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midori-laboratories · 2 years ago

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Ashes In The Fall: Chapter 24: What We Left Behind I

Book 2 of the Calendula Chronicles

Resident evil, Wesker X OC

Story Summary: Marigold Ashford escaped the mansion, only to face new incarceration with a familiar jailor. She may yet have to make a deal with the devil, if she can unearth what this Faustian bargain would cost her.

There is always something left to lose.

Chapter summary: Marigold completes the mission, and, weighing her failing control against a recent warning, makes a decision.

9:00am

The van rolled to a stop after a tense half-hour of driving. No one stopped them, even as the beginnings of a blockade went up around them. On the public radio, there were reports of an investigation of radioactive activity within the Raccoon City limits.

On the hacked government radio, coordination for the first wave of evacuation was finally getting underway. The evacuees would be relocated to a field hospital inside a two-hundred-mile exclusion zone around the city, to be examined, then released.

“How far inside that zone are we,” the blood-spattered young woman sitting on the floor of the van had asked during the drive. She’d said her name was Marigold, and the older scientist’s eyes had taken on a horrified gleam of understanding when she’d offered it during an awkward pause. In a gruff voice, Bradley had replied “The drop point for you is about one hundred-sixty miles outside the city. Headquarters is a few more hours, well outside that.”

The scientist had stayed quiet, even as the younger brood in the back seat whispered to each other in confusion. Then, he said quietly, in a voice of quiet resignation. “So you never left, then.”

“It really wasn’t left to me, Doctor Blackenberg,” she had replied in a gentle voice.

The older scientist - Blackenberg - sighed. “I wish you hadn’t shown up at my conference. Remember, back in Munich?”

She laughed a little. “I remember.” She paused. “I didn’t know. What…they were capable of.” She had given him a little smile. “For what it’s worth - not much, I know - I’m sorry for that.”

Bradley hesitated now, idling in the warehouse parking lot. The van was now thoroughly contaminated, and the other passengers would continue with him in another car. The supplies he’d brought into the city were all thoroughly distributed to his designated drop points. Marigold hopped out of the car, looking pensive and a bit more tired than she had been at the beginning. Adrenaline highs are followed by a crash, he reasoned to himself. Somehow, that reasoning felt hollow, but it was a simple and sturdy thing to cling to.

The woman was assigned to do her decontamination and initial debrief here, before the final evacuation. The spook who had brought her was waiting inside and had issued the order for them to go ahead. She was staring at the building now, a tightness around her eyes. At some point, she had pulled a small padded envelope from her bag, and was now clutching it resolutely.

Bradley took a step toward her to ask if she would be alright - and froze when she turned to look at him. The van had been dark enough to miss the detail, but out here in the sunlight, with her complexion, it was striking. “Miss, your eyes…” He stammered.

She stared at him, then gave a tight smile of resigned comprehension. “Ah. Thank you, Lieutenant,” she said, taking a few steps back, and away from him. “I will be fine. It will, however, be much safer if I do not accompany your group the rest of the way.” She looked back at the warehouse, expression turning grim. “You should be off. I’ll be fine. But…thank you.” With that, she ducked her head, turned, and pushed her way through the warehouse doors.

Then she was gone.

They stood frozen, the soldier and his four ex-Umbrella charges. The car was an old station wagon, and the truck would barely fit the meagre notes they had smuggled out with them.

It would be a tight fit for the next several hours. It was still vastly better than what would have befallen them had they stayed behind, and they all knew it.

Doctor Blackenberg broke the silence. “Come on,” he barked at his team, breaking them out of their reverie. Bradley blinked, then followed.

The keys had been stashed under the sun visor, and a cooler of sodas was dug out of the back by one researcher, while another found snack bars. Food was gratefully passed around. Several minutes passed, and the researchers - slightly less cramped, began to fidget in the back under the weight of their curiosity.

Bradley glanced back at them, then at Blacksburg. He pulled over, and reached for the cigarette lighter. With his knife, he pried it open, revealing a blinking green light. He met Blackenberg’s eye, whose mouth tightened with understanding. The device, a disguised audio recorder, he tossed out the window, before putting the car into drive again and starting back down the road. Fuck protocol. They had all the recordings they could ever want from the van. “I would also like to know. What she said she did on that course is impossible.” He paused. “But what we saw was also…”

Blackenberg laughed sharply. “Hardly, but for a normal human, yes.” He sighed. “It’s not impossible, but the company never could make that kind of function without the mutations.”

A researcher in the back, a small woman with a tight black ponytail, spoke up. “But you said -”

“That they couldn’t make it.” Blackenberg said, voice patient now that they were on the road. “That woman back there was Edward Ashford’s daughter. One of the founders. I was a junior researcher back when her death was announced. Her nephew is the only Ashford left known to be alive.” He paused. “Was known. There were quite a lot of mysterious deaths in that family after the company had announced hers, back in the early eighties.”

Bradley stared. “Rockfort Island,” he stated, and Blackenberg nodded. He’d seen the resemblance to the man who ran the training facility but had set it aside. Anyone who wasn’t in on the secret would do the same. It was a clever bit of camouflage. It had also clearly, at some point, failed catastrophically. “She didn’t break a sweat with those hunters either. I know that one snagged more than just her jacket. I saw the blood.”

After a long moment, watching the fall countryside roll by, Blackenberg spoke again. “Someone was testing her abilities, weren’t they? Your man on the radio.” The man tapped his own ear the mimic the headset Bradley wore. “They did it when the mansion fell- it was all that was left for them to do. All I know for sure now is that if you ever see her again, the situation will be much, much worse.” He turned away, to the window. The researchers in the back huddled together like frightened puppies. Bradley suddenly wondered just how much this man had left behind to escape.

Probably not nearly as much as the woman they had just left at the warehouse, growing farther away with each passing moment.

----------

Back in the warehouse, the heavy door shut behind her with a firm click. The fluorescent brightness of the place last night had changed into something more comfortable, and mostly lit by the light coming in a few high windows.

Her body had thankfully, amazingly, been free of that throbbing, insistent ache during the fight, but it had returned with a vengeance as they approached the warehouse. It was an unfortunately familiar feeling. She was good at masking her discomfort for the sake of those around her - the little birds in the back had had no idea what to make of her, and their poor hearts had been beating so fast she had feared they might give out. But that other feeling…

Arriving at the warehouse was an unexpected relief. Even with what Annette had told about Wesker.

Especially because of it.

She had been absolutely honest when she had told Valentine that they wouldn’t deserve what would happen if she had gone off into the wild blue yonder with them, to hunt Umbrella down. And it would be inefficient to work with someone whose humanity waxed and waned on a cyclical basis.

Almost on cue, the cramps whispered their imminent arrival. Before, she would have isolated herself well before this point - except she had only ever gotten this bad the first time it had happened, back in 1972, when she had exiled herself to the moors behind the house out of fear of hurting someone.

Right now, her skin was nearly buzzing with hungry need. She shrugged off the belts that held the chest to her back - the weight of them had given her something else to focus on during the drive - and lowered the chest gently to the ground. When she looked up, Wesker had emerged from the office at the far end. He had lost the jacket and tie at some point.

Once again, she couldn’t quite follow the movement, and he was suddenly before her. She stepped back in reflex, but he followed, capturing her jaw in one hand, tilting it up to look at - oh.

That.

I need, I need, I NEED, her body screamed at her, and she felt Wesker still. “A shower,” Marigold blurted out, barely able to breathe. “I need a shower.” She looked down at herself. She’d managed to use her makeshift shield to block the worst of it but…”Viscera is a touch messy.” She thrust the envelope in her hand at his chest, forcing him to take it. “Please tell me there’s a shower that’s rated for first-degree burns.”

“To treat?” Wesker asked. He was still looking at her face with frank interest.

“To give.” Pain would redirect the feeling. Had to. Had she really been considering…in this state?

Wesker watched her for a long moment. Studied her. Finally, he nodded past her, deeper into the gloom of the warehouse. The bathroom light was still on, visible through the door on the far wall. “There’s a shower back there.” He hesitated a moment, then offered, “Six hunters with that equipment was certainly something to see.”

Marigold began to drift back towards the bathroom, but smiled in spite of herself. “That was kind of fun,” she admitted, and turned, calling back over her shoulder, “I might have scared your pickup crew though.”

She felt the weight of his eyes follow her as she left.

----------

Marigold stared deadpan at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was almost worse than she had feared.

The pale blue of her eyes had shifted to a mottled bloody and orange mixture. It almost looked natural, in a twisted way. She’s been expecting damage, burst blood vessels, anything that spoke to pushing her body past its limits.

Alexander had explained this to her once when it had started happening - when she overexerted her abilities, it likely damaged her optic nerves, and the virus rebuilt it to suit itself better. Medicating over the years had tamped down the temporary changes, to a point- but going after Birkin as hard as she had had clearly tipped a balance, and they had settled into something that looked alarmingly stable. She’d pushed well past her previously held limits, after all, without the buttressing effects of her suppressant medication preserving her appearance.

It seemed that a new equilibrium had emerged.

She stared for a moment longer. The reflection failed to retrieve what had been familiar. Finally, she admitted defeat and hung her bag on the hook next to the shower. The sleek bandoliers meant to house the knives she had distributed about her body. She placed them carefully on top of the diaries, then discarded the rest of her attire on a waiting-room chair set by the shower. The little books were small enough to fit snugly at the bottom of her bag, and the chest hadn’t been full, to begin with. If anything would draw notice, it would be the pills and tests taken from the drugstore.

If he chose to pry, Marigold could live with Wesker following that narrative if it kept certain underlying truths obscured. She’d been refining that form of misdirection ever since she’d arrived back home on a dreary fall day in 1968.

If she followed through on this, she might not have to resort to paper-thin old tricks.

The water was as hot as she’d expected, though not as hot as she’d hoped. Steam began to fill the room. Marigold began to scrub the errant spatter from her skin, mind drifting back to the warning Annette Birkin had given her in exchange for a few precious moments of time.

You may wish you’d never woken up before long, Annette had said. I can’t imagine a more dangerous person alive holding your leash. He’s very good at people, but I’m not sure he ever really learned to be a person. Everything he’s ever done has an agenda. You may fare better, if only to spite Spencer, but you’re playing a dangerous game. Even William was discarded once the company wasn’t good enough anymore, and they were like brothers once.

Maybe. Probably. Almost certainly. Don’t assume you can manage this, Annette’s embittered voice pleaded from her memory. She’d told her more, a great deal more, in that too-short amount of time they’d been able to speak. Knowing what she knew, confirming it with another person who understood that intending kindness was never quite enough…

Knowing that had been worth the cost.

The more immediate problem was that her situation was still the same as it had been last night, with more context. Getting out still meant playing along. Considering how hard the cramps had been coming on, she physically could do little else.

Marigold touched the fading bruise on the back of her neck. It was barely tender now. Almost in response, her insides seized in on themselves once again, worse than before. Startled out of her thoughts, she doubled over with a cry, then leaned back against the tiles to breathe through in ragged gasps until they passed. Dry swallowing several of the pills that Ada had directed her towards while sitting in that tiny bathroom stall at the police station had done exactly fuck and all at stopping any of this at this stage. Just another thing she was hardly managing at this point.

