#and he seems genuinely excited about the androids and their potential

[star-of-waterdeep]

This is really long so I'm gonna put it under a cut, but!!! some of my f/os' para lists :] (oh, and their sexualities cuz why not)

Simon Walker

Gay Aromantic

Biastophilia - Rape

Hoplophilia - Guns

Krouophilia - Beating someone

Somnophilia - Sleeping person

Asphyxiaphilia - Choking

Autassassinophilia - Life-threatening situations

Erotophonophilia - Murder

Masochism - Pain

Ephebophilia - Ages 15-19

Capnolagnia - Smoking

Catagelophilia - Being ridiculed

Astarion Ancunin

Panromantic Demisexual

Necrophilia - The dead

Biastophilia - Rape

Somnophilia - Sleeping person

Zoophilia - Animals

Stigmatophilia - Piercings and tattoos

Sadism - Inflicting harm

Erotophonophilia - Murder

Emapihtophilia - Gore

Agnotitaphilia - Virginity/chastity

Erythrophilia - Blushing

Murdoc Niccals

Bisexual

Voyeurism - Watching other people

Psavophilia - Fingering

Dacryphilia - Crying

Asthenolagnia - Humiliation

Zelophilia - Jealousy

Aisthitirakiphilia - Sensory deprivation

Apopnigophilia - Face-sitting

Cofortiphilia - Grooming

Ebriuphilia - Intoxication/drunkenness

Mixoscopia - Watching one’s partner fuck someone else

Odaxelagnia - Biting

Ephebophilia/Hebephilia - Ages 11-19

Elijah Kamski

Bisexual

Hoplophilia - Guns

Consanguinamory - Romantic/Sexual attraction to his half-brother (Gavin Reed)

Androidism - Humanoid robots 

Univestiphilia - Uniforms

Hebephilia - Ages 11-16

Omorashi/Urophilia - Urination

Somnophilia - Sleeping person

Agonophilia - Consensual non-consent

Leptosadism - inflicting mild pain or harm

Mastigophilia - Punishment

Chrematistophilia - Paying for sex

Cordophilia - Being bound

Hybriphilia - Being worshipped

Exhibitionism - Being watched

Endytophilia - Staying dressed during sex

Doxophilia - Receiving praise

[braun50ditlevsen]

Prestantiousnovel - Chapter 546 One day* wrathful flock recommendation-p2

Fantasticfiction - Chapter 546 One day* control edge reading-p2

Novel-Hellbound With You-Hellbound With You Chapter 546 One day* natural quarter Hellbound With You "A real villain, huh." He echoed, switching backside at her yet again. Appearing like he seriously pondered about it. "That appears to be pleasurable." "Alicia…" mentioned Ezekiel, a little bit tilting his travel since he gazed deeply into her eyes, leaning even better. "Will you much like me?" he expected, a glint of mischief playing at a corner of his slender mouth area. Hellbound With You "Remember to don't plan a single thing nuts to eliminate the whole world because you're fed up. Restrain the devil inside you. I am talking about, sequence him eternally." His thoughts mailed chills down Alicia's vertebrae, and she knew why. This person really was incredible. ... "A true villain, huh." He echoed, changing backside at her once again. Giving the impression of he seriously pondered over it. "That noises exciting." "They have nothing to do with my rely on in you. And have your hand off my top of your head, Ezekiel." She ordered as well as the guy smirked. He patted her top of your head gently after which quickly pulled his hands off her, almost as if afraid that another challenging impact will land on his confront. android karenina Chapter 546 Eventually* "A true villain, huh." He echoed, switching rear at her all over again. Looking like he seriously pondered over it. "That appears pleasurable." "That's correct. My job is lastly through." He uttered, his vision got a far off seem once again. "You're appropriate. I might really get bored after this." Hellbound With You Ahead of Alicia can even form a answer, "Just kidding," he said and then he made his gaze backside ahead of him. "If only you fortune, Alicia, for your own new task. Don't be concerned an excessive amount of. The devil within me is well behaved." He instructed her as he continued walking. Just thinking about the whole planet finding out about the existence of the dragons and vampires and witches produced Alicia's abdominal churn. This mankind was truly beyond ideas to establish. He could help you save the globe without working with his physiological strengths. Knowning that was why he was genuinely frightening. He definitely could damage the earth also by his out from the world manipulation. If a person day… this guy would come to be an enemy… can any individual acquire against him? the case of jennie brice "A true villain, huh." He echoed, switching back at her once more. Resembling he seriously pondered regarding it. "That noises pleasurable." "It seemed… your rely on in me had really crumbled." He was quoted saying. Chapter 546 One day* Out of the blue, a substantial fingers landed on her go. Alicia's eye widened, speechless at what Ezekiel was performing. "That individual, huh…" he paused and made back again. "Too undesirable, but your hope is simply not potential, Alicia." He added because he walked away. Just as if the G.o.d of silence had just pa.s.sed by between the two, not one person spoke for just a moment. They simply stared each and every other until Ezekiel moved ahead. where can you find the katana in the forest "I question if that's achievable but…" he responded then appeared in excess of his shoulder blades. Their view achieved because he spoke which has a mischievous grin on his face. "I'll try." If you decide on 1st level(h.e.l.lbounder), search for 5 chapters beforehand (cost= 1 coin) Alicia subconsciously leaned rear, eventually comprehending how close up their encounters have been. If you do buy 1st tier(h.e.l.lbounder), look for 5 chapters before hand (price tag= 1 coin) He switched and did start to stroll silently in advance of her. But Alicia adopted and continuing chatting. "You have been the individual who asserted that time could modify all the things. Given that your tricky activity is finally over, I'm scared you'll get bored one day, and… your monstrous human brain may believe of a thing really crazy." *unedited chapter "It seemed… your rely on in me had really crumbled." He said. The witch queen acquired her view expand for the break up secondly but retrieved immediately and responded to. "Oh sure, Ezekiel." She blurted. "I like to punch you…" she ongoing, and like a super reach, her little fist landed on Zeke's jaw. "I always aspired to impact that emotionless encounter of your own!" Ezekiel halted. He picked up his encounter and searched up. His hands and fingers in his wallets, searching utterly calm since he witnessed the swaying foliage above them. Section 546 Some day* *unedited chapter "You need to don't plot everything wild to destroy the world even though you're fed up. Restrain the devil inside you. I mean, chain him forever." "Will you be utilizing for the job? Huh, princess?" That smirk was lower back all over again, and Alicia was rendered speechless. Her? Babysitting this horrifying devil? A Circuit Rider's Wife Chapter 546 At some point* Just like the G.o.d of silence experienced just pa.s.sed by between them, no one spoke for a moment. They merely stared at each other until Ezekiel shifted in front. Ezekiel halted. He raised his facial area and checked up. His hands and wrists in the wallets, looking utterly relaxed because he looked at the swaying simply leaves above them. "It seemed… your confidence in me had really crumbled." He stated.

[simplystefanie-rae]

God there’s so much I want to say about the wandavision finale I’m not even sure where to start.

Well I guess first I’ll start with just how SHOCKED I genuinely am that Vision is, for all intents and purposes, alive (unless he destroyed himself, but we didn’t see it and that would be rude AF). He’s not our Vision right now but they left a door wide open for him to come back at any point, and to that I tip a hundred hats to them. I had a bit of a post set aside that I was in the middle of writing up about Vision’s character and how I felt he would be wasted if they killed him off for good now (even if this undermined the theme of the show to a degree), and I never got the chance to finish it before the finale, and fuck I’m glad I didn’t now, since it turns out I didn’t need it lol. 

Hex! Vision mid season started questioning who he was, and as I was thinking he was definitely a goner I thought it was a shame because this arc of the android character questioning their identity and sense of self was what I wanted for Vision from the beginning. This Vision had his closure in that regard, but as he was purely an extension of Wanda it wasn’t really to the true Vision’s characters’ benefit. White Vision’s appearance gave me hope but I still figured Hex! Vision would kill him so Wanda wouldn’t have to do it, but instead they have a philosophical discussion and his memories get unlocked. Now what I’m really hoping for is a long journey (could not even begin to guess what project would give the room for this) of Vision re-discovering his humanity. He has all these memories, but maybe not the emotions to go along with it? I wish they were just a little more clear on that before he just took off and we didn’t see him again.

Which I suppose can lead to the rest of my review/observations. Under a cut because this got long.

I think the episode really could have benefitted from just 20 more minutes to let it all have a chance to breathe. A few more minutes for Wanda and Agatha’s fight, a few more for the Visions, a few more for Wanda’s reaction to nearly getting killed by white Vision, a few more for Monica...like it was all good things, but it needed more. I feel like there WANTED to be more but it was cut for run time, but why such a short run time in the first place? I never complained about the episode length until now.

Mostly I think I just wanted more lore on the Scarlet Witch, and Wanda coming to terms with what that meant. Honestly okay, I say we needed just 20 more minutes, but maybe it could have benefited from another 20 of Agatha giving Wanda her own little walkabout through the history of witches and what it means to be a witch to give Wanda some space to accept that hey, she’s a fucking witch, and now she realizes she has a lot more power than she thought and it’s this huge responsibility she needs to get a handle on. We see her accept this mantle and identity, but not really why. 

I guess Wanda has been struggling to come to terms with her powers for years now, what’s one more thing added on top of that. But that combined with her accepting all the loss in her life, there had to be a neater way to tie the two things together. All the ingredients are THERE they probably just needed to be written by the writer of episode 8. At least I’m assuming it’s a different writer, since 8 was basically perfect and this one not so much. 

I’m assuming we’ll see more of what it means to be the SW in Doctor Strange. I worry a little but how far they’re going to push Wanda into morally grey territory. I think it’s clear at this point her being just a straight up hero is off the table, at least for now. She hurt way too many people, she knows this, and I think is accepting it in a way that, while she’s not going to go out of her way to do bad shit, probably thinks she’s incapable of being a hero so what’s the point in trying. She might be more self serving, if that end credits clip is anything to go by. 

Maybe? Honestly that could go so many ways. She did say to Monica that she wanted to understand her powers, presumably because she doesn’t want to be this being that destroys the whole world, but I would thinking studying from a book called the Darkhold wouldn’t be the way to go. But then again that’s the book that is written about her and she has no other source to go to other than Agatha, who she doesn’t trust with good reasoning, so I guess there was no other option for her. Urgh, what a mess lol. I’ll talk more about Wanda’s potential future in another post though, it’s so much to get into. 

Other observations/thoughts: Monica in general. I’m going back and forth on whether or not she was truly underused or if the smallest glance of her powers was an appropriate tease of better things to come for her. Because while I wanted a cool ass fight scene with her, at the same time I think she deserves her own platform to have this moment of payoff so we can really just enjoy it for HER and not have to also focus on Wanda’s character arc as well. So while I was disappointed we didn’t see a more kickass moment from her, I’m excited for more, and for her to really shine on her own. We got a great introduction to her character and why she’s a hero, I’d like to see the true culmination of this in Captain Marvel 2 or whatever other project she may be in first.

Evan Peters just being Ralph is the funniest fucking thing in the world to me and honestly is what I deserve after so many people just hopping on board this show just to see a character that has very little to do with Wanda to begin with. At the end of the day, this story was about Wanda’s grief, Vision’s identity, and to a much smaller extent Monica’s origin story, not this huge introduction to X-men like everyone kept trying to force it to be, and thank god for that. While the finale didn’t hold up as much as the rest of the show, it was so successful because it was an intimate character study and Marvel needs to realize it can do more of that. Episode 8 was the best of it for a reason. 

I have some more small criticisms, like my confusion over how Wanda’s powers are actually suppose to work (why did Monica’s clothes not change from it’s 70s hex form, is it because the hex was still up, and now that it’s down they changed back? Why are Wanda’s powers regulated to being inside a barrier but then she can just control/change Agatha back into Agnes and presumably keep that going when the hex gets taken down?), is Agnes/Agatha just suppose to continue to live in Westview when all the people there knows she’s not suppose to be there? That’s so dark, to be constantly reminded of this awful thing that happened, but at the same time that just seems like sloppy writing and that the writer didn’t actually think through how that was suppose to work. We don’t know if the residents know who exactly she is, just that she wasn’t there before the hex, so I honestly don’t know what they would make of her. And while Wanda is definitely more morally grey now (Agatha even said this was cruel) I don’t think she would force this constant reminder on the people that she just took the hex down for. I’ll just chalk it up to sloppiness.

I also am conflicted on Agatha in general. On one hand, I wish she had a better motive then wanting more magic for more powers sake, but on the other she’s such an unapologetically bad bitch I have to respect it. I did like the beat of her being scared of Wanda’s power and suggesting that there are things even she fears, though it sure was arrogant of her to think she could handle this power she’s also terrified of. But anyway I’m glad she’s not dead, I want her to be more fleshed out. Maybe some point down the road Wanda says fuck it and releases her so she can teach her. It can be the morally grey witch + evil witch reluctant friendship/tutelage we deserve.

I’ll talk about Vision and Wanda’s scene at the end in other post since that’s gonna be a lot more positive. Lizzie and Paul are so fucking good together, they really sold the emotion of the ending even if I was questioning things. 

Oh also, Marvel, can we PUH-LEASE give Wanda her brown hair back??? The red is killing me. That post credits scene should have had her brown roots showing to give me peace of mind that theyre not gonna keep it like this!!! Also style the curly hair better for Doctor Strange please. Not a fan of the weird waves it had going. 

[detroitwhatitmeanstobehuman]

Chapter 19 - Mischief and Mayhem

Part 2/10 of In The Meantime

Word Count: 15,445

Warnings: Swearing, discussion of trauma, sexual content.

Genre: Self-insert/Smut/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing: OC (Detective Rachel) X Connor

Rating: Explicit

Summary: In an effort to quell Connor’s misgivings and anxieties, Rachel arranged something of a fun get-together with Hank and Markus and his companions. The goal? Achieve catharsis in whatever way that would be enjoyable. And some of those ways are rather destructive, but Connor finds it all strangely enjoyable and freeing.

What It Means To Be Human | Previous Chapter

---------------------------------

Date: November 14th, 2038  Time: 2:45 PM Rachel - Lover Hank - Friend Markus - Friend North - Friend Josh - Friend Jericho - Allied Objective: Have fun

“Oh, come on! Now you’re just showing off!” Rachel exclaimed angrily while she was still sitting on the slick kitchen floor.

Connor couldn’t stifle the perverse glee of the motion of twirling and flipping each pan in his hands expertly as he juggled them. There was something about the weight and balance of them that felt incredibly satisfying to him. 

The day had progressed as enjoyably as it began, and Connor felt privileged to be able to see the lengths of Rachel’s silliness. As they lingered in the dining room, Rachel suddenly appeared from the kitchen with a pair of floor scrubbers on her feet and a mop in hand, proclaiming herself a mighty warrior and demanding a challenger, of which Markus was the first to accept. This, of course, led to a “battle” of epic proportions, with Rachel fending off the androids, each of them using a mop as though it were a sword.

Hank and Josh decided to stay out and spectate, Hank cheering for Rachel while Josh cheered for the androids. But with Rachel being outnumbered three to one, she was felled easily by Markus and crumpled onto the ground dramatically, pretending to die in an over-the-top fashion as though she were in a Shakespearean tragedy. 

Looking down at Rachel with a giddy smirk, Connor slid over to her in his floor scrubbers. “I have no clue what you mean, Detective.” He teased. “I’m simply making sure I don’t drop any of these pans.”

Rachel scoffed at him with an eyeroll, laughing mostly to herself. “Wiseass.”

“Takes one to know one, Detective.” Connor retorted playfully.

Rachel shook her head, slowly getting up back onto her feet unsteadily. “I’m starting to think that maybe Hank and I are a bad influence on you, Connor.”

“Speak for yourself, Rachel.” Hank responded, standing in the doorway with Josh not willing to risk potentially injuring himself, which was a relief for Connor. “I’m thoroughly enjoying seeing this side of him.”

Hank - Friend ^ There it was. That unrestrained praise that Connor was realizing more and more he had never gotten before from Amanda. To think that he worked so hard for her approval before.

But he doesn’t have to, anymore. He has people worth working hard for. People whose approval actually meant something to Connor.

North slid past Connor, side-eyeing him. “If you think that’s impressive, watch this.” She said to Rachel before sliding her hands into her jacket pocket and pulling out what looked like a set of throwing knives. 

North then started juggling them as expertly as Connor was juggling pans. He couldn’t help but be impressed by her sheer finesse and dexterity. To think that she was a mere sex android before the revolution was a thought that was easy to forget. You’d barely know if you’d met her now. But that only made North that much more intriguing. Her deadliness wasn’t programmed, but learned. It was practiced.

And this was a fact that clearly hadn’t escaped Rachel as she stared at North’s hands, her dark brown eyes wide with wonder as her hands started tentatively flapping with joy. “You can throw knives?” Rachel asked, and excited giddiness sprinkled in her higher-pitched voice. “Like, at people? With accuracy?”

North raised a curious eyebrow at her without stopping her little show. “Yeah.” She replied flatly. “And I can catch them if anyone throws any at me.” She then narrowed her brown eyes at Rachel. “Why?”

The shorter woman’s eyes darted back and forth before they widened in realization. “I just came up with a great idea!”

“Uh-oh.” Josh said preemptively, bumping Hank with his elbow with a smile.

“No no! It’ll be fun!” Rachel reassured them, sliding towards the door to the main hall. “And we can all take part in it! Without risk of injury.”

“Oh good!” Hank said, stretching his back with a crack. “I was starting to worry I was gonna get left out at the end, there.”

Markus then kicked off his scrubbers and tossed aside his sweeper as he followed Rachel outside. Connor did the same, putting his pans back on the counter before following them. “So what’s your idea, then?” The deviant leader asked her.

As they all walked out into the main hall, which was now covered in debris from the various objects and furniture the group ended up destroying. Rachel side-stepped around it, Hank and Josh rounding around the other side from the dining room to meet up where Rachel was going. “Well, I saw that there was a dart board in the game room.” She began explaining, Markus, Connor, and North all following her. “And when North started juggling her knives, I got a brilliant idea.” She then turned to the red-haired android with a smirk. “How many of those bad boys you’ve got in there?”

North returned her smirk as she pulled out five from each pocket. “Enough to keep busy.”

“Ooooooh!” Rachel exclaimed as she stared at them. “Perfect! So we’ll definitely have enough!”

As they all entered the game room, Rachel located the dart board and gestured towards it dramatically with her hand. Connor was curious as to what she was going to suggest next. It filled him with intrigue. 

Connor thought he knew Rachel pretty well after the week-long revolution they’ve gone through, but even now, she still continued to surprise him. It wasn’t difficult to see how she had managed to thread herself in Connor’s circuits. She was endlessly charming and endearing. Indeed, she never failed to be a creature of character and Connor never ceased to be further enthralled by her. And what captivated Connor most was her sheer enthusiasm and passion.

And all of it was genuine. There was nothing that Connor could call fabricated or dishonest about Rachel. In everything she did, everything she was, and everything she believed in, she was completely earnest.

Indeed, it seemed that Rachel made it nearly impossible for Connor not to adore her. His programming may have held back many of his feelings before he accepted his deviancy, but he certainly didn’t hold them back now.

And he never would. Never again. He loved Rachel, he loved Hank, and he loved his friends. He would be a fool to be ashamed of any of that.

