Tag [Kansuke]

Guest

The youth hooked right and dipped into the alley, slinging his bag away from him. He looked over his shoulder.

All clear. His flu mask creased with a grin, and he turned his back on idle passersby. Knuckles cracked as he flexed his fingers, picking the first can from the stuffed bag. Time to get to work...

He sprayed and sprayed, broad strokes and tiny details. His head span with the idea that compelled him to find an empty space on the wall. The broadcast, the broadcast, the broadcast! The announcement! What a lark. He paused, taking a step back to examine his progress.

If this 'Playhouse' wanted to steal the airwaves, well - why not help them turn some heads? A little logo never hurt anyone...

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 3:14 pm

The city was abuzz after their stunt at SMILE, people talking everywhere about the Playhouse and what they'd done. It was...almost surreal. His first mission - his first big thing after joining the Playhouse - was to beat the crap out of a possessed District Leader and then broadcast to the entire city.
He just wished the whole thing had been handled better...
...it was a good thing his armour hid the shock when Shotaro turned the only exit into a source of fiery death.
This...wasn't what he wanted them to be to people.
The point was to be better than that. Not...what happened there.

It was going to be hard looking at Shotaro the same.

As he aimlessly drifted by, a splash of colour caught his eye. An unexpected sight. Removing his head phones, he saw a guy working on the alley wall with a can, forming...
He blinked a couple times, looking blankly at the spray-painted creation.
"This is..."

Guest

The flow of colour froze. Kansuke's ears tuned for anything - anything - that might signal unwelcome attention, and some boy whispering his surprise certainly counted. The lanky, shrouded man turned part-ways towards Cecil, gauging him. A threat? A snitch? No, wait...

Did he recognise this tag he'd just dreamed up? A grin curled behind his mask, which he pulled back. The hand that held the silver can swung freely back and forth as he turned from creation to witness, taking a few steps from the darkened alley to get a better look at him. Kansuke drew his hoodie and jacket tighter about himself, the bulk adding mass and definition to skeletal arms. "What?" He grunted, voice muffled and deeped by the flu mask.

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 3:32 pm

"Uhhh..." Cecil had mentally locked up when he noticed the boy's approach, still processing just what he'd seen on the wall. It wasn't what it was, but...what it was meant to be. Even without it fully formed, the little notes that marked out the identity of it was couldn't help but draw his eye.
Dammit, he couldn't stand there like an idiot.
"It's, just, ah, uh..." They had no idea what he was. How could they? He had nothing to worry about. "...I had no idea people were doing this...I mean, people have been talking about the broadcast, but...this is...something else." It was an open display. A unique mark.
A brand of the Playhouse from a populace that just learned of it.
Did it...mean something? To them?

Guest

Kansuke looked from man to mark, and back again. A mischievous cog clicked into place, sparking interest. The cog span into overdrive the moment he made the connection, playing across his face like a child scenting chocolate. He cleared his throat, looking to one side. "You don't know about these?" he asked, quiet, tone forced into something that resembled an even calm. Thank god he didn't play poker. The lies continued. "They're all around town."

To distract, he went back to his work, adding flairs and definition He swapped bright white for a steely grey.

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:03 pm

All mental processing died at that moment. "W-wait, what? You- what?"" His voice practically came out in a squeak as he looked with twitching, unbelieving eyes between Kansuke and his mark.
Never let it be said that Cecil was good at deciphering an obvious lie.
He hadn't seen anything like this about, and it sure as hell felt like something he'd notice. He was a part of this! Of course he'd pay a little more attention when signs of the Playhouse started sprouting up everywhere!
Had they influenced people more than they thought?
Had more people taken to this than he'd at first believed?
"W-where? Wh-where, when? You-you-you've gotta be kidding me. I - this is literally the first I've heard about this. You're telling me that people have been putting up marks of those psyche terrorists? Everywhere?"

Guest

"Sure." Kansuke chuckled, letting his guise slip for the sake of a more convincing act. Laughter, empty and derisive. "Must be living under a rock, you. Ever since the broadcast, people are... what? Waking up? Realising that they've been exploited?"
They hadn't. Not that he'd seen. He'd seen the same apathy from his comfortable distance, but still. The poor lad was panicking. It was too fun to hold back. He gave one final flick of his wrist, completing the 'Playhouse' tag. "What're you freaking out for? This is what they wanted, right?"

