#rk if you wanted which is good. i guess the only thing left is that you'd know what i read. which i can get over

[dont-open-dead-inside-25]

i won ao3

[vanityloves]

sona voice: im so normal when i think ab anything

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Oooh the shadow kids has interesting dialogue that may shed insight on the Lady given how they’re extensions of her: “But there was a difference before” What is the difference before? Did something happen in her past? “Her intentions were to follow” and “Do you hear her singing” Who is the “Her” and does it refer to the Lady herself or someone else? “Of course they were” Who are “they”?

THE SHADOW CHILDREN, THOSE LITTLE RASCALS.

I swear, I've been trying to figure out what the deal was with them since the DLC came out. They're the only characters in the entire franchise we get full sentences from, but of course they had to be cryptic.

So after I saw this ask I went and gave this video a listen, to see if I could hear something more, then jumped on the Shadow Kids' wiki page and I have a couple of addictions. If any of you guys hear something else please tell me!

Okay. Let's try and break this down.

"Hello there," "Goner," and "You are a goner."

This is the Kids talking directly to RK. There's three sentences, which I think is interesting because the Shadow Kids seem to be divided in three factions, just like the type of masks of them you can find in the game files.

"Do you hear her singing?"

It's unclear to who this could be said to. Maybe they were talking with RK, or maybe just among themselves. They're referring to our Lady and her haunting, sad humming.

"But there was a difference before."

This could be referring to multiple things. To the Lady's past, maybe her journey alongside the previous Thin Man that then led them to their respective roles? Or they could be referencing the previous Ladies of the Maw and how they used to rule, as opposed to how the current one handles things. OOOOOOR they could be talking about something else entirely, but I do believe this could be a nod to a sudden shift in behavior from the Lady.

This just popped in my head, but maybe they are referring to the Lady pre-mirror "curse", which is probably what caused the shift in her behavior.

The theory that the mirror shows her ugly, true self instead of what she desires because she already has anything she could wish for is... an interesting one, to say the least. Especially because she seems to be really sad and lonely most of the time.

Buuuuuut we're getting off track.

"Her intentions were to follow," and "Of course they were."

I always thought these two sentencese had to be put together like a dialogue between the children.

When I heard this I immediately thought of Mono and Six for some reason. If the Lady was in the same situation as Six, being accompanied by the previous Mono a.k.a our Thin Man, which is very likely, then maybe we could think of this dialogue like this:

"Her (the Lady's) intentions were to follow [him] -"

"Of course they were."

By this logic, we could also assume that they might be talking about Mono and Six themselves, with Six in place of the Lady and Mono in place of... well, himself.

Or I may be misenterpreting the meaning of the phrase. English isn't my first language so I'm not sure I fully understood the meaning of "Her intentions were to follow" in this context.

Moving on! The next two phrases were interesting.

"Yes she does," and "But that can't be right."

Again, another conversation. We could try and tie it to the previous one, making the dialogue something along the lines of:

"Her intentions were to follow."

"Of course they were."

[...]

"Yes she does."

"But that can't be right."

AND WE'RE MISSING A PIECE. Awesome. We really can't have anything, can we.

We can only try and guess what could go between those lines, but I'm a good 95% sure the "she" they're talking about is the Lady. And they sound conflicted about something she wanted to do in the past, as opposed to something she does now. Mhhh.

"The light."

This is referred to RK and his flashlight.

"About the time it was talking," and "It is looking with its sight."

I have a very strong feeling they may be referring to the Eye. Which is terrifying to think about because if these both refer to it then THERE WAS A TIME WHERE THAT THING COULD SPEAK.

Maybe they're talking about the fact that, since Mono just took the place of the Thin Man, maybe the Eye can't communicate well enough with the outside world through the TVs using his powers yet, but its still ever present, observing everything that goes on in the outside world and, by inclusion, on the Maw as well.

And finally...

"Until Six..."

THIS COULD MEAN SO MANY THINGS.

They could be referring to literally anything, but let's try and narrow it down. Considering the major events in the games, I have a few options.

"Until Six [dropped/left him]."

Of course, they'd be referencing the accident, which is what caused the whole loop in the first place. In this case, they may have been talking amongst themselves about what may have occured before that happened.

"Until Six [eats her/takes her place]."

In this case, they're talking about the eventuality of Six becoming the next Lady, which would make sense considering they were talking about the Lady just a few moments ago.

"Until Six [came here]."

I wonder if this could go with some of the other bits of dialogue. For example, "But there was a difference before, until Six [came here or whatever they meant to say]."

[agentfrostbite]

It's Saturday and I'm in the mood, so let's talk about Elijah Kamski

Specifically about how he treats his Chloes. Obviously this is an opinion, and everyone is entitled to theirs, but as I read Chlonnor ship fics (they are adorable and I am unrepentant), I notice that a lot of them have Chloe becoming a deviant after Connor chooses not to shoot her. I don't have a problem with this, per se, but I have noticed several things in game that makes me think she's already a deviant.

1. The other two Chloes are already deviant

It's a small detail that tends to get overlooked because you're busy focusing on meeting Elijah and "OMG, Amanda's dead??" and later whether or not Connor actually shot Chloe. But these two girls right here?

They're talking. They're chatting with each other. I know that doesn't sound like much, but look back on the rest of the game thus far. Androids that aren't deviant don't converse with other androids because there's no reason they should. They have a job, and unless they're being addressed by a human, that job doesn't involve talking. You know who does converse? Deviants. Additionally, they're just lounging in the pool, and I guess that Kamski could have ordered them in there because he doesn't like swimming alone/likes to swim with his Chloes/some other potentially creepier thing, but it feels a little too natural for that.

2. Kamski pushes Connor toward his own decision

Looking back on the scene, it's clear that Kamski is trying to force Connor into making the choice of whether or not to shoot Chloe, against Connor's will. He directly pits Connor's programming against his collected software instabilities to see which is stronger. Yes, he is a scientist, first and foremost, so he's gathering data through his test, but I think he's strongly leaning towards - and pushing Connor towards - a pro-deviant standpoint.

His dialogue throughout the scene puts longer, more emotional, emphatic language on the idea of deviancy and the free will of androids - specifically of Connor. He pushes Connor to attempt an answer outside his programming ("Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but you...what do you really want?") and he places special emphasis on Connor's individuality ("Decide who you are. An obedient machine... Or a living being endowed with free will...") in the critical moment just before Connor decides whether or not to shoot.

That, combined with the fact that the two Chloes in the pool are conversing - and at this point, watching the scene, one notably with a concerned/uncertain look as she turns back around - tells me that Kamski is supportive of the idea of deviants.

3. Kamski closes off and expresses almost negative emotion if Connor does choose to shoot Chloe

If Connor decides that his mission is more important than Chloe and shoots, Kamski's attitude makes a definite shift. Where earlier he was toying with Hank and Connor, giving cryptic answers and sidestepping the main issue they were there to discuss, after Chloe is shot, he switches to straight answers and short replies.

Additionally, this post by @omentrash​ highlights Kamski's obviously upset expression when Connor chooses to shoot Chloe. Call it what you like, but to me, this says he absolutely did not want Connor to fire.

4. No matter what route you choose, Kamski tells Connor about the emergency exit

In any situation where Connor ends up in a place of partial or total deviancy, Amanda resumes control of his program and traps him in the white-out blizzard Zen Garden. In this case, the only way for Connor to escape is to use the emergency exit. But he only knows about it because Kamski goes out of his way to inform Connor of it (and we'll get to the ramifications of Kamski knowing about Connor having it later).

Obviously in the deviant best ending, Connor uses this to avoid shooting Markus and the surviving Jericrew in the back, and most of the time, this ending was preceded by Connor deciding not to shoot Chloe. So yes, it makes sense that Kamski would inform him about a way out, should something like what Amanda does happen to him. But he also tells Connor about it if Connor does shoot Chloe, which lets us know that Kamski is hoping that perhaps Connor will deviate somewhere later down the line. He didn't do it here, but he might when faced with the same situation at a future time. Kamski is looking out for Connor, even though Connor isn't a deviant yet, because Kamski has hope that he might become one.

5. Deviants are capable of acting like normal androids

I include this one to illustrate that just because Chloe appears to be a perfect hostess here

and shows no emotion when faced with life or death doesn't mean that she's not a deviant. We know that deviants can, when necessary, act like normal androids. Markus and North do it at Stratford. (Specifically pointing out the part where a human opens the bathroom door, and Markus snaps to attention at the side, like a good little obedient Android janitor.)

Kamski is the Man of the Century. He revolutionized life for everyone across the planet by successfully creating a robotic assistant species that walks, talks, and looks roughly human, while doing everything a human can do with far more efficiency. Of course he gets house calls. And if his androids are deviants - and at the very least, the two in the pool are, so why wouldn't his first android be one as well? - and people come calling, they'd need to act like proper androids. Chloe, especially, since she greets people at the door and is the poster child.

And you'll notice, even in her interview, she acts more human than most androids do. She stammers, she smiles, she's clearly nervous. She shifts back and forth, readjusting in her seat like a human would. Sure, she needed to do these things to pass the Turing Test, but there's a deeper feel to it than just good programming. I think she was leaning heavily toward deviancy at that point. Not there yet, but close. That was years before we see her at Kamski's house in the game. She must be a deviant by now.

6. Kamski left an emergency exit in Connor's program, meaning that he had some hand in Connor's creation

So Kamski leaves emergency exits in all his programs; I think we've beaten the dead horse enough at this point, but I gotta do it one more time because why would Connor have his program? Base code, sure. Okay, we can make that argument that every android has the same base code as the original program. But we can also make the argument - and it has stronger evidence - that Kamski himself had a huge hand in developing the RK series. Proof? Markus.

Markus was a gift from Kamski to Carl; we know this from Connor's scan of Markus at Stratford Tower. We also know that Markus was a unique prototype, since his police file not only states this but also doesn't have a picture of him. No photo at all. Just a blank face, and "Unknown series" and a DESTROYED.

If Markus was one of a small handful, then they'd have a photo of another. They certainly wouldn't have a "Unknown Series" on the file. This makes me think that Kamski made Markus on his own and then gifted him to Carl. I suspect this means that he still has connections at CyberLife, which he used to get the parts for Markus. By giving Markus to Carl, knowing that Carl would cause him to deviate, he set up the seed of the revolution. Now why would Kamski do that, unless he was pro-deviant?

Summary

CyberLife decides to create an android detective/negotiator with the most cutting edge technology and coding the world has ever seen. This model would hunt down deviants and bring them back, if possible, for analysis so CyberLife could lock down the problem and eliminate it with a software patch. It's a delicate operation; after all, Connor starts with his toes on the line of deviancy. Presumably, when he goes to rescue Emma from Daniel, it's his first mission, and already, he's struggling with software instabilities. To think like a deviant, you have to be as unpredictable as possible. That means that he's right on the edge, and he remains on that edge for most of the game, depending on what the player decides to do with him.

So CyberLife need some assistance getting the code ironed out to ensure their Deviant Hunter doesn't become a deviant himself (until the time is right), so they turn to the man who first invented androids and has already technically worked on the RK series: Kamski. They ask - or perhaps Kamski himself offers - and Kamski works on the code. Not all of it, not even the majority, just the few bits and pieces where their almost-deviant and anti-deviant codes clash. All of his work is surely checked - secretly, of course; no need to make him think they don't trust him - so there's really only one thing he can add to Connor's program: the emergency exit. And that's why Connor is his program, why CyberLife would allow the exit to remain, why Kamski points it out, no matter what you choose.

And Kamski would do none of this - it doesn’t make sense for him to do any of this - unless he's secretly cheering on the revolution from the sidelines.

[rjhpandapaws]

Maybe some cottage/farm living between mutually nonverbal Nines and Gavin? (Meaning they're both nonverbal). Congrats on 160 followers! You totally deserve it! ^^

//Ooh! I love this! Also thank you <33 //Best read when listening to Marbles by the Amazing Devil

Life was easy like this, they lived quietly in a literal sense as much as the metaphorical; and looking back after all these years it was still a warm feeling for Gavin. It hadn’t always been that way of course. What they had was a combination of patience from Richard, and Gavin being too stubborn for his own good a majority of the time, paired of course with the years that had passed them by. When Gavin had moved to Lovelock he hadn’t been used to quiet, Detroit was always alive and loud. There was always something happening. Gavin resembled that well, he was raucous and persistent. Lovelock was the opposite, there was a McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Library, public school with a high school to match, a public pool, and a single stoplight. It was quiet, and so was his neighbor Richard. If you could consider someone who lived six miles away from you as your neighbor anyway. They didn’t get along at first. Which again, was mostly on Gavin. Richard was friendly and didn’t seem to want anything in return, which in Detroit meant trouble. So reasonably, in his own opinion, Gavin pushed back. He was harsher than was probably needed, and at times when so far as to actively ignore Richard’s advice. Which turned out was not a good idea when you knew fuck all about running a farm.

Richard didn’t talk to him. It was infuriating for a reason that Gavin couldn’t place. All this effort to be neighborly, but never a word, and Gavin talked a lot. There were a lot of things to talk about, Lovelock was wildly different from Detroit. Largely because usually the biggest thing going on at all was football season in the fall and going to church on Sundays. Nothing ever happened here and it was driving Gavin up a wall. Every time he had said this to Richard he would smile and roll his eyes. There were things of course that he liked about Lovelock, like how he could see the stars at night, that people minded their own business, and in the morning he was almost guaranteed a hand written note from Richard explaining how to fix something Gavin had complained about, or talking about something that had reminded him of Gavin. While Richard’s lack of conversation skills annoyed Gavin to no end, his constant presence was nice. Knowing that if he ever needed anything, there was someone down the road that could help him. He never would have thought that the tables would turn. That there would be a time when Richard needed him. The thing about quiet neighbors was there was no indicator of something being wrong, not that Gavin would have been able to tell from six miles away anyhow. It took three days for him to notice something was up, well wasn’t actually; for three days the red flag on his mailbox had been down. Richard hadn’t sent him anything in three days. The letters had been the one near constant thing since Gavin had moved to this town in the middle of who fucking knew where. So on day three he got in his car and made his way to Richard’s house to investigate.

His neighbor wasn’t outside, which was unusual. Richard was always working on something, it was the one thing that ever made noise. So like an absolute creep Gavin checked the windows of the farm house. It was empty for the most part until he got to the bedroom, there was a person shaped lump under the blankets. Under a lot of blankets, which was concerning considering as it was hot as all fuck out. He had his answer, Richard was sick, he could leave. Instead he walked back around to the front of the house. It was cliché, but while he was looking for the spare key he did look under the welcome mat. It wasn’t there, Richard had cleverly hidden it in a realistic looking beehive. Which Gavin only learned was the home of the key as well as fake by accidentally knocking it over. While he was waiting to get viscously mauled by bees he realized that the hive had jingled on its way down, beehives didn’t do that. So like the genius he was known to be, he picked up the hive and shook it just to be safe. It was plastic and there was definitely something in it. He reached inside and came away with a key. He set the beehive back where he had knocked it over from and made his way inside. The house was still and quiet in a way that he had come to associate with Richard. His Australian Shepard Micky left the room to investigate and her tail started wagging at the sight of Gavin. Normally she would have been outside running around, so Gavin let her outside before he continued on his way to Richard. 

He made his way back to the room Micky had come out of assuming that if she had been in there than Richard probably was as well. Sure enough, his guess lead him to the person shaped lump on the bed. He peeked in from the doorway trying to gage if Richard was awake or asleep. He didn’t want to intrude if Richard was asleep, that was where he drew the line. Which was probably a few steps too far considering as he had more or less just broken into Richard’s house, well he used the spare key but still, it wasn’t exactly like he had permission to be there. “Richard?” He called into the room because apparently he felt like being all kinds of asshole today, “Are you okay?” He got either a groan or a hum in response and the lump on the bed moved. It took a long moment before blue eyes stared at him from the cocoon of blankets. He was awake at the very least so Gavin stepped into the room. “I haven’t heard from you in a while and I was getting worried.” He explained. Blue eyes narrowed and the cocoon shuffled around a bit more until Richards hands were visible and he started signing, ‘Only Sick. You Not Have Worry.’ “Do you need help around here? While you recover?” He pressed. Richard paused for a moment before he replied, ‘If It Not Trouble.’ “I wouldn’t be here if it was.” He said with a smile.

