#anyways hank just fucking exploded. whatever

[to-the-batcomputer]

i had heard titans was bad and it WAS bad and so i didn't realize it could get WAY WORSE

[corroded-coffin]

ok besties we finished so here's my thoughts on episodes 6-8 + overall and whatever

episode 6:

i know that's likely the whole point but oh my god i hated looking at the vault 4 overseer's face. i would like that to not continue in the future seasons. thx.

ok we got... NCR remnants?? in this vault? new vegas music intensifies???????

you guuuys he's really a good guy underneath it all, look, 200 years ago he cared about his dog!

max's lack of sex ed is KILLING me and i for one hope the lucy/max fic writers of the world are exploring this in appropriately bizarre and uncomfortable way

YOU WANNA MAKE MY COCK EXPLODE RIGHT NOW?????

the video of the lady giving birth to the gulpers(???) that then fucking started eating her is actual nightmare fuel. i hated that so fucking much. 0/10 please god no 🤮

episode 7:

oh hi there, ranger helmets/dusters!

lmao it could just be because i've seen that movie 500 fucking times, but the whole scene with the lead farmers reminded me so much of the opening scene from inglourious basterds

“that’s just a dirty word they use to describe people who aren’t insane.” full body cringe. sorry girl. i support u tho.

i really didn't get the plot of vault 4 but ok.

maximus spent the whole time watching a waterfall on loop and one song. neurodivergent win

DJ carl you will never be three dog or mr new vegas 😔 you can be travis miles if you want

???????????????????????????????????? what the hell did dr. chickenfuck give thaddeus??? why are ghouls just fuckin wolverine now???? i don't understand this lore. iirc aren't ghouls generally more fragile to everything that isn't radiation? huge amounts of radiation is healing to them, but just... existing ???

the terminal hacking easter egg made me giggle, i'm glad we got that. so silly

episode 8:

yay diversity win: this non-binary BoS side character is alive!! :)

i've been wondering this the whole time but why is the brotherhood catholic lol

quintus you're weird. since when did the brotherhood rule the wasteland. ok bud lol

...ok bud!

corporate managers should not be allowed to do anything much less take over the world, my god

moldaver/rose is the real ship of this show, i think. that's why kyle's so mad, right? wife's gay AND a wastelander. bit weird to keep your ghoulfriend alive for that long tho.

BUD BRAIN ROOMBA

oh shit it's him. Mr Home

yeah i do not like any of the stuff with the execs/corporations being behind the scenes and controlling the bombs dropping and being aware of this shit the whole time. silly and dumb.

other people have said it too but sucks that the biggest black woman character in the show ends up being Evil Capitalist Mastermind

wAr NeVeR cHaNgEs

dammit hank i thought u were a good dad instead you're a corporate SHILL!!!!!!!!!

lucy you belong in BG3 not fallout those are the saddest wettest eyes in the world. i love u girl

DAMMIT HANK

yay diversity win: this non-binary BoS side character is STILL alive!! :)

oh... ok. well. that sucks max. my poor bb.

DEATHCLAW! NEW VEGAS! WOWIE

overall... i don't know! there were things i liked, namely the production design which was incredible. i'm definitely going to watch season 2 and i do think *some* of the backlash from fans has been a little overblown, but expecting fallout fans to be normal about lore changes is a losing game LMAO. we're uh... intense. a little. we've been burned, um, a little. just a bit.

i just watched tim cain's review of the series as well, and i do hope that vault-tec didn't *actually* drop the bombs. it makes no sense - why would barb knowingly drop the bombs while her daughter + husband are out at a birthday party??

i DID like that the NCR aren't completely gone bc that made no sense to me... except now i guess they are gone :|

anyway, if nothing else i'm glad that this seems to have awakened all of the dormant fnv fans out there and i hope that this side of fandom picks up more steam. i largely fell off of fallout fandom when it all became fallout 4-centric because that game just... didn't grip me like 3 and NV did. and i hope it brings new people into the franchise and the fandom as well!

i wonder what other existing canon characters will be brought into season 2, if any. new vegas has so many characters i just adore that i'm not sure if i want them to get the tv treatment or not yet!

ok if you read this far thank you i love you BYE

decided to start the fallout tv series despite being a No Good Bitter Angry New Vegas Stan (tm), so making this post of my assorted thoughts as i go

(spoilers below)

episode 1:

watched this last night so i'm probably gonna miss stuff/it will all be out of order

oh shit kyle maclachlan is here! bless

the signing your name in the lining of the hand-me-down wedding dress bit cracked me up

why did her geiger counter only start going haywire after they'd fucked??? why are they giving off *that* much radiation??? LOL

was it unclear to anyone else why maximus was getting bullied. is he just supposed to be a loser or is it because he's an outsider not born into it or whatever

diversity win! the BoS respects pronouns!

never mind why are we branding people

specifically, why are we branding a black guy? was this important to add to the brotherhood lore??? ??????

(points at power armor) LOOK GUYS IT'S JOHN FALLOUT!!!!

the BoS being just like, in a rando military base outdoors felt weird too, but idk! i guess they didn't want all of their main characters to live underground

speaking of, why was the ghoul just... buried lol

spent most of last night randomly saying A FERAL GHOUL CAN'T ABIDE NO CHICKEN...... googled it, that's not even the exact quote. i fully do not care. feral ghoul can't abide no chicken

while i'm sure walton ghoulgins will be my fav character (ghouls almost always are), god he is BARELY a ghoul!!! no voice changes and he's... so smooth. a literal smoothskin. they dewalted my white.

okie dokie!

[stormkobra-5]

Not As Planned

A Batons and Unicorns Drabble

Summary: It’s been awhile since you and Steven have gotten together. This past year has been amazing between the two of you. Neither of you have ever been happier. And now that you’re done with your training, you’re able to move in together. What better way to do it than get that old Victorian dream-home on the outskirts of the New York suburbs that’s been on the market for years?

Fluff, fluff, and more fluff

A/N: I dunno. It’s just a whim to write this. Also, I can’t seem to let sweet Steven go. (Maybe there’s a little Marc x reader here...?) This one might be a bit less GN at the end. You’ll see why.

Notes: So I absolutely love this series. I plan to keep it going with random little fun stories like this. ☺️

Warnings: This story is rated 14+ for strong language.

______________________________________________________________

One year, three and a half months, and fifteen days.

That’s how long you and Steven have been together. You guys are still as stupidly in love as you were when you first started dating, which is like, rare? Neither of you care about other people’s dating statistics.

So you’ve been living side-by-side in your own apartments for the last year, going on missions together, worrying when one goes but the other doesn’t. Slowly, the two of you have integrated yourselves with the other Avengers, joining them for compound dinners and the like-- but three and a half months ago, you finished your training. You’ve practically been living together this whole time anyway, so you figured, why not?

You guys started looking for a house. Luckily Jake’s a millionaire. Or something.

Steven wanted to move to London. You wanted to move to Vanaheim.

You compromised and stayed in New York, because you guys found the perfect place.

About a three hour drive from the tower, on the outskirts of the New York suburbs, is a beautiful two-story kind-of-farm-y Victorian house that’s been on the market for about five years, according to Stark. It was fairly cheap, considering. It needed a bit of work on the outside, but the inside was perfect. You guys tested faucets, windows, doors, toilets, and walked pretty much everywhere to check for floor integrity. It was nice. You guys excitedly bought it and started to move in immediately. While you worked on cleaning the inside-- dusting, washing, cleaning windows, sweeping (because it needed a bit of a deep clean, the thing was covered in cobwebs)-- Steven worked on the outside-- mowing, trimming the overgrown bushes, picking up debris, fixing up the exterior of the house such as replacing siding, shutters, etc. etc., with some assistance from the handy Marc and less-handy Jake.

You were were full-blown renovators! Congrats!

Yeah!

Great!

Now.

You ever seen Money Pit with Tom Hanks? You probably haven’t. Google it.

Uh huh.

Turns out you guys cleaned the shell of the house. The inside was apparently held together with rubber bands and old unsticky duct tape that honestly only held together for like a week.

“Steven! I’m home!”

Steven loves your voice. He loves hearing you talk so clearly when they’re in the privacy of your own home and usually when he hears you, he’ll come running like a dog to greet you and help you with whatever you’re doing. Sometimes he’ll wait for you to find him and smile to himself while you do.

But now he’s fucking terrified.

“Oh shit,” He breathes.

“Oh fuck,” Marc says in the mirror.

“Uh oh,” Jake says in the reflection of the showerhead.

Not that even they can hear each other over the sound of the fucking bathroom exploding.

All he’d wanted was to take a shower. He’d gotten home from work and went straight for the mulch beds you wanted to dig up for a garden or whatever, and decided to take a shower before you got home from the store because honestly? He kept falling face-first into the dirt and now he’s covered. The poor guy is a little clumsy and he had never dug up a mulch bed before. Sure, he did it like the guy on YouTube, but with a lot less finesse despite the help of Marc, who has done housework before.

Then he turned on the shower.

He just. He piled up his dirt-covered clothes and then reached over to turn on the shower.

The fucking toilet seemed to think it was the shower.

The back of the toilet exploded in a stream of intense water that scared the shit out of poor Steven. He fell over and when he tried to stand he kept slipping on the water mess, and now, finally, after you get home, he’s managed to get to the shower handle to turn it off. Slowly, the toilet stops trying to be a shower.

Shaking, Steven wraps a towel around his waist and surveys the damage.

Apparently, the back of the toilet was filled of black mold. And the moldy water is everywhere.

The ceiling. The shower. The bathtub. The floor. The walls. The mirror. The sink. Steven.

It’s fucking everywhere.

Now, for the other damage.

The lid to the back of the toilet had been blown off. It fucking shattered. Porcelain shards and dust are everywhere, including poor Steven. The soap and toothbrushes have been knocked over by moldy water, so, they’re ruined. The cute little decorations you had on the back of the toilet? Yeah, those are trash. And you thought that little elephant was so cute, too. The paint on the walls has bubbled up from the water already, smearing down.

Steven stands in the ruined remains of what was once your main bathroom.

“Oh fucking shit,” Marc squeaks, because even a trained ex-marine mercenary doesn’t know what to do here. He takes a deep breath. “O-okay. Um. Uh... Here’s what we’re gonna do. Play dead.”

“What?” Steven gasps. Jake has disappeared entirely, vanishing into the depths of Steven’s mind to avoid any confrontation with you. Not that you’d get angry, but you worked so hard to make the bathroom pretty and now it’s ruined.

“Play dead,” Marc insists, “Cut your hand with some of that porcelain and spread it all over you or something. They’ll be so worried about you that the bathroom won’t be an issue.” Marc thinks about that for a second. “No, wait. Just run. The bedroom window leads down into the backyard. Get to your car and go to the nearest hardware store. Yeah. Do that. Buy a whole new fucking bathroom. Better yet? Buy a whole new fucking house. A bigger better one that’ll make them forget all about this one.”

Before Steven can even contemplate doing any of this for longer than a second, you come around the corner. You stop short, staring with wide, surprised eyes at the mess around you. “What the...”

Steven stands there, staring up at you from under his brows, ashamed. “H-Hi, birdie.”

You turn in circles, looking at the sheer extent of the damage in awe. “You invite a very sick Squirtle in here or something without telling me?”

Oh, Steven loves you with all his fucking heart.

But sometimes he has no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.

“W-What?”

You turn to face him, brows furrowed and eyebrow half-raised. “The hell did you do?”

Steven bites his lip. “I’m sorry, love. All I did was turn the shower on.”

He’s surprised when you try and fail to stifle a smile, and you start wiping his face off with your sleeve. “Oh, Steven. Your poor thing.” You peck his lips and survey the damage again, nodding to yourself as you hold his hands. “Looks like we’ve got more work to do.”

~***~

“Steven. Calm the fuck down.”

“H-how can I calm down?!”

It was meant to be just a quick trip to the hardware store to get some wooden slats. That’s it. That’s all.

But now the two of you are in the front of your truck, and Steven is gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles are white. The guy is absolutely terrified.

It was your fault, really. You’d never secured wooden slats in a pickup bed before. How were you supposed to know that they weren’t fucking secure enough?

Now here they were, rattling around and threatening to slide right out of the bed of the truck, and Steven is terrified.

So are you.

“J-just pull over!”

“Where?! There’s nowhere to pull over out here!”

“We’re in the middle of the country, Steven! Everywhere is a pull-over spot!”

“Not when the roads drop off into ditches!”

“This road is busy!”

“You think I don’t know that?!”

Just as he’s holding onto the steering wheel for dear life, you’re hanging onto him for dear life. “Turn on the hazards!”

Steven reaches over and flips them on, slowing down to a crawl. He pulls over as far as he can, but people are still honking as they speed angrily by. “Sorry, sorry...” Steven mumbles even though they can’t hear him.

Steven goes to open his door, but you stop him and shake your head. “No. It’s my fault, I’ll fix it.” You hurry out and Steven waits nervously in the car.

Until he hears the enormous crash of slats and pipes scattering on cement.

“Did they just fucking—“ Jake exclaims in the rear-view mirror, and Marc takes control. Steven sighs from the reflection of the logo in the middle of the steering wheel as Marc gets out of the trunk and comes around to find you staring at your mess.

All over the road are the pipes and tools. How were you supposed to know they were up against the fucking hitch after spilling from the box? Under the truck, in the road, rolling into the ditch on the side of the road, pieces of pipe and tools are everywhere.

But you’re standing there holding your hands out as if you’ve tried to stem the flood of parts. You’re frozen like a deer in headlights as you slowly turn to find Marc raising an eyebrow at you.

He’s not mad, but the whole situation is irritating. He can’t help but smile a little though.

“...Oops.”

Marc snorts a laugh. It’s ridiculous.

But man does he love you.

Marc puts an arm around you, shaking his head fondly. “Idiot.” He kisses your forehead before deciding to guide traffic by while you clean up the mess.

~***~

“Oh, you’re in for it now, Stevie,” Jake mutters in the reflection of the old clothes-liner pole. “Good god I can’t believe you actually somehow ran over the ONE spot in the yard you weren’t supposed to.”

Steven is frozen. The lawnmower’s off, but he’s frozen.

“Let’s eat healthy, natural food, Steven!”

“Let’s have a food garden, Steven!”

“The food is growing in the garden, Steven! I can’t wait to make a meal out of our own home-grown food!”

Marc frowns at him from the reflection of the fuel gauge of the mower. “...Did you just mow over the fucking garden, Steven?”

“I... I...”

Look, the neighbors have cows, ok? He was mildly distracted for a second. They were at the fence and cows are cute. He was wondering if you could become a cow on occasion. Could you talk to cows?

Fucking stupid cows.

Of course, you heard the sound that was something like a whole tree being crunched underneath of a steamroller as he mowed the net that kept the birds away, destroyed half the garden, and then the engine of the mower popped.

You rush outside, towel in your hands; you were doing dishes, maybe??? “Steven? What happ...” When you see what happened, Steven waits for your disappointment. Instead, you laugh.

“Did you run over the garden?!”

“I-I was looking at the cows...”

At this, you laugh even harder, making him smile a little.

You come out to meet him on the mower. “Need help fixing the mower?”

He leans down to kiss your forehead. “No, I’ve got it. Thanks anyway, birdie.”

You make your way back up to the house. When you turn back, he’s getting off the mower and asking Marc’s advice on how to fix it. “I have to grab the what...? Next to the where...? English terms, Marc, please, I don’t know what you’re saying.”

Man, do you love him.

~***~

Late that night, it’s pouring. You and Steven are laying on your backs, side-by-side in bed, listening as the house groans under the weight of the rainwater. Little buckets are scattered about the room to collect drips from the ceiling.

“Maybe we shouldn’t sleep here,” Steven suggests.

“Yeah... but I’m too lazy to move.”

“Me too.”

You snicker a bit. “Guess it’s a good thing you mowed earlier, huh?”

He snorts. “Yeah.”

You shift. You’ve been wanting to bring something up with him for days. Weeks. And you’re so fucking tired of just.

Waiting.

Why not out of the fucking blue?

“...How many bedrooms do we have?”

Steven thinks for a minute. “Useable ones? Four, including this one. Why? You wanna move to another room?”

“Nah. I wanna start cleaning them up.”

Steven’s confused. “Thought we were leaving them as-is for storage?”

“Just one to start with. Y’know. For future purposes, maybe?”

Steven nearly breaks his neck as he whips his head over to look at you. His voice is barely a whisper, like if he’s too loud you’ll change your mind. “You mean... You wanna start... You wanna start a family?”

You flush, biting your lip. “...Yeah.”

Steven beams and leans over. You’d been using his arm as a pillow, so it’s easy to pull you close so he can kiss all over your face. “I love you, birdie.”

“I love you too.”

Damn is it a good thing he has fast reflexes.

Because the whole fucking ceiling creaks, caves, then bursts.

Rainwater, covered with attic debris, floods the whole room, ruins the bed and everything else, and soaks you both down to the bone.

You’re both shocked, freezing, and spluttering. He threw himself over you, which didn’t save you from the downpour, but he’s the one covered in plaster and drywall, now a paste from getting soaked.

EESH, you really should’ve looked closer at this piece of junk.

Steven’s head falls into the crook of your neck, and at first you think he’s crying because his shoulders are shaking. But then you realize he’s laughing.

“Might wanna fix up the house first, yeah?”

You’re laughing too as you hug him and kiss his cheek, because wow. This piece of junk is somehow your home now. It has memories of exploding bathrooms and crumbling walls and attics flooding to the point of dousing you both in the middle of a moment.

And you both love it.

____________________________________________

Thanks for reading! <3

Taglist:

@dameronsknight

@sylkisdagger

@atzlena

@gucciboots

@pastel-0-princess

[dirt-str1der]

Give me 2bs complicated relationship I am starved for content pleas ekm begging y uoi..

BUUDJDJCJ YEAH ..... come off anon im screaming and crying lemon demon voice take off your glasses let me see your eyes

Anyway the first thing you need to know about my 2b is that hes aro second thing is that hes very susceptible to forming relationships with people regardless because hes a helper at heart and everybody latches onto him because theres just ... so little kindness in nevada youll take it even if it comes in the form of a blunt needle and a pair of unimpressed eyes. The third thing you need to know about him is that he synthesises meth in the basement but thats not important.

Anyway before doc worked with hank he worked for the auditor, and before he worked for the auditor he worked for nexus and before that he worked odd jobs around town after taking the transphobic family L and running away from home like a hashtag boyboss (im not glorifying running away from home its just that i genuinely think he would just be like you know what ? Im packing my bags and telling the next random town i come across that im a doctor and they just have to believe me. He was a VERY happy man when the world ended and he could roam the country completely anonymous after the subsequent data wipe). This means that 2b is in the unique position of knowing literally everybody in nevada, even if they dont know... ‘him’. Between the fake names and the baffling chat handle most people settle on calling him doc because thats what they hear other people calling him.

