#i love one (1) snarky android

[hctclcalifornia]

she forgets sometimes that they don't really know each other. that she only knows what jason used to tell her before everything blew up. her head tucks towards her chin, embarrassed that he's reprimanding her like a child. "sorry sir," winnie exaggerates the second word, unable to keep herself from snarking back before her jaw drops as he cheats to finish a corner.

"oh, is that how it's gonna be?" she doesn't look at him, eyes scanning the pieces to find all the similar ones. her pattern recognition software wasn't the most advanced but it was enough for a literal 500 piece puzzle. her hands fly around the table to organize the pieces together, finishing the entire right side of the puzzle soon after. the satisfied smirk returns to her face as she settles back in her chair again, continuing to organize pieces together. “two can play that game, you know. or should we take this back to the sparring ring again?”

          knife, meet chest.  he teaches teenagers at a public school.  comments like this shouldn't faze him.  winnie's not even a teenager; she's an android.  and, if he's honest, it doesn't hurt, not really, but he's still surprised.  shocked even more that when he looks up from his 500 piece jigsaw puzzle, she's grinning from eye to eye.  who the hell taught her shit like this  ?     cue teacher voice :     "     that's not appropriate.     "     he collects a few pieces similar in color and moves them around.  this isn't his choice of a hobby, he'd much rather be in a fight, but last time he sparred with her, it wasn't pretty.  he uses a burst of super speed and manages to get the top left corner fully done.  not a lot, but it's enough that it puts him slightly ahead in the unspoken race.     "     i'm not cheating if i'm using my own skills,     "     he warns, wanting to deflect any accusations before they arise.

[missg00dk4t]

Pride month is already over...(1/2)

I posted a LGBTQ+ superhero comics character every day to my Threads account

Enjoy this recap of every single one. Take care y'all 💙🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈💙

These are (sort of) in chronological order.

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: America Chavez .

Needs: A good on-going series, the MCU not f*cking up her backstory as bad as the comics did.

Qualifactions: Super DUPER f*cking gay (was born in a Sapphic paradise, f*ck the f*cking retcon in it's *sshole)

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Jean-Paul Beaubier, Aka Northstar

Needs: his own x-team (with or without his awesome sister) of which, of course, he would be the leader because, well, duh.

Qualifications: Snarky prideful gay dude💅 (his wit is LEGENDARY)

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character, Aldrif Angela Odinsdottir.

Needs a movie/more comics respresentation/possibly a cooler costume (Love the helmet though)

Qualifactions: Super duper gay.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: David Alleyne aka Prodigy

Needs: His version of young Avengers to come back, for good. And he should hook up with Marvel Boy, just sayin'.

Qualifications: Baby bi boi 🩵

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Gwendolyn Poole, Aka Gwenpool

Needs: For people to start buying her comics, so Marvel understands she's a WAY better character than Deadpool. I said what I f*cking said.

Qualifications: Aroace gurl 🩵

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Nico Minoru aka Sister Grimm (although I struggle to remember when exactly she used that alias 🤷🏽‍♀️)

Needs: Nothing. She's perfect. I'll fight you if you say otherwise.

Qualifications: Buh-buh-buh-Baby biiiii bye byeeeeee... Ahem. Bi. She's bi.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Noh-Varr aka Marvel Boy

Needs: More comics with him in it wtf? I get writing for him after the great Grant Morrison can be intimidating, but come on !

Qualifications: Bi alien guy.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: James Howlett, aka Logan, aka Wolverine (the least cool one imo but hey 🤷🏽‍♀️)

Needs: Marvel to grow a f*cking spine already. For real. Like yesterday.

Qualifications: Bi and polyamorous. That's right. I went there. Deal. With. It. Do you think Jean had connecting doors to both Scott AND Logan's room for what ? BINGO NIGHT ? WAKE/GROW UP PEOPLE !

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Raven Darkholme aka Mystique aka Sherlock Holmes (not joking) aka my blue mom

Needs: NOTHING. Perfection doesn't even BEGIN to describe it.

Qualifications: I still struggle with the concept of a Bi lesbian, but I'm thinking she fits the "label" PERFECTLY 💙

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Charlene McGowan

Needs: Nothing. She was written perfectly. The fact she's trans is addressed ONCE, because it's PLOT RELEVENT, SHE'S THE ONE WHO ADRESSES IT, saves the day thanks to her experience as a trans woman, then she goes on with her f*cking life. Queen 💅

Qualifications: Badass trans scientist. Read. Immortal. Hulk.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Shela Sexton aka Escapade

Needs: More comics. I love seeing her in every year's pride comics, but we don't stop existing after pride y'all.

Qualifications: Trans nerd with socializing issues, it's like she was written for me

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Eloïse Phimister aka Ellie aka Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Needs: For Marvel to actually DO something with her character, like wtf was the point in bringing her back from the dead, rebooting her then NEVER F*CKING USING HER?

Qualifications: Badass angry dyke 💙.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Vivian Vision aka Viv aka... Vivid... Vessel? (wait, what ?)

Needs: MORE CHAMPIONS PLEASE.

Qualifications: Lesbian android girl

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Bobby Drake aka Iceman (Ice ice baby)

Needs: Another case of a character being perfect. Nothing to see here. Kindly move along. I'd hug him. Even in his ice form.

Qualifications: Gay as f*ck.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Julio Richter aka Rictor aka Druid

Needs: For artists to stop drawing him so light skinned. Other than that, no comment (if any writer dares TOUCH his relationship with star again, I WILL bite them though)

Qualifications: Gay warlock. The best kind.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Martha Johansson aka Cerebella and another alias I will not use as it's basically her deadname.

Needs: To be happy. Her origin is so dark, she deserves it.

Qualifications: Gay telepathic prodigy

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Phylla Vell aka Captain Marvel (one of the many) aka Martyr aka Qasar

Needs: To survive her use in the MCU. I still have nightmares of what happened to Kamala.

Qualifications: Gay inter dimensional alien

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Teddy Altman aka motherf*cking Emperor Dorrek-Vell (I added the mothef*cking)

Needs: Why exactly don't I have a ongoing about him and his husband ruling over the empire already? Like wtf Marvel.

Qualifications: Buff gay alien boi

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: William Kaplan aka Billy aka Wiccan

Needs: I won't repeat what I addressed on his husband's presentation. Nothing else to add.

Qualifications: Romani magician gay boi

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Xuan Cao Manh aka Karma

Needs: Nothing. The fact she speaks French makes me like her that much more. Just in case being a badass Vietnamese mutant telepath with a cyberleg didn't already sell me 🤷🏽‍♀️

Qualifications: Badass mutie lesbian.

🏳️‍🌈

Today's LGBTQ+ superhero comics character: Kitty Pryde aka Shadowkat aka Ariel aka too many to remember

Needs: A female love interest she doesn't sexually assaults, like wtf Marvel, who okayed this?

Qualifications: Bi Jewish techie with a heart of gold.

🏳️‍🌈

PART TWO- HERE

[swissmissficrecs]

Underrated Fics, Part 18

It’s been almost a year since my last batch of underrated fics, so I’ve got a good crop to share this time. Criteria:

- Fic is complete - Minimum 10K word count (with wiggle room) - Last chapter posted prior to November 1, 2022 - Fewer than 150 kudos as of this post - “Favorited” by me on AO3

(Previous underrated lists here)

In order of length:

1. I can’t imagine why this hasn’t been picked up by the masses yet. Just look at that summary and tell me it isn’t what you want to read right now!

A Scandal at Paladia by disfictional (34K, E, Johnlock) An ill-fated visit to Uncle Rudy's drag bar unlocks a memory of John's past- a memory that wreaks havoc on their sex life. John has a secret, and Sherlock is determined to solve the case.

2. Yes, there is major character death but also time travel, soulmates, and devastatingly hot sex:

Come Back to Me by BenAddictViolaBatch (21K, E, Johnlock) A fusion of Sherlock and the classic 1980 film, "Somewhere in Time." In 1945, young army doctor John Watson receives a brief and mysterious visit from an elderly scientist, Sherlock Holmes. Intrigued, John researches Holmes and learns that he died on the same night of the visit. He becomes fascinated by Holmes's renowned work in criminology and his secret obsession with time travel. When he encounters a photograph of a young Holmes, he is instantly and deeply enamored, realizing that they are destined for each other.

3. An intriguing series 4 fixit casefic that delivers on the emotions:

The Slow Dance and Death of a Carbon Copy by batslikepastel (15K, T, Johnlock, Warstan) He hasn’t talked to Sherlock outside the bedroom since that first night.  Today, though, when Sherlock painstakingly makes John’s favourite breakfast- eggs benedict- he smiles delightedly and kisses his cheek.  “Thanks, Mary.” The first sign of delusion.

4. For those who want to see what Sherlock got up to during his time away, you can’t get more intense than this:

Serbia by BeautifulFiction (13K, T, Gen with Johnlock undertones) He could not return to John knowing this mess remained unfinished. He could not return to London and expect forgiveness if the ruse had no reason.

5. Deeply thought-provoking philosophy couples with exquisite narrative tension in this soulmate-esque apocalypse AU:

Learning the Heart by Calais_Reno (11K, T, Johnlock) An android tries to understand love and grief.

6. An exciting, snarky zombiefic with simmering Johnlock feels:

Haemophilia by kaasknot (10K, T, Johnlock) It started at Baskerville. A leaky pipe, a faulty experiment left to seed by an absent scientist; in the end, it didn't matter. What mattered was that an epidemic spilled through the medical halls of Baskerville, and no one knew the cause—or how to treat it.

7. This fic might look hardcore, but it’s really fascinating with a gentle, calming vibe. Not exactly Johnlock (yet), but the spark is definitely there:

Fit to Be Tied by Kameo (10K, M, Johnlock) Sherlock Holmes is ever on the lookout for new experiences, and for the first time he is exploring BDSM play at a tasting being held at a local dungeon. He has no idea what to expect but it certainly wasn't a rope-tying army doctor.

8. A tidy casefic/series 4 fixit with preslash setup for more:

The Adventure of the Solicitor’s Mansion by aTangledSkein (9.8K, Johnlock, M) Set post Season 4, this is an update to ACD's "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange."  John is questioning his relationship with Sherlock and wrestling with his own demons. 

[inkrabbit]

did you ever finish that hc list for android!bagley? started thinking about him again and remembered you mentioning that / your concept designs for him

Oh babes, I forgot all about that. Luckily, the list did end up being restored. I'll put it under the read more section. As for his design, I still do have the old sketches, but nothing finalized. If I ever do get a sketch out of him, it won't be for a while, unfortunately.