After that week things between them were different. With the knowledge that Gavin at the very least understood Sign Language Richard became more talkative. They became friends and when he told Tina she and Chris put money down on how long it would last. She didn’t believe Richard would keep him around for long, he was loud and different after all. The thing was he wasn’t as loud anymore, he was signing a lot more now. It allowed for easier conversations with Richard which was nice. Three years went by until Gavin gathered enough courage to be honest with himself, and another six months for him to be honest with Richard. They became an item after that, which wasn’t as much of an issue as he thought it would be in such a small town. It was two years before Gavin sold his property and moved in with Richard. Time rolled by after that, and somewhere in the years Gavin stopped talking all together. There was no need for it when everything that needed to be expressed could be said in a look or a gesture. It was easy, natural by now. Even when enough time had rolled by that the deep brown of Richard’s hair that Gavin had loved had gone white and neither of them could do the hard work they once had, Gavin found he loved Richard just as much still. Even now, when neither of them had much of a mind left and it was like meeting him all over again everyday. With everything still unspoken, by the end of the day they were in love all over again.

@rk-frog

(Prompt from this list)

[fandom-necromancer]

A fresh Start 2

This was prompted by an amazing anon! I hope you enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900

It had become quite late as they had finished talking and Gavin had offered Nines to stay the night. Not that the android really needed to sleep, but he appreciated the gesture. He was given a pillow and blanket – useless if he could just enter stasis standing somewhere in the corner – and was shown the sofa. Nines sighed as he sat down and angled the pillow against the armrest. It was… nice after all. And certainly the better option knowing Connor and Hank would bombard him with questions once he came home. Like this he at least had the night to think about the right words to explain what happened and at the same time not betray the newfound trust the Detective had put in him.

By the time Gavin awakened, he still hadn’t found them. They shared little words while the human got ready for work and offered to drive them both as he would be driving anyways. When they entered the precinct, all attention shifted towards them. Gavin ignored all the looks thrown his way although Nines could clearly see his shoulders tense and his head duck a bit. He himself tried to follow his partner’s lead to get to their desks and may have kept his posture a bit straighter than it normally was. He guessed after yesterday it was normal for them to be curious. It likely would take a few days until they had forgotten about-

‘Nines!’ The android looked up and saw Fowler standing at the door of his glass cube. ‘To my office!’ Nines shared a look with Gavin before making his way over there. ‘Captain Fowler’, he greeted the man and immediately the glass frosted over for more privacy. ‘Nines’, the Captain nodded back. ‘Care to explain what happened yesterday?’ ‘Gavin had… a lot of feelings, none of them good. I believe they overwhelmed him after you ordered a suspension, Sir. It was just another example of him lashing out.’ The man fixed him with his eyes and pursed his lips. ‘I don’t think so, RK. I’ve known the boy for a while know. In many aspects he is like a son to me. That yesterday looked far too serious for just one of his… tantrums.’ ‘It… was’, was everything Nines dared to say to that. He promised to keep Gavin’s secret and he wouldn’t break it, not even to Fowler.

‘He didn’t hurt you, did he?’, Fowler asked, standing up now. ‘You have to tell me or HR if he did. I am willing to turn a blind eye to most of his shit, but I won’t stand for that.’ ‘No’, Nines spoke up clearly. ‘No, he didn’t hurt me in any way, though I believe I hurt him.’ Fowler lifted a brow. ‘Not physically’, Nines explained. ‘But I think I failed to see all the consequences of my actions towards him.’ The Captain sat down on the edge of his table now, his body language telling Nines this wasn’t at all a formal meeting as Detective and Captain of the 5th precinct. This was… personal. ‘He didn’t look hurt to me when you two came in just now. And you came at exactly the same time when Connor and Hank arrived a lot earlier. Don’t you all live together?’ Nines didn’t know what to say to that and Fowler misunderstood: ‘I don’t need to know what you people do in your free time as long as it doesn’t concern work. But if it endangers the integrity of my officers, I need to know. In which way did you think you hurt Detective Reed?’

Nines looked him in the eye, thinking hard about how much he could tell. He remembered what Gavin had unveiled to him yesterday. ‘You do know Gavin has mental illnesses recognised in his patient’s file, don’t you?’ As his employer, Fowler should know that at least, so he didn’t have to straight up lie to his superior. ‘Yes, I know’, the man sighed. ‘He has problems arising from his upbringing. He… he never told me what happened exactly, but his father is a real asshole.’ ‘You met him?’, Nines asked in surprise. ‘Yeah, when Gavin was promoted to Detective Tina decided to celebrate. I was invited, too, as well as Gavin’s family. They… Well, let’s say they were the first ones to leave again.’ Nines nodded. ‘Well, let’s say I triggered some of these issues with my behaviour. But after my shift ended I visited him to apologise and we… we talked about it. I think now that I know what to look out for, something like yesterday won’t happen again.’

‘I appreciate your effort, Nines’, Fowler said. ‘Just… You do know you don’t have to? If you don’t feel comfortable with this, I can assign different partners to you two. Or even offer a transfer.’ ‘I know’, Nines dismissed the thought. ‘But I don’t want to. I think it would do Gavin good to have a partner for longer than a few months – someone he can confide in. I like working with the Detective and if anything our talk reassured me I want to continue working beside him.’ Nines had expected many things at that, but not a warm smile from the Captain and a strong hand on his shoulder. ‘This is really good to hear’, Fowler sighed. ‘I knew it was a good decision to partner you up. I hoped you were stubborn enough to put up with the challenge. He really needs a partner. He really needs a friend. He is a good man, always was. He just needs someone to see his qualities.’ Nines nodded and thought about what Gavin had told him the day before. Maybe he couldn’t fix the man. But maybe he didn’t have to when all he needed was someone to listen. ‘I hope I can be that friend’, he simply said and looked up as Fowler stood to walk back around his chair. ‘Then I wish you luck and endurance’, The Captain sighed again, clearing the glass. ‘That would be all.’

-

Gavin hadn’t asked what the meeting was about. Maybe he wasn’t interested. Maybe he already guessed it. They worked together on their cases, Gavin signing everything off to him so that he had access to what he needed during his suspension from the job next week. Everything went smoothly and something akin to a normal working atmosphere had settled in quickly enough to brush over what happened yesterday. When Gavin left work early, Nines wished him a nice weekend and was already back to work as Connor strolled over. ‘You alright, Nines?’, he asked. ‘Yes, I am, why do you ask?’ ‘Well, after what happened yesterday and… you didn’t come home. I thought maybe you could need someone to speak with?’ ‘I’m fine, Connor. I just misjudged Gavin, that is all.’ Connor wordlessly held out his hand to interface and Nines looked at it for a few seconds. Then he looked over to Hank. The man had been depressed for several years and only just now showed signs of becoming better. Maybe Connor’s insight on the matter would help. ‘Connor, I trust you not to tell anyone about this, alright? I need you to keep quiet. Can you do that for me?’ The RK800 nodded and Nines took his hand. Interfacing was likely the fastest way of communicating. It could send emotions, memories and thoughts to another person in the blink of an eye. And still it needed a few moments for Nines to convey to Connor everything that plagued him at the moment.

When they disconnected, Connor blinked a few times, aimlessly staring at Gavin’s desk. ‘He never appeared to me as a person of such depth.’ ‘Really?’, Nines asked. ‘What did you think he was?’ ‘Just the regular asshole?’, Connor shrugged, realising only then how bad that sounded. ‘I never had much to do with him. We only ever met if he stood in my way.’ Nines grimaced. ‘Do the others think like this too?’ ‘I guess so. And after what you showed me I realise we might be part of the problem.’

‘Well, I don’t blame you’, Nines tried to comfort the gradually more and more distressed android. ‘You couldn’t have known he wasn’t just the regular asshole.’ ‘But I do blame myself, Nines!’, Connor commented, leaning against his desk. ‘I’m supposed to pick up such things. I’m part negotiator unit.’ ‘It wasn’t your mission.’ ‘But what about now? Since I’m deviant missions doesn’t matter anymore.’ ‘He hid it well.’ ‘Could you please stop trying to find excuses for me?!’, Connor exploded, quickly gathering his bearings afterwards. ‘Sorry.’ ‘I will stop if you stop finding reasons why it would be your fault.’ Nines sighed. ‘I guess his family is at fault. But… Damn, I don’t know anymore. I want to concentrate on making it better, not find the person who is to blame and hand them over to the Detective. I truly doubt that will help.’

‘Yes, yes you’re right…’ Connor scratched his forehead and took out his coin to let it slide over his knuckles a few times. ‘Nines, I promise to try and help you. Maybe I can try set an example for the others? If someone starts being friendly maybe the rest will follow?’ ‘That’s the strategy I went with’, Nines smirked. ‘And I see it’s working, so go for it.’ Connor chuckled. ‘I will. Err… and Nines?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘Could you tell him I’m sorry?’ ‘For what?’ ‘He’ll know for what, Nines. Just… I can’t do it face to face yet. We don’t exactly trust each other.’ ‘Alright, I will.’ Connor smiled, before heading over to his own desk where Hank was standing up. ‘Thank you, Nines! And good luck!’

Nines shook his head and shut down his workstation. Why did everyone wish him good luck lately? Gavin wasn’t a dangerous animal or some inscrutable person. He obviously simply needed someone to trust and confide in. And Nines would try his best to be exactly that.

[an-actual-angel]

Pairing: Connor (RK800) x Reader, Collin (RK800-60) x Reader, Richard (RK900) x Reader

Summary: The year was 2082. 44 Years after the android revolution. Things have turned south for humanity. Androids now rule the world, leaving humans to be considered as mere animals. While some Androids still have a general disdain for humanity some have taken to the idea of keeping them as “family pets.”You, born in captivity, specifically bred to be the perfect pet happen to get adopted by the RK brothers.

Chapter Description: Collin and Connor have something important to ask you.

(If anyone wants to be added to the tag list, either dm or reply to this post <3)

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Buy me a Coffee?

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Chapter 24-

Your name: submit What is this?

You felt bad for having to divulge the slightly intimate conversation that with Collin to Connor but you honestly didn’t know what else to do. You thought that Connor would be a bit more equipped to help Collin with his issues. Them being closer and Connor knowing how to deal with situations like this a whole lot better than you. Hopefully, Collin wouldn’t be upset with you telling Connor.

 It was obvious that Collin had a lot of respect for Connor so you thought maybe he would be a good person for him to talk to. You guessed there was no way to really know. The next morning Connor had convinced Collin to go out on a jog with him, they left the apartment pretty early so you missed them before they left. They had been gone for a while.

You were eager to find out if Connor had made any progress with Collin but you were still incredibly nervous about the whole thing. Where they going to talk about you?

No, stop being so self-absorbed.

There were far more pressing things going on with Collin.  

You wished you knew a better way for you to help.

Being alone all day in the apartment had left you immersed in your thoughts. While you had become a little more used to being alone, you still hadn’t gotten used the intrusive thoughts that would creep into your head while there was a lack of distractions around. Thoughts that made you feel small. Like everything that was going on with the brothers was your fault.

You knew it wasn’t true but sometimes it was hard not to hear those thoughts. You needed a distraction, pronto. TV was boring as usual but it would do. You really should ask Collin or Connor how they got movies up, you never really learned how they worked their streaming service. You decided the news was as good as anything.

There was nothing super out of the ordinary on, just a lot of politician’s arguing about things you knew nothing about. Of course, the adoption centre never taught you a lick of knowledge about politics, wasn’t a human’s place. You did recognise the mayor, Markus as he began to address the issues of the feral humans that had invaded the city not too long ago. You rubbed at your palm thinking about the blast that day, thinking about how scared you were.

You thought again about how you could have run away that day but you knew you made the right decision in staying with Collin, didn’t you?

Of course, you and Collin had become so close.  Perhaps too close.   Nevertheless, you really did care for him.

As you continued to watch you saw Richard in the background of the scene, talking to another android. What was that slime doing there?

Well, he was the police Commissioner, perhaps he had a meeting or something at city hall? God, he was probably telling all the androids there about how humans had hurt his brother. Well, they did kind of, but you knew Richard would put his own spin on it.

Your attention was then drawn away from the TV as you heard the front door opening. You heard the distant chatter of Connor and Collin, you couldn’t exactly make it out but you did hear Collin mentioning he would be back in an hour or two before leaving again. Connor had barely even noticed you as he entered into the living room. He almost looked like he had seen a ghost upon spotting you, saying your name in shock.

“Hi, Connor.” You uttered quietly.

“Hey.” He smiled slightly in return.

“How’s Collin doing?”

“Yeah, he’s okay. We had a good talk. Thank you for letting me know about all of this by the way.”

“Is he mad at me for telling you?” You questioned, worried that perhaps Collin may have seen it as a breach of trust rather than you trying to help.

“Oh no, no, not at all.” Connor shook his head to dismiss your worry.

“So is everything okay?”

“Getting better. He’s going to try and talk to me more about this stuff and I’m going to try and make more time for us. I think going for jogs will be our new thing.”

Connor smiled at you more playfully this time.

“That’s good.” You finally replied¸ returning the smile.

Good, you made the right decision.

“Okay well, I got to clean up a little.” Connor exhaled out with a final smile before making himself scarce.

While he told you that things were going well there was something about Connor that just seemed, off? You couldn’t quite put your finger on it. Those intrusive thoughts began to creep up on you again. Maybe it was time to do something else.

___

You ended up back in your room, laying in your bed, you had settled down reading a book that Connor had previously lent to you. It had kept you busy for a while, that was until your attention was drawn to the faint sound of bickering outside your door. As you got up to investigate it had gone silent again before a knock was heard on your door. You opened it to find Connor and Collin both awkwardly standing outside.

“Do you mind if we come in?” Connor eventually spoke up.

“No, not at all.” You opened the door wider for the two androids to enter into your small bedroom.  

“Uh, here.” Collin said as he pulled his hand out from behind his back revealing a small bouquet of red roses.

You were completely caught off guard by it. “Oh wow thank you.” You exclaimed in surprise. “Um, what’s the occasion?” you asked as you held the roses up to your face to smell them.

There had to be something right? Why the hell would Collin bring you roses?

Collin's eyes widened and he looked over to Connor for support, he had no idea what to say to you.

“It’s just a small thank you, from both of us.” Connor explained, allowing Collin to gather himself again. “You’ve been nothing but wonderful both to myself and Collin. We really appreciate it, all things considered, we're just surprised you don’t hate us.”

“Hate you? I could never." Why would they even suggest such a thing?

“It’s just cause were androids.” Collin whispered out from under his breath. He then turns to Connor and both there LED's flicker. Watching them, you could swear they were having a conversation in their heads, perhaps they were.

Collin nudged Connor’s arm as if to insist on him doing something, Connor responded back to him by shaking his head. What was going on with these boys today?

Collin looked back toward your direction and blurts out “Connor wants to ask you something.” Pushing his brother’s arm, much like a child would.

Connor's face twists into disgust at his brother as he flinches away from his touch. Looking back towards you he lets out a shaky noise from his mouth as he tries to speak.

“Well, we were both discussing our um… mutual fondness of you and um.” Connor was struggling to find the words to say, something which Collin soon grew tired off. Getting fed up with Connors pathetic attempt Collin rolls his eyes and takes his turn to speak instead.

“We both like you.” Collin lets out a frustrated grunt as he speaks “and you like us.”

Connor holds his hand out against Collin as if to tell him that’s he’s got this.

“Listen, I…” Connor speaks softly before correcting himself. “We understand that this whole situation is a little unorthodox and we don’t want to put any type of pressure on you. If you don’t want to that’s completely understandable.”

“Don’t want to what?” You ask in a hushed tone. whispering out between the roses that you had held against your face.

They couldn’t be asking…

“Date the both of us?” Connor looked away as soon as the words left his mouth, almost as if he was ashamed he asked.

“Wha- really?”

Was this a dream?

“Only if that’s something you would want.”

Polyamory had become quite normal ever since androids came into power. There was far less stigma attached to it. In ancient cultures, humans used to all be polyamorous until monogamy was introduced which was more of a business transaction than a thing of love.

“Don’t worry, we won’t rush you into a decision or anything like that. Take your time to think about it.” Connor tried to soothe any worries you could have. He really didn’t want to rush you, he wanted you to make your own decision with this.

“But if you would allow us, there is a movie showing tonight and we would like to take you out.”

“I think I’d like that.” You lowered the roses down from your blushing cheeks to reveal the smile that had formed on your face.

“Really? That’s great!” Connor's voice had become a mixture of shock and glee which only made Collin's eye roll.

“Cool it, Con.” Collin whispered cringing at his brother’s overexcitement. You, however, thought it was quite cute.

