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come_sailaway2022-06-02 09:20 am
saltwaterlungs) wrote in come_sailaway2022-06-02 09:20 am
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
CHARACTERS: Darcy, Skulduggery, Ava, Undine, and YOU?
DATE: Late May/Early June, post-pirate gathering but pre-shore excursion.
LOCATION: Various
SITUATION: Some swords, some levitation, some martial arts movies
WARNINGS: Will probably veer into the usual topics of death and associates
It’s been a productive couple of weeks since the party. The pirate get-together was mostly fine, with no singalongs, a fight narrowly avoided, and some interesting information gleaned from the captain. Lucius had delivered her a drawing of Undine as promised, which is sitting neatly in her notebook for safe-keeping. She had Kael’s martial arts movies now from the store for some reason. Considering she was still on an evil cruise ship, things were coming up Darcy.
Then her thoughts in meditation turned to Skulduggery’s powers, the air he manipulated seemingly almost without thinking. She mused on the sky, the still air atop the bridge, the span of the horizon and the imperceivable barrier keeping them stuck here. Discursive meditation was something she’d been introduced to back home by Terre Mère, the idea of turning your attention solely to something in order to understand it. It was usually boring and uncomfortable, but something kept her stuck on it this time.
When she returned to her cabin to brush her teeth and prepare for an evening patrol, the mirror presented her with a girl who looked like she’d been strangled to death. Face red, blood vessels in her eyes burst, and a thin angry scar that traced the circumference of her neck. After the initial panic, she recognized what it meant. The scar on her neck to go with the scar on her tongue from biting through it, the salt scars inside her lungs, and her broken heart from the pact she made. A new kind of hurt, and a new kind of power from it.
She tied the black ribbon Stede had given her around her throat to hide the scar, quietly thanked God that he hadn’t picked green, and set off to see what else she could do.
It’s his turn to come across someone practicing on the pool, this time.
Levitation had been the first of her new powers she’d discovered, and she’d taken to it unsteadily, but by the time Skulduggery gets to her, she’s starting to get the hang of it. She traces spiralling fractals into the surface of the water, as if the pool beneath her were frozen and she were simply ice skating. There’s a grace to it that betrays her usual gruffness, the way she normally holds herself like a sledgehammer waiting to find a wall. It’s beautiful, and she’s… laughing to herself in delight as she showboats for nobody at all.
There’s a change in how Darcy trains, since the pirate meeting. She seems less angry while she’s working, less laser-like focus on it, as if her swordsmanship was the only thing between herself and death. She seems to be remembering the joy of it as she practices flourishes and moves her coaches definitely did not teach her. If anyone cares for a lesson, or a friendly bout, now’s a good time to approach her.
No time like the present to actually give Undine the present she’d asked Lucius to do. Which is why she’s totally not stalling by fixing up her outfit outside Undine’s door before they go get boba. She managed to brave the damn Tommy Bahama store long enough to find a nice black pair of jeans, so she’s not in sweatpants, paired with the button-up and turtleneck she was given for the party. Eventually after combing her hair for the third time since she got up this morning, she knocks on the door.
Being in possession of Kael’s white boy martial arts movies meant one thing; Darcy had something to do with herself again. The USB made it complicated, she couldn’t exactly plug it into her phone, but Rin had suggested she use the screen at the adult pool. So, from after dinner until the wee hours of the morning one night, lacking anything else to do with herself, she set up a movie marathon. All the perennial favourites; Enter the Dragon, Hero, Rush Hour, Kung Fu Hustle, Five Deadly Venoms. She would probably kill you if you accused her of enjoying herself, but there’s an odd nostalgia to actually seeing the movies that Kael never shut up about. There’s plenty of seats, join her if you want.
(Wildcard, go nuts)
DATE: Late May/Early June, post-pirate gathering but pre-shore excursion.
LOCATION: Various
SITUATION: Some swords, some levitation, some martial arts movies
WARNINGS: Will probably veer into the usual topics of death and associates
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours? (Meta)
It’s been a productive couple of weeks since the party. The pirate get-together was mostly fine, with no singalongs, a fight narrowly avoided, and some interesting information gleaned from the captain. Lucius had delivered her a drawing of Undine as promised, which is sitting neatly in her notebook for safe-keeping. She had Kael’s martial arts movies now from the store for some reason. Considering she was still on an evil cruise ship, things were coming up Darcy.
Then her thoughts in meditation turned to Skulduggery’s powers, the air he manipulated seemingly almost without thinking. She mused on the sky, the still air atop the bridge, the span of the horizon and the imperceivable barrier keeping them stuck here. Discursive meditation was something she’d been introduced to back home by Terre Mère, the idea of turning your attention solely to something in order to understand it. It was usually boring and uncomfortable, but something kept her stuck on it this time.