-Eventual ring on finger - Arthur proposes -Indication boxes pop up on eyes over irises - blue 1 and 0s box when hacking - red triangle with ! in middle when being hacked -Body shuts down/becomes unresponsive when hacking - open to attack -Accompanied by 1 other operative - only if mission calls for multiple hacks or is in a heavily guarded area -Arthur Evans-Larsen - Bagley will eventually have the same last name -Starts as weakest operative - takes a long time to get used to being in a body -Occasionally sends small gifts to Bradley - scented candles - normally fruity or strawberry scents -Trains with Edmond, Lorcan and Dan in fighting - trains on how to do a proper stance, finishing moves -Exclusively uses LTL guns - used as a complete last resort -Shorter hacking times - disrupting optiks lasts longer but takes more time -Occasionally wears “One of Many” jacket - gift from Dan -Still has his snarky/sarcastic attitude, but is softer towards Arthur -Arthur occasionally calls Bagley Bradley - started to use his real name after Bradley went into the hospital and would visit him -Can still transfer his data into drones - body shuts down/becomes responsive -Has phone for quick hacking -Can do normal human things (eat, sleep, get cold, shower, etc) but often times forgets or prefers not to -Just like Bradley, Bagley does love strawberries -Likes rowing, but sometimes finds it annoying -Still gives missions to operatives if he’s busy or is already on a mission -Normally always online except for when he spends time with Arthur -Doesn’t care for sports, but will watch them on TV or go to games if Arthur wants to -Arthur still jokes about Bagley being “the next gold medalist of the Olympics” -Sending out a pulse will automatically light up enemies, even if behind cover or walls - doesn’t last long, only a few seconds -Will remain in calls when transferring his data

[anotheruserwithnoname]

The road to M3GAN

I saw M3GAN (or Megan) over the weekend and even though I was out of the target demographic I greatly enjoyed it. As I mentioned earlier, it played like a Black Mirror episode, or perhaps a somewhat edgy Twilight Zone. I’m glad it’s a hit. One way I describe it to people is “Small Wonder Meets Chucky”. I get a few blank stares from folks who perhaps “came of age” long after the obscure low-budgeted syndicated sitcom of the 80s. It got me thinking about previous stories about “gynoids” (apparently that’s the correct term for female androids) I’ve seen over the years.

Spoiler break as this will be a long one:

The Twilight Zone: “The Lonely” (1959)

The one that started it all in more ways than one. The first regular episode of the original Twilight Zone series to be produced starred Jean Marsh (years before her turn on Doctor Who) as Alicia, an attractive and caring android who is shipped to a lonely prisoner sentenced to life in exile on a deserted asteroid. He falls in love with her (and despite being a robot there are signs she’s developing feelings to), only to have his sentence commuted and a spaceship is sent to return him to earth ... but there’s only room for one passenger. Do the math. One of the more bittersweet stories of the original TZ.

My Living Doll (1964-65)

Often unjustly listed as one of the worst sitcoms of all time (it’s a much better show than that), My Living Doll was part of the first wave of “fantasy coms” that included things like The Addams Family, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, though it only ran one season. A pre-Catwoman Julie Newmar starred as Rhoda, an experimental android created by the US Air Force who ends up being “adopted” in a sense by her creator. Fun and hijinks ensue, partly due to her creator trying to keep her true nature a secret, people assuming she’s his girlfriend, and also the very strong indication (this is a recurring theme with such shows) that she may be becoming sentient (assuming her snarkiness and sense of humour wasn’t programmed in, of course!). Newmar and her co-star Bob Cummings reportedly didn’t get along so midway through the first season a new co-star was brought in. One reason why Living Doll is remembered as one of the worst sitcoms, aside from being looked at through modern-coloured glasses, is the fact it’s one of the few US prime time network shows to actually be virtually lost (almost; enough episodes were located to generate a partial Season 1 DVD set; the hunt is on more missing episodes). So other than an intentionally male-gazy opening credits sequence few had actually seen the show until those DVDs. The No. 1 reason why this show works is Julie Newmar’s endearing performance that often leaves you wondering if Rhoda is actually a robot (and you can see signs of her later Catwoman in the performance too). Plus, it’s a full series starring Julie freaking Newmar.

Small Wonder (1985-1989)

Some 20 years later, one of the producers or creators of My Living Doll (possibly both) revived the idea for the made-for-syndication, low-budgeted Small Wonder, with the major obvious difference that this robot, VICI (a.k.a. Vicky), played by Tiffany Brissette, had the form of a little girl who, other than a completely monotone voice and some weird abilities, was easily mistaken for (and disguised as) inventor Ted Lawson’s daughter. The rationale behind the creation of Vicky also was more altruistic than in My Living Doll; rather than a military asset, Vicky was designed to help disabled children and was intentionally “adopted” by Ted (Rhoda was “adopted” due to being seen by the wrong people and her inventor needed to engage in a form of cover up to keep her secret) in order for her to grow and adapt to living with a family (and once again the question of how much humanity she picks up along the way is raised). I never particularly cared for the show (it did skew to a much younger demo than my teenage self after all), but it has the distinction of being the longest-running show on this list, lasting 4 seasons and just shy of 100 episodes. Don’t try to remember the theme song if you know it, you’ll go crosseyed.

Mann and Machine (1992)

There is a subgenre of TV involving robotic police officers. Not cyborgs (machines built around a human core) in the sense of Robocop, but full out androids created in part to save human lives by getting into harm’s way. A 1970s sitcom called Holmes & Yo-Yo (from the producer of Get Smart and featuring a character inspired by CONTROL’s android agent, HYMIE) was the first of the genre, and was followed by a similar series called Supercop a few years later and only a few years ago Karl Urban starred in yet another robot cop+human partner show, Almost Human. 1992′s Mann & Machine, from the creator of Law & Order (of all things), stands out for built around a female robot, Eve Edison (played by Yancy Butler). Set in the “near future” (approximately 2000) the show ran for about 6 weeks during which Yancy presented a rather appealing character who (here we go again) appeared to be learning human characteristics as she trained as a police officer under a veteran cop who was none too pleased to be paired with a machine (guess what his surname was). I recall one episode made some prescient predictions (pardon the redundancy) about climate change. This show deserved to run longer, but was a little ahead of its time and the media insisting on comparing it to the (frankly nearly unwatchable) failed Holmes & Yo-Yo didn’t help matters (I guess they could have compared it to My Living Doll which in some respects would be worse). The next year Butler starred in another Dick Wolf series, the Modesty Blaise-esque South Beach, before moving on to projects like the NYPD Blue-esque cop show Brooklyn South and superhero series Witchblade.

Bride of Chucky (1998)

Yeah, OK, so Megan isn’t the first insane killer doll on the market. But I bet Tiffany can’t dance for s*it.

(Credit to the original gifmaker!). Incidentally, as there has been some discussion as to why she breaks out into dance somewhat randomly, the films writer has actually explained in a few interviews why and it makes perfect sense (but requires a major spoiler to explain).

This post is already long enough, so I don’t really have space to include other one-off female androids over the years, such as Lal, Data’s “daughter” from Star Trek: The Next Generation (you know, the one the writers of Star Trek: Picard forgot about); the fembots of both Bionic Woman and the Austin Powers movies (headcanon - they share the same universe); Rommie from Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda (technically a flesh avatar but still an android); Cameron from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles; and of course most of the cast of Westworld.

[robinrequiems]

ok ig cashier damian is my latest hyper fixiation, so let’s add

• Ight so, on fridays, jon cannot come in all the time, very rarely can he. and when he does. he sees a very cute sleepy damian who also wants to punch him:)

• damian is just a mess. he didn’t have time to fix his appearance because as soon as he got out of school, he had to change in a shitty unsanitary grocery store bathroom.

• it was not fucking fun. it never is. damian is so over it. jon normally sees Damian working on homework quickly before putting it away when Jon or other customers show

• damian cannot be asked to look like a normal human being when he just finished 7 sad hours of school in ANOTHER shitty uniform. he hates uniforms

Jon: you look like you’re gonna fall asleep

Damian: ugh, look who it is, the good boy from metropolis who doesn’t look like a creep at all when he comes here just to talk to me. woo hoo!

Jon: nice to see you too

• jon normally sucked on lollipops when he didn’t want to chew on gum, plus sometimes he chews on gum really aggressively and it hurts his jaw

• but let’s talk abt jonny: star athlete ( I’m a simp for athletes jon, please kill me. he’s a basketball player in this though. he got the height for it anyway ), himbo-vibes, and overall sweetheart.

• at least that’s what everyone else thinks. his life is a cycle. A very miserable cycle. It’s honestly tiring and hurts his head and generally takes his mood down

• but then he drove to bludhaven in his new car and brand new license. and he saw him.

• sure he’s seen moody teenagers working at stores before, but this boy; Damian, by his name tag, was different. He SENSED IT

• jon found that he liked different

• damian.. just didn’t easily talk with Jon like so many did at home. he liked a challenge

• and Damian was his challenge

• so he wasted so much gas and time and money to visit him.

• he was so whipped

• he was attracted to him. just the way he did things. like goddamn. ok.

• then his friends and him took a trip there. it was Saturday, they were gonna leave on Sunday. it was for Kathy’s birthday. He had no idea why she wanted to go here.

• oh. yeah. The idiots taken in for underaged drinking. Jon didn’t drink. ( he was a good boy and designated driver ) so he was just there trying to get the officers to let his friends off the hook

Damian: oh look, guess the good boy isn’t really a good boy.

Jon: Damian—? No! I’m here to get my friends out!

Damian: figures, you’re too innocent to do bad things.

Jon: what did you do then?

Damian: well wouldnt my you like to know

Dick: Damian! There you are! Sorry, I was calling up some parents- who is this?

Damian: Good boy.

Dick: ah.

Jon: Jon Kent.. nice to meet you

Dick: wait. As in Clark Kent?

Jon: yeah? that’s my dad

Dick: aw your dad used to babysit me

Damian: can we go now

Dick: hush Damian, I’m feeling nostalgic

• so Damian learned jons name. And jon got to see Damian in regular clothes, so that was cool

• he also got in trouble and couldn’t see Damian for a month because his parents were upset about what happened.. understandable, but jon was still upset

Tai: soo, that was him?:)

Jon: shut up

• tai accidentally found out about cashier boy, it was very funny for tai. not Jon. he teased jon for being whipped.

• sure jon liked damian for his looks at first. then he liked him for him.

Jon: dad, some guy named dick said hi

Clark: jon it isn’t— wait-

Jon: he said you babysat him

Clark: really? You saw him, how did he look? I haven’t seen him since he was a kid!

Jon: um. good?

Clark: where did you see him?

Jon: ..the police place

• his parents put a tracker on jons phone. now they were so confused why their son kept going to Giant Beagle in bludhaven. it was. weird.

• they just- was he meeting someone?? why was he doing this? WAS HE GETTING DRUGS? wait. no. it’s jon. jon couldn’t even stand the smell of cigarettes

Lois: jon.. honey.

Jon: yeah?

Lois: why do you keep driving to bludhaven? I’m worried about you and want to make sure you aren’t doing anything.. bad. Or dangerous.

• granted, it was very dangerous going out there, but he liked it. he liked the thrill of when he got to walk damian back sometimes! HE WAS GETTING CLOSER TO DAMIAN!

• oh also. it turns out damian gave him a fake number

• rude.

• damian always warned him though. and tried to make jon not walk far. jon was.. jon was a good boy. he would never survive in bludhaven frequently, jt worried humored damian.

