ataraxion | seventh tear ♫ video;

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seventh tear ♫ video;

Hello? I hope this is working... I'm never really sure.

[ Elizabeth, looking much more cheerful than during her last broadcast, smiles brightly for the camera. ]

Well! I've been having some strange headaches lately, so I thought it might help to focus my attentions on something. I was given a few things from home in my locker after the last Jump and put them to good use.

[ Voilà! She reveals a painting. Elizabeth beams at it as she turns from the camera, then chews thoughtfully on her lip as if looking to fault it. ]

I only had red, so it isn't as... vivid as I might have liked, but I'm hoping that the next Jump will have a few more colors. [ She huffs shortly, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. ] If anyone else has any art supplies and wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know! It seems a little morbid, almost, just using black and red.

And... I can do some sketches or paintings for anyone, if there are any requests. I'm far from any kind of proficiency, but it does help to take my mind off of things.

[ private to Booker DeWitt ]

Where are you? You are on this floor and I wanted to show you something!

[ private to Murphy Pendleton ]

I wanted to apologize for-- well, everything. You know. [ She flushes, clearly fretting. ] I can't tell you how... mortified I am.

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[ JUST ONE OF HER SHARP INSTINCTS PROBABLY

And before Booker would like, probably, Elizabeth arrives. ]

Booker?

[ The door isn't locked so she pushes it open, ready to drag him out of his cave of sadness, but-- ]

What happened?

[ Because the room is filled with empty and half-empty bottles of what she can guess (helped by the smell) is whiskey. The man himself looks like he'd recently been woken from a few months' coma.

Elizabeth plants her hands on her hips, frowning. ]

[ He manages to get himself looking decent enough before she gets there, but he hadn't had time to even think about cleaning up the rest of the room. Booker just looks at her, playing innocent, yet still looking vaguely uncomfortable. ]

What are you talking about?

[ She stares hard at him, scrutinizing. ]

Please tell me that you didn't drink all this yourself.

[ She sighs, letting the exasperation fall a bit. ]

You're going to end up in the hospital if you keep this up.

[ Elizabeth can still remember his arrival to the ship, how he'd haphazardly addressed the network amidst a drunken haze. She tries to count the bottles around them and stops, just shaking her head. ]

... This is because of me, isn't it?

[ Of course he drank it all himself. As if anyone else would even consider coming back to Booker DeWitt's room to drink with him. Everyone on the ship has more dignity than that.

He drops his gaze, turning away to fiddle with the sleeves of his jumpsuit. ]

It doesn't matter. I'm fine.

No, you're not.

[ And it does matter. A lot. Sighing, Elizabeth rolls up her sleeves and begins moving around the room, scooping up bottles despite any protests that he might voice and setting them on surfaces, simultaneously trying to figure out some kind of bag to put them all in for disposal. ]

Maybe I can't change what I said, but I can try and help you now. [ She stops to look at him, an empty bottle in her hand. It's of the same variety that she'd had when she'd first gotten drunk, herself, but this Elizabeth doesn't pay close attention to that kind of thing. It doesn't even occur to her as she looks over at him with guilt and concern before turning to her cleaning. ]

Stop that.

[ Elizabeth may not recognize the bottle, but Booker does, and his stomach tightens with unhappiness just at seeing it in her hand. He walks over, pulls it away from her, and sets it back down where she'd found it, blocking her path to keep her from doing anything more. ]

I said I'm fine.

[ And even if he were willing to admit otherwise, it's not Elizabeth's responsibility to do anything about it. ]

I thought you had something to show me.

[ Immediately, she moves to duck around him to grab the same bottle, placing it in a more neat pile with the others, resuming her scavenging. ]

I know what you said.

[ But that won't stop her. Eventually she does slow down, thinking that she'll have to pick up some kind of garbage container later, and brushes off her hands. ]

And I do. Come with me.