“So, we’ve got our dart board, here!” Rachel announced to the group, who were all standing to attention. “Let’s see who’s the best at throwing knives.”

Hank then scoffed at Rachel. “Well, it’s sure not gonna be you. You have shit aim.”

“I tend to, yes.” Rachel agreed. “And yet, I’m quite the sharpshooter when I’m given a deadly weapon.”

“It certainly saved my life enough times over.” Markus agreed, nodding at Rachel pleasantly. Connor couldn’t help but swell with pride on her behalf. “As well as many androids who have you to thank for being alive today.”

To Connor’s surprise, Rachel actually seemed to shrink a bit at Markus’s praise. Her shoulders hunched over as she looked away. “I just...did what I had to do.”

A moment of quiet hung over them all. The air was strangely stale in the afternoon light. “I wish Simon was here.” Josh suddenly said, breaking the silence. That name was familiar to Connor and when he placed why, he felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over and soak itself into his biocomponents. The android on the Stratford Tower. The one who carried out the heist with Markus and shot himself in the head. “He would’ve really enjoyed just spending the time like this. Just...being with friends and actually having fun. Without having to worry about supplying blue blood and biocomponents and wondering if we would be wiped out.”

Rachel then regarded Josh curiously. “I guess you...never really actually hung out before the revolution.” She supposed as her dark eyes flicked over the androids. “Which makes sense. I mean...who can really blame you?”

“He died for his cause.” North chimed in, her arms crossed as she leaned against Markus. “We all miss him, but...I think he would be happy that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

Markus’s brows furrowed as he looked towards the ground. “I just wish he could see it.”

As Connor regarded his fellow androids, he locked eyes with Hank. The old man shook his head, his bright blue eyes clouded with a solemn sort of sympathy for the androids. Hank was a seasoned lieutenant. He’s likely lost fellow officers before and understands their pain.

But all Connor could feel was guilt. Perhaps if he hadn’t followed Rachel to the roof, Simon would be standing here with his friends. Maybe he would’ve survived. In any case, Connor couldn’t shake off the weight of Simon’s death. It was his fault, and Connor had to take responsibility.

In fact, he had to take responsibility for everything he had done before he accepted his deviancy. Despite having the trust and friendship of the leaders of Jericho, Connor still felt on some level that he didn’t deserve it. And memories like getting Simon killed only served to solidify that doubt.

“Hang on!” Rachel said confidently, interrupting the sombre mood and fixing Connor in her intense gaze. Already, the android detective could tell that wheels were turning in her head as she was putting pieces together in the nebulous enigma that was her brilliant mind. “Simon was put in the archive room along with all the evidence we collected from the deviancy case, right?”

Connor nodded. “Correct.” He replied.

“So, he should still be there, right?” Rachel asked him before she turned to the lieutenant. “Hank, we left when you started beating the shit out of Perkins.”

“Hank physically assaulted an FBI agent?” Josh asked Rachel in surprise, looking between her and the lieutenant.

She gave him a bright smile. “Oh, he did!” Rachel responded joyfully. “And it was fucking awesome!”

“And you can bet your ass that I would gladly do it again if I ever saw that bastard ever again.” Hank proclaimed proudly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“Well,” North interjected. “I’m impressed.”

“Wait, so,” Markus said, fixing Rachel in his heterochromic stare. “You have Simon? Locked away somewhere?”

“Theoretically.” Rachel hastily told him. “Simon should still be in the archive room at the station provided Perkins didn’t take him.” She then turned to Hank once again. “Did he go into the archive room after we left? Because he showed up at Jericho that same night, so I got the feeling he was in a hurry as soon as he realized we were gone.”

Another stab of guilt for Connor, realizing that he had unwittingly led the FBI straight to Jericho. Granted, his mission had only changed once he actually arrived and met Markus, but that didn’t stop the immense stinging feeling Connor could feel in his chest at the memory.

“Don’t know.” Hank said to Rachel with a shrug. “I was kicked out after kicking enough of the shit outta him. So I have no clue if Simon’s still there.”

Another moment of quiet seemed to descend on the group before someone spoke up. “Should we go check to see if he’s there?” North then asked. “If we can get him back, maybe we can find a way to get him back online, somehow.”

“Well, it’s not gonna be all that soon, I’m sorry to say.” Hank said calmly to North. “Cops and everyone else are working on staying on top of things after the evacuation. I doubt there’d be anyone at the station right now, and I don’t think it’d be safe for any of you to just start pulling androids out of evidence.”

“But we can’t just leave him in there!” Josh interjected. “He’s one of us, even if we can’t bring him back, he deserves a proper memorial at the least.”

“I’m not saying we leave him in there!” Hank retorted back. He shook his head with a sigh, leaning back further against the wall. “Look, we can’t get him right now, but I doubt it’ll be long for things to be normal at the department at least. I’m keeping tabs on the precinct right now for any updates, so...if I get word of anything, I’ll let you know and we can try to go get him.” He proposed to them. “Got it?”

“Please.” Markus replied, his eyes pleading. “As soon as you get word, let us know.”

“Yeah, yeah. I will.” Hank said to Markus, giving him a patient smile. “Besides, I don’t think Rachel will let me forget it. Or let me live it down if I do.”

“Nope, absolutely not.” Rachel said confidently, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised at him.

It was odd to see Hank in this position. To think that he was so vehemently against androids and so hostile before was almost unthinkable, seeing the lieutenant comforting their friends this way. And the fact that Hank was unapologetic about his newfound perspective on androids made Connor feel as though perhaps he could atone for his past crimes.

Perhaps he could make amends after all. In any case, the prospect of perhaps bringing Simon back to life and reuniting him with his close friends gave Connor hope. Hope that perhaps he would consider himself deserving of the friendships he had gained after everything.

“But until then,” Rachel’s voice cut through Connor’s thoughts with ease as she approached them. “Let’s see who’s best at throwing knives. I’m gonna bet that it’s Connor because he’s perfect at everything and this seems like it would be right up his alley.”

Rachel - Lover ^ North - Friend ^ Connor could barely suppress the bloom on his cheeks at her praise. “We’ll see about that.” North challenged, an edge of competition to her prideful demeanour. Her challenge was only further exemplified when she handed Rachel one of her knives with the handle facing her. “But, since this was your idea, why don’t you go first?”

Rachel nodded, holding the knife and stepping forward. “Great idea!” She agreed. “I’m probably gonna suck, since I’ve never done this before. But who cares? This is supposed to be fun.” But as she stepped up, preparing herself, she then grew rather meek and nervous as her stress level fluctuated slightly. She wasn’t distressed, just a little nervous and unsure. “Um...you’re gonna have to actually show me what to do, because I have no clue what I’m doing.”

North rolled her eyes and approached Rachel. “Well, first of all,” she said, putting her hands on Rachel’s shoulders, “you’re standing too close. Back up a bit.”

Rachel’s eyes widened at the contact and a familiar reaction to North’s touch made Connor’s software stutter briefly. “O-okay, yep.” Increased heart rate. Flushed cheeks. Something unpleasant sparked within Connor as he observed them.

North then put her hand on Rachel’s, causing a brief gasp to escape her. “Grip the knife like this, thumb up and fingers around, like that.” She instructed folding her hands over Rachel’s to correct her grip. “And stand with your right foot out and your left behind you.”

Rachel further continued to blush as she obeyed North’s instructions. However, when she glanced in Connor’s direction and made eye contact with him, the smallest ghost of a smirk on her face was made known to him. “Uh, like this?” She asked, leaning further into North’s touch.

“Yeah, exactly.” North encouraged. “Now, how far you bend your arm back depends on how far from the target you are.” She then began pulling Rachel’s arm back behind her head. “From short range, you throw with your elbow bent and your wrist behind your head.”

“Okay.” Rachel replied, leaning more into North’s touch, glancing back at Connor. The android grew more and more confused. Was Rachel actively trying to make Connor feel these unpleasant feelings? Or was she simply being her typical mischievous self?

And more importantly, what did these strange feelings mean? He wasn’t certain and Connor couldn’t place a name for it.

“And, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to tell you how to throw something.” North said, stepping back and detaching from Rachel and standing next to Markus.

Rachel then gave a nervous laugh. “Y-yeah, I think I’ve got that.”

[Confront Rachel]

Ask Hank

[Say Nothing]

As Connor observed her, he stepped back towards Hank. He didn’t like the feeling it gave him and he wanted to be sure of it in case it interfered with his relationship with Rachel. The last thing he wanted was to jeopardize it.

“Lieutenant?” He whispered to the old man. “Can I ask you something?”

Hank shrugged. “Shoot, I’m all ears.”

“Do you find Rachel’s reaction to North...strange?” Connor asked.

“What?” Hank asked, confused.

Rachel

North

Strange Feeling

“I’m concerned for the state of our relationship.” Connor admitted, shuffling nervously in place. “I’m feeling something I can’t describe, but it’s unpleasant and it was triggered by how close North and Rachel were to each other and Rachel’s reactions to it.”

Hank - Friend ^ Hank then rolled his eyes, seeming to finally understand. “That’s jealousy, Connor.” He said flatly. “It’s a normal thing that happens.”

Jealousy. Interesting. Interesting and alarming. “What is it typically triggered by?”

“A lot of things, Connor.” Hank replied. “Someone being better at something than you that you’re working hard on. Someone you like or care about a lot spending more time with someone else rather than you. It’s a normal thing that happens, but it’s also kinda stupid and irrational.”

That didn’t serve to comfort the android. “How so?” He asked.

“Well, I can tell you that Rachel is obviously not gonna run off with someone else.” Hank assured Connor. “She loves you a lot and she’s not the type who goes behind people’s backs about shit like that. If you ever needed to be worried about something like that, you’d be the first to know because she’d outright tell you. She ain’t got the patience for two-faced bullshit like that. So, you ain’t got anything to worry about.”

Connor nodded, Hank’s confidence and experience with Rachel calming Connor’s innermost doubts. “I see.”

“And don’t worry about how she acts around North, okay?” Hank continued. “She’s just weak for a pretty face. You remember her reaction to the android at Kamski’s place? She’s real fuckin’ gay and has a pretty big thing for someone who can kick her ass.”

Connor tilted his head curiously. “I thought she was bisexual.”

“She is.” Hank groaned with increasing exasperation. “But her reaction to girls is different than her reaction to guys. So, she tends to label it that way herself. But the point is, you’ve got nothin’ to worry about, Connor.” He then shrugged. “Plus, you know how she is. She’s a lil’ shit and it’s real entertaining to her to cause a little mayhem. It’s the whole reason some girls like seeing guys get kinda jealous. I personally don’t get it, but who the Hell am I to judge?”

“Noted.” Connor went back to observing Rachel, feeling a lot better. Jealousy was a normal emotion, but it wasn’t rooted in rationality. That was easy information to contend with and Connor’s trust in Rachel far outweighed whatever irrational unpleasant feeling threatened to jeopardize that.

If Hank was confident that their relationship wouldn’t be compromised because of it, Connor trusted him.

With a thunk, the throwing knife landed cleanly on the dart board. Not in the centre, but it wasn’t close to the edges, either. “Huh!” Rachel said, clearly impressed with herself. “Not too bad for my first actual try throwing a knife.” She then turned to the others with a smirk. “Alright, who’s next?”

Markus then stepped forward. “I guess I’ll give it a shot.” He said with a nervous laugh.

North then pressed one of her knives into his hand and pecked his cheek. “Just do it like I showed her.” She assured him.

Rachel then let Markus step in front of her. She backed up and found her place by Connor and didn’t hesitate to take his hand in hers and squeeze it, looking up at him with a sly smile.

With a thunk, Markus’s knife embedded itself into the dart board not quite in the centre, but closer than Rachel’s did. “Not bad.” Rachel said, impressed. “Alright, let’s see if Josh’s got this.”

The black man snickered as North handed him one of her knives and stepped back. “I’m sure it’s not that hard.” He insisted dismissively. Yet, as Josh prepared to make his target, his hands trembled slightly. And after a long moment of waiting with baited breath, he finally threw the knife at the target.

And it landed just on the outer edge.

It was met with snickers from Rachel, North, and Markus, while Josh whipped around, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. “You guys made it look easy!”

“Josh, chill.” Rachel said, waving him off. “We didn’t even do that good. We did decently. Besides, for all of us except for North, this is a first.”

“Exactly.” North assured Josh, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Besides, I wasn’t great at first, either. It took a lot of practice for me to get good at it.”

Rachel nodded. “Right!” She agreed. “It takes practice.”

“Yeah, well.” Hank said, carefully shouldering past the others, taking the knife North offered him. “I can’t do much worse than that.”

Josh then threw up his arms. “Hey!”

“I mean, don’t fucking jynx it, Hank.” Rachel interjected. “Fate is a cruel mistress and she has no Goddamn self-control.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m well aware.” Hank waved her off, throwing an icy glare back at her, to which she only smugly grinned at him. As Connor regarded her for that moment, he noticed what Hank was talking about earlier. She did indeed seem to derive pleasure from the mild annoyance of others. But going through every catalogued memory of her didn’t seem to turn up any sort of malicious intent from her antics. Just...general mischief, it seemed. And the android would be lying if that wasn’t something he found charming about her.

So perhaps Hank was right in that Rachel may be doing all this on purpose to get a rise out of Connor. And begrudgingly, she was succeeding.

The android’s extrospective thoughts were cut off by a dull thunk of another knife. However, instead of being embedded in the dart board, it was instead embedded in the wall below it. And after a moment, stifled snickers followed as everyone else tried not to laugh.

Hank, being his typical irritable self, shrugged with a grumble and shuffled back towards Connor and Rachel. “Yeah, that’s just about what I fuckin’ expected.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, sir.” Markus consoled with a pleasant smile. “I’m sure with enough practice, you’ll get it.”

“Well,” Rachel interjected, “if Hank was able to do a decent job picking up on Connor’s coin tricks as quickly as he did, I’m sure knife throwing won’t be too difficult for him.”

Connor then cocked his head at the both of them curiously. “I didn’t realize that he actually tried them.” He said.

“Oh yeah, after he took it from you on the Stratford Tower, he started trying it himself.” Rachel explained to Connor with a signature cheeky grin. “He actually did pretty decently. Not as gracefully and impressively as you, but he did pick up on it pretty quickly. With enough practice, he might even get as good as you.”

Hank laughed. “Right, whatever you say, kiddo.”

“Hey!” Rachel barked at him, smacking his shoulder. “No put-downs in this household, Hank! In this house, we all love and respect Hank Anderson.”

Connor then smiled at the lieutenant in agreement. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Hank - Family ^ Hank then gave Connor a playful shove in response. “Yeah, love you too, son.”

Connor couldn’t help but melt a little at the fact that the lieutenant just referred to the android as “son.” Granted, it probably wasn’t literal. After all, humans weren’t keen on their loved ones simply being replaced, as Rachel made quite evident in her insistence that Connor be more mindful of his physical safety.

But even the thought that Hank viewed Connor as a son figure to him made something warm bloom in him. And it was much different than the feeling Rachel gave him when she smiled at Connor. Hank clearly struggled and tormented himself over the loss of Cole. And he blamed androids for his son’s death until now, and when Connor stepped into the lieutenant’s life, all Hank could see was one of the machines that killed Cole.

The idea that Hank saw Connor as family just as much as he saw Rachel was an idea that added just that much more purpose to Connor’s life. A purpose that he was still discovering not only in his newfound deviancy, but in his newly gained freedom.

Something that no one could take from him. Not anymore. Not ever again. And it seemed to Connor that he would have to remind himself of this frequently until he really and truly believed it.

“Hey, Connor!” North then said, breaking through Connor’s reflective thoughts. “You’re up!”

The former deviant hunter glanced back at Rachel before he walked toward North. “Who wants to bet that Connor’s gonna get a perfect bullseye on his first try?”

“Nobody, because you’re probably right.” Hank jested.

Taking the throwing knife from North, Connor couldn’t help but take in her features. From Connor’s perspective, it wasn’t difficult to see how Rachel could become so flustered in her presence. Along with her bold, tough, and brash nature, she was also pleasant on the eyes.

Indeed, North was very pretty. And it seemed that Connor had found something else in common with Rachel. Perhaps, as Hank put it, they both had a weakness for a pretty face.

Diverting his attention from North, Connor made several calculations in rapid succession. From the distance between himself and the bullseye, the weight and centre of gravity of the throwing knife, to the angle of his arm, he took in every detail.

And then, with deadly precision, he threw the knife. And it landed in the dead centre with a sharp thump.

“Called it!” Rachel’s voice chimed from behind him.

Just as much behind him were groans. “Of course he’d get it right in the middle.” Josh remarked in light-hearted frustration. “Figures that CyberLife’s most advanced model would get the bullseye.”

Markus - Friend ^ Connor glanced back at them seeing them all smiling between each other. “Maybe he’s just good with his hands.” Markus added, winking at Connor.

The shudder it sent through Connor was a strange one. And Rachel’s response made Connor realize that it was definitely intentional. “Oh, trust me. He is.” She said with a deliberate tone to her voice.

“Alright, keep it in your pants.” Hank grumbled at them, eliciting a laugh from everyone. But the strangest part was that Connor wasn’t sure who the lieutenant’s exasperated comment was actually directed at.

But now Connor understood Rachel’s reaction to North much better.

North - Friend ^ “If you think that’s impressive, watch this.” The red-haired android said, shouldering past Connor. The detective android stepped back to give her space as immediately, several knives were thrown at the dart board.

And all of them landed in the bullseye, sticking out of the dart board like a morbid bouquet made of steel and threateningly sharp edges.

And it seemed everyone was impressed by her. “Woooooooooah...” Rachel gasped in awe. North then turned to look back at Rachel with a prideful smile on her face. “That was so fucking cool! I’ve actually always wanted to learn how to throw knives because I just always thought it was super neat!”

North then chuckled at her, grabbing her hand gently. “Well, now you know.” She encouraged, and Connor felt that unpleasant prickle in his software again at the blush that formed on her cheeks. “So keep practicing, and maybe you’ll get as good as me.” The android then turned to everyone. “That goes for all of you!”

“Yeah, right.” Josh scoffed at her. “As if any of us can compete with that!”

“Well,” Rachel piped up, “except for Connor, of course.” 

Rachel - Lover ^ Connor gave his partner an appreciative smile.

Her dark eyes then widened with excitement. “Wait! You can catch knives, too. Right?”

North nodded, her eyebrow raised skeptically. “Yes, why?”

“Can you teach me?”

Connor felt another uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen. But it was a different feeling than what he identified as jealousy before. This came from a different place. A place of worry and concern. And this was a feeling he was much more familiar with. The feeling of worrying about something bad happening to Rachel.

Intervene

[Say Nothing]

“Uh, sure.” North accepted sheepishly. “I guess I can teach you. But it’s not as easy to learn as throwing, definitely. And you might end up getting hurt.”

“I think that might be too dangerous, Rachel.” Connor interrupted, stepping close and putting his arm around her. “Perhaps under different circumstances, I’d be more open to the idea, but now hardly seems like a good time.”

Rachel then scoffed at him and brushed his hand off, much to the android’s irritation. “Right, as if throwing knives is any better in ‘these circumstances.’” Connor didn’t appreciate being dismissed so flippantly, especially when it came to her safety. “Besides, I didn’t ask you if you were open to it. Since when did I let you decide shit like that for me, hm?”