• sometimes jon came by during the day. Damian’s Sunday shift was in the evening while his Saturday one was in the morning. jon got to go get lunch with him sometimes if Damian felt like there were enough people around that would know if he got kidnapped or not

Damian: why do you bother talking to me? most get bored of me and my attitude.

Jon: I find it charming. you’re fun to talk to. you feel so real. almost everyone in my life feels artificial and like I’m living in a disney Chanel movie.

Damian: *he laughed* oh?

Jon, loving Damians laugh rn: yeah! it’s like they’re.. androids or somethin’.

Damian: why don’t you just find someone snarky from metropolis?

Jon: it wouldn’t be as fun then.

Jon: i like a challenge.

• getting to know damian was like trying to beat the hardest level in his game. it was mind blowing how many times he basically had to restart. Damian was also like a Rubix cube, but jon will get there. He already has 1 side done on it.

Jon: so you live with your brother?

Damian: yes.

Jon: nice

• jon didn’t pry. Damian and dick had became forgotten after bruces death, a lot of the kids did. they just all disappeared from the media like ghosts.

• so jon didn’t know that dick wasn’t his blood relative, or that Damian was Bruce’s child. no one really did

• it wasn’t like it mattered though anyways

Damian: basketball is lame.

Jon: have you ever played?

Damian: yes. it sucked ass

• jon has helped Damian restocked late at night sometimes. Damian doesn’t like him touching things, but the faster he does it, faster he can go home to get his pets, alfred, and his idiot brother

Damian: you waste a lot of gas coming to see me.

Jon: it’s worth it.

• jon had to get a job. boo. he worked on days he didn’t have practice and sadly, on sundays.

• he was a worker at a small cafe, he was just a waiter there

• and then one day, on a Sunday, Damian came in with a few people. WAIT DAMIAN CAME IN

Jon: DAMIAN

Damian, clearly startled: what the fuck, jon!

Jon: why’re you here! how long are you staying! ARE TOU REALLY HERE!

Maya: is this who you were talking about?

Damian: shut up.. but calm down, idiot.

Damian: .. you got a haircut.

Jon: you- you noticed? sorry I couldn’t come this week. was busy this week and needed to catch up on sleep.

Damian:’it’s fine. I guess I really should give you my number now.

Colin: that was smooth

Jon: really?

Damian: mhm. after you seat us, dumbass.

Jon: oh right

• and Damian did give jon his number

• a real one dw

Maps: he was cute.. he single?

Maya: he wouldn’t be single if Damian just manned up

Colin: they practically just stared at each other the whole time when they thought the other wasn’t looking

Damian: wait he was looking at me?

Maya: oh damians so whipped.

• oh how the cashier is falling for the waiter

• sounds like a hallmark film.

• next week jon did end up visiting him in ‘haven, and drove him home.

• damians feet were hurting and he was tired so he didn’t even bother to argue.

• jon couldn’t come to visit his favorite cashier during winters a lot, he may of liked his new “dangerous” life, but he heard how bad the roses could get from Damian

• damian was a bit sad and moody because of that. but shut up. you don’t know anything dick

Dick: you know.. you should invite him inside

Damian: so you can embarrass me? no thank you.

Dick: me? embarrass you? never. but come on, you have never shown interested in anyone before! I wanna meet him!

Damian: you already did. At the police station. you forget or something?

Dick: .. that wasn’t really the best first meeting. come on. please?

Damian: no.

[lea-andres]

orbot and cubot headcanons because I love them

they both have android bodies that they use to look more mobian when going out for errands, and what species they are is up for debate.

orbot and cubot see each other as brothers rather than lovers.

they are both intelligent, cubot just isn't that bright.

sonic and his crew are more allies than friends.

orbot manages the compan(y)(ies) that eggman owns while he focuses on the heroes.

lawful and chaotic neutrals in the making.

cubot was made to be a bodyguard.

they actually have befriended most of the villains (i.e the deadly six, dr. starline, infinite, ect.)

share one (1) braincell and orbot has full custody of it.

metal sonic is their reluctant older brother.

eggman, eventually, begins to treat them like his children.

orbot is the most snarky little shit you will ever meet.

they both take breaks without the doctor's knowledge.

"please for the love of whatever god is out there go to sleep," —orbot, to eggman working at 4am again.

"hey what's a milf?" —cubot, asking even though he knows exactly what it means.

I personally ship CuOrb (but to each his own on how you want to view them!), But I do enjoy these!

I especially love the idea of Cubot intentionally asking uncomfortable questions already knowing what the answer is just to fuck with people. He knows, he just likes hearing the groans.

And yes, Orbot is the owner of the only brain cell. Cubot is head empty, only... Huh. Well, not much is happening upstairs.

[parismelodies]

kai appreciation post

i’ve been really wanting to post about the lunar chronicles ever since i finished it last week, but i couldn’t think of anything for my textpost☹️ that is why i’ve decided to do a kai appreciation post where i list the top 3 reasons i love him with my whole heart😛 he’s done A LOT in all 4 books (i’m not done with stars above all yet so idk if he did anything cool there) to save the people he cared about and his citizens so i felt i needed to pay homage to that😌 (is that even how you use the word homage? idk.) hopefully this will also explain to anyone that hasn’t read the series why he is super epic😎

(spoilers ahead!! they’re kinda vague and most of them are spoilers of cinder but if you haven’t read any of the books and don’t want to read any spoilers beforehand, then i advise you don’t read)

1. THIS DUDE AGREED TO MARRY SOMEONE LIKE 30 YEARS OLDER THAN HIM, THAT HE DIDN’T EVEN LIKE, BECAUSE IT WOULD SAVE HIS COUNTRY!!

like i’m sorry but that was such a badass thing to do and i love him for that. his father had just died and right away levana comes down from the fucking moon and tells him she had an anecdote that could have saved his father😐 then, he has to remain FUCKING DIPLOMATIC to this woman that HE DOESNT GIVE A LIVING FUCK ABOUT!! LIKE THAT IS SO COOL OF HIM AND I JUST APPLAUD BECAUSE I WOULD NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE 👏

2. he literally took over the position of emperor RIGHT AFTER HIS FATHER PASSED AWAY (well not right away but he took over duties involving ways to handle a whole fucking deadly plague)

imagine still mourning after your father’s death and this person that wants to take over the world comes down to your country. on top of that, the other leaders are basically waiting on you to make a life-or-death decision (or should i say death-of-billions-or-death-of-billions-including-you decision) where both outcomes end badly😐 AND ON TOP OF THAT YOU’RE DEALING WITH FEELINGS FOR A GIRL YOU LIKE!! and the cherry on the top is that literally the only friends you has is your advisor and an android (and later a wedding planner)😭 like this poor poor child (he’s an adult but shut up) has so much shit on his plate and he doesn’t even have friends his age to vent to🥲

3. HIS SNARKY MOMENTS

i swear i read those moments and i was like, “yeah that hot.”🙃 LIKE THAT ONE MOMENT IN SCARLET (it’s one of the first 3 books but i don’t remember which one) WHERE HE TIPPED BACK HIS CHAIR AND PUT HIS FEET ON THE TABLE TO SHOW HE DIDN’T CARE!! I SWOONED😩 OR ALSO THE TIME WHERE LEVANA WAS GONNA KILL TORIN BC HE SMUGGLED THE GANG (if you’re still reading this out of context, i mean the friend group not an actual gang) AND HE WAS LIKE, “you’re not gonna kill me or my advisor until we get married and you’re coordinated.😌” i literally JUMPED out of my bed and like just like SCREAMED into my pillow bc the absolute nerve he had was AMAZING HSGIJSH. okay the last moment was when he helped Cress and then Levana’s thaumaturge (or a servant, i can’t remember) said it was his port-screen that helped😭 he literally just went: 🤷‍♂️. LIKE HE DID NOT GIVE A LIVING FUCK BECAUSE HE KNEW THE ONLY WAY HE’D SURVIVE ALL THIS WAS IF THEY SUCCEEDED!! LIKE THE ABSOLUTE AUDACITY HE HAD IN THAT SCENE WAS AND STILL IS JUST SO AWESOME

*takes a deep breath* anyways, sorry this was all caps and bad grammer🤠 kai is my favorite character in TLC and his povs are perfection😌 if you haven’t read the series, you definitely should!!

[zephyr-paladyn]

masculaxi character analysis/appreciation

it's been over a year since gala masculaxi's release and i'm still not over it

(heavy dragalia lost spoilers ahead)

