opxningtears

[opxningtears]

"What the fuck, a floatin' city? Dude, kickass! Everythin's in the clouds!" @katsu-at-the-bottom

"It really is beautiful, isn't it?"

Her hands gently gripped the balcony banister, gazing out to this city. This place- once her home, then her prison, then home once more- was truly a miracle of engineering. Of science. It might have been one of the single most amazing things Elizabeth had ever known.

Even she wasn;t immune to the amazement.

[opxningtears]

Lizzie took his hand- perhaps, spitefully, a bit tighter than she should have. But it was an earnest gesture nonetheless. "Deal."

"We do this like adults from this point forward. No more lies, no more secrets. Once we get out of here, we go our separate ways." She exhaled sharply, huffing through her nostrils. Booker was a lot of things. A brute. A grump. Tedious, irritating, and clearly dishonest.

But if she was going to make it out... She would need him.

That was the frustrating part. She needed him. What a fluke. Her, needing him. Needing the help of some... thug. This whole thing felt like some heinous game of chance being played by God. Gambling on her future with bullets and angry old men.

Pulling away, Lizzie turned her back to the other. The frustration seeming to simmer just under the surface.

"But this doesn't mean I forgive you."

"If you had just told me from the start what was happening, I wouldn't have been so upset. You realize that, right?"

"You could have told me that the plan was to take me to New York. I would have gone along with it, and left for Paris once the deal was done. All of this could have been prevented, Booker. But no, you couldn't just talk to me."

@opxningtears

@opxningtears | Unprompted

This wasn't unfamiliar territory for Dewitt. Being on the other side of a lecture, that is. He probably deserved the tongue lashing. He had deceived her.

Yet she was no fool. She was far more perceptive and capable than he'd imagined a girl who had grown up in a prison would be. That was on him, but she was still so naive.

What made her so sure there was an 'after' New York?

All those contraptions and steel doors in her tower must have cost a lot of money, and he was being paid a whole lot to retrieve her. He tried not to think about it, but Elizabeth probably didn't have any family outside Columbia. No friends waiting for her. Them that hired him probably had another fancy cage waiting for her. He highly doubted someone would pay so much for a stranger's freedom. Especially one as potentially dangerous as her.

Still, at this point he wasn't sure about the deal anyway. It was probably them that hired him that put up those signs warning the coppers that he was coming. They seemed invested in making his job harder. Why?

"You want me to talk? Fine. From here on out, I'll be straight with you."

He took a cautious step forward, but kept his arms by his sides.

"We can figure it out once we're out of here. Trust me, its a lot easier to figure out your next move when you're not being shot at."

He offered his hand, The very same one she'd bandaged for him a few hours ago.

"Lets work together for now. No more lies, and no more runnin' away. Once this place is behind us, we can work out where we go next, Deal?"

[opxningtears]

"I'm glad people think I'm good marriage material. Maybe some day."

she definitely doesnt already have someone in mind.

[opxningtears]

"The world makes so much more sense when you're around, Xaos, I..."

She choked on her words for a minute, head tucked under his chin. In this moment, the man had become her shelter, her sanctuary.

"Thank you. For being in my life. Thank you for everything."

"You're right... Because I'd never let anything happen to you.."

Hands reached around her form, gripping tight onto her. As if he's afraid she'd disappear if he let go. Like she was too good to be real.

"I once told you about the song of life... One will not sing unless they are safe."

[opxningtears]

"I don't think evil is something you are, I think it's something you choose to do."

She traced the balcony railing with her fingers, gaze following the world outside with a ponderance unbridled. "Harm is something anyone is capable of. People hurt eachother all the time. it just happens. A lot of time on accident."

Lizzie shifted the weight on her heels. Something about philosophy always seemed to drag her back out, to make her think a little harder. She liked philosophy, she liked to think.

"Evil, if you ask me, is when someone chooses harm. On purpose. Over, and over, for their own gain. Just because they can."

Open starter

“Listen, it may sound a tad hypocritical from a guy who’s bent and broken a few in the past, but I respect the law. And not the ‘I’ll do my job unless I get payed not to’ law. I mean the ACTUAL law. The law that protects the average being trying to live day to day and make enough credits to do so. The law that punishes the criminals who endanger aforementioned beings, or uses them, or  both…”

Val’s sighs, taking in the view from a Citadel balcony.

