#I’m making it sound like I read more dbh fics than I actually do

[lovelesslittleloser]

All my fucking tabs committed seppuku and now I’ve got to manually search for the coolest fucking fics I’ve ever read, like the fnaf/dbh crossover, the dbh fic where conner is just a psychopath, all of the new fics that I opened in new tabs because they sounded cool as shit but never got to read and know nothing about because it’s been WEEKS,

[veilder]

First Lines Meme

List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Thanks for the tag, @nock-and-bolt! I'll do my best with this, lol. u^_^

I only have 12 (published) fics in total and they're all DBH, lol. So that's all you're gonna get. XD I'll do them chronologically, oldest to newest.

1. “Hank is short for Henry, isn’t it?” (In a Name) -- Ah, the question of the day, isn't it? Perfect way to start off a fic about identity issues, lol. XD

2. The factory looked like a stereotypical hideout for smugglers and kidnappers. (In a Flash) -- Indeed, it was a perfect hideout for smugglers and kidnappers, lol.

3. Detective Gavin Reed had quite the reputation surrounding his name. (The Nearness of You) -- How much of that reputation is hiding his soft side, though? That's the real question. ~_^

4. She notices him staring from his regular seat in the corner. (Common Grounds) -- More wholesome than it sounds, I promise. She works at a coffeeshop and he's very shy. XD

5. Connor chose the 15th of August. (In Your Own Time) -- Ah. A good start to a fic about birthdays and what they mean to different people. Including androids.

6. MODEL RK999999999999999999999999... (Inception) -- This one actually starts off with a full-on glitchy start-up sequence, but I won't subject you to the whole thing. u^_^

7. “Gavin?"/With a mighty twitch, he jolted back to reality, legs slipping off of the desk where he'd had them perched. (A Small Sip of Love) -- Forgive me for doing two sentence here, but just Gavin's name is maybe a little too ambiguous, even for me. XD

8. He lived in the rivers and the streams, the foam in the current, the undertow beneath. (The Lark Ascending) -- Gosh, I love this one. I went full-out with the imagery in my Elemental!AU and the opening line already gives you a feel for that. Makes me nostalgic.

9. He doesn’t mean to eavesdrop. (A Simple Equation) -- But he sure does it anyway, doesn't he? XD

10. The crescent moon sheds a pallid light across the mist and water down below, the docks cast in shades of silver and shadow. (don't go without me) -- Well dang, I came in hard with this opener, lol. Very vivid. Nice job, past me. XD

11. The silver moon hung full and heavy in the star-strewn sky, its pale rays painting undulating patterns across a quiet sea. (Reflections) -- Gotta start out a mermaid!AU with a description of the sea, right? It's like the law. XD

12. The elevator ascends with a quiet hum, accented only by the metallic clinks of a coin flipping through the air. (we're just two lost souls (swimming in a fish bowl)) -- Ah, what better way to start off a canon-divergent soulmate!AU than with a play-by-play retelling of the opening scene of the game, right?

And that's it! So, as far as patterns go, there are certainly a few. For the most part, I really like starting off my fics with a really snappy, short phrase, something that instantly sets the scene and grabs your attention. Connor asking about Hank's name, Gavin's reputation, accidental eavesdropping, etc, all of them are a short, succinct summation of what the story is gonna be about. Or at least the inciting incident for it. I quite often like establishing things immediately, especially in my oneshots.

But the other pattern is, of course, the overly-loquacious descriptions, lol. Man, when I am in the mood to go full-on purple prose, y'all better watch out, because then you end up with things like, "The crescent moon sheds a pallid light," or "it's pale rays painting undulating patterns across a quiet sea," lol. And I don't really use this technique often, but I try to use it to great effect. When I open a fic like this, I want to set a particular mood or tone. With "The Lark Ascending," it was a fantastical, almost myth-like setting. With "Reflections," it was a sort of calm before the storm. With "don't go without me," it was a heavy atmosphere to fit the mood. With "we're just two lost souls," it was a strict adherence to canon. And I guess I never even consciously realized I was doing this? It just seemed appropriate at the time. Very interesting to look back on now, though, and see that I kinda have two very distinct styles. XD

As for my favorite opener... It really is so hard to pick. I quite like them all and I think they're very appropriate for each of these fics. But... Well, there is something about "The Lark Ascending" that just always hits me where I live and the opening is no exception. It's not a fic that I think resonates with very many people, but it means a lot to me personally. And I love how it just immediately establishes that we're dealing with something different with the descriptor of the first main character. I tried so hard to keep my descriptions of the River consistent through the whole fic and this is where they all start, lol. It almost makes me wanna sit down and re-read it, honestly. I'm so intrigued in spite of myself. XD

This was such an interesting bit of self-reflection, honestly. I really liked this exercise and looking back through my old fics like this. Honestly, this has been one of my favorite tag games so far, lol! As for tagging others... Well, I don't want to bother anyone specifically, but if you see this and you'd like to take a stab at it, please do! You can go ahead and tag me, I'd love to see some more responses! :D

[wufflesvetinari]

fighting off amanda through the power of my dad

LISTEN....i have been telling liz about an EXTREMELY niche dbh fic idea that started as a joke but i’m now completely obsessed with, which is a My Best Friend’s Exorcism homage about the “give up” ending with connor and amanda if north led the revolution

(i don’t think you’d need to read the book to understand the fic; you’d just have to know that MBFE is about the power of deep friendship fighting off demonic possession. which, like, amanda is close enough)

i’m putting the chat log under a cut mostly for my own later reference but also for all 2 of you who think this would be as AMAZING and ABSOLUTELY WORTHWHILE as i do

---

SeaTonic: the more i think about the "give up" ending where amanda takes control but you still get the hug scene, in addition to that one fic where connor is scribbling notes to try to get a message out, the more i kind of want like a "my best friend's exorcism" homage

SeaTonic: connor is suddenly the most popular boy in the precinct but he's mean to hank 

SeaTonic: hank calls connor's brain to find him for something mundane and he hears connor from what sounds like a tinny connection in a snowstorm being like "hank??? hank where am i????"

bluejay: oh my god

bluejay: most popular boy in the precinct.......