Connor stared her down as she turned to fix him in her intense gaze. Her tone held a slight edge of annoyance to it, but it seemed less annoyed and more teasing.

Persist

[Give Up]

But he wouldn’t be swayed by her wiles. “You told me to be more mindful of my physical wellbeing, which I did for you and for Hank.” Connor evenly scolded Rachel. “So I suggest you do the same.”

Another scoff. Another dismissive and flippant scoff in the face of potentially getting herself injured by accident. “I doubt I’m gonna get killed, Connor.” She continued to insist, accompanied by a heavy eye roll. “And besides, what are you? My mom? I don’t take orders from you.”

Scold

Order

Warn

[Give Up]

Connor’s irritation at her brazen attitude was beginning to boil over as his hands clenched, the tension making them shake. “Then you’d better learn to, Detective.”

“Oooooooooh!” The others all said in unison.

“I don’t think you’re gonna win this, Connor.” Hank tried to discourage the android. “She’s the most stubborn girl alive.”

“Mm.” North hummed. “Sounds like I’ve got some competition, then.”

“You and Rachel working together would be quite the sight, I feel like.” Markus remarked, pulling North close to him in Connor’s peripheral vision.

“They’d better watch out, then.” North teased him back.

Josh let out a hasty breath. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Rachel continued staring Connor down, looking up at him as she stood toe-to-toe with him. He had to admit that it was amusing seeing Rachel try to intimidate him despite being so short compared to him. “And what if I don’t, Connor?” She challenged him, the glint in her eyes blazing and scorching. “What exactly are you gonna do about it, hm?”

Diffuse

Threaten

[Give Up]

That was enough for Connor to catch on. If he wasn’t sure before, he was at least 79% sure that her seemingly innocuous teasing behaviour all day was being done deliberately to wind him up. But he wouldn’t get his answer with everyone staring at them. “Why don’t we take this outside, Detective?” He suggested.

Rachel’s eyebrow quirked at him, the smirk on her face only driving Connor more and more towards simply grabbing her and pushing her against a wall to claim her without caring about the others. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to snuff out her smug and flippant attitude and he himself had grown an overwhelming urge to make it known to her that she was his.

She was Connor’s and Connor’s alone, and he wanted her to know that as deeply as possible. He wanted to embed it into her very soul.

“You sound pretty serious, Connor.” Rachel mocked sarcastically before gesturing towards the door with her head. “Let’s take this upstairs.” She then already started walking out of the game room, not even bothering to wait for Connor. “Don’t stop on our account, by the way! I wanna see how good you guys get at this once we get back!”

“Sure thing!” Hank called after them.

Walking up the stairs, Connor followed Rachel dutifully. Throughout the whole day, there was so much excitement rushing through his veins. Connor couldn’t imagine feeling more excited.

But that excitement was very quickly turning into something darker. Something far more primal and possessive. For as much as Rachel was encouraging him to act out and be a delinquent - to “channel his inner bastard,” as it were - she was also igniting something fierce in him. The little ways she’d look at him, lean against something, lean against him in what seemed to be a very deliberate way, or the way she’d talk back at him.

Which irritated Connor, but not in a way he could recognize as genuine anger. Because it wasn’t. It was something very specific he couldn’t identify. Something that made Connor want nothing more than to confine Rachel to a room and ravage her until she didn’t have the strength to talk back at him.

Indeed, it was a sense of wanting to strip her of and make her surrender her sense of pride. Something she had plenty of and was indeed one of Rachel’s many charms.

Following Rachel, he found himself in a lavish bedroom. His eyes fixed on the sway of her hips. This had to be deliberate. She had to be trying to drive his processors crazy on purpose. There was no way she was doing any of this by accident. 

No, Rachel was far too clever for any of this to be an accident. Far too devious. If there was one thing Connor learned about her, it was that her actions were purposeful. She wasn’t someone who took well to her actions or words being misinterpreted. As she turned around to lean against a dresser, she looked at him with lidded, dark, sultry eyes that practically beckoned him closer.

Scold

Warn

Tease

But he wouldn’t let her have the upper hand. Not this time. “I don’t know what you think you’ve been doing, but you’d better watch your attitude, Detective.”

In typical Rachel fashion, she simply scoffed at him, defiance staring back at him. “Whatever could you mean?” She asked coyly, but her tone too was deliberate. She knew exactly what she was doing. “Oh right! You think you can tame me. Now, that’s adorable that you think you can control someone as proud and unrestrained and shameless as me. That’s so cute!”

Irritation flared up in Connor as he stalked closer, taking dangerously slow steps as he stared her down. “I’d advise you to watch your mouth.”

“Or what?” Rachel challenged him, her legs crossed as she stared at him.

Tease

Warn

[Kiss]

Rachel - Lover ^ Connor then chuckled, his lips curled into a knowing smirk. He approached her, grabbing her jaw and running his thumb along her lip. “Or I’ll find a much better use for it.”

Rachel gave him a mocking smile as she stared at him intensely, her dark eyes glittering with unbridled defiance. “Make me, then.”

That was all the permission he needed.

Swiftly turning around to close and then lock the door behind them, Connor briskly walked up to Rachel and pushed her back against the mirror above the dresser, practically bruising her lips with his own as he held her face in a vice grip. The brief surprised gasp and then series of needy moans only made Connor more and more determined. He knew her well enough to know that she was quite the harlot, and after all her teasing earlier, Connor couldn’t even hold himself back.

The moment her hands went up to tangle themselves in his hair, Connor suddenly grabbed Rachel’s left hand and pinned it to the dresser, their hands deskinned and their feelings connected once more. It indeed confirmed his suspicion that this was all deliberate, but what pleased him even more to discover was just how pliant she was and how eager she was to be taken control of like this.

But that wasn’t enough for the android. With his other hand, Connor grabbed her hips roughly and harshly grinded his tightly concealed erection against her clothed heat, causing her to break their kiss and expose her neck. Oh, how amusing it was for her to proclaim how untamable she was, yet she exposed herself so willingly for him.

It was almost too easy.

As he started biting and sucking on her neck, determined to mark her, Connor felt Rachel try to pull her hand away, only for Connor to wrench it and maintain a tight grip on it. “No!” He growled into her ear, grinding into her harder. “I want you to feel what you’ve been doing to me!”

“A-ah!” Was all she could choke out. All she could whimper. “F-fuck - shit!”

Her involuntary curses only made him more and more impatient. He needed release. He needed it badly. But after her little game with him, he knew only once wouldn’t be enough for him, and he could sense that she wouldn’t mind that one bit.

But oh, all the ways he could humble her. All the ways he could further dirty her, control her, drive her insane the way she’d been doing to him. They’d only had sex once, and that was the night Jericho had been attacked. And he had to admit, he was indeed thinking of all the ways he could fuck her into submission all day.

But what to choose? What to start with? What was he most curious to see? After all, half the fun of this were the  sounds and the faces she made. The pure unrestrained bliss and pleasure that she couldn’t hold back because of him.

Vaginal

Digital

Oral

He settled on one method and pulled back, letting go of her and staring at her in the eye with as commanding of a look as he could muster. “Get on your knees in front of me.” Connor ordered.

Rachel swallowed and obeyed immediately, following him off the dresser and kneeling before him, looking up at him expectantly. Connor could barely hold back the thrill of seeing her so easily submit to him. For as much of a self-proclaimed bastard as she was, she did aim to please.

Indeed, she could be a very good girl when given the right incentive.

Connor wasted no time unzipping his fly, gently caressing Rachel’s face with one hand while the other worked to free his aching cock. Her blissed expression and contented hum as she pressed her face further into his hand reminded Connor that this wasn’t just something done without feeling.

No, they loved each other. They loved each other so much. This was a result of trust and of want and nothing less than that.

But the android was growing impatient, so slipping his member out of his boxers, he roughly jerked her face up by her chin and pressed the blue-tinged head against her cheek, smearing pre-cum on it. “Suck.” He ordered.

For a moment, she hesitated, and Connor wondered if perhaps he went too far. “H-hang on.” She relented, swiping her hair out of her face with a hand.

Connor suddenly felt rather awkward and sheepish and paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, Rachel.” He apologized. “Is this too much?”

“No! No, not at all.” Rachel reassured Connor with a smooth honeyed tone to her voice. “It’s just...I don’t have the best gag reflex, so, y’know...keep that in mind.”

Connor nodded, relieved that she wasn’t afraid or uncomfortable. “I understand.” He assured her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He then got an idea that he hoped would be comforting to her. “Just tap on me once if you want me to go faster, twice if you want me to slow down, and three times if you want me to stop. Got it?”

Rachel - Lover ^ Rachel nodded, seeming to understand. “Got it.”

Letting Rachel set the pace, Connor hissed through his teeth when she grabbed his throbbing member and licked a stripe up it from the hilt to the head. It took all of his willpower not to look away or close his eyes from the sheer pleasure of her swirling her tongue around his head. This felt much different than the feeling of her walls tightening and clenching around him. Connor wasn’t sure if this was better or not, but he certainly enjoyed it.

And his enjoyment only skyrocketed the moment she wrapped her lips around him and sunk onto him, closing her eyes and grabbing Connor’s hips. He wanted so so badly to buck his hips into her mouth. To bunch his hands in her hair and mercilessly fuck her face.

But he didn’t know what her limits were and he wasn’t willing to test them without knowing. After all, her comfort was paramount to his wants when it came to this.

That didn’t change the fact that it was getting increasingly more difficult to hold himself back when she was moaning and sighing into it. “Sh-shit!” He hissed. The vibrations from her voice and her throat were only serving to make Connor more and more impatient. And her facial expressions. He knew what her blissful looks were, but if this was how she looked, pleasuring him, he hoped he looked just as enthusiastic when he was performing cunnilngus on her.

Up and down Rachel bobbed her head, eagerly and expertly sucking him off. Then, seemingly as a test, she took as much of him as humanly possible, stuttering and gagging for a moment once her nose pressed against his naval.

“Fuck!” But then Rachel swallowed around him, and Connor nearly lost his mind then and there, throwing his head back with a loud and rough groan. 

Connor grabbed Rachel’s hair and yanked her off his cock, briefly relishing in the pleasured moan she gave in response, filing that detail for later. Looking down at her, her dark eyes wide with confusion as she stared up at him, his cock twitching in anticipation in front of her lips. The android had to catch his breath, even though he didn’t need to breathe. “Do that again.” He ordered.

Smiling up at him in understanding, Rachel nodded, wrapping her lips around him and taking in a sharp breath before taking in his full member and swallowing around him once more, the sensation making Connor’s sensors nearly fry. Going back to bobbing her head up and down, the pleasant sounds vibrating around him, Rachel glanced up at him, a coy and devilish look in her eyes as she kept eye contact with him. He didn’t even realize just how much he enjoyed that before. But the fact that Rachel was making eye contact with him while she was sucking on him made this experience feel far more intimate.

But Connor wanted more. And he knew that if he didn’t warn her, he might accidentally hurt her. “I-I need to move.” He stuttered, his voice cracking slightly with static. “Are you alright if I do?”

Rather than tap on him, as they had agreed, Rachel instead took his hands and put them on her head, deskinning her left so he could feel what she was feeling.

And he could sense a clear answer. Go ahead, I’m all yours.

That was enough for him.

Setting a moderate and even pace, Connor gripped Rachel’s short brown hair and started to thrust into her mouth, groaning and hissing at it. This was exactly what he needed to satiate his craving. To not only feel her mouth around him, but to use her. And if the obscene sounds she was making were any indication, she did not seem to mind.

Connor did not think he would enjoy the feeling of Rachel gagging on him as much as he did, but by his makers, he really did. He wasn’t even sure why, but he didn’t even want to question it. All he wanted was to lose himself in this feeling, cursing and gasping all the while.

Tap. Tap.

Taking her warning, Connor slowed down. Briefly alarmed that he might’ve hurt her, he glanced down at her. But her eyes were still screwed shut and she was still moaning and swallowing around him contentedly.

He kept his pace, trying to keep his own release at bay. But he wanted to cum. Oh, he wanted to paint Rachel’s darling throat white and he wanted her to swallow all of him. But he needed to work around her needs and her limits.

Tap.

After a few moments of thrusting and wet slicking sounds, Connor felt a singular tap on his leg, and took that as his signal to increase the pace.

As he bucked into her mouth harder and faster, her moaning and whining became louder and more uncontrollable. Her grip on his hips tightened, and Connor’s grip on her hair did the same. So Rachel liked having her hair pulled. That was a fact Connor was going to thoroughly experiment with shortly.

Tap.

But for now, he had to finish this. He was getting close and even Rachel seemed to want him to finish. His thrusts were becoming more and more erratic as he was starting to lose his ability to focus as his release drew near. And he knew exactly how he wanted it. “I want you to take it all, Rachel.” He growled at her from above him, causing her to glance up at him. “I want you to take it and swallow every last drop! I want it all down your fucking throat!”

Rachel responded with an eager gulp and a squeeze at his hips. Connor took that as a signal to wrap this up. Snapping his hips into her mouth at a brutal speed, he timed his last thrust accordingly and buried his cock into the back of her throat as much as he could as he let out the most guttural and feral groan he was sure he’d ever made as he felt her swallow around him, shuddering as he felt himself throb and spurt into her mouth.

He nearly buckled to the ground, having to keep himself steady with a hand on the dresser, as he felt her swallow around his head repeatedly, trying to swallow and take every last stream of his synthetic cum.

After a few moments, certain that he had finished, Connor pulled out roughly, his cock hanging limp as it slid out of Rachel’s mouth, a thread of saliva still connecting them. The moment Connor had slipped out of her mouth, Rachel began sputtering coughs and gripping her throat and Connor wondered for a moment if he had hurt her. But he assured himself that she knew her limits and wasn’t hurt.

But he still wanted to be sure. “Are you alright?” He asked, extending a hand. 

Rachel took his gratefully, wiping her lips and standing up to her feet. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She said between weak half-coughs. She swallowed as she looked at Connor, seemingly impressed with herself. “I just didn’t think I had that in me.”

“But it was good, wasn’t it?” Connor asked, wanting to make sure he was good to her.

“Oh, fuck yeah.” Rachel replied with confidence, smiling in a way that made Connor feel a certain hardness return. “Gotta say, not nearly as bitter as the real thing. I can definitely get behind that.”

Connor made a note that Rachel enjoyed performing fellatio on him for another time. “And you’re sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rachel assured him, resting her left hand on his cheek. “You did really good.”

The brief rush that her praise sent through him was snuffed out by his still unquenched desire. He gave her a dark smirk that made her eyes go wide. “Good.” Was all he said before he whipped her around so that her back was pressed against his chest and she was pushed against the dresser. “Because I’m not quite finished with you, love.” He purred into her ear, earning quite the delighted and shocked whimper from Rachel. He slipped his other hand between her legs and rubbed her along her clothed sex, making her legs quiver in response. “Such a shame you had to be such a tease to me all day now that you’re being such a good girl for me.”

“A-ah!” Rachel mewled, clutching onto his hand with hers as she trembled and shivered in his touch. The way she arched her back against him as she pressed further into the android’s chest, nuzzling her head into his cheek and gently exposing her neck to him made Connor want to take her right then and there. “C-Connor!” She yelped when he bit into her neck once more and sucked at her tender flesh. “Th-they’ll hear us!”

Connor smiled into her neck, knowing that those were empty words. A warning that was technically true, but he could feel as clear as day her hunger. Oh, she wanted this. She needed this. And she had no shame about any part of this dalliance between them.

Rachel didn’t care that they might be heard from their companions below. In fact, Connor sensed a rather amusing thrill from her at the prospect of potentially being caught in the act. Something that made his processors crackle with intensity at the thought. While he had the better sense not to act on it, there was something extremely alluring and motivating about the thought of being caught by the others as he ravaged her in front of them. Showing them that Rachel was his. Showing them just what a delinquent android was capable of.

That he was no one’s master. That the android had control over the human and that she had no complaints about it. That she willingly submitted to him and his control.

But what was that worth if he didn’t get mutual confirmation that they both wanted this? And that was exactly what he was going to do in the cruelest and most teasing way possible. After all, an eye for an eye, as the saying goes.

[Continue]

[Finish]

It was only fair, after all.

“You say that as though you don’t want them to.” Connor purred into her skin, slipping his hand underneath the fabric and brushing past her clit, causing Rachel to jump with a loud whimper. 

The shiver in her spine and the wave it sent through her was easily felt by the android at being called out so plainly. Oh, the way it sliced through her ego was more than enough for Connor to continue. 

He got a rather devious idea and clamped his right hand over Rachel’s mouth and slid two of his fingers along her sex, very pleased to discover that she was practically dripping for him. His fingers slipped right into her sopping entrance with ease, and he started mercilessly working her into a needy mess. The whimpers that filled the room as he caged her between his elbows was absolute euphoria to him as he worked to completely undo her with only his hand.

But he could feel her still trying to hold back the volume of her pleasure. Indeed, the lionhearted Rachel was still desperately trying to cling onto whatever pride and dignity she had left. A circumstance that Connor was more than eager to change. 

“It’s so cute how you’re still trying to hold back.” He teased into her ear, only increasing the speed and friction of his ministrations. “As if you’re not something of an exhibitionist yourself. Am I correct?”

That sent what felt like a lightning bolt through her as she turned her face away from him, refusing to look Connor in the eye. The way she looked in the mirror directly in front of them, and how completely dominant and powerful Connor looked gave him a rather interesting idea. Moving his hand from her mouth, Connor grabbed Rachel’s jaw harshly and forced her to face the mirror. “Well?” He asked her mockingly as he bucked against her from behind against the dresser, causing her to yelp. “Nothing to say? You’re usually so outspoken.”

“F-fuck you!” She spat at him, but one curl of Connor’s fingers was enough to make Rachel melt into his control as she whimpered. Her legs trembled. Connor knew she was drawing close, but he wanted to drag this out long enough for her resistance to crumble.

He had a goal far larger than simply bringing her to orgasm. No, he wanted to absolutely break her. And all he needed to do was have her begging for him. To have the mighty and headstrong Rachel a pleading shameless mess for Connor.

And he knew just how to do it.

“You are truly captivating, my love.” Connor praised as he continued his ministrations at a painfully teasing and cruel pace. “You have no shame. You are absolutely enjoying every moment of this and you don’t care who hears. You wouldn’t want this to stop until I decided I was finished with you.” He purred, nipping at her soft and delicate ears as she moaned and whined in his grasp. “And yet, you’re still too proud to admit it out loud. Too embarrassed to admit how badly you want me to ruin you or how little you care about getting caught.” 

He slowed the pump of his fingers, angling his palm so that it didn’t slide against her swollen nub. “And as much as I find it endlessly fascinating,” Connor removed his hand from her jaw and fastened it around Rachel’s throat. “I’d like to hear you say it!”

For a moment, Connor feared he was accidentally hurting her, but the sinfully blissful smile on Rachel’s face as her eyelids fluttered encouraged him to finish this. The way her dark brown eyes rolled back in her head and the shudders that coursed through her body made Connor throw all caution to the wind as he dove right back into her sex, wanting nothing more than to wreck her.

As she whimpered and cried out, Connor could practically feel her dignity and pride ooze and slip between his fingers as she pressed into him, losing herself completely. 