“…Thing is, I’ve learned that there’s criminals, then there’s straight up evil. With criminals, you do things by the book. Neutralize them, take them in and make sure they serve their time, be it a few years or life. Evil, though?…

…Evil, you shoot in the fucking head.”

[opxningtears]

"No, I... I like it."

She embraced him lightly, holding fast to Xaos with her heartbeat ringing in her ears. Had there ever been a person who made her feel this.. safe?

Maybe Songbird, but.. he wasn't a person. And it wasn't like this.

Nothing had ever been like this.

"I like when you protect me. I can take care of myself but with you.. I don't need to."

"It's not that I think you're helpless or anything..." He said, leaning into her touch. Leaning so easily like he was meant to be right here. "But... You're important to me. And I look out for the people who matter to me."

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"I am.. so happy to have you in my life, Xaos..."

Xaos was such a warmth in her life. A presence that made her feel wanted, desired, safe in a way few guys knew how to. The idea of the two of them running away together on some grand adventure.. It excited her.

He excited her. Her grip tightened on his hand, and something in her stomach.. bubbled.

And he's taking hold of her hand, a thumb brushing over her knuckles. "Of course. I'd go anywhere with you, Lizzie."

[opxningtears]

Have you not interacted with my muse yet?

Do you want to? OwO

Like this post for me to either make you a started, dig through your memes, or respond to one of your Open Starters!

[opxningtears]

"I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger, While travelin' through this world of woes.. There's no sickness, no toil nor danger, In that bright light to which I go..."

"I'm going there to see my mother, She said she'd meet me when I come... I'm only going over Jordan... I'm only going over home..."

Her voice seemed to hover in the air as Lizzie walked, her footsteps tracing the edges of her little perch.

Every world she visited, every realm she tore her way into, there was something new. Something that had shifted the flow of time, altered the path of past and future. She got to see world born and dead, timelines shift under her feet.

But in every world, there was but one constant-

The soothing warmth of a hymn in her chest.

"I know dark clouds will gather 'round me, I know my way is rough and steep. But beauteous fields lie just before me, Where God's redeemed their vigils keep."

"I'm going there to see my father- I'm going there, no more to roam. I'm only going over Jordan. I'm only going over home..."

[opxningtears]

"I've got all the company I need right here." You already know who

"You're such a flatterer, Xaos. You know that?"

It was hard not to smile around him. From that first moment there had always been such a sense of understanding between the two- a warmth, a safety that felt refreshing after a life that had been so tumultuous for either of them. It was nice to, for once in her life, actually feel safe.

Leaning across the table, she quickly swiped a fry from his plate- and nipped it in half with a smirk. "But I'm glad we did this. It's nice to get out for a while."

[opxningtears]

"Sometimes it feels like the only person who doesn't see how amazing Xaos is, is himself."

[opxningtears]

"So you'll go with me then? A trip to New York, just the two of us?"

"I'm not arguing with a woman with blue eyes. Whatever you say beautiful."

[opxningtears]

📩 ⌛️

📩 - I’ve sent you asks / written you starters, but you never replied to them

I have it in my drafts! I'm sorry its taking so long, I'm just.. struggling to find the right response to it.

Please know it's not your fault.

⌛️ -  You seem really busy

Less busy, more chronically ill. I've been passing out a lot more lately- I think my blood sugar is running along the lower side. I'm sorry.

[opxningtears]

She sighed softly, reaching to brush her fingers along his face. "You know I can protect myself, right? I'm a big girl, Xaos, I don't need saving."

"But still, it's.. nice. To know you care about me."

Great. He'll have to see if Shi can heal those wounds later. "...Yeah probably a bit much. But I wasn't gonna let anyone get away with calling you a monster."

[opxningtears]

Someone called Lizzie a monster? Here comes Xaos to dropkick them.

"OHMYGOD-"

And there goes the harasser, flying off the edge of a bridge at mach fuck...

"Xaos, you- you didn't have to kill the man!"

[opxningtears]

Your character overhears someone calling mine 'a monster', what does your character do?

[opxningtears]

"I get the feeling that just.. utterly unhinged behavior out of nowhere is relatively normal for your family."

"Dare I ask what made her snap and flee to mainland China?"

“I remember one time my mom lost it. She just screamed then walked out. She got on her bike and 3 months later showed us pictures of her in China.”