lym

Thorvald of Lym
File:Thorvaldbio.png
First appearance	DRAW Your Own Story 6
Last appearance	N/A
No. appearances	>= 6
Created by	himself
Portrayed by	himself
Profile
Nickname(s)	Thorvald, "Thorvie", Thorn(vald)
Aliases	none
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Date of birth	> 1950?
Date of death	N/A
Age	unknown
Address	Slottet / Kremlin
Occupation	Supreme Prime Minister for Life of the Eastern Union
Family	???
Spouse(s)	none
Children	none
Relatives	???
Starsign	???
Religion	Ukrainian Catholic (lolwut?)
Nationality	Norwegian

Norse nobleman who was ruler of the Kingdom of Lym, a territory roughly comprised of the southern quarter of Norway and Sweden. Following the “Quiet October” revolution, he established himself as “Supreme Prime Minister for Life” of the Eastern Union; a Soviet-esque union of both the Scandinavian and Slavic states. While impulsive and at times almost childish in demeanour, he is a charismatic and capable leader who is dedicated to the betterment of his people.

Early life

Thorvald's exact birth date is in disagreement, as his avatars suggest conflicting age brackets. He is commonly believed to have been born in the latter half of the Twentieth Century.

Although a privileged child growing up noble in the Kingdom of Lym, Thorvald developed strong socialist sentiment in his teenage years, and became an active member of social welfare initiatives in his homeland and neighbouring countries. This gave him a firm grasp of geography, and intricate knowledge of metropolitan bus routes as consequence of his frequent wanderings.

The basis for Thorvald's first custom avatar; it remained his comic self-depiction until DYOS X.

In his years as Crown Prince, Thorvald attended numerous diplomatic negotiations, although he himself did not affect the kingdom's policy in any meaningful way. Despite this, he maintained this "wait-and-see" philosophy to better prepare himself for government when the time came. He frequently consulted with childhood friend and confidant Bjørn on affairs of person and state in an effort to "prune" his character.

With the death of his father King Heinrik in 1991, Thorvald became King of Lym, immediately appointing Bjørn as chief advisor. While his father had been a progressive ruler, Thorvald decided to carry his policies radically further. While the general state of living rose sharply, the realm's infrastructure was unable to support such drastic changes, and Thorvald was forced to reduce the royal army to fielding plate metal and pointy sticks. This led to a rapid retraction in foreign policy, and within ten years, the kingdom grew virtually anonymous on the world stage.

DYOS

As King of Lym

Economic stimulus through alternative business enterprise (read: piracy) led to a stabilization of the kingdom's finances in 2006, and Thorvald grew bold enough to lead his minions back onto the world stage. He quested for the Monkey Statue of Spamuzel in DRAW Your Own Story 6, and discovered a clue to the exploding computers in DRAW Your Own Story 8 after raiding a castle belonging to James I of England.

File:Thorvald-Gmod.png

Alternate depictions of Thorvald in Garry's Mod; the rightmost is current as of DYOS X.ii.

As Supreme Prime Minister

During his early days in DYOS 6, he say he want a revolution. With bolstered military prowess, Thorvald became an "asset" to the Republic of Coruscant, and has since frequently found himself in CivGeneral's circle during quests. This has included most recently the Avatar Wars and the race for the Gem.

Thorvald and Toyoda

Some time during the mid-1980s, Thorvald grew sharply discordant with Mr. Toyoda for reasons he has not disclosed. Although King Heinrik dealt freely and openly with the Japanese entrepreneur, Thorvald distanced himself from Toyoda as much as possible, and is on public record making verbal threats against him. Thorvald gradually "forgot" about Toyoda during the 1990s, but his anger resurfaced during DRAW Your Own Story 10.

Private and professional attitude

Thorvald is known for a dynamic personality comprising irreverent humour, surprising solemnity, and an understated academic finesse. Amongst his friends he is recognized for his casual and at times quirky demeanour, less prestigiously for a volatile temper and an aggressive spontaneity that has on more than one occasion landed him in trouble. He is usually able to extricate himself from such unpleasant situations either through savvy diplomacy or pure feat of strength. In public as well as private, Thorvald considers himself something of an intellectual, and will occasionally lapse into a poetic dialect that typified his speech in much of the Post-DYOS 5 Era.

As a statesman, Thorvald maintains a professional air, although he is not averse to exhibiting his jovial side where protocol will allow. His charismatic flair and steadfast public face have manifested him as something of a father figure for the Eastern Union. Gwynne Dyer describes him as "an idealist whose authoritarianism is tempered by a heartfelt sense of duty to the citizenry". While he generally maintains a divide between his life in and out of office, he has been known to carry particular personal grudges over into his politics, although these are few, far between, and rarely amount to more than shouting matches with his ministers.

Thorvald as artist

Thorvald's encounter with the Combine Advisor, and the basis for his current forum avatar

Like with most newcomers to DRAW Your Own Story, Thorvald's initial medium was solely cut-and-pasted comics, praised by fellow forumers for higher-tier quality. Toward the end of DYOS 6, Thorvald began to dabble in "dedicated" machinima that he frequently incorporated in future threads. During the former half of DYOS 10, Thorvald began contributing hand-drawn cartoons; the experience gained from these has worked to greatly improve his artistic style.

Thorvald's comics combine a roughly equal mix of the three main mediums, sometimes at once. With the adoption of pencil sketches, he has incorporated characters from his hobby project into DYOS that have contributed to the development of his more serious plotlines. Thorvald's narrative reputation is founded upon an alternation between subtle humour, believable geopolitics, and intrigue.

See also

• Bjørn
• Harald
• Kingdom of Lym
• Eastern Union
• Mr. Toyoda
• Vladimir Putin
• Thorvald's doppelgängers
• List of Thorvald's characters

Royal titles
Preceded by King Heinrik	King of Lym 1991 – 2006	Position abolished
Government offices
New office	Supreme Prime Minister for Life of the Eastern Union 2006 – present	Incumbent