[ Elizabeth turns and heads for the door again, just like that. ]

[ It's mortifying, really, having her clean up after him this way. This is why he didn't want you to see this room, Elizabeth.

Finally, she stops, and he's all too happy to follow her, just to get her out of there. He's still a little sullen as they head for the elevators, but his curiosity gets the better of him at last. ]

Where are we going? And don't tell me it's a secret.

You'll see when we get there. [ It's a different way of saying "it's a secret."

Elizabeth admits a smile, pressing the lift button back to her (their) floor. ]

Have you eaten anything? Not that it has to do with our trip, but we might stop in the kitchen on the way back.

[ So help her, she'll berate him until he has a proper meal if she has to!! ]

...No.

[ He might as well just admit it. Maybe if he lets her make sure he eats, she'll let up on everything else. Besides, it has been a while since he had an actual meal. ]

I suppose it wouldn't hurt.

After, then.

[ His hopes are in vain. She has every intention of resuming her cleaning of his room, or... his other room, anyway.

The lift stops and opens and Elizabeth walks out, leading the way without explanation. ]

... You should take care of yourself, Booker. You know how dangerous things can be here, and... how quickly they happen.

[ Imagine, say, being stuck in the corridors for months at a time (weeks, though it had seemed like months) without any sustenance. That would not be good. Hypothetically. ]

[ YEAH ABOUT THAT Murphy told him the whole story, Elizabeth, and he is going to have a Stern Talk with you just as soon as he stops feeling like a waste of a human being. ]

I can take care of myself.

[ He says, despite all evidence to the contrary. He lengthens his step to catch up with her as she rushes ahead, and glances down at her. ]

I thought I would've proved by now I can handle myself in a fight.

Of course you have; I know that you can fight. That isn't what I mean.

[ She slows as he catches up, peering at him from a few inches below. ]

You don't always take care of yourself, though. Not in the way I mean.

[ But she'll see to that. In any case, they've reached her intended destination: the Holodecks. Elizabeth moves inside and looks to him again, curious. ]

Have you been here before?

I'm fine, Elizabeth.

[ He's annoyed - and hungover - enough to let an edge of warning enter his voice. His head is still throbbing faintly. This isn't something he wants to discuss.

He looks around the large, empty room with a hint of suspicion, wondering what it could possibly be for. ]

No.

[ She'll drop it for now, but it isn't forgotten. Merely set aside for their little excursion. ]

I've only been here once or twice, myself. [ Not as often as she might like, particularly lately. The room is a foreign sight to both of them, but she approaches one of the consoles and begins poking at it. ]

Let's see... Hmm. [ It takes a while due to her absolute inexperience with these technologies, but she manages to pull up a skyline he might recognize. It surrounds them as if they're there, and while there's a faint breeze and the distant heat of the sun, it's all faint and artificial. ]

It isn't New York exactly; I don't think you can really see specific places. But there was a city and I managed to add the... Empire State Building based on some old photos I've seen.

[ She looks over at him, a little breathless. It's almost a creative endeavor, and she seems as if she's nervous about what he might say. He might not even like New York at all. ]

I hope it isn't too far off.

[ A big, open room - for a moment he'd been worried it was some kind of ballroom, that she was going to ask him to dance.

But it's not that at all. Booker's eyes grow wide at the sight of the New York skyline - or one close enough. He steps closer, feeling the breeze on his skin and the warmth of the sun. He swears he can even hear the faint sound of traffic and the crowds of Times Square in the distance.

He isn't one to get nostalgic about home, and he hadn't even grown up in New York. But he had lived there for years, and after the strange (and, at its heart, rotten) landscape of Columbia and the sparse and utilitarian lines of the ship, it means more than he would have thought it might to see the busy streets of New York again.

He turns to Elizabeth, still looking faintly stunned. ]

How are you doing this?