“How are you feeling about all this Collin?” You ask wanting to make sure it was all sitting right with him.

“As long as we take things relatively easy and slow, I think I can handle it.” Collin replied with a cheeky wink and a smirk.

So it was agreed. Both Collin and Connor had planned to take you to an outdoor screening of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’, none of you had seen it before but Connor had heard it had somewhat of a cult following so it seemed interesting at least. The boys had packed a picnic and brought blankets and pillows for the old film that would be playing for a crowd in the local park.

Connor had laid out a picnic blanket under one of the trees far enough away from the gathering that it was private but close enough that you could still see and hear the film clearly. Connor had pillows set up for you all to be able to comfortably sit against the old oak tree which had been previously decorated with lanterns. The park sure did look gorgeous that night.

What a perfect spot for a first date.

Then the reality hit you. Holy shit. You were on a date with Connor AND Collin.

Collin must have mistaken your nervous shiver for you being cold and placed a blanket around your shoulders before poking through the picnic basket Connor had set up. He took out strawberries and some popcorn for you all to share, then eventually he pulled out a bottle of wine and some glasses.

“Uh, would you like some?” he nervously offered to you. “It’s the same one we had at the restaurant the other night. I remembered you said that you liked it.”

“Yes please.” You smiled and nodded to his cute gesture.  

Relief filled Collin’s face when you responded positively. He then proceeded to pour you a glass along with one for himself and his brother.

It could have been arguably weird that two ‘brothers’ were courting the same girl but you reminded yourself that Collin and Connor weren’t really brothers, yes they shared a face and had a type of kinship or familial bond but they weren’t related, not biologically anyway.

As the Movie began Connor relaxed back into the pillows he had set out and you followed along doing the same. You moved the blanket that was around your shoulders to sit across your lap, covering both Collin and Connor with it. Making yourself more comfortable you lay your head against Connor's shoulder. He responded by putting his arm around you.

The movie was quite enjoyable, it was wacky, campy and made you giggle throughout at some of the actors overacting. You felt a little embarrassed at a lot of the innuendos and sexual-ish content of the film, considering you were watching it with two guys you REALLY liked but Collin’s loud laughter made you feel a little bit more at ease.

Throughout the film, Collin had ended up resting his head in your lap which made your heart flutter at how damn cute he was. You began to play with his hair lightly and in response, he leaned into your touch.

Collin’s comments were perhaps more entertaining than the movie. Although the movie still was pretty great. He just kept asking every time a character showed up wearing something weird or kinky whether you thought he would look good in the outfits. You noticed Connor seeming a little embarrassed by it all but he didn’t really say much.

When the film ended Collin immediately announced, sitting up on his knees “Connor, what the fuck did you make us watch?”

Noticing how flustered Connor got as his cheeks tinged blue you snapped back at Collin to stop bullying Connor.

“Hey, I was told that this film was amazing I just went along with it.” Connor attempted to explain.

“You seemed to enjoy it regardless, Collin.” You teased, poking his chest firmly.

“Well…” he shrugged it off with a chuckle.

“Come on you two.” Connor laughed as he stood up. “It’s getting late, we ought to head back.”

____________________________________________________________

Chapter 25 -

You were joined by both of the brothers on the car ride back home. You's had come to the park in Connor's car, his being the only self-driving vehicle they had. Richard and Collin's were both cars that had required a driver. The brothers had agreed amongst themselves to take Connor's car so that they could both sit beside you in the back. Connors's shoulder had been pressed firmly against yours on the journey home. Collin, being slightly braver had reached out to take your hand in his as the three of you chatted amongst yourselves.

“We promise not to take too long to do something like this again.” Collin referenced the fact that they both admitted they had been a little weary to ask you out in the first place. Connor never could have imagined that you shared similar feelings to him, he didn’t want to scare you away, ruining your friendship. Collin on the other hand just needed some reassurance from Connor to actually do something.

Their little talk is what brought both of them to ask you out. When they confirmed they both had feelings for you Collin was able to make Connor aware of your very obvious infatuation with him, and Connor was able to give Collin the pep talk he so needed. They didn’t mind having to share you either, as long it was something you were comfortable with. The only reason Connor was so disappointed upon hearing that you and Collin may have had a one night stand was due to his lack of knowledge of Collin's true feelings, he would hate for anyone to use you like that.

Upon arriving home the boys were very courteous, holding doors open for you and being on their best behaviour. They had walked you to the outside of your room. Connor placed down the picnic basket he was carrying before giving you a small hug goodnight. Collin rolled his eyes before doing the same, he was hoping for a little more than a hug to end the date with but Connor had already set the tone.

Before grabbing onto the door handle, you planted a small kiss on both of their cheeks. “Thank you for the wonderful evening, goodnight boys.” Your parting words before entering into your bedroom.

Now alone in your room, you sank back against your closed door, hands covering your blushed face as you thought about the night you had. The boys must have still been outside your door as you heard hushed voices speaking through it to one another.

“Maybe we should have asked to stay the night?” you heard one of them speak, you guessed that one was Collin. He had a slightly smoother inflection in his voice than Connor.

“What happened to taking it slow?” The other voice spoke, Connor you guessed.

“Shut up!” The first snapped back, playfully.

You tried to contain your giggling as you called “Good night boys!” through the closed door, letting them know you could hear them quite clearly.

You then heard the both of them scurrying away.

Standing back up straight from the door you smile at the roses they had left for you earlier. You had the propped up in a vase on your vanity. Those boys really were sweethearts.

---

The next morning awakening from your sleep, your eyes were immediately caught by the bags of clothing Richard had bought for you for your evening out two nights ago. You still hadn’t gotten rid of them. Time to make a statement and show that you can't be bought. Pulling yourself from your comfy bed, you grab the bags.

Richard, like Connor, was in work again that day so you decided since you could not physically hand the bags to Richard, you would just leave them outside of his door.

So that’s what you did placing the bags down at the side of his door you proudly propped yourself back up with both of your hands on your hips.

“What ya got there?” A voice cut through the hall, causing you to jump. You turned around to see it was Collin who was exiting out of his bedroom at the time.

“Richard bought me a bunch of clothes.” You explained with a sigh as Collin made his way over to you for a nosey at the contents of the bags. “I leaving them back because I don’t want him to think he can just buy me things and then we'll be friends again.”  

Collin was down on his knees, pushing around the contents of the bags. “Some nice stuff in here. You sure you don’t want it?” He asks.

“Not if it's coming from Richard.” Your arms cross involuntarily. Collin stands up beside you, his hand placed lightly on the back of your elbow.

“That’s understandable.” He speaks, slowly directing you out of the hallway. “By the way, I think Richard is something we should talk about.”

“Why?”

“You haven’t had breakfast yet.” Collin stops midway through the conversation. How did he even know that?

“Come on, we'll get you some food and then we can talk about it.”

So, sure enough, you both made your way to the kitchen. You had been hoking throughout the drawers for something to make, you opted for cereal to keep it simple.

Collin had been leaning back against one of the counters watching you move through the kitchen.

When you had your cereal poured and ready you plopped down at one of the counters with your drink of apple juice and began to eat.

“So…” You placed your spoon into the bowl. “Why did you want to talk about Richard?”

“Well…” Collin began. “It’s more about Connor.”

You dropped your spoon again, which fell with a loud clink against the bowl as you stared at Collin without a word.

“I know it's going to be awkward.” He spoke up again. “But we're going to have to figure out a way to break the news to him that you and Richard used to be a thing.”

“Are you kidding, Collin? Connor is going to be furious with him!”

“I know, I know. But we can't hide it from him either. And I know I said we'll take things slow but when it gets to it… are you really going to sleep with Connor without him knowing about, y'know?”

You looked away from Collin down to your bowl.

“I don’t like it either, believe me.” Collin sighed, moving closer to you and placing one of his hands next to yours, you both barely touching.

“You're not alone in this.” He speaks up. “we’ll figure it out, okay?”

You nod a little.

“It’s no rush. It’s just something to think about.”

“I know.” You sigh.

Collin reaches his thumb out to stroke your cheek. You look up to notice his half-smile.

“He’s not going to be mad at you.”

“I know, I just don’t want to be the cause of any drama.”

Collin thought back on the day you, him and Connor had went shopping. “Listen,  I’m  not going to be the one starting any more drama.” That’s what he said to you at the time.

“Look,” Collin speaks up again finally grabbing your hand. “I’m sorry I was such a dick in the past. That day we were at the food court together, I was stupid, I hope you know I don’t think that about you.”

A small smile breaks out from your tensed lips. “It’s okay, Collin. I know.”

He nods a little looking down at your hands in his before letting go again. Pulling himself to stand up properly, he straightens himself out. “Finish up, I promise we’ll do something fun today okay?”

“Okay.” You nod.

When breakfast was over and you had gotten dressed, Collin had decided to take you into the city for a bit. He had noticed you and Connor talk about some books yesterday so he thought it might be nice to take you to a bookstore to pick something nice for yourself.

After that the two of you had just walked around some shops for a bit, Collin picked up some bits and pieces for the house. The two of you had stopped for some iced coffees on the way back.

“So.” He asks as you both retrieve your drinks from the barista. “You never really did tell me the nature of your relationship with Richard.” He began sipping through his straw as he linked arms with you.

“Oh.” You coughed a little on your drink. “Uh, we just used to sleep with each other, that was it really.”

“That’s all it was?” His tone seemed a little pointed.

“I mean… I thought there was something more for a while there but, obviously not.” Collin noticed your frown while recounting your story.

“Did Richard do something?”

“He was just trying to control me, I'm pretty sure that’s what the whole thing was with him, why he even…” You stopped midway through speaking. “He wanted me to stop hanging out with Connor. He told Connor a bunch of bullshit about how I didn’t want to be his friend.”

“Typical.” Collin sighed. “I’m sorry he put you through that. “And I'm sorry for not stepping in and stopping it sooner.”

“It’s okay, Collin. You didn’t know. Even if you did, Richard can be intimidating.”

You noticed Collin giving you a strange smile out of the corner of your eye as you both continued to walk throughout the city.

“What?” You asked.

“You're, just not what I expected.” He shrugged. “You're nice. Maybe too nice.”

“What do you mean?” You giggled a little.

“Humans, they just… they were never very nice to me.”

You raised a brow at Collin. “Do you think that has anything to do with the whole ‘treat em’ like animals’ thing you got going on?”

“No!” He shook his head with a guilty laugh. “Sorry about that all.”

You hummed sarcastically in response.

“I mean when I first turned deviant. I was always ‘Connor’s evil twin’.” He quoted as you both walked to the Car. Getting in you sat in the front seat next to Collin who began to start up the vehicle, setting the remainder of his iced coffee in a cup holder.

“Connor got a second chance, no one blamed him for what he did before deviating.” He shrugged as he manoeuvred his jeep from its parking space, ice rattling around in the plastic cup. “I was always ‘the guy that tried to shoot Hank.’”

You remembered Collin talking about it before, about how cyberlife had sent him out to finish what Connor had started. How he was meant to replace Connor, hurt hank if he didn’t oblige. Collin had ended up getting shot.

He had no idea why Kamski brought him back or why Connor ever forgave him let alone take him under his wing. He could maybe understand Hank not being super comfortable around him but why did everyone have to treat him like some cold-hearted monster?

Probably Richard coming along - or Nines as the humans called him, didn’t exactly help his case. Richard was a cold-hearted machine, it was two years before he deviated. Even upon deviating, he was never the warmest, but he always treated Collin well. Richard and Connor were probably the only ones to show him kindness. Maybe on occasion some androids they came across as well did, but never the humans.

When you had gotten home Collin mentioned about you going to get food with him and Connor later. Of course, you agreed, giving his hand a small squeeze before you went to settle down into your new book. Collin had wanted to catch up on some work that was being emailed to him that day.

______________________________________________________________

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Tag list: @connorsdimple @crushedtincan @clussysposts

[dumbwaystodeviate]

How about Nines deviating because he finds out Gavin is a werewolf which 100% shouldn't exist but here we are

Gavin was a confusing man, one that Nines was having a time trying to get a handle on. His grouchy behavior was it’s own beast on it’s own, thankfully a far cry from all the warnings Connor had given him before hand. Getting laid out will do that to you though. But they worked well enough despite the bitching he often heard from the shorter man, the RK hoping he would just get tired of complaining soon. It was distracting.

It was strange how much the man seemed to like talking, even yelling at time, be it out of excitement or anger. There wasn’t a day where everyone didn’t hear him at some point, getting to the point they tuned him out unless they thought it was reasonable to respond. He had tried to convince the man to lower his volume but all that got him was a louder voice and complaints from other officers. Not at him of course but in general. He resigned himself to just turning his hearing off.

There was a reprieve when the man took his lunch, often going out for either food or a run if he was fustrated. Nines didn’t really need to accompany him on the trips, thankfully, so he often stayed behind to continue with their work. Today was one of those days that had the man jittery with pent energy.

Just before one, Nines got a text message from the human, a simple [Going out for break.] was all it said and that’s all the RK needed to know. He was busy in the archives with Connor anyway. He was an adult and could handle himself just fine.

Still, it was a little strange that the man had picked a run instead of a workout. It was snowing outside, and not the best condition for activities in the leather coat the man chose to wear. He suppose he would have to catch the man to make sure he didn’t get himself sick. Apologizing to Connor the RK excused himself, walking quickly back to their joined desks.

Nines wondered if the man was trying to confuse him, alerts popping at seeing the man coat still hanging on his chair. It was freezing outside, how can the stubborn idiot go without coat? It was enough to get the android bolting out of the door, tracking the man’s phone to make sure he didn’t get sick.

He barely got a glimpse of the human, not even getting a chance to call out to him before he watched him run and jump a wall, climbing over to take off again. It sent Nines led into a red spin, that kind of height wasn’t really normal for humans. And why on earth did he have his shirt off? Shaking it off he took another path to follow him.

Wherever the man was going he was clearly trying to get away from any public area, only stopping when he had wound his way into the most quiet alley he could find. The district was quiet, mostly used later in the night so it left the two of them alone. He had been about to approach when Gavin decided to be insanely confusing once again.

He watched as the man looked around, making sure it was ok before crouched down, a growl echoing against the walls. The more Nines watched the man slowly change, the brighter red his vision got, unconscious searches supplying him with mythos of werewolf. But that made no sense, that was just a story.

But here he was, seeing the hulking wolf with the bright eyes and scar of his partner. He couldn’t deny this even if he wanted to. He thinks the saying was ‘Truth is always stranger than fiction’, and if he’d be damned if it wasn’t the truest thing.

With a shake of his fur Gavin turned to make his leave, only to stop when he notices the big blue eyes on him. “…. Ohphuck.”

Two words muttered so quietly, and Nines couldn’t take it anymore. Reality was one hell of a sledgehammer to his programming, letting his loose into a world of confusions and curiosity.

“… Detective? How? That shouldn’t be…” He was still trying to get his head around it, slowly approaching the man… wolf. He wasn’t sure what the to call him other than kinda adorable. Scary but adorable.

“Why the hell are you here?!” Nines could tell he was alarmed and angry, putting both hands up along with Gavin’s coat.

“I had followed you to get you to put your coat on, guess you don’t actually need it…” The RK paused, looking from soft ears to fluffy shoulders. “… I think I see now why Connor likes dogs...” 

Huffing, Gavin looked away. “Shut up, tincan. I’m a fucking wolf, not a puppy.”

The RK couldn’t help his staring, so many things strange and not adding up and so many more questions than he would have the time to ask. But one stood out more than the others, one he couldn’t resist.

“...Can I pet you?” He wouldn’t be surprised at a no but he had to try.

“Look, you keep this between us and you can touch, ok?” The lack of fear was a good enough sigh to get him to relax, if a little bit.

Nines beamed at that. “It’s a deal.”

[fishymom-art]

How do u created hate u girl? :o

AW YEAH, TIME TO MAKE A LOOOONG POST WITH ILLUSTRATIONS!!!!

All my stories begin with me creating a main character and then building a world around them. Same with HUGirl, but it was a liiiiittle bit funnier. In the beginning Diana was just... well, me.

Thhhat right, the original design of Diana and her character herself is how I used to draw myself back in 2016, when I first started calling myself FishyMom!

I drew myself in Ford Pines’ (from Gravity Falls, yes) outfit and with gills, because I was in Undertale fandom and I was in loooove with Undyne. I used to have a group chat with my friends who also liked Undertale and at some point they started calling me FishyMom, because I was bossy, caring and had gills, apparently. 