SeaTonic: everyone wants to be part of his clique

bluejay: Connor passes up a chance to be a lil shit to Gavin and extends an olive branch instead

bluejay: Hank: where's my son

bluejay: who gets the biologically improbable tapeworm infestation

SeaTonic: i wish we knew more about these police officers. you could make it like jericho instead and it's a simsense addiction [NOTE: we are talking about these]

SeaTonic: connor's like "no this is cool and harmless"

bluejay: Ohhhh that could work really well, actually

SeaTonic: because taking down jericho from the INSIDE

bluejay: addiction to BTLs

SeaTonic: amanda's plan all along

bluejay: In that case, Hank could be the main character figure

bluejay: Alienated from the androids (who in this case actually have a good reason to be wary of him)

SeaTonic: so they don't believe him fully yeah

SeaTonic: connor's been feeding them hints that hank is like trying to control him and they're like "let us save you from the evil human my poor boy"

SeaTonic: but instead of passive-aggressively ignoring hank north almost murders him

---

SeaTonic: the problem with the my best friend's exorcism fic would be that in order to make it spin off from a canon ending you'd have to have all named jericho characters killed

SeaTonic: and connor would be too busy running the revolution to really interact with hank or other non-jericho people as much as i'd want

bluejay: What about deviant Connor dies in hold > rooftop fight with Hank > quasi-deviation and rejoins Jericho?

bluejay: that's definitely less perfect

bluejay: but, oh hey then the Jerichrew wouldn't know anything weird happened with Connor at all. he could've just showed up like "Cyberlife didn't realize I deviated so I came back and pretended you guys had killed me and escaped"

bluejay: "don't listen to that human saying something is weird with me, he's a dick"

SeaTonic: so you mean that when amanda tries to take him over in the crowd she succeeds but then doesn't make him shoot immediately?

bluejay: mm hm. so, it contradicts her canonical behavior, but I think you could spin it as an AU that's reasonably in line with her canon behavior

---

SeaTonic: god i'm trying to think around the like.............okay so ra9 is god + deviancy

SeaTonic: and in my best friend's exorcism there's god + exorcism

SeaTonic: but that doesn't save her in the book

SeaTonic: it's like THE STRENGTH OF MY LOVE FOR YOU AND THE POWER OF THE STUFF WE ASSOCIATE GOOD MEMORIES WITH

SeaTonic: i think you could do something with that

SeaTonic: wow i keep accidentally wanting to write about quasi-deviancy

---

SeaTonic: see im now completely obsessed with this fic idea because you'd have to have a scene of hank “exorcising” him by rattling off things that he and connor bonded over and it's probably just like. "by the power of the chicken feed! cholesterol levels! dogs! not...killing yourself!"

SeaTonic: kamski is the exorcist except instead of being a bumbling, earnest dude whose understanding of his role springs from the wrong place it'd be like "huh. well, guess this isn't working. my advice is to throw out the whole connor and get a new one. bye"

bluejay: pft, yeah

bluejay: Kamski taking notes on what to do differently for the next Connor

bluejay: "if my super good rA9 plan and backdoor didn't work, it must be over (shrugs)"

SeaTonic: "yeah he was cool while he lasted but hey, at least i got this very detailed error report. thanks for bringing him over. i can have chloe dump him out back"

---

bluejay: if you do use a simsense angle, that could be a hint about the existence of the Zen Garden for Hank

bluejay: because it indicates that androids work in such a way that Cyberlife can replace their sensory input with VRtrap em in the fuckin Matrix

SeaTonic: yeah that makes sense, and i think i would have the accidental phone call to connor's soul before then too so all hank knows is a) connor is acting weird and b) he had a phone call where he sounded like he was in huge trouble but was apparently completely fine and unaware of the call when he finds him

SeaTonic: so he might be able to put that together with him knowing about simsense stuff

bluejay: maybe Hank played Shadowrun in college

SeaTonic: alwkwjte;awoh god

---

SeaTonic: OH writing this would also give me the chance to do "amanda talks to someone using her own mannerisms in connor's body" because the demon talks to abby as she's trying to exorcise gretchen

bluejay: hell yeah

bluejay: oh... Amanda is based on Kamski's real life mentor....so he probably gave her a lot of Amanda's personality, mannerisms, capabilities, etc and then it had all this other shit welded on top of it sloppily

bluejay: an Amanda that managed to defeat Deviant Connor might be the one being that could really fuck with Kamski's head

SeaTonic: incredible

bluejay: or even worse... what if he's not bothered by her

bluejay: Amanda didactically lecturing Kamski about how Deviant Connor failed and he's like "fascinating"

bluejay: maybe AI Amanda would be more fun and interesting to him than Deviant Connor at this point lmao

SeaTonic: KAMSKI NO

SeaTonic: god he's like "nope this isn't working, throw connor out, bye" and then amanda's like "i thought more of you, elijah" and he's like "...never mind, i'm keeping him. that's fine with you right hank. he's broken"

bluejay: oh my god he's the WORST

---

(it would absolutely have a happy ending though!!! and some creepy shit with the real connor stuck in the zen garden probably, because the scene with the accidental phone call to gretchen’s soul in MBFE fucked me up!!!!!)

[threshie]

AO3 Filter Meme

I was tagged by the lovely @samanddeaninpanties -- thanks! ♥

1. What’s your first and second most common work ratings?

T (37), G (19)

I’m still trying to learn smut, there’s a lot of fluff and angst and hurt/comfort in here, LOL. It’s a novelty to me that ANY of my fics are rated E!

2. What’s your most common archive warning? Least common? Do you consider yourself an adventurous writer?

No Archive Warnings Apply (61)

Graphic Depictions of Violence (1)

I do consider myself an adventurous writer -- I’ve always maintained that I will write about whatever I want and try to label it after it’s done. I don’t have a great deal of graphic sex and violence in my stories, but I do have a wide variety of ships, settings, scenarios, and story lengths. It’s fun to play around with writing.

Also, I’m actually surprised there’s more fics in the MCD category than the non-con one. That DBH fic with dead Connor must have tipped the scales.

3. How many fics have you written in each relationship category? Is this more accidental, or do you have preferences?

M/M (43)

Gen (24)

Multi (12)

F/M (2)

Other (2)

I think this is mostly affected by which fandoms I’m in, because the ones I’ve been in lately have almost all male main characters. I definitely have a tendency to love poly ships with three people, but gender isn’t important to me in those.

4. What are your top 4 fandoms by numbers? Are you still active in any of them, and do you tend to migrate a lot?

Supernatural (55)

Marvel (6)

Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) (2)

Detroit: Become Human (2)

If my old fics from Fanfiction.net were on here, there would be a lot of ancient Gundam Wing, Escaflowne, and Death Note fics, but they’re too ancient to count for this, I reckon. I tend to stick with one fandom for several years at a time, at least. Resident Evil I’ve been with much longer. 

