come_sailaway | i've heard it all before [open]

Who: Vance Hopper & OPEN
When: After his arrival in late August
Where: All around
Summary: Vance has arrived and he is NOT happy about it but he's not happy about anything really so he can deal with it.
Warnings: he's very mean (and also likely to be discussing child murder because he is a child who was murdered)

( FOX ON THE RUN ) / deck

[ Vance is walking around on the deck, fists clenched and scowling at anyone who passes by. He doesn't actually talk to anyone yet because he's still used to most people not being able to see him, but he's there.

...And he's absolutely covered in dried blood that he could wash off at any time. He hasn't figured that out yet, either, so he's just. Walking around like that. ]

( PINBALL WIZARD ) / playback

[ Of course as soon as Vance finds Playback he heads straight for the pinball. On one hand, this place sucks. On the other hand, it does have pinball. And nicer machines than the one at the convenience store back home, too. Maybe it's not hell after all.

He's completely in the zone, still getting used to an unfamiliar board so he's not quite at high score tier just yet, but he's still pretty good.

And he knows when someone's lurking around nearby, despite his concentration. ]

You can watch if you want but if you throw me off I'll kick your ass. [ Said whether the nearby person was actually watching him or not. ]

( SCHOOL'S OUT ) / library

[ What a nice library. It'd be a shame if some rude boy went and sat with his shoes right on one of the tables, loudly talking to himself as he flips through a comic book.

He's just looking at the pictures, of course. What is this, school? All things considered, it's not the rudest thing he could be doing, but if there's an opportunity to be obnoxious he's going to take it. ]

( I WANNA BE SEDATED ) / outside of hurikane

[ Vance tried to get himself a drink (after half a year of being dead he deserves a good drink, he thinks) but the second he tries he gets escorted out and told to go back to Playback. He's already had plenty of fun at Playback, thank you, now he wants to have some irresponsible fun.

He stands with his hands in his pockets trying to look inconspicuous until someone who looks like they might be an adult passes by. ]

Psst. [ He leans in towards them. ] Get me a drink. I'll make it worth your while.

[ Let it be known that he has absolutely nothing to offer anyone that would make it worth their while. ]

( WILDCARD )

[ chimera#5926 or PM to plot. Or just go for it, if there's something you want with him. Surprise me. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's funny how similar the angry ghost of a teenager can be to the eldritch magician holding them all captive...]

You don't sound too different from him. Do you think you'll take his place in one billion and one years, when you do finally kill him?

He started it, I'm just fighting back. [ He scoffs, like he's offended that his own personal bloodthirst would ever be compared to the captain's. ]

No. I'll destroy it. And no one'll ever be trapped here again.

So you want to protect us? That's... very kind of you, Vance.

[He's doubting anyone has ever suggested Vance was anything of the sort before, but there's a protector hidden somewhere under all that aggressive grandstanding. They need that more than they need a bully.]

Don't flatter yourself. I'm doing it for me. [ He's not sure why it gets his hackles up to be accused of helping others. When Finn thanked him for his help, it just pissed him off.

Is it because he thinks kindness is a tool the weak use to get by? Or that people won't be afraid of him if they know he's not all violence and anger? A little of column A, a little of column B. Either way, he needs to rebuff the notion that he's in any way kind, even when he's talking about saving people. ]

I'm just not gonna stop the rest of you from getting something out of it, is all.

[Unsurprising, but not particularly disappointing to hear. Small steps are something Skulduggery is quickly becoming accustomed to aboard the ship.]

Hmm. So you don't think you'll need help at all? We're just meant to stand aside and let you take it from here?

I didn't say that.

[ It's okay if they have to work together. He really wants to be the one to finish it this time, if only because he couldn't be on the frontlines during his last revenge plan, but he'll let other people have the glory if it's between that and just not accomplishing his goals at all. ]

But you guys have a lot of opinions on what not to do and not a lot about what to do and I don't like sitting on my ass waiting for some fucker to torture me.

You have a terrible attitude, Vance, but your reasoning is sound.

[Which means: congratulations, he is officially laying off the menacing skeleton shtick. If Vance starts another fight with Fio, Skulduggery will simply send Ava the next time, and she'll put an end to it once and for all.

...But he doesn't expect that to happen. He thinks that Judy might've gotten the message across better than he ever could.]

If you want to survive here, you'll need to learn to work with others. It's a fact of life on the ship -- we are better when we're together.

Yeah. I've done that before. [ He's not going to be the most responsible contributor to any given group project, but he will at least contribute. ]

That's all fine when things are quiet. If shit goes down it's every man for themselves, I know how it is. [ Which is where the tough guy act comes in. His way of announcing that he's not going to go down easily just because he's a kid. Before he can cooperate with anyone he needs to feel like they won't target him the second it becomes convenient to do so.

That people will defend each other and won't turn in to vicious beasts the second they're threatened is something he'll have to see to believe. Especially from the adults, who he's not inclined to trust right now. ]

We try even harder to look out for one another when things go wrong.

[Because they do go wrong. The shit hits the fan practically every other week, partially due to the Captain and partially due to their own personal hubris. But they do, by and large, try to help one another.]

It isn't a perfect system, but if you need help, it will often be provided.

Yeah, well, I'm not banking on that.

[ It's not how things have ever worked out for him before, so he's reluctant to put too much faith in anyone. ]

I can look after myself. I always have. [ And now he's dead. ]

[And now he is dead. And dead so young, too. There's no way a lesson in cooperation is going to sink in for now, but if it could, if Vance could find a way to work with the others instead of fighting against everyone...]

Well, if I can be of assistance in your plan to help us all escape, you'll have to let me know. In the meantime, if I could ask you for a favor... Let Fio know that she didn't murder you, the next time you see her? She was worried about you.

[The ship's too small to for them not to encounter each other again, after all.]

[ He doesn't trust Skulduggery enough to let him know about the message in a bottle just yet. Partly because he's an adult (or at least, Vance assumes this is an adult skeleton) and partly because he's pretty sure the bottle just pointlessly drifted away into nothingness.

But he can at least concede one thing, now that he's gotten a lot of his pent-up rage out by knocking others around and getting knocked around in turn. ]

Yeah, whatever, I'll tell her. It takes more than that to get rid of me. [ He doesn't understand why a kid he just attacked would be worried about him. Maybe she just didn't want to get in trouble. Who knows. ]

I can tell you're made of tougher stuff than that. [Hopefully some not-so-gentle nudges from Darcy will help forge him into a decent kid.]

Well, good talk. Here's hoping our next conversation won't be predicated on you terrorizing somebody I care about.

Yeah, we'll see.

[ He's snarky, but not upset at least. ]

i've heard it all before [open]

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