You know exactly what will make this go away, a quiet voice from the bottom of her mind whispered. You were thinking about it the whole way back here. You have the same hunger, but he doesn’t starve himself of it.

I was thinking about it the whole way back here. Marigold thought, her mind fogging with pain and that damnable need, because this is the one case where he absolutely deserves what happens.

It was time to take control of the situation. Even if it meant breaking one of her most carefully held rules.

Even if it meant letting go.

Soft cautious footsteps approached the room from outside. He’d heard her, just then. A languid torpor settled over her, a deep calm. Wesker opened the door, seeming to hesitate.

“In here,” she managed to croak, voice thick. Footsteps, and then the curtain was eased open. Wesker had one hand carefully easing down to his gun. She remembered the creatures that had been investigating the van when Nikolai had arrived to the pickup. Mutations, he had said. Like it was something commonplace.

She closed her eyes, telling Wesker, Same problem as earlier. No meds. Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out.

Wesker visibly took in the sight of her - wet and naked against the wall, flushed and pliant, breathing hard.

Yielding.

“I was under the impression that it was rude to tell a woman she’s going into heat.” He managed to make the remark sound dry, but it held a sharp edge of want.

She tried to smirk, but it turned into a grimace as another wave of pain rolled through her. “It hurts,” she said, like admitting it was worse that the actual pain. Given what Annette had told her, it might have been. She squeezed her eyes shut. It always hurts when it happens. Help me?

(give in)

He was much too far gone to make her ask a second time.

Once he had shed his clothes and stepped inside, burying himself inside of her, Wesker barely seemed to notice when Marigold sank her teeth into his shoulder.

#ashes in the fall #calendula chronicles #marigold ashford #albert wesker x oc #resident evil fanfiction

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hobipaint · 3 years ago

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Graffiti and Chalk- two

summary: You thought you knew him. You thought him gone. Kim Taehyung was part of you that you had carefully suppressed, keeping his memories to one box near the wall of your mind. That was your fault, though - empty walls demand for art. And who other than your own neighbourhood vandal?

↳ pairing: ex police student turned vandal! taehyung x officer! female reader

↳ genres: angst, fluff

↳ word count: 9.6K

↳ disclaimers: pg15!, vandalism, police officers, criminal past and heavy discussion of it, mentions of character deaths.

one | two

a/n: FINALLY AFTER A MONTH IT'S HERE! This took me really long to write but I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out : it's my longest work yet, and I feel like it would be among my best as well hehe. a massive thank you to @kookiestarlight because i swear i completed this in the first place because of tasha, @swcetnight who pointed out exactly where I need to elaborate stuff and places in which I was loosing parts of the plot because did I forget the whole storyline while writing this 🤡, @vaekth because this bby is absolutely amazing. she's supported me throughout the process of writing this, thank you so much!! thank you to @taecup-fics for beta reading this at the last minute and pointing out a bunch of grammatical errors because otherwise this would be a mess to read 😭 to everyone who has waited - I'm so sorry that it came this late, I suddenly had a bunch of exams that were announced and had to focus on those. Hopefully this lives up to your expectations!! Enjoy reading :)

Morning often dawns with a feeling of hope. With wistful sights of sunrise. Flowers open up to the golden haze that thaws the frost of the night. Birds roam the skies that had been but mysterious domains in the dark. People wake up with groans about the impending day, hopeful for it to end soon. You hoped for your mornings to always be similar to this- some constants were needed in places where you had cases as bewildering as missing pumpkin plushies piling up in your office.

Your morning today, though, was much different. Much to your annoyance.

You held the coffee you had brewed for yourself - another espresso, the universe knows you needed it - and handed one to Taehyung just as the cuckoo perching on the clock shrilly announced that it was eight in the morning.

"Do you still have no answers for me, Y/N?" Taehyung looked at you. His eyes were sullen - no signs of the cheekiness that had peeked at you last night. Scattered rays fell across his body, highlighting the sunken cheeks, brooding eyes and tight smiles you could now see better in the daylight.

You sighed- probably for the millionth time this night. "I do not understand your question, Taehyung."

"You remember it. I've asked you thrice since I saw you again, Y/N. Do you not remember anymore? Do you not care for me? Was our idea of us nothing for you?" He looked at you with a myriad of emotions written all over his face- you looked away, not wanting to see them.

Sighing, you gathered your thoughts the best you could. "Like I said, Taehyung." You looked at him- looking at the person you once fell in love with. The feeling you felt today, though, was much different. There was a feeling of running towards him, taking him in your arms and remembering who he was to you all over again, but it was overwhelmed by the confusion you felt - should you prioritize a past that wanted answers, or a future that was unsure? For now, you chose none pushing the time to make that decision further ahead. "We were an 'us' for only a few hours. Until you stood me up."

He rolled his eyes."That wasn't intentional, Y/N."

"And how was I supposed to know that, Taehyung? I thought it was, since you had never told me anything beforehand."

Taehyung's eyebrows bunched together, as if coming to hear the stories that his eyes longed to tell- stories of events that you had never seen and never known. "Would you not hear me out, even once? For the sake of our old love?"

You bristled. "What love, Taehyung?" You got up to stretch your legs out, looking at the patchwork blanket that was stuffed in the corner. You had taken that for your first date with Taehyung, planning to cuddle with him and watch the stars - a date that never happened. "What love? A love where you don't speak to me for weeks, and then vanish for some crime? We were young then, and I got hurt then as it is. There's no need to go over this right now."

"That was not my fault, Y/N. You know that." Taehyung seemingly sunk back into his chair, eyes downcast. "I had said I loved you. Before I ever went out with you."

"Like that matters,” you scoffed, “what's the point in reminiscing promises from an old love?"

"At least, hear me out?" He looked up at you with hope sprinkled in the abyss of his eyes. "I don't want you to forget me."

You turned back to your chair, tearing your eyes away from the blanket that was now a pale blue in the sunlight - a few shades lighter than the cerulean colour it would be in the afternoon. "Not now, Taehyung."

Taehyung sighed, looking at the floor, tension exhaled into the room. He sat silently for a few seconds, the ticking clock announcing each moment clearly to you. "That's fair. It's just.." He looked back at you. "I'm used to thinking of you as the person I loved." He nervously let his eyes pan around the windows, gazing at the sunshine that streamed through the window, before turning back towards your gaze. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I'm just really grateful for your presence-"

"Taehyung." You sharply interrupted him. "Two years ago, when your case was reopened for investigation. Who did that?"

"They told me that it was a well wisher in the neighbourhood. Another jailor said it was for good behaviour." He shrugged.

You scoffed aloud, more loudly than you would have liked him to hear.

He frowned, lips drawn in a tight line in annoyance. "Don't believe me? I'll have you know, Y/N, I was among the most well behaved at prison. Absolutely no tantrums. I even ate the salt-less, disgusting food they'd give there. No crying. Nothing. I can show you later on if you want, I think I have a report stuffed somewhere here," He got up, shuffled towards his bag and checked the last zip, hunting for a report you had never heard of.

"It was me."

Taehyung whirled around to face you, unruly hair swinging like the seats of a carousel at a carnival, and raised an eyebrow. "What were you?"

"I was the one who insisted on opening the case for reinvestigation, the case of your stepfather's assault. Went around collecting evidence, searching for people who knew about your family better, getting their voices recorded, finding about the whole deal to frame you and stuff. Nearly got fired." You shrugged, sipping your espresso and wincing- too bitter. "You're welcome, by the way. The coffee is getting cold."

"I don't care about the coffee." He moved the cup aside - nearly spilling the liquid, roughly settling back into the seat he had been occupying for the last few hours. "You were the one who asked for re-opening the case?"

"Just said that."

He slumped back in his seat, and your eyes took in how he spread himself out on the chair, tiredness lacing his figure. "I didn't know that."

"Now you do." You said, sipping your coffee and watching Taehyung do the same.

Taehyung stared blankly at you, and you couldn't fathom what was swirling in those ebony orbs of his. "Why did you do that, Y/N?"

"Honestly," you smile softly at him, "I was expecting a thank you."

"You should have expected questions, Y/N. Why did you help me?" Taehyung's blank expression made way for a confused one, eyebrows furrowing and lips pouting.

"I did what I had to do as a-" You paused here, unsure of what to say. "As a friend, Taehyung, nothing more. I knew you were innocent-"

"How were you so assured?" He pressed on."I could be a complete 180 from the man I met you as. I could be fake. I could be an impostor. I could-"

"You could do a bunch of things, Taehyung." You stared him straight in the eye, trying to keep your emotions at bay. "But you could never tell a lie."

Taehyung scoffed. "You sound like one of the wishy-washy pick-me kind of girls in the movie. No, I don't lie, but I could."

You sighed. As much as you cared for Taehyung, you had never really cared for his argumentative attitude. "I went with the assumption that you were the same person I knew, Taehyung. The one whom I respected and trusted. I acted on that feeling."

"That wasn't trust, Y/N. It was naivety. You were naive to believe me." Taehyung paused, uncertainty lining his forehead as he spoke. "You shouldn't have trusted me."

You rolled your eyes- you couldn't understand why he was so desperate to make sure that you remained aloof from him. What had you done to be treated like that? What had he done to force everyone away from him?

You tried to play off his remaining doubts and frustrations as insecurities he developed while in jail, and moved on."Alright then, you impostor. I was naive to trust you. And even more naive to believe you. Happy? Now shush. I don't want to talk about this." You tried to clear your mind of any doubts you had about Taehyung, but his behaviour, the way he interacted with you - it couldn't help but increase the worry and confusion in your mind.

Taehyung leaned forward to look you in the eye before smiling softly at you - you couldn't understand why. You were going to give him a criminal record, maybe arrest him. You were potentially ruining his life again, and he smiled at you. "If you say so, officer." Taehyung said, settling into the chair - leaving your mind reeling with questions you weren't sure you wanted the answers to.

You opened the laptop again, wearily. "Let's get back to the questions; the sooner we finish this, the better. Where did you source the paint from?"

"You mean the graffiti? And chalk?" You nodded. Taehyung sighed."Terminology, Officer, terminology. Make no errors." He raised a finger to wave at you, as if to say no. You rolled your eyes -it seemed that you were the only one concerned about what would happen to him after this, because Taehyung quite clearly was not. "I bought it with the allowance money that was kept for me in the bank- as much as I hated that man, his cards proved to be useful."

You raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You didn't steal it."

"No. Took it from my step-father's account. Technically, now mine. Apparently he left everything to his children, and I'm the only one alive that I know of. Maybe he had other children- I wouldn't doubt it for a moment if he had, but that doesn't change my right to his money either."

"Any other members of your family who had been granted access to that account?" You asked, wanting to make sure that there were no loopholes - you didn't want a future possibility of Taehyung being entangled with the wrong side of the law again.

He rolled his eyes, leaning further. "Curious little thing, aren't you? Like I'd told you last night, most of them are dead. Mom had died a few months before I was arrested - thanks to my stepfather being an alcoholic and taking everything out on her. Grandmother already had massive health issues - she passed away after two years of me being in jail - they had let me come out for her funeral."

