[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

[saltwaterlungs]

There's no sign of Darcy initially. The night is dark as it ever is, lit only by the stars and whatever lights are on around the ship. But then Darcy sort of appears balanced on the railing, holding a sword in her hand.

"You know basically every culture on earth has a kind of sword, ehn? Even places that didn't have metal tools worked out the best way to kill something is with a pointy stick."

She gives the sword a flourish, maintaining her balance. No ghostly powers active like when she's usually showing off like this, this is all from her training.

"But this isn't just a way to kill people. Learning how to use a sword is the closest most people will ever come to actually being perfect at something. If you get good enough with one of these, nobody can touch you or anything you care about without your permission. It takes years, and lots of training and practice, but it's possible. The only limit to how good you can get is how much work you're willing to put in."

Darcy drops down off the railing, examining the length of the blade once more before extending the hilt out to him.

"This is Tide-cutter. She was mine, and now she's yours. Take her and show me what you've got."

If this isn't sufficient badassery to get him through drilling footwork, nothing will be.

[pinballer]

He takes the sword, looking over it with some degree of reverence. No one's ever given him a gift like this before. He turns it around in his hands, getting a feel for the weight of it. Heavier than the sword he'd been given at the party, but not too heavy for him.

"You really want me to have this?" he says, though it's mostly rhetorical because Darcy's not the type to pussyfoot around, "...Thank you."

He steps back, slashing at the air. He has the dexterity and strength (well, for his age, at least) but he uses it like he'd use a knife.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Pay me back by working hard," she affirms, and then draws her own sword, standing in a neutral position.

"I did say show me, Vance. The air can't fight back."

[pinballer]

"Alright," he says, stepping back and then taking an overhead swing at her.

He's focusing more on how much power he can put into his swing more than the technique or the fact that this specific move is very choreographed and easy to predict.

[saltwaterlungs]

Oh, okay, this move again. Darcy just sort of. Side-steps and sticks out a foot, figuring he'll trip himself with the forward momentum of putting all his power into the swing.

[pinballer]

And she's right; he slams down onto one knee with a sharp grunt. He's not about to let a little bruising stop him, though, and he takes another swing (from the side rather than over the head this time) as he stands back up.

[saltwaterlungs]

Well, he didn't go entirely ass over teakettle, and he followed it up with a counter from his new position. Darcy hums a little approving noise and parries the blow- it's maybe a little closer than she would like, and only because Izzy's been training her to block low.

"First lesson. A sword is not a hammer. You don't need to put all your strength behind every hit. It makes you easy to parry, and you'll wear yourself out. Making a sword move faster is how you hit harder."

[pinballer]

"Obviously it's not a hammer," he says, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

He takes the lesson to heart, though. It's just Vance protocol to be a little shit while he does so. He strikes again, trying to move faster this time even if he isn't putting as much force into it.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Then don't use it like a hammer," Darcy snarks back.

Another parry, this one a bit more practiced.

"You feel how much easier that was? Physics lesson; how hard something hits is based on how heavy it is and how fast it's moving. A sword is pretty light, so you need to make it move fast for it to hit hard. That comes from technique."

Speaking of, she demonstrates with a sweeping blow that transfers the momentum of the parry into a strike back at him.

[pinballer]

"Great, a math lesson," he snarks again. He never actually made it to physics class, but he's sure he wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Still, there's something to be said about practical learning. Problems and tests don't do much for him, but this? Something hands-on that he actually cares about learning? Yeah, he can do that.

He blocks the blow with his sword, but he can feel the strength behind it.

"Shit. Back home we'd just go at each other with our pocket knives," he says, "Wish I could show those cuntwads these moves."

[saltwaterlungs]

He blocks it, but now he's got to deal with Darcy using her strength to keep his sword where it is with her own, essentially trying to pin it to his chest.

"You know if you use this on anyone who isn't asking for it, I'm going to kick your ass right. Also next lesson, a sword is a tool to keep your opponent away from you. Otherwise they do this-"

And she's going to try and headbutt him.

[pinballer]

As much as he hates to admit it, she's stronger than he is, and manages to keep the sword pinned to his chest. He's got no option but to take the headbutt and he falls flat on his ass, panting heavily.

"Note taken," he says, "And yeah. I know. We might have to come to a mutual definition of what counts as asking for it, though."

He suspects his personal threshold might be lower than hers.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Asking for it is asking for it. Fighting words. You don't need to take shit from people, just... think about it before you get into a fight with anyone, ehn? Especially if they're better than you."

Because let's be real if he tried to stab Izzy or Erin, Vance would Vancen't.

Darcy offers a hand down for him to help himself back up, half curious to see what he'd do.

[pinballer]

He scoffs at first, but where he may once have spurned the gesture entirely, he hesitates and then takes her hand. As much as he hates admitting that he can't take on the whole world by himself, it's nice to have someone on his team.

"I'll try not to start shit, but my regular words come across as fighting words a lot," he says, "I'm sure you've noticed."

[saltwaterlungs]

No punishment for it, no reversal, she helps him to his feet and that's that. A student needs to be able to trust their teacher.

"Yeah, kind of obvious. Okay- how's this. Your sword doesn't come out unless you're already committed to drawing blood. Ehn? No using it to scare people off. No using it if punching the motherfucker would do. Sound better?"

[pinballer]

That makes more sense to him, as much as he'd like to flash it just to scare people off. He still has his knife for that.

"Okay, I can abide by that," he says, "I can show it off at knife club, right? The council has decided that swords are allowed there now."

The council consisting solely of him, who didn't have a sword last month but has one now.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Oh the fucking council says they count now!?"

Maturity over it's back to pettiness.

"Are you kidding me?? Bullshit! They've always counted!"

[pinballer]

"Nah, I had to try one first and make sure it fit the knife club guidelines," he says, equally petty, "It's called being responsible and doing research and shit."

Being responsible and doing research: two things Vance Hopper has never, ever done.

[saltwaterlungs]

"Oh now that's some bullshit. Okay- lesson over for tonight," she declares, "same time next week. And I want on the ruling council of knife club now that swords count. Because I have the coolest swords on the ship and everyone should know it."

[pinballer]

"Fine. You can be on the council."

Not the leader. Just on the council. The council that he just made up right now, but he also just made up the club, so.