bad rap

[insertusername]

bad rap

The things we become known for aren’t always what we’d like to be known for. Reputations are hard to run from. Sometimes they’re not even deserved. So here’s your chance to set the record straight. Clear up some misplaced assumptions, debunk any rumours about yourself and defy your stereotypes.

how to play:

Top level with something(s) your character is tired of people assuming about them, blaming them for, or pigeonholing them about, etc. Say it in person or over text.

Comment on any surprising, or not so surprising declarations.

Comments

[peccatore]

[For a moment, he thinks he has most definitely overstepped his boundaries, which isn't that surprising. It's especially easy to get carried away now that he does, in fact, have the means to help people.

When he just wandered from place to place in search of discreet food sources, working menial jobs, he hardly had the chance to think too much about others, as much as that pained him in light of the sins he was committing in turn; when he found a friend who helped him get properly on his feet, he was finally able to start tipping the scales, and now that he has the momentum to live peacefully and on his own, perhaps he has a tendency to overcompensate. People welcome the help, sometimes; other times, they get wary, and he knows he can't blame them.

He is still a predator no matter how he tries to patch up the tapestry of his life, after all. There are always people who can tell, aren't there? The good people. He wonders, sometimes, if people close to God can feel it.

But then Okuyasu does take the opening, in his own way, and Marco smiles. Of course he can take a little time out of his life to come here again tomorrow. It's not something he's lacking in.]

If I have time to come to Morioh tomorrow, sure. This is a very nice park.

[And just to make sure Okuyasu understands that he is giving the most casual, non-aggressive "yes" that he can, Marco winks.]

[hundredmil]

[ He doesn't push. He also doesn't make a promise, but he sounds like he might still show up...

And then he winks, which is so surprising that Okuyasu's anxiety instantly dissolves into shocked delight. He laughs, short and surprised, but it feels like it dislodges whatever was caught in his chest. ] Yeah, but there's nice parks everywhere. Probably, anyway. [ He stands up from his end of the bench, stretching as he goes. Not that it improves his posture in the least when he slouches back down and shoves his hands in his pockets, though. He turns to leave, but-- he waves as he goes. ] See ya, Luigi-san.

***

[ Okuyasu does not, in fact, turn up the next day. He's busy figuring out how the hell he's supposed to sign off on all these forms and bills that keep coming in now that Keicho can't take care of everything, and pretty soon it's dark, and that's when he finally remembers.

Dammit.

It's three days later and Okuyasu's dragging a shopping cart through the grocery store when he almost very literally runs into someone he recognizes. ] Hey, watch where you're-- Oh! [ Aggression melts in an instant into wary pleasure. ] Hey, it's you. Hi, Luigi!

[ Okuyasu's cart is...half questionably-healthy snacks and instant noodles, but half fresh food, too. An attempt is clearly being made, here. ]

[peccatore]

[Nice kid. Realistically - objectively - Marco shouldn't concern himself; not when he has work to do in the city, and not this town sees people disappear at such alarmingly high rates.

But he still can't help wondering who made his poor boy feel so worthless, and what's an hour or two of his day when he has far, far too much time ahead of him?]

***

[It's funny. If Okuyasu had gone looking for him when he remembered that day, he probably would have found him. People have misconceptions about vampires, Marco finds, because that's just how it is when reality somehow becomes myth, but the sunlight thing isn't one of them. He can only be out in the sun with copious amounts of extremely strong sunscreen, and even then, it's highly appreciated if the sky happens to be overcast. Being out after the sun sets is, unmistakably, the better option for him.

But he doesn't advertise that, exactly, and truth be told he didn't think to mention it to Okuyasu. Still, he doesn't think much when he doesn't find him that day; maybe he was hanging out with friends, or maybe his family was keeping him. Shame, but Marco still planned to be around for a bit longer. They'd run into each other again.

The next day, he suddenly and acutely remembers the disappearances plaguing this town, and wonders if he was the last one to see Okuyasu. Could he track him down? He doesn't remember his smell. Of course he doesn't remember his smell, he doesn't go out of his way to just... SMELL the people he meets, frankly he'd rather not at all and if he's hungry enough to notice how they smell he shouldn't even be AROUND people--

The day after that, he's still wondering what to do - when it comes to tracking Okuyasu, or figuring out what is responsible for all these disappearances and if he can, in fact, do anything about it - when a detour takes him to a pylon somebody appears to be happily living in. The man refused Marco's invitation for a meal, but he still thought it might be nice to swing by a grocery store and leave him something by the pylon as a surprise before he heads back to the hotel...

Which is precisely when he bumps straight into Okuyasu.]

Oh! Hello. I wasn't expecting to see you here.

[But he is very clearly pleased.

(He's also eyeing those snacks. Not judgmentally or anything; it's just that he saw some of those on the shelves and couldn't quite figure out what they were.)]