Oh crap, I didn't actually put an author's note in the beginning did I?
Oh well. Better late than never. This is my Rorschach fic! Indeed, it is a romance... dramatic... adventure-y type thing. Mind you, this is going to be REALLY hard without getting Rorschach out of character, so if you see some OOC, TELL ME PLEASE. And I will never do that to him again. This project is really important to me, so please help me make it a good, solid stepping stone in the direction of writing good pieces of literature.
Anyway, please enjoy the second chapter of my story~ Thank you!
"Hello Mr. Newsvendor." Brygida said pleasantly, picking up and New Frontiersman, and flipping it open.
The newsvendor liked to be called "Mr. Newsvendor"; he saw it as a sign of respect; he was so fervent about the idea that newsvendors were the Stoics sent to earth to help the world through it's pain by being the rock solid support beams. He smiled at her, "Hey kid. How's your mom?"
"In the house with dad. Still." She replied. The last word was like a pen stabbing through a piece of paper: sharp and staining.
"Still a useless pile of veteran flesh, huh? You should come by my house again some time. I'll make pizza."
Brygida smiled slightly, "I'd like that a lot..." Tucking the newspaper under her arm, she waved at the vendor and walked off...
Rorschach's Journal, That Night
Was subject to attempted seduction by street walking woman in red. Almost broke her teeth to get her to be quiet. She looked away, I ducked down an alley.
Lucky for her she was blind in one eye. Couldn't see me after that. Left in a huff. Will make sure to move out of sight next time she is seen.
Remember girl who almost broke nose with her forehead today. Will say hello to her before she can accidently almost break nose again. Or another bone.
Brygida woke up that morning, yawning and exhausted. She hadn't gotten any sleep that night; the cats were yowling louder than usual. Dragging herself out of bed, she poured herself a cup of coffee.
'Oh shit...' She looked at the clock.
10:37.
'I'm meeting her in a half hour!' She ran back to her room, quickly putting on a pair of bellbottom jeans, a tank top, and an overcoat, and then dashed out the door.
Briskly trotting down the sidewalk, she differentiated herself from the rest of the crowd as her almond colored hair bounced in and out of view from the canopy of heads moving swiftly down the streets.
Ducking into a café, Brygida ordered a black coffee and sat in the corner, waiting for her appointed date...
"Bridget?"
Brygida turned and smiled, "Hello Laurie. How are you?"
The older woman smiled, slipping her dark hair behind her ear, "Not bad. How are your parents?"
"Secluded as ever... My father skipped his 37th appointment in a row, a new record." She replied, a slight bite to her words, "How is my favorite aunt? And Jon?"
"My mother is good. I talked to her yesterday, she said that she wants to see me soon." She quickly ordered a coffee and sat down, "I told her that I was meeting you today and she told me to tell you to tell your mother that she needs to go out to California to see her some time soon. She feels unfairly isolated..." She coughed into a handkerchief, "And Jon is well. He was busy with his studies today, so he couldn't come to see you."
Brygida shook her head, "It's fine. It's only been about a month; not too bad for the most important man in the world."
Laurie chuckled as a young black man set their coffees on the table. She thanked him and blew the steam from her cup, "You know how when you blow the steam from your coffee, you're actually blowing off the faster moving molecules, thus lowering the average speed of the molecules and cooling off your drink?"
"Mm-hm." Brygida hummed in agreement through her coffee.
"Jon was talking earlier today about how he can see what actually makes them move... Unfortunately, I'm not all knowing enough to even understand the explanation that he offered, much less reiterate it..." She said, a little distant.
Jon, AKA Dr. Manhattan, throughout Laurie's life with him, had been becoming more and more difficult to relate with. In the beginning, when he left Janey, there was something of an emotionality behind that blue skin and solid white eyes. But as the years dragged on, Laurie was subject to the deterioration of that emotion, and she had felt left behind, like the fish left behind in the pond as the others sprouted legs and walked on the land.
She felt like she would watch the evolutionary process leave her behind.
"Don't bother trying to think about it too much, Laurie." Brygida replied, "You know that I don't like hearing about things that I'll never get, anyway... You're a really strong woman, being with Jon all these years."
"I wouldn't call it strength, particularly..." She smiled a little, "But thank you. I need someone who feels the way I do about things..."
Brygida cracked a smile as Laurie lit a cigarette, "It's not a problem. I enjoy our meetings... I think I'm going to get a new job."
Laurie took a drag and blew it out, replying, "Where do you want to go?"
"I think I'm going to ask Bernard if I can help him with the news..." She brought one foot up onto the seat of the chair and leaned her chin onto her knee, "I'd like that a lot more than food service..."
"I doubt there would be enough money in that for you to make a living, sweetheart..."
"I don't mind. I live in a terrible apartment anyway; I've already paid the rent off. All I need is food... And I can beg for that, if need be." She chuckled to herself, "Or I can always mooch off of you and Jon. You've always said that you have too much money for your own good."
She smiled, "If it would give me more time with you, I'd love to."
The two of them talked for another two hours, dabbling with subjects like love, the world, what justice really is, after Laurie had read Plato's Republic, and other things. Laurie was soon called away, and she quickly hugged Brygida before smiling, "I'll see you later, cousin..."
