#neonfool

threadbare, well loved, barely hanging on. embroidered with the name of a band v almost certainly would never have heard of, nearly transparent due to being her go-to comfort wear for longer than the boy had even been alive. as the front door swung open v was greeted by a sight very few would ever have the chance to lay eyes on ; rogue sporting a shitty ass t-shirt, in what should have been her natural habitat.

true, she spent a majority of time at the club, and yes the back room was more her bedroom than her actual bedroom was, but one fact remained the same ─── the impatient hand which was rushing him forward was doing so from the doorway of her home. a nearly unprecedented show of trust.

It's easier to get into the Afterlife than he's expecting. Plan A, 24 hours prior, was to wait outside until the wee hours of the morning in the hopes of catching V leaving for the night.

It didn't work.

But, it brought him an opportunity for a Plan B. Just when he was considering giving up for the night and finding a safer place to crash, he caught the eye of a different merc.

The guy thought he was a joytoy. Though he set the record straight on that, there was still room for negotiation- a blowjob and about 60 eddies worth of Glitter in exchange for a couch to sleep on for the night and an escort into the Afterlife the following night. Primary concern was that the guy was going to get attached and keep him on a short leash once they got into the bar.

Negotiations continued once they were inside. The agreement had been to part ways once they were past the doors but, hands on Tran's thigh trying to slide up his dress, the merc tried to convince him otherwise- just one drink, come on, last night was a good time, wasn't it?

“That kid even old enough to be in here? Come on, Jeff, fuck off.” calls a redhead behind the bar. The merc takes the hint- if he's gonna try anything else, it can't be with the bartender staring him down, ready to kick him out if he causes a scene.

Tran moves towards the bar, takes a seat, sticks a couple eddies in the tip jar, “Thanks…”

“Yeah, don't mention it. But, seriously, aren't you a little young to be in here?”

“I'm 21- and I'm looking for someone.”

“A fixer? You in trouble?”

“I was. I'm not anymore. Wanted to tell the guy thanks… Heard he owns the place…”

The bartender lights up at that. Apparently he's in the right place- she definitely knows him. “That checks out. V's a good guy- always sticking his neck out for people. And you're in luck- he's around, just took a trip to the bathroom.”

As if on cue, the brightly colored hair of the legendary merc can be seen weaving through the crowd, en route back to the bar. Tran hops up and intercepts, meeting him halfway with a great big smile.

“You're V! Holy shit! Everyone said I could find you here, but I was like ‘nahhh, no way, just chilling at a bar like a normal guy!?’ But, you're here!”

He pauses for just a moment, if only to finally take a breath. “You probably don't even remember me, sorry, uh-”

This isn't exactly how he rehearsed this. God, he sounds so stupid. His smile falters- he's definitely annoying V.

" VINCENT ─── glad i caught you. " the optics, as seen from an outside perspective : a smile, bright but professional. crows feet visible on otherwise youthful features. a handful of greys peppered throughout a healthy head of hair, and a few days worth of scruff sporting the same pattern. from the bottom of his vest hung a rectangle of plastic, a small photo of a much younger version of himself inside, the word PRESS displayed in bold letters. while the who may have remained a mystery, the 'why' of his sudden appearance was easy enough to determine with just one look. medias were good like that, always easy to spot.

pushing himself away from the wall where he'd been slouched, the cigarette resting between index and middle finger would be flicked to the ground without a second thought, a hand halfway extended to the younger man, leaving just enough space for a quick retreat if said handshake was refused.

" sorry to have caught you off guard like this, and let me acknowledge right away that i know meeting you so close to home without warning is inappropriate - but we have a mutual friend. claire. she told me this was the best place to find you and, well, here you are. do you have a few minutes to talk? "

Ash sat in the ramen shop at Cherry Blossom Market, having ordered two bowls, explaining to the cook that he was expecting someone. He’d heard the word on the street about V, of course, but he had been somewhat skeptical about the rumors. Still, Wakako had said he was a formidable ally, someone you’d want on your side, and the scratch she was offering was quite substantial. He only hoped she had told V that Ash could be trusted; he often found that his solitary, twitchy attitude tended to give the impression that he was a coward and a backstabber, his status as an “enforcer” merc for her notwithstanding.