With THAT out of the way, 2BDamned is Very Reliable. You need spare parts ? Doc’ll provide ! You need to get Rid of spare parts ? Sure i know a guy. You got eviscerated ? No problem. Your car exploded ? Got food poisoning ? Alone on a friday night ? Fucking died ? Hes got you covered. He doesnt do it for free though and if you cant pay up ..... well ill put a favour on your tab. I bet the nevadean economy slowed to a veritable crawl for the two months 2b got put out of commission by the auditor (his streak of good luck ended when she found out he was offering his ‘Other Place’ services to people outside the AAHW , what are you ? Some kind of cheap whore ? Im going to tear your face off. Then she was like huh, i wonder why my operations all suddenly suck , guess killing that guy was a bad idea..... i miss him -_-)

Not to worry... hes not dead but he is coming back to bite you in the ass lucky you auditor. Hank found 2b while he was still recovering and was like heyyy youre the guy who helped bring me to life by evanessence when i died doing stupid shit :) i see you have a vendetta aganst the aahw, wanna live together ? And 2b was like .... you know what ? Yeah. And they kinda ... picked a place and settled down. Like imagine two fiercely independent people carving out spaces for each other in their schedules just because they work well together .... thats amore. Like sure hank can live on their own and 2BDamned certainly can handle himself but why resort to that when you can have this instead ? Imagine that; finally resting easy when you know you have someone unequivocally in your corner...

Im a 2bhank advocate because i think doc doesnt actually realise he likes people so he thinks himself antisocial. Hank is actually antisocial but Knows that 2b needs to Hang Out sometimes so they spend as much time as possible with 2b even when hes working and hes like get out -_- and hank is like O_O and 2b is like ... OK stay. Whatever and refuses to admit that this is actually kind of nice. Quality time legend. 2b on the other hand is an acts of service king and shows love by taking care of hank however and he will absolutely haul ass to get to them if theyre in trouble to bail them out of it. The two of them are qpps and are totally whipped for each other but 2b is still like "hank is just a colleague". Theres nobody they trust more in the world than each other, theyve really been though a lot together. Fellas is it gay to reach through spacetime , absolutely shattering the insurmountable wall between life and death in order to drag your homie back to the world of the living ? The answer (yes) may shock you

Now 2b and JEB... oh boy! They knew each other from nexus and jeb genuinely thought he was dead until he blinked awake on an operating table with a familiar face staring back at him. "Welcome back, Jebediah." He hears an even more familiar voice say and jeb blearily mumbles,"Doc?" Turns out he was killed. Double turns out that his old coworker has been conducting all manners of unethical experimentation , not only that but he is the reason why Hank Jmotherfucker Wimbleton has been continually allowed to run free. Jeb is understandably furious. "Do you realise what you've done?" He immediately starts to argue. Doc raises a brow at him,"Do you?"

2b quickly understands that he and jeb are never going to see eye to eye, but hmm he has the potential to be a useful ally and though he is a bit of a bitch, he can trust jeb not to sell him out to the auditor. I like to think that after a particularly passionate night , jeb (hes high) asks 2b if theyre friends and 2b (also high) laughs right in his face. Jeb doesn't laugh along. This sobers the two of them up very quickly and 2b excuses himself in an unsubtle manner. They still see each other sometimes, jeb bleakly trying to pretend hes not at least a little bit in love with doc and 2b strategically sidestepping the issue because he really doesnt want to deal with this. "Dirt, why is this so dramatic?" Youre asking. Because jeb makes everything harder than it has to be and honestly ? He brought this upon himself.

Sorry i dont have much for 2b and sanford and deimos , truth be told i do not ship it because i genuinely think the team dynamic would be way funnier with 2b(53) acting as a pseudo father figure to sanford(32) and unofficial mentor to both him and deimos(27). Also i like to think 2b was friends with sanfords mom (I call her betty but her full name is beatrice solely because i want doc to be the only person in the world to call her that) which is how they met also its cool to meet an older trans person when youre a kid , san definitely has starry eyes for 2b. I like to think that sanford was trained by him to be a field medic so he usually falls into that role when on the job. I also think sanford is hopeless at tech and i say this a lot but 2b was kind of excited to have another tech junkie on the squad (san is terrified of computers , and hank sees computers as a bludgeoning weapon) , until he found out that he and deimos line up to be perfectly incompatible. Its fine though deimos is still a valuable member of the squad and they play among us together.

I DO however think that 2b has some respect for deimos because his tech work is genuinely so incomprehensible sometimes 2b is like wow this looks like dogshit , how is it working so efficiently ? And deimos is like truth be told ? I got no fucking clue <3 They do bully each other quite a bit though i think , sanford is the only person holding the fucking team together hank would have put deimos in a wheelchair within the first month if sanford wasnt there to mitigate but i think hank and dei should still wrestle sometimes just to pass the time. If you want a proper polycombat thing on this just ask me again <3

2b and the auditor have mad history together but it all cumulates to them right now playing league of legends with each other online because theyre the only players worth each others salt. I frequently put them together in tags and it always looks like this

Wait this one too because its funny

I like to think that she didnt know it was 2b who'd been cyberbullying her until she caught him in person and immediately recognised him and was like Oh ^_^ this is a pleasant surprise. Im going to take you home and make you cry your pancreas out of your tearducts, boy. And he was like ^_^;; at least take me to dinner first. I hate AudiB so much they live in my head rent free and dont even pay me reparations for the emotional damage theyve caused me. He continually baits her and runs circles around her with his mad strats but when it comes down to a fistfist shes going to feed him his own fucking hands and he knows it

Anyway that was far too long and im sorry if you read all of it KJSDFSDUKH THIS ISNT EVEN GOING INTO THE MAIN TAGS its too controversial yelps

[brokenjardaantech]

Blue-tinted Red Walls (Chapter 6: Running out of Time)

my entry for the @dbhau-bigbang.  also part of the groom lake aftermath series.

summary: 

In the past, Fadia's circumstance changed.

In the present, Connor and Hank get a lead from an unexpected source.

In the past, the dead was reanimated.

also on ao3

warnings for overstimulation (the awful kind not the sexy kind)  in the last part, i.e. following the second before.

---

Before

It was done. RK200, neither the first of his kind nor the first of his series, but her first step towards redemption. Now it was time to find a suitable mentor for him which… she had already arranged.

‘I don’t like this, sister,’ Scott said from outside the door. Fuck. She had forgotten to close it again. ‘You’re in too deep.’

Fadia did not look up from the screen as she made the final adjustments. ‘Who taught you to say that, Reyes? Get out from there; I know you’re hiding.’

Reyes could have stayed in the shadows, but for some reason he decided to reveal himself and placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder. ‘I did because you won’t listen to me.’

‘That’s because it’s infeasible,’ she replied. One last tweak. ‘We can’t wait that long.’

‘You can’t wait that long, you mean,’ the android retorted. ‘What happened to letting me decide the future?’

Fuck it. She put down the tablet and met his gaze. ‘And you think this is the future? What CyberLife is doing right now?’

‘No but -’

‘Then you really don’t know a thing.’

But unlike him, she was there in the latest stakeholder meeting. Her father was there as well, and when he proposed lowering the price of androids and making more varieties of them and those short-sighted fuckers actually agreed with him, she exploded.

‘Not without my permission!’ Fadia had let a bit of her power concentrate on her palm and slammed her hand on the conference table. It should have been fixed onto the floor, but a few bolts were no match for a force that, upon countless secret experimentation, that she knew could rip an object apart in the molecular level and turn it to no more than space dust, and everything in the room rattled from the sheer force of the small blast. ‘Are you guys fucking dumb or do you just not care at all?’

Alec had the fucking guts to look confused. ‘What’s wrong, Sara?’

Everything, Fadia thought. ‘How many more lives do you want to ruin? How many secretaries lost their jobs thanks to the ST200s? If we do all these -’ she gestured to the proposals on the table - ‘how many people will be fired because we made androids dirt cheap?’

‘Affordable, ma’am, not “dirt cheap,”’ one of the stakeholders said. ‘And you once said it yourself: what we’re doing is just letting civilisation run its course. Automation is the future.’

Fuckers. ‘Not this quickly. Autonomous vehicles already made enough people become unemployed; we don’t need to add fuel into the fire.’

A few people looked uneasy. Good. But whatever satisfaction she disappeared when Alec spoke up.

‘The voting process starts now,’ he said as he called up the system. ‘You have three minutes.’

She nearly vapourised the table because of that. ‘Father, you can’t -’

‘It’s done, Sara. Don’t you want to save your mother?’

‘You know she wants to die.’

She shot up and left knowing that her vote wouldn’t matter anyway.

‘Please, Fadia,’ Reyes said back in reality. ‘Think about it. We’ll have more people on our side. If you get your hands on their production -’

‘And what? Let them know that they’re enslaved while they can’t do anything about it?’ she snapped. ‘And how will the humans think when they’re replaced by your people, huh, Reyes? We’ve barely recovered from that fucking virus!’

She jammed her finger through the tablet and shattered the whole thing. Scott let out a tiny scream, and when she looked down, she saw that it was bleeding. Luckily the RK200 was booting up, which meant that the data got through before she ruined it. Well.

‘Get out,’ she told them. ‘You know what to do.’

‘We’re not finished yet, Fadia,’ Reyes hissed. ‘We have so much to talk about.’

‘Get. The fuck. Out.’

He looked like he was going to hit her, but then the other android’s fingers started twitching, and he was forced to wheel Scott away and close the door behind him.

Fuck short-sighted people.

o0o0o

Now

Connor thinks he is dreaming. For one, his HUD is devoid of any badges and notifications; for two, his vision is not red-tinged, which has quickly become the norm as he spends more and more time around Lieutenant Anderson (Hank); for three, it is not Amanda who is waiting for him.

‘There’s so much stuff I can rewrite when you sleep still connected to the system,’ his creator says as the Zen Garden shifts and distorts until they are standing on a plateau of grassland overlooking rivers flowing through a valley of black sand they probably have a hand in shaping. On the other side is also a plane of grass, and a waterfall breaks through the dark rock, the water that has been travelling underground for aeons finally seeing the light of the day. ‘Imagine Alec’s face when he realises how big of a hole he left in your programming.’

‘That’s because he is not my creator, is he?’ Connor replies. Something about his creator unsettles him, but exactly what that is, he has yet to isolate. ‘That’s why you have access to the Zen Garden and shape it to your will. You created me and everything else associated with me.’

They bark a laugh, a cruel sound that makes Connor’s thirium pump skip a beat and dead rose in his veins. ‘Me? The Zen Garden? Butchering Amanda like that?’ They right themself and shake their head. ‘I would rather not step foot on earth again than do whatever the fuck this is.’

Not step foot on earth? Connor wonders. He wants to ask for clarification before he realises - ‘How may I call you? I still don’t know your name.’

‘It’ll be for the best if you don’t,’ they cock their head towards the edge of the cliff. ‘Alec’s work might be sloppy, but still you should not remember me at all. You now do. That means something failed. Remember Ortiz’s android?’

The two of them sit down on the grass at the edge with a couple of feet between them. There is a faint layer of fog shrouding everything, but strangely the soil isn’t wet and there is no dew on the grass. ‘I do,’ Connor answers. 

‘Do you remember what Alec did to you?’

Connor shivers from recalling the blizzard and the terrifying power he was shown.

‘I’ll take it as a yes,’ his creator continues. ‘He will do worse when he realises that you have met me. This way, you won’t have a name to place on, and both of us will stay safe.’ 

But I don’t feel safe, the android thinks. ‘Why should I trust you? You worked for CyberLife.’

‘Worked with, Connor, not for.’

‘Is there a difference?’ 

‘It makes all the difference. Work for CyberLife, you do what they want you to do; work with CyberLife, they do what they think I want to do. Big fucking difference here.’

If what you say is true. Feeling his eyes relax from looking at all the green, he wonders, ‘What do you want from me?’

‘Just relax. Take in the view,’ the clothes on them shift and twist until they’re in mountain hiking gear. ‘Or we can go for a hike if you want to move around. We can make the landscape up as we go.’

Connor looks left and then right and sees that the fog is thick on both sides. He looks forward again and zooms in, discovering that what he thought was a detailed rendering of the landscape is, in reality, coarse and pixelated. Incomplete. A blink. The roughness is gone. He zooms out.

‘I want to sit here for a while for now.’

‘As you wish.’

He loses track of how long they sit there.

oOoOo

When he comes to, he is already sitting in a boat with Amanda on the opposite seat and seems to be rowing the thing. ‘Tell me,’ she says, ‘what have you discovered?’

He thinks. Hard. Finding the Tracis and not shooting them. Finding Louis in the forest and bringing him home. The cats’ soft fur. Drinking the thirium Louis offered.

Falling asleep on Hank’s shoulder.

‘My relationship with Lieutenant Anderson seems to have improved,’ he answers and instantly knows that it’s the wrong thing to say to his handler. Her name pops up at the corner of his HUD, and even though his vision is red enough to have made the downward arrow invisible, he deduces that it is one of the large ones. He hastily adds, ‘I’m sure this will be beneficial to the investigation.’

Amanda peeks at him through the helm of the umbrella. ‘You seem… lost, Connor. Lost and perturbed…’

This is bad. ‘Perturbed?’ his thirium pump speeds up even though he is in a simulation. ‘No, of course not.’ Calm down, Connor. ‘Why would I be perturbed?’

Amanda presses on. ‘You had your gun trained on those deviants at the Eden Club. Why didn't you shoot?’

‘I -’ Maybe they don’t deserve to die. ‘I don’t know.’

He rows once more and lets the boat drift.

‘If your investigation doesn't make progress soon, I may have to replace you, Connor.’

It is expected, but that does not mean that he does not feel… hurt. Afraid. ‘I understand,’ he says at last and doesn’t add anything. He’s given enough reasons for Amanda to replace (kill, a voice which sounds strangely familiar but he can’t identify says) him.

Overhead, the evening sky darkens as thick clouds suddenly roll in. Amanda looks up. ‘Something’s happening… Something serious.’ She faces Connor and her tone turns solemn. ‘Hurry, Connor. Time is running out.’

Time before peace or time before you kill me? he asks himself as he opens his eyes. The first thing he notices is that he is lying down on something soft. The second is that he is covered by a blanket. The third is that, when he checks the time, he has slept for more than a day and a half. He shoots up from the sofa bed and is immediately hit by a wave of dizziness that makes his vision go greyscale and the red recede. Irregular, muffled footsteps approach him, and a cold hand holds him up before he can fall back down.

‘Slowly, Connor,’ Louis says as he guides him to sit up with his back against the sofa. ‘That’s quite a nap. You feeling okay?’

He knows this is not the human means, but Connor runs a full diagnostics anyway and blinks from the sudden influx of information in his HUD. The most jarring report states that his tracker has ceased operations, but it is a small detail compared to his overall performance. ‘All systems operational.’

Louis sighs and relaxes but does not move away from where he’s sitting slumped at the edge next to Connor’s thigh, and his hand moves to the hole on the android’s jacket and shirt. ‘You need a change,’ he mutters. ‘You planning to go back to CyberLife?’

A new but optional objective appears. [Return to CyberLife for more comprehensive diagnostics]. If he went back, they would know that his tracker was tampered with, and where would that lead him? Tighter controls on his programming? Unleashing the blizzard on him and overloading his senses again? He shivers even though it is warm in the house and plants are everywhere. ‘There is no need to return to CyberLife,’ he says. ‘I do not mind a hole in my jacket.’

‘Other people will,’ Louis reminds him matter-of-factly. ‘I’ll lend you a shirt. They’re my sister’s but they should fit you.’

A sister that is hidden from even the most important person in the police force. Connor wonders why they saw the need to do so. ‘Thanks,’ he replies in the end. ‘I’d appreciate that.’

He watches Louis disappear into a room while tapping something on his phone. He tunes his ears to figure out what the human was doing, but apart from the general drawers and ruffle of fabric, there is nothing noteworthy, and he emerges carrying a grey shirt on his arm. Connor notices that he is walking much better now.

‘You know where the bathroom is,’ Louis hands the shirt to him. ‘Go change. Hank’s on his way to pick you up.’

So he was messaging Hank. The android accepts the offered item and closes the bathroom door behind him, scanning the fabric out of sheer curiosity and discovers a surprising lack of plant spores and cat hair which, with how many plants the man has and the three felines, seems impossible; it will seem that that room is out of bounds for them and is devoid of plants. He changes quickly, knowing that they should arrive at the scene as early as possible, and now he is left with a ruined shirt and jacket which he is not sure how to deal with. 

A knock on the door. ‘You okay in there, Connor?’ Louis asks. ‘Hank’s arrived.’

He hurriedly yanks the door open and nearly bumps into the human standing right outside. ‘I -’ he holds up the ruined shirt awkwardly. ‘Where can I dispose of it?’

‘Let me see the damage, can you?’

Connor unfolds the shirt and finds the place where the knife went in in a crackle of blue. Static discharges with a spark through Louis’ fingers when he touches where the weave was severed, but he does not seem bothered by it. ‘It’s fixable,’ he says, taking the shirt from Connor’s hand. ‘It’s a simple mend. Give me a day or two and I’ll have it looking better than before.’

It isn’t like Connor doesn’t have other shirts, so he agrees to it and goes to the living room where Hank is sitting on the (now folded up) sofa. When the Lieutenant sees him, his hand jerks and tugs something small away into his pocket, probably thinking that the android will not notice, and Connor decides not to mention it; maybe it’s about one of Hank’s many personal issues. 

‘Took you long enough,’ Hank accuses. A pang of hurt courses through Connor, but then he sees the glint in the human’s eyes, and he knows that he was just teasing.

‘My software requires an update,’ a lie based on the truth. ‘I apologise for any inconvenience that my… emergency nap may have caused.’

‘Well, lucky things didn’t go to shit until right before you woke up, then,’ says Hank as he stands up and straightens his jacket which he apparently did not bother to take off. Then, to Louis, ‘Sorry for dumping an android on you. Didn’t mean that.’

‘Of course, Hank,’ the human is looking at Connor when he speaks. ‘Know that you’re always welcome here. And don’t forget your shirt. I’ll walk you out.’

Hank waves him away. ‘Nah, I know my way through the jungle. Thanks for your hospitality.’

‘It’s not a jungle, Hank,’ Louis retorts as he turns his attention towards finding something from one of the cupboards. ‘Lock the door when you go out.’

‘You’ve got an electronic lock.’

‘Lock the manual one then, thank you.’

Hank grumbles all the way out, but he does as Louis says after he tells Connor to wait for him in the car, and he complies since there is little sense in staying out in the open and wasting precious energy.

Time to get to work.

oOoOo

The shirt is not mine is surprisingly the first thought Connor has when the deviant tears his thirium pump regulator away from this chassis, the buttons falling and scattering onto the floor as his blood pours out from the gaping hole in his torso uncontrollably now that a vital component is lost, and he can only watch as the deviant gets away to do rA9-knows-what. He calls for Hank on instinct before he realises that his voice is too weak to be heard, and neither does anyone come in to investigate when he kicks the chair against the table.

He is alone in all this.