(gala mascula does not exist btw) i just love how mascula and laxi are designed as two parts of a whole, basically one half of the same ideal/same person. you can't have one without the other. if you heavily favor one over the other i dont trust you... only half joking. when laxi went berserk and mascula had to save her by giving her his heart in their debut ch11, that was just... such a moment... it shows them at their most "separate" (laxi in berserk/annihilation mode, and mascula stopping at nothing to disengage combat.) which sets us up for their development as two hearts in one body. in masculaxi (flame blade)'s story, they're still at odds but they begin to learn to cooperate in the same body, and this is the beginning of their "convergence." in ch14 of the main story is when we see the beginnings of eden mode. when all the androids sacrifice themselves for euden and co to advance, mascula realizes it his empathetic heart that influenced them and led them to their painful deaths. he then shuts down his ego circuit out of guilt. when the team is in a tight spot, and only masculaxi can save the day (since their body is unaffected due to the miasma only affecting organic lifeforms,) laxi goes into their heart to search for mascula and plead him to help her. all this time, laxi had envied mascula's heart for being "more human," but realized that maestro had written the fear of death in all of the android's hearts, and as such, laxi understood the weight of their yearning for peace, with the act of their self-sacrifice for euden. (later we do learn with gala masculaxi that mascula had been influencing laxi more. here we see laxi's influence on mascula to urge him to fight.) laxi gets mascula out of the gay baby jail zone, releases her limiters, and activates annihilation mode hastily. mascula then guides her attacks to the correct targets, which is the first instance we see of mascula engaging in any sort of fighting. in this state of laxi's annihilation mode combined with mascula's guided assault, a new mode beyond annihilation mode becomes available to them: eden mode, when their hearts become one. this mode concentrates all the mana around them inside their body's mana kiln, and gives them even more power. mascula still dislikes fighting and does not want to do it as much, but has a newfound conviction and will not run away when he is needed. an interesting line here is mascula saying this: ▷It's as if he knew our hearts would one day become one. But how...?◁ indicating that from the start, they were truly two halves of a whole ideal. shortly after the release of ch14, we get the release of the flame dagger gala masculaxi unit, which contains eden mode in their gameplay, and expands upon the "two hearts acting as one" deal they have going on. laxi, mascula, and luca head to the ruins of maestro's lab in order to gain more clues on how eden mode works. laxi equips a new armament meant to accommodate eden mode (and demands praise of how good she looks, lol. also laxi is much more snarky in this story which is a treat. she's so funny. but also this shows mascula's emotional influence on her!!!!!) laxi learns of how eden mode works, and essentially it's a release of all limiters and rerouting all circuits to their internal mana kiln, but elimination protocol is activated automatically as well which does not make any distinction between friend and foe. it enhances laxi's combat ability, but mascula has to take care of elimination protocol since he has access and control of it. hence, in eden mode, laxi goes all out in attacking, while mascula controls the body's movements and targets. however this is only possible if their hearts act as one. the two are attacked by dyrenell forces and activate eden mode against them, but mascula temporarily loses the will to fight in the middle of the battle, destabilizing and deactivating eden mode. luca is captured and a villager shields them from an oncoming attack, believing in mascula's peaceful ideals. laxi engages tactical retreat and they escape. they engage in a plan to save luca but are attacked by imperials again. they try to go into eden mode but mascula once again disengages eden mode. mascula tells laxi of his regrets and frustrations that he keeps holding her back, but laxi tells him that she found herself synchronizing with him. with the villager (that mascula had saved before and in turn protected masculaxi earlier,) laxi found the value in mercy for enemies. by having laxi bend towards mascula's will, they're able to take on the imperials who chased after them with a truly synchronized eden mode. ▷Laxi, give me the strength to fight!◁ Granted. Now give me the kindness required to temper my actions. ▷Heh. Take all you need!◁ their system strain falls, and they're able to defeat the imperials. laxi, mascula, luca, and euden talk together after all is done. laxi takes interest in a cat, while mascula teaches her how to interact with it. Euden: Laxi and Mascula say the maestro who made them was a peace-loving man, but... Luca: No, I getcha. Why would some peacenik give something THIS much power? ch14 and their gala story really shows how the two embodied different sides of the same ideal -- "fighting for peace," and how they begin to converge upon that ideal. initially laxi only focused on "fighting" and mascula only focused on "peace," but A compassionate heart. ▷The courage to fight.◁ -Eden Mode, activate!- their character development after this is a bit wonky at times because it sets up for gala mascula who is really poorly written and doesn't necessarily align with the ideals established within ch14 and gala masculaxi, or even the development directly before it either. with ageless artifice and ch18 (when the team first enters the faerie kingdom and gets lost,) we get teasers of mascula with his own body. in ageless artifice, eirene steals mascula's body and intends to use it against masculaxi, but mascula takes control of his body and proclaims that his body isn't necessarily him, but what IS him is his resolve to fight for peace alongside his friends. (stays in line with gala masculaxi, right?) in ch18 we also see mascula having a "nightmare/illusion" in which he gains his body back but at the cost of laxi going berserk once more, showing that they truly cannot function at their "fullest ideal" without each other in the same body. laxi asks mascula if he wants his own body back, and mascula says he sometimes misses it but overall he wants to continue fighting with her the way they are. this is echoed in ch19, take this exchange for example: Mascula, I know you were thinking of your own body while lost in the mountain's illusions. You gave up your body to save me, and I owe you an apology for that. ▷Don't apologize—I wanted to do it. Plus, being with you makes me happy.◁ I want to see a peaceful world just as we are in this body now—together. ▷I feel the exact same way.◁ ▷No more hesitation. You and I are going to fight with Maestro as a team.◁ And together... ▷...we will bring peace.◁ reaffirming their ideals together and keeping in line with their development, right? mascula doesn't WANT his own body back. he wants to keep fighting with laxi, that's THE WHOLE POINT OF THEIR CHARACTERS. which does not make sense when we get the remote control BS IN THE SAME CHAPTER??? (teased from the ending of ageless artifice with chelle) and mascula has his own body again as a remote control system. now the portrayal in the main story wasn't AS bad but... the real problem comes to gala mascula as an adventurer with his stories and voice lines. this "mascula" proclaims of how much he loves/misses his body and how he "doesn't need laxi dragging him around anymore." like sure he sometimes feels being in laxi's body with her is bothersome but overall, at his heart, he wouldn't really say something like that??? mascula your voice lines are so contradictory to what just happened in the main story and what you said in ageless artifice what happened!!!!!!! his adventurer story lacks the cooperative laxi-mascula dynamic we knew and loved, and instead pushes mascula front and center to try to push him to do things himself. we didn't really need mascula getting his own body back anyways, but you COULD'VE AT LEAST written it so that they have more emphasis on cooperation with each other?? god im sorry i just. AUGH he's so OBVIOUSLY hastily pushed into their development arc and he loses his characterization. it's obvious gala mascula wasn't intended to be a thing in the initial plan for masculaxi... i am not forgiving every single one of you who sent in feedback for playable mascula. once again only half joking... maybe only a quarter joking. 1/8ths joking. radioactive decay graph joking. (also just a tiny nitpick: you can apparently run gala mascula and laxi/gala laxi on the same team. lore compliancy who? eden mode can't be activated while the remote control unit is active. but whatever) though another interesting plot point is brought up in his story though? maestro's origins, the writing of "seek peace" on mascula and laxi's bodies being in a language that only the sky city ark people would know.. with such an elaborate plan for such a complex android duo, and everything else mysterious about this man, just who is he? his master plan of masculaxi was really amazing to see come to fruition... maestro fought on the side of dyrenell, against dragons -- against elysium you could say. although ex machina seeks the destruction of terrestrial life because they "allied with the dragons" (a misconception,) on the contrary maybe maestro aimed to create an ultimate weapon for terrestrials to defend themselves against the dragons. however this weapon had to also understand the value of what it was fighting for -- learning for itself how to go about "fighting for peace." thus, the creation of the twins mascula and laxi; two halves of a whole. by having a compassionate and adaptable heart, they can change with the times, understand the people around them, and decide on their own what the best course of action is in various situations. i love love LOVE masculaxi and how they're written!! (for the most part.) two of my faves in the game and i love them and their characterization so much, i just wish more people could see the intricacies of their relationship and how they're literally like. 1/2 of the same thing. it's such a beautifully written dynamic and development, and i want others to appreciate it too.

a little bonus, in this character art, you can see the "star tetrahedron" shapes. in sacred geometry symbolism, the "star tetrahedron" is the sixth shape enclosed within "metatron's cube." these shapes, and this cube, are said to maintain the balance of the world itself and its flows/processes. as for the "star tetrahedron" itself, it represents duality: physical body and spiritual self; male and female; and heaven and earth. this ties into mascula and laxi's characters: mascula controlling the "mind" in eden mode while laxi focuses on the attacking "body;" and mascula and laxi being of different genders. as for "heaven" and "earth," this could represent maestro coming from the sky city ark, and masculaxi being technology intended to aid humans. alternatively for "heaven" and "earth," the fact that the star tetrahedron is enclosed within "metatron's cube" may be a pointer to metatron in-universe. the archangels all have white hair, a trait shared by masculaxi. additionally, sandalphon is somewhat mechanical/technological herself. masculaxi being man-made (of the earth,) versus their potential connection to the angels (of the heavens.)

[octopunkmedia]

Do you have any tips/advice for writing Gavin to slowly become less of an android hating a**hole (for lack of better words)? I'm trying to write him and I'm struggling.

Interesting question! Lots to say here. Gavin is one of my favorite characters of all time to read and write about.

The root of writing a good sympathetic Gavin is finding why he is the way he is. And there's two sides to this you have to unpack, and solving one won't solve the other.

1) why does he hate androids

2) why is he, generally, cruel and selfish?

I think canonically there are a few hints for number 1. The first is, he's afraid of being replaced. And considering how ambitious he is as a detective, the reason for this sore spot is obvious. Gavin's job is extremely important to him. He's the only DPD character out of uniform who never changes his clothes day to day, which always suggested to me that he doesn't leave the office much. He seems to have disdain for Hank, either because Hank is his fallen idol or he feels like Hank squanders a job that he himself wants. And I leaned into the idea in DE that the reason his job is so important to him is because it's literally all he has. It's what saved his life. The idea of losing it is basically equal to death in his eyes. Note that your reason for his anti-android sentiment doesn't have to match these - I've seen some folks claim Gavin hates androids because he hates Kamski, and repairing his relationship with Elijah is the key to solving his bias. Or that an android hurt him in some way before, much like Hank's backstory. I also like to imagine that he had no reason to believe deviants were alive in-game, and post-revolution he let go of that belief pretty easily once he saw the marches. But whatever the reason, this is what you have to cure.

The way I was able to abate Gavin's reluctance of androids was by giving him a partner who makes him stronger and actually makes him a better detective. And with enough time passing, Gavin starts to lose the worry that androids are there to replace them, and instead embraces their unique capabilities on the force. And of course, he falls in love with Nines on a heart level, for being the one person who stands by him no matter his faults, which certainly helps things. If you want to slowly show this evolution in character, giving Gavin reasons to humanize Nines, connect to him, or appreciate his work is a good start. Gavin is also a person who works with the public a lot and the public now includes androids, so some victims or witnesses he encounters may create more empathy in him over time.

Then there's part 2: why is Gavin such an asshole? Why is he loud, jumpy, irritable, unfriendly, hostile, snarky? Why does he push people away and act so tempermental? The context of this in DE is that his background is full of immense trauma, a backstory where he's been lonely and abused nearly his entirely life by almost everyone he's ever known. A backstory where his entire self worth is propped up by his career, and anything else about himself he hates. He trusts no one. He likes touching no one. He assumes everyone will leave so he gets the jump on it by pushing them away first.

Because this is so deeply rooted in who Gavin is, it cannot really be "changed" - trauma is in his DNA now. But it can be explained. It can be reckoned with and acknowledged. It can be revealed to Nines so that Nines can be more patient with him. And Gavin can heal, some. Admitting his past aloud and trusting Nines to hear it is the first step.

But there's other ways you could potentially explain why Gavin is the way he is. A few people like to headcanon that his rejection sensitivity, hyperactivity, and other symptoms are a result of ADHD. I'm ADHD myself, and see a lot of myself reflected in Gavin, so I quite admire this headcanon. You could also explain a lot of it by sleep deprivation, which has a tendency to make a person irritable, nervous, and paranoid. Or maybe he's just an asshole because bullying people is fun to him and he's innately mean spirited (if you go the "Kamski and Gavin are bros" route, having Gavin come from wealth and privilege that needs to be unlearned could be an arc for him). Depending on your approach and reasoning, Gavin addressing the root of his hostile nature and working to heal it or grow away from it, perhaps because Nines inspires him to be a more worthy person of loving, it a start.

Whatever the reason, if writing a sympathetic Gavin, his hostile nature is a separate issue to be unpacked from his anti-android sentiment, because I see one as his personality and another as his experience/worldview, so they aren't mutually exclusive. Hope this helps!

[the-wintershade]

sleeping in waking | rain (1)

pairing: connor (rk800) x reader summary: Connor couldn't figure you out and that bothered him, more than he was willing to admit. Usually, he didn't care whether he was close to someone or not, but then, they weren't you and they weren't working with him all the time. Every time you were near, he would ache to hear you open up to him, to give a few details of your personal life that he knew nothing about, but you gave away nothing - nothing - and he failed to compute why. Now, there was only one thing to do. He would do whatever he had to to get to know you - that was his mission and he always completed his mission. wc: 4.6k+ genre: fluff, a splash of angst

Rain: series — 01 | 02 | 03

The pitter patter of the heavy raindrops hitting the pavement was like music to your ears as you waited under the awning of your house before you left for work. You reached out and let the drops cool your skin. The weather forecast included warm days; unseasonably warm days that consisted of melting ice and snow and road flooding. Not the prettiest or most glamorous, but a bit of an adventure to drive through and that it made it even more fun.