"My siblings - a brother and sister, if you remember - were taken in by a distant relative, and the last time I spoke to them was three years ago. I'm not allowed to contact them because I might end up being a 'bad influence'," he air quoted the words, laughing mirthlessly. "Guess they won't be too delighted to see me again. You probably know about my stepfather - got drunk and passed out. Permanently. But yeah, that's all. I'm pretty much the sole benefactor from that account."

Hearing how nonchalantly he spoke about it, you were forced to maintain a strong face and be professional. You couldn't possibly think of even wanting to comfort him in any way. "So, you were absolutely not stealing."

"Nope. No. Not at all. Want any further repetitions?"

"That won't be necessary," You said, having typed out the information - tracking his expenditures would also be necessary now, apparently. "Any expenditure you make shall be monitored, now. Be careful."

"Always have been." He chuckled, getting back to spinning the glass on the table. "You know me."

You ignored him. "Your cards will be tracked, and any loose cash will be checked by us. If we feel that there's any room for suspicion, you will have reason to be monitored."

An odd silence filled the room while you tapped away at your laptop, filling in more details about the incident. Taehyung would be having a criminal record again, you thought to yourself. It was the only thought that echoed in your mind. It made you feel uneasy in a way, but you swallowed your unease down. There's a promotion to focus on.

"Taehyung, something has been bugging me since I caught you vandalising." You shifted a little bit, before deciding to spit out the question. "Why did you do it?" You leaned forwards on the table, elbows digging into the wood as you tried to grasp the answers from him.

Taehyung looked you in the eyes, and then looked away. "I don't know."

"You don't know." You raised your eyebrows, leaning back incredulously. "Taehyung, that's not an answer."

"I did it because I wanted to. It was fun. I'd see kids in the morning pointing at my graffiti work and they would like it. There would be people claiming it looked good. I felt acknowledged and I just-" He pleaded, unable to continue without pausing to recollect his calm. "I felt like doing it. After years of having questions raised at me for committing a crime I never did, I finally had people talking about the work I did. Even if it was just chalk drawings."

You exhaled in confusion. The Taehyung you had known - he was never like this. Confident, assured, independent. That was what he seemed to you when you were younger. And now, to see him want to be validated by others who never even cared for him- it felt ridiculous to you. Why was his only way of feeling validated involving something against the law? "Okay, then."

You went through the complaints that had been registered against him, hand resting against your forehead as you asked him the most commonly asked question. "Why the insignia 'V'?"

"V for victory?" He made a 'V' sign with his fingers, "I liked to think that I won against the world by rebelling against its sense of black and white. I saw everyone talk about it, and I felt like the same people who had once pointed fingers at me, blaming me for something I hadn't done, were now pointing fingers at something I had done - I felt victorious. I didn't need to show myself and possibly want more than I had already let myself have - this was enough for me."

You pulled your lips in a tight line, and hummed in response - there were two places that together had put in about twenty complaints, so you had to respond to all of them. You kept reminding yourself that neither did you have the space to feel sorry for him, nor did you have the power to say sorry to him. You simply kept your head turned to the screen, typing in answers to all the complaints.

Taehyung leaned forward after a few seconds. "What punishment do you think I'll get, Officer?"

"If the chief is feeling good, maybe you'll get community service, with a fine," You looked up at him. "Or maybe some time in jail."

"How much time?"

"Maybe a month or two?"

"Oh." Taehyung slumped back into his seat nonchalantly. "Cool then."

How was he this calm? You thought to yourself. He might be going to jail. For a second time.

"Yup." You shut the laptop, finally, after hours of typing information and recording it. Sighing, you lifted the porcelain mug once again to absolutely drain it of coffee, your rather loud gulps echoing in the silence of your office.

Taehyung tapped his fingers on the table- probably some old tune he had learnt before. You remembered that he played the saxophone - from nights of serenading tunes that he had played for you with his beloved instrument. "How long do you think the chief will take to reach here?"

"A few hours, maybe? I'd expect him around ten, to be honest. Nevertheless, let me check." You quickly called the chief on your phone, hearing his ringtone play some old Korean trot song before it was picked up.

"Hello, yes, yes, Y/N. I expected your call." A gravely, rather rough voice responded to you- like it hadn't been used for a few hours. "I shall be reaching the office around eleven. Keep Taehyung with you."

"Yes sir," you said, keeping the phone on your table and turning to Taehyung. "The chief said he'll be here by eleven."

Taehyung nodded in acknowledgement.

"It's nearly eight thirty now." You looked at the cuckoo clock again. "Would you like to freshen up?"

"Where?" Taehyung asked, eyes widening. "Shouldn't I just be at the office?"

"Yeah, you should. My place is right here- the back of this office is where I live, so you'll be fine." You look down at his clothes, grease, paint and metal shrapnel all over them. "Besides, you look like you need a change of clothes."

Taehyung stepped into your house with an air of curiosity, to see how his once classmate was living. His head stooped low to enter through the small door you had, eyes widening in surprise when he found that the hall of your house was larger than he had anticipated.

The house was quaint, a hall with an old couch which doubled as a bed when needed. There was a table in the middle of the room, too low to be a dining table and too high to be a center table. For coffee, maybe? There were maybe five or six magazines scattered haphazardly over it, covering nearly every inch- except for one corner, where Taehyung spotted a shining acrylic blue.

You, however, spotted what page you had left a magazine open at. Squeaking, "I'm sorry!" you ran to shut the booklet close, afraid that Taehyung would spot your love for shirtless men.

Picking up the magazines, you grinned sheepishly at him. "Just a moment! I'll be back, a bit of cleaning to be done, sit right here!" You patted the couch, trying to convince Taehyung.

Taehyung turned away from the pictures he had been observing- was there one of you both? - and nodded, eyes widening in surprise as he saw how you scuttled away to hide the magazines. He looked around again, taking a feel of your house- it seemed like the old you. There was some patchwork embroidery you had left in a corner, atop what seemed to be a showpiece? Taehyung stepped closer to see it in detail, and was amazed at the way you had managed to drag the red thread over and over the pink fabric to make floral designs. It reminded him of the rose he had been trying to complete the previous night, and he grit his teeth. He shouldn't be thinking about that now. That shouldn't be what he does anymore. No more.

You came back, looking quizzically at him. "Take a seat, Taehyung! It's alright."

"Uh, yeah." He shuffled over to the couch again. "Did you make that?"

You looked in the direction his finger pointed to. "Yeah. Tried doing embroidery for stress release purposes."

Taehyung grinned at you. "Stress release?" He asked, bemused.

"Yup." You said while making sure that the magazines were well hidden. "The department I wanted to be in was forensics, you know?" Taehyung nodded, he had been privy to most of your discussions about the advances in forensic technology and analysis - even if he didn't understand anything, he knew your love for it. "Well, they didn't allow me. So the whole 'stress' thing began." You walked back to him, making air quotes as you emphasized on stress. "My mother suggested embroidery would take my mind off it. So, that incomplete piece you see there?" Taehyung nodded, concentrating on every word that left your mouth. "That started a few days ago."

"It looks like it's complete, though- are you really good at it?" Taehyung looked at you again, turning back from the embroidery you were now rising to get.

"Pretty much? It's easy once you get the hang of it."

"Ah." Taehyung said, a dull silence settling into the room for a few moments as Taehyung looked around your room.

"That picture." He pointed, and you turned your head around. The picture he was focusing on was on your mantelpiece, resting happily. The frame had butterflies stuck on its corners, two large and two small. The border was white, now off white, and had pink dots in certain places. It was a picture of fireworks- red, yellow and blue mixing together in a dull sky to breathe life into the picture. And right in the middle, surrounded by this liveliness, were you and Taehyung. Beaming.

Taehyung turned to, finger still pointing at the picture. "That's our picture, right?"

You hummed in affirmation. "That's us, freshman party. We had known each other for a few weeks at this time."

"And I had stopped someone from asking you out, right?" Taehyung reminisced. "That was fun."

You snort. "You had punched him in the face when he asked for my name, Taehyung."

Taehyung smiled. "I didn't want anyone to harm you, Y/N, and he seemed like he would harm you." He spread out his arms and grinned smugly at you. "In a way, I rescued you. That night."

And so many other nights, you wanted to say. For all the time you had known Taehyung, he had been fiercely protective of you - for reasons he never truly told you. You didn't question it either, basking in the feeling of being wanted by someone.

You cleared your throat, hoping to clear your mind as well. "You should go take a shower, Taehyung." Glancing at the clock, you noted the time and motioned towards the washroom. "It's nearly nine. Go take a shower, call for me if you need anything. I'll go get some clothes for you."

Taehyung nodded, rising up slowly to go in the direction you pointed. "Towels are inside," you shouted after him, and he yelled in response to say he understood. In some ways, too many ways, he felt like the Taehyung you once knew.

You went to your room to pick out some clothes, opening your meager collection to salvage something that would fit Taehyung. Your eyes scanned over your uniforms, jumpsuits, jeans, t-shirts and finally landed on the hoodies- probably the largest collection in your wardrobe. Thankfully, you loved large, loose hoodies. You started pulling them out, holding each one up and imagining Taehyung's proportions in them.

The red one, with blue paw prints. "Nah. Too tight."

The black plain one. "That's mine, I'm not sharing that."

The grey ones- nearly three. You skipped over all of them, not understanding how none of these oversized hoodies would seemingly fit Taehyung. He'd gotten humongous, broad shoulders and everything.

You picked out a few more, trying to see whether it would be a fit. None worked.

When you picked up the next one, you could already picture him wearing it. It was the hoodie you had taken from Taehyung during the first year you knew each other. You looked at its loose sleeves, stretchy from you tugging Taehyung behind you with it way back then. The green fabric of the hoodie was slightly pale in a certain spot - you had spilled soda all over him in a fit of anger.

During your forensic chemistry class, the teacher didn't recognise their mistakes in the procedure (they used the wrong test for detecting the sample, and blamed it on you), and you were pretty miffed the whole day. Taehyung had bought sodas for the two of you, having planned to go stargazing later on. And you, in a terrible mood, flipped him off in a way that had the soda spilling over him. You cried, Taehyung laughed, but the hoodie was still stained. You took it with you later on to clean it - but the stubborn stain never left. You were agonized, Taehyung amused, but the hoodie- it was still stained. Taehyung had laughed it off, telling you to keep it with you for as long as you wanted- he could buy a dozen more hoodies to last him till then.

When you left to head home that winter break, you had taken the hoodie with you. You had taken it on your date, crying on its sleeves when you were stood up. And when you came back, Taehyung was suddenly a criminal.

You shook your head to remove the memories of that time, holding the hoodie in your hand and gently caressing its sleeves. So many memories were held in these threads that meshed together to form the fabric of your youth. Good or bad? You didn't want to dwell on that.

"Y/N? Could I get the clothes now?" Taehyung called from the washroom. You picked up a extra large pair of cotton shorts and a hoodie, and passed it to him without really thinking- you'd done it before when he got drunk at college too, having him come over at your place, shower, change, and practically behave like a couple- at least, that's what you had thought of it then.

Get it together, Y/N, why are you thinking about that?

"Thanks!" he shouted again, grasping the clothes with his fingers and whisking them away to the confines of the washroom.

You gripped at your hair and pinched your cheeks. You couldn't keep thinking about the old Taehyung. You didn't know if it was truly him anymore.