5. What are your top 4 relationship tags? Does this match how you feel about the characters, or are you puzzled?

Castiel/Dean Winchester (22)

Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester (19)

Castiel/Sam Winchester (16)

Castiel & Sam Winchester (9)

This does reflect how I feel about the characters, but because of how AO3′s tags work my favorite ship for most fics is spread out among three tags here -- WinCasWin is Sam/Cas, Dean/Cas, Sam & Dean, aka Wincestiel sans Wincest. 

Speaking of Wincest, I was surprised only 5 fics about there were posted. I guess some of my biggest written Wincest works have yet to be published...

6. What are your top 2 most used additional tags, and your bottom 2? What would happen if you combined all 4 of these into a fic?

Podfic Welcome (62)

Fluff (21)

Emotional Hurt/Comfort (8)

Humor (also 8, so had to post both here)

Cover Art (7)

I suppose if they were combined we’d have fluffy, funny emotional hurt/comfort, art included, waiting to become a fanfic audiobook. 

I’m imagining the emotional hurt would be over something ridiculous, like pie being outlawed as a political publicity stunt because it’s supposedly unhealthy. 

Cas and Sam would rebel against the law and make Highly Illegal Pie for Dean to eat, and there would be a fluffy montage of them leaving pies on people’s doorsteps in the small hours of the morning. The mayor who made pies illegal would not be able to resist the fresh pie and would eat it, and after realizing this made the people feel like they had something in common with him, the mayor would stop the cruel anti-pie law from continuing.

The cover art would be of Dean dramatically fallen to his knees in front of a big sign with a pie and the 🚫 symbol stamped over the top. The podfic would be an extremely dramatic over-the-top reading complete with sound effects.

7. How many WIPs do you have currently running on AO3? Any you don’t plan on finishing?

According to AO3, 11. 

The Threshafterdark Artbook and 3-sentence AU Fics will remain WIPs indefinitely because I’m adding to them whenever. I highly doubt I’ll be continuing the heavy Spideydevil Marvel fic What Do You Say? since it’s been a couple years. (I should probably just label it complete...) Otherwise, yup, I plan to finish all of the others. ♥

Tagging: @cenedrariva @crack--attack @sassysousa @whelvenwings @thayerkerbasy @beingcouy @yifera 

[cinnaminsvga]

Cop-a-Feel Preview | Robot!Jungkook AU (M)

→ summary: When you find a JK300 android lying in a pool of its own blood while on your way home from a 20-hour shift at CyberLife labs, you surmised that your life might have gone significantly awry.

{or alternatively: “alexa, what do you do when you fall in love with a robot?”}

→ genre: robot/dbh!au, smut, fluff, angst, humor/crack → warnings: none for this preview, but expect dom/sub!jungkook, mild voyeurism/exhibitionism, sex toy usage, food play (?), and some violence → words: 1.3K → a/n: welcome to the shitty preview of the fic that murdered all my brain cells!! don’t ask me when i’m going to post the entirety of this thing, because i don’t know either!! i’m anticipating around 10K for this, and this is technically my first try at smut... and of course my intellectual self decided to do roboporn. enjoy?

Just when you thought you finally had the entire apartment to yourself, you hear someone cough behind you. You whirl around in shock, bringing a hand to your heart at the sudden noise. The anxiety of getting caught has caused you to become even jumpier than usual, and the nerves only get worse when you see who it was who caught you in the act.

“J-Jungkook? You’re back so soon?” You fake a laugh, but by the unimpressed look he sends you, you can tell that he is suspicious.

(Not to say that Jungkook has ever been impressed by you, but you have managed to distinguish his varying unimpressed expressions over time and you can safely say that this one means he knows something is up.)

“Miss? I have finished picking up the groceries like you had requested,” he says, his eyes clearly flicking from your face to the monitor. You pray to every god in existence that you had managed to erase your search terms before Jungkook had surprised you.

“Er, thank you Jungkook, but I already told you that you didn’t need to do my chores for me. You’re my guest after all, and not my helper—“

“That does not mean I cannot choose to help, isn’t that right?” He smiles gently, before closing the remaining distance between you and him with two long strides. He bends his head down slightly, too tall for your computer monitor, and his large form almost completely envelops you with his scent. No longer did he smell like android blood and gun powder; now he just smelled like—

“What were you searching for?” He asks, cutting to the chase like usual. That was one of the things you immediately noticed when you had taken him into your home. Despite having renounced his identity as a robot officer, he continues to keep the same strict and serious personality that he was programmed to have.

Not that it was of any help right now.

“It’s… it’s nothing. I was just looking for a gift for a friend.” You lie, your words sounding weak even to your ears. You watch as Jungkook shamelessly clicks on your search history, his quick eyes scanning your most recent activity until they finally land on what he was looking for.

“Sex toys? Really, miss?” He chuckles, and the pleasant sound brings a soft buzz through your body. You don’t think you’ve ever heard the android laugh before, and if the circumstances had been different, you would have liked to make him do it again. 

“Listen,” you begin, cheeks hot. “I don’t have much of an option, okay? I work almost 20 hours a day with absolutely no time to find a proper boyfriend, much less any time to date prospective boyfriends, and my fingers haven’t been doing it for me lately, so excuse me for having to compromise a little okay? And wipe that grin on your face, you look stupid.” You grumble, causing the android’s grin only to widen.

“I’m not judging you for your after-work activities, miss. I was simply thinking that you had not actually run through all your options, since you are clearly forgetting your easiest way out.” He says, his smug expression unfaltering.

You raise a brow, both annoyed and confused. “Oh? Prithee, Jungkook, tell me exactly what I’ve been missing out on.”

In lieu of an answer, Jungkook raises his brow in return, his eyes glancing downwards at his pants until the answer finally clicks in your brain. Oh hell no—

“Are you… implying what I think you’re implying?”

“Only if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, I suppose.” He returns easily, the LED ring by his temple glowing almost white from how amused he is.

“Oh my god. You can’t be serious.” You stammer, but your treacherous eyes deceive you when you feel your gaze lowers in tandem with his as you both stared at what hidden treasures lied beyond Jungkook’s ratty oversized sweatpants.

“I am 100% serious, miss. In fact, I’ve never been more serious in my life,” he says, even though you were sure he has never been anything but serious throughout his entire existence. Which, of course, made his words even more grimly sincere.