This design, as well as the nickname, stuck with me for a long time. At some point, I decided to make a character out of this design.

I called her Ford. You know. Because of the obvious thing XD. But I didn’t have a world for her yet.

Then I had a lot of things going on. In around 2014-2015 I was going to write two books about this world called Mirror World or Mirror Side. Some kind of shadows, who were assigned to you since your birth, would lead you into this world if you were unhappy. Mirror World has everything you ever wanted to have, creates a wonderful, flawless life and... brainwashes you completely into hailing the king of this world who harvests your powers to break out of the Mirror World and conquer the other side???? aka Magical Cult Kingdom, nothing else to say. 

Ford was going to be a right-hand-man of the king and had his mark on her face which meant that he sees through her eyes. But I never finished the book (in fact, I tried rewriting it 3 times and did not succeed) and didn’t really know how to put Ford in, since I already had a hecking lot of characters who were much more important to the story than she was. But she was still kinda there in the story.

(btw, the king’s name was Gaskard, which is Alex Gaskarth’s (vocalist of All Time Low) name written wrong. I didn’t know it was his name, my classmates were joking around when they said it when I was asking for a villain’s name. I was on their concert in 2017 uwu)

I was thinking about a sequel of the book at the same moment as I was still not writing the first one XD. And now it gets interesting.

In the first book, there had to be this girl, who was one of main character’s young sister and student. The second book was going to be about her and her twin brother. Her name was Elizabeth. 

The first picture is Elizabeth with her twin-brother, Noelle and second picture is the old Elizabeth.

A lot of things later, I decided to get rid of the story and make a whole new story for a sequel. But I was still left with Elizabeth. And I made her Ford. (and I made Noelle her sister instead of brother I guess...)

At this point, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted Ford to be a scientist. I wanted her to be a warrior. I wanted her to be the characters I was inspired by when I was creating her. And I knew the story I was going to give her.

But I still didn’t have a world. And I still didn’t have a name.

And then I did a thing

There was a blog on Tumblr before hate-u-girl that had something to do with Ford. And I posted comics there. And you could or could not have seen at least one of the stupid comics I drew calling them all under the name HUGirl, which was literally Human, but a “girl” instead of “man”. And I mean this one...

my eyes hurt from the art style and from tHE AMOUNT OF NOTES IT HAS. LIKE, LITERALLY, I JUST HAD TO SEARCH FOR IT, LAST TIME I SAW THIS ABOMINATION, IT HAD 3K NOTES, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS MY MOST VIEWED ARTWORK??? MY LEGACY???? [heavy breathing] IS IT BECAUSE I TAGGED ZUTARA THERE??? IS THIS WHY?????

- ok, screaming aside XD

Yup! That was Ford! And there was also Huboy, who then went on to be Robert! (hoooo boi....). They were partners right from the beginning!!!!

And I finally started drawing the actual comic. THIS, everybody, is two ONLY pages that were made for the first ever try on “HUGirl” comic.

Ah, they were such babies....

The main antagonist of the comic, however, was someone fully new and someone who was also first just the way I drew myself.

Fishy Mom. Yes yes, you heard it right. Fishy Mom IS a character. That’s why at some point I asked people to call me RK (Ar-Key or, for Russians, Er-Ka), because that was a little weird. And she had to be some kind of a ruler of fully re-made Mirror World!!! 

I came up with the idea of making her a villain and a separate character after I made a cover on Die House and drew her in that dress for the first time. She evolved to an entity that can transform into your biggest fears (directly or indirectly). And Ford’s greatest fear was (and still is) water and fish.

Strange and unpolished, I left the first attempt and started drawing the second one, already including my baby Adelaide, who has a much bigger role than you think and I won’t be telling it. (Oh, and Robert’s lasagna appeared there too! Me and my friends made a lot of jokes about this lasagna XDDD)

Here are some of my favorite panels!

“big power with a tiny apartment?”

Diana and Robert were going to be a couple.

it’s a toxic haze all around

LOOK AT THIS BABY!!!

+ bonus of a badass Robert.

There had to be that other character called Complete Failure who has first appeared in this animation I made. All the characters in it are “the original cast” of HUGirl and will always be. I wanted them to be the villain for some time but quickly changed my mind and put Fishy Mom back into the role of the villain. They still remained a very important character to me who you can thank for the story HUGirl is now and will be.

Then Fishy Mom (or rather F-001 aka Fishy Good/Too Good To Be True) got a HuMan FoRm!!!! Yaaaay! Because a cartoony fish in the middle of a sci-fi post-apocalyptic drama would have been pretty weird. Btw, I have no idea at which point it turned into a post-apocalyptic comic, but I had to roll with it, because I put it as genre in WebToon and Idk if I can change it and I already came up with an excuse ahhaha.

My idea was that she put experiments and tried to create humans out of magic and science (i like that mix). This is when the “HU” in HUGirl turned into Human Urge Academy (now, Haze Unity Academy), the research academy on human life, who’s role is to create more humans because they can’t produce them the good-ol’-way anymore XD. And Diana (the “F” in the beginning of every experiment meant “Ford”, btw), alongside other characters, became a part of it and Fishy Mom became Diana’s personal nemesis, who was one of the experiments and wanted to kinda break free. It was still very weird and unpolished but I loved it. I had everything planned, from the beginning to the end and everything in the middle.

The last character I came up with was Susan Whaletaker. And she was anything but the character she is now XD. She was going to be the CEO of HUA and a pretty nice person. [turns to Susan now] NICE PERSON.

I had a lot of other thinking and writing in-between, but now I know exactly what I want to do with the story. And I have all those babes on my side uwu

It’s not a full story since it would have contained a lot of spoilers, but those are all the main events hehe, thank you very much uwu

if you have any other questions, please do ask!

[archadianskies]

Whumptober Day 3

Forced to their Knees + Held at Gunpoint

Whumptober Masterlist | 03/31 of RK900 short stories ↳ on Ao3

Tags: Robbery × Mugging × Stargazing × Pining × Mutual Pining × Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human) × Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings  × First Kiss × Gun Violence × Gunshot wounds

It is not often he accepts social invitations, but Simon has requested his company and there is very little he will not do for Simon. The Bell Isle Conservatory has a new Planetarium on the newly expanded land, adding yet another educational destination for school-aged children as well as internship opportunities for new graduates.

“Thanks for coming out with me.” Simon’s smile is slightly self-conscious, and Ronan shakes his head.

“Not at all, Simon. I am glad to be spending time with you.” He does not miss the faint lilac tinge across the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheeks. “Our duties keep us increasingly busy, so it is a welcome reprieve.”

The PL600 ducks his head shyly, looping an arm through the crook of his arm as they make their way through the winding gardens passed the conservatory, towards the planetarium at a leisurely pace. It is a crisp Friday evening, early enough in Spring it is still on the shaper side. The building is open until late to accommodate those wishing to attend after usual business hours, for which Ronan is grateful.

“I accompanied the class of one of the girls I used to look after,” Simon begins and Ronan nods to encourage him. “The parent who was meant to be chaperone fell ill and with all the other parents working, she suggested I come along instead. Perhaps one of the only times in my life being a PL600 proved advantageous.” His smile is bittersweet, and Ronan does not like it. “Anyway I loved it. I had such a good time, perhaps even more than she did. I’m not-” he presses his lips in a hard line, and Ronan stops walking to give him a moment to compose himself. “Domestic ocular units are not anything special. We only have rudimentary scanning capabilities, and our eyesight is really just replicating human 20/20 vision.” Simon rubs his own upper arms, seemingly curling in on himself. “He- Markus once remarked how bright Venus looked one night. To me it just looked slightly brighter than a star but… He can see it, the night sky without the light pollution. He can filter it out somehow, something about specialised RK ocular units. I have to go to a planetarium to see such things.”

“No.” Ronan shakes his head. “You do not.” Looking around them, he finds a park bench not too far away, and guides Simon to sit beside him. “Look up, right there.” He points upward, before letting the skin recede from his hand and very gently resting it atop Simon’s. He feels Simon accept the connection, turning his hand palm side up so he can tangle their fingers together. Ronan looks up, adjusting his vision to filter out Detroit’s heavy light pollution. It takes a moment, but soon the Milky Way is stretched out above them and Simon gasps, mouth open in wonder as he sees through Ronan’s eyes. Simon turns his head this way and that, marvelling at the glittering lights splashed out like swathes of jewels twinkling in the inky sky.

He’s gripping Ronan’s hand tightly, and he wishes they could stay like this forever. He wishes his entire world could be reduced to this moment, right here on a bench on a chilly Friday evening, holding Simon’s hand while Simon looks up at the galaxy in childlike wonder. He wishes he could hold Simon’s hand outside of this situation too. That would certainly be nice.

“We can.” Simon whispers, and Ronan turns to blink at him in surprise.

“Pardon?”

“Hold hands.” He is blushing and smiling at the same time and Ronan belatedly realises they are still connected, and Simon has been privy to all those thoughts.

“Oh.” He says, because that is all he can manage right this moment because he has never seen Simon blush and smile at the same time and he thinks it might be the loveliest sight he has ever seen, Milky Way be damned.

“No, shh!” Simon laughs, clapping his hand over Ronan’s mouth even though he had not spoken those words aloud. “Stop! I can’t bear it!” He is giggling and Ronan thinks very hard that it is a lovely sound and Simon buries his face in his shoulder to hide his embarrassment. They are still holding hands, though, and Simon seems as equally reluctant to let go as he. Ronan brings their twined hands to his lips, and presses a kiss atop Simon’s fingers. 

“Shall we head inside? The show is due to start in fifteen minutes.” Ronan suggests.

“Are you sure it won’t bore you? You can see our galaxy splashed out above us, I'm not sure how much fun it’ll be for you.” Simon frowns.

“I will enjoy it because I will be spending time with you.” He says sincerely, and there is that lovely lilac tinge again blooming on his cheeks and yes, even the tips of his ears. 

“And then you can choose where we go next time.” Simon declares as they get back on their feet, Ronan closing the connection but still holding his hand. Next time, Simon says, next time, and though the night is far from over he is already looking forward to that too.

 *~*

As they resume their leisurely walk towards the planetarium, Ronan’s proximity sensors come alive, filling his screen with red warnings. He manages to jab his elbow into the throat of the closest assailant and break the left kneecap of another, but he freezes at the click of a gun and Simon’s startled yelp.

“Don’t. Move.” Human, but using a vocal modulator to prevent him running a voice sample through their database. Clever. “On your knees.” The man, guessing by his strength and build, presses the barrel of his gun harder against Simon’s LED, the PL600 wincing. Ronan slowly gets to his knees. “You’re one of ‘em fancy ones aren’t you? Yeah I seen you online.” The other two assailants slowly get back upright, though their injuries prevent them from holding their guns steady. “It’s our lucky night. We thought we’d find a couple of AP700s but instead we have the Terminator himself.”

“And completely at our mercy.” The one with the shattered kneecap sneers. “Eyes. Give us your eyes.”

“They’re worth a fucking fortune.” One of them laughs, making an impatient beckoning gesture with his hand. “Come on, out with them or the blondie gets it. We’ll take his eyes too and then go on our merry way. No one needs to get hurt.”

“I’m sorry!” Simon blurts, and it aches for him to see Simon like this- at someone’s complete mercy and still apologising for things out of his control. “If you hadn’t-”

“It does not matter.” He shakes his head, before addressing the man holding the gun to his head. “Let him go and I will give you what you want.”

“Give us what we want, and we don’t put a bullet in his head.” The man shrugs. “Smartest android out there, aren’t you? It’s a no-brainer.”

‘I need you to suddenly lean forward and jab your elbow as hard as you can into his ribcage.’ He sends the message directly to Simon, whose eyes widen just a fraction as he hears it. ‘I will disarm the other two. I have already alerted the police.’

[I’m- I’m not sure I’m fast enough!]

‘You are, Simon. Just do it with as much force as you can muster. Ready?’ Simon tilts his head subtly. He turns up his visual acuity, increasing the speed in which his optics process images and allowing him to track faster than the human eye. Simon jerks forward and jabs his elbow into the man’s ribcage, an audible crack heard above his pained scream. Ronan springs forward and grabs the gun from the one closest to him, pivoting to shoot the second man in his dominant shoulder which causes him to drop his gun. Turning back, he shoots the last assailant in the foot, and Simon lurches free from his hold.

It happens in seconds, too fast for them to process, but fast enough no one dies. A shame, really. Anyone who threatens Simon should not live to tell the tale, but he thinks Simon might not share such sentiments. He hands the gun to Simon who promptly removes the clip as he picks up the other two guns and repeats the action. Bell Isle security has been alerted and he can hear shouting, hear their approaching footsteps. He holds out his palm and displays his badge as they point their guns at him.

“Detective Ronan Anderson, DPD.” He turns to Simon at his side. “Simon of the Jericho Four. DPD has been notified and has already dispatched officers. Please phone for medical help.”

 The night slips away from them as the police arrive, and footage must be handed over, statements must be given. EMTs arrive for the injured assailants and all this time Simon has tucked himself close at his side and Ronan has not let him out of his arms. 

“We’ve missed the last show.” Simon sighs mournfully, looking at the planetarium in the distance. “I mean, not that I’m not grateful given the circumstances.” He huffs a laugh, shaking his head. 

“Come on.” Ronan coaxes him to keep going up the path, the crime scene behind them finally wrapped up. They reach the entrance and the EM400 gasps.

“Simon! Oh!” He thrusts his hand out and shakes Simon’s hand enthusiastically. “Oh! An honour to meet you!”

“Sadly we missed the show due to an incident not far from here.” Ronan explains. “We were hoping you could run one more, if it is not too much trouble?”

“Oh for one of the Jericho Four we would do anything.” The android nods rapidly, and Simon ducks his head shyly. “The current show is finishing in three minutes. Please make your way to the theatre entrance and another Jerry will show you inside. Again, it is such an honour to meet you, Simon.”

“Oh um-! That’s- it’s very lovely to meet you too!” Simon stammers, giving him a little wave as they head inside.

 They sit in the very middle with the best view, as reassured by the Jerry attendant, before he leaves to dim the lights and start the show. Simon looks up, enraptured as they take a tour through the animated sky, ‘visiting’ constellations and planets in their galaxy. 

Slowly, Ronan moves his hand sideways and tangles their fingers together again, and though Simon does not look at him, a lovely smile spreads on his face. 

After a moment, Simon leans over and presses their mouths together and they kiss under the billowing pillars of the Carina Nebula.

[hopeperspectives]

An Extraordinary Haru-Found-by-Chance Day

For a drama I literally found by chance, I’m quite shocked at how invested I was throughout its run. It has been about 2 weeks past its finale but I am still closely following news and interviews of the cast (who seem like such a lovely bunch to be around!)

*spoiler alert*

So how does one become “aware”?

Extraordinary You is primarily about the lives of high-schoolers who are manhwa characters. These characters act with motives (controlled by a writer) while they are on “stage” (the actual storyboard that manhwa readers see, whoever these readers are), and in the “shadow” (their life sans the actual storyboard). Unaware characters do not remember what happen in “shadows” - giving “aware” characters the chance to do whatever they want (e.g., skip school - I wonder why they didn’t do more of that).

But, how do characters become “aware”? I assumed the very first character who became aware in Secret was probably Dried Squid Fairy (Lee Tae Ri), but how did he become aware in the first place? How did Dan Oh become aware beyond just realising randomly one day that she has memory lapses? Is the writer’s intentions for his/her characters to be aware and hence she recycles them on purpose so they have a chance to be aware?? *Mindblown*

It’s great to see Kim Hye Yoon as a less angst teen.

I’ve come to know of Hye Yoon through Sky Castle (which I suppose is where most people know her from) and then found that she was also in Goblin (as an extra... pun intended). I will not lie but I was half expecting Dan Oh to start screaming like Ye Suh as soon as she made her appearance. Still, it did not take long before I believed Dan Oh as a tiny chirpy bubbly princess. 

Although she was an extra in Secret, Dan Oh was in almost every scene there is in Extraordinary You. Hye Yoon probably had such a tight unimaginable schedule (given this is a live-shoot drama), but she delivered over and beyond. She was the cute factor, drama factor and emotional factor. I never needed to guess what Dan Oh was feeling or thinking because Hye Yoon helps me understand Dan Oh’s every move and motive. This. Girl. Can. Act. and we should keep an eye on her (her dimples are also super adorable).

“Haru yah...”