"Uh, Y/N?" Taehyung stepped out of the washroom, the previously oversized shorts clinging to his thighs for dear life and the hoodie snugly fitting his figure. "I think it's a bit tight, but I'll make do."

Your eyes widened in horror; Taehyung looked like he was moments away from bursting the shorts. "I'll get you new pants, wait a second. These ones don't fit."

You turned back to your cupboard, looking for the loosest bottoms you could find. "I think the hoodie still fits though, right?"

"Yeah." You heard Taehyung right over your shoulder, scaring you.

"Jeez, when did you get this close to me?" You turned to face him, crossing your arms, looking at his hair which still had droplets sticking to its edges.

"When did you get this far from me, Y/N?" His eyes bore into yours, sweetly intense eyes gazing at you like it was the first time he saw you. "What happened?"

You shrugged, not wanting to answer it. You picked up a loose pair of denim jeans that you had found stuffed away at the back of your closet. Pushing it into his hands, you told him to go change.

Apparently, your instructions fell on deaf ears. "What happened, Y/N? Answer me. Please."

You moved your gaze to his clothes, not wanting to focus on the thoughts that rushed back when you thought of him. What had happened? You moved your hands to your sides, resisting the need to hold him and know him all over again. "The hoodie looks good on you. Would you-"

"So do our hands." He held yours, snugly fitting his palm- your calloused fingers against his calloused ones, heat burning in the sleeping embers of your palm. His eyes gazed at the joint fingertips almost reverently. "They fit well."

"Taehyung, now is not the time-" You begin, cut off by his frantic breathing.

"When is the time, Y/N? When will I get to live? When will I get to feel like a human? When will I be innocent?"

His hand caressed your palm, touching your forearm, your elbow, your shoulder, and your cheek -leaving a burning trail behind him everywhere he touched. You shivered. "Do you know how long I have wanted you, Y/N? Years. Seven years, now. I have loved you for years. I have wanted you for years. I did all sorts of things to remember you while in jail- kept asking for you, kept calling for you. I didn't want to forget you, Y/N. Not you. I couldn't forget you, no."

He pressed your palm to his chest, and you could feel a dull thump echo through the clothes, reverberate in your palms. "That fire, Y/N. My passion in the promises I'd made to you. It never went anywhere. I always loved you. I always will. You can't make me leave again, not again. Please, no."

He held your palm up to his cheeks, not regarding the tears that were streaking your cheeks and his. "You feel me, right? It's me. Taehyung. I am the one you trusted. I'm the same. Trust me again. Please."

You tried to hold back the tears that threatened to slide down your cheeks, not wanting to pain Taehyung anymore. He held your forehead to his, pressing on the back of your head to meet his - upclose, you could see the redness that clouded the shine that his eyes would normally have. You couldn't hold back your tears anymore, nearly whimpering when you saw how broken he was- sirens swimming in the whirlpool of his eyes, singing songs of misery. "You know me, right? Do you know me? Do you recognize me? Kim Taehyung, police cadet. Your friend. Your classmate. You know me, right?" He asked, nose nearly brushing yours. "Do you know me?"He cried, eyes washing over the fire that ignited behind his pupils. You didn't see a vandal, or a criminal, or a friend. You saw a broken man.

"Taehyung, oh, Tae," you cried, putting your hands on his shoulders, watching him slink down to the ground as his body trembled and shivered. You wrapped your arms close around his figure, unable to understand his pain but just wanting it to go away.

You sat like that for a while, coaxing the tears and short whimpers out of him as he held onto your fingers, wanting to remember something he once had: you.

"I always asked for you, you know that?" Taehyung shivered as he spoke, even if the chills of the weather outside barely seeped into your home. "I always loved you. I don't know why they kept me there for so long, Y/N. I didn't do anything wrong. I don't know why I'm made to feel like this…" he trailed away, tears gathering at his chin as they endlessly flowed down his cheeks.

You glanced a nervous eye at the clock, wanting to make sure that you get to the station- no matter what happens. The bubbling of water distracted you from the ticking of the clock, and you turned off the stove. Scouring your cabinets for a chamomile tea bag was hard, but you knew you needed it. Taehyung always seemed to calm down with tea - you had used it multiple times before. Times of which you have multiple memories. Times you wish to forget.

Why did I ever love Taehyung? The question kept echoing in your mind as you leaned on top of the kitchen counter top. Things would have been so much simpler if simply looking at him wasn't so hard. His smile, his behaviour, his tears - it was all but a painful reminder of what you could have been if things had gone different. If only.

You poured the hot water into the mug you had settled on the kitchen top, watching the water bloom into a serene shade of yellow as you dipped the tea bag into it repeatedly. You prepared one mug, then another, hearing the soft declarations Taehyung kept repeating while he was seated.

All you had wanted to study was forensic science, and that was simply for one reason: you didn't want to interact with people.

People are complicated, over emotional beings. and you couldn't help but feel helpless every time you had to encounter a suspect. You would constantly be told by your professors to see them as lawbreakers - but all you tried finding was signs of humanity in them. That even the most vicious killers had scope for reform. That's why you stuck to the subjects you wanted - you were good at finding signs of life, not squashing them. You consistently failed those classes, without any doubt. And today, it seemed like all those classes were laughing at you.

"Here." You handed the mug to Taehyung, who muttered thanks. He rubbed his hands once or twice on the pants you told him to change into and took a sip from the warm tea. You resisted the urge to reach out and wipe the tears that lined his face, and try and wipe the scars of the past that had scarred him so badly - but you couldn't. You were a mere spectator in the game of his life. You couldn't possibly do anything other than hurt him more.

"Thank you. For letting me express all of it. I could finally say everything that I wanted to before I was forbidden from speaking about it again." Taehyung tapped against the mug, fingernails resting on ceramic as the sun slowly headed westward. "I'm sorry that I've been such a burden to you, Y/N. I wonder if I can do anything to reduce the pain and confusion I put you through - I doubt I can." He looked at you carefully, though you couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Thank you."

You let his words echo in the room, preoccupied with your thoughts. It hurt you to see him so broken, and you couldn't help but worry about him.

"Taehyung, I-" You opened your mouth to respond, watching Taehyung pay attention to every move you made - only to be interrupted by your phone loudly ringing.

"Sorry, this must be important." You got up to get your phone, watching Taehyung slump in his seat from the edge of your vision.

"It's the chief," you announced, picking up the phone.

He got straight to the point. "Come to the station, soon. Bring Taehyung with you." he told, his voice laced with a rather sharp edge- a tone that you had recognized in the years you had worked under him. Things were- most probably- not good.

You responded with a simple "yes", mind dwelling on the impending result that Taehyung would get. You felt that it would be unlikely that he would be going to jail- at least, you hoped so.

Turning to Taehyung, you tried to hide the fear and shakiness that lined your voice. "Let's go."

Taehyung sighed, playing with the mug as he rose up. "It's time, isn't it?"

"Good morning, Sir." You greeted the chief as he hurried into the small office, giving Taehyung a glance and then facing you.

"Morning." He gruffly responded, turning to your laptop. "We found an eyewitness for the vandalism, so we are getting them for the interrogation as well."

"Another interrogation? We've already done it, sir, and all the information is recorded here. I doubt it will be necessary-"

"Please, Y/N," He calmly said. "Leave the decision about it being necessary to me."

You stepped back, subconsciously edging closer to Taehyung - a move noticed by the chief as well.

"Y/N," he began, "I need to speak to you. In private. Step outside for a few moments, please."

You nodded, briskly walking towards the doors and yanking them open. There was a warm gust of wind that blew across your face, and you turned to face the chief.

"Y/N," the chief began, before pausing for a moment, "Officer Y/N. I'm going to need you to think clearly now."

"Yes." You set your features as tightly as you could, not wanting to seem distracted in any way.

"Do you have any type of bias in this case, perhaps due to your past relation with him?" he looked quizzically at you, as if trying to decipher an enigma scribbled onto your face.

Your blood chilled, for some reason. Were you having any bias? "No, sir."

The chief hummed - you couldn't make head or tail of his reaction. He kicked at a pebble before continuing. "From the recordings I heard the previous night in the office, and the way you let him come with you to freshen up a bit, one particular thing has struck me: you were trying to find reasons for Taehyung to be justified as a victim, weren't you?"

You gulped before responding. "Yes, sir. I believe the culprit committed vandalism as a coping mechanism to get over the hurt caused over the years."

The chief sighed heavily. "Well then," he said, "I suggest we continue with our investigation, and find a way to make sure the culprit in the matter is stable as well. We can't have repeated cases like these - we have a reputation to uphold for the police as well."

You nodded stiffly. "Yes, sir."

The chief sighed again, glancing at the street. "Our witness should be here soon." He turned to you again. "Funnily enough, she volunteered as a witness with CCTV backup to claim that Taehyung had vandalized her shop too. Apparently she heard you arrest him last night - so we have to hear her out."

The chief turned again to the road, eyes narrowing in hopes of spotting the witness soon. "The investigator whom she contacted has said she is a reliable witness, but I'm going to need to verify her statement nonetheless." He turned back, heading into the office.

You stared at the road that the chief was looking at before - the direction from which the supposedly reliable eyewitness would come, before heading back inside.

Taehyung was still slumped in his seat, fingers tracing drawings all over the pants you had given him. The chief was shuffling around behind the desk, pulling two spare chairs ahead - one for Taehyung, you presumed, and one for the eyewitness - whoever that would be.

"Mr. Kim Taehyung," the chief began, "there has been an eyewitness who has offered their testimony - whether it is to defend you, or further establish evidence of you vandalizing public spaces, I'm not yet aware. We shall be interrogating them - and maybe you, as well, now."

Taehyung rose up from the corner he had settled into, and shuffled into the seat the chief had set for him, wordlessly.

The door opened to reveal an older lady, dressed in a purple shaded hanbok, hair delicately pulled back into a tight bun and eyes peering around the whole office in curiosity. She found the chief, walking closer to the desk where he was arranging the records. "I'm here as the eyewitness..?"She said, looking at both you and the chief.

"Ah, yes. I presume you're Ms. Park?" The chief asked, pulling the chair out for her to settle into it. Under the light that shined across her face, you could make out the wrinkles that lined her skin and the greys in her hair - not that that was relevant to what would happen.

"I saw him vandalize the outside of my store a few days ago," she earnestly began, pulling out pictures that she had taken of the design on her window. "I'm a florist, you see. His designs are clearly inspired by that, aren't they?" She pushed the pictures in front of your vision, and you could see what she meant - the designs of orchids, hibiscus and asters stared back at you, intricately painted onto the glass windows of the florist's shop.

She pulled out more pictures. "There's been similar instances all over the neighbourhood- the other florist had a rose, the school received drawings full of children's stories and fairy tales, and had their walls painted with similar stories. In fact, the restaurants around here even said that their menus were drawn onto the streets, right in front of their doorstep."

The chief looked at the pictures carefully, with you peering at them as well, taking in the detail that Taehyung had while he worked while making each of his works- no, vandalising, you corrected yourself. He raised an eyebrow at the eyewitness, who seemed to shrink into her seat. "What does this bring forward as evidence for or against the culprit? We already know what the crime is, and its details. We just have to determine a punishment- either a hefty fine or jail. Do you have anything that can justify him getting exempted from either?"