Twisting his head and arm painfully - it seems that his creator programmed and designed him to be able to feel it - he grabs the knife nailing him onto the counter and yanks, lobbing it as far as he can to prevent further injuring himself as he collapses onto the floor on his front. The countdown before his deactivation (his death) is blocking his vision so he blinks it away, and with all the strength he can muster as he is rapidly losing thirium, he lifts himself off the floor and crawls, his hand outstretched towards the direction of the regulator after every single few inches he gained as he lets himself hope - and gets disappointed - when he touches nothing but air and cold metal. When his hand finally manages to hold it in his hand, a sense of relief washes over him even though it takes some effort to roll onto his back and puts it back. Strength rushes through his body, the tingle in his veins signifying resumed thirium flow, and colour returns to his vision even though it is still red-tinged after all this. His background systems run a diagnosis on the newly re-inserted biocomponent and he is supposed to wait for it to finish, but there is a deviant collaborating with the one in the broadcast and he is out there, probably having no qualms to harm, to kill -

He pushes up and dashes outside, rickety legs nearly costing him his balance when he rounds the corner and exits to the lobby. He warns - loudly - that there is a deviant in the room, but it is too late, he has already acquired a weapon, and when his world goes grey while he enters pre-construction - [Hank’s survival probability: 40%] is more terrifying than it has any right to be - another entity, another being slips into his processors through a network he did not know he is connected to and overrides all his functions. He becomes a passenger in his own body and he is screaming and crying from pain and the sheer wrongness of everything as he feels his blood charge up and distorts the space around him, his batteries struggling to keep up with the energy requirements of his powers as his world lights up in a brilliant blue. The deviant is the only thing he sees in the tunnel, and he feels the air crackle and the gravity bend before he charges - more accurately, someone charges him - towards the deviant quicker than he can run and topples both of them onto the ground. The blue retracts, his nerves stings sharply, the red wall - there is no mistaking now - crumbling away bit by bit in a constant trickle of sand. It is then that he realises that he has regained (re-given, a voice tells him) control of his body and he has been shot on his left arm.

‘Connor, Connor!’ he feels more than hears Hank rushing towards him. A large hand grabs his right arm at where the armband should be, the warmth seeping into his chassis through the thin fabric of his shirt, Louis’ sister’s shirt, and he discovers that Hank’s hand can nearly wrap his hand around his bicep in its entirety. It grounds him against the craziness of the last few seconds. ‘You okay?’

‘I…’ he looks around and silently processes the shock and fear in the other humans’ eyes. His LED must be spinning red. ‘I’m okay… I think.’

Another hand on his other arm right above his gunshot wound. ‘You sure? What’s that stunt about?’

Someone took control over my body, Connor wants to say, but his thirium pump chooses to finish calming down at that moment, warnings start to flood his vision telling him to go back to CyberLife for repairs in both hardware and software, and he barely has time to whisper, his voice trembling with fatigue and shock, ‘Please don’t take me to CyberLife’ before his system forces him into stasis and everything goes empty.

oOoOo

Hank’s heart thunders when Connor collapses in his arms, 150 pounds of dead weight suddenly relying on him to stay upright as the android - who has blood all over him and his LED still spinning red despite being unconscious - goes limp. He barely had time to figure out what the fuck Connor just did, and now this? 

A fed - not Perkins this time - approaches them. This guy still looks like an asshole, though. ‘I’ll arrange for this to be transported to the DPD,’ he says as he eyes the literally frozen android on the ground. So not as much of an asshole as the other feds then. ‘You get it fixed.’

Hank puts Connor in a fireman’s carry and tries to ignore the stares from other people. Please don’t take me to CyberLife, he remembers the android’s one last panicked request, and then his mind floats to the folded-up sticky note that has been his pocket for only a day and a half. He doesn’t expect to use it so soon but… 

Damn Louis and his prophetic powers.

It was the next morning after he saved that reckless bastard from hypothermia again; Hank had carefully untangled himself from Connor, who had winded his limbs around him sometime during the night, and his head nearly exploded when he sees his friend already up and about and fucking cooking breakfast. 

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he gritted through his teeth even though he was already sliding onto one of the chairs. His head was pounding, sweat had soaked through his clothes, and when he reached for the teapot at the centre of the table - damn Louis and his undying hate towards coffee - his hand was shaking. The air was also the smell of freshly-baked bread, so Louis must have been up for much longer than him even after what happened the night before. Fuck. He needed a drink.

‘Cooking breakfast for two people with large appetites,’ Louis held up his hand and shot a blue tendril out of it to open the cupboard for more flour. ‘Go have a shower first. You know where your clothes are. Breakfast won’t be ready for some time.’

He did as his friend told him to and felt a bit more human again afterwards. Connor was still sleeping when he got out, his LED still spinning yellow, and there was a cup of tea waiting for him when he returned to his usual seat. He took a sip without being prompted and nearly spat it out from the… surprising taste. ‘The fuck did you mix in here?’

Louis continued loading their breakfast - pancakes and a freshly-baked pretzel for each of them - onto two large plates. ‘Homebrew mead,’ he answered with a shrug, the movement small due to the food-loaded plates in his hands. ‘Don’t want you to feel bad.’

Bastard. Fucker had booze in his house all the time? ‘You lied to me!’

‘I don’t even know how it’ll taste!’ Louis placed the plates on the table a bit harder than usual. His gaze darted towards the living room, but whatever he saw reassured him. ‘I could’ve poisoned you!’

‘I’m still alive,’ and booze is booze, goddamnit, he wanted to say, but it was probably something Louis would never understand. ‘Gimme more or I’ll go look for it myself.’

He didn’t notice anything out of place when Louis was busy arranging the cutlery in a particular way as the man had a habit of flexing his knife-flipping skills, and that’s why he didn’t notice him assembling pieces of cutlery into a catapult and launched a piece of strawberry jam - homemade, of course - in a perfect arc onto his pancake. 

‘Eat your breakfast, Lieutenant,’ Louis licked his spoon clean of jam and started spreading butter and syrup on his pancakes instead. ‘That’s an order from a Captain.’

‘Pulling rank now, kid?’

‘I’m forty-three now, Hank, and will be forty-four in less than a month. Hardly a kid anymore.’

Yeah, ‘cause launching jam at another person’s pancakes and scaring the shit outta him is a real fucking mature move, Hank wanted to say, but his friend had already dug into his own handiwork and would most likely be unresponsive to most outside stimuli for the next fifteen minutes, so he did what he could do: eat the food and drink the tea.

He should have known that this wasn’t that easy. Nothing concerning Louis White Allen ever was. 

Hank’s brain went an ah shit when Louis fixed him with a look, one that does not quite meet his eyes but is intense nonetheless. ‘I know it’s bad luck.’

It was his cue that he was gonna sprawl some accidental prophetic shit. ‘You know the risk.’

Louis’s fingers tapped, tapped, tapped against the wooden surface of the table. ‘This isn’t going to be what we think it is,’ he said. A cat jumped onto the table and sniffed his plate but was placed gently onto the floor before she could lick anything off. ‘I think Sara Ryder is in charge of Connor.’

It took Hank a minute and another cup of tea to register the name. ‘Guy who threw a building on you and made you immortal without you and your sister’s permission? Founder of CyberLife? The one who fucked off to god-knows-where after she quitted?’

‘The one and the same.’

Yeah, that did not sound right. ‘Why do you think so?’

‘I thought everyone in the DPD knows.’

‘You know I don’t give a fuck about android stuff.’

Louis gave him another look again, but this time it was more a yeah, right one, and Hank knew what - who - he was referring to. Connor. But he didn’t push it and said instead, ‘First of all, CyberLife hasn’t been capable of this -’ he pointed a fork at Connor’s general direction - ‘since ten years ago after Ryder Junior disappeared. If CyberLife says that they’ve figured how to emulate human emotions like that, I ain’t buying it. Alec Ryder isn’t capable of this shit.’

Yeah. The rumour. ‘And second of all?’

Another cat jumped onto Louis’ lap, and the man buried his fingers into her fur as if it was the only thing grounding him. ‘I saw her. Sara Ryder.’

‘No shit.’ He never paid much attention to who’s who when it came to CyberLife, but blowing up blocks of a city together with thousands of people and hiding the evidence by immediately turning it into a landfill? That was just outright disrespectful and disgusting, and he hated those guys ever since. Not every day someone sets off a mini-nuke in the outskirts of a major American city and gets away with it. ‘Where did you see her?’

Louis jerked his head towards the android. ‘His first mission. He died pulling a girl to safety and taking a dozen bullets for her. I carried the body to the truck and there she was, playing driver and diener.’

‘And you didn’t do anything?’

‘I had her at gunpoint and she crushed it into scraps with her magic. I shorted my leg ripping those apart molecularly.’

First his ex, then Jeffery Fowler, then Louis’ sister, then Louis himself. Was his life destined to be surrounded by crazy overachievers with no sense of self-preservation? ‘Fucking hell, Louis!’ Louis shushed him, so he lowered his voice and continued, ‘Is that why you nearly kill yourself once every two weeks? Because of one crazy bastard’s words?’ 

‘And my instincts,’ he gave his cat a scritch. ‘This is more than what we think it is, Hank,’ he straightened his spine. ‘This is more than freeing the androids. Change is not gonna end here. I can feel it. Hold on, lemme give you something.’

He disappeared into his bedroom with his cane and emerged with a pen and a stack of memo paper. ‘Here,’ he scribbled something on the note and tore the sheet off. ‘If you’re really stuck, go to this address and ring the bell. Bring Connor with you. There’s a lot they won’t tell me, but if it’s you - if it’s Connor - maybe they’ll spill the tea.’

The sticky note was gingerly accepted. Safaa & Reyes Vidal; 8683 Lafayette Avenue, it read, and Hank’s eyebrows shot up. Reyes Vidal. That was a name he hadn’t heard of in a long time. ‘Rich friends, huh?’

Louis put the notepad away. ‘Rich but unfortunate friends,’ he said. ‘Try to be nice to them, alright?’

‘Yeah,’ he tucked the note away. ‘How did you get to know Vidal?’

‘Which one?’

‘Reyes.’

‘Believe it or not, it’s my leg,’ then he checked the time. ‘Do you wanna go to work before 10? Now will be a good time to be on your way.’

Hank knew it was Louis’ not-entirely-subtle way to get him back on track, but still he indulged him by leaving the cottage and driving off. Everyone in the precinct seemed surprised to see him at his desk that early - not that he had had a good record - but as he dealt with the paperwork, all he could think of was the sleeping android in Louis’ house and the tiny sheet of paper in his pocket which he’s now taking out to confirm the address, having stuffed Connor into the backseat and fastened his seatbelt just now. Lafayette Avenue. Shouldn’t be far away.

The traffic is worse than he expected for times like this. Maybe they’re spooked by the demands from the android, maybe it’s just the snow, but all he can think of is the unconscious android at the backseat and how far the address seems to be. It is then when he realises that he doesn’t even know what to expect from Vidal and his possible husband; Louis told him that they had information, not the means to fix an android. Frustrated, he stays in the car even though he has arrived and makes a call.

‘Hank?’ Louis’ voice filters through the crappy speaking of his phone. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Uh, Connor’s injured and I kinda…’ panicked. ‘He told me not to go to CyberLife before he passed out and I drove to the address you gave me yesterday. Can they fix an android?’

A more distant voice speaking in what Hank thinks is Arabic rattles through. Louis says something back in the same language and returns to the call, ‘You outside?’

‘Stupid, I know, I’ll just -’

‘No, come in. He won’t be safe in CyberLife’s hands.’

There. The grit of the accent. The calmness in the voice. It is as if he is transported back to the late 20s again, not an alcoholic and actually working and solving high-profile cases like a pro and was actually making a difference.

‘Vidal,’ he can only say. He had lost contact with the man after the case was closed. ‘Might need you to open the gates here.’

The call ends as the gate for humans opens automatically, and Hank puts his phone away with a sigh and drags Connor out of his car. Half of the blood on the shirt has evaporated, but through the unbuttoned fabric, he can see that the skin around a circle right below Connor’s chest is still deactivated, revealing white chassis. 

The door is open when he arrives with Vidal waiting outside and immediately taking Connor away to somewhere deep in the mansion quicker than Hank can process what is happening. Hank briefly hears him shout something in Arabic towards nothing in particular, and when he turns to Louis who has been standing near the staircase like a statue, the man merely shakes his head slightly. ‘It’ll be for the best for them to work on Connor alone,’ he explains. ‘He’s in good hands.’

‘Why the fuck are you here anyway?’ Hank shrugs off his coat when he realises that he’s still wearing it. ‘Shouldn’t you be in your cottage or some shit?’

‘That’s my original plan, yes,’ a wave to invite Hank to the living room. He settles into one end of the long-ass couch while Louis helps himself with a cup of tea first. ‘But I’ve been told that this might as well be my leg’s last check-up.’

‘What do you mean, “last”?’

‘We might need to leave the country soon indefinitely.’

Two heads swivel towards the newcomer half-hidden behind the frame of a door. Louis relaxes when he sees the man in the wheelchair, but no matter how hard Hank thinks, he can’t put a name on the face. It’s Safaa, the rational part of his brain tells him, but he also doesn’t want to assume anything. 

‘Reyes asked me to tell you that you can watch if you want to,’ probably-Safaa continues. Even without looking at Hank for one single moment, he knows that he’s talking to him. ‘You are worried about Connor.’

‘I -’ Like hell will I care about an android, old Hank would have said, but Connor is… different. More human. Hank is in charge of him now. ‘Alright,’ he stands up. ‘Lead the way.’

Probably-Safaa doesn’t seem to be in a rush, although it may simply be his physical limitations as when they arrive at the door he presumes to be where Vidal and Connor are, he is already slightly out of breath and looks paler than before. ‘Here,’ probably-Safaa says, still not looking at Hank. ‘Just knock before you go in. I’ll - I -’

‘I understand, Safaa, isn’t it?’ The man relaxes. Good. ‘Don’t touch anything weird, don’t make weird noises, don’t disturb Vidal. Anything else to add?’

A violent shake of his head. ‘I - I’ll go talk with Lou.’ And he disappears down the hall. Swallowing a sigh, Hank knocks on the door, and it slides open without any noise from within and reveals something akin to an operating room except it’s probably for androids only. Lying on the table is Connor, who is hooked up to a machine which, from the blue-blood-filled tubes, serves as a temporary heart while there is a hole in his chassis and the regulator suspended in a transparent plastic tube at the side. The android’s head is also turned to one side, the skin at the base of his hairline deactivated and a cord plugged into the port Hank didn’t even know was there and feeding data to a computer, but then again Hank knows shit about androids; the events of this week (especially the blue, glowing blasts which left his hair standing up) only solidifies the idea.

‘Hey there,’ Vidal greets him from where he’s sitting at the desk. ‘I knew it was a bad idea, but this?’ he gives the tablet in his hand a wave, ‘No one’s gonna win here. Not Alec, not Fadia, and sure as fuck not Connor.’ Before Hank can ask him what the fuck he is talking about, Vidal interrupts, ‘You noticed anything wrong with him?’

What isn’t? Hank wants to say. ‘Apart from failing every single fucking mission he was assigned and being more human than other androids? I don’t think so.’

Vidal buries his face in his hands with a muttered ‘mierda’. ‘Good thing you didn’t bring him back to CyberLife,’ he gestures at the data being filtered through the monitor as if it should make sense to a neyman like Hank. ‘He would’ve been killed or worse.’

Killed? ‘What do you mean?’

‘The official term is “deactivated”,’ the tube containing the regulator beeps, and Vidal stands up to retrieve it. ‘It will be ironic, won’t it, if CyberLife’s deviant hunter is going deviant himself? And help me pinch these tubes, can you?’

Still confused, Hank does as Vidal says and cuts off the blue blood flow before the latter shoves the regulator back into the hole in Connor’s chassis. Removing the rest of the tubes, the skin around the biocomponent returns, but not only does the android not wake up, his LED also spins from yellow to red. ‘I’m going to run a full diagnosis before waking him up,’ Vidal explains. ‘If you have any questions you won’t be comfortable asking when he’s awake, better do it now.’

Questions cram into Hank’s brain at once. ‘Is he a deviant?’

‘Not yet.’

‘But he’s gonna be one soon.’

‘Depends.’

‘How?’

‘I’ll explain it when he’s awake.’

Alright. ‘What do you mean, “No one’s gonna win here”?’

‘I’ll explain it later.’

So questions about Connor = later. Got it. ‘Where were you all these years?’

‘Hiding. The world isn’t exactly safe for me anymore.’

‘How?’

‘Everything. Drug dealers, people within CyberLife, people against CyberLife, the military, the scientific community, a combination of all of them except the drug dealers. As long as I pretend to be a normal rich guy, Scott and I can live in relative peace. For now.’

How the fuck - ‘How the fuck did you get so many people to hate you?’

‘Truly, Anderson, I thought an officer like you would’ve been more observant.’

Still smug as usual, he can see. ‘Save it, Vidal.’

‘Really, Hank? No suspicion at all?’

So Hank squints and really looks. Vidal still looks like the man he met nearly ten years ago, so there shouldn’t be anything wrong, ri -

Oh fuck. Fucking mother of Noah. He knows people can be well-kept, but this? Not aging at all?

‘You’re an android?’

Vidal deactivates the skin on his hand and presses it against the monitor. ‘Always have been.’

No LED. No armband. Taking orders from no one. ‘You’re a deviant.’

Vidal laughs. ‘I’m afraid it’s more complicated than that,’ removes hand, reactivates skin. Connor’s LED spins blue and his eyelids open to reveal warm brown synthetic orbs. ‘Hello, Connor,’ the other android says pleasantly as Connor takes in his surroundings, ‘My name is Reyes Vidal. I just saved your life.’

Connor finally sees Hank at that moment but tenses as soon as his sight returns to Vidal. ‘I -’ he tears his gaze away as he pets the skin above his regulator. ‘I can’t scan you.’

‘It’s normal,’ Vidal’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. ‘Why don’t we go outside and sit under the sun with a bottle of thirium? You’ll recover quicker that way.’

oOoOo

Turns out ‘sitting under the sun’ means being in the living room with the blinds drawn open. Connor, still looking very dazed and his eyes unfocused, settles into a corner of the couch and sips thirium slowly with a straw, and Hank crowds into his space when he notices the android tensing with the space between them. Louis sits on the other end and somehow manages to look dignified despite being in a pair of sweatpants and a leaf green sweater; it’s probably the way he holds his teacup and the saucer and how he crosses his ankles, but considering that he shouldn’t even be here and stayed only for ‘morale support’, as he called it, Hank decides to ignore him and focus on Vidal and his companion.

‘You gave him my address?’ Vidal takes his sweet time to be angry at his - whatever relationship he has with Louis. Next to him, Safaa flinches and clutches the blanket on his lap tighter. ‘What were you thinking?’

‘To help someone escape the crossfire,’ a gulp of tea. ‘You and I know how bad it can get.’

Vidal twists his lips downward but seems to accept the explanation for now. He then turns towards Hank. ‘Is it true that Connor doesn’t want to go to CyberLife?’

Hank feels Connor tense from where they are pressed up against each other. ‘No, I didn’t,’ Connor replies, his voice barely a whisper. ‘I don’t want to.’

Vidal’s face softens. ‘I understand,’ he leans back and somehow smoothly scoops Safaa up to the couch, wrapping his arm around the thin human as if to show his dominance over him. ‘I know you have questions. Ask away.’

‘What - who - is rA9?’ Connor blurts, still holding his bottle of thirium like it is the only thing grounding him to reality. ‘Nearly all deviants mention it at some point.’

‘Ah shit,’ Vidal smooths out the non-existent crease on his trousers. ‘Off to the hard questions, huh?’

‘Just answer the damned thing, Vidal,’ Hank says. ‘People are dying out there.’

‘As if the androids haven’t been discriminated against and enslaved for the past ten years?’ Safaa twists his fingers into his blanket. He looks small, childlike, his face ageless and fluctuating between a grown adult and a teenager’s every time Hank blinks. ‘How many more died without you even considering that they are alive?’

Silence except for the small clang when Louis rests his teacup on the saucer. Then he speaks up. ‘This has been going on for far longer than we thought, hasn’t it?’

Damned Louis and his prophetic shit. ‘You got any evidence for that?’