“Although, I must admit that I was never… equipped with the correct modifications due to the fact that those parts were never required in my line of work. That does not mean I cannot be equipped with aforementioned modifications, however.” He nudges your hand away from the cursor as he clicks the search bar at the top of your computer screen. With deft fingers, he quickly types in “android sexual modifications” and suddenly, the entire situation felt oddly too real for you to handle.

“Jungkook, I don’t think this is necessary—“

“What’s your budget for me, miss?” He continues on as if you had said nothing, even going far as to hum a soft tune in order to silence your protests. Understanding now that you had no other say in the matter, you slump tiredly into your chair. “I don’t fucking know… One grand?”

“You’re spending all that money on lil ol’ me? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t want me to be little, to be more precise.” He jokes, sending you a quick teasing smile before continuing to scroll through the search results.

Finding something that must have looked promising, he clicks on one of them and your retinas are immediately assaulted with pictures and descriptions of android modifications that you would not dare utter in the daytime.

“Here,” he hands you back the mouse and takes a step back. “Just scroll through the mods offered for JK models and you should be fine. I’ve never tried any of these, so forgive me for being a bit excited to try these on.”

Hold up. Did this bastard just say he was excited to try whatever the fuck these things were? Because you are sure no human could fit any of these contraptions into their bodies, especially not with Daddy Michael’s Monster Cock 3000 or the 13-inch Love Machine With An All-New Ribbed Silicone Design.

“Are you sure these are alright? What other mods do you have?” You question nervously, your gaze trailing the website screen with some horror. A few of them looked innocuous enough, with many of the products boasting of their almost human-like proportions. (Human? In what universe did men walk around with double-headed dicks? Or was your dry spell really that bad?) You stop scrolling abruptly, however, when your eyes finally fall on the one dick that could potentially ruin you (for better or for worse).

“Oh? Are you interested in that one?” Jungkook asks, his face looking blasé at best. He does not even flinch at the size nor girth of the… object. (You refuse to call that thing a dick; not on this planet will it ever fit in anyone’s hole.)

“Dragon dick dildo for men and women? Comes with artificial semen and vibration options?” You ask more than state, trying to keep your heavy breathing to yourself. You could already feel your perineum tearing.

“Hmm… 5-inch diameter, and requires model JK400 and higher for compatibility,” Jungkook leans in closer to read the description beside you, his artificial heat warming your skin. Despite his unnatural hotness (both literally and figuratively), you feel yourself shiver at his proximity.

“I’m afraid to say that I’m a JK300 model, so I wouldn’t be able to wear that modification model for you,” he says, and—do your ears deceive you—he sounds almost disappointed. You feel a weird tingling all over your body at this discovery. “Although, it says that they do have older models in stock, so we could ask—“

“Per…perhaps it would be for the best anyway. I don’t think I could have handled it,” you interject quickly, shutting him down before he can get any ideas.

Maybe it’s your imagination, but you swear you see a smirk on his face from the corner of your eye.

“Understood. Shall we keep looking, then?”

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

Writer’s Questionnaire

tagged by @galadrieljones! Thanks! :)

Short stories, novels, or poems? I write a lot of short scenes, but I prefer reading novels as well as writing them. It’s so fun to see how your character grows and changes, how they develop, and how things you thought would happen don’t, or happen in a way different from what you imagined. It’s wonderful, though difficult. (Constantly I have to ask myself have I used this turn of phrase in the story before?)

What genre do you prefer reading? Looking at the books that caught my interest of late, (and in general) the stuff I read has some sort of family dynamic present. More often than not, there’s also a love story. Typically my favorite books are sagas that take place over different generations. (thorn birds one of them, and when I was younger and read a lot of Sidney Sheldon, one of my favorites of his was Master of the game, which took place over fifty years of family. my older self though now really likes Rage of Angels...I would love to like modernize that story...) My dream is to write a long family saga one day.

What genre do you prefer writing? there’s no contest: Romance. I was once very adamant about not using that word due to the stigma behind the romance genre, very keen on...a story about two people who happen to be in love! But you know..it’s romance. I’m just endlessly fascinated by the different ways people can fall in love, and how their love manifests and effects others. 

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person? Hmmmm.....a little of both. With Our Immortal longings I made an outline of events, but things changed, shifted around, or flat out didn’t happen. Back in the day I was very strict on following the outline I wrote, but now I’ve finally found the happy medium of following it but understanding the story is going in a different direction. I think one of the reasons my modern AU is stagnant right now is because I didn’t make an outline.

What music do you listen to while writing? Usually I don’t. However, there are a few scenes I have written throughout my resume where there was a song I replayed over and over again, because it just fit the mood. So now when I listen to one of those songs, all I can think about is the scene. :)

Fave books/movies? Hmmm I have books that have meant a lot to me over the years. East by Edith Pattou (which now has a sequel. Like..wha?) The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCoullogh, Phantom by Susan Kay. I also love so many plays. Of course Shakespeare, but also Anton Chekhov. 

Movies: Howl’s Moving Castle is arguably my biggest inspiration. And when I watched gone with the wind when I was 12 I swear it changed me. I wasn’t used to seeing female characters being so unapologetic, and while I certainly don’t idolize Scarlett O’hara, I find her endlessly interesting as a character. Some other favorites are The Sound of Music, That Hamilton Woman, Wuthering Heights(1939), Bridesmaids. And I saw the new A Star is Born and it’s on my eternal favorites list.

Any current WIPs? My DBH fic has become my main focus, Our Immortal Longings. (Which I would really love to shorten to Immortal Longings but hey what can you do.) I also have a post blight fic with cullen, that details the relationship he develops with one of the chantry sisters. I also have a modern AU with Cullen and Lydia. I like the fic in theory, and I was experimenting away from the romantic feel of my previous work to something blunter and more realistic (for lack of a better word.) But I just feel for Connor’s character when I played DBH, and I really wanted to tackle how he would deal with falling in love. In the process I seriously became enamored with my own OC and the dynamic she has with him. Odd because I was never interested in robots or stories about robots before...but now...well....look at all the possibilities! 

also I had a MGIT story about a Shakespearean actress. I’m sorry to those who liked the story, but I’m not going to continue with it.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be? A pink colored sundress decorated with flowers, and ballet flats. My hair is big and curly.

Create a character description for yourself: She was alive. That was always good, though perhaps not in the best of her appearances with her glasses on, face unmade and hair in a messy bun. She was also wearing one of her dumpy nightshirts. But again, she was alive, and she was writing. Every single word she wrote was a victory. 