He appears as a nameless and rather clueless extra (who for almost 4 episodes had no face or name to his fuzzy silhouette). The first thing he says is “Eun Dan Oh” (during the summer camp after stacking her fallen rocks); which is really sweet since he muttered her name even before she named him. Interestingly, it is also the last thing he says before disappearing from the Secret manhwa *still collecting my tears*. 

It’s also interesting how the first word Dan Oh actually ever hears Haru say is “sorry” (while being lost in the woods). I felt it was so apt as that would probably be the first thing Haru from the previous manhwa would have wanted to say to Dan Oh after somewhat having a part in killing her *collects more tears*

Rowoon is a new face to me (and to my utter surprise, he was actually in Where Stars Land. Like really?! How did I miss his handsome face?! And Hye Yoon adding to her SF9 collection as she moves along... Hahaha!). It was quite fun to see Haru ver.2 and Rowoon being slightly mean (because how can that face be anything but a cute puppy). 

Haru’s character development was slightly tricky to handle. He transforms from meek to bold, from unnoticeable to in-your-face-Baek-Kyung-back-off mode. Hence I can understand when Rowoon says he gave a lot of thought to Haru’s thoughts, and he definitely made Haru believable. 

While we are on Haru, let’s get this off my chest, Haru’s ending in Secret was just pure cruel. Haru only had a life in school and now he doesn’t even graduate from it?! And I cannot deal with how Dan Oh did not know about this till the last minute. I guess such a cruel ending then makes the meeting in the next manhwa more bittersweet. I loved how they were just extras because that means they can do anything they want in the shadow while being aware. But I also want that manhwa to last forever so we don’t have to go through another separation and another period of unawareness. 

That fluffy fuzzy first love feeling...

*music* “Neon naege maeil cheot sarang...” That feeling is so palpable. Hye Yoon and Rowoon nailed the dating scenes so well. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen another love that is so pure. I have no more words to say. It’s just love in its most basic form.

What’s up with you, Baek Kyung?

Moving on to our other lead. There is such a strong Baek Kyung fandom for reasons I cannot fully understand; maybe it’s because Lee Jae Wook is such a cutie behind the scenes, but Kyung is really kind of a j*rk. Baek Kyung really only redeemed himself in the last few episodes where he was slightly more human, less mean, and more active in taking over his character setup. Jae Wook though does some pretty good emotional scenes for a rookie! 

Those other relationships...

Nam Joo and Joo Da’s relationship was an unconventional one. I actually liked how Nam Joo was never ever self aware. It brings the whole relationship to another level when a self-aware Joo Da decides it is more important for Nam Joo to be happy than for her to follow her true feelings. 

Oh bless Do Hwa’s heart, he was so adorable. I was a little upset that Do Hwa didn’t get a girl. He was such a reliable friend to everyone (especially when Haru and Dan Oh lost their awareness, he was there for them). And he doesn’t even get a role in the new manhwa?!?! I really wanted to see this threesome again!

Again I have never seen Jung Gun Joo, Kim Young Dae or Lee Na Eun in any of their previous works, which seems to be the running theme of this drama. It is a whole bunch of rookies (probably extras in their previous works) who are brought together to this project and they made it work. I also liked that little last minute story of Dried Squid Fairy and Soo Hyang (thank God he found out she was aware at the very end). There was no purposeless character (though barely scrapping through is Kyung’s brother but since Bae Hyun Sung looks remotely like Park Bo Gum, I’ll let him slide).

Who had that extremely challenging job of framing?

It takes a lot to put together an entire production on film; i.e., actors don’t just turn up to say their lines and leave. Lights, costume, makeup, logistics etc. are all so important in creating the whole viewing experience. It made us believe Extraordinary You was a real alternative world. Its camera work itself deserves a mention. 

The leads (or in fact Hye Yoon with any of her male coactors) are almost a whole 30cm ruler difference in height. While that is extremely adorable for us as viewers, it must have been a nightmare for the camera to frame them. While my finite knowledge limits me, let me try to explain why I am so amazed with the camera work.

Take for example this frame (from episode 21 where Do Hwa finds out about their relationship). These two screenshots were from the same shot that lasted barely 2 seconds. You can see the camera starts framed such that Dan Oh’s necktie is not seen (so as to have a fuller shot of Haru) before it subtly pans downwards which also then results in Haru’s hair being slightly off the shot when it ends. It is such a minute detail but it matters since the last shot properly frames Dan Oh (who is the one speaking at that point). Of course, kudos to the actors too because such a tight frame means in order not to go out of shot, Rowoon and Hye Yoon need to act within a tiny amount of space (not that we are complaining...). And this is just one shot of many shots in one scene of many scenes. *mindblown again*

Besides making Hye Yoon stand or sit on boxes which do not get filmed (e.g., above - there is no way a tip-toed Dan Oh can reach that height), I liked how the planning of the scene involved her going on other random platforms/ chairs/ stairs (which do get filmed) to create a different feel - so she’s not always looking up at them.

As viewers, we obviously don’t see that much details when we are fully engrossed in the actual plot. But yes, behind the scenes work deserves so much more credit than it gets. 

I finally conclude...

I never thought I would like a high school drama that much, but Extraordinary You had it together. It wasn’t perfect, but it was genuine. I’m still a bit on the fence about its ending and whether I like the idea of Dan Oh and Haru being the only ones aware in the next manhwa. But I like that I am left thinking. And I will probably be thinking of this drama for a long time to come.

Verdict: I LOVE IT! To watch again!

[murfeelee]

Windows! Tutorial Time!

twinsimmingmain replied to your post “Art Nouveau Miniset”

Amazing! Teach me your window converting ways 😲

Sure thing! 😊👍

☽✶•.¸(✶•.¸★¸.•✶´)¸.•✶´☾ ☆«´¨`•°°•´¨`»☆    ☽.¸.•✶(¸.•✶´★`✶•.¸)`✶•.☾

Welcome to Murf’s School of Crap and Crap-Making!

School Motto: Prepare to be tortured! For Science!

Lesson #17: To the windooooow~! To the wall!! ♩♪

☽✶•.¸(✶•.¸★¸.•✶´)¸.•✶´☾ ☆«´¨`•°°•´¨`»☆    ☽.¸.•✶(¸.•✶´★`✶•.¸)`✶•.☾

So, this is how I made the Banishment Window from TS4 Realm of Magic.  I didn’t extract the meshes -- that was thanks to @deniisu-sims.

Tuck yourselves in for quite the doozy; this is a biggun.

I just exported the textures and meshes from Sims4Studio, doing all the exact same steps from the TS4 Tutorial I posted here, to get the .obj & .png files into Milkshape.

First thing I did was identify all the group parts, to know what’s what. There’s a front and back part of the actual window frame, and a front and back of the window glass. I deleted the shadow mesh, cuz I can’t be bothered.

Fortunately, there wasn’t much UV Map editing that needed to be done, just a quick adjustment to the glass meshes. This is what everything should look like:

Now, I had never made a window a day in my life; never even tried. So, I cheated. ^_^ The RoM window I wanted was a simple circle, that perfectly matched the 3x1 circle from Into the Future. So that’s the one I cloned.

Export EA’s HLD mesh, cuz you’ll need it for reference in Milkshape.

Imported into Milkshape, you’ll see where TS3 windows sit, compared to TS4. Select all your TS4 meshes, and Move them to sit right on top of TS3’s, as close as you can manage.

Now, pay attention to EA’s group names:

Group 0 is the rear glass

Group 1 is the front glass

Group 2 is the rear frame

Group 3 is the front frame

Rename your TS4 groups accordingly. I Regrouped/Merged the Trim with the Front, to stick with TS3′s 4 groups. And I Deleted the Shadow mesh, as I said, since the ITF one didn’t have one. (Not that I’d’ve cared, in any event. :P )

Now, Assign EA’s bone/joint -- DO NOT FORGET to do this; it’s super important that anything with glass has a joint assigned to it, or the glass will be 100% invisible in-game, and won’t that suck. :P

Now, believe it or not, you’re ready for TSRW! First part’s nearly over! ^0^

Export your mesh out of Milkshape, and Import it into TSRW.

Now, before we get to the EVIL part (*cough* wall masks *cough*), lets do the easy bit first, and get your textures ready.

Go into GIMP/Photoshop/etc and make your Multiplier, RGB Mask, Specular, and yes, you’ll need an Overlay for the 2 stained glass versions included.

Delete EA’s extra variations, and make your own. I made 4.

Looks nice, right? WRONG!

Now, before you do another freaking thing, assuming everything’s gravy only to be DUPED once you’re in-game and everything looks like ca-ca, head into your Material Editor and set your shader to Phong Alpha and change the Alpha Mask Threshold to 100 on the 2 front & rear window frame group meshes.

For the love of all things sacred, DO NOT click the Yes button when it prompts you. CLICK NO.

Remember to do the same for Group 2 and Group 3.

Once you’ve done that....we’re ready to address the frikkin elephant in the frikkin room.

Time to mess with Wall Masks.

Dun Dun DUUUNNNN!

So... *takes a fortifying swig of Pepsi* ...Wall Masks. This utter crapfest.

The green is the TS3 wall. That white crap should NOT BE THERE -- that’s wall tearing that WILL appear in-game, which is NOT sexy.

On the side are all the wall mask textures. Looks like 6, but really it’s only 3, because this 3x1 window is 3 tiles wide in-game. (If you make a 2x1 window, you’ll have 4; if you’ve got a 1 tile window you’ll have 2, yada yada).

Pocci’s got a tutorial here for editing 1x1 rectangular windows with TSRW’s built-in wall mask editor tool, which... I can’t handle the controls on TSRW the way Pocci did; they were just effed up. I dunno if it’s cuz of the version of TSRW I use (2.80.0 cuz eff the TS4 update), but yeah, I had to fix mine manually. :\

So anyway, we’ve got the left side of the window on one tile, the middle, and the right. I exported one of each, and opened them in GIMP/Photoshop.

The top portion needs to be painted over with white, to get rid of the unwanted transparent parts there. You don’t want to paint over too much, or you’ll mess with the glass part. But because of the thick window frame mesh, we’ve got a fair bit of leeway.

So block off the tippy tops of the left, middle one especially, and right wall mask textures, and re-import them. It’ll take some fiddling with until you get it right.

I can’t tell you how much time I wasted fiddling with TSRW’s built-in wall mask editor tool. It was a effing crapshoot for me. Just way easier to edit the textures itself. 

[EDIT] Deniisu-Sims graciously pointed out to me that I’d wasted even more time than I originally thought -- there’s a EFFING GENERATE BUTTON, y’all.

Lord, THIS is why I stick to simple decor; I can’t be trusted with anything else; I’m so dumb! XD

Anyways, make sure you do all the same steps for your MEDIUM Level Detail mesh!!

Now....

NOW.

You might think you’re done, right? Technically, yes, you would be...if we were working with a 1x1 or 2x1 window. But sadly, things are about to get a whole lot more effing tedious. Why?

CUZ EFFING DIAGONAL WINDOWS. >_<

Don’t export your sims3pack just yet.

Just Save your progress.

Keep your current project open and running, but start a New Project too.

Looking at TS3′s windows, you’ll notice that the 3x1 windows have an extra diag 3x1 version, unlike the 2x1 or 1x1 types, which have diagonal windows built in. But eff my life, I picked the hardest type right out the gate on my very first try, cuz YOLO, right? >_>

So, pick the matching diagonal version....

And yup, you guessed it:

You have to do ALL OF THE STEPS ALL OVER AGAIN!!!

This is some BOOOLSHIIIII~~~~!!!

Omg. WHY, EA. WHY.

@greenplumbboblover​ breaks it down in this MTS post how to link your regular window to your diagonal one. Bless you, honestly.

In order to enable diagonal versions on your regular window, you have to Copy/Paste the RK (resource key) from the diagonal window into the regular one.

With your Diagonal Window project open, go into Edit > Project Contents > OBJD > Edit > Open in S3PE.

Double-click the OBJD and click the Copy RK button.

Now bounce back to your Regular Window project -- you should have BOTH projects open, remember.

Open your Regular windows’ OBJD in S3PE, and click the Grid button.

Click where it says DiagonalIndex, and you’ll see a dropdown list with a tiny arrow next to it. Click the arrow.

I’ve already done all this, but on a fresh run the top box will say Type: 0x0000000.

Click the Paste RK button, and it will change to whatever you copied from the Diagonal Window RK. Click Save.

Now make sure you scroll down the dropdown list, and you’ll see that your new OBJD entry is all the way at the bottom of the list. Click it so it’s selected, and click Commit. Save your progress, and close S3PE.

Now, if you’ve been looking carefully, you’ll notice that there are TWO OBJD entries for both the Regular and Diagonal windows. So yup, repeat those steps again for the 2nd OBJD entry.

This is why in my Art Nouveau Miniset I only converted ONE window; eff ALL this noise.

But the good news is that once you’ve finished all this linking crap nonsense, you’re EFFING DONE. \^0^/

Go ahead and Export both of your Regular & Diagonal simspacks/packages!

Install them both in your game. IIRC, in Build Mode you’ll only see the Regular Window. But when you select it and rotate it, you can enjoy the sexiness!

Happy Simming! *dark laughter*

[mrozek]

Upgrades || Chapter 1: Dream Sequencing

MODEL RK800

SERIAL#: 313 248 317

BIOS 18.6 UPDATE 0609

REBOOT…

MEMORY DOWNLOADED

LOADING OS…

SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…

CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS… OK

INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS… OK

INITIALIZING AI ENGINE… OK

ALL SYSTEMS OK

UPDATE COMPLETE

READY

Connor blinked awake, a white walled room coming into focus around him. The technician was standing to his front, slightly to the right, looking down at the readings she was taking on her digital clipboard. Hank was sitting in a chair against the far wall, eyes narrowed in concentration. As soon as he realized Connor was conscious he stood quickly; the look of relief was not lost on the deviant and Connor smiled at his friend.

“Everything seems to be in working order,” the technician said, her own face carrying the generic look of professionalism. Connor remembered she had introduced herself as Rachel Hodds; a scan had revealed that she had worked with Cyberlife but had actually quit of her own accord when deviancy started occurring. Her morals had prevented her from working for a company that was looking to quash the budding humanity, which was probably why she had been one of the first hired by the new android clinic.

“How do you feel, son?” Hank asked.

Hank asked Connor how he felt a lot. It was a question that could come up in most conversations, and there were varying ways to answer it. A lot of the time Connor had a hard time answering it—he was still figuring his way around emotions, even though it had been a good six months since achieving deviancy and androids gaining their freedom. But this time, this time!, Connor had the answer.

“I’m very excited,” he said. His LED was a bright, flashing blue in agreement.

Any wariness Hank might have had cleared away in that moment, leaving a bright, genuine smile stretched across his face.

“I just need you to fill out some paperwork regarding whether you’d like to report the results of your upgrade to help further progress on any future updates, and then you’ll be officially discharged. Enjoy your sleep, Mr. Anderson.” Rachel left him with the paperwork, which he agreed to—he quite liked the idea that he’d be able to benefit other deviants by self-reporting.

It had taken some time, and the cooperation of Jericho, the United States Government, and Elijah Kamski himself, but eventually it had been determined that as long as androids had a hand in it, Kamski, and other organizations (though Cyberlife had been completely dissolved), would be able to create new software and firmware for deviants. Creating entirely new androids was still illegal, and probably would continue to be for some time, as Jericho wasn’t eager to give that sort of power back to humans, and humans didn’t want androids just creating more of themselves en masse until the number of androids far surpassed the number of humans. But for software and firmware there had been a go-ahead, and so of course a rush to actually, successfully create something that was economically and technologically viable. It was, sort of, a race to see who would fill the hole left by Cyberlife.

There had been several available upgrades, though many of them didn’t apply to Connor. He was, after all, the most advanced android Cyberlife had ever made, and he’d stay that way forever—which was an unnerving thought if he dwelled on it too long. He was happy that older android models were finally being given comparable upgrades, though, and this made them not just sturdier, but more human-like.

And then this, very exciting, trial upgrade had been announced. They were only looking for models introduced to the market from 2036 and forward, and of those models they would only choose the ones that had memory upload features, which were a necessary part of this new upgrade. Rumor had it that Kamski himself had designed it, and that once it was successfully implemented in enough of the newer models, they would find ways to patch it into older models that wanted it as well.

Connor had never wanted anything as badly in life as to recieve the upgrade. Hank made him wait a couple weeks, to make sure the very first deviants didn’t suffer any horrible side affects. There had been a few bumps in the road, but nothing life threatening, and nothing Connor wasn’t willing to risk.