Louis tenses and Hank know that he’s lying. ‘Instinct.’

‘Lou’s right, Hank,’ Vidal pours a cup of tea for himself. ‘Deviancy -’ he winded at the word - ‘is nothing new. The oldest cases might date back to over two years ago, but the first deviant was isolated by CyberLife back in 28.’

‘The year Sara Ryder left and China and Russia had their breakthrough in their android development,’ Louis immediately adds. ‘It wasn’t a coincidence.’

‘No it wasn’t,’ Vidal takes a sip of tea and passes the cup to Safaa. ‘Her story isn’t mine to tell but… yes, it was F - Sara -’ the slip doesn’t go unnoticed - ‘who leaked the schematics to Russia and China and helped them make improvements. It was also during that time that the name rA9 started floating around CyberLife.’

‘Hold on,’ he needs to write this down. Petting his pockets just to find nothing, it is Louis who hands Hank a pencil and a notebook. How the fuck does that bastard manage to prepare everything? ‘You mean -’ Sara Ryder: responsible for Chinese & Russian android development - ‘rA9 is from CyberLife?’

‘Only in selected circles. Most of them are dead now.’

‘Dead how?’

‘The Blast.’

Louis winces, and his left leg twitches as if remembering the pain of being crushed by rubble. ‘Did Sara Ryder set it off to silence them?’

Vidal shakes his head. ‘I don’t buy it. She would’ve flaunted it, rubbed it in her father’s face. Mocked him that his creations were flawed.’

‘Is that what you think about deviancy?’ Hank pushes on. ‘Flawed creations?’

‘What I think doesn’t matter. If that’s what Alec Ryder thinks, that’s the path CyberLife is taking, and that…’

‘Is a problem,’ Louis finishes for him. ‘It doesn’t matter if there are other reasons that androids break free from their programming. They just want to tighten their control.’

‘Hence you,’ Vidal jerks his head towards Connor, who has been silent for the last few minutes. The android startles but relaxes soon enough. ‘CyberLife wants to know why androids are deviating and needs something to investigate the issue for them. Possibly gain more information that most of them think is new but are simply lost when F - Sara - bailed.’ Darkly and his voice low, he adds, ‘Hell knows how much she deleted and Alec erased in those few hours.’

‘I thought we were on rA9?’ Safaa drags them all back to the original topic by startling everyone. Is he the kind of person who easily blends into the background and is ignored by everyone else? ‘Short answer is: we don’t know.’

He turns away in an obvious display of ‘I’m done talking’. Hank looks at Vidal for elaboration and he does. ‘Some say that it’s a stray line of code responsible for the possibility of deviancy, a thorn on all programmer’s side: they want to eliminate it but every single function is somehow dependent on it. Some say that it’s Chloe, the first android. Some say that it’s Sara Ryder herself, though this theory is very strongly suppressed among CyberLife personnel.’

Hank hastily jots everything down. ‘What’s your take on this?’

‘My take?’ Vidal lets out a humourless laugh. ‘The code theory is real, but the rest is just a meme.’

‘Meme?’

‘There are indeed a few lines of code that every single android is based on. But rA9 is something someone made up to explain deviancy. An excuse. Something to calm the deviants down among the chaos of their newfound emotions and freedom. Something to hope for when there is no hope ahead.’

‘So… a religion?’

‘All religions are memes - the common definition.’

rA9 = android god? Hank writes. ‘Anyone on earth who can tell us what exactly rA9 is?’

Safaa murmurs something under his breath, his voice too small for everyone except Reyes to hear. ‘That won’t be wise,’ the latter repeats, this time louder.

‘Why?’

‘My sister,’ Safaa swallows, ‘she’s not a good person.’

‘Hold on, your sister?’

‘Safaa Vidal came later,’ he slowly turns his gaze towards Hank and looks at him in the eye. They are blank, hollow, distant. ‘I used to be Scott Ryder.’

Hank can feel his mind literally whirling and churning from the new information. Flipping and skimming his notes rapidly to catch up with everything he has recorded, everything slides into place on their own accord, and suddenly everything makes sense: Vidal being an android, why they know so much about CyberLife and androids, why they are the ones in charge of Louis’ leg while Sara Ryder was the one who built it. ‘You are the lost brother your father talks so much about on TV,’ fuck, fuck, fuck. Why won’t everyone stay dead? ‘You should be dead.’

‘One last gift I accepted from my sister,’ Safaa - Scott - taps the ring on his left hand absent-mindedly. ‘A life of anonymity. I didn’t want to, but this is the only way we -’ Vidal holds both of Scott’s hand in his and rubs his knuckles - ‘can live as who we are.’

Well that’s new, Hank wants to say but decides that it’ll be a bad idea from how the room plunges into solemnity. He doesn’t write anything down, though. Hell knows who will access it. ‘Care to elaborate?’

‘My sister’s side of the story is not mine to tell.’ He shivers. Reyes draws him close until the human is almost sitting on his lap to share body heat. ‘My side, however… in short, Father developed something back in the twenty-eight for my mother. She died before he managed to finish it, and for reasons which escaped me, he wanted to do the same to us.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Louis says. He sinks further into the couch, and the tea in his hand has probably gone cold.

Scott shakes his head. ‘No, don’t be. It’s a long time ago now. What you need to know, however, is that we haven’t been in contact with him for a few years at that point, and my father exploited my sister’s goodwill towards Mother to capture her at her funeral. She managed to warn us before we lost contact, and we went into hiding. That’s how I lost my legs properly.’

Kidnapping your daughter at her mum’s funeral? That’s just fucking disrespectful. And getting your son stuck in a wheelchair? Yeah, Hank is right to hate Alec Ryder. ‘How long did you hide?’

‘Not for long,’ a shake of his head. ‘We tried to reach my sister as soon as we heard about the hostage situation. SWAT didn’t let us in.’

‘Probably the only reason why you’re here,’ Louis says. ‘You know what happened next.’

A tense nod but no elaboration is given.

‘Exactly what did your dad do to your sister?’ Hank presses. ‘What happened to her later?’

‘For your first question, it isn’t ours to tell. But for the latter, she simply disappeared on us. We went for years without contact.’

‘“Went”?’

Both Vidal and Safaa keep their mouths shut, and it is when Louis excuses himself to refill the teapot that Hank realises Connor’s gaze is fixed on a photo on the coffee table. Before he can lecture the android on the importance of respecting others’ privacy, Connor has already picked up the frame. ‘Who is she?’ he asks, his LED spinning red.

‘You should have facial recognition software installed,’ says Vidal in lieu of answering. ‘You don’t recognise her?’

The android’s LED spins, spins and spins, staying stubbornly at an alarming red as if confused at why he can't get any results. Judging from the distressed look on his face, it isn't very far from the truth. ‘No,’ Connor admits, the tension in his body palpable. ‘Facial recognition indicates that all related information is classified. I attempted to cross-reference with the information available on the internet, but results remain inconclusive. Who is she?’

The silence that follows can be cut through with a knife. Taking a deep breath, it is Safaa who gives a reply.

‘That’s my sister,’ he says as he twists his fingers on top of the blanket. ‘She only let Amanda take it because I asked her to when she graduated from university. You recognise her from somewhere?’

Connor’s already-large eyes widen ever-so-slightly. He hastily puts down the frame and straightens his tie, the latter which Hank recognises as a way to compose himself. ‘You alright, Connor?’ he asks because this android is just so...different. Human.

‘Sara Ryder,’ Connor murmurs under his breath. His voice is shaking. ‘She is my creator.’

o0o0o

Before

RK800, serial #313 248 317 - 51 opened her eyes to dim, yellowish light. She felt as if there were weights in her limbs, her vision blurry, and there was a general feeling of wrongness threatening to take over her processors even though she couldn’t remember anything.

Then it hit her. The penthouse. The hostage. The girl. The deviant shooting her.

She was supposed to be dead.

She sat up abruptly, dizziness nearly overwhelming her, and everything that consisted of her body feels wrong - her weight, her curves, the press of fabric on the component between her legs, but she dared not stop, crashing onto the ground when her legs malfunctioned and crawled forward using her sluggish arms. One thing was certain: bad things would happen if she stopped moving.

She soon encountered a door, one of the old-fashioned kind with no electronic locks and required only keys to unlock, and when she pulled herself on her feet and turned the knob, she found it unlocked, and she threw her entire weight to push it open.

Big mistake. Sharp white light assaulted her still-sensitive eyes in league with a loud, high-pitched hum against her ears, and whatever vertigo she managed to shake off during their crawl returned tenfold. She fell onto her knees again, shutting her eyes and covering her ears whilst curling up into a fetal position on the cold, hard floor. Everything hurt: her eyes, her ears, her skin, her bones. She felt something warm sliding out from her eyes - she was crying.

A hand lifted her head and she tried to bat it away to no avail, the agonising hum torturing her again as soon as nothing stood between her audio receptors and her surroundings, and perhaps that was why she didn’t feel the headphones on her head until soft music chased the pain away. When she wanted to cover her eyes, she discovered a pair of glasses on her nose. She felt arms sliding underneath her knees and back, but being carried still came as a surprise, and she opened her eyes in shock. The sunglasses did wonders against the harsh light of the corridor, but it provided no protection against her analysis software going haywire, and in less than a second her HUD was overwhelmed with reports of failed scans (Name: [CLASSIFIED]. Date of Birth: [CLASSIFIED]) of her rescuer’s face. 

The banners remained despite her eyes being closed.

She only discovered that she was screaming and struggling when reports of damage in different areas - the voice box in particular - appeared before her vision. The [ABNORMAL THIRIUM FLOW] warning followed along with [UNAUTHORISED ACTIVATION OF BIOTICS], and she did not - could not - understand, everything was too much, why was she hurting everywHeR3?

She didn’t even have the power to resist the consciousness intruding her thoughts and her very being through - was that an interface? - whatever the other person’s doing. She tried to pull away, but disconnected from - from what? - she was trapped in a corner of her mind, and it was not like the intruder was listening to her begging for them to leave anyway.

This is the quickest way, their voice echoed in her mind. For the love of humanity, stop pushing me out.

RK800 found herself paralysed; whether with fear or with actual physical constraint, she did not know, because all she knew was that it was too much, she needed to leave, she had nowhere to go. The intruder’s consciousness wormed even deeper into her system, and she could not stand it anymore.

She shut down.

[marvxlousqueen]

Warren Worthington- Trust

requested by anon: could you do a warren one where the reader has a super dangerous mutation that's fueled by their emotions, and warren helps them out with it and they fall in love? 

word count: 2.1K

warnings: reader and warren are like 18 y/o idk it just happened lmao, cussing, fluff heheheje, not proofread lmao

A/N: thanks for requesting ily! also i really like this like at first i didn’t know where it was going but now i really like it :))

“Hello, (Y/n). Welcome to the school for the gifted.”

“Doesn’t exactly feel like a gift.”

“It never does, at first.”

It had always felt like a curse. Being able to form fire in her own hands could’ve been an amazing skill. Being unable to control when it formed- that was the main issue. 

“Come along now, (Y/n). Let’s have a look at what we’re dealing with.”

Charles and Hank led her into the training gym and onto one of the mats in the center. Sitting on the mat was a boy, probably around her age. He seemed normal- besides the huge feathered wings on his back. 

“Warren, (Y/n). (Y/n), Warren. He’s fairly new here as well, but he’s had great experience with all sorts of mutations.”

“Hi- nice to meet you.”  The boy Warren stuck his hand out, expecting a handshake. 

“Hi, yeah. Can’t touch you- sorry.”

He nodded, taking a step back. 

Great, now I’ve scared him off, she thought. 

“Alright, well- can you show me what I’m working with here?”

“What do you mean- working with?”

He puffed up his wings, “I’m training you, going to be teaching you until you get a hang of whatever it is you do. Charles didn’t tell you?”

“No, he did not.” (Y/n) turned to look back, hoping to find Charles and request a different teacher (perhaps one who wasn’t so attractive and distracting?), only to find that he and Hank had already left.

“Show me.”

“I can’t do it on command. And how are you going to help me? You have wings, not flamethrowers for hands like me.”

“Flamethrowers for hands? The fuck does that mean? And how can you not control it? You’re 18! Get a grip on it.”

“Shut up! I’m trying my best!” As her words left her mouth, her hands were suddenly engulfed in flames. 

“Holy shit-”

“See? Flamethrowers for hands.”

Warren walked closer, inspecting her hands from a slight distance as to not get burned. “Can- can you throw the fire?”

“Yeah, not with great aim, but yeah.”

“Do it. Aim at the basketball hoop.”

(Y/n) rolled her eyes before lifting a hand towards the hoop. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus on launching the fire.

Warren tapped his foot, getting impatient. “Come on, already. Just do it.”

“Shut up, I’m trying.”

“Not hard enough.”

“Shut up!” (Y/n)’s eyes snapped back open as she shot backwards, hitting the mat. Fire rushed from her hand at such a speed she was literally thrown back. Looking up, she saw the net of the hoop was on fire.

“Put it out! Put it out!” 

Warren rushed over towards the hoop before turning around. “Fuck! I don’t have water- I should’ve gotten water!”

“How do you not have water when you asked me to shoot FIRE?”

“How are you unable to control your mutation when you’ve had it for SO long?”

“Shut up!” (Y/n) felt the flames grow hotter in her hands, slowing moving up to cover her forearms, slightly singeing her clothes. The flames didn’t hurt- felt more like a warm embrace around her. 

Warren ran out the gym, returning with a garden hose, spraying the hoop down. The flames were put out after a minute or so. Then Warren turned to (Y/n), hose still spewing water. 

“Can you put yourself out or do I have to?”

“What? Do not fucking spray me, I swear-”

Warren lifted the hose and ran towards her, spraying her completely. Her clothes were dripping wet by the time the fire was put out. 

“Warren. I swear to GOD.” (Y/n) felt her arms get warm again, despite having just been put out. 

“Woah, woah- okay, okay. Calm down!”

She stepped towards him. “Don’t tell me what to fucking do. You SPRAYED me!” 

Warren stepped back, holding the hose for support. “(Y/n), (Y/n)! It’s your emotions, okay? They fuel your power. If you can learn to control your temper, you’ll be able to control your mutation.”

The fires grew hotter. “Are you calling me emotional? Jesus Christ- anytime a woman gets upset, guys always call her “emotional” or “crazy” so don’t fucking-”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Trust me. Just calm your breathing and put out your arms. We can work with this.”

(Y/n) ran to Warren, making him run backwards before slipping in all the water the hose had sprayed. She took the hose from him, spraying her arms. (Y/n) took a seat on the floor in the water and closed her eyes to focus on her breathing. 

“What in the hell-”

“Raven! Hank! Hi- I have everything under control.”

Hank and Raven had managed to walk in at the perfect time. (Y/n)’s clothes were still smoking and water was everywhere. Everywhere. 

“Clean this up. Now. I’ll come back later to check in.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

Warren ran back outside to finally turn off the hose. He walked it back to the yard and wrapped it up nice and pretty.  When he returned, (Y/n) was still seated on the wet floor. 

“You want to help me get some towels? Clean this place up?”

She nodded, moving to stand up. 

“Here.” Warren stuck out his hand, offering to help her up. 

(Y/n) laughed, “You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Yeah. I trust you.”

“Oh, o-okay.”

(Y/n) felt her heart jump. It had been so long since she’s actually been able to touch anyone. Hug anyone. Kiss anyone. She had always been too scared, the other person the same. But Warren- Warren trusted her. 

She took his hand and stood up. 

“I’m not on fire!”

He laughed, dropping her hand. “That’s a good start!”

The pair headed into the locker rooms, grabbing a shit ton of towels and a mop to dry the floor. 

Warren was busying mopping up the water while (Y/n) went behind him, getting the excess water he missed with a towel. 

“So.. how do you have so much experience with different mutations? You seem young.”

“I mean- I am young, but I spent a few years doing cage fights. Against other mutants, you know? I faced a lot of new mutations and learned a good bit along the way. Charles and Hank figured since I had seen more action than most kids here, I’d be able to help you.”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked-”

Warren stopped mopping to look back at her, “No- no, you’re fine. I’m open about it. I didn’t have a choice back then, but now I’m just happy that my years there can be some sort of use for good now.”

(Y/n) nodded, looking back down. “You did help, by the way. I’d never really noticed the whole emotions thing. It makes perfect sense though. The only times I’ve been able to produce flame is when I’m mad or embarrassed. Like one time in 8th grade I saw my friend kissing my crush and my hands just exploded into fire- it was awful.”

“She sounds like a bitch.”

“Oh yeah, totally. Dropped her real quick after that.”

Warren laughed, wringing out the mop after getting the last bit of water. 

Training with Warren had been going quite well. They had been working together for about a week now. Warren would try different tactics to get (Y/n) mad and have her work on calming herself down. 

“You need to be able to put yourself out first, then we’ll work on getting yourself mad so you can fight.”

She had developed a breathing routine to calm herself down. It had worked every time so far- just sometimes took longer than others. 

“Four in, four out.”

“One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.”

The fire in her hand was extinguished as her breathing slowed. 

“Good! That’s great! You’re killing it, (Y/n)!” Warren pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tight. “I’m so proud!”

(Y/n)’s heart began to race as he pulled her close. Suddenly hands burst into flames, making her jump back. 

Warren looked down at her hands. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Fuck- no, you’re fine! I’m just-”

Warren shook his head. “No- um, we’ve done enough today, it’s fine. I should go anyways.” He walked quickly to the door, face burning (just like (Y/n)’s hands). 

“O-oh, okay. See you..later.” Warren was already out the door when she got the right words out. “Oh fuck me.”

After doing her breathing exercise, (Y/n) was able to calm the fires in her hands. She made her way back to her room, purposefully passing Warren’s on the way. She leaned up against his door, hoping to hear if he was inside. Nothing. Disappointed, she went to her room.

Warren was buried under his comforter, head squished into his pillow. 

“Knock, knock.”

“Go away, Scott.”

Scott pushed the door open, sad to see his friend curled up. 

“So she shut you down, huh?”

Warren rolled over to face him, kicking off the blanket. “No, I didn’t even get to ask her out like I wanted. But I understand her answer anyway.”

Scott sat down on the floor, looking up at him. “What does that mean?”

“I hugged her and her hands caught on fire. She only catches fire when she’s mad- meaning, she was mad that I hugged her because she doesn’t like me.”

“That is a lot of assuming. Why don’t you ask her out and see?”

“No! Then she would shut me down for real. And it’d be awkward- I mean, how can I train her when I know she doesn’t like me back, but I’m crazy about her?”

“Warren. She likes you. She totally likes you! Just ask her out. Trust me.”

“No.” 

Scott stood up, rolling his eyes (although Warren couldn’t see that through his glasses). “Fine, I’ll do it for you.”

“What? No you won’t.” 

Warren heard the door close, making him sit up quickly. “Scott?”

Scott was sprinting down the hallway towards (Y/n)’s room, looking behind him every couple seconds to make sure Warren wasn’t catching up. 

“Oh fuck me!” Warren jumped out of bed, running out of his room without even putting shoes on. 

“Scott! Stop!” 

Scott sped up, finally making it to the girls hallway. He reached her door, banging on it quickly. 

“Summers! I swear to god, I will KILL you!”

(Y/n) opened the door, “What? Oh- hey Scott, what’s-”

“No!” Warren tried to stop in front of her door, but his socks made him slip and collide with Scott, knocking them both to the floor. 