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing? Bits of them sure, not blatant insertions to where people I know would know. Maybe just a wink.

Are you kill-happy with characters? Well, people do die IRL and in my writing. But I wouldn’t say I’m kill happy. IWD had two causalities. Will OIL have any? Well....I can’t answer that. Some of my favorite movies/books have poignant deaths, and I will admit the one major death scene that happened on screen in IWD was very cathartic and powerful for me. 

Am I George RR Martin kill happy though? no. 

Coffee or tea while writing? Morning: coffee. Night: Tea.

Slow or fast writer? I’m reasonably fast, though it certainly depends. sometimes it takes me a while to start. 

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from? Everything and anything. I always have my eyes peeled. When I was in Disney I came up with so many scenarios for Connor and Sophie, and yesterday doing sparklers and fireworks with my family I imagined a Cophie new year, lol. 

mainly though? Music. Definitely music.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be? In my best life I’m a bard that follows along an adventurer and becomes their companion as they travel the the world. 

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche? I’m a sucker for a lot of romantic tropes. The dance of romance, forehead touches, died in your arms, (Is that morbid? lol I’m sorry I just find it so dramatically satisfying.)  I love broody guy, gentle girl and variations of that trope. Friends to lovers. in fact I view my two OtPS a variation of the above. I probably have more too. Bedsharing too. I did bedsharing back before I knew everyone else loved it too :)

I’m of the opinion that most things can work if done properly but least favorite is by far the whole liar revealed story arc. at best I tolerate it, but...no. Just no. I’m getting a little tired of “we can’t be together” story lines and love triangles too. I also have tropes that I think are okay but everyone else loves: fake dating. (I know, I know. I even have my own fake dating story too. mostly I wrote it because I wanted to see if I could grow to like it.) and dramatic height differences. but this is mostly because I’m tall, and when I read young adult fiction as a youth, the LI was always so much taller than the herione...and I’m salty ok? lol. 

OH on young adult books: I’m tired of the heroine that “isn’t like other girls because I’m tough and reclusive and I don’t like makeup or whatever” (BELLA SWAN) I would like 2019 to be the year that I say you can be a powerful female and still like things that are traditionally feminine, and there should be no shame in it. I love writing characters that draw their strength through their femininity, because guess what...it’s not inherently weak! 

Fave scenes to write? I love scenes where the characters just talk. I love grand romantic gestures. I love moments of reflection. And of course, I love a love scene. :p

Most productive time of day for writing? When the muse strikes. 

It’s also strange to me that I most want to write when I’m in a crowd of people. maybe sometimes I feel like people are talking without listening and I feel a bit lonely so I imagine my characters, because they make me feel less lonely. 

Reason for writing? I always have in some way. The simple reason? I like to. It’s my therapy and my art. I just do :)

this took a long time for some reason! tagging @bitchesofostwick @negotiator-on-site @inquisitorsmabari @fourletterepithet @whatsherfacewrites @laraslandlockedblues @out-of-the-embers @ladymdc

[galedekarios]

do you read any dbh fanfiction? do you have any recommendations?

I’m sorry it took so long to answer your ask and other asks like it, but I finally got around to making a short list of my favourite fics. These are all Hank/Connor to varying degrees, so if that’s not your cup of tea… Anyhow, in no particular order:

Reconstruction by late40nights

Summary: “Am I in the hospital?” He asks. Connor shakes his head. His brows twitch in that way that tells Hank he’s thinking. His LED blinks fast, yellow to red and back to yellow again. He is considering, with the careful way that Connor considers things, what to say next.

“No.” A pause. “You were. You went out to get coffee grounds and a newspaper on April 16th, at 10:22 AM. A bomb planted by an anti-android organization went off as you were leaving the café.”

Hank looks down at himself. At his hands. They look fine, not even a scorched hair. Hardly the skin of someone who was in the hospital over an explosion.

Why I like it: I’m endlessly intrigued by the idea of Hank dealing with the reality of becoming and being an android, and I think this fic handles it in a very sensitive manner and stays true to Hank’s character, while Connor has to deal with the consequences of his actions.

Call of the Void by danceswithronin

Summary: Connor starts to question himself after catching Rupert. Hank starts to question why he shouldn’t just throw Connor off a roof. But after a split-second decision potentially ruins his relationship with his new partner and threatens the entire investigation, Connor is starting to realize that he might be more than just a machine.

The idea is terrifying.

Why I like it: I have a soft spot for Connor who is still very much torn between being a machine but also quite definitely showing signs of deviancy. This fic, in that regard, is everything I ever wanted.

Software Instability by nyromes

Summary: Connor isn’t really surprised when Hank finds him on the Hart Plaza rooftop. But he needs to accomplish his mission. And Hank refuses to get out of his way.The Lieutenant looks down, at the street below, then lets go of Connor’s wrist and spreads his arms.“Moment of truth, Connor…” he says, but the words lack the force to sound cynical. Instead, he simply sounds tired. His eyes meet Connor’s with an expression that Connor has never been met with before.Resignation, his program provides. Disappointment. Betrayal and pain. And something in Connor suddenly breaks.

Why I like it: I’ve already loved the idea of having a second option for Connor to deviate outside of his conversation with Markus. The rooftop scene would have been ideal, and this fic explores that possibility.

if we’re still alive my regrets are few by serenityfails

Summary: “Hank,” Connor says, whisper-soft. “You need to stay awake. I have to make sure you aren’t concussed.”

“You got pretty eyes,” Hank says sleepily.

Why I like it: I love the banter between Hank and Connor here. It’s also one of the few fics that showcases how much of a smartass Connor can be.

Doubts by nyromes

Summary: A little more than a week after the revolution, Hank wakes up to find Connor still doubting the extent to which he is actually free.

Why I like it: The fic addresses a few of the question I was left with after finishing the game with Connor asking himself what is part of his programming and what is not. Hank, naturally, tries to help him through it being his cantankerous but also genuinely caring self. 

you overwhelm me (and I’m okay with that) by Imiaslavie

Summary: Connor goes over everything that has transpired from the moment of his first activation up to today. He gathers up any piece of information he can: patterns, links, ways his numerous databases and memory storages connect, readings of his pump regulator and firewalls’ activity. He rakes through billions of lines of code with as much precision as he can master. No viruses. Nothing out of order. This is a relief. But that doesn’t answer Connor’s question. How and when did he fall in love?

Why I like it: Soft and gentle (in-character) fluff is good for the soul.

