[open] dreams of you all through my head

[pinballer]

Who: Vance Hopper & (mostly) ota
What: Fixing Judith and generally being around
When: Early November
Where: all around
Warnings: eventual discussion of child torture/murder


1 / it's all right now (the drunken sailor)

[ Before the party, Vance was gifted with the mangled remains of Fio's teddy bear, Judith. One of the ghosts did it, and he feels kind of silly doing something so sentimental for a teddy bear, but he knows it's because the ghost was avenging him for Judith's previous attack. So, in a way, he feels responsible.

He chose The Drunken Sailor because it's where Knife Club is held, and also because he thinks Fio is unlikely to wander in and see Judith before it's all fixed up. There's some threads in all different colors set out and everyone is encouraged to take a different one and fix the bear a little bit at a time. That way, Fio will know how many different people all came together for her.

Vance is sitting at the table with a bit of read thread, starting to sew the arm back on. He isn't very good at it, but this is a group effort anyway. ]

[ ooc note: If they know Vance, assume your character got a text and was invited. If they don't know Vance and you want to participate, feel free to handwave that someone invited them. ]

2 / but don't give yourself away

[ Sometime after fixing Judith, Vance can be found all around the ship. He's not as devastated as he was in the aftermath of the party, but he's not entirely back to normal, either. He's...somewhere in between.

If someone saw him take down not-Friday, he's willing to talk about it. He also wants to catch up with anyone he knows who was possessed and isn't anymore.

Once in a while, too, he lifts up the corner of his white tank top and (for the first time since he's been here) takes an actual look at the knife-wound scars that were left behind. He's hated those scars since the first time he saw them and has done whatever it takes to keep them covered. After seeing Judith - all full of stitches but still wanted and still okay - he thinks, finally, that they might not be so hideous after all. ]

3 / it's only teenage wasteland (closed to clarke)

[ As much as he tries to play the tough guy, the last month weighed on him something fierce and he feels like he's about to burst if he doesn't get some of his feelings out into the world. Clarke's been trying to nudge him into sharing a little ever since they went to beach, so he just lets it slip. ]

I lied. I am scared. Of a lot of things. [ About ending up like the ghosts here and being sent to the Nothing, yes, but also of the monsters from his past even if they aren't here anymore. ]

wildcard

[ surprise me. I'm at callico or chimera#5926 if you want to plot. ]

Comments

[pinballer]

"No," he says, "I'm already a ghost. I don't think any of the other ghosts wanted to just be a ghost again."

Or maybe he just got lucky. Who knows.

"...You know you were possessed, right?" he says, really hoping he doesn't have to be the one to break the news, "I talked to that guy for a little while."

[cacophonish]

"Oh. Yeah... Yeah, I guess that'd be, uh... kind of awkward for them."

But hey, at least this kid was spared the violation and nothingness, even if the reason's... a fucked up tragedy. To be dead, like dead-dead a ghost, at such a young age, it can't be anything but a tragedy. And with the way Vance is dressed, it must've happened... fuck, probably when Jeff was a little kid, himself.

He shifts a little, looking uncomfortable, keeping his eyes on the bear as he stitches. "I know." His voice is smaller than he'd like. He shrugs, trying to sound more casual as he adds, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Though the first time was so very, very different from this, that it's hardly comparable.

"Um. Sorry if he was a total asshole or anything. I dunno. I don't... really know anything about him, except his name."

[pinballer]

"Nah, they were all fine with me for the most part," he says, "Ghost solidarity, you know."

Which makes it sound like he's still on Team Ghost.

"Not that I'm gonna let them back in or anything. They were douchebags for that, I just...get that being dead sucks."

[cacophonish]

"Makes sense. I guess if a bunch of, uh, witches wanted to take over the boat, I'd have some solidarity there, too."

Back home, anyway, Jeff would always choose his fellow Gifted over any standard issue humans. In a place like this, though, where they're all in the same metaphorical and literal boat, and nobody side-eyes him for his magic, it's felt like less of a necessity. Still, he knows he'd feel conflicted if it ever came down to... the magical vs the mundane.

"I don't... have a lot of experience with being dead, but." He hesitates for a moment. "But I went where they went. It felt like--" He stops himself, takes a breath. "It sucks. So. I guess... I get why they'd do anything to stay away from that place."

[pinballer]

"Yeah, what they described sounded like a worse version of what I had back home," he says, "I know we're not supposed to be trying to kick the captain's ass but I think he deserves an ass-kicking for that."