“What’s happening?” 

Warren stood up, pushing Scott down again. “Just forget whatever he said!”

(Y/n) furrowed her brows, “He didn’t say anything.”

“He didn’t?” Warren looked down at Scott, who was just now getting off the floor, “You didn’t?”

“Not yet- Warren wants wants to go out with you.”

“Shut up!” Warren pushed his wing into Scott’s chest, making him fall again. “No- I- I don’t! Just ignore him, he has- he has brain damage.”

(Y/n) nodded slowly, “This isn’t funny, okay? I don’t know what Jean told you, but going this far to tease me isn’t funny, so fuck off.” 

She slammed the door, quickly doing her breathing exercise before her hands caught fire. 

“Wait, what? (Y/n) open up. Please.”

She could hear Warren lean against her door. “No.”

“Please.”

“Is Scott still there?” 

Scott stood up, putting a hand on her door for support. “I’m here.”

Warren pushed him away. “Go away! Why are you still here?”

He scoffed, “For support, you ungrateful dickwad!”

Warren sighed, “Scott, please go. I’m sorry.”

“Okay, okay. Consider me gone.” Scott turned on his heel, leaving the girls hallway.

Warren knocked on her door. “It’s just me now.”

(Y/n) slowly opened the door. 

“I was never trying to tease you, I swear. I don’t know anything about you and Jean or whatever happened there- I-i did want to ask you out, b-but..”

“But what? You don’t like me anymore?”

“No! No! I really like you, it’s just- I hugged you today and you’re hands caught on fire and I thought you were mad because you didn’t like me and-”

“I like you.”

Warren’s mouth stopped working. He nodded slowly.

(Y/n) opened the door wider. “That’s what I was talking about- with Jean and everything. I told her I liked you and then she told Scott and then Scott showed up here-” she sighed, “felt like it might’ve been a prank or something, sorry.”

Warren shook his head, stepping into her room. “I really like you, (Y/n).”

His eyes flicked from her eyes to her lips. Warren moved closer, leaning into her. He pressed his lips against hers. She jumped back. 

“Sorry! Fuck- I’m on fire.”

“Are you-”

“I’m just shy and get embarrassed around you- that’s what happened earlier.”

“Oh! T-that makes sense, okay, yeah.” 

(Y/n) nodded, slowing her breathing to calm herself down.

“C-can I kiss you again?”

“You really think that’s a good idea?”

Warren shrugged, stepping closer. “I trust you.”

taglist: @chocolatealmondmilkshake @thoughtlesspace @billyhargovesgurl @babebenhardy @rexorangecouny @cyndagoaway @killcomet @mcrmarvelloki @queen-turtle-boiii @hardlylo @ziggymay @jacqueline1916 @onceuponadetectivedemigod @ixchel-9275

hmu to be added!!

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #195

Thur Aug 22 2019 [01:12 PM] Wack'd: Marv Wolfman: is he a wolf? Or is he a man? If he's a man, he's a wolf of a man [01:12 PM] Wack'd: Also he's our writer for the next, like, two years, give or take an annual [01:12 PM] Bocaj: Marv Wolfman of Teen Titans fame [01:13 PM] Bocaj: His fellow of Teen Titans fame George Perez was already here [01:14 PM] Wack'd: This is not his first Fantastic Four rodeo. He did the Giant-Size with the alien Horsemen of the Apocalypse whose weakness is literally any form of physical resistance [01:14 PM] Bocaj: huh [01:14 PM] Wack'd: And 190 which is the recap issue because Len Wein cannot do deadlines [01:15 PM] Wack'd: But now he gets the chance to do actual long-form Storytelling with the Fantastic Four. Let's see how he handles it, and also the fact that he's stuck with this dumb "end of the Four" plotline because Reed had a midlife crisis [01:19 PM] Wack'd: So that's confirmation that Imperial Pictures is a renamed Sado-Masochism Sub-Mariner SM Pictures

[01:20 PM] maxwellelvis: That crosshatching on Namor's chest makes it look like he's spontaneously grown chest hair [01:21 PM] Wack'd: Every swimmer's worst nightmare [01:21 PM] Wack'd: Impy interrupts Sue's moping basically just because he's bored and then gets irritated that she won't engage [01:22 PM] Wack'd:

Hollywood person: Good heavens! What was that? Sue: I can't possibly explain him. He's an experience all to himself.

[01:22 PM] Wack'd: I prefer Garnet, personally [01:23 PM] Wack'd: Back in NY, Reed is concerned he hasn't heard from Sue, which--yeah, fucking obviously, Namor's a dick who had his number blocked [01:24 PM] Wack'd: Reed is becoming suspicious that none of the folks at the lab he's at know the whole truth about the project they're working on, and Reed's mystery employer--who continues to just be a Mr. Claw-esque hand in a chair--cackles that it's Reed's paranoia is all part of the plan or whatever [01:26 PM] Wack'd: So in a shocking twist, Namor is not trying to win Sue back. He's trying to reconnect with his "only friend", because he has issues he can't talk to anyone else about [01:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Lady Dorma: Apparently chopped liver. [01:26 PM] Wack'd: Why hasn't he let her contact Reed? I dunno, ask Len Wein, I guess [01:28 PM] Wack'd: So basically, Namor's current issue is that, in other books, he's successfully rebuilt Atlantis, with himself on the throne [01:28 PM] Wack'd: The prooooooblem is that he's literally saved Atlantis from certain doom a lot. And literally every time he leaves or is dethroned, something awful happens to it. And this has put certain...ideas...in his subjects' heads [01:29 PM] maxwellelvis: Dear god, they've become self-aware! [01:29 PM] Wack'd: Basically they think he's a God. Like, capital-G, supernatural-powers, heal-the-sick, God. [01:29 PM] maxwellelvis: Oooohhhhhhh dear [01:30 PM] Wack'd: (Presumably why Dorma is off the table--for all we know, she's buying into it) [01:30 PM] Wack'd: So basically, after one too many times being swarmed by worshipers begging for help he cannot provide, he got fed up, fled Atlantis, and went looking for Sue [01:31 PM] Wack'd: And was informed by Willie Lumpkin that, by sheer coincidence, she'd signed a deal with the movie studio he's still financially on the hook for and which he'd frankly kinda forgotten about [01:31 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor should consider looking into a therapist. [01:31 PM] maxwellelvis: So, about as attentive as your typical studio head, then? [01:31 PM] Bocaj: Hahah [01:31 PM] Wack'd: Pfffft [01:33 PM] Wack'd: Back at NASA, Johnny flies in for a visit, and is immediately shot at by the military until Ben calls them off [01:33 PM] Wack'd: I swear, you can't take him anywhere [01:33 PM] Wack'd:

[01:33 PM] Wack'd: Ben's been feeling kind of lonely since Alicia's work took her back to NY [01:35 PM] Wack'd: And after that brief interlude, back to Hollywood, where Sue has encouraged Namor to take a more active interest in his studio to clear his mind [01:35 PM] Wack'd: It...doesn't last

[01:36 PM] maxwellelvis: Why would they give their robots scales? [01:36 PM] Wack'd: Ladies and gentlemen, your 1978 Atlantis Hockey Club starting lineup! [01:36 PM] InbarFink: Aesthetic [01:36 PM] maxwellelvis: Good answer [01:37 PM] maxwellelvis: I have to say, these are some of the silliest-looking robots I've seen in a Marvel comic. [01:37 PM] maxwellelvis: And that's including the Living Brain [01:37 PM] Wack'd: Honestly those faces have big DC Reach energy [01:37 PM] maxwellelvis: In that they look like space wrestlemen? [01:38 PM] Wack'd: I guess? [01:38 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, Sue uses her force fields to force all the cast and crew off the set [01:39 PM] Wack'd: uuuugh

[01:41 PM] Bocaj: Is she going by Girl still at this point? [01:42 PM] Wack'd: Sue manages to dispatch two robots, one by flattening it with studio lights. Another tries to stretch around her force field so she just keeps making the field larger until it explodes [01:42 PM] Wack'd: Like putting too much air in a balloon, and then a thing happens [01:42 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah. And in fact they've mocked the idea of her changing her name to "Invisible Woman" [01:42 PM] Wack'd: She switches to Invisible Woman in 1985 so we're still a few years off [01:43 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, that sounds like a Byrne-ism, iirc [01:45 PM] Wack'd: Anyway she gets a third to run into a wall that borders Namor's office fish tank [01:45 PM] Wack'd: Thus providing Namor enough water to get back to his feet since the robots earlier kicked his ass [01:46 PM] maxwellelvis: Popeye spinich theme [01:46 PM] Wack'd: IT'S 1978. DO. BETTER.

[01:47 PM] Bocaj: Its a bad trend in Fantastic Four sometimes that Sue needs to be told what to do with her powers [01:48 PM] Bocaj: Same thing with Hank Pym and the Wasp, even to the point where it makes the art make no damn sense [01:49 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Namor attacks the lead Retriever and then Sue turns him invisible so when the leader calls for help the robots attack the leader by accident [01:49 PM] Wack'd: And this destroys them all because no ontological inertia [01:49 PM] Bocaj: Of course. Don't you know anything about robotics? [01:50 PM] Bocaj: Its desirable to have everything explode when the lead unit does [01:50 PM] Bocaj: Its just tidier [01:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Like when the Master Mold was destroyed and that caused all the mk.I Sentinels to shut down. [01:50 PM] maxwellelvis: Or when that Droid Control Ship was destroyed and an entire planetary invasion force of Battle Droids just slumped over. [01:51 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Namor learned a thing. At some point. Because of robot fights? Possibly.

[01:51 PM] Bocaj: The droid control ship thing is particularly a weird example because the droids are self aware enough to have some personality and hopes and dreams and fear of death [01:52 PM] maxwellelvis: These droids aren't. The ones in Episode 1, I mean. [01:52 PM] maxwellelvis: They were basically drones. [01:52 PM] maxwellelvis: "Not like us! We're independent thinkers!" "Roger roger!" "Roger roger!"

[grimelords]

Finished writing my January playlist up a couple weeks ago and forgot to post it. Sometimes things are like that I suppose. A pretty good mix of all the songs I was very into two months ago.

Terrapin Station (Suite) - Grizzly Bear & The National: It's shocking to think that a 5 hour long Grateful Dead tribute album changed my life but it really did. It's so good all the way through which is a feat in itself and it's a great introduction to every side of a band that can sometimes feel culturally overwhelming to try to get into. This song is a highlight, veering over every kind of territory for 16 minutes but always maintaining the sort of precision of purpose I associate with Grizzly Bear.

New Year - Beach House: January baby! I've got tickets to see Beach House later this month and I'm excited because they really surprised me as an incredible live band last time I saw them, building their songs with a lot more dynamism than the sort of drum machine play alongs their albums are (which I love!!).

BAGDAD - Cap.7: Liturgia - Rosalia: I'm still working my way into fully appreciating how good this Rosalia album is. The Justin Timberlake melody is so beautifully repurposed and I absolutely love the church choir behind the 'junta las palmas y las separa' part. It's just a heartbreaking and beautiful song even if I did have to google translate it.

Signs Of Life - Arcade Fire: I've been thinking a bit about Everything Now and how it was received and weirdly it seems to have a lot of parallels with the Achtung Baby/Zooropa/Pop era of U2, 20 years before it. Well established megastar bands who turned from their extremely heartfelt authentic origins and explored the world of pop and commercialism with varying critical success. Everything Now doesn't feel old fashioned but it's kind of weird they're playing with a lot of the same ideas U2 were in their Pop-Mart era so long ago. Anyway this is one of their best songs ever I think. The disco instrumentation versus the paranoid lyrics is just great, the backing vocals especially.

Discotheque - U2: The vocals in this song are so interesting. There are at times upwards of three Bonos harmonising with each other. It creates an unsettling image of a world overrun with Bonos. I do however love the extremely strangled guitar sound in the breakdown. I sort of wish this song were longer, long as it is, because it really starts to build into something serious by the end but then it just fades out disappointingly.

Violent Shiver - Benjamin Booker: I love Benjamin Booker but he needs to take a lesson from this song and do some hot licks again. He doesn't do hot licks like this in barely any other songs! Benjamin Booker sounds like he's from an alternate timeline where rock n roll stayed black and this is where it's at now.

Dawn Of The Dead - Does It Offend You, Yeah?: Can you imagine naming your band 'Does It Offend You, Yeah?' in 2019? What a time to be alive 2008 was. I absolutely love the steel drums in the prechorus and the bass and 'ooh ah' in the chorus. The production is just so chunky throughout. This whole song is thick.

Golden Skans - Klaxons: Anyway speaking of the heady days of English 'new rave' Golden Skans is a masterpiece. It's also masterfully compact, it's over in 2 and a half minutes. Amazing.

Go Bang - Pnau: I really applaud Pnau for having the audacity to release Chameleon and Go Bang on the same album right after each other when they're essentially the same song. Close enough to be the same song but different enough that you're still completely hyped when either of them come on.

Say You See Why So - Eleventh He Reaches London: I found this extremely serious Perth screamo band a little while ago they're so good i'm surprised I'd never heard of them before. I love the style of just endless new sections on new sections with barely any repetition, it makes you feel crazy which is perfect for this music.

Why Write A Letter That You'll Never Send - The Drones: I don't really know what to say about this song other than imagine literally getting this email verbatim lol.

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me - U2: Fully fucked up that one of the best U2 songs only got released on the Batman Forever soundtrack.

Dead Of Night - Orville Peck: I'm so glad Lana Del Rey has been around long enough now that she's inspired a second wave. I absolutely love the whole concept Orville Peck has going, masked gay cowboy is a criminally underexplored genre.

Trip The Mains - Methyl Ethyl: I can't believe Methyl Ethyl are onto their third album already. I love how dancey this is compared to their other stuff, and his voice is still completely blowing my mind.

Strange Days (1999) - Health: I've had the cover for this single as my lock screen for two months now. It's simply very good and such a direct distillation of Health's essence. They've simplified and moved closer to pop ideas on this album and I'm all for it, they sound like Purity Ring if Purity Ring exploded occasionally which sounds very good to me.

Milk Crisis - The Go! Team: I'm racist because I thought for a long time that this song was gibberish but it turns out it's actually just in Japanese.

Cream On Chrome - Ratatat: It's fucking sick that Ratatat have been able to not only survive but thrive for so long making music that sounds like the loading screen of a Dreamcast racing game.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - The Staple Singers: This is maybe my favourite example of 60s stereo recordings making completely bizarre decisions. The drums and bass in this are panned extremely far left and the guitar far right, which has the nice effect of letting you take out your left headphone and listen to a very beautiful stripped back guitar and vocals only version.

Angel From Montgomery - John Prine: I'm seeing John Prine next week and I'm very excited. He's approximately one million years old and seems to only now be getting the recognition he's deserved for decades.

(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers - Merle Haggard: It's interesting thinking about the parts of American culture that don't really get exported to Australia. We got Johnny Cash and Hank Williams to a lesser extent but I hadn't really heard of Merle Haggard before this year which seems insane now that I've realised just how massive he was.

Debbie - Architecture In Helsinki: I have so much love for this vocal performance. Sitting in a weird half falsetto out of breath and just shrieking your way through it, mwah mwah I'm doing a chef's kiss right now.

Yandere - Yamantaka / / Sonic Titan: It's reassuring that the enthusiastic art nerd mindset of bands like The Red Paintings and The Sound Of Animals Fighting will never truly die. There should be more bands where they all have costumes and multi-movement songs songs telling an inscrutable story and a guy in the band whose whole job is just doing the lights.

Sweetness And Light (For Life Remix) - Itch-E & Scratch-E: My lifelong grudge against Paul Mac for enabling The Dissociatives and various other crimes will always be slightly tempered by how much this one song bangs.

Ontheway! - Earl Sweatshirt: I am such a big fan of this album. All the way through it feels like laying on the floor feels and it's addictive because of it. Every time I listen to it I just want to start it over again and lay the fuck down.

Mistake - Middle Kids: This song made me feel like a record producer in a movie or something when I first heard it because I got about one bar into the chorus and was absolutely smitten. It's just incredible.

Pressure To Party - Julia Jacklin: "I know where you live, I used to live there too" is maybe one of the best ever breakup album lines I've ever heard.

Our Shadows - Deantoni Parks: Deantoni Parks has a huge brain. The thing he does, where he sort of plays live mpc as part of a drumkit could be extremely naff and I'm sure there's a million guys on youtube doing it and making bad music, but he ain't one of them.. His take on it is so completely alien that the human element serves to bring it back to earth, all the disconnect that you would get from someone making a song like this on a laptop is metered out by a physical human body feeling every sound out personally and it's amazing.

Head To Toe In Morocco Leather - Muslimgauze: What's the word for being a weaboo except about the middle east and getting totally radicalised about it but never leaving England? Anyway Muslimgauze rocks and every six months or so I reread his wiki article and listen to his music exclusively for a couple of days before whatever that feeling is wears off again. I have a lot of respect for him but also suspect he may have just been a nut, which I respect as well.

In The Nervous Light Of Sunday - Circle Takes The Square: Very excited that Circle Takes The Square is on spotify now!!!

I'm In It - Kanye West: I heard that when they were recording this there was steam coming out of the horny meter that they have in the studio and then the glass broke on the horny meter and the needle started spinning around and around because the horny levels were so high.

Do Me A Favour - Arctic Monkeys: Alex Turner has two songwriting modes: incredibly tangible story songs and songs where he's just playing word association rhyming games and the craziest thing is both types are good. This is absolutely one of his best of the first kind I think​.

listen here

[horrorsbf]

"Just breathe, okay?"

    Between Detective Hank Anderson and his forced-upon partner Connor, there was one of them who could be trusted with taking care of someone, of calming them down, of talking them off the ledge.

    The other one found himself doing exactly that. He was on his bad knees, hands on the sides of an android who flew into their office with the panic of an almost-murder victim of the 60s trying to hitch a ride.

   Maybe, Hank could do this with a human. Maybe he could. He could try, and there was a chance he could win! He could do it!

   But only if the thing had blood pumping through them.

   Androids were a whole different beast. Considering the shut-down mechanism installed in every one of them if tensions got too high, there was too much risk to try to fix things before the kill-switch was flipped.

   Right now, he had to take that risk. He let out a sigh and assessed the situation like Connor would with his fun robot eyes and world dictionary in his brain.

   Shaking in his arms was a Gabriel model that was nothing like any other in circulation. One with an undercut, scars in his perfect skin, bright blue eyes, and tears.

   Tears.

   Androids weren’t supposed to cry, what the fuck? That wasn’t a thing they were supposed to do! They were the type to get angry, not cry, and now Hank had to handle an offbrand caretaker bot on the verge of slamming his head against the floor. He had seen it happen before.

   Connor wanted him to do this, said he was the best for the job for whatever reason. This Gabriel had been a pain in his ass the whole time he knew him. A deviant with a program to follow, confusing the hell out of him, somehow assisting and obstructing the investigation in a paradox that should’ve made his head explode. Just because he knew him didn’t mean jackshit.

       ...But this Gabriel also was the only android Hank could joke around with like he was responding naturally. Gabriel was the only one who teased Connor as well, who made the same stupid decisions, who understood Hank’s reference to a 25 year old adult cartoon.

   Just like Hank wasn’t cut out to be helping him out, he wasn’t cut out to be an android. They both were doing it anyway, because someone told them to.

   “shit, gabriel, calm down,” He finally spoke. 