Partners by galerian_ash

Summary: Some things don’t need to be said. Others do.

Why I like it: This was the first D:BH and Hank/Connor fic I read. For that reason alone, it’s very dear to my heart.

I hope that was helpful!

♥

[prompt-master]

A DBH fic where Connor gets whumped up an electrocuted! The worst part about Hank's job was when they're a deviant and they ran away. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to be a human dude and run after a God Damn robot? Sure, Connor always charged after the android without any hesitation and was more than capable of keeping up with them, but that didn't help Hank at all emotionally. It just stressed him out, if his hair wasn't gray before it would be now. Any time Connor runs after those things he always thinks he's gonna end up dead somehow. And now there's no Cyberlife to trust with relating Connor let alone getting the kid an entire new body.

This case was no different from his fears. In fact it'd completely shocked Hank down to his bones. This time instead of the usual schitque, the deviant was hacked by another human at an attempt for a no energy, no risk break in. The owner of the android had called in asking for help, as the android was acting weird and taking everything, only to be cut off with a bullet to the back of her head.

Connor and Hank, yeah Hank can help too ok they're a DUO, quickly figured out after a search of the Android's room that there was someone else controlling him. Using the signal, Connor narrowed down the location of the hacker to an apartment down the block. But the second they were in the apartment? The Android greeted them. Out of shock Hank had shot him in the arm when it attacked, but he quickly recovered and shoved them both, jumping off the damn second floor balcony and booking it.

"Mother fucker-" He cut his upset rant off when Connor perched himself over the rails of the balcony, "You're not going after him are ya?!"

Connor looked down to where Hank had grabbed his arm, LED yellow and red. He looked back to where the deviant was running, "No time. I can't let him get away. Find the hacker" and with that he shoved Hank off of him and jumped down, giving way to the rush of chase.

Hank continued to swear. There was no way he'd be able to follow them, so he supposed Connor was right just...look for the hacker. Well except that the entire apartment was abandoned. Figures a top notch hacker like that was too smart to hack in their actual house. But...just dumb enough to leave their laptop on. Or rushed out too quickly...

The laptop blinked to life when he poked it, it was an old thing, one Hank used in his college days when androids were just starting to be designed. Now yeah Hank wasn't exactly...tech savvy. That was Connor's job. But he could at least tell that this wasn't the hacking computer...BUT it DID have a tracker for the deviant on it...

And if he followed it by car...he could help Connor!

Hank hopped into his old ass car, laptop down in the middle of his dashboard, and popped up his handy dandy police siren. He just needed a point in which he could cut them off, or even better block their path.

Soon the deviant was running up the street ahead of Hank, he stepped flat down on the gas. If he waited for just the the right moment...he could cut it off in a place where Connor would block it from the turn behind it.

He skidded sideways, blocking off the road. The android was running near him, but stumbled to a stop when he saw the car. The android was shocked, scared, LED bright red. And even worse his chest was open, wires bright and sparking in his face.

He looked at Hank, hands shaking as they fumbled with the chest plate, "please- please help me I'm not doing any of this please I-" he was cut off as his voice sparked off like an old tv.

Connor must be right behind the deviant as planned, because next he heard "Give it up! You're corned, let the android go!"

Hank stepped out the car with his gun, because sure the android wasn't doing anything on his own freewill but you never knew what could happen next in this line of work. He stepped into the dirty mud that reminded him just how much he hated this side of town. Connor had chased the android all the way into the bad side of town, the road they stood on wasn't paved, trash was thrown askew all over the place and his shoes just felt gross as they sunk into the sticky mud.

Hank aimed his gun, "stand down"

The android looked at Hank, then at Connor. It looked like he was trying to talk, but nothing, not even a little bit of static, sounded out. His hand rose shakily, causing Hank to step closer and unlock the safety on his gun, "Don't reach for a weapon scumbag!"

But the android didn't stop, instead he ripped out the wires from under his open chest, the android now beginning to cry.

Hank stumbled back in shock from the sparks that rose and snapped at his legs "oh my god!"

Connor now rounded over to the front, now that the android was too compromised to run far, "the hacker is destroying the evidence! We have to stop it!" Connor grabbed at the Androids hands which were still trying to rip itself apart. But the deviant still had some struggle in it, and despite Hank wanting to help, the sparks prevented him from helping. Connor could withstand smaller shocks like these.

Hank could only keep yelling at Connor to stop as he fought the dying android. The thing was still strong, a lot of its connections were completely broken so it could only use one arm, but the other arm that stayed in tact had a mean punch to it, it split open Connor's jaw, a blue bruising already flushing across his cheek. Hank didn't even know androids could bruise. The blue blood must be leaking in his face. But it was getting weaker, and Connor threw it to the ground.

Connor briefly looked at the colorful array of bruises and cuts patterned blue up his face and arms with a frown. Even his abdomen was sliced open from the chest board that the android had ripped off of itself and stabbed him with. Pain was still a new foreign feeling to him. But damn everything stung now that he had a chance to think about it. He shouldn't have gotten this hurt in a fight against a DYING android, but he wanted to save him. He didn't deserve to die because he was being controlled. Connor held his bleeding abdomen with one hand, and went to help him to his feet, hoping to fix up it's wires somehow.

"Connor no!! Don't move!"

"What?"

But it was too late, Connor stepped into the puddle that the android was laying in, exposed wires down. It had just looked like another muddy spot but it was so much worse. Connor braced himself against the wall of a house next to him as electricity ran up and down his body, his vision black and static and panicked. He had to run the course until the android ran out of its last bits of electricity. His body stiff, and his mouth open in a loud broken scream.

Hank covered his ears when he heard the noise his partner was emitting. Gurgling, scraping, grinding, grating, sharp and mechanical. He looked over to see the Android leaning on a wall with on arm, another that was moving from its place resting on his abdomen to hold onto his neck in an attempt soothe his now burning trachea. A globby puddle of Thirium was at the Android's feet, and saline dripped from his lips and nose. Hank felt his eyes widen at the sight. Connor visibly shook and in his vision displayed a low Thirium warning, he felt like he was about to heave again... but that would bring him too close to having none of the blue substance that kept him alive.

"Connor..." Hank mumbled in shock, slowly uncovering his ears and unable to stop looking at the way Connor's eyes were twitching and fluttering. Unable to stay open like a broken toy, eyes rolling around strangly under the glitching lids. "Connor oh my god!!"