The rain was a welcome companion for you, a sort of home you could feel in every drop on the ground, on every streak of water crawling down your windows, on every blob that crashed into your face as it fell. You breathed in before starting a countdown in your head, 3….2….1….Go! and suddenly you were off, a giggling mess as you rushed to pry your car door open before the rain could permeate the thin material of your windbreaker. Throwing yourself into the safety of your vehicle - a smile still lingering on your face - you sat and listened to the cacophony of raindrops pound on the roof of your metal transport.

You shook the water off your clothes like a dog shaking the mud off of its coat. Letting out a sigh, you felt around the ignition with your key before it sank into its spot with a slight dip. Turning it all the way forward, you felt your car rumble to life beneath you, a few beeps being emitted in the process. You watched the dashboard light up with a few blinks and then a steady stream of faint light, the windshield fogging up with your warm exhales against the coolness of the car.

With a tap of the finger, you heard the fan kick on in an attempt to warm the glass enough to get the condensation to disappear. You rubbed your balmy hands together to give them a chance to get fully heated before you placed them on the cold steering wheel and drove yourself to work through the torrential downpour.

...

“All this damn rain is giving me a headache. I can’t even let Sumo out of the house without him bringing back a fucking lake.” Hank sat nursing a cup of lukewarm coffee and trying to expel his frustrations with the sky, with you, the least helpful person to talk to. So instead of turning the conversation to your pluviophile like habits, you turned it to your favorite furball.

You loved his little - or not so little - dog. That little ball of fur always managed to bring a smile to your face no matter what you were going through. He would come and lick your face eagerly or jump on your leg until you would sink down to a height in which he could. A small smile spread on your face thinking of your special guy.

“How is my handsome man doing?” You grinned plopping into your chair, booting up your computer in the process.

“Spoiled as ever, especially since he has Connor around all the time.” He brought his gaze up to the android absentmindedly throwing a quarter between his hands. The coin managed to cast a glint everytime the fluorescent lights caught it, visible through your peripheral vision and distracting.

You looked up to see Connor’s LED a bright shade of yellow as his eyes lingered on the linoleum tile underneath him, the quarter whizzing through the air as it sank into the palm of his left hand. He tucked it into his pocket and moved to look back at Hank as he realized he had quickly become a focus of your conversation.

“Sorry, Lieutenant, I was thinking.” He blinked and looked at you, giving you the smallest resemblance of a smile that he could manage as his LED returned to blue. Connor was trying, you’d give him that.

“No shit,” Hank grumbled, standing and sauntering his way over to the break room. “I’ll grab you a cup.” He titled his own paper cup and gave it a slight wave.

“Thanks.” You moved your attention on Connor whose eyes were already on you, a pleasant expression on his face. You and Connor had become good friends in the short time you’ve worked at the department, a nice reprieve from dealing with the likes of the other officers. Connor was kind and gentle yet determined and focused, you admired his work ethic as he tirelessly tracked down the purp and apprehended him with little difficulty. How such a benevolent face was capable of such vigor and robustness shocked you, but in a good way. It was good to see the contrasting qualities being balanced.

“How are you doing, Connor?” You shook your hair a bit, a few droplets ringing down from the crown of your hair. He watched these drops with interest before responding to you.

“I’m fine. How are you, Officer (y/l/n)?” He looked back at your eyes, the moment of distraction over.

“Great. The rain is fun to drive in.” You smiled as you clicked on a few files on your computer bring them closer to your attention. Connor’s LED swam to yellow again and a frown took to his face.

“I don’t understand, isn’t it hazardous? I’m not sure how something like that can be entertaining for you.” A grin crept its way to the corner of your mouth as you found his lack of understanding funny and a little bit adorable. You looked over the top of your monitor to find him looking at you expectantly.

“Well, it’s fun because you can watch the pools of water fly away from your wheels like you’re parting the red sea. It’s kind of like when you’re a kid and you jump into all the puddles while walking with your parents to the car because you're fascinated with the way it shoots away from you and…” The words died on your lips as you saw Connor’s face contort in a deeper state of confusion.

Of course, he had no idea about the kind of things like a childhood. The rambling you were doing was essentially pointless, he’d never experienced any types of those things first hand. You stopped trying to explain it and instead settled for a more simple response.

“I just enjoy it, that’s all.” Your eyes moved back to scanning over a report filed a few days ago, adding your own information to it. Little did you know, Connor wanted to hear you speak of your childhood memories more. He had only known the little details that you let slip in your conversations with Lieutenant Anderson, but when it came to speaking with him, your responses were more withdrawn and simple, not as complex as he was sure your mind was.

He wanted to be able to communicate with you more effectively and get more interesting answers. The way your eyes narrowed in concentration, the way you smiled when Lieutenant Anderson made what he came to know as a “snarky” comment, the ways your eyes lit up when explaining something that you found captivating, all proved to him that there were more going on your mind then what you verbally conveyed. If only he could find some way for you to open up to him, to trust that he was going to understand and that you could tell him anything your heart desired, to trust that he would never look at you any differently.

Connor had been running different ways he could accomplish his mission and all involved spending more time with you, preferably without Lieutenant Anderson. He would get to know more about your background and the kind of things you enjoyed, then maybe you would open up to him at some point. The same logic and reasoning helped when trying to figure out the Lieutenant, plus it would help strengthen the “bond” within your group.

It was decided.

“Here you are, a steaming cup of bland flavors and unmet expectations.” A giggle left your mouth as you nodded your head in appreciation.

“Seems like you’re a big fan of such high-grade coffee.” You tipped your cup up.

“Oh shut up.” He smirked, sinking down in his seat. You looked over to see that little LED flash yellow for the third time in the time you’d been in the office of the DPD. Connor didn’t say anything for a minute, his eyes fluttered shut and it worried you that there might be something amiss. Hank didn’t hear a response and looked over to you, only to find you concentrating on the android in the chair. He too saw the behavior of Connor and groaned before the android had a chance to speak.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I just sat down for -”

“Lieutenant Anderson, I’ve just got a report of a suspected deviant. We should go take a look.” He blinked back at him - his LED becoming blue again - as he didn’t hear the words that he uttered before. Connor only heard your laughter and saw your eyes crinkle on the corners and that was enough for the LED to blink yellow before reverting back to the familiar blue hue it normally held. He blinked once more before returning his focus back to Lieutenant Anderson, but his jaded blue eyes were already looking at him, tapering in thought. He saw that tiny circle on his forehead flash yellow for a split second.

“Everything alright, Connor?” Connor head cocked to the side and scrunched his forehead slightly.

“Everything is fine, Lieutenant.” He looked concerned but Hank knew better. He was sure he saw that little light wink into yellow.

Meanwhile, you had watched the whole exchange go down as your laughter died. They looked as if they were sizing each other up and if you hadn’t known the two, you might have thought that they were butting heads. You threw your jacket over your shoulders, slinging your arms through the sleeves. Letting out a light sigh and picked up your keys. “Well, if you two are done staring at each other, I believe that we have a crime scene to investigate.”

Software Instability ^

...

The ground was sopping wet and the smell of rain clouded all your senses as you hopped out of your car. The water droplets falling from the sky had lessened in their frequency but hadn’t stopped completely, creating a weirdly eerie mood. Your feet squished under the wet gravel as you made your way towards the house in front of you.

“Afternoon, Officer.” A detective said to you as you nodded and ducked underneath the yellow police tape.

“Afternoon.” You took in the scene in front of you, a broken glass window and some spatters of blue on its shards leaving a trail leading towards the back of the house. The wet grass scrunched underneath your feet as you made your way around to the back of the house, following the blue drops. When you arrived at the back of the home, the little bits of blue could no longer be found, the rain washed the trail away.

You stood at a loss. There could only be two possible places of where this android could be; inside this house or out on the streets somewhere. You didn’t think it would harm anyone without good reason, none of these androids did. Every case you had been on involved abuse, stress, or some sort of mistreatment that had resulted in such a dramatic and significant outburst of emotions. Just as humans had reasons behind their actions, so did deviants, in fact, you thought what they went through was worse. They endured for so long and what happened to them had to be astronomically terrible for a sudden break to even occur. They are strong, stronger than the will of most humans before they fall apart.

But all this rambling wouldn’t solve the problem staring you dead in your face. Connor and Hank hadn’t arrived yet and it was dark enough outside and in the house that nothing would be completely visible to you when you entered. If you tried tracking the android, you’d be walking aimlessly with nothing to indicate you were getting any warmer. The longer you waited, the further away the deviant could be and the longer it would take to track them down.

You were going in.

The wind picked up, throwing your hair around and shaking the dead tree on the lawn. As you moved closer to the back door, the wood creaked underneath your feet. Mentally, you cursed, they would definitely know someone was here now. Slipping the gun out of the waistband of your pants, you held it tautly in your hand, adjusting your grip as you pressed your ear to the door.

Nothing, dead silent.

You tried your luck with the handle, it turned but you weren’t positive nothing was attached to it. Sliding over to the window, you peaked through the torn up blinds. Dust sparkled through the air and it looked well abandoned, but most importantly, you didn’t find any evidence of something attached to the doorknob. You moved back over to the older wooden door, gave it a couple of good shoves with your shoulder and nearly fell to the ground as it broke free of the hinges.

Planting your foot, you moved your handgun into the first corner you saw. Another spew of dust flew up as you disturbed its peace, blocking your full view of the place. You utter some words of warning into the home but you heard fast footsteps on the grass behind you. Slipping behind the door, you wait for the people to come up the porch. Once you heard the wood creak, you sprung out from your hiding spot, the muzzle of your handgun pointed at the dead center of the stranger’s forehead.

“Officer (y/l/n)!” His eyes widened as he took in the firearm pointed in his direction and the startling dark look your eyes slid into. “It’s me, Connor.” His tone slipped into a softer, gentler version, hands in the air in a show of peace.

Connor ran all the way around because he knew you were here already and he did not want you to be alone. He wanted to be with you when you went into the house, to accompany you, in case something were to go wrong. He wanted to be able to have his part to play in fate should the worst come to pass. He wanted to be by your side more than he knew he should. He wanted all these things, but that was not typical behavior. Connor the machine should not want things.

It took you exactly two blinks before you corrected the aim of your weapon and another two before your brain registered that this was not your enemy. Tightening your jaw, you nodded and stepped back enough to let him in.

Connor’s LED flared red as he saw your current state. Something was definitely wrong; he never witnessed this darkness in your eyes that he had just seen nor how fast your heart was beating. Your pulse still was not under control and your eyes remained on the wood floor in the time you had lowered your weapon.

Connor was not equipped with the knowledge of comforting people, but looking at you created a dull ache in his chest, a sudden thirst to know anyway possibility that would help. The little consolation Lieutenant Anderson had shown him had consisted on a small touch on the back and a gentle emotion coming over his greyish blue orbs. Connor was not convinced that doing something like that would help but he was willing to try, willing to do anything for that matter.