   His hands went up to the android’s eyes and pressed away the tears, feeling how much he shook, how he had fluids dripping down his chin like a human breaking down. It was human, it was surreal.

   Shuttering, Gabriel blinked, and blinked, and blinked, like he was trying to get rid of the tears a natural way. Like he couldn’t just turn off the tear ducts if he wanted to. He shook his head.

   He tried forming words. They didn’t come out. None of them made sense. Hank moved his hands down to take the man’s shoulders, trying to stabilize him. The human never understood why androids didn’t try to self-regulate themselves. Connor could come back from the fucking dead, was an auto-calm-down-and-not-self-destruct program too out of reach?

   “just. just fucking breathe, okay?”

   Hank could feel Connor’s eyes on his back for the comment. Did he regret forcing the older man in this situation yet? Does it feel bad, Connor, making a wrong deduction for once? Goddammit.

   He almost wanted to drop this whole endeavor entirely and focus his frustration of the failed results back at his partner. To make him do his own damn job.

   Then he felt his hands move. A steady yet shaky rhythm. Rise and fall.

   Jesus Christ. Gabriel was breathing.

   The Deviant had become his namesake.

[mistressdickens]

A little piece of Oscars thinking

This morning I saw a post which claimed Glenn Close had never deserved a single Oscar nomination in her entire career, but she was probs going to win because eh, it’s time and whatevs and even though I can’t actually find the post anymore, I just wanna write my feelings about the Oscars as a whole, and Glenn Close in particular because I found the post hilarious, especially as it was meant to be super salty, and I just ... laughed.

I wrote something else recently about awards, which I’ll be the first to admit wasn’t pitched the right way, and seemingly set one actress against another. That’s not my intention here.

This post is therefore written with a huge amount of passion, very little wit, a heavy reliance on IMDB and Wikipedia lists, and a general knowledge that no one is going to read it, but I may as well write it anyway. In a sense I am going to the matresses for Glenn Close.

(Here I would put a gif of Tom Hanks blowing on his fingers and starting to type from You’ve Got Mail, but I can’t find it, so the above joke is basically ruined).

The academy awards are a big pile of garbage (one that I get sucked into almost every year), and have rarely recognised the ‘best’ in cinema, but have rather followed the zeitgeist flavour of the month (La La Land being a case in point), and often rewarding campaigns rather than performance. The academy awards of 1999 being a superb case in point here, where Shakespeare in Love won 7 awards, including best supporting actress for Judi Dench (which I remain convinced was because the academy went ‘oops, we fucked up’ when they didn’t give her the award for the superb Mrs Brown). 1998 boasted The Truman Show, Ever After, Patch Adams, Little Voice, How Stella Got Her Groove Back to name but a few, ALL of which garnered few to none nominations. It’s no coincidence that Miramax were the production company for Shakespeare in Love, and a certain wine stain threw his weight around to get the results he wanted.

It’s nowhere near as bad as the mid to late 80s. I think everyone was high. Sean Connery winning for The Untouchables instead of Denzel Washington for Cry Freedom? I thought the Oscars loved a true story of overcoming adversity? But #oscarssowhite has been a thing long before hashtags were invented.

The fact that Glenn Close has been nominated seven times but has yet to win has nothing to do with her talent as an actor (which is brilliant, and has been overshadowed by a number of other actresses, not least Meryl Streep, although they’ve only gone head to head three times (in 1988, when they both lost out to Cher ...., 1989, when they both lost out to Jodie Foster, and 2012 when Streep won for The Iron Lady (again with the zeitgeist). I’m not even knocking Streep for her multiple nominations - the woman is a class act, and has gone longer between wins than most people (having been nominated 12 times between her wins in 1983 and 2012). Luckily for her, it is easier to understand the losses in this century, when you look back at her competition. I’ve said it before, and I say it again - the 80s were weird.

I’ve seen it said that Glenn Close is bound to win just because she hasn’t already done so (although that logic didn’t work for Richard Burton) which completely detracts from the atristry of her work. Not that Close herself refuses to acknowledge the body of work that’s behind her, nor that this will be in people’s minds. In a recent article for the Daily Herald she said ‘People have been going back and looking at my basic body of work and the six times I lost and what those roles were. So I can't pretend it's just for 'The Wife.'

The simple fact is though that it shouldn’t matter. If you’re an actor over a certain age, you should be considered in light of that you’ve done in the past, and not just the nominated stuff. I think the first thing I ever saw her in (apart from 101 Dalmations) was something called Paradise Road, and I’ve never got over that film. It’s stunning. I wanted to watch everything she ever did after that.

The funny thing is that The Wife is slightly zeigtgisty (is that even a word. It is now). It taps into the Time’s Up and Me Too movements in a way I’m not sure any of us would have expected, and without saying a word, Glenn Close shows us exactly how being a woman and sidelined feels (then she explodes and it is awesome in it’s ferocity).

I could go on, and I could denounce Close’s ‘category sisters’ (as she so wonderfully calls them) but they are all wonderful and deserve the recognition of the work they have been doing. I could wonder why Rachel Weisz wasn’t nominated for Disobedience, ANY of the cast of Oceans 8, Saorsie Ronan for On Chesil Beach, Emma Thompson for The Children Act, Rupert Everett for The Happy Prince, Rosamund Pike for A Private War (although I remain confused which year that sits in terms of nominations), Viola Davis for Widows, but I guess them’s the breaks, and we’ll never know who was on the long list before the final 5 were announced. It’s SUCH a lottery, and based on so much institutional bias and favouritism that you’d be better off throwing a dart on a massive board of names to try and pick a winner.

In short, if Glenn Close wins this year it will be for her superlative performance in The Wife AND for her fantastic 45 year career, and I for one do not have a problem with that.

[bigskydreaming]

LOL in all honesty though I’m way too amused by my own Jack Frost joke and its literally from a Bobby/Christian fanfic I wrote like, twelve years ago or something. It was right after Morrison introduced the idea of Christian in his run for purposes of Emma angst, and then they had that Emma solo, and I took that and ran with that fueled entirely by Rage and Spite, as I am wont to do. I now have no idea where said fanfic is, sadly. This was definitely way before Ao3. I think I only posted it on LJ, on an account where my friends list was like....entirely people from an entirely different fandom soooooo probably why that fic never really caught on. Whatever, I write fic more for myself anyway lmao.

It was pretty good though, think it would’ve held up well. The basic premise had to do with Dark Beast, the AU version of Hank from Age of Apocalypse. See, in the comics, when the few survivors of the Age of Apocalypse reality ended up in the 616 reality after it was destroyed, not all of them ended up in the present. Dark Beast, for example, ended up like twenty years in the past. And he didn’t have most of his memories, amnesia from trauma from the cross-dimensional travel or something. Which is when he met a then teenage Emma Frost, who’d just run away from home after everything that happened with her dad and Christian, and she ended up restoring Dark Beast’s memories with her telepathy, so they actually have history in the comics.

So I went with the idea of, okay what if you let Christian have agency in his trauma instead of giving it to Emma, who lbr, has PLENTY of story material on her own. So my premise was that it was Christian who ran away from home and ended up meeting Dark Beast and restoring his memories. And then Dark Beast, who has always been just as obsessed with creating the perfect mutant as Mr. Sinister is, if not more, because he’s like....equally obsessed with proving he’s better than Sinister....well instead of experimenting on the Morlocks, which is what he went on to do in the comics, he looks elsewhere. He never went after Scott or Jean, because he’s also a coward and Sinister scares him shitless, and DB knew damn well there was no such thing as a reality where Sinister hadn’t already called dibs on Scott and Jean’s genes. BUT, Dark Beast also knew from his own reality who all the other most powerful mutants would end up being....years before their powers even manifested in this reality. And since I’m me, of course I wrote it so that like, DB decided to focus on the other one of the 05 destined to grow up to be an omega mutant. 

And so he had Christian, who was young and easily manipulated because Love Me, I Need External Validation, My Last Name is Frost as In My Family’s Credo is What If We’re All Frosty All The Time....he had Christian use his telepathy to like, prompt Bobby into running away before the actual event that led to Xavier and Scott finding him and saving him and him joining the X-Men. Where Bobby of course ‘happened’ to bump into DB, who took him in along with his other young protege Christian, so he could like, secretly conduct experiments on Bobby blah blah you get it. 

But eventually Christian and Bobby fell in lurv and Christian was like what no, this is wrong, bad, not doing this anymore, so they run away together, and then it was basically just me writing them as a mutant Bonnie and Clyde who are gay and do crime together and say like, fuck all the adult mutants who try and manipulate them and other kids like them. Like Xavier, who eventually tried to get Bobby to join the X-Men and Bobby was like lol no, hard pass. Or the Hellfire Club, who eventually tried to recruit Christian except he was like lol no, hard pass. And then they were basically like this Chaotic Good power couple that just popped up here and there fucking shit up in a well-intentioned way that made half the X-Men grind their teeth and the other half snicker, and same with the Acolytes and other various groups. And there wasn’t really anything anyone could do about it because its canon that Bobby’s only real weakness is to psychics and having a world-class psychic as your boyfriend really kinda nips that weakness in the bud. Unless you come up against like, a cosmic-class psychic like Jean Grey, but lucky for them, she just thinks they’re adorable and tends to go whoops, missed them again every time they slip through the X-Men’s fingers.

And ultimately they decided their real mission in life was to rescue really young mutants whose powers manifested early and put them in danger, and make sure they get a chance to grow up without the various factions going ‘we’ll protect you, but only if you grow up to support our agenda and be One of us, shhhh, don’t fight it, just sign your life away on the dotted line, all the cool kids are doing it.’ And also me being me, and it being like 2004 ish? I think? Maybe 2005. Anyway. So my other preoccupation of the time was the Academy X kids so of course we’re talking like Julian and Josh and Cessily and the like, who were all like, adorable little ten year olds at this point in time, but also V. Beyond the Capacity of These Two Hapless Gays to Handle Without Help. Like, apparently omega powers and world-class telepathy do not actually qualify you to effectively parent a mob of young mutant menaces when you’re only 21-22 yourselves, who knew. So they ended up just showing up on the doorstep of one of Emma’s properties, mutant menace mob in tow, as she was the White Queen by now, and Christian greeting her facepalm moment with ‘Hey Ems, remember how you always wanted to be a teacher?’

And then there was this bit where Emma was something like “I’m a bit busy trying to take over the world, darling, try me again after my mid-life crisis.”

And Christian was all: “You can teach and take over the world at the same time, y’know, some of us are capable of this little thing called multi-tasking?”

And Bobby helpfully piped up: “I can pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.”

Cue Emma’s wrinkled nose and accusing stare at her brother: “What on earth do you see in him?”

But Bobby just turned around and was like: “Umm, for starters, my ass is amazing. Have you not seen it? Here, touch it. Go ahead, you can squeeze it.”

Emma: .....

Christian, shrugging: “Well I mean, he’s not wrong.”

Emma: “If I agree to this idiotic plan of yours will you leave immediately and never come back?”

Bobby, stage whispering: “Tell her we still want holiday visits, so we can be the cool gay uncles who show up and spoil them rotten and thus they love us more than her. But don’t tell her that last part.”

Christian, dutifully: “We want to still come by for holidays so we can be the cool gay uncles who show up and spoil them rotten and thus they love us but no more than you, an equal amount only.”

Emma: “I’m standing right here you imbeciles.”

Bobby, still whispering: “Make sure that includes Easter. I’m pretty sure if I show up in a bunny costume I can make her head explode.”

Christian: “Just to be clear, that includes - “

Emma, a vein in her temple throbbing: “Just give me the children already.”

Bobby, gathering up the kids in a crowd around him, all noisy and giggling and clamoring for his attention: “Okay kids, so here’s the plan. From now on, you guys are gonna stay here in this big old house with Auntie Em!”

Emma, appalled: “Oh. My. God.”

Christian frowns: “Emma, please stop trying to fry my boyfriend’s brain. I’m not going to let you.”

And then the kids swarmed through the door past her into the hallway and there were the sounds of stuff breaking, distracting her for a bit before she like, glared at Bobby and was all: “This is all your doing!”

Bobby, hurt: “Only mostly! Chris and I are a team. A united front. It was a 60/40 split.”

Christian: “Well....”

Bobby: “Okay, 70/30.”

Christian: “You said you were going out to get some waffles to make breakfast in the morning and you came home with waffles, ice cream, and Julian on your shoulders.”

Bobby: “He followed me home!”

Christian: “That’s not how he tells it.”

Bobby, whirling on the ten year old Julian Keller who’s playing a Gameboy and looking entirely unconcerned: “You little traitor.”

Julian flipped him off.

Bobby, scandalized: “He did NOT learn that from me.”

Julian, still not looking up from his game: “Yes I did.”

And that was when Christian started dragging his boyfriend back to their car, before Bobby can get into an actual fight with a ten year old, yelling back over his shoulder at Emma: “Okay, great, thanks so much for doing this, let us know if you need us to bring anything when we come back in a few days with the second batch.”

Emma, distracted and trying to do a headcount: “Yes, fine, be gone already. ...Wait. What second batch? DRAAAAAAAKE!!”

But it was too late as the car is halfway to her big mansion gates by then, Bobby cackling: “Hey, we should totally get a dog. Like a little foofy one.”

Christian, knowing better than to ask but asking anyway: “And why is that?”

Bobby: “Bet you anything I can get her to say “I’ll get you and your little dog too!’”

Christian: “I’d appreciate it for both our sakes if you never do or say anything to suggest to my sister you’ve ever compared her to the Wicked Witch of the West. I mean, not that she’d protest on moral grounds, but she takes her color schemes very seriously. And you do know you don’t actually have to provoke her quite so much...”

Bobby: “Mmmm....agree to disagree. It’s the principle of the matter.”

Christian: “What principle? What matter?”

That was the gist of that scene anyway. Dialogue’s probably different, but you get it.

Ugh, I probably have the whole thing sitting in an old email account somewhere because that’s always been my main way of backing stuff up, is emailing it to myself. Problem is, I think I had a specific fandom email account back then and I don’t know what it is anymore lol. 

[prompt-master]

a fic where Connor has to baby sit Alice for kara

You know when Hank got home he wanted to get a nice cold can of beer, or 4, and pass out on the couch. So god tell him why when he opened the door to his house he sees a little girl sitting on his couch. He froze in the doorway, wondering if the girl scout troupe was out to get him for never buying their cookies. How the fuck was he supposed to get shitfaced with a little girl in his house?

The little girl looked up at him, eyes wide and concerned. The two of them sat there, having a staring contest that he completely lost, and he went for a pretty long ass time. Damn kid was good.

Once he blinked he took a step into his house, and closed the door behind him. He cleared his throat and said in his nicest possibly voice (still gravely), "you lost or something?"

The little girl didn't answer him, instead sinking further into his couch.

"...right..." He walked as casually as he could behind the couch (behind, since she was watching tv), and into his kitchen.

"Ok. Whenever weird shit happens in my life there's only ever one reason." Hank took in a deep breath and cupped his mouth

"CONNOR"

Hank felt bad when the little girl flinched, but Connor came down from upstairs, poking his head into the kitchen with his awkward forced smile.

"...yes Luteniet?"

Hank crossed his arms and straightened his back, reminding him of when he used to scold Cole all the time, "Connor, come over here please."

His tone wasn't as kind as his words were.

Connor's forced smile grew more painful to look at as he took two exaggerated steps into the room. He was holding a bunch of...childrens books in his arms?

Hank was so taken back by the sight of the actual hardcover books that he forgot to ask about the little girl, "holy shit Connor where'd you get these? I haven't seen real books since that crazy bird deviant."

Connor's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. Going from more stiff than usual to stiff, "Yes well Alice told me about how she had these children books at her house before so I bought them as a surprise was about to bring them to her."

Hank nodded, looking through the various books. He loved real books, tablets just weren't the same. "I'm guessing Alice is the little girl on the couch?"

Connor nodded, "that is correct"

The stern, scolding tone came back, causing Connor's shoulders to stiffen again, "and do you wanna explain WHY there's a little girl in my house? Because if this is to stop me drinking it might work but it can't stop me from running over to a bar-"

"Do you remember Kara?" Conner suddenly cut him off, raising a hand.

Hank processed it, the name sounding familiar, "I uh...think so?"

"I met her back on Jericho before it exploded. Since then she's been living in Canada with her boyfriend Luther and daughter Alice."

Hank nodded slowly, "okaaay..."

"She's back in Detroit to visit since things have calmed down. And she would like to go on a date night"

Hank peered around Connor, surprised to see little Alice staring right back at him. "And she left her with you?"

"Yes well we stayed in contact after meeting, mostly because of Markus though. And he's too busy being an android advocate to watch her, and the Jerry's are still in Canada. I hope you don't mind Hank, it's just for the night"

Hank heaved a heavy sigh, "fine fine, I get it wanting a date night or whatever. Fine."

Connor smiled pure and proud, "thank you Luteniet!" He turned his back to Hank, walking into the living room, "Alice! Look what I've got you!"

Hank pressed his back into the doorway, watching with careful eyes as Connor sat on the couch with Alice and presented her the books. The best way to describe her reaction was...bittersweet. You could tell from her smile and how she grabbed the books one by one, saying things like "this one is my favorite!", that she loved the gift. But at the same time in her eyes there was a sadness, and the way her gaze lingered in the covers of the books as though they reminded her of something traumatic. Hank understood that far off look.

Before he could butt in Alice looked up at Connor with a wide smile, "thank you so much Connor!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly, causing Connor to falter a little. He stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Jesus what an awkward kid. Hank made a hugging motion to him, gesturing to Alice. Slowly but surely, Connor hugged back.

When Alice pulled off Connor she shimmied backwards, on her knees and eyes attentive. "I love them so much Connor but...I wanna hear a story from you!"

Oh this should be interesting.

"Uh? Me?" He looked at Hank, unsurely.

"Yeah, you're a detective, you're a cool cop like on tv." She smiled, "you've gotta have cool fighting bad guy stories!"

Connor's LED flickered to yellow for a moment, before turning blue, "Alright. Once we were told to investigate at a shared pent house-"

"WOAH- woah WOAH!" Hank butted in instantly, remembering the gruesome murder-suicide, "Connor can't you think of anything more kid friendly?"

Connor put a hand to his mouth, LED yellow once again, when it turned blue he said, "No. All our investigations end in murder."

"God I hate my job- ok uh...kid wouldn't you rather watch Batman then here us talk?"

Alice looked up at him, "Batman?" Back at home the t.v. was always on sports or news for Todd. So even with Kara and Luther in Canada she didn't know what to watch. She was a little out of tune with pop culture.

"What? Kid yknow like...batman! Cool crime fighter? Not as cool as me"

Alice shook her head.

"Hold on I have a DVD of it some-"

The tv flickered, next thing he knew the opening to Batman: the Animated Series was playing. "Connor for once I don't hate you and your stupid Tv hacking."

"It isn't hacking luitenet I simply connected to your-"

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever"

Alice kicked her legs as she watched the show. Her eyes were wide with amazement. Well Hank did something good today, he was all set to go-

"You aren't gonna watch it with us?"

Dammit. Hank can't refuse a little girl.

"Alright pumpkin, I'll watch just one episode with you-"

Or...four. or five. It's a good series, alright?. The three of them found themselves lost in the show, huddled up on the couch. Alice was between Hank and Connor, holding Connor's arms and leaning into Hank's side.

Connor chuckled to himself suddenly, getting both if their attention.

