(open)

[motivation]

Who: Dutch (motivation) & various
What: catch-all for dutch
When: december
Where: thesa station, wyver
Warning(s): it's dutch, so probably violence, alcohol and sex will all at least be mentioned



[ starters in the comments. ]

Comments

» closed to alvis

[motivation]

[ the call had come and dutch had answered, mostly because she hasn't figured out how to stop herself from hoping that alvis and johnny will be awake again, that d'avin will wake up, or pree. she hates that they're all bargaining chips in the hands of the orbiters, that they can be used against her even if they haven't been, yet.

hope is a treacherous and terrible thing, but for once, it isn't didn't mislead her: there's alvis in the crowd and dutch doesn't think, crossing the distance between them quickly and flinging her arms around him. ]

[fibrosis]

[ he's here, again, waking up and attempting to steady himself against the rush of memories and - well, everything. he remembers being here, being at home for barely any time at all, and now he's here again. why would that even happen?

there's direction to board the ships, to find a way down to the planet, to work together, and alvis heads that way because what else should he be doing until he gets his proper bearings? better to be helpful than - well. it's better.

he's not expecting the pseudo side-tackle, even if half a second later he feels like he should have. he hugs back her arm in return, since there's not much else he can do in this position. ] Hey. Missed you too.

[motivation]

[ dutch doesn't really show emotions in public. dutch doesn't do emotions except with the jaqobis brothers. dutch is tough and badass and a cold bitch and —

and to hells with all that, dutch is burying her nose in alvis' shoulder and holding him close for a long, long moment. every line of his body is familiar, comfortable, the scent of him just as she's used to and she drags it in and tries to hold it in her lungs.

eventually, she pulls back. ]

Don't ever do that again. [ not that he could help it, but she's not feeling too rational about this, really. ]

[fibrosis]

[ it's comfortable and familiar on his end as well, and he allows a couple of moments for his head to rest against hers. he doesn't know what's happened since he left or even how long he's been gone from her perspective, but it doesn't really matter right now either way - he was still gone.

dutch pulls away eventually, and he lets go of the arm he was sort of holding to his chest to look at her properly. ]

I'll work on it. Learning curve.

» obligatory open mistletoe prompt

[motivation]

[ dutch doesn't hate the climate of wyver, but she's still glad when the weather grows cooler. she's settled into a rhythm of sorts, though she still feels more adrift than she'd like without a war to fight, without warrants. after running from khlyen, that's what had gotten her through the days: knowing that the next warrant was what's next, and the one after that, and so on.

now, she measures life in fights won at the fight ring where she earns her money and in evenings spent in her favourite bars. those are not bad things, even if her relationship with violence continues to be a complicated thing.

tonight, she's out. and people keep glancing at the little sprigs of whatever-the-hells-that-plant-is that have sprung up all around the place.

at some point, dutch just asks: ] What's up with those?

» peter quill

[motivation]

[ that hadn't been a joke at all, though dutch has no idea whether it was actually the moonlight or something else entirely that affected everyone that night (her included). she's heard whispers about it being the moonlight, but that proves shit all. ]

If you could manage it, they'd probably applaud you. But punching out another person does the trick just fine.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He breathes out a laugh. ]

What, just unprompted? Like, I tap some random Joe Shmo on the street and deck him?

[ In most places, that'd probably get him a fine. And considering his funds are considerably light, at the moment, he'd rather avoid any undue spending. ]

[motivation]

Anything's an excuse here.

[ dutch is decidedly unconcerned about the casual violence of this place. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He snorts again, taking another sip from his drink. ]

Sounds fun.

[ Wait, did he say fun? He meant, "Wow, that kinda sucks." If this place is really like the way she's describing, there's going to be a lot of dodging and weaving in his future. ]

So that's why the bartender likes you so much? You caved a guy's nose in?

>> Let's Spar

[rzhavyy]

[Following this.]

[True to his words, Bucky shows up just a few minutes before nine, an easy knock on the door. He's still scruffy, dressed casual, with a jacket tossed on over a tee shirt, and leather gloves that do little to hide the soft metallic sounds of his arm. He doesn't smile, but he's not worried, exactly. As long as she stays true to her word and backs off is he asks her to, things should be okay.]

[motivation]

[ dutch's place is small, but not tiny -- two bedrooms, one of which is more of a gym than a bedroom these days, mats on the floor, a towel flung carelessly in one corner that she's yet to pick up or wash again. dutch herself opens the door with her hair in a pony tail, the local equivalent of yoga pants and a sports bra with a shirt thrown over it that's obviously not hers, given how much too big it is on her. ]

Hi.

[ she steps back, gesturing in the direction of the gym. ]

fuck I forgot to actually post this ahaha

[rzhavyy]

[Bucky doesn't really have a place of his own yet, so he's not going to judge her place. It's nicer than the place he'd had in Bucharest, which was as close to living like a normal person as he could clearly remember. So, while he's not quite so out of the loop to be impressed, he does think it's rather nice, all told.]

Hey.

[She gestures and he follows, one of those things that always come a bit too easily, but here and now there's no teeth to it.]

[motivation]

[ it's not a bad place. it isn't dutch's ship, but then her ship isn't here and she refuses to linger on the fact that she misses lucy (the sassy ai) or her quarters or sharing space with johnny and d'avin.

(that she misses johnny and d'avin, most of all.) ]

Any last words before we get started?

[ a beat. ] I got food for after. [ presumptious, maybe, but dutch has been hunting a lot, so it's freshly roasted meat. ]

» isabela

[motivation]

[ hanging back in seedy bars and flirting with someone -- mostly men, in dutch's case, at least if she's the one initiating things -- is somewhat of a frequent occurrence for dutch. one might even say a past time. everyone needs a hobby, right? and this is something that's familiar.