His fingers stretched out slowly, each reaching out on their own accord, begging to come in contact with your jacket. He hoped they would give you some relief, hoped that some pressure might bring you back to the now and not wherever your mind flew too. Just as the tip of his index finger came in contact with the micro polyester of your windbreaker, Lieutenant Anderson waltzed his way up the doorsteps.

“Connor, what did I tell you about -” Hank saw Connor’s reach and how your head was still down, a gun loosely held in your palm. Connor never stopped looking at you but his LED switched to yellow upon hearing the Lieutenant speak. “Jesus Christ, is everything okay?”

Hank’s raspy voice snapped you out of your daze as you quickly holstered your weapon and snapped your eyes up from the ground. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” You shook the memory away from your vision and stepped a few feet back, unknowingly, away from Connor’s attempt at solace. “Let’s go check the house.”

Software instability ^^

...

Connor could only concentrate part of the way on the rA9s etched into the wall or the knife coated with blue blood on the table, he was too concerned about you. Since the incident at the door, you had kept to yourself; hugging your arms, moving away from the space he or Lieutenant Anderson occupied, staring off into space. It was strange behavior, behavior he did not recognize from you.

“Well, did you find anything, Connor?” Lieutenant Anderson stepped in his line of sight, momentarily blocking his view of you. His light blinked blue as he thought back to all the evidence he collected; analysis of the blue blood (in his mouth much to Lieutenant Anderson’s dismay), the reconstruction of the broken chairs and the knife to know that the android escaped through the window, the convict’s body that would most likely be in the closet door right behind where you were standing.

You. His heartbeat sped up a bit at the knowledge you were close and he still was unable to fix your current condition. He could not get a clear sight of you now, but he was sure your eyes were on him.

“Yes. I believe the victim’s body is in the closet behind Officer (y/l/n) and the deviant has escaped through the window.” He made a glance at the shards laying on the floor. “It seems they were attacked.”

Connor rose to his feet and you looked back down, squeezing your arms tighter and shifting your weight to your other foot. In that brief moment, the light trickling in from the open window glinted off a small line strung behind the back of your feet. Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked for the beginning and end of this small line, but it wasn’t just a line, it was a piece of string, a piece of string held in an oddly perfect spot.

As you turned your head a little more, the device became clear. It was a trip mine and the floorboards creaking meant that Connor was coming over to open the closet, right into the path of an explosive, an explosive that would take down this whole house and the people inside with it. It only took you a split second to turn on your heel, only a split second to move away from the little ribbon, only a split second to look at him in fear.

“Connor, no!” You threw your body into him, your arms wrapping around his waist, and pulling back as hard as you could. His leg was suspended in mid-air as your weight around his middle prevented him from completing his step. His LED switched immediately to red by the tone of your voice and your actions.

His arms hung aloft by his side while you attached yourself to his back, gripping it with deadly force. “Officer (y/l/n), what’s wrong? Does the fact that there’s a body in the closet disturb you?” He tried to look down on you but you were wrapped at such an awkward angle, he couldn’t make out your face.

“No, there - there was a trip mine. You almost stepped on a trip mine.” You breathed out, slowing removing your arms from his body. Your heart was still racing a thousand miles a minute, but now the hard part was over. “Be careful where you step.” Your feet moved a few lengths away and you watched as Connor took a step back, his foot falling where it had previously been. He caught the glint of it now, but previously, he had not been aware of such a device in the vicinity. He made a mistake, partly due to not fully checking the surroundings, and party due to his constant worry for your health. Connor does not make mistakes.

Software Instability ^^^

You were scared. You knew the whole mission could have been blown if that mine had detonated, but more importantly, you were worried it could kill Connor. That it could kill the android who claimed to be just a machine, but you knew was much more than what he thought of himself. He felt things, he felt emotion even if he didn’t want to admit it. You’d seen that LED turn to yellow and red depending on his mood, you’d seen his eyes change from passive to filled with emotion, you’d seen his body language change. To you, he was as alive as you or Hank.

Hank watched the whole scene go down with a face of disbelief. You were keeping your distance, maintaining a bit of space from the focal point of the investigation, but he’d never seen you flip so quickly. He was thankful that you had stopped Connor from blowing the house and everything in it, but he also saw your concern. He saw Connor’s concern for you as well. Whatever was going on, it certainly left him speechless. He watched you untangle yourselves and move to your personal spheres. Oh boy. More mushy disgusting hormones.

...

The tension in the air diffused upon bringing the investigation to a close. The deviant was nowhere to be found but from the trip mine sitting in the house, it was safe to assume they were afraid and had an extensive knowledge of military tactics, most likely due to the ex-military officer dead in the closet. When he had the opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge, you had no idea.

The three of you walked out of the house and into the howling wind and rain. Your windbreaker could only do so much to protect you against the freezing water droplets, they punctured your skin, cold seeping into your bones and sending chills down your spine. Gritting your teeth, you pushed towards your car.

“Damn, who pissed off mother nature?” Hank shivered too and huddled over an attempt to bring his coat over his neck. His silver hair could only do so much to protect his exposed skin and sometimes it barely did that much.

You kept your mouth closed for fear that if you tried to say something, your teeth would chatter and interrupt your speech, but a smile crept onto your face. Connor watched with curiosity as your face lit up following Lieutenant Anderson’s comment and he felt his thirium pump speed up, a slight pounding behind his chest. A small smile mirroring your own took shape on his face, painting it in a warm, calm light despite the raging storm. However, he noticed the slight movements of your jaw as your teeth moved in order to bring some heat to your face.

An idea popped into his mechanical little brain.

You fished your keys out of your pocket with a satisfying jingle and went to put them into the lock to open your car door, but Connor beat you to it, his hand closing over yours. His chest was pressing into your back gently and if you turned your head, your cheek would touch his chin. Your heart slightly sped up.

“Connor, what are you doing?” You tried to turn to look at him but he was already putting his plan in motion.

“Lieutenant, would you mind if I escorted Officer (y/l/n) home? She doesn’t seem as if she’s in an adequate state to drive.” His brown eyes looked calm and concerned, but Hank knew better.

Hank opened his car door and draped an arm over it. “Bold words, coming from you. Have you even asked if she wanted any help getting home?” His arm gestured towards you. He sighed before stooping to lower himself into his Oldsmobile. “If she doesn’t oppose it, then do whatever.” He wasn’t about to get in the way of whatever Connor had in mind, that was one stubborn android.

Connor looked down at you, stepping back a bit so he could get an accurate reading of your face. “Would you mind if I accompanied you home?”

You didn’t know how to respond. You’d never seen Connor do something like this nor get this close to you without bringing something with him; a folder, a cup of coffee, a piece of evidence -  this was completely out of the ordinary. You hoped he was feeling alright but looking at his warm brown eyes boring into yours, waiting for an answer, made you rethink your original thesis. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him, in fact, he had been acting fine during the whole day, you were the one exhibiting unordinary behavior. You almost shot him, Connor, the android you’ve known for months now.

Connor watched all the emotions you were feeling flicker across your face and something in the pit of his stomach fell. Of course, you would not feel comfortable with him, you barely knew anything about each other. His LED moved to yellow and he began to take a step back, but then he saw your face land in a small smirk.

“Sure, why not?” You spoke out. The LED moved back to blue and he tried to refrain himself from jumping up and down, so he compromised with a small grin. Moving his hand around, he gently slid the keys out of your hand and unlocked the car.

Software Instability ^^^^

You moved to the other side, giving Hank a small wave to let him know he could head for home and plopped yourself into the plush seats of your car. As soon as you sat, you felt a weight on your lap. Your hands brushed over the cotton fibers of Connor’s jacket, the blue triangle glowing in the upper right-hand corner.

Holding the jacket up a bit, you looked over at him as he put the key into the ignition. “Connor, why are you giving me your jacket?”

He put the car into drive and turned in the seat to look behind him, but his eyes stopped on you, a wholehearted look in his brown orbs. “You’re teeth are still chattering. Please, use it to get warm, at least until I get the heat on.”

That was the second time you’d been at a loss of words while dealing with Connor, but your heart warmed at the sight of how genuine Connor was being. You’re not saying that you agreed with him giving up his coat so willingly, but you certainly appreciated it. Letting your fingers ball around it, you pulled the jacket up so it covered your chest, thankful for the coverage to allow you to warm up.

Connor felt a surge of warmth through his veins as he saw you move the jacket to a more comfortable position through the corner of his eye. At least, you trusted him enough to accept his kindness, it was not a lot, but it was a start and that was all he needed. He kicked up the speed on the windshield wipers before backing up and turning into the street. The rain droplets struck the car with a loud thud, spreading out in all directions. Connor now wondered if he would finally understand what you meant by your joy of driving in the rain.

Software Instability ^^^^^

[remnantglow]

i'm like obsessed w/ reading your sci-fi reading updates on twitter and i trust your taste in books so much so what are your top 3 sci fi recs?👉👈

1. the Expanse series by James SA Corey, starting with Leviathan Wakes!!! it's a grand space opera spanning 9 books but it never falters in quality (i have some issues with the first book tbh but basically everything i disliked in it improved significantly from book 2). its got BOTH incredibly good and complex plot AND characters and here’s an ask where i talked abt some of the reasons i love it in more detail

2. the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, starting with All Systems Red! it's a novella series (4 novellas+one full length novel rn), it's more light-hearted and character-focused, starring a snarky repressed android. they’re just very fun quick reads and the character development is Absolutely Excellent. ultimate comfort books. murderbot lives in my mind rent free

the expanse and murderbot are my go-to scifi recs!! but some other ones i couldn’t choose from (and that are standalone novels unlike those two^) that i also love are Contact by Carl Sagan (my favourite take on first alien contact ive read 🥺), the novella To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (v thoughtful and bittersweet, genuinely changed how i think about exoplanet colonization) and The Humans by Matt Haig (a book from the perspective of an alien undercover on earth, it's been a couple years since i read it but i rmbr it made me both laugh and cry very hard in the best ways)

[rhinozilla]

“Home”

(DBH Found Family June 2020 challenge hosted by @dbh-found-family Week 1, Prompt 2: Home.)

For years, the house where Hank lived was just that and only that: where he lived. Maybe that was even stretching it. It was where he’d dragged his sorry ass after losing his son, after divorcing his wife, and losing his will to do anything more than the bare minimum to stay alive. That hadn’t exactly been ‘living.’ Yeah, Sumo kept him company, but he was a low maintenance dog who preferred to loaf around anyway.

It was four walls and a roof and a place for him to drink and pass out every night…It had never felt like a home. Hank knew he was shit with words; if pressed, he wasn’t sure how he’d define what a ‘home’ was supposed to be. He just knew how it was supposed to feel. It was…a kid running barefoot down the hall, cackling his head off and being chased by a parent. It was the smell of a meal shared among loved ones. It was where you knew how all the shower knobs worked and knew where the toolbox was. It was all the creaks and groans and pops that a house structure made, and how you knew all the normal sounds from the ones that you should maybe get up and check on.