Not with a tear. [ It's more of a joke than anything; they both know she hasn't been able to use her powers since coming aboard, but it's hard for her to explain the technologies on the ship that she doesn't understand. ] It's some kind of video, I think; like a project of certain types of landscapes with added sensory details.

[ Hence the sun and breeze. She glances at him, glad to see he's not angry, in any case. ]

You can see all kinds of things here, supposedly. I've seen a few myself.

[ He's studying the skyline, frowning faintly. Finally he points to the Empire State building - by far the most noticeable silhouette, but not one that he recognizes. ]

Is...that the one you added?

[ He certainly doesn't look happy. Then again, there aren't many times she can summon a memory of him actually happy, so it isn't that devastating a blow. ]

Yes; it's called the Empire State Building, and it was built--or will be built--in the late 20s. The 1920s. [ She corrects, smiling. ] I read that it's a kind of icon for the city. It doesn't seem to be much other than... well, a very tall building, but I suppose it's distinctive.

[ She squints, trying to remember what else she'd read. ]

It was meant to be the tallest in the world.

[ Booker's very rarely happy, and a taste of home, while welcome, isn't the sort of thing to make him grin.

But he appreciates the thought, and the effort she'd clearly put into this. He gazes at the building thoughtfully. ]

The 1920s.

[ The future...but for everyone else here, it seems, it's the distant past. He looks down at her, and while a grin still isn't in evidence, he does look faintly pleased - and impressed. ]

I don't see how they could build anything much taller. Not without the whole thing collapsing.

You read about New York?

But they did! The record said it was only the highest until 1970, I think, so whatever came after that must have been...

[ She shakes her head, almost dubious. ]

And I don't even think the Lutece Particle was involved.

[ It doesn't exist in most places, it seems. Along with Columbia, though... in their world, most didn't seem to know about the floating city, either. ]

I did. You seemed so intent on going back there, I thought that there had to be something to it.

[ She cracks a tiny, teasing smile. ]

[ He doesn't smile back. Instead, he looks back at the city, expression somber again.

Yes, he had been intent on going back there. But when he thinks about why, what he'd planned to do with Elizabeth once they got there...well, he knows she's teasing. But it isn't all that funny to him. ]

You said this...thing can show you different places, right?

[ He glances over at her, just out of the corner of his eye. ]

What about Paris?

[ She's getting farther and farther from cheering him up and it hurts her in return. Elizabeth considers turning it off entirely, wondering if she's made a mistake, but hesitates. ]

Well... not exactly. I don't think it can produce specific places. I was able to add in that one building based on other images in, um... digital storage, somewhere, but the rest was just a skyline. Generic, I think.

[ But she smiles kindly. ] I'm sure I could figure out a few details to add in to another one to try and recreate Paris.

[ She'd recently painted it, after all; she knows the landmarks by heart. ]

[ He knows she does. If there's anyone on board who could use this thing to build Paris, it's Elizabeth. ]

I'm sure you could. I'd like to see it, when you do.

[ She's disappointed in his reaction, he can tell, and it makes him feel bad. He'd never meant to discourage her, and he gives her a small smile. ]

...Thank you. This was... [ He shakes his head, unable to articulate it. No one had ever made an entire city just for him before. ]

I'm glad you showed me this.

Okay! [ Elizabeth does actually smile at that, a warm expression that she reigns in a little bit. It isn't the real thing, after all, and he may be humoring her, but she appreciates it nonetheless.

And he'd smiled, too, which is what she's been gunning for, anyway. ]

You're welcome. [ She hadn't done much, truthfully; Elizabeth enjoys reading and learning enough that it wasn't a chore at all. ] Maybe next time we could see one of those beaches you mentioned. The ones that don't smell like Battleship Bay.

[ Whatever that meant. ]

... We should find something to eat. [ She muses, turning off the device (after some trial and error). The room fades back to the holodeck standard. ]

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BOOZE ROOM

the surprise is an intervention

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booker dewitt: professional buzzkill

punts toward happiness!!

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