Ｖａｎ Ｓｌａｎｚａｒ ｄｅ Ｆａｎｅｌ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
danceofcurse) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
maskormenace2016-10-06 01:01 am
danceofcurse) wrote in maskormenace2016-10-06 01:01 am
003 ⚔ Video
[When the broadcast begins, the center of attention is a young man's gloved hands and the toy figure they hold, approximately thirteen centimeters tall and brushed with shining metallic white paint. Protruding from large armored shoulders embedded with green gems is a leathery-looking vinyl cape that hangs low enough to reach adjustable feet. When pressed, a switch resting behind a horned helmet triggers movement of the arms: a rigid up-and-down chopping motion.]
I was alright with building these things when I first got here, but now that they've started to model them after Escaflowne...
[To say Van sounds exasperated is an understatement, but even so, he doesn't appear to be in any hurry to dispose of the figure. Rather than treat it with any sort of disrespect, the toy is set aside in favor of collecting the phone, the camera positioned in his hands to capture his disapproving frown, no doubt expected by those who have come to know him.]
What I'm trying to say is that I'm looking for new work. I'm good with a bow and arrow, better with a sword, and if there are people who want to learn or need protecting...
[He doesn't feel good about suggesting they pay him for any of that, but he can't very well live off the generosity of others, now can he? And he's not happy at present doing something he feels serves no greater purpose. This is really the only option he has.]
I'm also looking for an armorer. And someone who knows their way around large... [He pauses, clearly searching for the right word, his face screwing up with concentration before, albeit with obvious dissatisfaction, he settles upon the only commonly accepted descriptor he knows.] ...large robots.
Mine needs some repairs. Potentially some improvements.
[That's it. As abruptly as his broadcast began, it ends.]
I was alright with building these things when I first got here, but now that they've started to model them after Escaflowne...
[To say Van sounds exasperated is an understatement, but even so, he doesn't appear to be in any hurry to dispose of the figure. Rather than treat it with any sort of disrespect, the toy is set aside in favor of collecting the phone, the camera positioned in his hands to capture his disapproving frown, no doubt expected by those who have come to know him.]
What I'm trying to say is that I'm looking for new work. I'm good with a bow and arrow, better with a sword, and if there are people who want to learn or need protecting...
[He doesn't feel good about suggesting they pay him for any of that, but he can't very well live off the generosity of others, now can he? And he's not happy at present doing something he feels serves no greater purpose. This is really the only option he has.]
I'm also looking for an armorer. And someone who knows their way around large... [He pauses, clearly searching for the right word, his face screwing up with concentration before, albeit with obvious dissatisfaction, he settles upon the only commonly accepted descriptor he knows.] ...large robots.
Mine needs some repairs. Potentially some improvements.
[That's it. As abruptly as his broadcast began, it ends.]
no subject
[she manages to catch the sword without dropping it, thank god. it's hard to talk shit when you're fumbling with dumb wooden broom handles or whatever this actually was.
she rests it over her shoulder casually. Hazel knows better than to try and take any kind of stance with how cranky this guy is; he'd probably correct her before she could even start, so there's no point in bothering at all. he'll badger her into whatever he thinks is 'proper'.]
But whatever, let's go. Maybe you can give me a concussion too.
no subject
[With a roll of both shoulders and eyes, Van leaves her for a moment to collect from a rack of practice equipment another sword identical to the one he'd tossed at Hazel. No longer than a short sword and resembling a Roman gladius, meant to be wielded with one hand instead of two, it is made entirely of wood with a steel center to mimic the correct weight and balance of a real blade. It can't cut, but it can bruise and bludgeon, and if neither of them are careful, it can probably crack skulls, too.
Van won't let it come to that, of course.
Coming back towards Hazel and to a stop some five paces away, he studies the way she's standing before shaking his head. The only thing she has going for her is that she's not tense, but everything else about her stance leaves her open to being disarmed or dismembered.]
What do you already know about sword fighting?
no subject
I know if you use two hands you can get the fucking thing straight through a person's chest. Aaaand that's about it.
[this is incredibly mean because the person who got a sword through the chest was Hazel herself, intentionally whilst fighting Pan, but there's nothing but amusement sparkling in her eyes. it's always fun to secretly knock herself down.]
no subject
I think you know a lot more than you'd like to admit.
[He's certainly not expecting her to be an expert, not coming to him for help, but most beginners tend to know more than they give themselves credit for.]
A sword isn't only a weapon. While it can be used to take a life, it can also be used to protect...and a truly skilled swordsman can win a battle without ever needing to draw his blade. [Not that Van has mastered that skill himself, so moving right along.] To start with, let's focus on why you said you needed help. You want to protect yourself, right? Your current stance leaves you too open, so let's try something else.
Do as I do.
[He spreads his feet a shoulder width apart, his right foot leading and his sword held delicately in his right hand before him.]
no subject
[she swings the practice sword easily off her shoulder to point it in Van's general direction, and while the words are clearly not meant to be taken seriously there's something in her eyes that prevents doing so.
there is no room in Hazel's life for self-preservation. she steals so much from this damned existence, but even so she can't find the slightest justification for caring about what happens to herself. she would always survive, and whatever came before that she deserves. even when she moved to ward off harm, it was for the sake of others. the sight of Josuke's bleeding hand was impossible to forget.
point now made, she finally moves to obey his words. the stance is easy enough to copy, and she settles in with little trouble. probably the most progress they'd make today.]
no subject
[Hazel's eyes are full of conviction even if her voice rings of self-directed apathy, but Van sees something else there, too. Something that reminds him a little of himself.
Technically, he is a decent fighter, but he knows he tends towards letting his emotions rule over him. Balgus and Allen both said he didn't charge aggressively enough in combat, something that comes from his dislike of violence, but the real reason he's so easily overcome by skilled opponents is his intense focus on the enemy before him and his disregard for everything else.
He's gotten better, of course. But not without very painful sacrifices being made along the way...]
If you choose to fight recklessly with your own life on the line, you may as well be throwing the heads of those you care about on the chopping block right next to yours. You can't protect anyone if you can't protect yourself.
no subject
god, she hates that.]
My life's never on the line. Those powers they shove down our throats when we first show up? Mine's not dying.
[it's so much more complicated than that, but the details didn't matter. she didn't die when shot. she didn't fall when dismembered. protect herself? her body would guard her through everything, no matter what she herself actually wanted.]
So there's no point in wasting either of our fucking time with that shit.
no subject
Still...]
It's your choice if you want to use your body like a tool to fight. I won't stop you. But there's a smart way to go about that, and a stupid way.
[Sliding his foot forward, Van springs into action and, thrusting his practice sword toward's Hazel's hand, attempts to disarm her.]
What use are you to anyone if you're outmatched in skill or strength? Maybe you can't be killed, but that doesn't mean you can't be captured or cut down! Protect yourself!
no subject
[it's not important enough to prolong the little squabble; a protracted argument would only become more dangerous than any training Van might manage to try and slog through anyway. so Hazel just drops it - and nearly does the same with her sword, the shift from verbal to physical happening without warning.
thankfully her body protects her, just as she'd tried to explain earlier. the rigor mortis grip she naturally adopts when holding anything vaguely weapon-shaped keeps the sword in her hand, albeit flying out to her side from the force of the blow. there's no wince of pain to startle it open, nothing to dull her reaction time but the internal workings of her own brain.
just as quickly as her arm is thrown out it comes back in, aiming to smack Van upside the head with the practice sword as if it were a club. this is absolutely not how you get better at using a blade, but that's her 'teacher's' fault rather than her own - all he did was tell her how to stand in one place before starting this. what did he expect!]