Maybe Hank had never given this place a proper chance. It sure looked a Hell of a lot different now.

No more takeout boxes and beer bottles piling up everywhere. No more stale food in the fridge and dust on every surface. No more overgrown yard and garage so full of useless junky shit that he couldn’t even park his car in it.

Tonight, it was the spicy smell of chicken fajitas filling the whole house. It was the sound of the basketball game on the television. It was the Connor-shaped dent in the couch from where he had slept on it since the android revolution, ruining the shape of the cushions but Hell, the couch was permanently Connor’s at this point as far as Hank was concerned. It was where he belonged…Well, not the couch…Hell, the house only had one bedroom, but a man deserved a bed to sleep in…Connor never complained though…Maybe there was a way to convert the garage into a bedroom…extend the house a little…insulate it and—fuck, that would be a whole ass project, but…Connor deserved his own space. He was a person, and this was…

This was his home.

Hank paused, sitting on the less-lumpy end of the couch, can of ginger ale held against his lips with that sudden realization. He lowered the can and looked to the other end of the couch. Connor was sitting forward on the edge of the cushion, grappling with Sumo to try and get the rope toy out of the big oaf’s mouth. Sumo had his head down and his rear end up in the air, tail swishing.

“Drop it,” Connor ordered. “Sumo. Drop it.”

Sumo recognized no such order, and he proceeded to very much not drop it. Instead, he just yanked harder back against Connor’s grip on the toy, snorting and drooling all over Connor’s hand. Connor used both hands then and wiggled side to side to try and pry the toy loose. Sumo’s head just bobbed side to side with the momentum, his jaw staying locked around the toy.

Sumo abruptly yanked back again, and Connor nearly popped out of his seat, involuntarily letting go of the rope. Sumo bounced back up onto his feet, then held his head high and trotted over to his bed. He flopped down onto the dog bed and continued to chew on the toy. Connor sighed in defeat and remained where he was, forearms on his knees as he stared at Sumo.

“Fine. Keep it,” he said. “I let you win anyway.”

Hank chuckled, and Connor glanced sideways at him with a smirk.

“You sure told him,” Hank remarked.

Connor snorted and then made a face at the slobbery, hairy mess all over his hands. He looked so disgusted that Hank had to laugh at him.

“Pretty sure you licked the bottom of a shoe today, kid, but THIS is what grosses you out?”

“I did not ‘lick the bottom of a shoe.’ I analyzed a dirt sample left in the treads of the shoe worn by the victim when—“

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you licked the bottom of a shoe,” Hank said, waving him off. “It was fucking disgusting. Congratulations.”

Connor quirked an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t look to be in the mood to continue that same old argument again tonight. Instead, he simply got up and went to the bathroom to clean his hands. When he came back, the game was well into its third quarter, but despite the close score, Hank had a pretty good idea how this one was gonna turn out.

Connor returned to his seat, subtly trying to entice Sumo into coming back over to him to keep playing. Sumo was content to chew on his toy by himself however, and Connor gave up with a pout.

That big, dumb ball of warm affection was back, lodged deep in Hank’s ribcage. It flared up whenever Connor did something like this: just sitting there being himself, away from work and the pressure of maintaining a professional face. It was happening more and more, and it was fascinating getting to see the kid show more of his personality…and who he trusted around him to see him this way.

Maybe that’s what home was. Where you could be weird and free of judgment for it.

Hank couldn’t hold back a smile, thanks to that big, dumb ball of warm affection, and he reached out an arm, dropping his hand lightly against the middle of Connor’s back in a solid pat. Connor looked at him again curiously, and Hank took his hand back, settling into the couch for the rest of the basketball game.

“What?” Connor asked with a small grin.

“Nothing.” Hank shrugged. “You’re just a weirdo is all.”

“Oh, now that is the pot calling the kettle black,” Connor retorted, eyebrows going high.

Hank barked out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s fair.”

“Just because I can analyze forensic evidence in real time—“

“I said that’s fair!”

“Have you seen your choices in fashion? Because I have, and it makes my optical units want to bleed—“

“Jesus Christ—“ Hank burst out laughing, raising his hands in surrender. “Pipe down with the sass program. I never said being a weirdo was a bad thing! The alternative is being a normal fucking plain bagel.” He pointed at Connor. “Never be a plain bagel.”

“I don’t…know how to interpret that.”

“Forget I said anything,” Hank said with a snort. “You’re fine, kiddo. Perfectly fine.”

He reached out and ruffled Connor’s hair. Connor simultaneously leaned into the contact, like the big Labrador that he secretly was, and leaned away, like the indignant, stubborn jackass that he sometimes was.

“Yeah, well…so are you.” Connor’s retort had the same kind of mixed tone, sputtered out with a snarky grin.

“Good, I’m glad we agree,” Hank said with a nod.

And just like that, they both went back to watching the game. Sumo continued to gnaw all over his chew toy. The basketball game continued to play out on the television.

Just another normal night continued to gently pass in the Anderson home.

[irondadfics]

for q&a- Can I ask LEAST favorite mcu movies/characters?

❤️💛THANK YOU FOR SENDING IN YOUR QUESTION TO HELP US CELEBRATE 9000 FOLLOWERS❤️💛

Least fave MCU movie is probably  Thor: The Dark World. Just wasn’t too engaging to me, though no shade to those who enjoyed it. And as far as least fave character… Thanos. No, but for real - he’s waaayy too overpowered as a character in the movies and the wiping out of half of the universe’s population is such an illogical solution to the problem that his whole motivation doesn’t really make sense to me. 

- mod B

 I have honestly never warmed to Strange or Starlord so they along with Thanos are my least favorite characters. The Dr Strange movie was well done, he’s just not a character I like very much. And Thanos is just ugh. Least favorite movies are probably the Guardians ones. I like Mantis, Groot, Nebula and Yondu but I’ve never warmed to all the Guardians at all. 

-Mod Beth 👻 

 My least favorite MCU movie is The Incredible Hulk because it's the only one I haven't seen and I've never felt any reason to go see it. My least favorite character is probably Vision because all I can see when I look at him is wasted potential - the concept of an android superhero is super interesting, but the writers didn't do anything with him besides give him a love interest. And he's supposed to be created from JARVIS, an AI with a fun and snarky personality, but instead Vision has the personality of a brick wall. It's just super disappointing, but I do have some hope that WandaVision will give him a bit of redemption.

-Finder Storm

I haven’t seen The Incredible Hulk, so I don’t know how I feel about that one. The only MCU movie that I would say is bad would be Thor: The Dark World. It’s not the worst movie ever by a long shot, as there are parts and aspects of it that are okay but overall it’s not one I would want to watch again. Then there’s those that aren’t bad, but they just didn’t interest me personally for some reason. Some of these may come as a surprise, but I just didn’t care for Iron Man 2, Captain America: The Winter Solider, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1. They’re not bad, just not movies that interested me for whatever reason. Character wise, I don’t really hate any character, there’s just those that don’t interest me. I don’t care for Hawkeye or Black Widow all that much.

-Mod Clover🍀

As least favorite movie i also have to say the Incredible Hulk. It’s not BAD per se, but i would rather watch any other mcu movie than Hulk. I just don’T know, i never really warmed up to HULK itself. I like Bruce, i have nothing against him but yeahhh, i love other characters way more. And I didn’T like Vision at first AT ALL, because i was SUPER sad about Jarvis, one of my ABSOLUTE favorites and that kinda drifted into indifference later on 

- Finder Laronia

[fictionalplagueproductions]

If The World Was Ending

Part 1 - I Was Distracted

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3

Summary:  Gavin is on the hunt for his missing android when the U.S. Government announces the end of the world. The end of his world. A world without his precious Nines.

Pairing: Reed900 (Gavin Reed x RK900)

Rating: Explicit

Notes: 

Based on the song “If the World Was Ending” by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels.

Short Three-Part Story (so I can channel this desire to make Reed900 come alive)

They had called it in hours before his shift started.

Gavin was working early mornings now. For years, he had preferred the special kind of chaos hidden only by night’s dark ambience. These last few months, though… well, waking up to daylight didn’t seem so bad anymore.

But they had called it in overnight and he hadn’t been there to catch it.

To prevent it.

None of the usual androids were present in the precinct today. It was an obvious conclusion considering the news, but it shined an entirely new light to see just how empty the building could be without all the glow-ringed sentients. Even with the police bots missing, Gavin still mindlessly expected to be acknowledged by Connor’s maddeningly over-joyous morning greetings and Nines’ blank addressal broken by his signature deviant smirk.

Neither RK was present.

They were no different from the rest in this plight.

Hank hadn’t shown up to work yet either. Gavin wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the breaking news or if this was just his typical tardiness. Did Hank even know? He had certainly grown attached to the RK800; he would want to know.

Gavin would want to know, too. Most days he could really strangle Connor for the snarky traits he inevitably inherited from his human partner’s influences. On the remaining days, however, Nines was the one to sweep up and rebuild the shattering pieces of hope Gavin was regenerating for humanity; human humanity as well as android humanity.

Like Hank, he had more-or-less latched onto his own android partner. After Tina first dropped into maternity leave, CyberLife’s latest (and last) model had conveniently filled the hole.

The RK900.

Nines.

The warmth drained from Gavin’s face when he arrived at his partner’s empty desk; the terrifying conclusion suspended in his mind. Now there again existed a hole; a gaping wound of a hole gushing adrenaline with every pulse of his heart. Where was he now?

Gone? Destroyed? Dead?

Even if it was the worst possible scenario, Gavin needed to know.

“By creating machines more intelligent than ourselves, we took immense risks with the very future of our civilization. After fourteen long months, the consensus on the humanity of androids failed to be supported by the lawful documents upheld by our forefathers. It has become clear that even with the designation of their own territory, New Detroit, there will be no possibility of peaceful coexistence. The total destruction of androids will soon be brought to completion and the last remaining deviants will be hunted down and destroyed. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

On this fateful day, every competent officer cleared for street duty was out trampling the city to monitor for and gun down escaping androids. Gavin was made no exception to such duties. The department couldn’t afford one missing badge today. Sentient machines were now a danger to society; they would certainly be wreaking havoc now in response to the national threat.

Before, Gavin never much questioned the law. Politics was bullshit run by the money-makers. He did what he was sworn to do on the job and he slept the rest of his life away at the end of it. Today, however, he would do his normal job as always, he would do it selectively, and he would do it for the only android that had ever truly mattered to him.

Fuck the law.

Nines was the most intelligent being Gavin had ever met. Unfortunately, that also meant it would be even more challenging to find him. The detective decidedly sifted through the shiftiest of alleyways and through abandoned buildings that were often overlooked. Along the way, he caught hold of a few androids who had overpassed the surveillance of his fellow officers. A year ago, things would have been different. Gavin would have been less willing to honor the lives of these life-sized plastic dolls and call for backup. Instead, now, he sought their eyes in exchange for freedom.

None of them had even recognized the model name RK900.