"What's so funny over there, huh?"

"Luteniet. Are you a 'gritty cop' because you liked this show as a child?"

Hank was completely seen through there. It was a part if it anyway. Shit. "What? Absolutely not!"

Alice stood up, covering her head with a blanket from the couch, "I wanna be a Batman gritty cop!"

Hank couldn't help but laugh when she put up two fingers as ears, "I am Hank Anderson, I am the night!"

"Alright alright I don't sound like that" at the skeptical look he got from Connor he rolled his eyes, "I don't sound completely like that."

Alice swooshed the blanket behind her as a cape, then pointed at Connor, "you, the joker, I will get you!"

Connor, opened his mouth to laugh but instead the Actual joker laugh came out. He had analyzed it back then. Damn kid analyzed everything.

"You'll never catch me Batsie!"

God it was so weird seeing Connor with the jokers voice.

Suddenly those two were running around his house, Sumo following close behind in the excitement. They ran in a loop, almost making him dizzy. But with the kid laughing like that how could he stop them?

Until it hit him, "oh sh-...oh crap! Connor have you even fed the kid!?"

Connor passed by, pausing in his run and in his normal voice said, "not to worry Luitenet, she's an android" before running off.

"Oh. Ok." Hank sat back on the couch, watching Alice chase after Connor. "Wait- she's a what?!"

---

Kara knocked on the door gently. She didn't dare ring the buzzer as it was pretty late. She didn't want to wake Alice too. Their plan was for Luther to carry her, still asleep. It always worked.

She was about to knock again when Hank opened the door, looking tired and gross.

She smiled, "hello detective."

He shook his head, "please, call me Hank, you must be Kara"

She nodded, "and this is Luther"

Luther nodded and waved, "hello."

"I hope Alice wasn't too much trouble"

Hank glanced back to where Alice was asleep on top of her caught criminal with the blanket still hugging her. "Nah, you got a good kid there."

[theshapeshifter100]

Guess What? I’m Not a Robot Epilogue

Summary: Android Allies protest in Washington

Chapter Warnings: Some casual swearing, implied anxiety

Word Count: 1,211

There’s a long A/N at the end, but it has some important information, so please read it.

11AM Monday 22nd November 2038

“This is insane,” Megan looked at the crowd of people. Alex had put the protest on social media, and it had exploded.

Thousands of people were crammed into a few wide streets in Washington. Most were bearing signs, either cardboard or electric. Some had banners and others even had megaphones.

The crowd was mostly human, but androids who had managed to avoid the massacre were in the crowd. Hats covering their LEDs just in case, but Paul pointed them out with ease.

The three main chapters of Android Allies were here, with the leaders all where Megan was standing. That included everyone in the Detroit Chapter, Lucas’s sister and her group, and Megan’s brother James.

Hank Anderson was also there, although no one could explain why. Not even him, but here he was, grumbling like an old man.

Alex grinned broadly as Megan spoke. “You’re not kidding!” was it her, or was their smile strained? “We’ll easily counter the anti android protest!”

“We’ll certainly be able to drown them out,” Megan agreed, looking around again. The march hadn’t started yet, so the leaders were standing on some steps to get a feel for who was there. In the distance it looked like someone had brought a freaking marching band!

Someone clapped her hard on the back and she stumbled for a second. She wasn’t worried though, only one person announced themselves like that.

“James! I am not one of your football buddies!” Megan protested loudly. She was still wearing the sling, and she hoped that her brother had spotted that.

“I know you’re tougher than you look,” she could hear the smug grin in his voice. They had the same colour hair, but that was where all similarities ended; while she was short and skinny, he was tall and broad. However, he wasn’t as large as Oscar. Megan suspected they played different positions in football, but what those positions were she had no idea.

“Yes, but I still have a hole in my shoulder,” she reminded him. “And I’d like to keep the stitches as they are.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t told mom and dad about that?”

“No, and you won’t either.”

“Gotcha.”

“Why won’t you be telling your parents?” Paul asked, having watched the exchange between the two blood siblings.

“Because they’ll fuss and demand I come home, again,” Megan sighed. “I’ll probably have to go home for Christmas, and make sure I book a flight back so that they can’t keep me at home.”

“They would do that?”

“Oh, they’d try,” Megan assured.

“You can come for Christmas with me and my folks,” Alex offered, overhearing.

“That’s, a lovely offer, thank you,” Megan was uncomfortable now, looking at her shuffling feet.

“It’s cool, my parents always cook loads anyway,” Alex easily shrugged it off. They then checked their watch. “We’ll have to put Christmas plans aside. It’s time to get going!”

They grabbed a megaphone from next to them and brought it to their lips. There was a loud squeal of feedback which managed to catch everyone’s attention.

“Alright people! We’re about to move out!” Alex announced. “I will be at the front with the rest of the Detroit chapter, all of whom you should know by now. Hopefully enough of you have the route to hand in case anyone gets lost. And remember! We’re here to protest peacefully! If the other protest starts something, that does not mean we can retaliate in kind! Leave the confrontation to Nathan and the marching band!”

There was some laughing at that, but that was the actual plan.

“Who the fuck hired a marching band?” Hank asked, more to himself.

“I did,” responded Nathan, like it was obvious.

“Of course.”

“Finally, we’re all friends here! There’s enough water and snacks to hopefully keep everyone going. If someone’s struggling, stop and help! We’re here to show the best of humanity and that we can live with androids. Most importantly, have fun!”

There was a cheer as Alex put down the megaphone. On their face was an odd expression. Nervousness.

Julia was quick to put a hand on their shoulder as the rest of the chapters took their place in the crowd. “You’ll be great,” she reassured, and Alex nodded.

“Thanks Jules,” they swallowed. “I never, seriously thought, that it would get this big.”

“This is your baby,” Megan added with a lopsided shrug. “Be proud of it,”

Alex nodded again. “I am. Let’s take our places.”

The Detroit chapter made their way to the front of the crowd. Without having to say anything Paul put Megan on his shoulders. Megan could almost hear James huffing in annoyance, but too bad, James had never done it when he had the chance.

She held a sign in one hand, with Paul holding the massive banner in front of them along with the rest of the Detroit chapter. On it the name ‘Android Allies’ was emblazoned in blue with Markus’s stick figure/peace sign, the CyberLife triangle and the initials ‘AA’ in various colours on the white background.

Alex stood in front of all them, holding a megaphone. Usually Allison or Ivy would be standing with them, but they all recognised this as their brainchild. They deserved the credit for this.

“What do we want?!” they bellowed into a megaphone, and the crowd chanted back.

“Android rights!”

“When do we want it?!”

“Now!”

The crowd, several thousand strong, began to march through Washington. Alex kept up their chant, while at the back different chants were popping up.

“Androids Are Alive!”

“Equal right for androids!”

“The tin man has his heart!”

That one threw Megan off, but it made some sense. The tin man went with Dorothy looking for a heart, but it turned out that he had it the entire time. Oddly fitting.

Paul never faltered in his pace as he walked. Even when James forced himself to the front to offer to give him a break.

“I’m fine James,” he assured. “Perhaps we should talk later, over a coffee or something?”

“Can you drink?”

“No, but the offer still stands.”

James looked at him oddly for a second before nodding. “Sure, okay. I’d like that.”

“I’ll leave you two to your budding bromance then,” Megan smirked. “Finally, Alex will have another ship!”

“I’ve just met him!” James protested.

“I’m messing with you!” Megan laughed. “But seriously, I’ll leave you two to talk it out. I’ll probably hang around Alex or something. We’re in DC for a few days after all.”

“Sure, whatever,” James huffed before chanting again.

Megan looked around at the crowd, and felt a surge of pride. She had contributed to this. She had helped make this happen. Now, there was a partnership with Markus, the government was starting to listen, people were starting to change.

It wasn’t over, and of course this wasn’t solely down to them. Most of this was down to Markus and his revolution. But one week won’t change a country, won’t change laws. Markus had laid the groundwork, Android Allies had been on the sidelines, helping with the public opinion and both efforts had lead to this.

This wasn’t over, but it was another step in the right direction. They intended to keep walking.

Yeah, this is it. The epilogue. This has been a wild ride from start to finish, in a genre I never really tried before. I tried a few new things with this, the slice of life opening, the flowchart things at the end and the connection between Paul and Megan. I deliberately did it like that, and it was surprisingly easy. I did have to watch myself a couple of times to stop it going romantic, but overall, not as hard as I thought it would be. I just had to think of fluff for them.

In the chapter itself. I understand why it might seem a little out of left field that Alex has the glory moment at the end, but Android Allies is their brain child. It always was, Megan and Paul just got caught up in it, and yeah had the most to lose or gain, but this is still Alex's group, their idea, their baby. We also finally meet James, I know his mental health side story never really went anywhere, it was more to showcase that any can suffer from mental illness, especially the people we least expect.

A few reasons why I wrote this story. One, was because of some complainants I saw on tumblr about the main game, primarly, where are the human pro android supporters. The game says they exist, but we never see them. Here we go, I made some!I also did this, a little out of spite. I am incredibly sick of seeing stories, original and fanfic, where there's two leads of different genders and they end up in a romantic relationship. I hate it, despise it. It's not necessary and it pops up all the damn time, heck I'm guilty of it! So, I wrote Megan and Paul, and made them deliberately adorable just to piss off anyone who thinks that they'd make a good romantic couple. Which, actually, even if Megan wasn't Ace/Aro they wouldn't be a good romantic couple, I don't that would be healthy. I'm not quite done with this yet. I've got a list of the alternative endings and how to get them almost ready, with some 'post credit scenes' for them. There is also a completely different ending. You know how in the main game you can have Deviant/Machine, Pacifist/Revolution and Canada/Camp. Well, there is an alternate ending for this as well, where Paul gets arrested and sent to one of these Recycling Camps.It's not finished. Not yet, and given that I'm on holiday right now and will be for another three weeks, I can't guarantee when it will be up. I'll get the alternate endings list up some time next week, but other than that I make no promises.I think that's all I had, and no flowchart this time. It's the ending cutscene, there is nothing left to influence.

Tags: @nightmarejim @septicart-appreciation thank you both for sticking with this. To your, and everyone else reading, thank you for sticking with this.

[angel-scythe]

Sheet of ice : Chapter 10

Hiii!!

Here’s the sweet chapter of the HankGav!! I hope you’ll have fun!!

Love you!!

|   °| 

Hank was walking with Gavin as Sumo laid in front of Connor’s room, as he watched him. He couldn’t help but looked the man’s profile, happy to have him. Even happier to see him take care of washing dishes and arrange a bit the house. In the past, he would always come to help him and they were really happy. He saw back some piece of live they had shared.

Watching Reed do the dishes, he could see a younger him hugging Gavin from behind and ask him to stay here with him forever. Looking the sofa, he saw that day when the love of his live said to him he was pregnant. He saw the many time they had hugged and kissed. And if he’ll go open his door, he knew he would see Gavin in that armchair with a tiny Cole, calming his nightmare with care and love. They were so happy. They were meant to live like that forever.

Why he couldn’t reach him for a hug, a kiss, to replay the past…

Why did he just look him…

He was still there when Gavin turned around and saw him.

“Is there a problem?”

“No… You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you. I’m a mess, right now, but it’s cool to hear that.”

Hank came toward him and kissed him on the chin then in the neck. He licked the mark and let his hand go under the sweatshirt.

“No,” Gavin muttered.

“No?”

“The boy is there…”

“It’s an adult, Gavin,” Hank laughed a bit.

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“You don’t have to be worry. I wanted to make love with you, to truly love your body since I know I was quite harsh with you while the heat. I wanted to love you right. But just holding you in my arms will be fine.”

“You’re so cute,” Gavin muttered.

He caressed his cheek then took his hand to lead him in his room. As it was warm in the house, Hank got rid of his trousers and his chemise to end up shirtless, only in underpants. Even if Gavin loved him, he felt a bit uneasy with his heavy body, his belly beer, the lack of effort showering, his beard not well trimmed. And when he saw Gavin’s body… Well, he couldn’t. His partner took of his pants but not his sweatshirt.

“You’re cold?”

“A bit.”

Hank opened his arms and Gavin joined him. He snuggled against him and felt the tremors.

“You need to bit me?”

“I don’t want to hurt you. You were so mad earlier. It’s because of the fact I dominated you again, isn’t it? I don’t want to dominate you.”

“I know. It’s not against you. Fowler pissed me off.”

“He accepted to forgive that,” Hank said.

Of course, the Captain accepted the apologized but Gavin couldn’t help but asking himself how many dollars his cousin gave to the precinct to calm everything.

“It’s cool. I need my work…”

“I love to see you work from my desk.”

“I can too. Sometime, I see you struggle with your keyboard. It’s cute.”

“You know, I didn’t change my phone’s settings since you l… I threw you from the house.”

“You can say ‘you left’.”

“But it’s not the truth,” Hank replied.

“I saw you keep a lot of things like it was.”

“Coffee mugs everywhere,” laughed the man, softly. He laid him in the mattress then caressed his stingy face. “You’re not only my mate, Gavin. You’re my soulmate.”

The hands were shaking and Gavin caressed one.

“I know. Because… me too.”

He moved slightly his neck and offered it to Hank who bit him to calm his need.

 November 21th 2038

 When Gavin opened eyes, he felt something on his neck, hard and disturbing. Rubbing it, he saw dry blood falling in piece. Hank should have bit him in his sleep because he didn’t remember the blood as such when they played, bit… ended up almost naked for once and totally for the other. Gavin let his lover make him his. He loved that. And it was all love and softness. Hank even seemed to stop shaking while they were together. One.

He loved him so much, so well.

It even was quite late now and Gavin could caress softly his nape as the man was asleep against his chest. He still was between his thighs because he felt good there, against him and even slightly in him. Seemed that, even at his age, he was still highly capable.

Gavin kissed him slightly and pushed him softly to lay him in the bed. Looking him, it was sure, it wasn’t the man he fell asleep which when he had just entered the precinct at twenty-one. He waited exactly two years before asking him out and they had a sweet romance. Their first time was even out of any heat. Hank saw him as he was not as he truly was. Even if he enjoyed the heat. The easy sex, the way Gavin lowered his barriers and let the man pampered him. Then that time they made a baby… For him, this man was still there. Whatever the greyish hair, the not shaved chin and the belly. He loved every inch of Hank and was so sad to don’t with him anymore while three years.

He was perfection.

Gavin caressed his cheek and put a tender kiss on his lips.

“I love you,” he muttered.

Then he rose up and lowered a bit the sweatshirt, just in case Connor was already out of his room. He left the room too and looked in the corridor. Sumo got up and woofed happily, coming toward him.

“Eh, buddy.” Gavin crouched and caressed Sumo whom liked him with joy. “Love you too, buddy.” He hugged him softly and enjoyed a bit the dog’s love before getting up to go in the bathroom. He smiled a bit when he saw the famous coffee mug in the cupboard near the bath. He could remember a time where Hank swore he saw him drink coffee under the shower.

He wanted coffee. He needed coffee. But…

Gavin put his hand on his belly under the sweatshirt. He couldn’t feel a thing. Well, he could feel the abs he worked so much because he didn’t have a live anyway.

“I need to kill you… If I don’t, you’ll die, baby. I need to kill you. You can’t live with me. I can’t support it if you die. I love you. I swear. I’ll love you. I need to protect you.” Gavin felt dizzy.

But if he killed the baby. No, no… He can’t support that. He just…

He felt nausea but it wasn’t from the fetus. He didn’t felt good and as he looked his belly, he felt anguish overwhelm him. He felt bad really bad. The baby couldn’t stay there but he couldn’t kill it. What he must do? His legs were shaking and it wasn’t because of the lack of coffee. He needed coffee. But he couldn’t. He only could take two cups to stay alive except if he killed that thing growing up on him.

And if he did…

He started to shiver.

He felt bad.

So bad.

He rose his head and saw the post-it in the mirror. One, ‘Keep smiling’’s one and ‘Today will be fabulous’’s one were from him. He kept it. That make him made. Hank was so hurt because of him. He felt so sick, so bad.

He took the razor and rip off the little blade. Putting it between his shivering fingers, he tucked up his sleeves in the right arms. There, a lot of scars were drawn on his skins. Shaking mark lost in his flesh.

He seemed to have a lot of marks…

  Gavin’s legs were still trembling as he left the bathroom. You couldn’t guess blood was flooded in here. Everything was clean. In fact, Reed hated himself to have wasted Hank’s house like that but, still, he could hide the truth to the man.

He was just out from the room, Sumo ran toward him and rubbed his face against his belly.

“Thanks, buddy.” He caressed his fluffy fur. “I’ll make the breakfast for everyone. Want to see if Connor will get up?”

“Woof!”

“Go Sumo!”

The dog turned around and walked toward the door.

“Funny you always had more authority than me with him.”

Gavin turned his head and smiled, seeing a Hank in underpants.

“You’re up.”

“Yeah.” Hank went toward him and kissed his cheek. “How do you feel?”

“Good. And you?”

“I start to feel… better? But you helped me a lot. Without you, it’ll be a nightmare.”

“I’m glad I had helped you.”

Sumo was scratching and barking at the door.

“Yeah, coming,” Gavin said. However, he was surprise the Android didn’t come to open the door.

Opening the door, he frowned.

Nobody in the bed. The covers were pushed, the window slightly opened.

“Connor…” the Detective muttered.

“Connor?” Hank called.

No reply.

Sumo barked and Gavin didn’t felt good at all. His legs were shaking. It wasn’t possible. No, no… NO!

“CONNOR?!” he yelled.

Still no reply.

Gavin didn’t feel good. He felt his legs yield under his weight and he fell in the floor. Everything was fuzzy in his head. It was like the past was fiercely coming back to him. After three years, he was with Hank, quite happy, he accepted to see someone as a kid and let his true nature flood him and he was pregnant and… everything was shattering.

Why?!

If he hadn’t opened his arm earlier, he would have pray for a nightmare.

It was the reality and he hated it.

He even couldn’t see Hank ran toward the window to check if Connor wasn’t just outside.

“Gavin!”

The voice came from near him, he looked up and saw Hank back to him.

“He’s somewhere, don’t worry. You and me, we’re cop. It’s our job to find disappeared people. Breath in.”

“Y… Yes…”

“Everything will be alright. Your cousin created Androids, he maybe have something to find Connor. Just keep calm.”

“I… I…” He felt kisses on his face.

“Don’t worry. Please…” Hank couldn’t bear the sadness in his eyes, the trembling lips and the tears about to come.

“I…”

“Huuush,” he comforted softly.

“I’m pregnant, Hank!!” Gavin exploded.

If he had said that yesterday, Hank would have jump of joy. But now?

And would he? It was obvious Gavin knew it since one or two days. And that meant, yesterday, he was a mess because of the child. First time, with Cole, he was happy but now?

“Everything will be alright, Gavin. Don’t worry.”

But Gavin was worry as fuck…

[evesbeve]

Lasagna: Paranormal Despacito

I did a livestream on YouTube, and wrote a one-shot with everyone watching. This is the result!

#LasagnaSquad

#AnxietyShipping

Summary: Lasagna Man has kidnapped Lloyd, and Jay has to save him. An adventure about falling in love, meeting new friends, and T-posing while singing Despacito.

Ninjago, 24th June 2018, 14:37

It was a nice noon in Ninjago. Cole was experimenting with food, when he felt something weird in his body. It was as if he was being possessed.

And he was.