“Y-yes!” Rachel managed to cry out between moans and gasps, strained by the hold Connor had on her throat. “Fuck! I want you so bad! I don’t fucking care if all of Detroit hears us! I just want you! I want you to touch me, bite me, mark me, fuck me! Oh God, I want you to fuck me! I want you to fucking wreck me!” Yes! Oh, yes! The growls that erupted from her was exactly what he wanted to hear. “God, please! Please, please, please, please fuck me!” And the way her pleas rolled off her tongue so quickly and rapidly for him made Connor’s own pride swell greatly.

He didn’t think he would enjoy the sounds of begging so much, but by CyberLife, Connor didn’t think he would ever want to hear anything less ever again. It was his own personal symphony. Like a theatre, the others may be able to catch it from outside, but this was a show for him. Only he had the privilege to hear it sung for him.

Planting a soft and tender kiss to the crook of Rachel’s neck, Connor whispered sweetly to his human partner. “As you wish, my lionheart.”

Pistoning his fingers into Rachel and curling them just right, Connor knew she would be cumming soon. And when she did, Connor would really push her limits. She was so resilient and strong, and he wanted to see just how much she could take.

And afterwards? Well, he would take good care of the love of his life. He would make sure she knew how much he cherished and loved her. For everything. For how much she encouraged him. How much she believed in and stood by him. And most importantly, how genuinely she loved and cared about him for who he was. How much she earnestly enjoyed his company and him just being with her.

Disconnecting from Connor, Rachel reached up and gripped Connor by the back of his head as her own slumped against him. “C-Connor!” She cried out. “C-Con - I’m - fuck - I’m gonna -”

“I know, darling.” He hadn’t used such affectionate names, but they seemed to tumble out of him in this moment between them. He barely even noticed it, but upon doing so, there was an underlying softness beneath it all. “Cum for me, dear. I’ve got you.”

Planting tender kisses anywhere his lips could find, Connor cradled her as she shuddered. Her walls clamped around his fingers as a broken whimpering cry tore through the air and ripped out of her lungs, her arms clutching on tightly to Connor as she came.

Gently working her through her orgasm, Rachel was panting, slumping against him, moaning quietly at him. Taking his hand off her throat, Connor instead guided Rachel to lean against the dresser, her hands crossed in front of her with her head resting on them.

Yet as she did so, Connor became painfully aware of his strained erection against her backside. He made a pledge to push her to her limits, and he was curious as to his own. So, taking his hand out from her pants, Connor brought his fingers to his lips and licked them clean, making eye contact with Rachel in the mirror. 

A quick vital scan showed her arousal spike once again. It truly was amusing how easily riled up she could get. Hooking his thumbs into her waistband, Connor slowly slid her pants and her underwear down her legs, exposing her swollen and glistening womanhood to him, Connor feeling his breath get siphoned out of him at the sight of it.

As Connor teasingly slid his cock against her slit, lubricating it with ease, Rachel gave the android an inquisitive side-eye as she moaned at the stimulation. Connor offered her a playful smirk as he ran his hands along her sides. “You did say that my goal today was to do everything Amanda would either simply not want me doing or everything she would hate me doing.” He repeated cheekily. “And she didn’t exactly care for you or your influence on me.”

Rachel snickered at him. “I did say that.” She said with a jovial lilt to her slightly gravelly voice. “It really is a shame I can never meet her. I would certainly have some choice words for her, that’s for sure.”

Connor leaned forward to whisper to her. “Would you like me to leave a message?” He jokingly asked. “I’m sure I can pass it along to her.”

Rachel smirked behind him. “I feel like she’s gotten the message at this point.” 

Connor chuckled at that. “On that, we can agree.”

Feeling his member twitch against her warm and wet entrance, Connor then felt Rachel sway her hips for him. “Are you just going to stare at me?” She asked with a quirk of her eyebrow. “Or are you going to finish what you started?”

[Continue]

[Finish]

Feeling that fire that had been building during this whole scene flare again, Connor swiftly grabbed Rachel and shoved her into the corner of the room, effectively caging her and rolling his hips against her. Tugging her hair and forcing her head to the side, Connor growled into her ear. “The safe word is ‘thirium.’ Got it?”

Rachel - Lover ^ All he got from her was a whimper accompanied by a nod. But that wasn’t good enough for him. Yanking Rachel’s hair again, Connor pressed her further into the corner, squeezing himself against her body. “I didn’t quite hear you.” He snarled as she whimpered helplessly.

“Y-yes, sir!” She yelped. “Understood. I’m all yours, sir!”

His circuits crackled at that as he lined up his head with her entrance. Sir. He repeated inwardly as he let go of her hair, resting his hands on her hips. Connor very much liked the sound of that. There was an air of authority of it. And it was uniquely invigorating to hear addressed to him.

And he was fully intent on using that vigor to completely ruin Rachel.

“Good.” A cruel smile stretched across his lips as Connor leered over her form. “Now, let’s see how many times I can make you cum on my cock alone.”

Objective: Fuck Rachel Into Submission

The only answer was a choked off scream.

--------

Muffled cries. Just what Connor didn’t want to hear. Perhaps in a different situation, he would enjoy the fact that Rachel could barely contain herself, so her only reprise was the muffling of a pillow.

But not this time. He didn’t want her to hold back, and he was fully prepared to snuff out any pride she tried to gain back. Snapping his hips into her on the large lavish bed, Connor wrenched one of his hands from Rachel’s hip and grabbed a fistful of her hair, harshly yanking her face from the pillow. “No!” He snarled into her ear as he leaned forward, his chest grazing her dappled backside. “Don’t you dare hold back! I want to hear you!”

“Y-yes, sir!” She whimpered. Indeed, it seemed that was all Rachel could say anymore, and Connor adored the way it sounded. They had been going at this for a while, and it was clear that she was approaching her limit. But Connor wasn’t done with her yet, but he would be soon.

Her strained screams and mewls were all Connor cared about. But while she obeyed his order not to muffle herself, she still clutched onto the pillow. And that irritated Connor in a way he didn’t understand. “Give me your hands.” He ordered.

Rachel struggled to slide her hands out and maneuver them towards him, and Connor was far too impatient for this. Harshly grabbing them and pulling her up from the bed, Connor snarled viciously into her neck. “I said give me your fucking hands!”

Complying with a hoarse whimper, she put her hands behind her back which allowed Connor the accessibility he needed to clasp a hand around both of her wrists. The fact that Rachel’s wrists were small enough for Connor to be able to maintain a firm grip on both of them with one hand was not lost on the android.

Unlatching his teeth from her flesh, Connor sat back up and brutally pounded into her, forcing her breath out in pitiful squeaks. He could feel her legs shaking and knew she was going to cum for the fourth time. But he had already decided he would get a fifth out of her.

Slipping his other hand between her legs, Connor’s fingers found her swollen and overstimulated nub and gently circled it in contrast to sheer cruelty he was lovingly inflicting on the rest of her body.

His own end was arriving soon, the tightness in his gut feeling as though it would burst. But he didn’t get tired. That was one of the beauties of being an android that they were both blessed to discover in this intimate and sinful moment between them.

It didn’t take long for her to cum as a broken scream followed by a series of gasps told Connor very clearly. As her walls clenched around him for the third time, Connor very quickly followed, that knot in his stomach coming undone as his cock throbbed and pulsated inside Rachel, thick streams of his own semen filling her up once more. If he were concerned about whether anyone else would use this bed, he would pay more mind to the mess that had decorated her thighs, glistening in the cold autumn afternoon light filtering through the window.

But Connor wasn’t finished. Pulling her up so that her back was flush against his chest, Rachel gasped in surprise, her head rolling back against his shoulder as he used the arm that was holding her hands to cage her against him. It amused him thoroughly that she barely had the strength to hold her own head up, but it was a good indicator that this would probably be as much as she could take for now.

It was of no surprise to Connor that she was shaking her head the moment he started pistoning into her again. “C-Connor..." She whined weakly. “I can’t...i-it’s too much.”

For a moment, he faltered. But he was determined to see this through. “Come on, darling.” He soothed her, lovingly stroking her chin with his thumb. “Gotta give me one more. You can use the safe word if you can’t handle it.” He assured her, causing Rachel to open her eyes drowsily at him. Her cheeks were stained with tears from the overstimulation. “Can you handle another?”

Gasping as Connor continued his thrusts up into her, she nodded, rolling her head to the side and closing her eyes. “Okay...okay..."

Pressing tender kisses along the marks the android left in her flesh, Connor picked up the speed of his thrusts. Even her whimpers were quiet and meek. She wouldn’t last very long. With the hand that was caging Rachel against his body, Connor began massaging a breast, gently pinching and rolling the nipple between his fingers as his other hand was working with her clit.

Rachel still flinched and jumped at his touches, but her voice would likely be very hoarse and used by the time this was over. It made Connor sorely regret not bringing a bottle of water for her to drink afterwards. But he would have to make up for it once they returned home.

For now, all he had to do was finish this.

“Cum for me, my love.” He murmured sweetly in his human partner’s ear. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry, just let go.”

It wasn’t as easy or quick or even intense as the first few times, but Rachel tensed with a cracked whimper and arched her back against Connor and he worked on easing her from the high, still chasing his own end. Softly caressing her curves and placing tender kisses wherever Connor could reach, he purred into her ear. “You’ve done so good for me, dear.” He praised, seeing her smiling at him in his peripheral vision. “Just hold on, I’m almost there.”

All she could do was weakly nod as Connor’s thrusts became more and more erratic, another familiar knot forming in his abdomen as he reached closer and closer to his nirvana. Panting and huffing in her ear like a dog in breeding season, Connor didn’t take long to cum as well, burying himself as deeply into Rachel as he could with a strained staticky groan. 

Still pumping into Rachel, Connor gently laid Rachel down onto the bed, making sure her head was nestled on the pillow. He released her hands and moved them so that she could position her head the way that felt most comfortable to her. 

After being sure that he was finished, Connor slid out of her, their combined fluids staining and dripping down onto the hardwood floors. Straightening his tie, Connor brought a hand down to his member and approached Rachel. Her dark brown eyes fluttered open as he approached. She was still breathing heavily and Connor bent down and kissed her temple. “Such a good girl.” He praised her, pleased at the contented hum and tender smile it earned. “Would you do me a favour and clean me up?”

Rachel - Lover ^ She smirked up at him, still breathing heavily. “Only if you return the favour.” Rachel bargained with him, wiggling her legs a bit. “But...after my legs start working again, please.”

“Of course.” Connor agreed, smiling affectionately at his partner. Even though he couldn’t get enough of the soft bliss that Rachel was a pristine picture of, part of him still wanted to tease her. “Though, we shouldn’t keep our friends waiting for too long. Now shouldn’t we.”

“Oh, fuck you.” She spat at him. 

Connor couldn’t help but feel happy that he hadn’t completely extinguished her eternal flame. He would find himself extremely disappointed if she had forever lost her sense of pride and defiance. “Again?” He asked her, teasing, tilting her chin up to face him. “You truly are insatiable.”

“You know what I meant, you smug bastard.” Rachel huffed, too tired to show any actual aggression towards him.

Connor chuckled a bit at her. “Even after having your pride quite literally fucked out of you, you still have bite in you.” He remarked, pleased to see her characteristic smirk. “How interesting.”

She scoffed at him. “You say that as though it’s not one of my most charming qualities.” And certainly no lack of an abundance of self-assurance.

Rachel - Lover ^ Another quality Connor couldn’t help but admire as he bent down to plant a firm kiss on her lips. “I would never say that.” He agreed, standing back on his feet. He angled his still soaked and wet cock in front of her expectantly. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

It was an order, but a gentle one. It was clear that Rachel was spent after five orgasms, and it would be unwise to continue to be ruthless after that. But she nevertheless responded, using her hands to angle his member wherever she needed to. Connor had to bite back a hiss as she licked several stripes up his shaft, making sure to catch as much as possible. It was evidently clear when she was moving her lips and her tongue all around him that she was intent on being thorough.

Her eyes were closed in contentment, a coy smile on her lips as she licked the last of their shared cum off him. But like the tease that she was, Rachel ran her tongue around his tip, suckling on it just a bit before she pulled back, a string of saliva still connecting them. Opening her eyes to look up at Connor, she placed a chaste kiss on the tip of his dick and then began tucking it back into his boxers and zipping up his fly.

It had only just occurred to Connor that while Rachel had stripped completely for him, Connor didn’t even bother to remove his tie. An observation that pleased him in a way he didn’t quite understand.

Doing his belt back up, Connor walked towards the mirror above the dresser, straightening his tie and making sure his hair was neatly done before he finished with Rachel. “Aren’t you...gonna return the favour?” She asked distantly from the bed.

As Connor walked around, collecting each article of clothing that belonged to her, he glanced over at her. “Impatient, are we?” He asked teasingly.

“A bit, I suppose.” Rachel replied, glancing over at him from over her shoulder, her dark brown eyes beckoning him closer. “After all, it’s only a courtesy. You could’ve at least left less of a mess of me. Or left me able to walk or stand up straight at the least.”

As Connor laid her clothes on the bed behind her, the android circled around to face her. “You say that as though you didn’t enjoy every moment of that. As if you’re not proud of the copious mess that’s slicking between your thighs right now.” He mocked as Rachel sat up, looking down at him as he kneeled before her. “And besides, we agreed on a safe word and I’ve reminded you about it repeatedly.”

“I realize this, but shh.” Rachel shushed Connor, looking away from him. Situating himself between her thighs as he neared himself to the left side. He waited for her to glance down at him and gave her a devilish smirk accompanied by a raise of an eyebrow. Rachel rolled her eyes at him as she gave him a genuine smile. “But yes, I really enjoyed that. Dominance really fucking works for you, Connor.”

Rachel - Lover ^ Connor started licking away the mess he’d made of her, pausing between kisses and licks to talk. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He said in earnest as he neared closer and closer to her swollen and slick flesh, brushing past it to clean up her right side, amused at the small whine Rachel made. “In any case, we shouldn’t keep our friends waiting for too long.” He reminded her, smirking against the soft plumpness of her thigh. “After all, I’m eagerly looking forward to watching you try to explain yourself.”

Her eyes then widened in comical realization as she then narrowed them at Connor. “You motherfucker!” Rachel exclaimed.

But all it took was a hard press of his tongue up her slit to quiet Rachel’s complaints, Connor dragging a low and pleasant moan out of her as he lapped up and sucked on her. He paused to look up at her, smiling. “Think you can handle one more?”

Rachel’s eyes darted back and forth, squinting as her thick brows bunched together in contemplation. Once her rich mahogany eyes landed on Connor’s, her lips softened into a blissful smile, Rachel reaching out with her hand to stroke his cheek tenderly. She then threw herself back on the bed with a sigh, hooking her legs over his shoulder. “Alright.” She breathed. “One more, and then we go.”

Pleased with her answer, Connor dove into Rachel as though she was the most lavish and exquisite delicacy known to all mankind. And he would not be satisfied until she was.

--------

Date: November 14th, 2038  Time: 5:38 PM Rachel - Lover Objective: Check in with Rachel

Arriving back at Rachel’s home, Connor immediately went towards the kitchen, taking his shoes off and greeting Bear at the door. “I’ll go ahead and take him out.” Rachel said hastily before Connor stopped her.

“You should rest.” He insisted. “After all, you’re still fairly exhausted and I wouldn’t want you to overexert yourself.”

“And whose fault was that?” Rachel asked with a scoff and a knowing look.

“Yours.” Connor responded smartly. “After all, you were the one who deliberately and knowingly teased me all day in front of everyone and then didn’t even try to stop me once we were alone.”

Pursing her lips, the human woman seemed to accept defeat, letting out a begrudging sigh. “Whatever, I’ve still got my shoes on, so I’ll do it anyway.” She said, grabbing the leash from the hallway and getting the harness on the large black dog, whose tail was wagging back and forth excitedly. “Come on, boy. I’ll take you out now.”

She was out the door, so Connor thought the next best thing to do for her would be to at least get her a glass of water to hydrate her.

Admittedly, it was very fun to watch Rachel flounder to explain herself once they left the bedroom, which Connor then realized smelled overwhelmingly like sex once he emerged back into the cold crisp air of the rest of the house. The others were waiting downstairs, doing whatever they felt like getting up to without the pair, and the first to notice their return was Hank, of course.

“There you are, you fuckers!” The lieutenant groaned in response, drawing the attention of the androids, North giving them a very pointed look. “You’ve been gone for like an hour. What the fuck were you doing?”

Watching Rachel’s eyes dart back and forth as she tried to come up with a convincing lie to tell Hank was quite amusing. And even more entertaining was the lie Rachel ended up telling. “Well, we talked for a little bit, and since Connor was so worried about my physical well-being, we did some...uh, training!”

It was admittedly quite humorous to see the skeptical look on the lieutenant’s face, but seemingly he’d rather not ask further questions out of disgust at the potential details of what they were actually doing.

And afterwards, Hank gave the pair a ride back to Rachel’s home, parting ways with the androids of Jericho, before going home himself, exhausted from all the activities. But not before Connor got a very pointed telepathic message from North. You do realize I used to be a sex android, right? Next time, pick a more discreet location to be perverts and teach Rachel to be a better liar.

Connor simply gave her a polite smile as he left. I’ll do my best.

But now, as he waited in the dining room with a glass of water ready for Rachel to drink, he was left alone with his thoughts for the first time all day since this morning. And Connor’s feelings were...good. He enjoyed the time he spent, with Rachel and Hank. He was growing accustomed to simply spending the time with them outside of work. And now that they didn’t have to worry about any urgent situations or circumstances, it was easy to be at peace.

And being able to spend time with Markus, North, and Josh made Connor feel more at peace about himself as well. It was a huge weight off his shoulders to know that they didn’t think ill of him despite everything and that they considered him an equal. He began to regard them as close friends and he had a feeling that their friendship would only grow.

But despite everything and the effort Rachel put in to make Connor feel more at ease and in control of himself, which did work. He felt better about himself and about his programming now than he did this morning.

But there was still that doubt. That small voice in the back of his mind in his processors that still whispered disparaging and discouraging affirmations to him. Words that coiled around Connor’s confidence in a chokehold.

His nightmare was fresh in his mind, still. Although he was more comfortable knowing that that’s all it was, there were still things from it that unsettled Connor to his core. And indeed, when he thought back on today in the context of the fear his nightmare instilled in him, Connor realized something.

He was afraid of losing control. At any moment, he could’ve hurt Rachel. At any moment, Amanda could’ve taken control and forced him to do something horrible to her. It was an irrational fear, but a prevalent one. But it wasn’t just that, either.

He was also afraid of giving up control. Because he saw what Rachel was capable of when she killed Sixty. It was gruesome and it was terrifying, but it was also alluring in a disturbing way. And despite understanding that it was simply an unorthodox method of attack and that Rachel was only protecting Connor, there was no doubt that there was something paralyzing about the thought of letting Rachel have that control. Because he essentially had to watch Rachel kill a lookalike of Connor in a way that was inhuman.

And he couldn’t help but put himself in that position and feel an uncomfortable pit in his stomach at the thought of it. Even though he knew Rachel would never hurt him, not on purpose, he couldn’t shake that thought or that fear away.