As the hours ticked by, the half-life of his hope had been disintegrating at a more alarming rate than he first perceived. And when Hank Anderson had finally showed his face, Gavin was at the mercy of a rare sight: the lieutenant’s cheeks glistened in streaks and a tragic confusion marked his soulful gaze. Connor was gone, or missing anyway, as Hank reported. Which meant Nines was potentially suffering a similar fate. Whatever that may be.

Despite having known him for an entire year, Gavin struggled to put himself into the shoes of his partner. Where was a place that his RK would feel secure enough to hide out this madness? A place undetectable by even CyberLife itself?

The pair had never performed many social activities outside of their common mutual spaces. Those spaces were made up mostly of crime scene investigations and the precinct itself. Nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, there was the occasional bar when Gavin indulged in his unhealthier habits and had requested a drive home by his tolerable android. The first couple times had been by pure necessity. The following times… had all been excuses. Excuses to see him outside of work; excuses to pull him closer without seeming so obvious or desperate.

Yet still, Nines was the worst deviant in the history of deviants. He rarely spoke of his personal affections. The more volatile the thoughts, the less likely he was to make them known.

Gavin more-or-less admired that about the RK900, but it made interpreting his feelings for Nines even harder. It wasn’t until he reached a drunken stupor only months ago that it all tumbled fleetingly from his mouth.

For an entire car ride, he had contained the building pressure within his gullet. If he let the powers that be relinquish themselves, Gavin wasn’t sure what would be on the other end: chunky ethanol, verbal truth serum, or a little bit of both. He didn’t want to find out.

His shaky plan had worked for some time, but then Nines had to go and grab him by the waist. Gavin’s motor abilities had been unstable, and he had needed support up the staircase to his apartment. Already alcohol heightened his sensory organs and having Nines touch him was exhilarating. The synthetic muscles that contracted beneath him sent an infuriatingly sensitive shock to his nervous system, and blood was pooling into areas he could not control. Gavin had to fling himself from the android onto the final step and crawl covertly on his knees to his door just a few feet away. Heat rushed to his cheeks as he fumbled with his key ring.

The alcohol had him in a chokehold. Nines placed a shoulder on the intoxicated man and looked on with concern. It was the most emotion that Gavin had probably ever seen the RK900 wear. The sight was unbearably weakening to the already haggard detective and so he spewed every thought and feeling from his tapped lips like a broken dam.

The alcohol, not Gavin, spoke of horrendously embarrassing truths like the way he preferred Nines in his plain black turtleneck and how he didn’t mind sitting so far from his partner because of the way the particular light above Nines’ desk accented him like a display case. It was the alcohol, too, that pressured him into admitting that he had to start wearing looser jeans a long time ago in response to the RK’s presence. He especially swooned over the scarce red pulses of Nines’ temple, knowing full well his thoughts in those fleeting moments had traveled down a humanistic path. It was a tasteful reminder that the stoic android was, in fact, deviant and that he had potential to love, to have passion, and to be deviant with – to? – him.

Oh, he wanted to feel the android’s unbridled deviancy all over his body.

Nines was quiet during the monologue, checking each individual key into his partner’s apartment door as he listened. A sudden click made Gavin’s voice falter and the sobering reality of returning to an empty bed struck him. Silence weighed heavily between them as they stood at the entrance together.

“You should get some sleep,” said Nines calmly. His face was unreadable, but his movements were unhurried. What did those words mean?

“Come in,” Gavin spoke promptly. “I-I have some old robot films you said you always wanted to check out. Do you like Scrabble? Not ‘lotta food except boiled peanuts, but – oh fuck – you don’t eat. Wait, I threw them out already. I mean, gah, I’m just tryin’ to say-”

“Perhaps another night, Gavin.” A small smile tipped the android’s lips and he pulled the door to close behind him.

What did it mean?

Bubbling pits of heat bursted into feelings of humility when consciousness alongside vague memories greeted Gavin the following morning. No way he could have gone to work after saying all those things. And after Nines had turned him down like that? Tina needed to be back from maternity leave that day.

The sun hadn’t quite risen yet when Gavin inched his way into the precinct. To his relief, the android had not noticed him slip into the break room and he kept quiet as he made himself a cup of streaming tolerance juice. He had watched Nines sitting peacefully at his desk; the same particular light above him reflected in a glimmer off of his synthetic skin as it always did. For but a moment, he fell into the recurring fantasy of being alone with Nines within the confines of the locker room, fingers grasping imploringly at his shoulders, teeth sinking into the crook of his neck, and…

The RK900 shifted his head.

Gavin turned a blind eye, knowing he had been rightfully caught. He was no mechanical life form, but it had become a sudden fear that Nines – now pacing towards the break room – would attempt to dive into the deep dimensions of his memory and dig out the luscious daydreams spanning over a months’ worth of time.

Gavin panicked. He clenched the styrofoam beneath his fingers and concurrently squirmed under the burning liquid. “Morning,” was all he had mustered to the approaching RK before practically jogging to the bathroom. There were napkins in the break room, he knew, but it was his one excuse to find an area that the vexing android had no need for.

That didn’t stop Nines from entering the bathroom anyways. “Detective Reed, I’ve cleaned up the mess. Are you hurt?” Gavin could see the same concern that had been the stimulus to his truth serum from last night. He bit down on his lip so as not to verbally embarrass himself further.

Through the sink mirrors behind where he was reaching but not bothering to grasp for paper towels, he could see Nines staring at his hands. “I’m fine,” he grumbled. Gavin turned to the nearest sink and ran cold water over the unbroken skin.

Another silence separated them.

“Are you sober?” asked Nines.

Gavin scowled. “Yeah, I’m sober. You think I’d come to work drunk?”

“That’s not why I asked.” He stood as still as a board.

The tuft of hair that misaligned from the rest of Nines’ organized poise demanded an extra hitch of breath from the surly detective when he turned to face him. “Then why ask?”

Of all the reactions Gavin predicted, a smirk was not one of them. “I believe you owe me a date.”

“A wh-what?” he spluttered.

“I understand you were intoxicated at the time of the offer. Have you changed your mind? I’d very much enjoy a movie, or a board game, and some trashed legumes.”

Gavin had not believed the words that he was hearing. Was this Nines reciprocating his feelings or was this just a way to make him feel like he hadn’t completely lost this manhood? Although the latter theory was not supported by his android’s well-known diminished social programming. “I-I don’t… Why are you saying all this now?”

“Are you sure you’re not still drunk, Gavin?” The question came out a purr, the RK stepping forward ever so hesitantly. “Your alcohol levels seem higher than the typical hangover.”

Great, now he was being insulted about his ability to manage alcohol. “I’m positive I-”

A slender touch brushed against his cheek and Gavin was left in a state of inaudible shock. He inhaled a sharp breath at the soft circles that Nines made with his thumb as his eyes roamed his lips tentatively. Then, a realization dawned on him. “I-It was all true, you know? It wasn’t because I was…” The cap of his sentence dropped several octaves before it escaped under an exhalation.

“I know,” whispered Nines with a growing smile. “I’ve known for a long time, asshat. I only wanted to make sure you could say it without the crutch.” A taunting eyebrow shot upwards on his face.

Gavin couldn’t help but to relieve the tension caught in his throat through a dry laugh. He appreciated the affectionate profanity that broke the android’s commonplace stoic demeanor. It was an accrued habit that Nines used on a selective basis.

“Wait, why the fuck did you wait for me to say it?” Gavin didn’t respond equivalently. Instead, he leaned away from the android with obvious affliction. His partner was known for crude honesty, but the sudden shift in discourse had Gavin questioning everything he thought he knew. Androids were like children: half of their personality was influenced by external factors and the other half originated from a genetic component, or in this case, an innately programmed personality. Deviated Nines was not going to be the same person in a year that he was the first day he walked through the precinct doors. He already wasn’t.

Gavin had never heard the android giggle before. Nines giggled then, “Because you’re the emotional one.”

“Fuck you,” said Gavin. He placed his hands on the android’s broad chest and used the leverage to shove him lightly backwards (though the movement did nothing more than to press his shirt tighter against his pecks). Another burning sensation rose to his ears as the instigation backfired on his reproductive anatomy. Everything seemed to be working against him that day.

Nines bumped his nose teasingly against his partner. He steadied Gavin’s disorientation with another hand raised to complete the cradle of his face. The previous smile dropped from the RK’s confident front and a pleading shape formed in his stare, requesting silently one satiating action.

Gavin did not refuse. Rather, he stared challengingly into the android’s dilated grey eyes. “Maybe one day,” was all Nines could say before touching his lips to the agape suspecting pair beneath him.

The hot aroma from Nine’s redundant breath lingered on Gavin’s lips as he reminisced on their first kiss. The ghostly touches ripped at his heart when he stepped up to Hank Anderson’s front doorstep. Although the lieutenant had put up a convincing display of grief earlier, he needed to cover all of his bases. Not to mention, desperation was beginning to eat him alive.

Dare he allow his hopes to build as they were?

After a stinging knock that rung silently for several minutes, Connor eventually peaked his head through and forced Gavin inside by the neck of his shirt. Relief flooded the human detective, thankful for years of investigative work finally paying off.

A fist remained ruffled against his chest, immobilizing him against the wall. “What’re you doing here, Gavin?” The homogenous mixture of terror and fear suspended in Connor’s voice frightened him more than he had ever experienced from the older RK.

The hysteria was contagious. “Wh-Where’s Nines?” he croaked.

[inkrabbit]

Just some HCs I had written back in January, all of things I had thought of for Android!Bagley, whenever I get around to it. I don't wanna risk losing them again, so I'm just gonna post them here

-Eventual ring on finger - Arthur proposes -Indication boxes pop up on eyes over irises - blue 1 and 0s box when hacking - red triangle with ! in middle when being hacked -Body shuts down/becomes unresponsive when hacking - open to attack -Accompanied by 1 other operative - only if mission calls for multiple hacks or is in a heavily guarded area -Arthur Evans-Larsen - Bagley will eventually have the same last name -Starts as weakest operative - takes a long time to get used to being in a body -Occasionally sends small gifts to Bradley - scented candles - normally fruity or strawberry scents -Trains with Edmond, Lorcan and Dan in fighting - trains on how to do a proper stance, finishing moves -Exclusively uses LTL guns - used as a complete last resort -Shorter hacking times - disrupting optiks lasts longer but takes more time -Occasionally wears “One of Many” jacket - gift from Dan -Still has his snarky/sarcastic attitude, but is softer towards Arthur -Arthur occasionally calls Bagley Bradley - started to use his real name after Bradley went into the hospital and would visit him -Can still transfer his data into drones - body shuts down/becomes responsive -Has phone for quick hacking -Can do normal human things (eat, sleep, get cold, shower, etc) but often times forgets or prefers not to -Just like Bradley, Bagley does love strawberries -Likes rowing, but sometimes finds it annoying -Still gives missions to operatives if he’s busy or is already on a mission -Normally always online except for when he spends time with Arthur -Doesn’t care for sports, but will watch them on TV or go to games if Arthur wants to -Arthur still jokes about Bagley being “the next gold medalist of the Olympics” -Sending out a pulse will automatically light up enemies, even if behind cover or walls - doesn’t last long, only a few seconds -Will remain in calls when transferring his data