I like hard liquor, it hits me quicker.

[no_voice]

The upcoming Purge has Jason on edge, on top of all his other fears and sources of stress. He likes his job, and his likes his coworkers at his job, but it's hard to joke and laugh with them when they mention their own upcoming plans for the Purge. He still doesn't regret refusing their offer of joining their "team," whatever that meant. Though, at least, his coworkers had been a lot more understanding about it than Jason expected. People being kind still takes him by surprise a lot of the time.

Between this, thinking about school, and work itself, Jason doesn't often have time simply for himself. He usually goes to work, comes home, researches classes at Barton, and then go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

Tonight, though, Jason needs to get out of his apartment. He needs to just...get out and go for a walk. So he bundles up in a light fall jacket, a red scarf wrapped around his throat. He makes his way down the boardwalk before wandering and venturing into other streets as the sun sets.

He passes by crowds and families, people enjoying themselves. He passes a group of teenagers that could easily be himself, Peter, Nadia, Ivy, and Matt, huddling together around a couple of joints; two of the boys hold hands behind their backs, fingers laced together.

At the sight, Jason turns away and finds himself facing a pub of some sort, quaint and a little old fashioned looking, though "old" is relative in Darrow terms, from what he understands. He doesn't really think about it as he pushes the door open, heading straight for the bar, taking his id out, ready.

"I'll have a shot of your strongest whiskey, please," he asks of the bartender, sliding into a stool. He has some money saved up; he can afford a splurge, he thinks. He nods to the neighbor beside him, though he doesn't catch much of a glimpse of him besides a brief look at his face.

Comments

[pushbackthedarkness]

The young man next to him looks barely old enough to drink, but he orders the strongest whiskey they have and it makes Marcus grin a little. It's true that perhaps a pub isn't the best place for him to sketch, the light not exactly the brightest, but he likes the atmosphere and he likes the crowd of people, the low murmur of their voices making him feel slightly less alone.

It's not that he has to be alone in Darrow. He has friends here, more than he's had nearly anywhere else for the entire course of his life, but there are still some things he's not certain he can ask for. Admitting that he's lonely is far more than he's capable of and so instead of calling someone, worrying that he might be bothering them, he does something like this. He goes out to a place that's lively, a place where he can be certain to find other people.

He draws another few lines of a tree, then blends the charcoal before he reaches for his own drink and says, "The strongest whiskey? Is it that sort of day?"

[no_voice]

Jason turns when the man sitting beside him speaks to him, offering him a wry grin. He might be tired, and he might be full of anxiety and dread concerning the impending Purge, but he does have to admit, he's missed casual conversation like this. "More of that kind of month, I think," he replies. "Especially considering Halloween this year."

He shakes his head, though he keeps his tone casual. He doesn't know if the man sitting next to him is a local or not, and as much as he might personally find the concept of the Purge entirely repulsive, he doesn't want to accidentally offend someone being so nice to him.

He catches sight of the sketchpad the man has then, glancing down at the charcoal on the paper. "Looks good. Are you a professional?"

[pushbackthedarkness]

"No," Marcus says with a laugh. "No, terribly far from it. It's just a hobby."

It's one he loves and it's the sort of hobby he relies on to keep himself from getting too lost inside his head, inside the memories and the demons that haunt them. But at the end of it, it's still just a hobby. This isn't the sort of thing he has any interest in being paid for. Nor does he believe himself good enough either way. He'll stick to sketching in notebooks and the margins of his Bible.

"Mm," he adds a second later, the smile disappearing. "The Purge. You mean to say you're not looking forward to spending an entire night looking over your shoulder?" His tone makes it clear he finds the entire idea abhorrent.

[no_voice]

"Well, for a hobbyist, you're very talented," Jason insists with a smile. He's always liked art, though he's rather crap at it himself. Like acting, art seems to him another way of expressing one's soul with dignity and grace. And though he likes museums and galleries just fine, he thinks the best kind of art has to be the sort that isn't done up in frames and fancy settings, but rather the quiet pieces that emerge from people who, like the man next to him, only consider art a hobby.

"Yeah, shockingly enough, not so much," Jason shakes his head, visibly relieved at the man's reaction. More than the Purge itself, it's just plain eerie the way people seem to accept it as a normal part of life. "I like living life without looking over my shoulder. And you?"

[pushbackthedarkness]

"Well, thank you," Marcus says, because while he doesn't think he's talented enough to make a career of it, he does know he's not terrible. Even if Bennett would say it's terrible that he dares to deface his Bible.

The question makes him smile a little, because he's made something of a life out of looking over his shoulder in a sense. Demons aren't quite the same as an idiot who feels like this Purge is a good excuse to hurt people, but it's a state he's rather used to in his own way.

Others shouldn't have to get used to it, though.

"If it helps any, I've been working with the priests at the Catholic church to get them to convert their basement into something of a safe house for the night," he offers. "They don't like me much, but they do see the good in the idea. It's a place to go, if you're looking for somewhere safe."