Ms. Park looked at you and the chief before turning to Taehyung apologetically, placing a hand on his knee - as if consoling him. "I think that at the end of the day, all he was doing was beautifying the neighbourhood, wasn't he? And most of the residents here don't have a problem with it-" the chief looked at her incredulously- "so please, don't punish him or something. A lot of people appreciate his work in our neighborhood, you know?"

"But we have been receiving complaints about him since the past few days," the chief said. "Why the sudden change in opinion?"

Ms. Park fidgeted with the hem of her hanbok for a few moments, shaking her head nervously. "Some of us shopkeepers were really bothered by it at first, yes, but we also had some customers come over to inquire about the artwork. It looked professional to them. So we came to an ultimatum : we will let this young man paint and draw for us, on our walls, as much as he wants - as long as it's pretty," she emphasized, one hand patting her chest, "we'll pay him to do it."

You held back a sob as you saw Taehyung's eyes glimmer - a ray of hope shining in them.His knee bounced up and down- a habit you knew was something he had had since years - and he smiled softly when Ms. Park squeezed his hand. You felt like things were finally going to go well. The chief exhaled roughly before rubbing his forehead, glancing at Ms. Park, who smiled at him in the hope that he would understand her reasoning.

"The law, honestly, doesn't care about intentions- I don't think I really understand why I should even let him go. Vandalism is a punishable offence, and the perpetrator has been aware of its consequences. Why the sudden feeling to save him?" The chief questioned, eyes steely and tough.

Ms. Park hesitated for a few moments. "I believe he deserves a second chance." She pulled her chair ahead, the metal ends scraping against the tiles, and pleaded once again. "He was arrested for years for something he hadn't even done - and now, might face a few more months in the same place for simply being artistic. I don't think it deserves punishment."

"That's for the law to decide, not you, madam." The chief sternly said. "I suggest you leave such decisions to us."

The room remained tense and quiet for the next few moments, and your eyes were trained on Taehyung. You noticed the quiver in his hands, the way he shrunk into his chair - as if to hide away from whatever the upcoming decision would be.

Ms. Park was the first to interrupt the loud silence. "Oh, come on. Let me just pay for the boy's bail."

The clock chose that moment to loudly announce the next hour: was it eleven? Twelve? You weren't paying attention. You only saw the way Taehyung rose up from his seat - in happiness, you thought - with fists sticking to his sides. "No. I won't accept it."

You felt the chief look with just as much disbelief as you did. Why was he so hellbent on being a perpetrator when he could be free?

Ms. Park laughed. "No. I'm not listening to that whole self righteous thing that you probably have," she swatted the air with her hand, as if to push away any explanations Taehyung could give.

"Look, ma'am. I have the money to get a bail, or even pay the fine. I don't want you to pay for me and then hold it above my head like a massive favour you have done for me." Fire blazed in his eyes as he spoke up, rather indignantly. "I can take care of myself."

"To hell with that attitude," Ms. Park said. "I decided to help you because I didn't want you to suffer once again because of misunderstandings." She pulled Taehyung back to sit on his chair, clasping his hand between her wrinkled ones. "You had to go through so much pain at such a young age - no one deserves that. I was a mere bystander at the time you were arrested, and I regretted it then. I still regret it now."

She sighed before caressing the back of his hand lovingly, thumb gently pressing on the skin- as if to feel the pain those hands had to go through, and you thought you saw a hint of a tear on his cheeks. "So don't question me for 'saving' you, or something - what you did was perfectly fine for me. I love the way my street looks now, and so do the neighbours. All that really remained was the artist's identity- and now that I know it's you, I don't feel any sort of guilt in justifying what you did."

You were right. Taehyung was crying. It wasn't silent tears that rained gently down his cheeks, it was a whole thunderstorm. You saw the chief turn away, from the corner of your vision, but you couldn't bring yourself to do the same. He was biting on his bottom lip to hold back any of the sobs or whimpers that came, head lowering to hide the tears.

Ms. Park simply caressed his hand, over and over, till he calmed down enough to wipe his tears with his free hand. And when he raised his head up, you saw him like a new person. The wound up Taehyung you had met again a few hours ago was slowly vanishing - in his stead, there was a free Taehyung who smiled like the world's burden had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you," he murmured.

The chief sighed again. "I still don't understand how it came to this."

"Neither do I," Ms. Park laughed. "But it is what it is. We'll pay the fine."

"I'll do it," Taehyung started, only to be shushed by the elder lady. "I want to do it. Let me do it." She turned again to the chief, the bubbly happiness giving way to seriousness. "You can make sure he pays the fine, right? Withdraw the complaints for us too."

The chief looked at you and nodded, and you got to work - carefully opening the laptop again and making sure that you transferred the report from 'investigation' to 'resolved', and that the complaint was withdrawn.

The chief, meanwhile, made physical records of it, and informed Taehyung of the fine - which, despite his insistence, Ms. Park paid off, whipping out a cheque she had kept ready, somehow. You added the details to his resolved record as the chief dictated them to you, keeping them for future references - which you hoped would only be needed to prove his innocence in any situation.

Nearly twenty minutes of details, questioning, and a written assurance from Taehyung that he would be liable to arrest if he continued illegal activities, it was done. Taehyung was free.

The chief read over the details once again, thoroughly, eyes getting heavier and softer with every document he checked. Once it was all done, filed, and you had stacked the records back in the drawers they were placed in, the chief sagged into the chair, hands clutching the steel arms for support.

"Thank God," he whispered, eyes closed. "You're fine now." He got up shakily, hands wiping at his eyes to erase any traces of the tears that had possibly leaked out. He walked around the table, reaching for Taehyung - as if beyond the lines of that desk, his duties as an officer stopped and those as a teacher resumed. "Don't you dare do that again, Taehyung. Never again." He held his student by the shoulder tightly, gripping him and shaking him a little - like a parent would scold a kid. "Live a good life, please."

Taehyung nodded frantically, eyes still wide in disbelief as he ignored the grubby tear streaks on his face. "I will, sir." He had his hands placed politely in front of him, trembling fingers clutching onto the rough denim fabric of the old, loose jeans you had made him wear.

"Live well," the chief repeated again, thumping Taehyung's shoulder once and then turning around to collect the documents he would need to take with him. He bowed to Ms. Park, who acknowledged him before something at a corner of the small office caught her eye, and turned sharply to you. "Officer Y/N," he began, and you tensed a little bit more. "There was an opening last night in the forensic science department that I got notice of," he said, a smile tugging on the edges of his lips when he saw how your demeanor brightened. "Reach the head office tomorrow in the morning at ten, and I'll give you the details. All the best."

You hastily held back the sudden smile that threatened to split on your face, smartly saluting your senior before he turned around to leave the office. As he opened the door, you felt a burst of warmth all over your body - the heat of the sunshine rushing into the room.

Ms. Park walked from her corner to Taehyung, taking his palm between hers and squeezing. "I'm happy that you're free now, Taehyung." She looked carefully at his face - sternness making way for soft concern, and said, "Live wisely. If you need money, or a job to get you started, come to my shop - it's the one you painted with orchids. You remember it, right?"

Taehyung responded with a rather choked 'yes', nodding his head frantically. He placed his other, trembling hand upon the lady's hands, and solemnly thanked her.

"That's not needed, I told you." She smiled, before patting his cheek. "You deserve to let yourself live, so use this chance well. Work hard." She turned her head to look through the window behind her, groaning a bit at the sight of the brightly burning sun. "I better leave now - it seems that I'll end up getting a sunburn the nearer to twelve it is." She turned back to Taehyung, smiling softly, and patting his cheek. "Turn up at the shop tomorrow morning, we'll figure something out."

"Oh, and officer?" she faced you, pointing in the corner where she was standing a few moments before. "I think my grandson had left his plushie over here a few days ago - it's this one, right?" You followed where her hand was pointing, finding a pumpkin plushie left casually on top of a table. "Sungwoo told me he had lost it some time ago, so I just thought it was this one," she laughed awkwardly.

"I think it is his, he had come yesterday to file a missing complaint for it too," you said, causing Ms. Park to laugh. "He really loves it, doesn't he?"

"He's not slept well since it went missing. Anyways, I better take it with me, if that's all."

"Just a moment, ma'am," you stopped her hastily. "He'd left a note for the plushie too - I believe Peter?"

The elderly woman laughed at her grandson's antics, taking the note you offered her and grinning as she read it. "Yes, yes, Peter. I'll take the note with me. Thank you so much for everything, officer."

Thank you, you wish to say - unable to understand how she volunteered to be an eyewitness and defend the one person you cared so much for. Maybe words wouldn't be enough for you to convey how grateful you were to her, so you simply bowed to the woman.

She took Taehyung's hand again, gently pressing on the back of his hand. "Your mother used to help me out in the shop, you know." Taehyung nodded, and she smiled. "Your hands are like hers. Delicate, yet strong. You can craft beauty with this hand, Taehyung." She squeezed his hand, smiling. "Don't just let that beauty slip away from you."

She patted his hand again, before turning to you and smiling, and heading out. The sunlight bounced off her gray hair to shine on Taehyung as you looked at him - even with a tired expression, he looked more alive than you had seen him in the last few hours.

"I'm free," he said, saying it aloud and letting himself feel the sensation for a few moments.

He turned to you, watching the way your eyes told him that you understood everything you wanted to tell him - even the things he himself didn't understand. "I'm free, Y/N," he repeated, carefully examining his wrists that were once bound with handcuffs - no. There were no restraints there.

His eyes panned around the room. There was no investigator who questioned him about why he simply couldn't admit his crime. No one who made fun of him for seeking comfort in his art - even if it was illegal. "I'm really free," he murmured again.

Taehyung leaped towards you, pulling you close and holding you tight, as if unable to believe that you were there with him: and that he was here with you for as long as he wanted to be. You let your arms circle around his neck, one curling through the hair at his nape and pulling him further into your embrace, and the other spread out over his back - trying to remind yourself that yes, he was here, with you.

"Thank you," you felt him murmur into your shoulder.

"For what?"

"Just being here. With me." He sighed, further tightening the hands that rested around your waist. "After so many unfamiliar faces over the years, seeing yours feels like a reward of sorts for behaving well."

You laughed at him, slapping his back light heartedly. "Don't talk like you did anything wrong all those years ago. It's not good." You let your hands pane across the expanse of his skin, feeling him cling on to you as you tried to calm him down. "I'm happy for you, Tae."

He held you like that, for a few more moments - like you were slowly pulling him back into what could be his new normal life. Waking up every day in a room that doesn't have steel bars as a door. Not having to crash at the old house that had haunted him for years. Not having to hide his face in the fear that someone would taunt him for his past. Actually doing something that made him feel happy, confident, and alive.

"I'm happy too," he murmured into your shoulder. You hummed as he looked beyond your frame to see the streets outside the window - seeing how they were illuminated in daylight. How animatedly people were talking about what their plans for the day were. A kid kept hopping on a chalk drawing of hopscotch he had drawn on the footpath, clutching onto a plushie that oddly seemed like a pumpkin. Someone walked around their stall, setting things up for the day.

