Five principles Vala follows (or thinks she does)skieswideopenMay 24 2011, 19:54:30 UTC
1. Cleavage and suggestive conversation are excellent tools of persuasion. Especially when backed up by a fully-charged gun.
Both halves of this principle are things Vala picked up from her mother. Her mother tended to rely more on the flirting side of things. Vala likes to keep a good balance between the two.
2. It's better to let people underestimate you.
Vala learned this one from her mother too. There was a period in her life when she despised her mother for acting helpless so that other people would take care of her, but as she got older, she began to appreciate the advantages of the approach. Especially when dealing with men who were blinded by her manner and clothing that they never saw the con or the gun coming.
Even when she's bragging about her skill as a thief or a student of human nature, she's careful to keep things so over-the-top as not to be taken completely seriously. And if it means that sometimes people don't give her as much credit as she deserves or listen to her when she has a good plan, well, it's worth the security of knowing that she's better than they think.
Most of the time.
3. Always have an escape route planned.
Vala treats this rule as both literal and metaphorical: always make a point of knowing where the back door is and never go into a situation without knowing how you're going to get out. Which is why one of the scariest parts of being at the SGC is how locked in she is there. Vala has faith that she can make it out of the building if she needs to, but she knows she'll never make it through the Stargate if they don't want her to go, and there aren't a lot of other ways off the planet. It's a frightening thought, not having a way out.
She's still working on a plan.
4. Always eat dessert first.
This was one of the first rules Vala came up with for herself, following a particularly disappointing experience in a restaurant in Belí during which the sudden appearance of a former mark forced her to flee the restaurant halfway through her meal and before she even got to touch the absolutely scrumptious cake that she'd planned on ordering after her meal.
5. Trust is for suckers.
This was the first lesson Vala learned from her father, one that was reinforced not only through words but through actions. It's a rule that's served her well over the years, saving her from all sorts of unpleasant situations that would have felled a less suspicious person.
She just hopes she can continue to remember it now that she's in a situation where not only do people trust her, but she actually wants to be worthy of their trust.
Both halves of this principle are things Vala picked up from her mother. Her mother tended to rely more on the flirting side of things. Vala likes to keep a good balance between the two.
2. It's better to let people underestimate you.
Vala learned this one from her mother too. There was a period in her life when she despised her mother for acting helpless so that other people would take care of her, but as she got older, she began to appreciate the advantages of the approach. Especially when dealing with men who were blinded by her manner and clothing that they never saw the con or the gun coming.
Even when she's bragging about her skill as a thief or a student of human nature, she's careful to keep things so over-the-top as not to be taken completely seriously. And if it means that sometimes people don't give her as much credit as she deserves or listen to her when she has a good plan, well, it's worth the security of knowing that she's better than they think.
Most of the time.
3. Always have an escape route planned.
Vala treats this rule as both literal and metaphorical: always make a point of knowing where the back door is and never go into a situation without knowing how you're going to get out. Which is why one of the scariest parts of being at the SGC is how locked in she is there. Vala has faith that she can make it out of the building if she needs to, but she knows she'll never make it through the Stargate if they don't want her to go, and there aren't a lot of other ways off the planet. It's a frightening thought, not having a way out.
She's still working on a plan.
4. Always eat dessert first.
This was one of the first rules Vala came up with for herself, following a particularly disappointing experience in a restaurant in Belí during which the sudden appearance of a former mark forced her to flee the restaurant halfway through her meal and before she even got to touch the absolutely scrumptious cake that she'd planned on ordering after her meal.
5. Trust is for suckers.
This was the first lesson Vala learned from her father, one that was reinforced not only through words but through actions. It's a rule that's served her well over the years, saving her from all sorts of unpleasant situations that would have felled a less suspicious person.
She just hopes she can continue to remember it now that she's in a situation where not only do people trust her, but she actually wants to be worthy of their trust.
It's harder than she thought it would be.
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I love it!
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Thanks!
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