Connor stumbled stiffly out of the the puddle and collapsed onto the ground with a grunt. He was still twitching and shaking, hands shaking over his face in shock at how much was dripping out of his body. Just all fading away. His vision was somehow black and white and mixed with all the wrong colors at the same time. Things fading in and out. He was losing feeling in his right leg.

Hank was suddenly in his face, dragging him closer to the car. But Connor couldn't focus on him, all he could do was focus on how he could still feel the over load of electricity inside him, how his eyes twitched way too much to even look at Hank correctly. He was breathing weirdly and strangly, he felt sick to his stomach. Was he dying? Oh god. It hurt every where, pins and needles up his body, his broken jaw felt like it was gonna fall off.

"H.....h-hank...."

Hank winced at how helpless Connor sounded, "it's ok son, you're gonna be ok, we're gonna get you help you hear?" He was grabbing his phone, to call the police station for back up and a mechanic.

"Just breathe Connor you're ok"

"I-i don't...don't need to breathe."

"Then what's that weird ass noise you're making?"

Connor licked his lips where saline was running from his nose, "I'm- I believe I am going to be sick"

"Oh shit" Hank grabbed Connor and lifted him into a half sitting position, leaning him over so he didn't get all sick over himself. But Connor continued to make the pained breathy noise, "c'mon Connor just get it over with dammit"

"I-I I cannot" he shook. Oh god everything hurt. He's gonna die here. Oh god. He can't die like this not when he jist started to feel like what it was like to feel whay it was like to love a father.

"Why the fuck not Connor?!" Hank was freaking out. He knew nothing about this shit. He should really read up on am android manual or something.

Connor felt thick thirium trying to run up his throat and forced it back down, nearly choking on it. His lips stained blue from the force of it. "I-if I expel that amount of thirium t-then I won't..." He couldn't finish talking, feeling too weak. He leaned into Hank and tried to grab his hand but he was too shaky and uncoordinated.

Hank grabbed his hand and squeezed tightly, "shit." He laid Connor on his back, "ok so don't throw up. But don't- yknow don't choke on thirium either. Fuck. Fucking shit. It's ok help is on the way, kid. How can I help you I don't know what to do"

Connor shook his head, "I have 8 minuetes until shut down, 1 if I throw u-up" Connor cringed, closing his mouth at the wave of nausea that rushed over him. He groaned, leaning further and heavier into Hank's lap.

His eyes were starting to focus again, he could see the panic in his eyes. "The...the deviant?"

"...dead."

Connor closed his eyes, but it wasn't peaceful at all. He tried to hold himself back from crying with all this pain. He let out pained gasps.

"It's ok. It's ok. It's ok." Hank smoothed over the hair on his forehead and rested it there, "please Connor buddy you gotta be ok"

Connor nodded, but felt rest mode taking over. His eyes fluttered again, the strange array of greens and reds he saw in Hank's face fading away.

"No. No no no Connor stay with me you gotta stay awake I don't know what to do!" Hank shook his shoulders.

"I-i. Can't. Forced sleep mode- i-i will be fine just...ngh....Hank......" His head rolled off to the side limply, broken chunk of jaw moving in the wrong direction as it fell against Hank's knee.

"Connor?...oh god...fuck...no"

All he could now was sit and wait for help with his son in his lap, watching over him best he could. The amount of blue all over Connor was freaking him out, bruised bloody beaten and electrocuted. Why him. But...Connor trusts him to keep him safe. He knew that. So he could and he would.

He just wondered why Connor only used his first name when he was dying.

[xyfanficarchive]

Firelight

Pairing: DBH Simon x Gender Neutral Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: The reader is a human who is dedicated to helping out the people of Jericho. When they’re forced to weather a storm in the old ship, a conversation with their close friend Simon turns into a very confusing experience.

Word Count: 2014

Author’s Note: sO, funny story. I haven’t written anything, anything in literal years. and then I just went and banged this baby out in a few hours and I’m insanely proud of it. So, here’s my first fic since I was like 12. Any feedback you might have would be greatly appreciated! Enjoy!!

Link to part 2 - Four-Letter Word

            You don’t know how long you’d been staring into the fire, huddled close to that rusting oil drum just thinking by the time you’d been forced out of your trance by a particularly loud crack of thunder that seemed to rattle every single loosened part of the dilapidated ship. You glanced up to observe many of the androids in the room looking skittish for a second, a smattering of LEDs quickly flashing red before blinking yellow and returning once more to blue, glowing faintly in the low light. You observed how many of them seemed to also gravitate towards standing next to the fires in complete silence, despite the fact that you were the only one who actually needed the warmth given off in the whole structure.

           Your eyes return to the flickering of the flames. The whole air of the place seemed particularly somber today. Not that Jericho was ever, at any point, a particularly lively place to be. It was a place of freedom, but also fear; a collective of vulnerable people living in the dark, personal experiences rendering them too afraid to do much else other than sit and hide on this disintegrating ship. The rain seemed to get everyone especially down today though, and even though you loved the rain and the sheer terrifying power of a thunderstorm like this one, you soaked up the mood like a sponge.

           “You look preoccupied,” a voice says, accompanied by footsteps approaching you. You look up to see the face of your friend Simon, soft blue eyes looking into yours, and he stops just close enough to you that your arms touch, although you think nothing of the closeness of it. “What are you thinking about?” he asks.

            “Things,” you say without thinking, and immediately avert your eyes to the floor laughing a bit at the stupidity of your answer. You sigh. “No, I just kind of want to go home. I’m tired and, no offense, but Jericho isn’t exactly the best place for a fleshy exotherm like me to take a nap.” Getting in and out of Jericho as safely as you could would necessitate a fair amount of jumping and hoisting yourself up onto platforms, but all the handholds would be too slick for you to grip in the torrential rain.

           Simon wraps an arm around you and a smile creeps onto both of your faces. “I’m sure we could find you a place to sleep. This was a human ship after all, there must be a bed somewhere around.”

           “I’ve done my exploring and trust me, there is no mattress left behind on this ship that is untouched by uh, mysterious stains,” you laugh, and stretch your arm out behind him to reciprocate his little gesture of affection, soaking up his warmth in the slight chill of the air. “If worst comes to worst, I’ll just bunch up my jacket for a pillow and sleep on the floor. No big deal.”

           “No, I couldn’t let you do that,” he says. “I’m sure – yeah, I’m sure there’s a clean blanket or two somewhere around here. I’ll have to find them for you.”