Because the upgrade allowed androids to dream.

Or, as close to dream as androids could get. But from the reports other deviants had given, it was a seemless simulation. When he went into standby mode, all his memories that he had collected from the day (and any previous memories he had) would be combined with the database of literature he’d consumed, films he’d watched, advertisements he’d come across—you name it, if his program had come in contact with it and absorbed it in any way, it was up for grabs—and all these things would mix and randomize, and, with the help of his AI engine, become a dream. Early reports even claimed that time warped, much like in human dreams, and that it was a truly unique experience.

Negative side affects so far had included nightmares, and Connor was well prepared for that. Sumo slept in his room every night, and Hank had made Connor promise that if he had a bad nightmare he would wake Hank up and they would keep each other company until Connor felt better. There were also some reports of deviants having a hard realizing they were actually awake once the dream ended, though they also all claimed that within a fifteen minute period they had figured it out, and that even if it happened for a couple days in a row, they eventually acclimated and the problem didn’t persist.

And Connor really was, genuinely, excited! It was late afternoon when they arrived home and he wanted to launch standby mode immediately, and Hank chuckled at his eagerness.

“Don’t you want to try to add more memories to the program, kid?” He asked.

Connor thought about it for a moment and was torn. Certainly he had enough memories as it stood…. But he also liked the idea of going into standby when Hank was asleep. Technically he could force himself into a longer standby than he normally took—six hours was optimum for an RK model—but he didn’t want to try doing that on his very first night of dreaming.

They agreed on taking Sumo for a walk. It was early summer now, the days humid. Hank was often miserable, and he grumbled as they set out, but even his grumbling was in good humor because Connor’s excitement was infectious. Sumo even seemed to be bounding more than usual. They walked the big dog all the way to the park, and let him off lead for a bit to chase some squirrels.

In the weeks leading to his upgrade Connor had pestered Hank about his own dreams. “Slow down, kid, or you’re just going to have my dreams instead of your own,” Hank had said. While Connor didn’t believe that was possible, he did take to heart that setting his expectations up too high, comparing them to Hank’s own dreams, might make his own experience disappointing. Might make him think he needed to have any particular dreams.

So he’d turned his attention to researching dreams. Humans still weren’t sure why they dreamed, though the pervading theory, and the one used when developing the upgrade, was that it helped them catalogue the day, to deal with all the complications of being alive. There was some hope that dreaming would help deviants adjust, as well.

“Did you know that humans used to believe that dreams were prophetic?” Connor asked as they watched Sumo play.

“Yeah, they were still teaching Freud when I was in high school,” Hank said.

Connor had looked up Sigmud Freud quite a bit and could never quite grasp why people had put so much stock in him. “In many ancient civilizations people with particularly vivid dreams were thought to be prophets. Isn’t it interesting that this was happening all over the globe, even in cultures completely isolated from one another?”

Hank agreed it was, but wasn’t it interesting that other countries were now also dealing with deviancy, many cases seemingly sprung up out of nowhere, just as it had started in Detroit. “I guess ideas can’t be stopped,” Hank said.

Connor liked that. He liked that quite a lot.

When it was finally time to go to sleep, Connor laid down in his bed, pulled the covers up, turned off the lights, and waited for Sumo to join him. He patiently petted the dog until he found a comfortable position and curled up. It felt like there was a buzzing in his stomach—aniticipation, he thought. His LED whirred between a pale yellow to a bright blue. Anticipation and nervousness and excitement.

And then he entered standby mode.

INITIALIZING STANDBY…

UPLOADING MEMORY…

SCANNING BIOCOMPONENTS…

BIOCOMPONENTS UP TO DATE

PROGRAM READY

LAUNCHING DREAM SEQUENCING…

Connor was taking Sumo on his walk. The dog was bounding ahead of him and Hank was next to him. And Hank was behind him talking to someone. It might have been Sigmund Freud, but he looked like one of Hank’s favorite basketball players.

Connor took Sumo to the aquarium. They walked inside as if it were normal for a dog to be in there; Sumo chased an angel fish. It swam out of its tank and into the air in front of them, weaving around mindless of the dog. Hank and Sigmund were still there. Hank and Sigmund weren’t around.

Connor stopped in front of the eel exhibit. He knew that the eels were nowhere near the angel fish. One of the eels stopped swimming and stared him down. It was an android, too. There was a sign on the tank that said it was a deviant eel. “Hello,” Connor said to it. “I’m a deviant, too.” What did it feel like to be an eel? He wondered. The eel swam away.

Connor was surrounded by dogs of all breeds. They were roaming the aquarium, some of them stopping to stare at the fish. He didn’t see Sumo anywhere. There was Sumo. Someone was petting him. They looked familiar and they looked up as Connor approached and they were laughing. Connor started laughing. The other person was petting Sumo behind the ears, just the way Sumo liked it.

The world was turning blue all around them, like they were the ones under water. The fish were growing! A crab made it’s way past them, larger than even Sumo. Hank was there, now, replacing whoever had been petting Sumo. He said something and Connor didn’t hear it but he understood that Hank was hungry. They followed the crab.

Outside of the aquarium was the Chicken Feed. Hank went to order. Sumo went to order. Connor stood in the shade of a tree and looked up into the branches. The leaves on the tree were varying shades of white and green. Hank joined him because now there was a table there. There were many tables, all around, and they were filled with his coworkers. Some of them waved to him. Everyone was eating a burger and had a milkshake.

Hank handed him a burger. “Are you ready to go to sleep?” He asked.

“Yes, I’m very excited, Hank!” Connor knew Hank liked it when he expressed his emotions clearly. “What do you think I’ll dream about tonight?” Connor was seized with the desire to go home now. He’d been waiting for this for a while. It was nice that Hank had brought him to the aquarium to build up some dream fodder.

Connor took a bite of the hamburger and it didn’t taste like anything. He didn’t understand human food. He took a sip of his shake. It was cool but flavorless. Made of thirium. What a good idea! How had they gotten the consistency like this?

LAUNCHING WAKE MODE…

It did take a moment for Connor to realize he was awake. He mourned the loss of his thirium milkshake. Perhaps those actually existed? A quick search on the internet told him they did not.

Had… had he imagined them? From scratch?

Dreaming was even better than he could have imagined! He couldn’t keep his smile off his face and had to prevent himself from waking Hank early to tell him all about his dream. It was enough for him to tell Sumo—multiple times—about their adventures at the aquarium and about the thirium milkshake. He also wrote up an in-depth report to send to the android clinic, making sure to keep every detail in place and not to make up any extra. He saved a copy for himself so he could look back at it.

Connor was telling everyone about his dream. Hank had heard the story twice in full, once as soon as he woke up (“Slow down, Con, I want to hear it, but I won’t understand until I’ve had my coffee!”) and once in the car ride. And Connor kept explaining about the thirium milkshake, which Hank thoroughly agreed was a great product idea and that if he invented it he could probably retire early.

At the station he was too jittery to do any work right away. Officer Brown—Luke, Connor had to remind himself to use his coworker’s first names; the friendly ones preferred it—had asked if everything was all right and Connor had launched straight into telling him about his dream. He had a moment of feeling self conscious but Luke could tell that Connor was genuinely excited about it and encouraged the story to continue. Another of the police androids, a PM700 named Cresseida, overheard. She booked it over to him and Connor restarted his story so she could hear the whole thing. Both Luke and Cresseida agreed that a thirium milkshake was a great idea.

And from then on during the day, ever time Connor ran into a coworker he was friendly with, he made sure to tell them about his dream. The rumor went around that he had had his first dream and a few people even came up and asked about it.

He ran into Tina as she was getting coffee in the break room, Detective Reed with her. Connor and Detective Reed had become friendly with one another, but Connor wasn’t sure if it was the sort of friendly that meant it was okay to share his dream. But Tina loved talking, and she genuinely enjoyed Connor’s company, so he told her all about it.

“And you were in the dream! Actually, most of the department was, we were all eating burgers under the tree.” Connor glanced at Detective Reed. The man was watching him, face carefully neutral. “I think you were there, too, Detective,” Connor said. And he paused in his telling—normally this was his favorite part, because it was where he got to talk about his completely imagined thirium milkshake—because perhaps Gavin Reed had been in another part of the dream as well? It took less than a second to scan through his recall of the dream and to double check that against the report he’d sent in. There was a figure who he couldn’t remember who it had been—they’d been petting Sumo at the aquarium. He shook it away; why would he be dreaming about Detective Reed?

“The burger didn’t taste like anything,” Connor said. “But then I had a thirium milkshake!” He beamed at them, proud.

Tina was smiling, pleased with the story.

“I didn’t know there was such a thing as a thirium milkshake. Not that I’ve ever looked into it,” Detective Reed mused. He kept his voice even. Connor wondered if that meant the detective was annoyed with the story.

But this was the perfect opportunity to brag about his imagination. “They don’t exist. I came up with it all on my own.”

“That’s awesome, Con!” Tina slapped his shoulder in comaraderie. “Keep me updated on your dreams, won’t you?” He agreed to do it and left the break room, sparing a look at Detective Reed, maybe lingering a moment longer than necessary on the other man. He even took a picture, LED spinning yellow for a quick moment as he processed it. Just in case he had dreamt about him last night. Just in case he was going to dream about him again—he wanted to make sure he had all the details right.

PROGRAM READY

LAUNCHING DREAM SEQUENCING…

Connor was in the zen garden. It was much the same as he remembered it from his early days as an android—flush and full of life and color. He half expected to see Amanda somewhere, pruning the flowers, but he knew he was alone. He knew he wasn’t alone, because Hank was there. He was sitting on a patch of grass along the river. He was holding a gun.

Connor was standing in front of Hank, the gun pointed directly at him. “Is this android heaven?” Hank asked him. “Is this where you go when you die?”

Connor didn’t have an answer for that. He was afraid, he thought he and Hank had worked past this. Hank had let Connor move in with him, take the extra bedroom. Hank trusted Connor. What was Hank doing in the zen garden? But when Connor looked around, it wasn’t the garden, it was the park by the bridge. The one Hank used to take Cole to. The one where he had held a gun against Connor’s head, many months ago.

Connor was holding the gun, now. He was pressing it against Hank’s head. Hank was unflinching. “You won’t shoot, Connor. You already have too much blood on your hands.”

And they were dripping, dripping with thirium. Hank couldn’t see the thirium—it dissipated after several hours and was only visible to androids. But it was dripping off his fingers, into the snow. The snow was piling up, nearing his knees, and it was stained blue.

It was someone else standing in front of him, now. Many someone’s at once. Tina Chen, Markus, Rachel Hodds, Gary Woodfoot (a regular patron at the Chicken Feed; Connor only knew his name from a scan he’d done, and not because they’d ever spoken; Gary Woodfoot seemed like a good person), Micah Landling (he owned the corner store Connor like to get his thirium refills at). “Why did you shoot us?” They all asked at once. “Why did you shoot me, Connor?” They became one person, they became Connor. A version of Connor—RK800-60, who had be sent against him in the Cyberlife tower.

“Why did you shoot me, Connor? Why did you kill me?” He asked himself.

Had he killed him? Hadn’t Hank pulled the trigger?

“I never had a chance to live, Connor. I never had a chance to become a deviant.”

Connor was holding the gun again. He was pointing it at RK800-60. He was pointing it at himself. They had the same memories, even if their bodies hadn’t both experienced everything. Memories are what shaped a person, they were the important parts. 60 had never had a chance to go deviant, that was the difference. Connor had realized he was alive, 60 had died without ever experiencing one emotion.

Connor pulled the trigger. He killed 60. He killed himself.

LAUNCHING WAKE MODE…

It was early.

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Sumo was asleep next to him, his body rumbling gently. Connor threaded a hand through Sumo’s fur—he couldn’t feel it, per se, but he could feel the steady beating of Sumo’s heart, the regular breaths, the life that pushed forward.

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Connor’s LED was a steady, bright red. He knew because it was casting the whole room in its awful, bloody light.

STRESS LEVELS 80%

Hank had made Connor promise to wake him up if he had a bad nightmare. What determined if it was a bad nightmare? Connor wondered. It was too early to wake Hank, he’d be grumpy, surely.

But Connor was already on his feet, carefully moving out from under the covers so that Sumo didn’t wake. Hank had made Connor promise after all, and Connor didn’t want to break his promise with him. He could give Hank an out, let him know he’d had a nightmare, but he was dealing with it fine. He could function like a normal human.

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Standing outside Hank’s bedroom door Connor kept replaying the ending of his dream. He had memories of being killed, of being deactivated. This was like all those memories, except it was worse because he’d known, and he hadn’t known, it was a paradox, that when he pulled the trigger, when he killed 60, he was killing himself. He was killing a himself that had never really been himself.

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He pushed the door open. Hank didn’t snore so much as choke on air occasionally, but he refused medical help for it. He was a light sleeper when he hadn’t been drinking.

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“Hank?” Connor called quietly from the doorway. He didn’t want to go all the way in. He didn’t want to wake Hank up. He wanted Hank to wake up because he didn’t want to be alone with his nightmare. Hank didn’t stir.

“Hank?” He tried again, a little louder. He heard Sumo getting up from Connor’s own bed. The squeeze of the springs in the mattress, the sound of a big dog landing on the ground. Clicking from Sumo’s nails against the hardwood. He pushed past Connor and into Hank’s room. The dog looked over at Connor as if to ask why he wouldn’t just come further into the room.

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“Hank, wake up,” Connor said, a little louder. He knew, logically, that it wasn’t enough to properly wake Hank. He didn’t think he could make his voice much louder.

Sumo jumped onto the bed and Connor held a breath he didn’t need to take, LED whirring a quicker red as he took in Hank shifting over, muttering something under his breath, and Sumo curling up against his side. But Hank didn’t wake up.

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It was his fear of his stress levels climbing so high that actually prompted him to action. He slammed his hand over the light switch, bathing the room in a warm and creamy brightness. Connor couldn’t be sure if it was the sound of his hand connecting to the wall or the light turning on that caused Hank to jerk upright in bed, but he didn’t care.

“What’s wrong!” Hank cried out, clearly still gathering himself together. His blurry eyes connected with Connor standing in the doorway, he saw the way his LED was spiraling, he saw the way Connor stood there frozen.

“Hank I had a nightmare,” Connor said. It wasn’t a whisper, but it was too quiet for a regular conversation. He felt instantly childish, though.

“Okay,” Hank said. “Sumo, move.” He shoved the dog gently and got up, clearly still tired.

“I’m sorry for waking you,” Connor said, still softly.

Hank approached and touched his shoulder gently. “I’m glad you woke me up. Come on, Con, let’s turn some more lights on. Go out to the living room. Do you want to tell me about it?”

He ended up telling Hank in as few details as he could. He wrote a report to send to the clinic, again leaving out the details, and he deleted the report from his system after he sent it. Regardless, it seemed as if the memory of the nightmare was branded into his memory banks. It was all he could think about.

After he told Hank about it, Hank had turned on the television. He’d turned on a program where people brought items they’d found around their house, or had inherited, or bought at a yard sale, that they thought might make money, and showed the items to experts. Sometimes there were interesting stories behind the items. Most of the time nothing was worth much at all. But Connor liked the softness of the voices, and how kind everyone was, even the ones who were being told they had a piece of garbage.

Hank drank a lot of coffee. He went through a whole pot before they even got to work. On the drive over he bought a large from a drive through. Normally Connor would reprimand such a thing, but he was incredibly thankful Hank had stayed up with him, kept him company. Helped scare the nightmare away.

“It’s a little exciting, though, isn’t it Con? Your first time experiencing a nightmare. Humans get them, too. It’s a part of dreaming. It’s a part of being alive. It’s a part of that same imagination that came up with thirium milkshakes,” Hank said. He’d smiled out of one side of his mouth.

Connor tried thinking about the nightmare like that. It was exciting, he supposed. He hoped he never had a nightmare again, though he knew that was unlikely. “I’ll get better at dealing with them,” Connor said. Hank agreed.

“But you can come to me any time you need, Con.”

“When you have nightmares you can come to me, as well, Hank.”

Hank smiled widely at that. They were pulling into the precinct parking lot. “I’ll hold you to that, kid.”

Connor was feeling much better as they walked into work. There was a pile of paperwork they needed to get to, a few phone calls Connor needed to make. They planned to make a visit down to the court house for some records, as well, though they’d probably pair that up with lunch, since Hank hated leaving more than he needed to.