But he didn’t have long to ruminate on these thoughts before Rachel returned, Bear huffing with snow on his paws and on his belly, and shaking melting water droplets everywhere. His eyes landed on her as she undid the harness on the large dog and started drying him with a nearby towel before letting him run back into the house. Connor couldn’t stifle the smile at how the dog immediately ran to grab a toy to play with and teethe.

As Rachel approached Connor with a smile, the android held out the glass of water to her, of which she accepted appreciatively. “Thanks.” She said, having a seat and taking a long sip from the glass. Setting the glass down, she slumped against the table with a long sigh. “I could nap right now.” She groaned, gently grabbing Connor’s hand and stroking her thumb along his knuckles. “But it was a good day, right?”

Sincere

Indifferent

Nightmare

Rachel - Lover ^ “It was.” Connor agreed, offering her a smile as he looked down at her.

Now that they were in the quiet of her home between them, he felt more at ease. Yet, as Rachel looked at him, her brows then quickly furrowed at him as she examined his face. “You okay?” She asked him. “You have that look. That ‘something’s bothering me, but I don’t wanna burden anyone else with my problems’ look.”

As Connor looked into her rich brown eyes, he let himself chuckle a bit. “Nothing escapes you, does it?” He asked somewhat rhetorically.

“I’ve seen that look enough times to recognize it at a glance.” Rachel informed him, interlacing her fingers with his and bringing his hand to her lips, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles. “So, what’s up?”

Connor thought for a moment what he should tell her before she answered for him. “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you.” Rachel presumed. “Your nightmare.”

Truth

Lie

The android nodded forlornly.

Rachel sighed. “That’s okay.” She relented, giving him a bittersweet smile. “I knew your problems weren’t gonna just go away after one day. And it’s totally normal to still feel thrown off by it. It’s...just gonna be like that for a while.” She then leaned against him, and Connor did the same, pressing his cheek into her forehead. “But did today help you feel better, at least?”

Yes

No

Rachel - Lover ^ “It did.” Connor replied in earnest, kissing her forehead.

“Good.” Rachel said appreciatively, resting her head in the crook of his neck before speaking again. “So...did you wanna talk about it?”

Connor thought again back to the nightmare. What exactly did he want to tell her about it? How he was fearful of giving up control? How he was afraid of losing control and hurting her as a result? How he was afraid that she might deem him as a threat and hurt him?

[No]

[Yes]

Perhaps it was better to be honest with her. After all, she gave him the freedom to reject her offer and discuss it another time. But perhaps she could give him some necessary insight into his fears like she did when he was first awoken from it.

Connor nodded and pulled away from her, still grasping her hand. Her patient brown eyes were locked on his, a small appreciative smile on her lips. Looking at her sweet face melted the cold and fearful parts of the android and made him feel more comfortable in this moment of vulnerability.

“Seeing Amanda in my nightmare...made me realize just what my worst fears are.” He began to explain to Rachel. “I think the reason I saw her at all...was because of what happened that night, when we won the revolution. When...Amanda took control of me.”

Rachel nodded in acknowledgement. “Right, that would make sense.”

At least she was able to. “It made me realize just how easily I could’ve lost everything I had gained.” Connor confessed. “In the blink of an eye, everything I loved and cared about was going to be ripped away from me, and there was nothing I could do. Until I realized I could escape. But what would’ve happened if Kamski hadn’t warned me about the emergency exit? I...I would’ve lost everything.” Connor then registered the fear and anguish in his human companion’s eyes. “I would’ve lost you.”

Rachel then gave him a painful smile. “But you didn’t.” She reminded him firmly. “You escaped, and I’m still here. And so are you.”

To hear her reaffirm that was helpful and made Connor feel more secure in himself. “But I’m still afraid.” He admitted, a small twinge of shame in his voice. “I’m afraid of it happening again. I’m afraid of Amanda taking control of me and...making me hurt you.” He finally managed to choke out. “And I’m afraid of losing control. It’s...it’s why I was so rough with you earlier. It felt good to have that control. It made me feel more secure. But...I was still afraid even then.”

“Hey, that’s okay.” Rachel said, stopping him before he could spiral. “If I didn’t want you to, I would’ve stopped you. You gave me a safe word and I didn’t feel like I needed to use it at any point, Connor. Because I trust you. I trust that you would never hurt me and that Amanda’s truly gone, now.” 

He knew she meant that. Connor knew that Rachel meant that completely and wholeheartedly. And her unshakable faith in him quieted some of his doubts. 

And if she trusted him so completely...perhaps he should do the same. “I’m also afraid of giving up that control.” Connor continued. “I’m afraid of not having it. That not being in control would just make me the same as I once was. An object. Something to use and control.”

“Believe me, I understand that feeling painfully.” Rachel empathized, her gaze intense, an edge of venom to it. Connor tried to grasp for the reason and found it. Luis. The man who had abused her as a teenager. “But there’s a key difference between control being taken from you, or being made or raised to obey and nothing else, and willingly relinquishing that control temporarily.” She explained. “Giving up control willingly doesn’t make you weak or less of a person. Because it’s still a choice you get to make for yourself. A choice you can take back whenever you wish. And you can choose who you give that control to. You can choose who you trust enough to have control over you until you decide you want it back. And you’re no less of your own person or independent because of it.”

To hear those words spoken to Connor from a position like Rachel’s was vindicating. He wasn’t wrong to be afraid or to be wary. But that he could overcome it and choose what he wanted to do with himself and his life and position. And as long as it was his choice, he was always his own person.

Connor felt his eyelids grow tight as he leaned forward, resting his head against Rachel’s, feeling cool tears slide down his cheeks. “Thank you..." He breathed softly to her.

“Of course.” Rachel replied tenderly, stroking his cheek with her other hand. “I’ve always got you, Connor. And I’ll be here for you every step of the way, no matter how tough or ugly it gets. No matter what happens, I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here to help.”

“I know.” Connor replied, smiling. “And I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

“And I, you.” Rachel leaned forward and pressed her lips against Connor’s softly, her touch as tender and light as silk sheets. The android happily returned the gesture, but with as much sweetness and gentleness as she displayed herself. 

Pulling back, there was a niggling thought in his head that he wanted to share with Rachel. A proposition of sorts he wanted her opinion on. “Can I ask you something?”

Rachel laughed sweetly at him. “Always, Connor.”

Amanda

Control

Jericho

Sixty

The android suddenly felt small, dwarfed in spirit in her presence. Swallowing his pride, he let his feelings be known. “You know...how I asserted my dominance over you earlier?” He reminded Rachel. “In the bedroom of the house?”

“I recall, yes.” She replied somewhat playfully.

Connor avoided her gaze, turning his head away slightly. “Would..." His voice caught in his throat as he tried to voice his honest feelings. “Would...it be too much to ask if you did the same?”

Rachel seemed taken aback by his request, but all Connor could see in her eyes when he looked back at her was pure concern. “Are you sure?” She asked him, her brows knitted together.

Connor nodded timidly. “Y-yes.” He stammered out. “It’s just that...hearing you say how much you trust me when I had control over you made me think that...perhaps I can move past my fears if I trust you to have control over me.” He felt so shameful. “I-I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t trust you.”

Rachel nodded, taking in his request. “I see your logic.” She agreed, detaching her hand from his and cupping his other cheek with it so she was forcing him to look at her. “But...are you sure you’re ready? I’d be glad to, don’t get me wrong. But...I don’t wanna push you if you’re not ready. We don’t have to do it right away, we can take as long as you need to.”

Connor wasn’t sure how to answer her. He did want to, he really did. There was no one else he could trust to do it. But he did feel an apprehension to the thought. A certain prickly and paralyzing feeling was forming in his abdomen at the thought of relinquishing control. “I..." He struggled to answer her, but she then interfaced with him, then, and Connor felt much more secure and safe. Much less anxious.

Rachel then shook her head as she leaned against him with a sigh. “You’re not ready, yet.” She decided. “I can tell. I can feel it. But I want you to be able to tell me. I want you to be able to tell me no.”

Yes

No

Connor knew she meant that. There was nothing but patience and understanding that he could feel on her end. All she really cared about was his safety and wellbeing and she would never dare compromise that. “You’re right.” He admitted, feeling much more confident in himself. “I’m...not ready.”

Rachel - Lover ^ Rachel let out a sigh and let go of Connor, leaning into his chest. “Good.” Was all she said in response. “You’re allowed not to be. It’s okay not to be. Whenever you do feel ready, I will be. But you get to decide when that is, got it?”

Connor wrapped his arms around Rachel with a relaxed sigh. “Got it.”

For a while, the pair just stayed there in each other’s arms, taking complete comfort in each other. Connor couldn’t imagine having this level of complete security and comfort with anyone else. Indeed, Rachel was his home. His rock. His safe place. And she made sure he knew that, no matter how many times she would have to remind him.

After a good while, Rachel separated from Connor with an exhausted groan. “I am pretty beat, though.” She said with a good long stretch, the clear sounds of her back cracking making Connor want to cringe out of sympathy for her. “How about we just spend the rest of the day relaxing on the couch, hm? Maybe watch a movie or two?”

Connor smiled, getting up from the table and following her to the television. “Sure.” He replied eagerly. “What did you have in mind?”

“A movie I really liked as a kid that I think you will.” Rachel explained vaguely before she turned around and pointed at him. “But again, you’re not allowed to look up anything about it! It ruins the fun!”

Connor followed her and sat down next to her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “I would never.” He teased her. “I’d hate to be unpleasant.”

“You big squish.” Rachel cooed affectionately at him, already getting in position with the remote in her hand. “It’s called Wall-E. It’s an animated movie from when I was a kid about two robots falling in love in a post-apocalyptic Earth where trash has sort of accumulated, leaving the planet uninhabitable.” She then flashed him an excited grin that Connor couldn’t help but adore. “I think you’ll really like it.”

---------------------------------

Next Chapter

[dearkaelsman]

Because I’m currently unemployed and my province is in recession wooo

GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER.

Can be used for RP and non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen!

1. FIRST NAME: Ashli

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: I can say the alphabet faster backwards than forwards. I am also a proud BlackBerry user in 2020.

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON: Eyes and smile are the first things I notice. After that I feel like it’s different things I find attractive on a person or reflective on personality.

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF: Hungarian-style cabbage rolls. Beef belongs in them, not pork.

5. A FOOD YOU HATE: Meat pies of any sort (they’re too rich for my palette to handle and literally make me feel sick).

6. GUILTY PLEASURE: I don’t believe in feeling guilty about things I enjoy if they’re not hurting anyone. 

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN: In the winter I go full-on fleece PJ’s because I’m Albertan and it gets down to -40*C here. In the summer, a t-shirt or tank top and Lululemon pants/shorts.

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS: Serious relationships because I lack self esteem.

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE: Generally speaking I believe everything happens for a reason, however, as a recently unemployed journalist, I do wish I had paid more attention to job openings while working at my last newspaper that was shut down in January. I genuinely loved what I was doing, where I was working ( the pay was practically minimum wage but it was a job), so I didn’t pay attention to them before, and now I’m literally living in one of the worst areas of my country to find a job, and unable to afford moving to where there’s work.

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON: If I’m comfortable with the person, yes.

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN: The Star Wars prequels.

12. FAVOURITE BOOK: I read a lot so it’s impossible for me to narrow down to one book. The Harry Potter series (specifically Prisoner of Azkaban) will probably be amongst my favourites, especially given it was the first book series that made me love reading. Beastly by Alex Flinn is one of my go-to rereads when I’m looking for something romantic because I really enjoy the way the book is written, and as a girl that often ends up RPing guys, it’s nice to have that “male” type perspective on a romantic relationship. The Immortals Series by Tamora Pierce is also a long-standing favourite. 

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE: Cats. I could so easily by a “crazy cat lady,” but I just have two at the moment.

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS [IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG, YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL]: Dearka x Miriallia (Gundam SEED, obvs.), Anakin x Padme (Star Wars), Trunks x Pan (DBZ), Mitsuhide x Kiki (Snow White with the Red Hair), Sakura x Syaoran (Cardcaptors)

15. PIE OR CAKE: Cake. I’m super picky with pie.

16. FAVOURITE SCENT: The smell in the air after it’s rained in the summer, OR what my sister and I like to call “warm sunny kitty,” which is how the kitties smell after they’ve been sleeping in a sunbeam all afternoon.

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH: I don’t really crush on celebrities as much as I’ll find a character attractive in a show or movie that I’m watching. I recently binged “Spinning Out” on Netflix which unfortunately got cancelled after the first season, and I really liked Justin Davis, played by Evan Roderick, so I guess he might count as my current celeb crush?

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO: Right now  I’m very much in Star Wars obsession mode so I’d like to go to Disney World to check out Galaxy’s Edge. Eventually I want to see the life-size Gundam in Japan and visit Cat Island, and visit Greece and Italy.

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT: 100 per cent an introvert.

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY: Probably.

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID: Android. Apples rot.

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES: Yeah, I’m slowly catching up on games while I’m unemployed. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is a recent favourite, but I’m super excited about the remaster of FFVII coming out.

23. DREAM JOB:  I don’t like limiting myself which is why I like being a journalist/photojournalist where I get to experience and do a number of different things. That said, if I could do nothing but shoot events for a newspaper - and sadly newspapers don’t employ straight photographers anymore - that would be ideal. Potentially I wouldn’t mind delving into the political realm with behind the scenes stuff, or combine my love for nerdy things with writing/photography and somehow get paid for it. And paid more than just above minimum wage LOL.

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS: Buy my dream camera, the Canon ID X, repair the gear I have that needs to go in. I’d look into opening up a viable independent local newspaper for central Alberta that isn’t tied down to a corporate, American-based chain or operating as a political propaganda machine, and once I have some job security, move into a place of my own.

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE: Athrun Zala. He’s very much a self-righteous character that believes he’s the only one that really knows what’s going on, and the only one who NEEDS to know what’s going on. Much of the friction he created within the Le Creuset Team was as a result of him not letting his teammates know that Kira was a friend and Coordinator piloting the Strike. I believe they would’ve approached battles differently if they had known, and it would’ve eliminated the doubts of Athrun’s leadership when they were searching for the Archangel on Orb, and honestly may have saved Nicol’s life in the end. If he wasn’t so self-righteous, he also wouldn’t have played into Durandal’s hand in Destiny, trust Kira and even Lacus to be on the right side of things, and perhaps even prevented that whole Cagalli-Yuuna situation. He might even actually let one of the many women fawning over him (he honestly doesn’t seem interested in ANY OF THEM, Cagalli included), and let Dearka and Yzak know what was going on in Destiny when they were left in the dark about Durandal’s master plan, and what role the Archangel and Athrun were playing in the war.

I guess what bothers me, too - and it could just be the Dearka in me talking - but he gets preferential treatment a lot. As far as I know, the story is Dearka was demoted for his defection from ZAFT, while Athrun, who defected AFTER Dearka and didn’t even have the balls to return right after the war returned in Destiny and was given back his red coat and a FAITH badge as if he’d never done anything wrong in ZAFT’s eyes....only to pull the same shit again.

Honestly, the man has no direction in life, and is somehow lauded as a hero and exempted from any sort of repercussions of his actions.

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER: Voltron. Miriallia-mun and I were both into Voltron when it came out and even cosplayed Hunk and Keith together and it was the best. But as it goes with many fandoms, the show got hijacked by brutal shipping wars where one couldn’t just enjoy the show. The fandom then became really toxic, calling for the creators to be assaulted or worse at conventions, or insinuating they were homophobic because they didn’t make their slash pairing canon. I couldn’t have cared less about ships in the show, and the final season showed some catering to toxic fan pressure and had some poor plot points which honestly left me uninterested in watching the show after the final season.

tagged by: Stole it from @aegis-destiny

tagging : Anyone who wants to.

[shaineybainey]

Lab Rats: Elite Force – What Exactly Went Wrong?

An Opinion Piece from a Viewer’s (and a Writer’s) Perspective 

[written and posted on another site september 2018]