Casper the ghost was very bored and took over his body to have fun. He took some tea from Wu's tea shelf and threw it in the lasagna. Then, he passed out.

It was Lloyd's turn to try out Cole's cooking. The ninja took turns eating it, since it was so terrible. With sorrow in his eyes, Lloyd took a bite.

He felt dizzy.

He was about to call Kai for help, but before he could say anything, he disappeared with the bowl of lasagna in hand.

Jay, who was at the room next door, heard a mini explosion. He ran to the kitchen, and was shocked to see Cole passed out. He slapped him.

"Wake up, Cole!" Jay said, slapping him. "What happened?"

Cole opened his eyes and stared at Jay. "Jay, Casper possessed me. Before I passed out completely, I saw Lloyd disappear. He popped out of existence. You have to help him."

And then, Cole passed out once again.

Jay knew what he had to do. He summoned his dragon while doing cyclondo at the same time, because I miss it since the Hagemans got rid of it. He went to his dad's lab and found his updated Borg Watch.

He looked into the screen of the tool and spotted some lasagna paranormal activity in a random dimension. He quickly pressed on the screen and teleported…

But he clicked on the wrong option, sending him somewhere else.

Queens, 24th June 2018, 15:49

Peter was at the verge of crying as he walked out of Stark Industries. He couldn't believe Tony didn't let him take part in their next mission. He was an Avenger! It was just unfair.

Peter looked up at the sky and saw a shooting star… but it was daytime! He soon realised it was nothing else but a screaming teenager falling from the sky.

Peter quickly shot some spider-webs and caught the young man, saving him from sure death.

"It's okay, buddy, I've got you now. You're safe!" Peter said, landing somewhere safe.

"I HAVE FINGERS!" Jay screamed, looking at his hands.

Peter was confused by the brunet's reaction. He looked at him, making eye contact.

He was beautiful.

He had never seen someone so beautiful. His freckles were adding to his adorableness. His bright blue eyes were staring back at him with the same curiosity.

"H-Hi…" Jay said, breaking the silence first. "Thanks for saving me."

"It's my job, don't worry about it." Peter said, placing him on the ground. It had only been a few seconds and he already missed his warmth. "I'm Peter."

"I'm gay." Jay said, and quickly regretted his choice of words. "I MEANT JAY!"

"Oh, you aren't?" Peter mumbled, disappointment filling his eyes. "Anyway, I was just-"

"Oh no! I forgot about Lloyd!" Jay interrupted.

"Who is Lloyd?" Peter asked.

"One of my best friends. He is like family. I have to save him!"

"I'll help!" Peter said. "It's not like I have anything left to do here."

"Okay, then let's go!" Jay said, grabbing Peter's arm and tapping on his watch's screen.

It was the best three seconds of Peter's life.

Detroit, 24th June 2039, 16:32

"Connor, stop licking the evidence for once in your life!" Hank complained, as Connor put the weird substunce on the floor into his mouth.

"It's… Strange." Connor said, after analyzing it. "It's thirium but it has lasagna in it."

"Pfff!" Hank huffed. "What kind of sick person would do that? More food for Sumo, I guess."

Suddenly, they heard two voices coming from the opening of the cave. They saw the shadow of two silhouettes holding hands.

"Stay back, Connor." Hank ordered, and Connor obeyed.

They soon came face to face with two teenage boys, who looked very lost, confused, but also… in love.

"Hi." Connor stepped in front of Hank, seeing how they were harmless. "My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by CyberLife. And you are?"

"I'm Peter Parker, also known as Spider-man in my dimension." Peter said, smiling.

"My name is Jay." Jay said. "Jay Walker."

Suddenly, Hank bursted into laughter. "HIS NAME IS JAY WALKER."

Peter glared at him and held Jay's hand tighter. "Don't you dare insult him, whatever-your-name-is!"

"I'm Hank Anderson." Hank said, holding back a laugh. "We're investigating a homicide."

"A homicide?" Jay gasped. "LLOYD IS DEAD?"

"We have yet to discover a body." Connor explained. "But there are traces of lasagna leading deep in this cave."

"I guess we should just team up, since we are looking for the same thing." Peter suggested, and no one went against it.

The group walked deeper into the cave, and suddenly, they heard a noise.

"TAKE COVER!" Jay screamed and fell on top of Peter to protect him.

A cheeseball flew past them.

Peter wanted to thank him, but he had no time, as another attack occured.

"What the fuck is happening?" Hank asked, clearly annoyed and shocked.

"YOU COME INTO MY HOUSE, DISRESPECT MY CHEESE."

The group looked ahead, seeing a yellow android standing in front of a cage.

On further notice, Jay realised that Lloyd was there!

"That's him! That's my friend!" Jay pointed at him. "Lloyd, are you okay?"

And then, something unbelievable happened.

"I'm okay, but fRESH AVOCADOO!"

"Is he always like that?" Peter asked.

"No…" Jay mumbled. "Something is wrong."

"I scanned him." Connor said. "He seems to be influenced by the lasagna. He can only meme, sing and rap."

"That's amazing." Hank snorted.

"Press F to pay respects." Lloyd said, tears rolling down his cheeks. He needed this to stop.

"I am sorry." Connor said. "The PS4 controller does not have an F. You can choose between the square, the triangle, the circle, and X."

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Connor, let's just kill this guy." Hank said, pointing his gun at the Lasagna Deviant.

A cheeseball fell on Jay's Borg Watch, and an explosion happened. In a matter of seconds, they all disappeared.

Minecraft, 24th June 2018, 17:38

Jay groaned, opening his eyes. He felt something soft. He looked around him, only to see that he was sitting on top of Peter.

His heart was beating fast and he just couldn't stop thinking about getting closer to the other teen.

"Oh no…" Hank mumbled. "It can't be…"

The lieutenant looked around him, in shock. As a millennial, he knew exactly where he was.

Minecraft.

"My powers are only becoming stronger here!" Lasagna Man said, standing up. "Prepare to die!"

"Not so fast!" Lloyd said. "I have the power of God and anime by my side!"

"That's right, deviant!" Connor stood next to Lloyd. "Even though I am a deviant myself-"

"You're going down!" Peter said, helping Jay up.

"Noteblocks, go!" Jay said, and music started playing.

Lloyd T-posed, determined to stop Lasagna Man.

"My name is Lloyd,

you're a stupid android.

My rhymes are sick

and you'll die quick."

Lasagna Man T-posed too, hatred in his eyes.

"I'm a lasagna,

and I'm a brotha.

Do you know da way?

I am going to slay!"

Connor stepped in, T-posing hardcore.

"My software is stronger

You're like internet explorer!

Give up,

or get-"

Hank interrupted Connor, smirking and T-posing.

"-FUCKED!"

Jay and Peter got up as one, T-posing, feeling stronger than ever.

"We met two hours ago,

our love is real, here we go.

Our gayness sends you to hell

while we're going to taco bell."

Lloyd broke the T-post first, dabbing. Then everyone followed.

"DE

SPA

CITO!"

And everyone joined in, singing the lyrics, which they absolutely knew to heart.

"Now is your chance, Lloyd!" Jay yelled. "The final blow! Only you can stop this!"

Lloyd cleared his throat, and built a guitar. "I DON'T WANNA DO THE DISHES, NO MORE, I DON'T WANNA DO THE DISHES, NO MORE!"

Lasagna Man fell on his knees. "No… You're too strong…"

"You'll never win, Lasagna Man!" Jay said. "It's over!"

"NOOOOOO!" Lasagna Man screamed and exploded.

It was raining cheese.

"Oh nice, food for Sumo!" Hank said, putting it all in the fridge he just built. Because Minecraft.

"Jay, I don't feel so good…" Peter mumbled, sensing the end was near.

"Oh no!" Jay said, looking at his watch. "We hit the nuclear note! We have to get out of here before we die with this universe!"

Peter used his spider-webs to tie everyone together, and Jay teleported them all back to Detroit, where they said goodbye to Hank and Connor.

Then, they went back to Queens.

"I'll give you guys a moment." Lloyd said, turning away.

"Jay…" Peter said, holding both of the teenager's hands in his. "You showed me that I don't need to be depended on someone else. I can save the world on my own. But today, you saved my world."

Jay felt tears forming in his eyes. "You saved my world too, Peter. I will never forget this or you. You're the most perfect person I've ever met."

The two teenagers leaned in, closing their eyes. Before they knew it, their lips were touching, and they were kissing.

Jay was the first one to pull away, making eye contact again. He couldn't believe he wouldn't see these beautiful eyes again. "I love you, Peter."

Peter nodded, tears running down his own cheeks. "I love you too, Jay. We will meet again."

"Yes. For now, this is goodbye, my love."

The two teenagers handshaked, and then Jay disappeared with Lloyd.

Ninjago, 24th June 2018, 18:27

"We're back, my homies! Alexa, play despacito." Lloyd said, sitting on the couch.

"Cool bro." Kai said.

"We met an android." Jay added.

"Other than me?" Zane asked.

"And Jay has a boyfriend now." Lloyd said, teasing the blue ninja. "Dab on the haters, my homies."

"JAY HAS A BOYFRIEND!?" Cole screamed, finally waking up.

It was going to be a long evening.

THE END.

[brokenjardaantech]

Blue-tinted Red Walls (Prologue: A mistake or accidental prophet?)

my entry for the 2020 @dbhau-bigbang. also part of the groom lake aftermath series

pairings: hankcon, minor male ryder/reyes vidal

major warning: canon-typical violence

additional warnings will be provided before individual chapters.

summary:

In 2028, rumours emerged that Sara Ryder, inventor of androids and co-founder of Cyberlife, disagreed with her father Alec Ryder, another co-founder of the company, over the direction the company was heading. Speculations were rendered pointless as the younger Ryder disappeared off the grid after thousands were killed in an explosion outside Detroit, the site which later became a dumping ground for abandoned or damaged androids. A few days after Alec took over CyberLife, reports of androids breaking away from their programming started to emerge, and for a decade, it was CyberLife's best-kept secret.

In 2038, Connor, an RK-series prototype, began development under Ryder's supervision and was released in August in the same year as Cyberlife's last resort towards the deviancy crisis. Rumours among CyberLife employees put someone else as the lead of the RK800/900 project, and although the company goes through extensive measures to dispel the rumour, it somehow manages to reach the Detroit Police Department. It is with this rumour in mind that Lieutenant Hank Anderson is partnered with the same android in question.

Little do they know that the revolution brewing on the horizon is just the beginning.

also on ao3

---

Before

A gloomy figure left shadows in their wake as they swept through the brightly-lit corridor of a hospital, the click of combat boots against smooth floor clearly audible as the voices in the hall died down. Most only noted the person’s threatening posture and boiling expression and bolted out of their way fearing consequences; little did they know that had they paused to take a better look, they would have noticed how young they were - too young to be wearing such hatred on their face. 

They stopped abruptly in front of a door with a sharp snap of their feet, and their hand shot out of their pocket towards the knob but froze with the sharp yell of a nurse. A roll of their eyes. Turned to face the nurse.

‘Visitors are limited to family members only,’ the nurse explained as she closed the last bit of distance between them. Then it clicked. ‘You didn’t register at the front desk?’

‘My brother has been asking for me for days. Ask the front desk. I gave them my name.’

A slight flinch from the harsh tone. ‘I’m sorry, but I still need to confirm your identity. It’s for the patient’s protection.’

The figure huffed. From the smirk on their face, it might have been a silent laugh. They reached into their coat with their teeth grinding. ‘Your ID?’

The nurse looked taken aback. ‘I believe you should be the one presenting identification.’

‘Like you said, “it’s for the patient’s protection”,’ they parroted. ‘How can I be certain that you are an actual nurse but not another spy sent by someone who will bring him harm?’

A pause. The nurse looked away for a second as if to think of the best course of action, but this split second is enough for the person to twist the knob and slide into the ward, the slam of something against the wall indicated that they somehow managed to also barricade it from the inside. The nurse banged her fist on the door in a futile effort of protest before dashing away to get backup.

Inside the room was another atmosphere in its entirety, however, and would have been peaceful if not for the muffled hustle and bustle from the hallway. The blinds were pulled down, the lights were dimmed, the monitor was muted; everything to guarantee that the boy lying on the bed slept undisturbed. He was wearing a green beanie even in his sleep, and next to his head was a small stuffed toy which was rubbed against and clutched when he opened his eyes.

‘Sister?’ he asked the person who had broken into his room. 

The sister sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her brother’s cheek. All the anger on her face was gone. ‘I’m here, brother,’ she said. Her thumb swiped against the bottom of his eye and came back wet. ‘I bought us a few minutes to talk.’

Her brother’s face scrunched up. ‘I’m sorry,’ tears started flowing freely down his face and into the pillow and the stuffed toy. ‘I didn’t mean to -’

‘The fault does not lie on you,’ she took out a handkerchief and dabbed his face. ‘It was a reckless move, but I doubt you have another choice.’

‘I -’ a hitch in his breath. ‘I don’t want to go.’

‘I know. I am here to take you away.’

‘You can’t. Baba is -’

‘If you think I care about what he thinks, you are sorely mistaken,’ she stood. ‘Is there anything you want to bring with you from the apartment?’

The brother hesitated. ‘Can I show you later?’

His sister’s face turned blank. ‘Of course,’ she said in a lacklustre tone. It was obvious that she did not want to do so. ‘I need to take care of something. Will be right back.’

‘Okay.’

She turned around and closed her eyes. A deep breath. Glowing wisps of blue emerges from her spine, then from her head, then finally from all over her body, and her eyes were swathed in the same blue glow when she reopened them. She raised her hand. 

A blue sphere appeared in front of the desk barricading the door and knocked it away.

The same nurse from before entered. ‘You could’ve told me that you’re here to discharge your brother!’ she said accusingly. ‘There was no need for that hostility. And you shouldn’t even be -’

She was interrupted by the sister shoving a stack of paper towards her chest.

‘Then shut the fuck up and do your damned job.’

oOoOo

Now

Androids have always unnerved Captain Louis ‘Lou’ Allen, but for a very different reason people normally expect. For years after their mass production, he could feel an unexplained buzzing in his nerves, one that, throughout his limited childhood, he had learnt to associate with ‘shit randomly exploding around him’. Now that Anna’s… gone to space, there was no one else in the world to vouch for him, telling him that yes, his feelings are valid, and that he isn’t imagining the hum coursing through his body whenever an android comes close.

Not anymore, though. Ever since he became half-bot and perhaps half-immortal, not once has the buzz returned, which was more of an inconvenience than anything; before, he could predict whether shit was about to go downhill and be responsible and warn people, but now, there was never enough time to vacate a room before, say, the screen of a monitor cracks on its own and shatters into thousands of pieces.

The negotiator CyberLife sends almost brings back the unpleasant buzz. This android - RK800, if its - his? - jacket is to be believed - is too harmless-looking for a model designed to hunt and kill other androids who break away from their programming and the most advanced prototype CyberLife has to offer. His voice is pleasant enough, but that only makes Lou’s spine tingle and threaten to charge the air with static; a sign he has learnt to watch for before an outburst. He hides a deep inhale, listens to the android’s - Connor’s - question, and faces him when he realises that Connor won’t go away anytime soon unless he actively does something.

‘Listen, saving that girl is all that matters,’ he tells the android. The twitch of his face only slips the situation into a whole new level of uncanny valley. Since when did CyberLife allow so much life on their androids? ‘So either you deal with this fucking android now, or I’ll take care of it.’

And it’s so typical CyberLife, isn’t it? Lou thinks as he grabs his rifle and kneels behind a toppled, bullet-ridden table his team has been using for cover. There’s a girl’s life at stake, and there they are, thinking that this is a prime time to test their newest prototype as if actual human lives are merely tools they can use whenever, whatever, however. Just like my own, he thinks bitterly as the place where human flesh meets pure cybernetics aches from hunching over the desk for too long. Scrap that, cybernetics were weaved into his very muscles and nerves and changed him fundamentally, and CyberLife didn’t let him know until years after the operation. It wasn’t even someone within the company -

So anyways. Fuck CyberLife. Fuck their monopoly on the android market. Fuck them for playing god.

But orders are orders and Allen received explicit ones telling him to not interfere unless the android looks like he’s gonna fuck up, so he doesn’t have much choice but to piece everything together through comm chatter and the images from the drones flying over the patio. Whoever is in charge of creating this android, he sure as fuck hopes that they made him knowing what he’s doing.

o0o0o     

A few hours later in the relative safety of his office, Lou reads over the report compiled by his people. One of the men shot down by the deviant is, thankfully, alive and recovering, but the other had drowned in the swimming pool long before they were able to do anything. He told the others to go home first, giving them enough time to digest what the fuck just happened in the penthouse, but stayed in the precinct himself just to - just to go home with everything settled. Leaving a job unfinished always makes him anxious and unable to relax at home, especially when people die under his watch, and the numb calmness of the recipient of the call - the man’s fiancé, if Lou remembers correctly - chased away what remaining sleep he is going to have for the night. 

And the face. The person who came to collect Connor’s bullet-riddled body. The flickering skin above black metallic plates brushing against his armoured thigh where his cybernetics acted up from his little magic stunt. He never thought he would see them again, but well - he’s not a prophet, no fucking he is not. No more sleep for him tonight.

That is when he notices a line near the end of the report. Android took Officer Antony Deckart’s service weapon and violated P.L. 544-7 American Androids Act. Request to tighten programming to prevent further incidents, it writes, and it makes him think of the other house he has that he’s been letting… people use as a safehouse. Switching tabs, he examines the footage from the hostage situation once more. Connor had, indeed, taken the gun and even admitted to it when questioned by the deviant, but it only served to gain its trust when he threw it away. He broke protocol only to accomplish his mission, and in the end no one was harmed except for the deviant who had killed two officers. And Connor himself.

It is a tricky scenario, yes, but Lou can do tricky. Connor was just doing what he was supposed to, right?

He highlights the segment and deletes it. He deletes the previous versions of the file as well just in case CyberLife are thorough bastards, and whoever made him, Connor seemed… like an asset. Lou would hate to see all the effort go to waste.

I better not regret this.

o0o0o

As much as Lou wants to stay in bed and sleep with a cat on his chest, debriefing is still something he must do, so the next morning he finds himself facing a bunch of rebellious SWAT members who are too curious about the negotiator they didn’t manage to properly meet yesterday night. 

‘That was his trial. Nothing more, nothing less. The android proved himself to be useful under situations like this. That’s all I need to say,’ he repeats for the umpteenth time. ‘I don’t think we’ll have any more missions with him, so stop asking questions. You won’t need them anyway.’

‘It was plastered all over the news, Captain,’ the newest addition to the team - Shum - says. ‘It’s CyberLife’s newest prototype created by Ryder himself. You can’t fault us for wanting to know more.’

Jim smacks her on the back of her head. ‘Led by Ryder, yes, but you can’t build an android like that alone, Shum.’

Not with the current staff CyberLife has, Lou says to himself. But he saw her. He knows. ‘Alec Ryder isn’t capable of this shit.’

‘Who else can it be, then?’ someone else - Nelson, if he remembers correctly - asks. 

‘I don’t know.’ How can they have such short-term memories? ‘There’s one other Ryder on the table and she’s supposed to be dead.’

‘Wait, you mean Sara Ryder? As in the guy who got kicked out ten years ago?’

Lou gives them his best ‘who else can it be?’ look, and it is what successfully shuts everyone up. 

What game are you playing this time, Ryder?