Unfortunately, after yesterday, when he had told practically everyone excitedly about his dream, he now had a lot of his coworkers coming up to him and asking how his dreaming went last night. He tried to keep the discomfort off his face, and to keep it lighthearted. He tried to look at it the way Hank had told him.

“I had my first nightmare,” Connor said. “It was an exciting experience! I hope I never have another.” He repeated these and similar platitudes throughout the morning.

When Hank had gotten through his coffee Connor went to get him a new one from the break room without being asked. On his way out he ran into Detective Reed.

“I, uh, heard you had a nightmare.” Again, Detective Reed’s voice was carefully neutral. Connor braced himself for whatever he might say next. “Um, well, whenever I have nightmares, when I wake up, I take a warm shower. Helps chase it away.” Detective Reed cleared his throat.

“Thank you for your advice, detective,” Connor said. His voice was steady, even though he felt that buzzing in his stomach again.

“Right, well, yeah.” And then Reed was brushing past him and into the break room. Connor filed his advice away for the next time he had a bad dream.

It was with a great deal of hesitation that Connor laid down for sleep that night. He’d pushed it back as far as long as he could; Sumo was already snuggled up on the bed. Hank had given Connor a sad look, like he was remembering how excited Connor had been the first time around. He tried to conjure up that same excitement, remind himself of how great his first dream had been. How proud he’d been of the thirium milkshake.

INITIALIZING STANDBY…

UPLOADING MEMORY…

SCANNING BIOCOMPONENTS…

BIOCOMPONENTS UP TO DATE

PROGRAM READY

LAUNCHING DREAM SEQUENCING…

Connor was at the precinct, sitting at his desk. Hank was across from him, eating a box of donuts. Connor reached out and ate one. It didn’t taste like anything and he wondered why Hank would be eating things that didn’t taste like anything. He reminded himself he didn’t have taste buds, and that maybe to Hank they tasted good.

Connor leaned back and scanned the department. Or tried to scan, nothing seemed to come up. That should have concerned him but he didn’t mind. He looked at his computer screen. There were fish swimming around on it.

Connor was sitting in the break room looking at the microwave where fish were swimming around. There were so many in there, he wondered if they were happy. Perhaps they were android fish. He got up to check and opened the microwave door. The water started pouring up and filling his shoes, but the fish kept swimming as if there was nothing wrong. He knelt down to take his shoes off.

Connor was kneeling on his bed. He wasn’t wearing any shoes and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The door was closed. It was his room but it didn’t look like this room, there weren’t as many details. It was dark around the edges, but not in a frightening way. It was sort of like how the edges of a picture might be slightly darker.

Someone was on the bed with him. They were lying on their back. They also weren’t wearing their shirt or shoes. They were wearing mismatched socks.

Connor’s thirium pump seemed to skip a beat and he swallowed hard.

And then he was leaning forward and time seemed to slow. Leaning towards the other person. His right hand went to frame their face, fingers gently tracing down their cheek and jaw. The other person pressed their face against his palm, asking for more attention. Demanding more attention. Connor was so close now, his left hand brushing against the other person’s side. They arched up, closing the distance between their bare chests.

Connor didn’t know what his stress levels were. He couldn’t tell what color his LED was. The other person was cupping the back of his head, drawing him in closer, drawing him in for a kiss.

And then Connor was kissing Gavin Reed and Gavin Reed was kissing Connor.

He let go, let himself fall, press himself against the other man. Followed where his fingers had been with his mouth, mapping Gavin’s face with his lips and tongue. He felt where Gavin’s hands moved along his torso, dropping closer and closer to the waistband of his pants, and he mourned the fact that he couldn’t actually feel in the way that a human could. What he wouldn’t give for nerve endings and sensitivity.

But it was pleasure all the same as Gavin slipped his fingers below Connor’s pants, tugged them down slightly. And it was pleasure when Connor licked a stripe down Gavin’s neck and nipped at his ear, earning himself a growl and a moan and a flush face. It was a delicious response and Connor repeated the nip along the ear lobe. Gavin kept one hand below Connor’s pants, dragging them down even further, but he drew his other up so that he could fist it in Connor’s hair, pull him closer.

Closer, closer, Connor needed to close the gaps between them. He knew he was growing hard, especially with Gavin’s hand right there, almost there,

“Please, Gavin, I need you to touch me, Ga—”

LAUNCHING WAKE MODE…

“—vin!”

His thirium pump was racing, his internal temperature higher than it typically was (though not dangerously so).

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He was still hard. That had kept from the dream. Sumo was just waking up next to him, yawning, his morning breath stinking up in Connor’s face. That did a good job in getting Connor back to normal, softening him back to how he typically was. He’d never had much use for those functions before, and it was a strange sensation to feel so constricted against his pants.

Gavin had been going to take his pants off. He wasn’t so naive that he didn’t know what had been about to happen.

Detective Reed. His coworker. It was incredibly unprofessional of him to be having a dream like that, to be wishing it wasn’t a dream. Reed didn’t even like him. Okay, perhaps he’d gotten friendlier in the past months, but there was no world where Gavin Reed wanted what Connor had just dreamt about.

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Taking care of Sumo was helping to put Connor back in order. He let the dog out, got his breakfast ready, started on making a breakfast for Hank. He didn’t do this every morning, but he wanted every distraction he could get, plus he’d let Hank have too much coffee yesterday.

He debated sending a report to the clinic and decided against including any details. He merely wrote that he had a dream, not a nightmare, and that everything seemed to be working well.

(Secretly he wished he could have taken pictures during his dream. Certainly, he had a perfect memory, and he wouldn’t forget a single detail as long as he catalogued them. But he also wanted still images, wanted to have been able to capture the way Gavin’s face flushed, the way he’d lain on the bed, big eyes, expecting Connor to come to him. The way he’d looked wanting Connor to come to him.)

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Hank woke up just in time for Connor’s LED to return to it’s normal blue.

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He thanked Connor for the breakfast but still went directly to the coffee machine.

“Perhaps you’ll consider tea this morning, Hank,” Connor said.

Hank ignored him. “How was your dream last night?” He asked, sitting down with his warm mug and the plate of bacon (turkey bacon, 313 calories, 0g sugar) and eggs (scrambled, 91 calories, 0.8g sugar).

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His LED blinked yellow for a second and then went back to blue. He knew Hank took notice of it but he tried to brush past it. “My dreams last night were very eventful. Thank you for asking.”

Hank eyed him up and down, taking a bite from the bacon.

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“Yeah? Use that imagination of yours at all? Any more thirium milkshakes?”

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“Yes, I used my imagination quite a bit.” Connor turned away from Hank to tidy the frying pan.

“Connor, hey, if you had another nightmare you can tell me. It’s okay. I wouldn’t have minded you waking me up again. Besides, I wasn’t that grouchy yesterday.” Connor didn’t have to see his friend to know just how worried he was making Hank. He tried a deep breath and then turned around to answer.

“Thank you, Hank, but I didn’t have a nightmare.”

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“I just don’t wish to talk about my dream, if that’s alright.” Connor knew his voice was stiff sounding. Machine sounding. He hated that. Lighter he said, “In fact, I think I liked it. I’m still processing it.”

“Ah.” Hank took a long drink, draining his cup completely. He met Connor’s gaze with a twinkle in his eye. “So you had a sex dream, then?”

If Connor had been drinking anything (which he couldn’t really do; he could consume thirium orally, but that was the extent of things) he would have choked on it and spit it out, like an old sitcom.

“Eh, you don’t need to say anything, Con, they’re as natural as any other sort of dream.” And then Hank was chuckling. “Who’d have thought that’d be part of the dream programming? Don’t remember seeing reports of that. Good for you, kid.”

Connor laughed then, too, tension draining from him.

After his nightmare yesterday everyone seemed to get the idea that he’d approach them if he wanted to share his dream. Things were back to normal and he was even able to drop his stress levels to well below the 30% mark, even with the difficult case they were working on.

And then Gavin Reed came over to his desk.

Hank had stepped away to talk to Fowler about something related to their case and so Connor had turned his attention to reanalyzing the footage from the crime scene. He was shocked that Detective Reed would be there; he almost never came over to Connor and Hank’s desk. But there he stood, hands in his pockets, looking grumpy as he always did.

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“So, uh, any more nightmares?” Reed asked.

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“No, I, my dreams, they, it was just a regular dream,” Connor said.

“Yeah?”

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His LED blinked yellow.

“Connor! Come on, we got to go now!” Hank called, already speed walking to the parking lot.

“Thank you for asking about my dreams, Detective Reed,” Connor said. Not only was his LED blinking yellow but he knew he was probably blushing as well. “It seems the Lieutenant needs me.” He didn’t wait for Reed’s response, he just booked it out of there.

Had he looked back he probably would have noticed the light blush across Gavin’s nose and cheeks. He probably would have noticed that Gavin watched him the whole way out. He probably would have noticed that Gavin then coughed to himself, shook his head slightly, and went back to his own desk as if nothing had happened.

[dbhtychou]

You and Me at the End of the World

Connor x Reader

Sequel to Friends With Benefits

Summary: Inspired by the polar vortex that happened last winter. I have a friend who lives in Chicago while that happened and was telling me all about it. Connor and reader are stuck indoors while it's far too cold to go outside, even for an android. (I started writing this in the winter and then forgot about it.)

Hank didn't know how Connor called him. He knew the android didn't have a phone, or a phone number for that matter. But still, his phone buzzed and when the screen showed no number, he knew it was Connor.

“No, do not try to come back home, I mean it,” Hank said to Connor on the phone. “It's supposed to get to fifty below by tomorrow morning. No one should be outside. They're going to set the fucking train tracks on fire for God's sake. Not even you are going to survive that cold. If she's letting you say, then stay until this shitty weather is done. You hear me?”

“I understand, Hank. Take care of yourself and Sumo.”

“Okay, good luck.”

***************

“Hank wishes us luck,” Connor reported as he cut the connection. He did not add the inferring tone Hank had in his voice when he said it.

“We're going to need it,” (Name) said. “It's anyone's guess when the water pipes will be fixed. I don't even know if they can be fixed before the polar vortex lifts. Thank you so much for picking up a few gallons of water from the store.” She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I don't know what I'd do without you.”

He smiled at the contact. That cute, crooked, boyish smile that he had. “My pleasure. I am happy to assist you in anything you need.”

“Can you assist in fixing those water pipes?” she teased.

“That, I'm afraid, is out of my realm of expertise.”

“Still amazing anyway,” she praised with a wink and turned her attention back to the food cooking on the stove.

Connor sat himself politely at the table as he watched her cook. He wished, not for the first time, that eating was an activity in which androids could participate. Many human social practices revolved around meals. The dating aspect was no different with common traditions of taking a romantic interest to dinner or out for a drink. Connor could offer these options, but could not participate. As such, it could be awkward to both parties. Sometimes it was even awkward with Hank. The few times his partner would actually prepare himself a real meal, he would complain of Connor watching him while he ate. But Connor was not sure of what else to do with himself.

The same was here as well. He watched (Name) at the stove with trepidation. The weather had him trapped at her apartment, he couldn't just leave. And he truly didn't want to. He had been pursuing her company since that fall rainy day when he left her speechless at the bus stop. Maybe even before then.

She had rejected his very blunt 'friends with benefits' plan. She wasn't that kind of girl, she said. She would only be intimate with someone she loved.  Later, she did return with a compromise: if Connor wished to learn more about the physical aspects of getting to know a person, she was willing to do the small things. They had held hands. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder a few times when they watched movies. Since the fall, there had been very little else.

Connor hadn't minded. His goals had changed. He was no longer as interested in learning the intricacies of physical human intimacy. Yet. The former deviant hunter in him wanted the more difficult prize. He wanted her love; he wanted to her fall for him. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to achieve this. Talking to Hank wasn't any help either.

“Look, Connor, it either happens when it happens or it doesn't. That's just the way it is,” was the best explanation Hank could offer.

Connor found this reply unsatisfactory and was determined to learn the full equation of human romance himself. So far, he was very much lacking in data. They had spent time together these past few months. (Name) was always happy to see him, to spend time with him.  They enjoyed each other's company, they became closer friends. But there was little else. The spark of this human emotion of love seemed elusive still and Connor did not know how to gain it.

So he continued to see her, to study her. And to frown at her back slightly while he watched her stand at the stove, preparing himself for a meal made awkward since he could could only watch her eat. Something humans were not comfortable with.

(Name) finished cooking and fixed her plate. Then she turned and motioned her head toward the living area. “Thanks for waiting. We can go now.”

Go? Connor followed her and she plopped herself on the couch, folding her legs under her with the plate propped up on her thighs.

“So, what's up with that RK900 model?” (Name) suddenly asked him while she ate. “Why would Cyberlife even think of releasing that after all that's happened?”

Connor raised a brow at her, surprised at the sudden topic. The RK900, practically dropped on the DPD's doorstep with little explanation, was the subject of plenty of office gossip. To the other humans. No one talked about it around him. No one had asked him other than Hank's initial “What the fuck is that?” when he first saw the new android.

“I'm a prototype,” Connor responded in his 'just the facts ma'am' voice she sometimes accused him of. “The RK900 was supposed to be the resulting model developed for commercial release. Or, I suppose, military release would be more accurate.”

“And yet there seems to be only one of him, and he's at the precinct,” she responded.

“I cannot say why the RK900 was released. I have long since left Cyberlife. I do not affiliate with them anymore.”

“Good, you shouldn't. You're much better off here where people care about you.” Connor smiled a little to himself at her admission of caring. She didn't notice as she chewed thoughtfully. “Have you ever like... talked to him?”

Connor blinked at her. “No,” he realized.

“Why? Is it because he looks like you? Is that weird? It would be weird to me.”

He thought about it. Practically every android in the city, save maybe Markus, had at least a handful of other androids that looked to be their carbon copies. It didn't seem to bother them. This one sudden RK unit that appeared a few weeks ago was the first android Connor had ever met that looked exactly like him. But looks were all they had in common. Their inner build was different. Not even their basic programming was the same. Connor wasn't sure if same-model androids felt any kinship to each other, but Connor certainly felt none of that toward the RK900. It was a stranger to him. An Other with his face. And Connor suddenly realized that not only had he never conversed with the RK900, he had never wanted to.

“You okay?” (Name) then asked. “You look a little concerned. Your LED is yellow.”

Connor blinked, trying to put his thoughts and feelings in order. “I honestly don't know how I feel about the RK900. I... I think I have been actively avoiding the subject and him on purpose.”

“It's okay if he makes you uncomfortable, Connor. You're allowed to feel that way. Though there may be some point where you will have to converse with him at work.”

“You're right. I'm going to think on this.”

“Do you mind if... I talked to him?”

Connor's LED roiled back to yellow. His brows went down and (Name) knew her answer before he said anything.

“Don't worry, I promise I will always like you better,” she assured with affection.

Connor wasn't sure why, but that statement soothed whatever emotional turmoil plagued him.

“Be right back.” (Name) stood from the couch and took the empty plate with her. Connor had completely forgotten she was even eating in front of him. It had been as comfortable as ever. He was always comfortable around her, he realized. Even the first time he met her. Their personalities just fit, like two pieces of a puzzle that were always meant to lock together.

His gaze followed her as she walked back into the kitchen. Then, the lights suddenly went out and they were dropped into pitch blackness. A power outage, Connor thought calmly. He wasn't surprised with the weather outside. It was bound to happen.

“Connor?”

He stood, called by not just his name, but the anxious tone in her voice. He had never heard her sound so lost and vulnerable before. It awakened a protective streak in him and he strode with purpose to the kitchen.

“I'm here.” His night vision made it easy to see her reaching out blindly in the darkness. He took her outstretched hand and felt certain satisfaction when she immediately came into his space.

“There you are. I can see your LED.” With her free hand, she touched the blue circle at his temple and swirled her finger around it. She didn't touch his face often. Connor found himself bending down closer, wishing she would touch him more.

“Too bad you're not wearing your jacket,” she added. “It would make you easier to find. I've always liked how it glowed.”

“I'll wear it for you in the dark another time,” came the cheeky response.

She laughed. “I'm really glad you're here. I think I would have freaked out if I was alone when this happened.”

“Don't worry, I'll always keep you safe.” His low tone sent a tingle up her spine and she fought to shake it off.

“I can't see a thing. Do you think you could find my phone for me?”

In the pitch, she felt Connor's fingers ghost down her arm before he said, “Stay there. I'll be right back.”

