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31_days2013-05-13 06:41 pm
bane-6.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2013-05-13 06:41 pm
May 13 [Watchmen] [Rubicon]
Title: Rubicon
Day/Theme: 13. a telltale sign: you don't know where to draw the line
Series: Watchmen
Character/Pairing: Rorschach, Nite Owl
"You can't go on like this." It was barely a whisper, but Rorschach's shoulders rose and his head ducked as if he had been shouted at.
"Can't not," he growled back. He was grateful for the dark. It kept Nite Owl in silhouette, hid the disappointed frown and the growing unease that seemed to always be on his face lately. It didn't mask the admonishment in his voice though. There wasn't any fear there yet. It might have been the last straw if he had been. It might've made it that much easier. Tear off the bandage. Pull out the loose tooth. Force the joint back into socket. Get it over with.
"Should have stuck to bird-watching if there's no stomach for it." That was unfair and Rorschach knew it, but it didn't stop the next thing he heard himself say. "No use to me otherwise."
He had meant that to hurt, but the silhouette didn't flinch. If anything it drew up straighter and more resolute.
"You have to draw a line," Nite Owl said. "This far and no farther. No excuses about inching over and tiptoeing around it. No 'Just this once'. No extenuating circumstances. Either the line was crossed or it wasn't. Black and white. Your favorite."
That stung. It felt like being caught in a mistake, even though he had never been more resolved. He could feel his face heat under the mask, hear his own breathing rattle.
"Noble," he admitted. "But scum don't keep any limits. That's why-"
"That's why they are scum," Nite Owl said flatly, cutting him off. "Someone says stop. That's too much, that's too far. It's the scum that keep going. Cross the line. Once it's crossed, they can't be what they were."
Rorschach didn't have an argument for that. He thought of the cleaver and the the fire. He stood in silence. Nite Owl must've thought he had made his point because he turned to walk back toward his ship. His point had been made. Rorschach didn't say that it was already too late, that his line was left far behind him, that he was already past the point of safe return. He hurried away before Nite Owl would notice that he wasn't following.
Day/Theme: 13. a telltale sign: you don't know where to draw the line
Series: Watchmen
Character/Pairing: Rorschach, Nite Owl
"You can't go on like this." It was barely a whisper, but Rorschach's shoulders rose and his head ducked as if he had been shouted at.
"Can't not," he growled back. He was grateful for the dark. It kept Nite Owl in silhouette, hid the disappointed frown and the growing unease that seemed to always be on his face lately. It didn't mask the admonishment in his voice though. There wasn't any fear there yet. It might have been the last straw if he had been. It might've made it that much easier. Tear off the bandage. Pull out the loose tooth. Force the joint back into socket. Get it over with.
"Should have stuck to bird-watching if there's no stomach for it." That was unfair and Rorschach knew it, but it didn't stop the next thing he heard himself say. "No use to me otherwise."
He had meant that to hurt, but the silhouette didn't flinch. If anything it drew up straighter and more resolute.
"You have to draw a line," Nite Owl said. "This far and no farther. No excuses about inching over and tiptoeing around it. No 'Just this once'. No extenuating circumstances. Either the line was crossed or it wasn't. Black and white. Your favorite."
That stung. It felt like being caught in a mistake, even though he had never been more resolved. He could feel his face heat under the mask, hear his own breathing rattle.
"Noble," he admitted. "But scum don't keep any limits. That's why-"
"That's why they are scum," Nite Owl said flatly, cutting him off. "Someone says stop. That's too much, that's too far. It's the scum that keep going. Cross the line. Once it's crossed, they can't be what they were."
Rorschach didn't have an argument for that. He thought of the cleaver and the the fire. He stood in silence. Nite Owl must've thought he had made his point because he turned to walk back toward his ship. His point had been made. Rorschach didn't say that it was already too late, that his line was left far behind him, that he was already past the point of safe return. He hurried away before Nite Owl would notice that he wasn't following.