Let me begin this piece by stating one important fact that could or could not affect your acceptance of this piece: besides the finale, I’ve seen none of this show’s episodes. None. I only ever knew what was happening in it through the reports of others who had watched the show and had formed their own opinions about it, most of which were either negative or neutral. Could that have affected my own view of it? Of course. Could those have turned me off from the show more? Sure. But, the fact remains: the project that seemed to be the biggest and most promising in its time only had one season, ran only a few months, and was never renewed. When the show and its cast were first announced, I was admittedly upset. My favorite character was not included. I found it unfair since this spin-off seemed to be a new, exciting arena with a fresh concept. It bothered me a bit to see the five main characters in the promo image posted on Twitter, too. It was a little too...monotonous compared to how the audience had known Lab Rats and Mighty Med to be. But eventually, I’ve learned to accept that Tyrel Jackson Williams, the actor who played Leo, may have wanted to move on to new projects (and he did) and that maybe the creators just thought that the five actors they handpicked could carry the show a lot better. It was all okay. Soon, though, it became apparent that the negative feedback that had surprisingly come from some of the most loyal fans of Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or both were actually a reflection of how the viewers felt in general. When the finale aired on October 2016, the news that it was a series finale rather than just a season finale had already rocked the fandom. Twitter and Tumblr were flooded with complaints against Disney XD for canceling “another great show” in favor of a “trashy one”—which seemed to be an indirect snipe at the network’s then newest program, Mech X-4. Fans took to the actors’ Instagram accounts, asking them when the second season would come or why there wouldn’t be anymore episodes. They were understandably heartbroken over this loss. They tried to save it for months but – it didn’t work. The plea for #RenewLabRatsEliteForce didn’t carry the impact the petitioners wanted it to have, sadly because those left were too few in numbers. Many of the most vocal and most outspoken ones—the viewers whose voice when Lab Rats aired were the most powerful—have unfortunately already left the show long before and could not be counted on anymore for any help. Thus, Lab Rats: Elite Force never came back on air. It may be a wonder to some how that could have happened. Lab Rats, the main ‘universe’ this show played in, still remains as one of Disney XD’s powerhouse shows due to its iconic interracial family, bright and bold sets, and seamless, innovative plots. Meanwhile, the lore and mythology that came with Mighty Med was the most complex and held the most potential. These two combined should have generated a show worth the four-season run that Disney treats their most exciting and popular programs with. So, what exactly went wrong? Below is just a few of the things that I think may have caused the show its demise. The Reasons 1. When the shows combined, they were both stripped of their characters of color (save for one) – which resulted in lack of both visual diversity and diversity in storytelling. When Lab Rats aired in February 2012, there was already a considerable buzz about it. Besides its predecessor, Pair of Kings, Disney haven’t been playing much with the idea of featuring an interracial family. That was why it piqued the interest of many people when trailers of a Black teenage boy finding himself in a new family with his Black mom, White stepdad, and three White stepsiblings aired. It was icing on top of the cake, too, when at the time, it appeared that the main character might actually be of color this time. Mighty Med followed this diversity trend to a degree. The two main characters were both White, but the rest are of other races—two Hispanic and one Asian, to be exact (or Calderan, if we’re speaking of the character rather than the actress). These characters offered different voices, backgrounds, and personalities to their shows. They also served as beacons, lights of hope that maybe, just maybe, Disney is starting to understand that there were also other races and ethnicities they could pick to tell their stories and that they didn’t have to worry about it ‘not working.’ Everything was working, but fast forward a couple of years later, one of Lab Rats’ creators announced that the two shows would merge, and here, they are your new team! To be exact: William Brent, Kelli Berglund, Bradley Steven Perry, Jake Short, and Paris Berelc. Two of the stepsiblings from the Lab Rats fandom, and the three main characters from Mighty Med. Of course, this is not to knock them as actors. They’re all quite good, in my opinion! In fact, Paris Berelc is still unbelievably wonderful in her new Netflix show Alexa and Katie as Alexa Mendoza. Kelli Berglund and Jake Short have new projects they’re currently involved in as well. However, as a viewer, I thought the production could have put together a better combination. Past the shiny and admittedly impressive costumes and cool vibe of the cast, the promotional image and the trailers that subsequently followed lacked the oomph! the other two shows, as separates, had. The characters as a collective weren’t visually interesting anymore because they didn’t reflect the way the viewers saw the world. It was like Disney XD went back to how it was before Pair of Kings aired. It would have been better if they made a few switches. It could have even been somewhat forgivable if there was a recurring minor character of color. Sadly, there wasn’t. Everyone looked the same. 2. There were two Chases, two Brees, and one Adam in the team. Disney has long ago earned the reputation of having repeating archetypes in their programs—and the two shows, even as separates, weren’t safe from this. Still, they were all balanced out. Lab Rats' book smart, shy, sometimes egotistic, but truly kind character Chase Davenport was balanced out by his stepbrother Leo Dooley, who had impeccable street smarts, was rather mischievous, dangerously curious and clumsy, but was also ultimately good at heart. At the same time, Mighty Med’s resident teen doctor Oliver, who was resourceful, introspective, and the voice of reason, was balanced out by his best friend Kaz - his impulsive but loyal partner-in-crime who prevented him from being eaten up by his own seriousness through jokes and lax regard to the rules. When the shows merged, well, things went off-kilter. All of a sudden, the show had two young men (Chase and Oliver) with the leader personality. It was also evident from the sudden changes in the character’s clothing style that Skylar Storm had lost her individuality and her rather funny but genuinely heartwarming curiosity of the world around her. She had adopted Bree Davenport’s style and also, subtly, her treatment of the world and the people closest to her (which, if you haven’t seen the original show, wasn’t stellar at all). Kaz was the only one safe from the character cloning. Kind of. He remained to be the sense of humor in the show, but I can’t help but think when I saw the finale that he essentially served the same purpose Adam Davenport did in Lab Rats’ narrative. This lack of variation in personalities made for a bit of a static storytelling. One fanfiction writer who used to be really into Lab Rats told me a few months into the show that the characters brought out the worst in each other. Gone was the sweet Chase Davenport and was replaced instead by a character who had to constantly assert his dominance over his teammates. Oliver, whose affection towards Skylar had been cute and heartfelt to watch, had become obsessed with her and had turned stalker-ish, reportedly pressuring her into becoming his girlfriend. And the team as a whole had become a bratty bunch, too consumed now by their own importance and their own problems to show warmth and kindness towards one another. Again, this could have easily been prevented by making a couple of switches. The fanfiction writer part of me thought that it would have been better if the team was instead made up of Bree, Leo, Oliver, a new WOC character with a rather stoic personality, and Skylar, who would serve as the team’s leader. That could have offered an interesting dimension to the show: varying voices, potentially initial conflicts that can turn into warm, lasting friendships, and varying strengths and weaknesses that can play well with each other and can definitely move the story forward for a couple of years. Lab Rats: Elite Force was trying to achieve a Teen Titans feel, and those five could have done that. But, reality turned out differently, and there's no undoing what had been done. 3. The Villains in the Mask, Part 3. As much as I love the writers and creators of the Lab Rats universe, I do have a few complaints, one of which is: do the villains always have to be concealed or be wearing a mask? Victor Krane, and now Roman and Riker. All of them were introduced to the show wearing masks! Also, they all had the same reason for doing the villainy they did: revenge. Now, from the outside looking in, that may not be as bad. Revenge is a rather strong motivator, but in comparison to the best ones this show had seen, did it really have to be that again? I’ll give you the best villain Lab Rats had as an example: Marcus Davenport. He was an android bent on destroying Adam, Bree, and Chase—and most specially, Leo—for the sole reasons that (1) that was his order, (2) he hates them, and (3) he hated them because they had their father’s affection and attention, and he didn’t. What made him complex and gave him a nice layer as a character was that despite his manipulative and murderous nature, at the end of the day he just wanted affirmation and affection from his dad. From what had been revealed, the spin-off’s villains had a reason of their own to go after the protagonists. Roman and Riker’s father had been drained of his powers for his own good, but the boys and the rest of their family didn’t see it as such. They saw it as an insult to them, although if I’m not mistaken, the show didn’t really explain why they felt that way. It was just a reason that was just...was. In the finale, they introduced another villain: Roman and Riker’s sister, Reece. Oh, she was manipulative and cunning. She also seemed promising because there was a moment of doubt when she was caught red-handed by one of the good guys. She was torn on whether she should hurt him to make her escape or not (spoiler alert: she chose the former; she blinded him). But, that was as far as it went. As mentioned, the show didn’t come back for a season two—which still haunts the rest of the fandom even after two years of its sudden end. 4. Everything was rushed. Good stories take time. Like flowers, the characters and the plot need time to grow. The writers of Lab Rats understood that when the original show first began. We saw character development and storylines that were quite impressive, mature, and relatable despite the show being marketed for children. There were also plot twists that were actually incredible. It became a memorable show because the writing team took their time. In the spin-off, they didn’t. The best example is the Oliver/Skylar pairing. The two years of slow burn between the two characters quickly changed into a wildfire that was erratic and didn’t make sense. Oliver was strangely out of character, and Skylar only seemed to have agreed to the relationship because she got annoyed. The relationship was awkward because it was handled impatiently. Reece’s introduction was rushed, too. She was maybe shaping up to be the big bad of the next season, but unlike Marcus, whose presence and role were built slowly and surely, she was pushed in. So, maybe she wasn’t going to be the main villain? The ambiguity created by all of these off-paced writing turned off the viewers one by one. At the end of it, I heard more unhappy responses to the show than I did positive. Maybe, somehow, the show-runners knew about that, too. They just didn’t say anything about it. 5. ‘Who’s your audience?’ It’s important to know the answer to that question because if you don’t, it will show. Lab Rats was marketed to children, perhaps in the ages 8-11 demographic. However, it was crafted to also appeal to teenagers and adults who may have been curious about the new project of the That 70’s Show’s former creators. Mighty Med, basing on its writing, appeared to have been meant for ages 6-11. Fans of the show might disagree with me on this, but it’s good to remember that one of its creators also made ANT Farm, which had silly humor oftentimes. (Not a bad thing at all. It’s just revealing of its audience.) Lab Rats: Elite Force seemed to have had problems identifying who it should actually appeal to. Should it be written like Lab Rats had been written? With silly humor here and there but also with jokes that teenagers and adults would appreciate? Or should it be written like Mighty Med, directed to the younger viewers and used laugh tracks more often? Well, the winner remains unclear. The characters’ sudden immaturity suggests they wanted to appeal to the new audience, but their rushed treatment of the Skoliver pairing also showed that they wanted to please longtime viewers somehow. They also gave Bree a new ability, perhaps to keep the interest of the loyal fans, but it didn’t really serve its purpose. It was probably meant to have been a wow factor. Sadly, it was another thing that didn’t work because the people they were trying to direct it to have lost interest—probably because they felt that the writers had ignored them for far too long in favor of newer, younger viewers who didn’t even stick around to watch the show. Concluding Thoughts At one point, I kind of hoped, too, that the spin-off would be green lighted to have a second season. When it finished, the hard feelings I had against it was almost gone, and I was earnestly hoping they would come back. Whatever the real reason(s) may have been for it not being able to, the cast and crew still deserve credit for doing their absolute best to make the show as enjoyable as possible. The finale, in particular, had a few highlights, and the set where the battle scene took place was impressive. The cast also put their best foot forward. The writers, meanwhile, perhaps despite knowing about the impending end, really did craft something special for those who had stuck with them until the final second. Despite its problems and potentials that were not explored, Lab Rats: Elite Force still graduated as a nice show with moments of excitement, dashing costumes, and memorable sets.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Worst of 2019 (So Far)

And now we get to the opposite of yesterday’s post: the worst of what we’ve seen so far. Time to give them a proper thrashing before they (hopefully) fade into obscurity. Disappointingly, there's a general lack of films that were bad but in an interesting way. Mostly, it’s either been the same sorta dreck we usually get with a couple of unusually offensive stories and a couple of soul-crushingly bad superhero flicks. Curious? Read on.

10. Serenity

I like to save my #10 spot on the “Worst of” list for a movie that has a chance of becoming a favorite among those who love bad movies. Serenity is competently enough made that it does not belong in the same category as The Identical or Runaway. It’s another kind of bad movie, the kind that baffles anyone who sees it and who will have film historians scratching their heads in the future. It’s not quite on the same level as 2017’s “The Book of Henry” but close. Top-notch actors at the top of their career in a story so poorly conceived it would’ve been brilliant if it weren’t awful and utterly absurd.

The revelation that everything we've been seeing is actually part of a video game programmed by an angry teen who hates his abusive father, and that his actions are tied to those of Matthew McConaughey's character is the kind of nutty decision someone at some point should've questioned. My advice? Surprise some unsuspecting friends with it. Periodically pause the movie so they can write down how they think it'll all fit together and then watch their faces as they're proved wrong.

9. After

I’m not going to remember After down the line so this is my opportunity to give it another flogging. I can’t believe fan-fictions of real people is a real thing and that one of them was deemed legitimate and popular enough to be turned into a movie. It plays out like the clone of a clone of a clone of Twilight. At least that movie had danger in the form of vampires and werewolves. This has nothing to offer except embarrassing drama and a prepubescent’s idea of what romance and love look like. I saw it in the theater with a friend and thank goodness she was there; it made what would've been a chore... slightly more bearable.

8. Dumbo

I’ve already gone on about how I feel about Disney’s string of live-action remakes. For the most part, they fail to validate their own existences; they’re just copies of the original but with “real” actors dancing around animated backgrounds, objects and locations instead of everything being traditionally animated. Dumbo isn’t like Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. It does try new things. It diverges from the source material significantly in the worst way. The titular character winds up playing second banana to a bunch of circus performers no one cares about and in the end didn’t contain an inkling of the emotion the 1941 version did.

7. Dark Phoenix

This one’s a triple-whammy. Not only was it a deeply disappointing way for Fox’s X-Men series to end, it retreaded old material in a way that was worse than X-Men 3: The Last Stand AND it was a box office bomb. By the time the story finally comes alive… it’s just about over. The whole thing feels like a mistake, bringing in aliens and asking us to invest in characters we just haven’t had enough time to fall in love with. Makes me wonder what the future of the characters is going to be like. Yes there are a number of heroes and heroines we haven’t yet seen, but are people going to care, even when the brand gets a new coat of paint from Marvel Studios?

6. Men in Black: International

Was anyone asking for the Men in Black series to return? Maybe if they'd had a dynamite story this could’ve overcome the public’s general disinterest, but this was an extremely generic plot you could figure out easily minutes in and lost touch with what endeared us to the first. Even with the combined forces of Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth failed, it to generate many laughs. Worse, to make sure I got any references or Easter egg it might drop, I re-watched all of the previous Men in Black movies, including the horrific Men in Black 2.

5. Replicas

This movie goes about itself in such a convoluted way. First, Keanu Reeves plays a scientist working for a company that wants to transplant the mind of dead soldiers into androids. Then, his family is killed in a car crash, prompting him to use the mind transfer tech to put their memories into new clone bodies of themselves. Problem is, he only has the means to clone three out of four family members. This means he has to erase all memories of his youngest daughter from the others’ brains. Following me so far? Good because it keeps going from there. Actually, that’s just the start of it. It’s a classic case of TMSGO - too much sh*t goin’ on. Even with all that, it STILLL managed to have gaping plot holes. No surprise it came and went as quietly as possible.

4. Hellboy

This one hurt. I wanted to see a superhero horror film badly. The early interviews I read about them wanting to adapt Mike Mignola’s books more closely than the Del Toro films got me excited. I was a little apprehensive when the trailers showed some goofy stuff but I figured these were included to draw people in. I should've listened to that sinking feeling. The actual film is awful, one giant mistake after another. Without a doubt, this featured the year’s worst special effects and even this I could've forgiven but the would-be humorous tone was badly misjudged and the story bloated with way too many elements that might've worked... if we weren't also trying to tell the character's origin at the same time. Hellboy ends with a teaser promising more and there’s no way we would’ve seen a sequel even if this had made money at the box office. Cool demons though, for what it’s worth.

3. Shaft

Looking back, I’m struggling to think of anything worth seeing in Shaft. I hated the film’s approach at comedy, particularly when it reverted Samuel L. Jackson’s John Shaft into the kind of man who proudly doesn’t understand modern sensibilities and spews out one homophobic joke after another. The plot was uninspired and uninteresting - not to mention generic - and none of it felt like it belonged on the big screen. On the upside, it prompted me to view the original trilogy with Richard Roundtree and those were enjoyable.

2. Simmba

Simmba is unlikely to be on the “Worst of 2019” list next January. It probably won’t be at the #2 spot. The film mixes two wildly different tones but not well. It begins as a romantic crime comedy, a dated one, sure. Simmba staging a phoney crime in order for the woman he’s attracted to to call him for help and then use the call as an excuse to stay with her through the night is creepy but I guess it might’ve passed like 20 years ago in North America. What makes this a bad film is the way it then introduces a character’s gang rape and murder as a way to prompt the anti-hero onto a righteous path. From there, it turns into this vigilante revenge film that has disturbing implications. You probably haven’t heard of it before now, much less seen it. I don’t recommend you check it out.

Runner Ups:

Aladdin

A controversial choice, as many casual filmgoers seem to have fallen madly in love with it (similar to the way they ate up 2017’s Beauty and the Beast) but honestly, what does this film do better than 1992’s Aladdin? Add an unmemorable song for Princess Jasmine to sing? Reduce the number of talking animals in order to give us more… nothing? Pile on the CGI to the point you wonder why it was made with live-actors in the first place? Like the innumerable direct-to-video sequels of classic films who've been all but forgotten, I tell you this Arabbian adventure won't endure.

Tolkien

So much potential squandered on a boring story. It didn’t take an astute viewer to recognize the film was crippled by the studio failing to obtain the rights to Tolkien’s actual work. I get the feeling we'll see another shot at a biography of J.R.R. Tolkien in a couple of years and this will be the Christopher Robin to the much superior Goodbye Christopher Robin.

The Hustle

It’s an unfunny comedy, what more is there to say? Rebel Wilson makes yet another bad career choice playing the same character she always plays. I only realized it was a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels while writing my review, which is unfortunate. Hopefully I can expunge this film from my memory soon enough and forget anything it might’ve spoiled about the original Bedtime Story or the 1988 remake.

1. Unplanned

The numerous instances of technical incompetence - mostly coming from the performers who are given lackluster material - would be enough to condemn Unplanned to this list. What made me hate the film is the way it blatantly lies and attempts to manipulate the audience into further entrenching themselves in a certain point of view through cheap, manipulative means. I can respect that genuine passion was poured into the project but the way it goes about it is shameful. Do not go see it, even if you're curious.

Yuck. That last one really left a bad taste in my mouth so I'm going to talk about a movie I did enjoy and am enthusiastic to direct you towards Alita: Battle Angel. Rosa Salazar as the titular Alita impressed me and I really dug the action scenes. I'll also right a wrong from last year by reminding you to find and watch Paddington and Paddington 2, both movies I should've put on my "Best of" lists the years they came out. I don't know what I was thinking but I keep coming back to these in my head. They're excellent for kids and adults.

And with that said, the list is over. Back to our regularly-scheduled film reviews until something big comes up. Thoughts or comments on the list are welcome and I hope you enjoyed reading.

[mpmwrites]

Ornaments

Burra requested festive Reed1700 fluff. Not proofread.

Gavin shoved his hands in his pockets, "It's so fucking cold." He scowled as his teeth chattered. The sliding doors opened with a slight woosh and he, Connor, and Rafe stepped through into the fenced area of the hardware store. Before them lay rows of Christmas trees and a few other families milled about, taking their pick of the conifers. Connor's eyes lit up with delight.

"How big of a tree should we get?" he posed, leading the other two over to a row of balsams. His enthusiasm bled into Gavin and Rafe, Rafe offering a small smile as he tucked his hand around Gavin's elbow.

"Whichever you like best, Con." Gavin reminded. He hadn't been so keen on having a live tree; sap and pine needles to clean up and the potential of the cat trying to eat it had warned him off the concept in all the time he'd lived alone.

"Your ceilings are 10 feet, Gavin, it would be most ascetically pleasing to get a seven to eight foot tree." Rafe explained with a measured tone.

"Rafe says to pick a tall one!" Gavin called as Connor moved further away. He shivered again, the sensation moving from his chattering teeth all the way down his chest as they walked. Rafe pulled away briefly but wrapped his arm over Gavin's shoulders as they caught up with Connor, who was holding up a monster of a tree. It reached far above Gavin's head. Connor beamed with pride at his choice.

"I like it." Rafe offered plainly, reading the excitement that Connor was putting off. Gavin looked at the tree, unconvinced until both androids seemed to agree, then shrugged.

"If this is the one you want, it's fine."

One unfortunate struggle with a hacksaw later, the tree was erected proudly in the corner of Gavin's living room as Rafe and Connor strung lights around it like they'd done it a thousand times before. Gavin hauled out the box of ornaments from the back of his closet, popping off the plastic lid to reveal the baubles inside. He dropped onto the couch with a cup of steaming coffee waiting on the coffee table.

"Aren't you going to help?" Connor chirped.

"You two insisted on this, so why would I take all your fun?" Gavin offered, a knowing smirk on his face as he folded his legs comfortably. Connor's face fell slightly and he let out a small laugh. "I can't even reach half the tree." He explained, "Plus its way more fun watching you two." He raised an eyebrow suggestively. Rafe knowingly smiled back as he continued to arrange the lights.

"I thought it would be nice if we did it together, but if you don't want to, I understand." Connor nodded, his pleasant smile returning. Gavin hated it when he did that, and Connor knew it (which was probably why he did it so often).  Gavin sighed and clambered back off the couch, reaching into the box of ornaments and extracting a favorite. He stepped close and hung it randomly on the tree.

"Happy?" He offered, standing on his toes to kiss Connor on the cheek. A genuine smile overtook Connor's face as he picked an ornament to join Gavin's, and the three continued on taking turns placing mismatched decorations into the branches. Once the box was empty, they stood shoulder to shoulder to appraise the tree carefully.

"Oh." Gavin seemed to remember something and moved away, both androids turning to watch him. "I got you guys a present." He explained, opening one of the kitchen cabinets and fishing out a gift wrapped with plain green paper.

"Traditionally gifts aren't opened until Christmas Day." Rafe observed, taking the package anyway.

"Yeah, well, I was hoping you'd open it now, but you don't have to." Gavin shrugged vaguely. Rafe immediately began tearing the paper. "It's for the both of you, or all of us, I guess." He explained nervously, watching as the paper dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. Connor stepped close to Rafe to inspect the gift. It was a rectangular ornament picture frame, holding a selfie that Rafe had taken as he and Connor planted kisses on each of Gavin's blushing cheeks.