When she returned to her cabin to brush her teeth and prepare for an evening patrol, the mirror presented her with a girl who looked like she’d been strangled to death. Face red, blood vessels in her eyes burst, and a thin angry scar that traced the circumference of her neck. After the initial panic, she recognized what it meant. The scar on her neck to go with the scar on her tongue from biting through it, the salt scars inside her lungs, and her broken heart from the pact she made. A new kind of hurt, and a new kind of power from it.
She tied the black ribbon Stede had given her around her throat to hide the scar, quietly thanked God that he hadn’t picked green, and set off to see what else she could do.
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound (Closed to Skulduggery)
It’s his turn to come across someone practicing on the pool, this time.
Levitation had been the first of her new powers she’d discovered, and she’d taken to it unsteadily, but by the time Skulduggery gets to her, she’s starting to get the hang of it. She traces spiralling fractals into the surface of the water, as if the pool beneath her were frozen and she were simply ice skating. There’s a grace to it that betrays her usual gruffness, the way she normally holds herself like a sledgehammer waiting to find a wall. It’s beautiful, and she’s… laughing to herself in delight as she showboats for nobody at all.
And every man knew, as the captain did too (OTA)
There’s a change in how Darcy trains, since the pirate meeting. She seems less angry while she’s working, less laser-like focus on it, as if her swordsmanship was the only thing between herself and death. She seems to be remembering the joy of it as she practices flourishes and moves her coaches definitely did not teach her. If anyone cares for a lesson, or a friendly bout, now’s a good time to approach her.
T'was the witch of November come stealin' (closed to Ava and Undine)
No time like the present to actually give Undine the present she’d asked Lucius to do. Which is why she’s totally not stalling by fixing up her outfit outside Undine’s door before they go get boba. She managed to brave the damn Tommy Bahama store long enough to find a nice black pair of jeans, so she’s not in sweatpants, paired with the button-up and turtleneck she was given for the party. Eventually after combing her hair for the third time since she got up this morning, she knocks on the door.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait (OTA)
Being in possession of Kael’s white boy martial arts movies meant one thing; Darcy had something to do with herself again. The USB made it complicated, she couldn’t exactly plug it into her phone, but Rin had suggested she use the screen at the adult pool. So, from after dinner until the wee hours of the morning one night, lacking anything else to do with herself, she set up a movie marathon. All the perennial favourites; Enter the Dragon, Hero, Rush Hour, Kung Fu Hustle, Five Deadly Venoms. She would probably kill you if you accused her of enjoying herself, but there’s an odd nostalgia to actually seeing the movies that Kael never shut up about. There’s plenty of seats, join her if you want.
When the gales of November came slashin'
(Wildcard, go nuts)
no subject
It's insulting, the idea that anything is truly personal aboard this ship. Like she hadn't already been forced to spill about her deepest secrets already, like the people here didn't have ways of getting in everyone's business and extracting shit from them like pulling teeth. Worse that he was so clearly lying to her face and expecting her to believe that something that made him this touchy was meaningless. Skulduggery, who had joked about death as easily as some joked about laundry and taxes, so flippant and even-keeled with even her worst tales of horror from her life. Darcy knew him better than that. Or she thought she did, anyway.
"Would you just fucking talk to me?! I can't help if I don't know what's wrong," she says to Avery, here and back in that moment, "does the Captain have something on you to do with the gauntlets? Is this blackmail? Was it a bargain with him? What? What's going on?"
no subject
"There is nothing to talk about. It --" He shifts abruptly, as if he might run, but his feet remain planted at the last second. "It is an upsetting reminder of a dark time, and quite frankly, Darcy, I haven't even told Valkyrie about it. I'm not --" Ready to tell, "-- able to tell you."
no subject
"Fine."
Her voice is more choked than she anticipated, and she lets the Stillness wash over her, removing herself from his sight. She walks herself to the other side of the pool and sits on one of the deck chairs, waiting for him to leave so she can put herself back under the water again.
no subject
The more pathetic truth is that he's been happy to pretend none of it mattered. Nobody here knew about the War, or Mevolent, or Lord Vile. They don't know about the Death Bringer, or the Faceless Ones, and they don't even care! Now comes the possibility that they might find out, that they will find out, and he finds himself desperate to avoid ruining the fantasy. Because as soon as Darcy knows, as soon as everybody knows...
Stupid. Short-sighted and stupid.
He has no idea where Darcy's gone to. She might not have even left. His paranoia dictates that she's probably watching, waiting for him to let something slip to indicate the truth he's not ready to own up to. He clenches his fists against the thought and loses track of how long he stands there, unmoving until his anger breaks or subsides. In the end, it's a rough break, as he throws an irritated arm wide and scatters the row of chairs next to him with a sharp, angry gust of air.
It doesn't help. Nor will running away, but Skulduggery gives it a shot nonetheless.