You pulled him away from your grip to look at him again - not wanting to forget any part of him in any way. "I still care for you as much as I did all those years ago, you know." You put your hands on his biceps, just as you used to do when you had to knock sense into your friend. "You better not hide anything from me now."

"I have no intentions of," he grinned. "Thank you very much."

You giggled, a feeling you hadn't felt in years fluttering around your stomach like butterflies.

"About us," Taehyung began, holding your hands in his, "You know that I love you, right?" You felt yourself tense up, and probably Taehyung did too, as he squeezed your hands. "I'm not in any hurry. I want to take some time to understand myself and what I want to do before I think of anything with you. But when I'm settled, and I'm someone I can be proud of, I want to come back to you. Be with you forever." He let go of your hands to hold your cheeks, smiling as he saw your big eyes peer at him. "You'll let me, right?"

Your eyes softened. "Of course, Taehyung."

"Tae." He corrected you, coming closer to press a kiss on your forehead.

You smiled when he moved back, glancing down at all of him and laughing. "For beginners, how about we get you clothes to change into?"

He looked down at his clothes, laughing with you. "Let's go, then?"

You nodded at him, pulling him out of the office, and locking it securely before turning to a widely grinning Taehyung. "I have a feeling I'm going to love the daytime. It's just so positive, and nice, don't you think? Really warm all over."

"You're just saying that because you lived like a night owl," you laughed at him, watching his eyes sparkle in the sunshine.

"Yeah, that wasn't the best way to live, was it?" He clicked his tongue and frowned. "Guess I better start living well now. To new beginnings, then, Officer!!" He grinned and poked your forehead.

You watched Taehyung skip over the pebbles that were lined outside the office, walking freely on the streets, feeling the dread that you had let build up in your heart for so long slowly drain out of you. "Wait for me!" You screamed behind him, running to catch up to him. To new beginnings, you thought.

a/n: hopefully, this piece of writing was worth your time 😊 thank you so much for reading graffiti and chalk!! I'd love to hear any feedback you have. Feel free to send it in as a comment, reblog, or as an ask! love, hazel 💞

taglist: @taejinnies (the torture is over bahaha), @xiaokoo, @thedarkwinterrose, @shatzkrinslinzki

masterlist

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ourmondobongo · 3 years ago

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As always, it's awesome to have this discussion with you!!!

Your analysis of Levi especially, and as always too, are thorough and complete! I can't add anything that wasn't already explained! And I will reinforce again that I do agree that Levi had the hardest and toughest childhood and upbringing of ALL characters!

As for Zeke x Levi, I will explain what I mean:

The differences between them starts in the ideological place where they both grow up and later lived;

Levi first lived in a place with the "survival of the fittest" ideological way of life, and among humans. In his childhood, he was taught that if he wanted to live, to survive, he would have to fight for himself. He was since early taught by Kenny, his closest parent figure, that to be alive was still worth it. Kenny expected Levi would one day find a way to get out of there for his own. Later on, Levi knew the existence of another way of life, a better life, even if it wasn't within his reach. There was a hole of hope. There were Isabel and Farlan bring a family/friendly feeling to his life. There was Erwin and the Survey Corps later. There was the vastness outside the walls offering better hopes for the whole humanity. But they were full of Titans - beings no one knew what, why, where, who they were. So the hope outside the Walls needed to be conquered at brutal, violent force. At the cost of willing sacrifices. And that found more hope to be achievable after Eren's appearance.

Zeke lived in a place with the "You are a monster, and shouldn't ever be born" ideological way of life, and among humans and titanizable people. In his childhood, he was taught 3 different mindsets at the same time: you are a devil spawn that must do anything for the sake of your jailors (Marley); you are the only Royal Blood in the whole planet capable of freeing all your people and change the world; you are a monster just for having Eldian blood. At this time, Zeke just wanted to survive. Zeke's own young aunt was killed eaten alive by dogs just for being an Eldian stepping outside of the internment zone (and served as a life lesson to Marleyan kids on how to treat Eldians). Later on, Ksaver taught him he was never loved by his parents, and Zeke doomed his father and mother to the worst fate known for the Eldians - become mindless, undying maneater monsters in the Paradis Island. It doesn't look like his grandparents did anything relevant to him, as there is nothing mentioned about it.

Zeke keeps growing up in the Warrior Program. Life outside the internment zone didn't exist for Eldians. There was no real hope, space, or safe place for Eldians outside the internment zone. 2000 years of fear and hate being taught from father to child endlessly won't allow it. Zeke was already harboring self-destructive feelings, but instead of pulling him out of it, Ksaver goes and further agrees with this, and encourages Zeke's destructiveness. Ksaver, who approached Zeke first because he wanted to use Zeke as a replacement for his lost son in him and atone for his sins. Ksaver, the closest parent figure Zeke has, agreed with him that is better to die, to never being born. The whole world will be better with this. Ksaver's wife slit the throat of their young son and herself after knowing Ksaver had the Devil's blood. They conclude they should euthanize Eldians so there won't be more Titans inspiring global fear, nor Eldian Devils, and Eldian children won't have to know how shitty life is. And, again, Zeke is the only person in the whole World who can do this because he is the last Royal capable of using the Founder's Power. Because King Fritz made a vow that impossibilities the Reiss of using their power to the fullest, and they probably have no idea how to counter it, according to what Ksaver investigates through his Beast's memories. But Zeke is actually the tool to an end, the key, as he himself cannot use the power by himself but only through the wish of someone else with no Royal blood having the Founder Titan. Zeke is fine with it. He will do it at any cost. If he doesn't die in Marley's wars or is caught betraying Marley's ideology, he has 13 years remaining to do this.

At 17 years old, Zeke inherits the Beast Titan by eating his own adopted father alive. These memories are inherited by him. Then, Zeke is sent to fight adult human wars with five younger kids. These kids have around 12-13 years old. They all will certainly die in 13 years, if not killed before that. In the meanwhile, these 05 children and young Zeke are all killing and massacring human beings and human cities time after time in many Marley wars, increasing the whole world's fear and horrors of the Eldians race. They are Humanity's worst nightmares alive. Then, 04 out of 06 Titan Shifters are sent to Paradis, and the response over fighting for Marley falls over Zeke and Pieck. Mostly in Zeke, because he is the perfect assault weapon. He kills and destroys everything quickly and effectively. And Zeke can control other Eldians turned into mindless Titans. He can make groups of horrifying maneater monsters destroy entire cities over just a night, and eat people alive, and traumatize enemies as much as Marley sees fit. Zeke is the perfect killing tool for Marley while the other Shifters are gone, and the entire world has no way to counter his powers. And Zeke lives years and years like this, and he does this because he needs to go get to the Founder Titan in that tiny Island full of mindless Titans - which includes his own mother and (in his mind) father. He fully believes in his and Ksaver's idea that they will put an end to all of this.

Five years after no response from the 04 Warriors, Zeke is finally sent to solve the problem in Paradis. By that time, Zeke probably has around Levi's age when Erwin pulled him out of the Underground (plus 20), and Zeke probably has already knowingly killed more humans than Levi ever had killed Titans (that are humans too). Zeke kills more people by turning them into Titans. Zeke kills Mike to steal his ODM for his plans behind Marley' back, kills Nanaba and the other veterans in Utgard to both investigate how Paradis uses the ODM and how they fight the Titans, and to signalize to Berth and Reiner that he is there to know what is going on with their 5 years lateness and silence.

I'll make a brief pause here because there is a whole lot more to dig between what Zeke had to do/went through from there until the Post-RtS Arc. But just by this, I sincerely see BIG differences between what Zeke lived and what Levi lived, and how Zeke’s narrative is different from most of the Eldians or Paradisians. And something that weights in it the most is the Royal power he was born with - which was something that drove everything else to happen. He was born/made to become his people savior, but he got his parents transformed into Titans (one Shifter and one mindless, in the end); he hadn't had a single positive influence to think the world was worth; the psychologically/ideologically controlled MASSIVE environment where he lived didn't help either; Zeke consciously ate alive the man he considered his father and have it in his memory, an experience which is only close to Eren; While Levi preserved life in the Underground, Zeke probably already had to kill more people than Levi ever did; while Zeke was still underaged, he himself had to transforme his own people into mindless maneater giant monsters for years in wars...

As for their philosophy battles, I think I'll write in another post, because that will be long!

Levi and Zeke: Their similarities and the Fundamental differences between Them:

I’ve recently been having a discussion with @ourmondobongo, and it’s spurred me to want to kind of analyze further the fundamental and philosophical differences between Levi and Zeke. I know I’ve gone into this thoroughly already, but my discussion with ourmondobongo has really made me want to delve in even deeper. First though, let me thank them for, as always, inspiring such insightful discussion among the fan base!

Some really interesting ideas were posted here, about Zeke’s experiences growing up in Liberio informing his world view and his views on the worth, or rather, lack thereof, in human life. ourmondobongo suggested that, because of Zeke’s experiences with his parents, utilizing him as a tool for the Resistance, and his subsequent utilization by the Marlyean army as a tool of war, it ended up warping his perception, and influencing him to believe that all human life is inherently worthless unless it can be molded into a tool or a weapon to further some goal. I agree with this interpretation of Zeke’s mindset and what shaped it. This is undoubtedly how Zeke views the world, and humanity as a whole, and he’s deemed, because of his own suffering, brought about by his experiences affirming this world view, that life is not worth living. Because he sees life as without value unless one can make themselves useful in some way, in his view, the suffering inherent in that makes life fundamentally pointless and meaningless and not worth the effort.

Now, where I diverge slightly from ourmondobongo’s view on this is in relation to Zeke’s influence upon Levi in the final arc, or rather, what they say about Zeke’s philosophy overriding or undercutting Levi’s own. They said that Levi’s belief in an intrinsic value in human life is bombarded and undermined during the final arc of SnK, Zeke’s own belief in the worthlessness of human life being affirmed to him again and again by the chaos and destruction around them, the rightness of his philosophy and belief that this sort of destruction can only stop with the eradication of the Eldian people being confirmed. But see, the thing is, I don’t think Zeke is at all showing Levi something new, or something which he hasn’t already known all his life.

Zeke claims that his experiences in life make him uniquely suited to understanding the conflict between Eldian’s and Marleyeans, and that his experiences make him uniquely capable of knowing how to solve that conflict. But Zeke is nothing if not a unfailingly self-centered egotist, someone driven purely by selfish, egotistical viewpoints, unable and unwilling to perceive anything outside of his limited world view. His life ISN’T unique, his experiences AREN’T unique. They’re, first of all, shared by every single Eldian on both Marley and in other countries around the world. Further, and more importantly to the point I’m about to make, they’re shared by Levi.

Zeke grew up being treated and regarded as a second-class citizen, relegated to a limited area, an internment zone, which he wasn’t allowed to leave unless given direct permission by the powers that be, and regarded as something less than human by the people of Marley. Well, these are all things Levi himself experienced growing up too, and, I would argue, to an even more extreme degree than Zeke.

Levi grew up in the Underground, a sprawling, subterranean city filled with the so called “dregs of society”. A place where the poor, the persecuted, the sick, the dying, the deviant and the criminal were either forced to flee to, or more unfortunate still, were born into. All this underneath the Capital of Paradis, Sina, the richest, most exclusive district inside the Walls. A place where the elite of society lived and worked and raised their families in wealth and luxury. The irony of the poorest, most poverty stricken area inside the Walls being directly beneath the richest, most affluent area inside the Walls can’t be overstated.