She walked away.
Brygida paid for her coffee with what little money she had, and left the coffee shop, heading towards her place of current employment. She walked quickly along the sidewalk, once again cloaked in the sun's elegance, which didn't amount to much in New York City. The small chain-business burger joint was overcrowded that day. Brygida was overjoyed.
She walked into the restaurant, waiting in the ever-elongating line for her turn to piss off her manager. Customer upon customer moved out of the way as their orders were filled, until it was finally up to Brygida.
The manager was at the cashier. Lucky her.
He gawked, "Bridget?! You were supposed to be here an hour ago!! Get in back, now. You're getting a pay deduction for being late."
"Actually..." She said, crossing her arms, "I'm here to quit."
"... Quit?? W-Wait! I'll pay you double if you stay! Oh god, don't leave now, please--!"
But her mind was made up. She smiled at him, told him that her last paycheck would be expected within the week, and left him to drown in his conformity. She walked out of there, feeling like she could breath again for the first time in years...
This time with a bounce in her step, Brygida walked down the street, where Bernard sat reading a paper. She tapped his shoulder with her pinky finger, "Hey Bernard?"
He glanced up, breaking into a grin, "Hey there girly! How goes it? You need a paper? You weren't here this morning, I thought something had happened..."
"I overslept. But no, I'm not here for a paper." She cleared her throat, "I was actually wondering if I could take a job here with you."
"Hmm... Don't you work at that burger place?"
"Quit."
"Then of course you can work here. Pay will be meager comparatively, though."
"I don't care. I've been working for money when I should've been working for happiness... Besides, I'm getting out of this place soon anyway."
He smiled a little, "The Metropolitan still calling your name?"
Brygida put on a dreamy smile, leaning onto the cart like a love struck youth who had just seen their object of affection, "Ah yes... The Metropolitan Opera will forever be my one true love... Boys and men alike be damned, my singing is the only thing I care about..."
"That's an odd mind set for a 19 year old girl to be in." Bernard chuckled, tugging on his hat, "But I guess that's what makes you so special. Come back tomorrow around noon. I'll show you the ropes and stuff."
"Alright, I'll see you the—"
"Hello."
Brygida turned to see the same man that she had bumped into the day before. The same green jacket, same red-orange hair, same melancholy droop in his eyes. He was staring at her. It was kind of intimidating.
She smiled a little, "Hello again... H-how are you?"
"Fine. You?"
"... A little surprised actually... I don't think you've said hello to me before..."
"I wanted to make sure that you noticed me before you had the chance to accidently almost break my nose again." He said with a curt nod.
A little embarrassed by the mention of the incident, Brygida felt herself blush slightly, "I'm sorry about that... Won't happen again, promise..."
"Good." He turned around and left.
'... Strange...' Was the only thing she thought before turning around herself and walking back home...
Rorschach's Journal, October 2nd 1985
Uneventful night. Scum is sleeping. Fucking in the shadows. Increasing their numbers. Will be careful to look out for babies in trashcans. Morbid thought, but must be done. Too many trashcans gone unlooked. Dead bodies of infants spilled out onto sidewalk during trash collection.
... Must look out for trashcans.
Will turn in early tonight. Need the rest for the coming onslaught of carnage.
Rorschach awoke that morning at 5:12 AM, as the sun rose above the smog and terror, overshadowing all of it with it's unattainable light. Crunching on a piece of dry bread, the masked vigilante sat atop a homeless shelter, where he heard the low grumbling of men and women asleep. There were too many homeless. Too many people driven to commit crimes in order to live.
It was wrong. They shouldn't be allowed to do that; live like that.
There was nothing that Rorschach could do except for population control. No mercy. You hurt someone, wrong someone, steal from someone – someone being a good person – and Rorschach was there to set you straight.
Even if straight did mean dead. Jails weren't big enough. The system wasn't strong enough. The government doesn't care enough.
Nothing is ever enough.
Finished off the piece of bread, Rorschach silently slipped away, It was daytime. He was leaving the stage to the mask today...
Brygida sat, playing with a curl of hair as she read a comic book at the newsstand she now worked at. It was such a beautiful day as she read about Superman beating up those communists... Such a terrible idea, Communism... But she knew. Stalin was the real threat, not Communism itself.
What an asshole...
At her side, Bernard spoke with a customer. They laughed and talked about the weather, how good it was comparatively to how the season's been going. Almost winter and no snow yet. Hopefully they wouldn't have much. Even the snow soon turned to black slush in New York.
Only in New York. Taint Central. Where someone went to have their dreams crushed. Enjoy the gift shops.
Chewing on a piece of toffee, Brygida looked up as Bernard patted the man on the back, handed him a newspaper, and watched him walk off.
He sighed, "That Parker... Such a nice guy." He patted Brygida on the head, "He asked who you were."
"What did you say?" Brygida asked.
He shrugged, "You were a college student looking for some help with money."
"But... I'm not in college..."
He winked, "He doesn't know that. He said he'd come by more often with the spare change he had. I think he thinks you're cute."
She cracked a small smile, "You're quite manipulative..."
"This town makes manipulators out of us all, darling..."