("you drink too much and you sleep with all the wrong guys", d'avin had said and he hadn't been wrong about either of those things.) ]

I didn't think I was that transparent. [ regarding her taste in drinks, dutch means, and maybe more than that. but despite her words, she's grinning. if she's transparent in this, she doesn't mind right now. ]

There were a few nights, maybe two weeks ago, when everyone was very touchy-feely. Fucking in the streets, that kind of thing. Everyone's usually pretty open here, but that was a different thing altogether.

[ she tips her head to the side, thoughtful. ] I think there was something in the air.

[seagoing]

Nothing wrong with a bit of transparency if it looks good. And it most definitely does on you.

[Oh but this is too fun, comes too easy, and Isabela can't help but enjoy herself with Dutch, her attention enrapturing. She traces patterns on the bar counter, idle swirls of nothing that inch ever closer to contact with the other woman's skin. Yes, this is much, much better than most of her dealings with men, but then women were always more fun to flirt with anyway.]

Something in the air? Think it'll make its way back around for a second round? [Of course all the fun stuff happens when she's not around. How come she had to miss She laughs anyway, grinning while stirring her drink with great interest.] Well that's certainly a plus for this city in my book. I try to keep my ear to the ground for what's interesting though, be it work or play. Gossip and hushed whispers can get you anywhere, and it helps to know what's going on...even all the boring stuff.

[motivation]

[ the compliment gets another grin from dutch, her hips tipping a little to the side as she leans in without stepping closer. isabela's enjoying herself, well -- so it dutch. maybe flirting with women doesn't come as quickly or as naturally as it does with men, but dutch loves the attention and she's not opposed. the opposite, really. ]

It probably will. And if it doesn't, just hit up the red light district in Olympia. Similar effect, but always there.

» maya

[motivation]

[ there are plenty predatory creatures in the jungle, but dutch considers herself if not at the top of the food chain, then pretty high up on it. there's her gun, there's her training, and really, that's all dutch needs to be comfortable. (there are also at least five knives hidden in various places of her clothing and even one in her hair, but that's beside the point.)

maya's reaction gets a raised eyebrow and dutch lifting her hands in the universal gesture of peace, never mind that she's still holding her gun in one of them. ]

I was out hunting, actually. But I do rescues, if you people ask nicely.

[wellplayedbitch]

[The gun was noted with nothing more than a skeptical quirk of a brow. Most people might have felt that the woman's gesture was contradicted by the still drawn weapon. But Maya had spent long enough on the borderplanets to know just how easily peace could be a farce.]

Hunting? [Maya glanced around herself, peering through the trees as if they might suddenly reveal a horde of monsters.] I wasn't aware there was game around here.

[Not that she knew much about the area to begin with.]

I don't need rescuing. [Once more she looked between the trees, only to find herself grimacing.] Just... directions.

[motivation]

[ dutch holsters the gun, though it only makes her marginally less dangerous, really. she's a quick draw -- but she has no intention of harming anyone unless attacked. game is another story. (she doesn't kill people; not anymore.) ]

It's a jungle.

[ there are plenty of living creatures in a jungle, and some of them are even edible, is dutch's point. but at maya's words, her lips press together for a moment. ]

You're not the first person to get stuck.

» rocket

[motivation]

[ by the time rocket makes it to dutch's place, she's -- well, not gotten ready, exactly. the place isn't tidied, but her gun's on the kitchen table and there's an open bottle of whiskey next to it. two glasses, one of them half-empty and the other one still clean. ]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket snorts the second he sees the half-empty glass.] Oh come on, it didn't take me that long. You didn't have to get started without me.

[No matter how tough a guy is, being three feet tall and having to climb onto a normal sized chair will never not be emasculating. But he's trying not to think about it in his quest for booze and guns.]

[motivation]

Who says I didn't start before I texted you?

[ which, as a matter of fact? she did.

but there's booze on the table and her gun and it's only when he reaches for the gun, not the booze, that dutch steps closer to put a proprietary hand on the weapon. ] Promise you'll be able to put it back together after?

» my turn (gala practice)

[fibrosis]

[ surprisingly, maybe, alvis has actually been to a handful of things that might were probably called "galas", but never in the personally participatory sense. he's attended for some reason or another, then calmly excused himself once that function was complete, having - well, usually some kind of personal quiet issue with others in attendance. the wealthy-born didn't tend to turn to religion very often, but they did like to make use of it when it caused a scene.

sometimes he could be cynical as hells.

point being, he'd pretty much never attended one for fun, and he wasn't too sure how much fun could even be had, given his own experience. ] There's got to be something interesting about them other than just showing off, but - [ he straight up just shrugs a little bit ] - no, I don't see the excitation.

[motivation]

[ dutch is actually looking forward to the event. she's looking forward to putting on a pretty dress and high heels and doing up her hair. she's looking forward to drinking something that's not whiskey or beer and playing at being classy.

(she's looking forward to having a lot of people she's come to care about, admit it or not, in one place.) ]

Food and drink and music, Al.

[ a beat, and she wouldn't let a wistful note creep into her voice with anyone else, but -- ] And dancing.

well i've been the worst this holiday

[fibrosis]

I get plenty of that at the Royale.

[ not that more isn't a bad thing, but. it feels like it's still a decent point. ] And he actually takes requests sometimes, if you ask him nice enough.

[ he did catch that one though. that tinge to her tone. ] Not too sure I would've taken you for that kinda thing.