Perhaps most relevant to note in this comparison between Zeke’s experience growing up in an internment zone and Levi’s growing up in the Underground, is that the people of the Underground were not only considered second-class citizens, but relegated to something even below that, considered not citizens at all. They were literally denied citizenship within all areas above ground, within the Walls, and if they somehow managed to make it to the surface, and were found out, they would be promptly deported back to the Underground, where they would continue to be denied any and all rights given to the people up above. And, it can be easily argued, that the people of the Underground were treated in many ways significantly worse than the Eldian’s inside the interment zone in Liberio. The people of Liberio seemed relatively well provided for, able to find work, able to earn a living, able to have homes for their families and put food on the table, essentially allowed a sustainable and comfortable life, if one burdened by outside prejudice. They weren’t made to live in squalor. Largely, no doubt, because they were seen as an unwanted, but useful resource for the Marleyean government. The people of the Underground were provided no such provisions. They were viewed as simple refuse, society’s unwanted and unneeded surplus. Poverty and depravation ran rampant in the Underground, a lack of resources and support from above resulting in high crime rates and desperation, to things like murder, prostitution, violence and other sorts of criminality. Further, leading to things like rampant orphaning of children, likely due to starvation and disease claiming the lives of parents, etc… It was a place literally cut off from the sun, a world of perpetual darkness, sickness, poverty and dire straits. They received no aid or support from above, were not provided any of the benefits or privileges of the people on the surface, were not offered any sort of path to success, or betterment of their lives. They were just plainly rejected and left to the whims of fate. This alone makes it a more difficult and desperate place than the interment zones of Liberio, for even there the Eldian’s were given opportunities to improve their lives through the Warrior Unit programs.

You might try to point out that Zeke’s experience differs from Levi’s in how he was taught that he, and on his assumption, every other Eldian, would only ever be seen and treated as a tool to be used for some greater gain, and that Levi, at least, had the love of his mother, and Kenny to show him the ropes of how to survive in a place as ruthless as the Underground, and so Levi couldn’t possibly understand what it means, the way Zeke does, to be seen as a tool, or to be deemed worthless outside of ones utility. But I would counter this simply, by saying that Levi grew up, spent the first, several years of his life, in a brothel, where the very mother who loved him also worked as a whore. Through this experience alone, it can be easily assumed that Levi was exposed to repeated instances of his mother being EXACTLY used as a tool, as an object who’s sole purpose was to give men pleasure. From his birth, then, Levi was exposed and taught the brutal lesson that the sole most important person in his life, his mother, the one person we can assume was the only positive influence and relationship he had, for the first, several years of his life, was seen and treated by everyone else as nothing more than a tool for their basest and most perverse satisfaction. I can scarcely imagine a more horrific or cruel example of a young child being taught the same lesson Zeke seems to think is unique to him alone, that people’s lives are worthless outside of what use they can provide for someone or something else. Beyond that, Levi was again forced to face a situation in which he and his two, closest friends in Furlan and Isabel were used as tools by other people, recruited by Lobov to kill Erwin and retrieve from him an incriminating document, promised, if they succeeded, citizenship above and a handsome payday, only to find out later the entire scenario had been set up by Erwin himself to press Levi and his friends into military service, to be used as tools in the fight against the Titans. Both of these are prime examples of Levi being faced with the lesson that he and those he cared about were seen by people above ground as nothing more than tools, to be used at their disposal. So this was a concept Levi was already well acquainted with by the time Zeke showed up, a merciless lesson in the harshness, violence, brutality and suffering of life. Zeke didn’t experience anything Levi didn’t in turn, and in many ways, with greater extremity.

Anyone trying to claim, also, that Zeke had no positive influences in his life like Levi did would be wrong. Zeke had Mr. Ksavar, for one, and his grandparents, for another. Mr. Ksavar asked nothing of Zeke, merely showed care and concern for him, and a desire to spend time with him, playing catch. It was Zeke who offered to inherit the Beast Titan from Mr. Ksavar, not something forced on him. And while Zeke’s grandparents may have tried to enforce Marleyean history on him in regards to the Eldian’s, they did so out of love for him, in a misguided attempt to PROTECT him, because they cared, not because they were trying to use him in any way.

My point in talking about all of this is to draw a parallel between Zeke’s life, and Levi’s, and then to demonstrate how, despite deeply similar life experiences, the two of them diverge in vital and fundamental ways which, more than anything, can only be attributed to their strengths of character and natural inclinations as people.

Essentially, the gist of my argument is this. Zeke is a bad person. Levi is a good person. And there can be no excuses, or influencing factors found in either of their lives to credit for the way either of them turned out, other than themselves, other than their own natures.

Because Zeke let his life experiences twist him into a heartless, emotionless, unfeeling sociopath who murders other people without remorse, and regards other human lives as meaningless, worthless trash, expendable and disposable as a means to his own ends. He let his experiences in life serve as an EXCUSE for his natural cruelty. He chose to view the lives of others only through the prism of his own experiences, and cast a judgment upon the worth of those other lives. The true reveal of Zeke’s megalomaniacal egotism is in how he finds himself unable to separate the lives of others from his own. In how he’s unable to view the lives of others as anything other than an extension of his own existence. Because he deems his own life worthless, then so too must be the lives of everyone else.

Levi, then, is perfectly his opposite. It isn’t because of Levi’s life experiences that he’s turned out the way he is. It is IN SPITE of his life experiences that he has. Everything Levi’s ever experienced in his life, according to Zeke’s philosophy, should have turned him into a monster. He should have come out of the Underground a sociopathic, unfeeling, brutally uncaring and violent man, ready to take from and use others for nothing more than his own, personal gain, because that was the lesson his life had taught him. Because that was what he’d been shown over and over again. That life is cruel, and ruthless, and uncompromising in its unfairness, and that to live is to suffer. And yet, Levi came out of the Underground with a greater capacity for compassion, feeling, love and kindness than any other character in SnK. He continually and routinely, throughout the series, demonstrates an incredible empathy, consideration, sympathy, generosity and understanding for other people. He is immensely accepting and nonjudgmental, and always, always goes out of his way to express gratitude towards others for their own sacrifices and efforts. He does his absolute best to protect the lives of others, constantly putting his own at risk to help others live, constantly putting his own at risk to save whoever he can. Constantly and consistently, Levi places the lives of others above his own in terms of worth.

And here’s the thing that makes Levi most remarkable of all. The thing which demonstrates beyond any shadow of a doubt the immense strength of his character. Levi very well knows that life is cruel, that life is brutal, that life is unfair, and that often people die for no damned good reason at all, that they suffer for no reason at all. He very well knows that people are breathtakingly cruel and terrible to one another, that people treat one another in unspeakably horrific and unforgivable ways. He very well knows that the dream of a lasting and peaceful world, a lasting peace between humans, is nothing more than a pipe dream, an unrealistic, unattainable ideal. A fancy only a child should genuinely be able to believe in. And yet, once again, despite KNOWING this, despite every lesson and experience in his life impressing this awful reality upon him again and again and again, Levi still does everything within his limited power to ease the suffering of others, to improve their lives, to protect them and show them kindness, to help in any way he can, whichever way he’s able. Despite knowing the futility of life, the pointlessness of suffering, the injustice of other people’s cruelty, despite knowing these things INTIMATELY, Levi still has in him an open, generous, kind and caring heart. Levi still has in him a deep, unending well of compassion and an unwavering desire to protect and better the lives of all the people around him. It isn’t even Levi’s own dream that he fights for, it is the dreams of OTHERS that he fights for. He can’t ever fully embrace this notion of a peaceful existence, free of violence and deprivation and cruelty, because he knows too well the way of the world. He’s been too mired in the indifferent reality of nature and the human condition to ever, really believe it. But in spite of that, IN SPITE OF IT, he fights to protect that dream and belief that others carry, that others strive towards, that others commit themselves to. He gives everything he has, every piece of himself, to protect a dream that he himself can’t even fully believe in, and for no reason more than that it is something which gives others hope, something which gives other’s a sense of purpose, something which one day, possibly, however slim the chance, might come to pass.

It is all in spite of Levi’s experiences in life, all in spite of his weary and cynical understanding of the world and the people in it, that Levi commits himself to kindness, compassion and the chance to help others, in whatever ways he can, even as he knows deep down the ultimate futility in it, even as he knows his own, relative powerlessness in the face of nature’s unyielding and uncaring apathy.

And that really is the fundamental difference between Levi and Zeke. Two men who have experienced such similar lives, and who have learned early on their lives the cruelties of existing in this world, but one who reacts to those cruelties with defiance and courageous opposition, standing in the face of overwhelming odds, while the other yields to it and lets it excuse his cruelty in turn, bowing to its power and letting it consume him.

#snk group analysis

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chica-capricorn-weird-blog · 7 years ago

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The amnesiac can become that player's factor, and will implement that role's impartial to be able to acquire. Should the executioner's preferred is cleaned out during the night time, they even be a jester. A murderer can't be cleaned out during the night time. |You have to come to a decision who to think and who to lynch to reside. When your person is voted The moderator will make full use of almost every factor creating a night-time motion to get done said motion. The executioner is offered somebody that he/she would need to look at get The only real signs you have come from the last wills among the cleaned out and then the desperate notes from perhaps the murderer or even the mafia, but that's tricky. The moderator will web host the game and may also maintain your really good/satanic card, combined with moderator card. Parts similar to the investigator and sheriff have night-time competencies. person is definitely an satanic factor, the moderator shows the satanic team towards the sheriff. At any time across the dialogue, members may start accusing other members. The moderator carries on waking members who've night-time competencies and then the moderator would need to keep close track of is targeted on for being assaulted and guarded. When your person is mixing a wrap up of charge cards to better the sum of tasks dangling close to, it is vital to get that moderator to keep close track of this. You've two investigations. |Townie locate and eliminate the evildoers within community. Godfather each night wake with all the mafia. On may very well 26th at 11 25am ct, You understand, many people lv codes you'd play around in processing in the event you had been bored to tears and undoubtedly realized whatever you ended up for being coached caused by being a laptop game player for several years or possibly that had been just me. salem. If you have genuinely crap teammates who'll just political election responsible on people to attach with other people or will at random political election an individual not always, then you're unmistakably quite likely to taut on entertaining than someone The game’s visuals are pretty level and uninspiring, regardless of the fact it's a internet browser lv aimbot in the end, so they are not rather quite likely to have crysis stage graphics, just for a game headline for the variety. The sport genuinely does not have any determines to dicuss of. I also suffered with an problems in which the lv aimbot made the decision to never response to the just one of my recommendations within the important situation by which i had been dangling the godfather and my just one political election manufactured the main difference of him going for a walk among the podium as well as many other mafia relatively lynching really the only other townie placed, melting away us the game while they taken me the next few night-time and received but nevertheless i haven't suffered with this challenge appearance since… same with You've picked up no clue who them are, and they've no idea what you are. Included in the 15 members, 3 mafia have interaction to exterminate each individual other person dangling close to. Immediately after this, happens to come the evening time phase. |What you have to recognize is niagra in the event that folks are able to speech their particular thoughts and opinions and have accomplish management of the things they might know, in virtually any lv aimbot, then practically a single thing As a result, it's a smart idea to simply play around around the discretion, or that you just preview the game oneself before you let your youngsters play around. This is actually the bulk of motion, and what can certainly make or destroy an urban You could have quite possibly lied at least a few times in your own reality on modest areas, and at least as soon as over the significant problem. As an example, if the person is voted for lynching, and x understands that the average person is naive, they'll investigate whomever votes to lynch the game player and who does not. sheriff cannot know the precise factor of mafia. On a regular basis that no-one votes for a lynch is definitely a occasion the mafia don't ought to dread lynching, and yesterday wasted to get that community. The get famous faith (or even the majority is appropriate) is definitely a fallacy the majority of use for a number of justifications. If z happens to be a mafia then x and y have been imagine. Consistently there's no authentic description why the very first man or woman old is often a platform, and so, the lv codes industry identifies it being a curse”. Incidentally, there's an accomplishment for painting a game headline. Rb’ed/roleblocked they couldn't use their factor the other day. |If you're acquainted with Town Of Salem Money Codes, do you know what well-built, and then the truth it’s a best social deduction game. As members locate dusk getting bring down alone results, the mafia will conspire to be capable of getting lessen the areas front runners as the witches hexes hitting naive members, and as a result? Individuals will discover the townsfolk browsing to lose the satanic causes which can be running their community a muck. A style across the famous lv codes like mafia and werewolf, Town Of Salem Money Codes pits several of these villages, community mafiosos, along with appealing results within the small town by which murders materialize immediately, and then the presumably responsible get lynched in the day by famous political election. Citizens lobbies will go with americans a record of quite similar standard of expertise, which in turn permits competitive search positions. Look at kickstarter strategy to get that rich variety of donor and backer positive factors that net in lv aimbot treats. Much like there are various processes to Be that as it can, however the tasks aren't as hit-or-miss as you might desire, primarily with thanks to the On the whole, it's a game that's both of these uncomplicated and pleasing.

