That's not an excuse. [He might sound like he's whining a little but that's only because that was really cool? But he's rotating the hammer in his hands.] Start again?
[He eyes the sword again, now fully aware what ninja bullshit Dave is capable of, and he starts again, hammer swinging upward to slide the sword up and out away from Dave's grip. Or attempting to, anyway.
Disarming a sword with a hammer is stupidly hard and his eyes are narrowed in concentration as he puts muscle behind the swing, feet digging into the sand so Dave can't knock him back.]
[ dave darts to the side and doesn't try to knock john back because He's Not Totally Stupid, although he seems to be considering what to do next. it's one thing to fight someone who uses a sword; he's never really had to fight someone who uses something else. admittedly ogres used clubs sometimes, but he can't use the tactics he used against them here; he always fought to kill. he's obviously not going to fight to kill john.
but he probably can't get him to loosen his grip without pulling absolute bullshit.
shrugging mentally, dave slides into the secondary goal: training. he goes back in for another flurry of blows to the hammer, trying to pinpoint any weaknesses. ]
[He looks briefly satisfied with himself that he's managed to stump Dave momentarily, but that was his own mistake here. That was assuming Dave would take more than a millisecond to know what to do next and there's a sudden noise of surprise as the sword starts slashing and hacking at the hammer.
He's able to block because he has fought sword to hammer before but Dave is still fast and Dave still has years of training and experience on his side. He's trying to dig his weight to the ground but he's also taking a step back, pushing with the hammer to try and recreate Dave's flip over.
Granted, it's John, and that doesn't work so all that happens is he bounces and lands face-first in the sand. So that's fine. Everything was fine up until he tried to do something out of the ordinary for himself.]
two: dave's eyes behind his shades widened when he saw john start to get acrobatic but the john. face planted. and there's a sudden burst of laughter from dave. he's not used to having the upper hand in fights and he has always thought of john as being better than him; stronger and more competent and...better. he still does, even now, before training kicks in even as he laughs and he goes to try to kick the hammer out of John's grip.
he'll help him up after the match is confirmed, okay. john doesn't seem injured. ]
[First of all, fuck you, Dave Strider. Fuck you and your laughter that startles the hell out of John because he's laying on the sand and he hears it and...it's something unexpected. He rolls a little and sees him laughing but he knows better by now.
Don't stay in one spot.
But at the same time there's a grin because he's okay with Dave laughing at him, it's better than some of Dave's other expressions and actions and even when he tries to kick the hammer John decides to angle the hammer enough to swing and hook behind Dave's ankle to try and get him to fall, too. He's not getting up at all and if that doesn't work it'll be easy enough to disarm him. Ah well.]
[ it's the kind of move bro would pull, if he'd ever managed to knock bro off his feet. that's what dave thinks as it happens, and he's always been paranoid of the next trap, conditioned to expect everything to be yet another giddamned test he won't understand or ever even pass.
but he was also just laughing seconds ago and it's more relaxed than he usually gets with a blade in his hand. his balance goes unsteady and he has to hit the ground with his shoulder, tucking the blade out of the way - more worried about avoiding john than avoiding cutting himself - before he comes back up on his feet in one motion. it's a trained response more than anything else; as long as you can still move, your first priority is getting back on your feet.
second priority is a lightening fast mental summation of whether or not you're injured and third is to try for a disarm, again. assuming john doesn't do something in the span of seconds where dave does hit the ground, anyway ]
[He notices how immediate Dave springs to his feet again. It's faster than John can even think to get back up, and he's starting to get to his feet before the sword strikes again and knocks the handle out of John's grip. Vrillyhoo tips over and John faces Dave with another look before he sighs dramatically.]
Even after dragging you on your ass you disarmed me. [Part of him wants to say how it's stupid how poorly he's doing, considering he went toe to toe with Jack Noir. On the other hand, he could turn into the wind and he had other tricks up his sleeve back then. John's a powerhouse, but John also relies on all kinds of tactics. Dave, on the other hand, seems to rely solely on skill here.] You okay? It sort of looked like all of your weight went into your shoulder instead.
[ hey dave also relies on blatant cheating sometimes when pressed, ok, or improvisation,
but he blinks and rolls his right shoulder as if resting it. it did take all his weight and kind of hurts for it but he'd managed to fall so nothing would break and that was the Main Thing. dave shrugs (...shoulder injuries what shoulder injuries) and sheathes his sword before extending his left hand to john. ]
Nothin' major. Also, you could've taken me easy if you'd stuck to your advantages rather than tryin' out mine, dork.
You literally said I could do it, too. [Not that John fully believed that and perhaps that's why he ate dirt. Instead, he's grabbing Dave's hand and hauling himself up, bending to grab his hammer again and stretching out his upper back and shoulders himself.]
Third time's a charm? I can probably go a few more rounds before I get tired of losing. [There's a mischievous glint in his eye though that seems to hint he's not going to settle for losing though. At least not this time.]