"Thank you, Gavin." Rafe said warmly, hanging it in the direct center of the tree after moving another ornament to make a proper place. Connor beamed at the new addition as GAvin approached, lacing his fingers into Connor's.

"Merry Christmas." Gavin endeared, smiling.

[vulpinmusings]

Ski’tar and Friends part 8: The Data-phile Errand

This week, Ski’tar, Vermir, and 6 find themselves working on the darker side of the Starfinder Society.

In the beginning

Last time on...

As we walked to the Archives, I considered raising a bet between my companions as to what race the mysterious Historia-7 is.  Before I could come up with stakes that would be creative, attractive to Sixer and Vemir, and reasonable, we arrived at the room where Historia-7 was sitting and my whole plan was rendered moot.  

Historia-7 is an android, and easily one of the most brusque and computery of the breed that I have ever encountered.  She disconnected from the Archive network just long enough to give us our instructions.  As she had been trolling the virtual world, she’d discovered that somebody had hacked into Bluerise Tower, home to many powerful business corporations, and made off with an undisclosed amount of highly valuable data.  Historia had traced the hack to its source and obscured the path behind her to slow down the corporate efforts to reclaim their property.  Our job was to travel to the physical site where the hack had originated, acquire the data for the Data-philes, and decide if the hacker could be recruited.  We all had questions on our minds about this morally dubious assignment, but before we could ask any of them, Historia had jacked back into the net and tuned out of the Material Plane.

“Welp,” I said as we turned to leave, “I guess we do corporate espionage now?”

“First junk racing, and now espionage,” Sixer said.  “This Society has everything!”  I’m not sure if his excitement was genuine.

Historia’s directions took us to an apartment building out in Drifter’s End, a low-class neighborhood located on the edge of the main body of Absalom Station.  The directions were precise enough to point us to a particular flat in the building, so it didn’t take us long to start casing the joint.  Out in front of the target flat, a young human male was tending to several potted tomato plants.  He didn’t look much like a hacker, but, we reasoned, a professional thief of high-end corporate secrets likely wouldn’t want to advertise that in his appearance.  We decided that Vemir and I would approach him pretending to be interested in buying information, while Sixer and my drone covered possible routes the guy could use to run from us.

Vemir did all the talking, using all the best vague innuendos and safe keywords to try and clue the guy in.  It all flew right over his head; all he seemed willing to talk about was tomatoes and claims that he had no idea what we meant by “information.”  Eventually, Vemir and I withdrew in defeat and rejoined Sixer to discuss our next step.  After some debate over whether we actually had the right guy, I pointed out that we didn’t necessarily need the hacker. Historia-7 had expressed a desire to recruit the hacker, but the only thing we absolutely needed was the stolen data.  To get that data, I just needed to get to the computer inside the flat, and if the guy was going to play dumb, then we just needed to get him out of the way for a bit.

Before my companions could suggest anything that might attract local law enforcement, I sent my drone out to handle things.  With no attempt at stealth whatsoever, the drone rolled up to the guy, picked up one of his tomato plants, and dashed away.  The guy called for help, and an old woman emerged from the flat to help give chase.  I slipped into the flat while my friends took up sentry positions, Sixer nearby and Vemir some distance away with his sniper rifle out.

The flat was… ridiculously low-tech.  Like, pre-space flight levels of tech.  The only bit of electronics I could see in the small room at first glance was a vid-screen barely capable of receiving station broadcasts.  I spent a good five minutes going over the walls and furniture in search of hidden panels or disguised computers, and came up with nothing.  Then the occupants came back, and neither of my bosom buddies bothered to warn me.  Luckily, I managed to hide under a desk before I was spotted.

Over the comms, I heard Sixer and Vemir discuss a plan to shoot one of the tomato pots as a distraction, and I told them to hold off on that for a minute so I could eavesdrop.  Surely, now that they were safe in the privacy of their home, the hacker and his aged accomplice would start to discuss the next stage of their plan.

Nope.  Nobody said a thing about hacking, information brokerage, or corporate abuses.  They just bemoaned the state of the world where random street drones could just steal a man’s tomatoes.

Now utterly confused, I gave my friends the signal for extraction, and Vemir sniped the tomato pot.  The man and old woman both took cover, and I slipped out of the flat with ease.  Once outside, we commed Historia-7 to question the veracity of her location data. There was no way that I could see that either of these people were hackers, nor any way for the actual hacker to deflect his location data to a device inside the flat.  Historia insisted she had the location correct and that we just needed to keep searching and get the data before the corporations caught up.

Vemir and Sixer went right back to cooking up ways to distract or lead the suspects around without exposing our identities, but I was fed up with subtlety.  We were Starfinders, dang it.  Part of a legally recognized and more or less respected organization that at least used to be a cornerstone of Absalom Station and the Pact Worlds.  We should be able to just knock on the door, flash our identifications, and ask the guy straight out if he had any idea about data that had been stolen from Bluerise Tower.  My friends admitted it was worth a try, since we did outnumber the tenants and one of them was an old woman.

Sixer did the talking this time, and after he laid out the entire situation, including unnecessary apologies for the earlier harassment, the old woman surprised us all by removing her shawl to reveal a sophisticated set of exocortex implants.  She seemed embarrassed that she had “accidentally” acquired the stolen data, and invited us all in for tea before she explained further. Apparently, she was a former hacker, one of the best before age caught up to her, and she suspected her implants occasionally made her regress to those earlier days and unconsciously steal information.

I immediately proposed that she come back to Lorespire Complex with us and trade the data for a diagnostic on her exocortex to figure out how to keep it under control.  She refused, claiming she didn’t think she could handle the walk, and also waved off offers to hire a transport for her.  She said she didn’t trust the Starfinders to be able to protect her with their own numbers so depleted.  Instead, she offered us the data in exchange for helping her fake her own death and establishing a new identity so she could retire without fear of corporate hit squads.

It sounded like a major hassle, but she wouldn’t budge on the matter, so we set to it.  We were already complicit in trafficking in stolen data, why not add falsifying records and possibly grave-robbing to the list?

I say “possibly” grave-robbing, but Vemir hit on the notion of using a fake corpse right out of the gate, so all our plans centered around that.  Sixer came up with a list of black-market dealers in body parts as well as hospitals that we could acquire cadavers from in one way or another.  Wanting to minimize our potential trail through legitimate channels, I pointed out that if we planted a burnt corpse, it wouldn’t matter how fresh the thing was.  After some talk, however, we decided that burning down the flat would be too much trouble, so we settled on having the tomato farmer call in an ambulance on his “mother” suffering a heart attack.

That meant we had to swipe a cadaver from a hospital.

Vemir and I went to a medical facility that looked fairly easy to sneak around in.  While I used one of the public terminals to hack into their database and find an elderly female human corpse – and delete that entry once we had the body in hand – Vemir managed to track down a doctor’s uniform tailored for a kasantha and went to do the actual theft.  He got to the morgue with no trouble, but once he got the body out into the hall, he was stopped by one of the head researchers.  Somehow, by sheer repetition of the line that he was on legitimate business, Vemir got the doctor to let him go, and we had ourselves a corpse.

While the old hacker slipped out to go hide in some park in the Eye and her son helped Sixer and Vemir dress and pose the body, I searched the net for a dealer in false identities, finding a good lead down in the Spire.  The forger was a fat human with a good eye for business.  When I told him I needed a new identity created, he quoted the job at 10000 credits.  After I clarified that the identity was for an old woman looking to escape a troubled past and just wanted her last few years to be peaceful, he brought the price down to 5000, and we made a deal.  ID-man worked quickly and efficiently; within the hour our retired hacker had become a mild-mannered housekeeper.  I gave the man proper praise and told him I’d come to him first if I ever needed another fake life made.

I rejoined the crew at the flat, and after helping the tomato farmer hammer out the details of the story he’d give the authorities (he’d gone to watch a junk race and came home to find his mother on the floor), we left the final execution of the “faking death” plan in his hands and set out for the park to deliver the new identity to the old woman.

[trust-a-conkus-fanzine]

Creator Profile: Tess

Uncertainty ripples coldly through their connection. Markus’s hand stills over the canvas, leaving an unfinished angle where a precipice would have been. “You don’t like it?”

Connor gives a start. A loud, hot spark of surprise replaces the hesitation between them. “It’s—not that I don’t like it.”

“Then what is it?”

“You made an interesting choice, artistically. The colors just... aren’t what I expected, that’s all.”

Markus flips the paintbrush in his hand and taps the handle to his chin. “Not vibrant enough? I definitely could have added some extra color.”

“No,” says Connor. He’s back to frowning. “They’re... you don’t think they’re a little dark?”

“Dark?” Markus’s eyes flick upwards to meet Connor’s gaze, and it’s strange—he looks entirely confused above all else. “I don’t think so. Does it look dark to you?”

Another chill passes through them. Connor isn’t sure if it’s his or Markus’s. “It is unusually shaded, yes. That wasn’t purposeful?”

______________

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I'm a writer, and I have been for almost my entire life! For years, I've dabbled in everything from slam poetry to screenplays, and now I'm in my first year of studying screenwriting at university. A lot of the more cinematic images in my writing come from my passion for film and television, but also my adoration of unconventional storytelling. Apart from obsessing over the written word, I'm a teaching artist for a youth spoken word group, and I do a bit of swing dancing in my spare time—when I'm not working on my piece for this zine, that is! I'm incredibly privileged to be a part of Trust and interact with so many wonderful content creators. It's been a lovely experience so far and I can't wait for our readers to see what we have in store.

What is your piece for the zine about?

"A Short History of the Heart" picks up at a tranquil, domestic point in Connor and Markus's life together. Detroit has suffered through the growing pains of social change, and androids are becoming increasingly more integrated into society after the tumult of the first few years. Everything is falling into place—until Markus begins to suffer unusual malfunctions, and Connor along with him. When the two discover what exactly sets prototypes apart from other androids, they're forced to confront a sudden, chilling question: What do you do when you're running out of time?

What is it that you like about the Connor/Markus ship?

To me, the allure of RK1K is that they're two sides of the same coin. Although the narrative of the game is too clumsy to outright address this, there's a prominent implication that Connor and Markus's storylines are drawn to each other, destined to intersect. They are enemies by nature, working for two opposite forces, but they themselves are not inherently antagonistic—at least when it comes to the deviant Connor path. At Stratford Tower, Connor seems genuinely affected by Markus's words. Markus's speech to Connor at Jericho tugs at aspects of his very identity, gently and intimately guiding him to question himself. Their magnetism is unquestionable, but ultimately, it's up to the player to decide whether they will empower or destroy each other. Whatever outcome the game comes to, Connor and Markus have a hand in determining each other's fates. Their potential apart is incredible; their potential together, even moreso.

Also, it's ridiculously cute. But I need to over-analyze everything.

What's your favorite project you've ever worked on? (Fan Fic, Fan Art, Comic, Novel, etc.)

I've been writing for so long that it's pretty difficult to say! Something recent that stands out to me is my work on "The False Immortals," an 18.7k oneshot about Connor's predecessors and the two weeks leading up to the events of "The Hostage." I had a lot of fun speculating about CyberLife and android engineering, and it gave me the opportunity to write some really interesting original characters. In the end, it was very much me trying to fill a plot hole, but I enjoyed every second.

Favorite DBH Headcanon?

This one's a bit of a wink-and-a-nudge answer, but whatever. There's been some talk in fandom about android expiry dates, and the idea that CyberLife, much like another tech giant we know, would use obsolescence to encourage consumers to buy the latest and greatest android. The older models would begin to fall apart, grow gradually more incompatible with other tech, suffer random crashes and lower processing speed... well. It's a fascinating concept, let's just say that.

What are you looking forward to the most about TRUST?

More than anything, I'm looking forward to some wildly talented content creators getting the recognition they deserve. This zine is fortunate enough to have some of the best artists and writers around, and I'm so excited to appreciate them and all of their passion for this lovely ship. You should be, too! We have some incredible things coming your way.

Anything else you want to tell folks?

Thanks for reading through all my rambling—or scrolling through it, at least!

Where can people find you on social media?

You can follow me on Tumblr @deviantexe and on AO3 @stargirls!

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S5 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

The Game: Alright, took a few days off but it’s back to business now! In this episode, Wesley is back on break. Gonna be honest, the show was pretty much unaffected by Wesley going so haven’t really missed him much, so I was indifferent to him coming back. But how did his guest star episode go overall? Eh, it was alright. So Riker got brainwashed via the titular game device on Risa (Dear Lord that place must be cursed) and he does the same to the crew upon returning. So yeah… we have a ‘Wesley Saves Everyone’ plot, albeit I can forgive it since it would be kinda pointless to bring him back and not be major and the brainwashing plot gives a good reason. It does a good job making me paranoid of video games cause haha… yeah the brainwashing process just from that is wild. They don’t even act brainwashed, which makes it even scarier. Wesley and the Ashley Judd character have some good chemistry, although I doubt it’s gonna ever come up again in Wesley’s other appearances. It is irking that while they did have an excuse for it this time we had to make everyone out of it so that Wesley can play hero and is still overly competent, but to be fair he DID still get caught at the end of an admittedly tense chase scene and he had to get Data back up (he got taken out since the game otherwise wouldn’t have affected him) to save everyone. Which the crew forcing the game on Wesley… that was legit horrifying. It was a fine episode, if you’re a fan of Wesley it’s one that I recommend… but as I’ve made it clear that I’m not, I’m just meh about it. But because of the scenario they used, it’s very much Wesley’s best episode, but we’ll see how his other guest appearances go. 3.5/5.

Unification P1: While this isn’t a final two-parter, I’m still gonna do an overall rating and that will be the one I use if this makes it onto the Best/Worst of S5 list. So… I have been so excited for this one! Why? Well in this episode, an ambassador has gone missing on Romulus… Spock. Yep, you read it right. Spock is back! Why has he gone to Romulus and did so without authorization likely knowing what would happen if Starfleet found out? Well, we’ll go into that later. But because of it, he’s been marked a traitor and Picard has been given the unfortunate duty of informing Sarek. Which if you recall in Sarek’s episode, he melded with Picard so… let’s just say that Picard has a stronger understanding of things than normal. But it gets worst. Sarek is dying. Yep, his condition has taken its toll and indeed, he dies in this episode and never sees Spock again. The whole scene when Picard goes to talk to him is just… Dear Lord that was just agonizing to watch. I know that technically he had The Undiscovered Country as his final appearance, but this would be Mark Lenard’s final go in a series and he did an amazing job. It’s so clear how much regret, pain, and love towards Spock that he had and the fact that they weren’t unable to reconcile in the end is just heartbreaking. Hell just seeing him in the state that he was in at that point was hard to watch. Picard talking to Data about it when Data questions why they never reconciled… well they kinda did during the films but eh. Still, a very sad moment but one executed very well. We’ll go more into Sarek and Spock for Part 2. Back on the plot, Picard and Data go undercover on Romulus ala Kirk during The Enterprise Incident only he only had to go on one ship, they have to go onto a whole planet. Actually, there are a good few similarities with that episode. Spock has seemed to go traitor, the captain has to go undercover, and it involves Romulans. Albeit Picard didn’t have to act like he’d gone insane as Kirk did. Thus for the first time, we see the Romulan homeworld… and it doesn’t take long for Picard and Data to get found out… and brought to the figure that they are seeking. This brings us to… oh right first the rating, 4/5.

Unification P2: SPOCK! AAAAAAHHHHH!!! Oh God, I knew that missed him, but I did NOT realize how much until the end of P1. I’m just so happy to see him~! Alright, back to seriousness. So… why is Spock on Romulus? Why did he risk being labeled a traitor by going to the planet of what may be Starfleet’s greatest enemy at the moment? Simple, a mission of peace. As it turns out, not every Romulan is an evil asshole and there is a movement that wishes to reunify with their Vulcan brethren. Hence why Spock is there, a decision that he made on a personal choice to avoid what happened in The Undiscovered Country when he was involved with the Klingon efforts and it landed Kirk and McCoy in prison from happening again. First, Leonard Nimoy is as perfect as ever. Mind you this was apparently being made about the same time as Undiscovered Country so he was already in top form, but still. Spock is very much older, but he carries a lot more wisdom and maturity here since he’s since long come to terms with his issues. Sarek’s about the only snag left, and… we’ll go into that soon. It’s kinda hard to watch because if you’ve seen AOS you know how this is ultimately going to end, so it makes it feel like Spock’s efforts are… kinda pointless. Still, it’s very much Spock would likely do even if he did know how it would end and it’s best to try than do nothing. It can hopefully inspire better things in the future despite what we know happens. The talk between Spock and Data was also really good and Thank God they they pointed out the cardinal difference between them: Spock is half-human who chose the Vulcan way of life, Data is an android who wants to be more human. Also hilarious that Spock says he has no regrets when he outright said that he went to Romulus on his own essentially because of what happened to Kirk and McCoy when he involved Starfleet. Ah Spock, never change~! The ending. Picard allows Spock to meld with him so that he may see his father’s final moments. Which his reaction… yeah it’s… it’s just sad. Spock never got the chance to reconcile… but he did get to see that yes, Sarek loved and respected him. After all those years, he got that closure, and Thank God that he was allowed that. It was good. Not perfect, we’ll go into the snags here in a bit, but just seeing Spock again and him being as great as always made watching it worth it. 4/5.

So overall, it was good! Not perfect, but good! The highlight of course is Spock’s return and allowing closure to him and Sarek at long last. Which those scenes were handled very well and Spock is very much the best part of this episode. But while the episodes revolve around him even when he isn’t in P1, it doesn’t feel like he overshadows anyone. Picard and Data were good and the Spock and Sarek conflict is used to allow some good moments like Picard's history due to the mind meld and Data questioning things like why they didn’t and about wanting to be more human. Not obviously they didn’t know about how the 2009 film would go about when they made this, but the chance for Romulan to reunite with Vulcan and showing that there are Romulans wanting change is really good. Now like I said it’s not perfect. The pacing does drag a bit and honestly, the rest of the Enterprise gets nothing to really do. You could cut most of their stuff and it would barely impact anything, but you can’t just cut them out so… at least they got something to do. Sela comes back… and not only is this apparently her final appearance, but they have her be an utter idiot by locking Spock, Picard, and Data… in a room with a computer with no guards in the room… uuuhhhhh WTF? Y’know had they gone with that ‘brainwashed Tasha’ suggestion that I made I could make sense of it, but again this is Sela’s final appearance so wow, what an utter waste of great character potential. Then finally again knowing that the 2009 movie will essentially make Spock’s efforts null and void… well it sure as Hell makes me even less endeared to the film than I already was. It’s those kinds of snags that stop me from giving it a perfect overall rating. But still, I really enjoyed it~! The plot was interesting, the growing of the Romulan conflict was good, the scenes involving Sarek were very well done, Spock… well I made that clear, and of course, Spock at last getting the closure that he needed was sad, but satisfying to at last have. So while not perfect, it felt like a genuine tribute to Spock and his character, and I can appreciate it for that. 4/5.

