Renata Blair // D2 // FIN [CB]

Welcome to the 'Sol Strip.

Two long alleyways which precisely line up with each other from across a street, dusty brick now customized with layers upon layers of spray paint. This is where home truly lies for me--I had never possessed one to begin with, and I'm not counting the commune. I don't and can't relate to anybody there.

2AM on a Friday night, the dude working next to my spot of unfinished art glances up from his own to nod his head upward at me in greeting. "Yo, Renata."

"Hey, Goliath." Beginnings of a smile. "How's it coming along?"

"Goin' good, goin' good...need to go back in on this bit and that bit, but s'all good. And what's shakin' with yours?"

"...We'll see about that." I don't hesitate to get a can from my backpack shaking and continue where I left off.

This is the haven for those in the middle of the spectrum for dreamers and realists. I would not call us the resistance, nor the docile--we are just a group of thinkers looking to express ourselves without crossing too many lines.

I guess you could call us cowards. We want to make a change, but...we're not looking to do so. Can you really blame us, though, in the end? Too many people are afraid to, so you'd have to be a damn fucking fool to stand against the system with just a tight-knit group...unless you're some masochistic weirdass with a thing for public whippings or getting your tongue cut out.

Geez.

I've never really known what it's like to be content with your life. No family, no love, no worth, no nothing. But here in the Strip, it's the closest taste I've ever had to satisfaction.

They're all brainless morons. Every single one of 'em, walking dead staying in their lane when if we all rise together in unity, we can truly make a difference.

But for now, I guess this will have to do.

"It's looking real good so far, Ren."

The smile barely broadens with a glance before I return to black silhouettes with skullheads. "...Thanks."

You always have to start small when you gotta start somewhere.

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