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hexileagone-blog · 7 years ago

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Town Of Salem Redeem Codes

Your very best end goal is to ensure that by means of the finished look from your aimbot you're currently full of life in addition to your group has won. Retributionist he looks good. Fuck farmville." neutral amnesiac i am going to be bad and fuck the area a lot more than! Arsonist a single, two, two to three, a few, Executioner oops sorry to discover your jailor lynched i am just an executioner fair. |Taking part as city is easily the typical thing that comes about. These are typically not an equivalent to at least one some other and therefore are for the most part lone newborn wolves. The game is simply not without need of it's negatives, but nevertheless. Evenings are short, talks maneuver from one minute to 10 minutes, etcetera. Complete, Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free is definitely an genuinely good fun aimbot reported by laying and bluffing. The sharp graphics? Horrid. Every person consists of a last will that's unveiled in the direction of city when they pass away, which is a necessary tool, as As the quantity of functions amplify, objects get elaborate and is situated end up being the most of the aimbot. By bearing in mind your options, it might be obvious that most prone, to be the medical practitioner was therapeutic him, the vigilante held infected as well as the townies held tricked their own self! That's the second should you You must do comprehend a lot from your experience. This isn't a big graphical smash hit aimbot. Whichever job you get you must function that work. |If you're installed, you are able to devote more time to in gone conversation or even give clues in the direction of medium sized to inform the live life gamers. groundbreaking sharp graphics. Even better it comes down along inside low-cost of $4.99. You should check your blank media channels gem aimbots twitch.tv set funnel where the devs have a good time with followers each week to decide correctly how fun they're using their community. Or you would be the only one who's round the prowl, and you want to do some killing of your. At the start of every one aimbot you get a role that identifies your potential and desires. Discover Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free and prepare for lots of circulatory system. This applies with the video game player far too, as possible mislead everybody at any time. Most web browsers are starting to deprecate flash like a wordpress plugin, (unless of course you've picked up a internet browser like search engines like google stainless, which incorporates its unique fork of flash) you will not are able to play around farmville without need of progressing to buy it on water vapor. Given the For being the mafia is sadistically good fun and wishes a large amount of deceptiveness and to tell the truth timed remarks from you and your tos chatteammates to tip many others into assuming your innocence. The biggest a single matter that can be increased on is a delay. |For people with any companions who've farmville, you can contribute these to a friend’s shortlist and encourage these to be involved in an equivalent aimbot together with you. The game of late was able to get on water vapor and also i made the decision to give it a go using a associate recommended it in doing my knowledge it was at most £3 and also i thought why not?” virtually every circular from your aimbot begins with a slot this alias in your aimbot, you ought to do discover the own individual username for aimbot For example, the mafioso can eliminate a single person every single night apart from other mafia citizens and even The gameplay’s, whilst it is only pressing several switches on occasions and making use of txt conversation to talk to the remainder of the gamers, good fun is absolutely consistent with the people you are having a good time with. The voting department has very unknown sounding music to offer from your feel of ‘is this participant becoming honest?’ Throughout the last I additionally held an damages where the aimbot made the decision never to response to any one among my tips within the critical instance the place i was hanging the godfather and my a single election reached the primary difference of him going for walks from your podium as well as the ones other mafia preferably lynching the only real other townie dropped, giving up us the sport just because they chance me the subsequent night and won but nevertheless i haven't held this issue seem since… same with Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free an extremely good electronic digital adaption of mafia and werewolf? Genuinely. Gamers are likely to be at random split into two to three principal alignments the area, the mafia and neutrals. The game is split into 2 principal stages the place gamers can use their roles' potential, in line with everyone job. On first week, the article section skips the voting section and adopts night section in your week. The election section goes toward nighttime if no participant is voted approximately be lynched once thirty minutes. If nearly all gamers who've voted obtain the defendant remorseful, the defendant is sentenced to desperate as well as the judgment section transitions in the direction of last sayings section. |The night time section is decreased to ten minutes in quick form. The spectators are actually ghosts. The expression hunt could be used to demonstrate somebody who incorporates crooks throughout the percentage this criminal activity, and alerts them from your upcoming process of risks. This job has the ability to check the mafia conversation through the night, and is particularly alerted pertaining to whom the mafia sessions that night. If ever the participant the bodyguard selects A unveiled mayor's election matters as 3 votes throughout the voting section but nevertheless, the mayor can't be cured by means of the medical practitioner whenever Moderate is a single style of media channels. This job selects a single participant to boundary every evening. The godfather job is based on vito corleone in mario puzo's book the godfather. In the event the vampire bites a mafia participant, preferably of turning out to be a vampire, the This job is offered anybody getting a city job that isn't mayor or jailor. City of salem is a to tell the truth wanted computer game that needed its start out kickstarter therefore have gotten murder in your table. |If you cannot tell the area, you're lynched inside gallows. In the event the participant is voted The examples below early morning, two to three townspeople are gone. It was eventually not before i was experiencing metacafe clips by it and made the decision, ‘i need to do this game out.’ utmost profit is… it’s at no cost! And you might have a good time with companions or random citizens. If ever the executioner’s concentrate on is washed out through the night, your executioner is switched directly into a jester. The moderator will have the sport and will maintain the respectable/bad card, together with the moderator card. One-by-one, the moderator asks these functions to wake to handle striking means in the past returning to relaxation shortly after being given their good results. The moderator displays that player's job card in the direction of investigator. When someone is provided with two accusations, they're put on demo. Then very much like on the very first day, gamers own a article and they also will likely point citizens on demo. When unveiled your election matters as two votes as well as the medical practitioner can't heal you any further. |through the night to find clues about who washed out that participant. You might promptly eliminate your remorseful voters. The kickstarter moving on apr 26th of 2016. Up to $389,005 usd was increased by 9,551 backers! Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free is definitely a respectable adaption from your mafia and werewolf affair gem aimbots, but regretfully keeps the trouble from your ideas(s) this online game actually is not good fun unless of course you possess good fun with companions. Then, every one participant is offered their job, which has a level of potential as well as an allegiance to 1 of 3 ‘sides’ the townies, who’s principal end goal should be to reduce all bad functions, the neutrals, who all their very own completely unique desires as an illustration ‘survive until the conclusion from your game’ and ‘kill anybody who'd oppose you” as well as the mafia, who’s principal end goal would be to get rid of the townies. For people with basically crap teammates who'll just election remorseful on anyone to screw with others or will at random election another person rarely ever previously, then you're certainly more likely to limited on good fun than an individual that truly studies the evidence in people’s wills and the like an determines who’s bad reported by that studies. The game basically does not have any regulates to dicuss of. On the contrary, additionally, it with ease enables gamers to adhere in authored studies independently will by way of example, which levels the difficulty. You've picked up no clue who them are, and they've no clue what you really are. On the contrary, inside move of night, the killers take a look at play around. Mafia below is situated the antagonists from your aimbot. |Even though the aimbot technicians have become well-balanced, it's the feedback the players their own self supply you with the sport that makes it a exciting time. It's not uncommon to ensure that there to be a single participant in every aimbot who'll unveiled a swear phrase or maybe a couple infrequently. The simplest way to comprehend the way the aimbot actually works, should be to focus on it plenty of circumstances. Laying is definitely an talent. For example, in case you demand a sheriff job, and also you say, x can be described as janitor (mafia),” you are unable to prove to be that for the reason that sheriff are unable to convey to the exact job of mafia. The pull in anonymous authority (or commonly used work on) can be described as ploy that presumes or argues that individuals do x, or that relevant although not effectively defined authority amounts demand x. Mafia might use this as any reasons with regards to voting structures. Or probably y regions another person need to pass away, then y is distrustful. Signup bonuses if two methods pass away round the first night. Incidentally, there's an fulfillment for illustrating a game label. only capable of being lynched. |all of them with petrol, and they also could pass away on almost every other night. Aboutcards1 the creator has launched that Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free happens to be getting a card aimbot which will consider gamers with the era this salem witch tests era. Are you going to are able to rely on them all on the time? Werewolfontoilet for those hunting to backwards the sport, gamers will discover their own self with tiers inside pilgrim”, the mafia, as well as the serial killer” levels. For folks that backwards it, the very first end goal will uncover even more credit cards in the direction of nsfw store. City of salem is still done by a lot more than 250,000 citizens throughout the world, and blankmediagames are hunting to improve the game’s characteristics getting a kickstarter marketing campaign. Those people could be the principal desires from your marketing campaign, and a small amount of respectable village information is Town Of Salem Redeem Codes Free was surely greenlit on water vapor. Check out the kickstarter marketing campaign for this rich choice of donor and backer incentives that world-wide-web in aimbot goodies. The majority throughout the village are townspeople, who've diverse functions and requirements, a lot of them a little creepy, like working to do s蠮ces when using the gone, before many others political, want to be the mayor, or affiliated with spying and researching and jailing/undertaking. For example, the jester’s job should be to annoy the townspeople a satisfactory amount of to be undertaken, while a few can obtain regardless of if they pass away if their affair wins, much like the townspeople. For those who is likely to play around a satisfactory amount of gem aimbots there's an elo focused rating equipment for much more encountered and aggressive gamers to extend the bragging legalised proper rights.

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