A Matter of Time: Oh joy, more time travel. Hooray…So we have a time traveler from the 26th Century arrives on the Enterprise for historical purposes.I thought the guy playing the professor sounded familiar… and it turns out he voiced Panic, Hades blue-colored minion, in Hercules. Welp, THAT was not a voice that I expected to recognize XD So… it was alright. Maybe it’s just because of how hyped about Unification I was, but the episode just kinda caused me to zone out. The actor playing the professor was fun. I don’t wanna give away the big plot twist but long story short,t he professor isn’t who he says he is and Matt Frewer portrays the conman-like attitude very well… though his creepiness towards Crusher is ugh… creepy. But Crusher handles it soundly, hence why I love her. Apparently the episode is supposed to show the darker aspects of the non-interference clause of the. Prime Directive, the professor withholding information that could potentially save a dying planet but he won’t budge. If that is true… then the plot twist kinda ruins that since without giving anything away, it really muddies up the intent.. Like I said, I kinda just zoned out. It was fine, Matt Frewer was the best part of it, but nothing to write home about. 2.5/5.

[supremacy-1914-hacks-download]

Supremacy 1914 Hacks

Supremacy 1914 Hacks Download

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Students often bemoan their deficiency of impact: embarrassing book product sales figures and the like. However my review of American textbooks exposed that historians of the twentieth century exerted an massive affect on the way Americans have occur to comprehend their heritage. The final results are painfully evident. Their perform possibly filtered down into educational institutions, as interpreted by educators, directors, and popular authors, or appeared directly: Ph.D.-skilled scholars wrote many of the textbooks I read. To value why white supremacy stays such an integral portion of American society, we need to recognize how much it suffused our teaching from the outset.

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The fight over a proposed monument to black mammies” exposes the lie of folks who clarify Accomplice monuments as innocuous celebrations of Southern heritage. Missing Result in memorials are hurtful common community symbols of white supremacy. Consider about that most Accomplice monuments were not erected by grieving widows or kin swiftly Supremacy 1914 Hacks For Free Supremacy 1914 Hacks soon after the Civil War. A vast majority experienced been place up in the eighteen nineties and early 1900s by Southern whites hoping to justify the spread of Jim Crow even though erasing the legacy of Reconstruction, a time when African-People in the usa experienced acquired citizenship and voting rights.

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Goldrick, James (1992) "In Protection of Naval Supremacy: Finance, Technological innovation and British Naval Coverage 1889-1914," Naval War School Overview: Vol. the "apartment" poem he refused to "learn" (see Vl. Vasilenko's assessment of Mandelstam's Stikhotvoreniia 1928 in Izvestiia, July six Supremacy 1914 Hack, 1928). See also the debates on Acmeism in Literaturnyi Leningrad in 1933-34. In this respect, Mikhail Bulgakov's designation of his novel's protagonist as "grasp" signifies an attempt to restore the term's conventional honorable connotation.

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McKibbin spends substantially time detailing how the Conservative Party managed to define by itself as the celebration of countrywide consensus in the nineteen twenties, turning into the predominate get jointly of the nineteen thirties. While he spends some time on why Labour's 1945 electoral victory have to not have been a shock, McKibbin is shocked Supremacy 1914 Hacks For Free that he could trace the primary turning absent from the Conservatives to Labour to the end of Might potentially by way of the slide of France: We are remaining with the unpleasant basic truth that, as I see it, the cease of the Conservative political and ideological supremacy-irrespective of who was the beneficiary-was extraordinarily sudden” (p. 117).

47. Cf. Mandelstam's "On the Interlocutor" (1914, SS 2), which develops thoroughly a important simile for Mandelstam: a poem is in contrast to a letter sealed in a bottle that a reader in posterity shall "providentially" find out as one thing dealt with to himself. Observe that chapter three of Eugene Onegin, where the phrase oblatka seems, was composed in 1824, exactly a hundred many years before Mandelstam's poem.

[townnightwalk]

NOVEL SYNOPSIS

27/03/2017

- originally, the plan for this story was to be in a novel format. The first chapter was written, and others already planned. eventually however, it was reworked to become a visual novel video game with different endings for different choices-

WARNING, STORY SPOILERS

TOWN NIGHTWALK

Synopsis

Genre: Science fiction, mystery, thriller

Working title: Nightwalk

Concept statement: 3 young adults (Prue, Sybil and Jones) are runaways, driving to nowhere in a stolen car to escape their separate abusive parents. In the middle of nowhere, Prue crashes into something unknown, destroying their car and leaving them stranded. They find themselves on the outskirts of a closed off community that they nickname Nightwalk. When they crash however, Prue alone gets a glimpse of the inhuman creature they hit, and experiences something extremely strange; she feels like her stomach is being gored on the jagged metal of the car. But once she wakes up she finds no wounds to speak of.

When they reach the nearby town, they discover it is completely isolated, filled with strange and potentially dangerous locals. There is no transport available to leave, and so they decide to stay in a refurbished and empty church. This is offered to them by a very feminine and mysterious stranger, named Kit. She is helpful, welcoming and beautiful, a combination that excites some and creates distrust in others. The longer they stay, the more suffocated they become as they hide from the town and monster tormenting them. As they explore, argue and hide, it becomes clear they all have demons to face if they’re ever going to get out of Nightwalk alive. There is no hiding from the past; as visions of abuse, loss and their deepest insecurities force themselves to the surface with the help of a supernatural entity.

They are stuck with so many questions to answer; why is everyone so strange, how will they escape, where will they go, what is the huge monster that’s following them? And perhaps most of all, who is Kit, why is she helping them and what does she have to do with monster?

The story is told predominantly from the perspective of Prue, with short sections also narrated from Jones’s and Sybil’s perspective.

Chapter outline

Chapter 1: The Crash Prue, Jones and Sybil crash their car when they run into an indistinguishable creature. This creature seems to be capable of making people feel things without them actually happening. They are stranded and spot a distant town, but once they reach it they quickly discover it to be very abnormal.

Chapter 2: Town Nightwalk After deciding to call the nameless town Nightwalk, the group search for help around the town and are greeted by people who are clearly very isolated and not very trustworthy. They search for transport and find none. They search for connections to the outside world only to discover poor reception and almost archaic internet connection. The search seems fruitless until they run into someone that seems to genuinely want to help them.

Chapter 3: A new friend They discover Kit, a young feminine stranger around their age who wants to help them. She offers them a refurbished yet empty church to stay in, which they accept as there is seemingly nowhere else to go. Prue is taken aback by Kit, yet Sybil is sceptical and untrusting. As they discuss what the group should do next they are confronted by something absolutely supernatural.

Chapter 4: The Creature The creature from Prue’s hallucination reveals itself to the group, lurking outside the church and visible from the inside. They discuss what it is, why it’s here and exactly how dangerous it is. After spending the night and following day hiding from it, the group decides it won’t attack and that they should try to discover what it wants. After a few daring experiments their carelessness ends in disaster.

Chapter 5: Visions Prue, Sybil and Jones are confronted with intense visions of their fears, their pasts and their possible futures. The creature melds into their minds taking over their consciousness and memories, showcasing its power to make you feel and remember. The only vision they share is that of Prue’s older sister, who left a lasting impact for them all when she was killed a year ago. They are only saved when Kit surprisingly manages to take control of the creature, connecting with it in a way completely different to the rest of the group.

Chapter 6: Sybils Stupid Wrath Angry and upset by her visions and fearful of Kit, Sybil lashes out and attacks her after a heated argument. This fight leads to a horrific scene in which Kit is badly hurt, but also the discovery of something even more unbelievable. The group must struggle to keep Kit alive as they desperately search for someone who can fix her.

Chapter 7: The Maker, the Mother The group decides splitting up is the best course of action, as Sybil and Prue search for someone to help Kit while Jones stays to care for her. As Jones does, he is joined by the monster, which is seemingly peaceful for the time being and only focusing on Kit as she lays damaged. Sybil and Prue have time to themselves, and end up fighting and resolving some serious tension between them. Eventually they discover a scientist hidden away in the town, who appears to be the creator of Kit. Chapter 8: Answers Sybil and Prue demand answers from the woman, and tell her she must come to help Kit. The woman is surprised to hear her android has been broken, and the group undergoes a serious argument which ends in the scientist agreeing to come, help and tell them everything she knows. They learn that Kit was an attempt to communicate with the creature, that it is capable of channelling itself through her so that she can allow it to speak rather than just evoke emotions as it does in humans.

Chapter 9: Reunion and Revelations As the scientist brings Kit back to her former self, the group reunites. Sybil apologises for her actions, and Kit forgives her with the open minded-ness of a very young, naïve and caring android. They press the scientist for more answers, but soon learn that she intends to take Kit away. The group, now protective of their friend, refuse to let her condemn Kit to a life of servitude as a soulless robot. The scientist tries to take her by force, and is ultimately defeated by the very creature she’d been working to understand.

Chapter 10: Escape The group decides to use the scientists’ car in order to skip town together, and that Kit will come with them. They are faced with overcoming the town, and manage it with the help of their new companion, the very creature that had caused them to be stranded in the first place. As they leave without it, they decide to head back home to overcome the demons that lay behind them together.  

Character Profiles

Main characters:

Prue The Main character with the most focus, Prue is a 19 year old woman on the run from her abusive father. She is cunning, resourceful and brave but also self-righteous and judgemental. As the story unfolds Prue must struggle with her fear of her father, her relationships with her friends, her sexuality, coping with the loss of her sister and her internalised shame.

Sybil The loudest and most outgoing of the group, Sybil is an energetic, funny and adventurous risk taking 18 year old, who fights for attention and acts out to keep it. She is fiercely loyal towards her friends, pushing them to do what they need to and unwilling to give up on those she cares about. Her anger issues often get her in hot water, and her tendency to act self-absorbed is something many people dislike about her. She struggles with her self-esteem, her uncaring parents, her unrequited crush and her burning self-hatred.

Jones A quiet observer, Jones is the product of a fearful and sheltering mother who has made it almost impossible for him to find friendship in the world. At age 19 he was able to find people who changed him, and is in the process of learning who he is. Jones is insightful, kind-hearted and surprisingly wise. He struggles to find what he wants and works to understand his own identity and help others do the same. He must decide what healthy relationships are, what the future will bring him and help his new best friends as they help him in return.

Kit Living as an android, her existence is almost as mysterious as the creature with no face that haunts and follows her. Kit is programmed as a young adult, found in the town of Nightwalk with limited social skills and understanding of the world. As she learns from her new friends, Kit begins to understand more about herself and what it is to find friendship and love. She must learn just where she has come from, what she is meant to do and what the monster that follows them all means.

The Creature Described as only “the creature”, “the unknown” and “the monster” this thing with no name is the most prominent and physically terrifying part of the town. Its biology is unknown, its intentions are unknown and its numbers are unknown.

Minor characters

Prue’s father An abusive man, the very reason Prue had to run.

Prue’s sister A kind woman, who died in suspicious circumstances a year ago.

Sybil’s Parents Distant and never even named, they do not care about their daughter.

Jones’s mother Overbearing and critical, Jones ultimately runs from her control as well.

Kit’s creator/mother A scientist living in the town, trying to discover the town and creatures secrets whilst hiding underground.

Townspeople

Stari, Maggie, Ruth, Gregg, Arthur, Stevie, Rose

[rueur]

Morning Pages No. 59

Saturday 22nd August - 10:14am

I am doing this at my desk at work, which is weird, and it's making me feel like I can't be as honest as I'd like to be. I feel like Saturdays in particular are going to be quite difficult. I've turned the brightness of my phone screen all the way down so it'll at least be pretty difficult to see what I'm typing. But at the same time, it'll be difficult for me to gauge when I'm at three complete pages, because there are no page breaks in the Android version of Google Docs, or at least the Android version that I have. This experience is kind of fun though, because it's reminding me of uni. It's been a while since I've used this keyboard, in fact I don't believe I've used this keyboard at all with the XZ Premium. It took ages to pair it up with my phone, partly because I'm at work and I'm surrounded by Bluetooth devices. It was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up having to go to the kitchen in order to pair this up. Now I feel pretty good, though. I can't seem to be able to get rid of the phone keyboard at the bottom of the screen, so what I can see of this digital page is quite limited. It feels like I'm typing into a typewriter and I can only just make out the words on the page over the hardware that's required for the words to exist. I think I'd love to have a typewriter, but it's not essential right now. There's a woman who writes poetry on the street in the city with a typewriter. She asks people if they'd like a poem and she'll type one out for a price. I've always been a little in awe of her, because she always dresses in these lovely, flowy dresses and sits on her little stool or milk crate, her arms out like she's sitting at a desk, type-type-typing away on the street, all the business pricks passing by and getting a little glimpse into her very colourful life. I hope she's doing okay right now. 

I'm actually feeling pretty confident about this Bluetooth keyboard morning pages set-up right now. Even if I'm not able to publish this immediately after typing, I'll at least still be glad that I got this out of the way. I mean it's not just about getting it out of the way, I have to maintain this practice, but I don't want it to feel stifling. I have to figure out a game plan for days where I'll just have an early start, and I won't be able to do the pages first thing in the morning. Part of me just feels like I should wake up earlier and stop being a baby. The main issue I have with waking up earlier just to complete the pages is that if I'm on a time limit, I'll feel far too anxious to be able to finish them efficiently, and I'm going to end up scrambling the rest of the morning. But…it may also be something I just need to learn how to do. I should learn how to stop myself from becoming overly-anxious in the morning, and start training myself to use that 'getting ready' time more efficiently than I do. This is not a bad idea. 

Evan's been complaining about his back for the past 24 hours or so. We almost went on a family walk yesterday, but he just started stretching at the last minute and 2:30 turned to 3pm very quickly, and I had a call with Sam scheduled at 3:30pm, so I couldn't go anymore. I really wanted to, though. It pissed me up the wall. I was going to have an insanely busy afternoon/evening tomorrow, and the sun was out and the weather was good. I wanted to have a bit of a stroll before the intensely busy night I had, and then the fact that I had work all day today as well. And then AFTER work today, we have our weekly family zoom call with Sarah and Co. I absolutely love that despite all the big personalities in that group, it's still primarily Sarah's group of people. She is quite honestly the glue that holds us all together. Part of me wanted to ask 'then what am I?' right now, but I honestly don't care too much. I'm Rue. 

There's no way I'll be able to gauge how many pages I'm at, but I'm thinking now that it might be a good idea to just go off of how many words I've written. Currently, I'm at 759 or so, so I'll cap myself at maybe 2050? I feel like that sounds like a reasonable number. I'm using a few paragraph breaks here and there so it makes sense to stop midway between 2000 and 2100, which is my average word count range between the past few entries. I'm thinking way too much about the semantics of finishing this SPECIFIC entry. How the fuck am I supposed to handle Saturday morning pages once work properly opens up again? We won't have desks, and it's not like I can bring this keyboard or set it up when there are customers to serve in-store. And I feel like it's going to be intensely busy here once lockdown is over. Harrison is pacing around the store between calls, which is something he hasn't done before. I think it's because we've been able to set up more desks in other locations, and Manny and I are sitting in I.T. whilst Harrison and Nat are in games. I just had to take a phone call on behalf of Toby, who was on the shop phone. And I've just been talking to Toby right now too, so it's 10:42am. I have to stop talking about what's happening around me, I reckon. This is supposed to be stream of consciousness. 

I feel like every entry I'm saying 'THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS', and I should probably just let it be, because I'm wasting mental space by panicking when I feel like I'm not doing this properly. There's no way to do this properly, or improperly. I love the word 'improperly' it sounds so disciplinary. I had this random memory of being in Grade 3 and bringing the movie 'Snow Dogs' into school on my birthday along with my birthday cake, so that we could have a viewing party during lunch. I suppose I looked for any excuse to stay inside during recess and lunch. We didn't call recess 'recess', it was like morning tea. Or playtime? I miss Lonzo. I always miss Lonzo at work. 

It's hard to write in stream of consciousness when you're at work. You can't really get mindful enough, even when you're just sitting at a desk waiting for the phone to ring. There's just too much activity all around. This is perhaps my third Saturday working during the Stage 4 restrictions, so I've had more than enough of answering phones, although I believe this arrangement will be continuing well into September too. We'll see what happens. Lauren's yelling something to Madz. The ambience of this place is startlingly sparse, punctuated with periscopic, staccato interjections: impersonal, abrasive, coming from all sides at any time, and void of genuine feelings. I can't wait till I get to see thathi. He's bringing me kiribath for lunch, and I'm going to meet him in the front car park to pick it up. It'll be nice to chat to him for a little bit. I haven't seen him in a while. I miss my family. I don't know how to feel about malli, though. This is the first time that akki and malli have been in a fight and I've hands down been more on akki's side than mal's. He can't keep rocking up to work so late and just overall acting like he doesn't actually give a shit about the clinic. What is going on with his work ethic? It's doing my head in, just the mere fact that he can be so blase about rocking up to work on time, and being an asset to the clinic that he was so grateful to land a job for almost immediately after coming out of high school. He doesn't know how easy he really has it. His life's trajectory thus far in comparison to akki and mine, has been egregiously easy and totally not demanding. Even ammi and thathi have entirely given up with parenting him, and he's only 20?! How could they possibly be done with their parenting, especially if he's waking up at 2:50pm for a 3pm shift?

I've been missing typing with this keyboard SO DAMN MUCH. It genuinely makes me feel unstoppable, like nothing is keeping me from being a creative. I could be anywhere and doing anything and when inspiration strikes, BAM! Out comes the felt Bluetooth keyboard. I remember this only costing like $60, or potentially even less too. What a freaking steal. I'm glad I'm still using this after all these years too. 'Keys-To-Go'! Love it.

I'm excited to get back on Squarespace and gain some more experience with building a website. But whether or not we can move that Squarespace website on to cPanel and host it with VentraIP is a whole other battle, which I believe I'll need Steve's help with. I wonder how easy it'll be to set up my own domain with Squarespace, specifically for Broken Media to begin. I've been waiting for a call for 17 minutes. When do you reckon I'll receive a call? Do I have time to go to the bathroom right now? Look, I'm just going to go. It feels like it's going to be a quick one. Ha.

Alright...it's 1:07pm. Alright, it's 1:53pm. This is not going well, but even so I'm determined to finish these pages before the day's end. I've taken two poops today. And now Nat and I are watching The Office. Thathi dropped me off some kiribath and I'm feeling pretty nourished right now, but I'm kind of done with being here for today. I don't feel good in my body, which is interesting. Evan's also been recording some negative physical feelings since we started the 21 Days. I think it may just be part of the process of incorporating mindful practices into your life. It's what happened to Zuko in Atla or Lin in LOK. Or perhaps it's less nuanced than that. It's what happens when you do a juice cleanse. Today is just not a good day, morning pages-wise.

[uzhcaitlyn0643-blog]

When Does FIFA 18 Come Out?

FIFA 18 will be launched worldwide on Friday, September 29. There are two ways, nonetheless, to get your fingers on the sport early. Final Crew content material. They will be out there to play on Tuesday, September 26, which is in keeping with EA's knack for going reside on a late Tuesday in September. If you are a PlayStation four participant, the September 26 date is the earliest you'll have the ability to play. WHEN DOES THE FIFA 18 DEMO COME OUT? The FIFA 17 demo was launched approximately two weeks before the total game got here out, so you can count on to be getting your first taste of FIFA 18 sometime in early to mid-September. Cannot wait that long? If you're actually fortunate, you may be capable to sneak in on the beta testing, which often takes place in August, to get a fair earlier hands-on. That privilege will principally be reserved for professional avid gamers and nicely-known YouTubers, however there's an opportunity a restricted variety of spots could be circulated round to these with an EA account if further numbers are wanted.

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