[no_voice]

Jason's drink arrives just then, which helps, because his neighbor happens to mention the Catholic church. Instinctively, Jason tenses, and he downs the shot in one go, savoring the burn as the liquid makes its way down his throat. Even with the threat of the Purge looming, he thinks he would rather take his chances on the streets than with anything involving the church.

"That's kind of them," he manages. "I'll be okay in my apartment, I think." Hopes, more like. But again, he'll take his chances.

He is curious why they don't like the man beside him, though. He seems like a decent person. "How come they don't like you so much?"

[pushbackthedarkness]

People can easily break into apartments and it worries Marcus to think of anyone alone in theirs on a night like what he believes to be coming. There's no proof it's going to be as bad as he thinks, but Molly had seemed genuinely frightened and that's enough for Marcus to believe it's something to worry about.

At the question, though, he still manages a grin.

"A general disregard for their rules?" he suggests. "Insubordination? An inability to keep my mouth shut? Or maybe it's just that they found my excommunication papers. Take your pick."

[no_voice]

The more his companion speaks, the more Jason visibly relaxes as he realizes that he doesn't seem to be a devout Catholic, his shoulders slumping as he sinks further into his seat.The part regarding excommunication papers especially catches his attention, and his eyes widen.

"You were excommunicated?" He asks.

The threat of such had long haunted him while at school; to think that it could actually happen to someone brings back some of that old fear.

"They really do have a lot rules," he agrees bitterly. "It's a wonder they can keep up with them all."

[pushbackthedarkness]

"Kicked me right out," he says. "No more collar or blessing the water in their fancy little birdbaths for me."

For awhile he'd been much angrier about it. Even since coming to Darrow, those first few weeks after going into the Church and finding they had his papers in their hands had been difficult, he'd struggled with the idea that everything he'd ever been had just been snatched away, not only in the world he'd come from, but here, too. But he's had some time to think since then, time to talk to a few people and his anger has eased off significantly.

"I'm Marcus," he says, twisting to offer the young man his hand, though it's a bit dirty with the charcoal and he laughs. "Sorry, maybe best not to shake."

[no_voice]

Jason does laugh at 'fancy little birdbaths,' shaking his head as he does so. "I don't think I've ever heard a more apt description," he admits. It has crossed his mind, both as a young boy too restless for the pews and as a young man too uncomfortable for them, how much bird shit has gotten into the holy water over the years.

"It's nice to meet you Marcus," Jason says, taking his offered hand and shaking it, hardly bothered in the least about the fact that it's covered in charcoal.

"I've had worse than charcoal covering my hands, believe me," he assures him.

[pushbackthedarkness]

"Haven't we all?" he asks with a bit of a laugh, but he supposes it's not really that funny at all. He's thinking of exorcisms, of blood and vomit and the black sort of fluid that inevitably seems to seep out of the possessed as their body begins to rot from the inside. In his experience, though, most people don't have to worry about things like that and that, as far as he's concerned, is really for the best.

"The offer stands," he says. "For the church. I understand they're not everyone's favourite folks and I can hardly blame you, but it'd be safer than your apartment. I've a friend who works for the city and she's doing what she can to have the entire thing called off, but she's worried. Truly worried. It's not to be taken lightly."

[no_voice]

"I suppose we have," Jason agrees with a nod and a smirk of his own. "Part of the human experience, right?"

He's speaking more metaphorically than anything else; knocking a girl up. Ruining people's lives. Betraying the people he loves. Keeping secrets. Metaphor or not, it's all still dirt on his hands. And grimy dirt, the kind that doesn't wash off so easily, at that.

"I'll keep it in mind," Jason says, because there's no harm in agreeing to that, is there? It's the least he can do. "Your friend sounds brave," he adds, shaking his head. "I'm glad she's fighting, but at this rate, I think we're all pretty screwed come Halloween night."

[pushbackthedarkness]

"She is brave," Marcus agrees and he knows that's more true than anyone really knows. Molly has told him bits and pieces of what happened to her and he's purposely gone out of his way not to delve into the papers and look for a news report on what she's said, because the level of violence she's clearly suffered is something that would have been reported. She'll tell him what she wants to when she wants to and he respects that.

But even though he's made the effort not to look, he's made some connections based on things he's been told about Darrow's history. Before really getting to know Molly, he'd done a great deal of research, after all, and he's fairly certain he knows what exactly happened to her. She's strong, easily as strong as so many of the people he's helped in his life.

"And it's a bit unnerving, yes," he says. "But I think there are enough good people who might be able to keep others safe. I've spoken to some frustrated police officers and hired them for the evening. I think they're just glad to be able to help somehow, even if they're not able to make any arrests."

[no_voice]

"I'm glad that there will be people out trying to do what they can, even with everything being legal for twelve hours," Jason says. It's heartening to know that not everyone views the Purge as some ample opportunity to "let off steam." Which only sounds more ridiculous, the more Jason turns over the thought in his head. Taking a walk or taking a boxing class are ways to let off steam; needing to murder and steal from other people to let off steam is just an excuse for people's darker natures.

"I'm glad some police are willing to do something," he adds. "Though, I can't imagine that it'll be an easy night for them."