[ there's definitely some hint of something about John, but dave is usually willing to agree to whatever for people he likes, and it isn't like he minds ending up facedown in the dirt.
Because that's not--fuck! [The hammer comes up to block and he pushes himself back, immediately going on guard and swinging to try and knock the blade sideways again. He's also watching for the angle Dave's going to retaliate, fingers a little more relaxed on Vrillyhoo's handle but prepared all the same.]
[ he comes from the left. what up, john. hes avoiding john's hands and person as usual and focusing on the hammer...though he's trying to put john off balance. ]
[He's ready and he strikes to block, twirling the handle of the hammer in his hand before jabbing and thrusting up, hooking the blade of the sword on the horn-like fixture at the top of Vrillyhoo. With the hook hopefully stopping the blade from moving he swings toward himself, hoping to pull the sword out of Dave's hands.]
[ what is his plan here if he also pulls dave though BUT YEAH DAVE WON TWO SO LET JOHN HAVE A CHANCE since dave knew already in a straight up force contest he'd Bite It ]
[His plan is to yank the sword out of Dave's hand and use a free hand to stop Dave from literally eating dirt but uh. Bye sword. John settles for staring at it for a moment before he grins.]
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Well, it was the only way to keep from droppin' my sword?
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Disarming a sword with a hammer is stupidly hard and his eyes are narrowed in concentration as he puts muscle behind the swing, feet digging into the sand so Dave can't knock him back.]
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but he probably can't get him to loosen his grip without pulling absolute bullshit.
shrugging mentally, dave slides into the secondary goal: training. he goes back in for another flurry of blows to the hammer, trying to pinpoint any weaknesses. ]
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He's able to block because he has fought sword to hammer before but Dave is still fast and Dave still has years of training and experience on his side. He's trying to dig his weight to the ground but he's also taking a step back, pushing with the hammer to try and recreate Dave's flip over.
Granted, it's John, and that doesn't work so all that happens is he bounces and lands face-first in the sand. So that's fine. Everything was fine up until he tried to do something out of the ordinary for himself.]
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two: dave's eyes behind his shades widened when he saw john start to get acrobatic but the john. face planted. and there's a sudden burst of laughter from dave. he's not used to having the upper hand in fights and he has always thought of john as being better than him; stronger and more competent and...better. he still does, even now, before training kicks in even as he laughs and he goes to try to kick the hammer out of John's grip.
he'll help him up after the match is confirmed, okay. john doesn't seem injured. ]
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Don't stay in one spot.
But at the same time there's a grin because he's okay with Dave laughing at him, it's better than some of Dave's other expressions and actions and even when he tries to kick the hammer John decides to angle the hammer enough to swing and hook behind Dave's ankle to try and get him to fall, too. He's not getting up at all and if that doesn't work it'll be easy enough to disarm him. Ah well.]
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but he was also just laughing seconds ago and it's more relaxed than he usually gets with a blade in his hand. his balance goes unsteady and he has to hit the ground with his shoulder, tucking the blade out of the way - more worried about avoiding john than avoiding cutting himself - before he comes back up on his feet in one motion. it's a trained response more than anything else; as long as you can still move, your first priority is getting back on your feet.
second priority is a lightening fast mental summation of whether or not you're injured and third is to try for a disarm, again. assuming john doesn't do something in the span of seconds where dave does hit the ground, anyway ]
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Even after dragging you on your ass you disarmed me. [Part of him wants to say how it's stupid how poorly he's doing, considering he went toe to toe with Jack Noir. On the other hand, he could turn into the wind and he had other tricks up his sleeve back then. John's a powerhouse, but John also relies on all kinds of tactics. Dave, on the other hand, seems to rely solely on skill here.] You okay? It sort of looked like all of your weight went into your shoulder instead.
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but he blinks and rolls his right shoulder as if resting it. it did take all his weight and kind of hurts for it but he'd managed to fall so nothing would break and that was the Main Thing. dave shrugs (...shoulder injuries what shoulder injuries) and sheathes his sword before extending his left hand to john. ]
Nothin' major. Also, you could've taken me easy if you'd stuck to your advantages rather than tryin' out mine, dork.
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Third time's a charm? I can probably go a few more rounds before I get tired of losing. [There's a mischievous glint in his eye though that seems to hint he's not going to settle for losing though. At least not this time.]
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[ there's definitely some hint of something about John, but dave is usually willing to agree to whatever for people he likes, and it isn't like he minds ending up facedown in the dirt.
he'll draw his sword again. ]
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Why do you always wait for me to start the fight first?
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Habit, I guess? It's easier to react if you let someone else make the first move.
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[ he's not as fast as he was. but he's still fast. dave kicks off and strikes, for all that he prefers to, you know.
let things happen
thanks dave ]
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So. Like that, basically?
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