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 5:19 pm

...Cecil gave a loooong, exasperated sigh.
"One...you realise you're talking about what a bunch of PTs want like it's what I want, right? And second...seriously? 'Everyone's waking up?' If you're going to mess with me, don't come out with something as cliche as that." He should have really picked up on that earlier.
Then again, this was him. Of course he'd make a fool of himself.
"At least one of these things would've been possible to miss. You'd hardly be able to blatantly put one up in public without getting arrested."

Guest

Kansuke's grin waxed ever more impish. He threw the can up, in a lazy arc like a father throwing a ball to his infant sun. Up, up... down, down... straight into Cecil's hands. Or near them, at least.

He pointed to Cecil with one single, bony finger poking out from three different layers of sleeves. His free other hand peeled back the flu mask, baring his toothy grin for all its mischievous worth. "No, but thanks for confirming the theory. Figured someone might recognise their club's badge before long."

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 6:28 pm

Cecil did not make the catch.
He scrambled to make the catch, but he did not make the catch.
The can went flying in a grand display of Cecil's lack of coordination.

He squinted at Kansuke as if in disbelief, drawing on his inner self to help keep himself under control in the situation. "Are you serious?" With a long-suffering sigh, he brought up one hand to his head, squeezing his temples before running his fingers through his blond locks. "You told me people were rallying behind a bunch of terrorists." He stares Kansuke down. "I'd rather not be lumped in with them for worrying that some idiots might actually start an uprising when there are demons outside."

Guest

"So you're not?" Kansuke tipped his head, his grin lopsided and empty. He could smile for days and not once strain a muscle, even if it never reached his eyes, but it eventually faded into a disapproving frown. "Shame. Thought I had you."

He stabbed his hands into his pockets and switvhed back to admiring the mark, checking it from different angles. "Why'd you care so much? Any other idiot would pass this right on by, but you...?"

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 7:26 pm

Cecil's eyes turn too to the mark on the wall, pondering just what to come out with that wasn't 'Hey, look at me, I'm a terrorist!'
...he couldn't outright lie, either. He doubted it'd actually be convincing.
"...because I don't need things in this city taking people. And this..." He gestures to mark. "This means things are happening. That it's all getting bigger. And until it all comes to a close, there's going to be that risk."
He remains silent for a few seconds, the words hanging in the air. "The Divide was bad enough. I don't want to be stuck in another hell."

Guest

For as skillfully as he dodged the question, this kid sure gave a lot away. From his vantage stood apart from him, Kansuke hesitated. A twinge - a sudden pang - softened his jabs and prying. His frown shifted, took on a deeper curiosity.

Was he scared? Who was he kidding - who wouldn't be? Kansuke reached up to scratch the back of his neck, scooping his bag off the floor. "They made their point. If you wanted out, you should never have been born here. None of us, y'hear?"

Subject: Re: Tag [Kansuke] Thu Jul 26, 2018 8:03 pm

Cecil gives Kansuke a flat look. "People don't get to pick where they're born. Where the places safe for them are. There are a lot of choices you don't get to make." He sighs, and glances away. "It's stupid to say 'don't do the thing completely out of your control'. You can do your best with what choices you can make, but still..."
"...in the end, we're stuck here. Demons outside, a war stirring inside. There just aren't good options sometimes even when you have the choice."

"Don't have to be in something for it to come round and beat you over the head anyway. It can just come round, drag you in with club in hand, and leave you behind once you've been struck senseless."

Guest

Kansuke chuckled, looking to the floor. Forget scared, then. His laughter carried through his next words. "Oh, man... you don't hear that kind've shit outside of theatres. How old are you?"

He leaned to one side, peering past Cecil. The crowds carried on, each numbed soul dragged forward by the tide of the working day. Sooner or later, someone would take notice, and look properly upon his masterpiece. He shrugged his bag, cans jangling, fidgeting in his poor display of patience.

» Around the Block [Kansuke/Elodie]
» Against the Grain [Kansuke]
» You're It [Kansuke's Awakening]
» Kansuke Ito's Social Links
» Hop, Skip (Kansuke / Gabe)