           You both fall into a silence that you note is comfortable, just staring into the fire again. Even with the human friends you’d made and had for a few years since moving to Detroit, it was never quite like the dynamic you shared with Simon who you’d known for a matter of months. There was always a pressure to be speaking, to always be doing something together, and you would never even consider being so casually close to them, just standing together and enjoying the physical contact. Your mind drifts to the fact that he is warm, emitting body heat, and your brows furrow as you remember that oh yeah it confuses you, as you can’t seem to think of a reason why an android might need or have warmth.

           So you pipe up, turning your face up to look at him: “Simon, why are you like, warm?” and again, avert your eyes for a moment while you laugh quietly at how odd the question sounds. “I mean like, body heat is generally a by-product of chemical reactions. Digestion and metabolism in biological beings, and such. So like, why? You’re an android, and don’t do either of those. Unless I’m missing something,” you joke.

           “Entirely for human comfort,” he says. “I mean, humans get kind of disconcerted when they make physical contact with something that looks like a human but is cold to the touch. We’ve actually had some androids come to Jericho who don’t have that feature, although their functions before were less likely to involve human contact. But my model was made for domestic service, so,” he trails off and you hum, satisfied with his answer.

            Your eyes drift up again and meet with another android across the room who it seems was observing you two, an eyebrow quirked and LED briefly flashing yellow before she looked away. Your mouth draws into a straight line, feeling almost judged when you decide to ask Simon another question.

           “You ever notice how they all seem to, I don’t know, ignore me? Or judge me?” Your face sours, not entirely satisfied with the tone you spoke with, a little too hurt for your liking. You couldn’t decide whether it was because you didn’t really want to put the blame on them for not trusting you, or because it brought that pang of disappointment you’d been trying to ignore too close to the surface.

           “What do you mean?” he asks, seeming to notice your negative tone.

           “Well, I mean – you know the logical part of my brain is telling me that it’s not their fault or mine that they don’t trust me, so not to get too bent out of shape about it. Helping, knowing that I’m supporting the people of Jericho really is gratifying on its own. Honest!” you stop for a moment to think, “but there’s still that little part of me that wonders what I’m doing wrong, that wants to be validated for my efforts. That’s still disappointed that when I come here most people other than you do their best not to look at me or interact with me,” you look away from Simon’s eyes, suddenly a bit ashamed and afraid now of his judgment too. Were you being too needy? Asking for too much of a people with a very broken trust in humans, for very good reasons?

           He takes his arm from your shoulders and turns to face you fully. “They are grateful for everything you’ve done, all the support you give us. I can vouch for the fact that they appreciate you,” he reassures, placing his hand on your forearm. “Some are still wary of your intentions, though. And some are still very nervous around humans in general – I’m sure you understand.” You nod along with his last statement. “I’m sure they’ll warm up to you in time, you just need to give it a little while,” he smiles warmly, before taking on an inquisitive expression.

           “Out of curiosity, why do you help us?” he asks. “I don’t doubt your intentions are good, but ever since you discovered this place on your own… All we asked of you is that you leave and keep quiet about Jericho, but you kept coming back.” You looked back up to meet his earnest gaze. “You kept doing more and more. Bringing us supplies. Sneaking into Cyberlife’s warehouses and stealing biocomponents and blue blood. Speaking up for us in your daily life. Our existence as deviants is already dangerous, but you keep defying the law at every turn you can and putting yourself in more danger than we could have ever asked of you. Why?”

           There’s a pregnant pause while you think of how to respond. In truth, it’s an extremely loaded question. You’d never really thought about why you wanted to help Jericho, only that you did. “I…” you start, very tentatively. “I always think back to our history as a species, you know. For the past couple of centuries there’s always been someone fighting for their basic – basic rights somewhere in the world. Somewhere in this country. Whether its on the basis of their religion, their ethnicity, their gender, or sexuality or whatever, someone’s always been trying to break down the barriers so we can all just live as equals. And the moment, the very moment it seems that as a society we might start to get it, to understand that concept of equality, what do we do? We invent a new type of second-class citizen, perfectly obedient and perfectly identical to us so we can get that authentic oppression experience.” You bit your lip, gaze long since shifted away from Simon back down to the fire.

           “And I’d really hate to think that that’s our natural state. That we just can’t bear not having some kind of a hierarchy to feel safe in, to always feel superior to someone. I think a lot about how inaction is, in a way, worse than outright hatred. Because it’s the inaction that allows hatred to continue. I’m aware that it’s dangerous for you to, for example, go outside for supply runs. The police do hunt deviants. So if I can help, if I can keep you out of the way of the police then I will.”

           You look up at Simon and he’s got this expression on his face that you can’t read, but your jaw goes a little slack and a tingle runs the length of your spine. “To be honest it upsets me that all our human empathy and compassion goes out the window when – when faced with something that looks exactly like a human. Just because we’re aware their blood is blue and not red.” Suddenly you’re intensely aware of his hand, warm on your forearm and his closeness – it seems he’d drifted towards you even more over the course of your little monologue. You shift under the intensity of his gaze. “A-and… I’ve read enough history books about those people fighting for their basic rights, telling the world that they are people, that when I came to Jericho and had everyone telling me the exact same, of course I was inclined to believe you.”

           There was silence again. Unbreaking silence, and unbreaking eye contact. Simon seems to be breathing heavy although you can’t comprehend why, and he lifts his other hand to rest it on your shoulder. He pulls it away again and looks to the side, almost embarrassed before bringing his hand up even further to rest it on your cheek – and where you were expecting soft, warm flesh, your skin instead met the feeling of cool, smooth plastic. The air goes electric with the warmness, the intimacy of the situation. He meets your eyes again with that expression you can’t name, the soft orange glow of the fire lighting his features, and your hand seems to automatically reach up to cover his. It feels like your perceptions are wading through a thick warm haze, and you forget the intensely sober atmosphere of Jericho’s main room, completely drunk on the firelight reflecting off his cool blue eyes. His lips part slightly, and you feel almost like you can read his thoughts, predict his next movements and just as you start to feel the anticipation of leaning in to –

           He pulls away abruptly, his white hand leaves your cheek and you watch as the artificial skin on it reforms, leaving it identical to any human hand. “I… Wh-” You begin, but you’re dazed, at a loss for words, ripped from your little reverie too quick to get your bearings. He’s broken eye contact and, looking more self-conscious than you’d ever seen him, he backs away.

           “I-I’d really better find you those blankets… If you’re going to stay the night…” he murmurs, and at once turns on his heel and leaves you behind feeling suddenly very cold, very confused, and definitely disappointed.