Looking up from his bowl, he glanced a man who matched the picture on the shard Wakako had given him. He held a hand up discreetly, as if they were just chooms meeting up at the shop. Once V would approach him, Ash would politely motion for him to sit.

it served her right. in what world did rogue think it even slightly possible to enjoy a night out with nothing going wrong. no work, no clients, no incessant calls or starry-eyed onlookers ; just a drink, a meal, and time alone. it wasn't much to ask, and yet it was the same as asking for the deed to the moon ── technically possible, but realistically? never going to happen.

the downslide of her night was a fork with two prongs. on one hand, prong A, there was the storm, one of a general inconvenience. lights flickering, the occasional momentary loss of power, kitchen slowed to a halt only to start up again in a fury every time they had a chance to actually heat anything fully, rushing to keep tables happy in less than perfect circumstances.

" i'm fine. " so close and yet so far, the tone of her voice nearly managed to mimic that of someone just about to smile but landed instead on reluctant sarcasm.

just as promised the truth would be offered with no strings attached UNLESS the topic at hand was something rogue felt the need to lie about. and as luck would have it, v had landed on one of the THIS NEEDS A LIE topics ; the lie in question being one that rogue was happy to come up with on the spot without second guessing her words or intent. in fact, it took only seconds after telling the lie for rogue herself to buy into it almost completely ; she was breathing [✓] functioning [✓] working [✓] her life was the same as it had always been ( which was actually a HUGE problem, but not one she wished to think about or tackle in any way, shape, or form ) so why wouldn't she be fine?

@neonfool asked: ((We haven't interacted yet, but I think these are always good icebreakers! V gets all the soft boy squares.))

Are You Masuyo's Type ?? || Always Accepting !!

🍑 SOMETHING YOU HYPERFOCUS ON IN YOUR PORTRAYAL?

i answered this one one here, and i'll start by saying the same thing again: it's rare for me to take on a canon character, so when i do that canon material means something to me as far as the portrayal goes, it's something i want to acknowledge, and i try my best to dig deep and pull from it.

with rogue, one of the things i've hyperfocused on with her portrayal is the way she runs from feelings, which to me translates as being uncomfortable with her own. we see this when she storms off during the ebunike job, with johnny commenting that when she gets like that she just wants to be left alone which points towards it being a very common tactic that she's been using for years.

and then again at the drive-in, when things start to become too much she leaves instead of staying to confront it all head on. even during the conversation with her son she avoid talking about what's really happening even though it's obvious, telling him the blatant lie that everything is fine instead of talking about what's about to happen - and yes, that 100% could have been ONLY to keep him safe, but i feel like not wanting to go into it all was for her own comfort as well. ( and the way her i love you sounds so uncomfortable? girlie holds those feelings in big time )

TLDR: i hyperfocus on the way she would rather run away than sit with whatever it may be that she's feeling.

🎀 SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER.

this one i answered here, and honestly the same remains true. there's nothing BAD to say about her, so it's hard to narrow down the nice things i could say. if forced to choose just one thing, right here, in the moment ... i'll go with ... oh ok, here's one that may be a little weird.

rogue has clearly had work done. she keeps herself looking younger than she is - but she doesn't look YOUNG. she's clearly an older woman, and is clearly comfortable with that. she has wrinkles, fine lines, the skin on her neck shows her age, and she doesn't even bother to do something as simple as dying her hair. i think she has a streak on vanity in her just like we all do, so she does spruce herself up ; but to the extent that she could ? nope, she doesn't go that far, and that's something i find both nice about her AND interesting.