Crystal City isn't built so much as layered.
Austin is still down there somewhere, old bones under new skin. You can hear it if you stop
pretending you can't.
The neon lights bleed into the night sky until Crystal City looks perpetually bruised. Rain has turned the streets into black mirrors that double every billboard and holo-ad. I, Marlene, pull my hood down and start walking, boots clicking against the wet concrete. Inside my head, the opening words spill out before I can stop them.
"Good face… bad thoughts…" I breathe, barely audible, testing how they feel on my tongue. The words fit this place. Out here, you learn to keep your expression neutral and your secrets sharp. I keep my gaze forward, but I can feel the weight of the city's eyes on me as I slip into the chorus.
I'm the one, I'm the tempted, same heart, same breath, I sing quietly, weaving through clusters of people without touching them. Tryna be an angel with a taste for the edge, good in the light, bad in my head. Every "good" I show to the world is matched by a flicker of rebellion under my skin. I don't fall for the crime, I fall for the tempt. My mouth curves into a half-smile. Yeah… the tempt. The word drags on, the beat in my head riding the rhythm of my strides.
A street vendor calls out to me, but I keep humming. Red, red, redline, heart on 9-9-9, the song goes, and I picture my heart flashing warnings like the elevator panels in my megablock: always at maximum, always just about to trip some alarm. Red, red, redline, cross it every time, I mouth as I step over a curb, water splashing. Say I won't, I might. Red, red, redline, wrong feel right.
A girl in a silver jacket bumps my shoulder without looking back. The chorus loops in my head, a mantra against the shove. My voice drops to a murmur. Halo cracked but it still look clean, I tell myself, seeing my reflection in the dark glass of a closed kiosk. My halo—that old idea of goodness I was supposed to wear—has been chipped for years. Talk real holy but my dreams obscene, I admit. The things I let myself imagine when I'm soldering circuits in my shoebox apartment would make saints blush.
I pass under a broken streetlight, and the bass line in my mind drops low. Every rule feel thin when the bass hit low, the verse warns me, and I feel that truth. Under this deep hum, all those childhood "don'ts" start whispering "go." I don't wanna be dark, don't wanna behave, don't wanna be good in a digital cage. This city cages people in chrome and concrete, but it also dangles keys. I don't chase the act, I don't chase the thrill, I chase that moment when the noise go still. I hunger for the quiet after the risk, the seconds when the system can't tag me because I've slipped through a crack it didn't know existed.
"Say 'don't,'" I hear myself sing, "heart say 'bet.' Say 'stay,' feet already left." I'm halfway across the intersection before I even register the crossing light. Someone shouts, but I keep moving.
The chorus rises again. I'm the one, I'm the tempted, same soul, same skin, I remind myself. Tryna stay clean with the fire within. It's not about credits or glory; it's about the pulse in my veins when I thread a wire and watch forbidden data flow. Saint in the pic, sinner in my head, I murmur, dodging a cluster of tourists. I don't fall for the crime. I fall for the tempt. Yeah… the tempt. That word tastes right again, rolling off my tongue as my boots splash through another puddle.
I reach the edge of the entertainment district, neon burning bright, and the verse switches. Neon on my flaws like a spotlight sin, I think, watching the pink and blue glow highlight every scratch on my jacket, every shadow under my eyes. Whole world watch but they don't look in. People see the surface—my good face—never the circuitry I've spliced under my skin. I don't need the money, I don't need the fame, I need that rush when I break my name. The city sells cheap thrills and simulated highs, but my rush comes from rewriting my story in code.
Pressure make diamonds, it made me split, I whisper, feeling that crack inside widen. Half wanna kneel, half wanna risk. There's a part of me that still wants to do things right, to kneel at the altar of "citizen" and be grateful. But the other half wants to take the risk, to see how far I can stretch the rules before they snap. Every good choice feel counterfeit, every bad one feel legitimate. The line rings in my ears; it sums up my life.
A security drone glides overhead. I keep my face blank and my voice low. If I fall, that's me, no ghost in the code. If I cross, I chose, yeah, I know the road. I'm not blaming the city anymore. If I step over the red line, it's because I wanted to. I don't blame the dark, I don't blame the light. I blame that voice that sound like mine. The voice that says I can do more, be more, if I just stop being what they expect.
Yeah… I let the bridge dissolve into the final chorus as I turn down my block. I'm the one, I'm the tempted, same blood, same war. My war is quiet, fought in code and glances, but it's constant. Tryna lock the door but I want it more, I confess. There's a door between me and the things I'm not supposed to touch. I keep it closed most days. Tonight I can feel my hand on the knob. Good in the mirror, bad in my breath, I laugh softly, imagining my mother's photo on my dresser. She sees the good face. The bad thoughts stay on my lips as vapor.
I don't fall for the crime, I fall for the tempt, yeah… the tempt, I whisper, letting the final line draw out as I reach my building. Heart on red 'til there's nothing left. I feel my pulse in my throat, in my fingertips. Red, red, redline, I breathe, cross it every time. The door to the stairwell hisses open. I glance up at the flickering green rent sign. Red, red, redline, say I won't, I might. Red, red, redline, wrong feel right. Good face, bad thoughts. Good face. I press my palm to the scanner, take the first step upward, and keep humming as the door seals behind me.
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Yep AI Music but lyrics is my work, It was hard to me to drop writing, I had to move with this into lyrics (less time consuming)
RedLine ;)
https://suno.com/s/9AiVZXCPS7D71Ppt