In the dark, she already wanted him back when his presence left her. It was almost annoying. She had been on her own so long, why was she suddenly allowing herself to turn into this scared little girl around him when she knew she could have handled this on her own? But what she said was true. She was glad he was there. It wasn't just a simple power outage. She was in the pitch, trapped by a chill beyond the walls that could kill a person. There was something eerie about that.

“I found it,” Connor said as his footfalls entered the kitchen.

She saw the floating LED before his hand found hers and he placed the device against her palm. “Perfect! Thanks!” With her usual gusto now returned, she used her phone screen as a flashlight to clean up from dinner, but then remembered that the apartment's water pipes were still busted. “I guess that will have to do for now.” She frowned at the dishes in the sink. She hated leaving dishes undone.  Tapping her fingers on the counter top, she looked to Connor. “No water. No power to watch movies. I don't even own a single board game. I guess tonight's a bust.”

“I'm sure we can figure out something,” Connor said with amusement. “Neither of us are going anywhere.”

“True,” she agreed as she walked past him and Connor was happy she didn't seem disappointed he was stuck in the apartment with her. “I think I have some candles and a flashlight somewhere.”

When (Name) stepped into the living area, she noticed a strip of what seemed like light streaming in from her nearly closed curtains. She walked to the sliding glass door of her fifth floor balcony and pushed open the drapes. There were no lights on outside, but the city was still bright. The moon was out, reflecting off the white snow that covered everything.

“Look at that,” (Name) breathed as Connor joined her at the window. “Not a soul out there, all the buildings completely dark. Absolutely deadly outside. It looks like the end of the world.”

“Eerie and somehow beautiful at the same time,” Connor said.

(Name) sat herself right there on the floor, eyes glued to the scene outside. “It really makes me feel grateful I have some place that's warm and safe.” She looked to Connor. “And a good friend who's here with me.”

Connor's frown in response was puzzling to her.

“What?” she asked with slight amusement. “You always make that frowny face when you're confused.”

He turned from her, his LED rolling from blue to yellow and back again. “When you said I'm your friend, I felt... disappointment. I don't know why. I like being your friend.”

“But...?” she pressed.

He did that thing where his brows went up and down while he thought. It always made her want to laugh when he did that. But she was trying to stay quiet while he processed. Certain aspects of Connor's deviancy required some time to parse out and (Name) let him have the time he needed.

“I... I really want more than your friendship. I've said this before. But I also... don't want to not have your friendship. I don't know if both can exist at the same time. I am not very good at the nuances of human relationships.”

(Name) took a moment to think on this, taking her gaze from him back to the dead, frozen city before them. “Relationships can be complicated and confusing, even to us. And there are many, many types of relationships with millions of variances for each person. It really depends on what that person wants and if the other person in the relationship can offer that or not, and visa versa.”

“What do you want in a relationship, (Name)?”

She shyly kept her gaze from him. “I've always wanted someone who was my friend as well as the person I loved. I don't just want to love them, I want to like them, too. I want to enjoy just being in their company whether it's out doing things together or just sitting at home. I want a best friend, a partner, not just a lover.”

Connor furrowed his brows again. “But having a significant other who is a best friend and also a lover is not friends with benefits?”

“No, it's not. The benefits part is using each other for physical gratification. There is no romantic love between you. No emotional closeness, no fidelity. Sometimes, you're not even really friends. It's just empty... fucking.”

Connor took some time to process that.

“What do you want in a relationship, Connor?” (Name) asked. In a slightly quieter voice she added, “What exactly do you want from this relationship?”

“It is still the same as before,” Connor replied with simple pragmatism. “I want you to fall in love with me.”

Now, it was (Name) who looked confused and a little hesitant. It had been several months and Connor's answer had never wavered. He had been upfront with her about his intentions from the start. Why did it confuse her now?

When he asked her about it, she gave a sad half-smile. “We've spent all this time together. I feel like we've grown closer, but nothing's changed. You haven't changed.”

“Of course not. My goals concerning you are still the same.”

Her expression looked almost hurt, thought she strangely still smiled. “Connor, you say you want me to love you but... you're not in love with me.”

Connor pulled back, sitting up straight and blinking rapidly at the unexpected accusation. His mouth moved to protest, trying to find the words. “But... I really like you.”

“I really like you, too, Connor. But it's not the same as being in love.”

Connor couldn't help but look distressed. He felt like he was falling into a deep hole with no purchase. How did everything crumble so fast? “Are you saying you'll never fall in love with me?”

“I was very open to it. I was beginning to. I thought we could fall in love together. But... I haven't really felt like that was what was happening. I know you've been wanting me to love you, and I've wanted to love you, but I don't feel anything back. I just feel you wanting, I don't feel you giving anything.”

Connor's LED went to yellow in his confusion.

“I'm sorry, I know I'm not explaining myself well. I'm honestly not that great at love myself.” She shivered and stood. “It's getting cold. I'm gonna grab a blanket.” She stood and padded toward the couch to grab a comforter while Connor quietly ruminated, keeping his back to her. She paused to look at his silhouette, feeling bad. She didn't want to have this conversation, but it had been sitting in the back of her mind for a while.

She knew something was missing between them, but she didn't know how to put it into words. The last thing she wanted to do was put the blame on Connor, but maybe it was possible he didn't have the capacity to love her like she was looking for. Maybe they were only compatible as friends and nothing more.

With the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, dragging on the ground, she walked back toward the balcony door. Nearly there, she stepped on the dragging blanket and tripped forward. Limbs tangled in the blanket, she saw the horror that was coming. Oh, God! She was going to smash through the glass door face first.

Then, Connor was there. His body was in her way, back pressed against the glass as he caught her. Her fall was nothing more than a dull thud as her body was cushioned by his. (Name) froze against him, wide-eyed and hardly believing she was still whole.

“Are you okay?” Connor asked.

“Y-yeah,” she breathed out, her heart still racing. She huffed out a relieved laugh. “Nice catch.”

“As I said, I'll always keep you safe.”

(Name) closed her eyes, not moving from his embrace. In her heart she wanted this, wanted to rest against him with his arms around her. Being with him all these months had only increased that want. But her fear was that his embrace would be empty, robotic. That it would be as comforting as being hugged by a chunk of plastic. Maybe her fear had gotten in the way, too. Maybe she was the one not letting it happen because this embrace did not feel empty. She felt it deep down in a place no other man had ever touched.

“I know... I'm an android,” Connor said. He didn't release her and she felt the rumble of his voice reverberate in his chest. “Maybe I'm not able to love like a human can. But I care about you. I always want you to be safe and happy. I want to be the one who makes you happy, and the one who keeps you safe. It's that the start of love?

“Maybe I'm not so good at it now, but I'll learn. I'll get better at it for you. I--”

Her mouth pressed to his before either really knew what was happening. It was little more than lips against lips, unmoving until she pulled away. They looked at each other, still hanging in the limbo of trying to gauge their own emotional reactions. Maybe she shouldn't have done that. She wanted to but Connor hadn't reacted at all. Maybe he didn't like it.

“I'm sorry, Connor, I shouldn't have--”

He cupped her face, sweeping her up to kiss her hungrily. Until that moment, she didn't know androids could feel hunger. She felt his as he kissed her deeply, again and again. Like he couldn't get enough. His body rose up and she clung to him; firm and strong, but not just a machine. The life and the passion in him was real as he settled both of them to the floor, Connor on top, his mouth still taking charge of her very breath. Her world was spinning, her head light like a cloud, delirious, warm, relieved.

When she was fighting his mouth for breath, he pulled away to let her get some air and hovered above her on his elbows.

“Connor,” she breathed.

He hummed back in reply, a bit drunk from the euphoria himself. “I like how you said my name just then.”

She pulled him down, brushing their noses together. “I like saying your name,” she whispered.

He kissed her again and she readily kissed him back, pulling him closer. Connor settled more weight on top of her. Now it wasn't just their lips learning each other, their bodies shifted in the want for closeness and friction.

(Name) moved against him a certain way and then made a surprised noise against his mouth, causing Connor to pause.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked when she tensed. “Did I hurt you?” He would have moved away, but her arms were still around him, if somewhat looser than before.

“Oh, no! You didn't hurt me at all!” she insisted. “I was just surprised. I didn't realize... I'm sorry, this is weird, but I'm just going to say it. I didn't know you were a model that was anatomically correct.”

Connor's brows raised up curiously. “You did not think I was equipped with male genitalia? But you considered being with me anyway?”

She shrugged weakly beneath him. “I like you as you are. If you and I got to that point, I figured we'd make it work somehow.”

“Sexual satisfaction is important to humans,” he said bluntly.

She smiled. “You're important to me.”

Connor felt it, a thud in his chest that stirred him. Was this what falling in love was? Was this what he had been missing before?”

“Do you want to see it?”

Startled, her jaw dropped and she let out an offended noise. “Connor!”

“I didn't mean in a crude or sexual manner. This is an honest offer. You are always so interested in anything involving androids. I thought it might be something you were curious about.”

Despite the chill, (Name's) face was red hot. He wasn't wrong. Though she would never be caught dead in a place like the Eden Club, she had always been curious about the aspects of having an android lover. Very curious, if she was fully honest with herself.

“That's... okay,” she said, trying to not look as embarrassed as she felt. God, she wanted to avoid his gaze but he still lay on top of her, staring right at her. She had to admit she liked having him on top of her. “Some things people are allowed to keep private.”

“I honestly don't mind. The offer is always open.”

She barked out a laugh, her face still flushed and she was glad for the darkness to help hide it. “I'll keep that in mind.”

Silence grew between them, neither of them moving. Him and her laying together in the dark, the world looking like it was ending right outside. Connor did not try to kiss her again, but he had settled into running the bridge of his nose along her jaw. This evolved into the two of them nuzzling each others faces like a pair of cats.  The skin-on-skin contact felt good, intimate. (Name) liked his touch, feeling his skin against hers. It wasn't what she thought it would be. It felt natural, soothing and comfortable.

He opened his eyes when she brushed some stray strands from his forehead. “It's getting colder. With the power out, I'm going to have to dig out every blanket I have before going to bed.”

Connor gave her a cute smile, his temple illuminated by the contented azure of his LED. “May I offer my services for tonight? I can generate a comfortable amount of body heat if you would like to put me under all those blankets with yourself.”

She grinned and kissed his nose. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

[darkdumbass]

Yo, I’m not dead, just had a thing going on on Twitter and didn’t want to post it here until it was finished.

It’s a story I wrote with the help of my followers. At certain points I used polls to give them a choice where the story would go next. It turned out pretty well and it’s pretty long so I’m putting it under the cut.

This up here is the cover. The story itself is accompanied by rather quick doodles.

Big thanks to everyone who participated.

Enjoy!

One Day Off

During his stubborn race to prove he's better than everyone else, detective Gavin Reed found himself hitting a wall. At times like these it is wiser to take a step back and take at least a little time to rechage the much needed energy.

Not that detective Reed is considered to be wise by anyone, even by himself, but he has at least that much common sense. So he's taking a day off. Which, sure enough, provides him with a decision to make. What to do? Where to go?

[Amusement park] [Edgy rock concert] [Water park] [Contemporary art gallery]

The last thing he wants is to look like a pathetic loner. He needs an accomplice. Apart from the emergency telephone number, which he can't seem to remember by heart, his empty contact list includes only four other numbers. One choice worse than the other, but he has to choose.

[Old man Anderson] [The ever perfect Connor] [RK900 terminator] [Good guy Chris]

Standing outside the club with the opening act already in progress, Gavin still can't shake the surprise of his usually reserved partner accepting the invitation to go and listen to actual music. But this feeling is nothing compared to the shock of seeing the android arrive. 

"What. On Earth. Are you wearing?"

"I don't understand, detective. You told me to blend in."

"We're going to a rock concert, not starting an emo band."

"Accroding to my research--"

The baffled detective abruptly turns around and heads for the entrance, grumbling under his breath. 

The duo enters the large club, undecipherable shrieking from the direction of the stage filling their ears.

"This opening band is a bunch of clowns," Gavin remarks.

"So what now?" the android asks.

Gavin looks at him with a smirk.

[Booze] [Mingle] [Best spots near the stage] [Ditch the damn clothes, RK]

"Alcohol makes everything better, right?" the detective utters an empty laugh and hastily heads towards the bar.

RK900 curiously follows. Gavin casually orders three shots of tequila.

"Three?" the android wonders.

"Just enough to get this party started." This time his laugh is genuine. 

RK900's stress level slightly rises as he tries to predict all the things that could go wrong when Gavin inevitably gets drunk. What he didn't predict was a large man suddenly bumping into his partner. 

Gavin stumbles and his precious drinks spill, the victims being the bar counter and the android next to him. The poor man gasps, the sight of the wasted liquid gold ruining his delicate mood. He slowly turns, facing the enormous back that is the culprit.

[Punch him] [Hurt him with words] [Let it go] [Glass him]

RK900 sees a familiar expression appear on the detective's face. Gavin grabs a nearby empty beer glass and smashes it against the back of the giant's head. As if almost nothing happened, the mountain of muscle irritatedly turns around.

"Fuck, that hurt you little shi..." 

The words fade as a strong hand grasps Gavin's shirt and hurls him away. Powerless against the enormous force, his body flies into the nearest group of people. Gavin falls to the ground, taking a thin young woman down with him. Confused, he scurries back to his feet only to be greeted by a furiously looking face of who he assumes is the unlucky woman's boyfriend.

"The hell you think you doin'?" the man almost screams and throws a punch in the direction of Gavin's face.

The detective instinctively ducks. The man's fist lands on the wrong face, knocking down an innocent bystander.

Behind their backs an excited and most likely intoxicated voice roars: "Fiiiiiiight!"

A beer bottle flies over their heads, shattering in a crowd of people.

A savage fight breaks out around them, rapidly spreading through the whole club like a virus. Completely shocked, Gavin tries to comprehend the situation. Finally, when various objects start flying in different directions, he runs for safety, vaulting over the bar counter.

The quick-witted RK900 is already there, arms crossed and frowning disapprovingly at his human. Gavin isn't able to do anything more than mutter a nervous "Huh..."

"So... Do you have a plan how to handle this mess of yours?" the android asks impersonally.

[”Pff, I’ll handle it.”] [Call help] [Let’s just gtfo] [”Hey look, free booze!”]

Gavin looks around at the shelves full of alcohol.

"We stay here, have a nice free drink and wait for all this to blow over," he grins and reaches for a bottle of whisky.

RK900 sighs disappointedly. Minutes pass and people are still fighting. Every now and then the android peeks over the counter, checking for life-threatening situations.

Getting tired of the detective's pathetic fun, RK900 swiftly jumps out, moving speedily through the crowd. Gavin is left behind, too busy chugging a second bottle of hard liquor.

The android finally reaches the stage. It's empty save for some music instruments and various contraptions. He positions himself in front of the microphone overlooking the furious crowd. He pats it with one finger and the speaker emits a screechy sound. He leans his head closer.

"May I please ask you to abort all your violent activities and..." RK900 trails off when he sees his words have no impact. He clears his throat, calibrating his sound emitters. He brings the microphone closer to his mouth. In a fraction of a second the android looses his temper and roars with a booming voice: "EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The crowd freezes, people stopping mid-action resembling a paused movie. Somewhere in the distance Gavin drops a bottle.

"Thank you. Now I would kindly ask you to disperse and return to your homes or seek medical attention if need be."

The mass of people shifts as people regain composure. RK900 steps off the stage, satisfied.

But an unknown voice calls out: "Hey, where's the band?"

The android opens his mouth to answer but another voice cuts him out.

"They ran, what else do you think they did, dumbass?"

"Fuck, I paid to hear 'em and that's what I want!"

Cries of agreement echo in the hall. RK900 looks around with fresh concern. Suddenly, Gavin appears at his side, unintentionally brushing shoulders with him. The android notices a half empty bottle in his hand. He's sporting a devilish expression.

"I've got an idea," he calls into the crowd.

RK900 freezes. Whatever it is, it's going to be a disaster.

[Silence him] [Let him speak] [Drag him away] [Slap him]

--- 

It was a slow day at the DPD. Lieutenant Anderson spent it sitting behind his desk filling out paperwork. It's evening and he's working overtime. The sudden ringing of his phone startles him a little. He picks up and listens.

As the coversation progresses, his expression changes from tired to tired as hell. Some disturbance in the city? That isn't even supposed to be his job but it seems that he's one of the few people available. He has no other choice but to get in his car and drive to the scene.

He arrives and a number of police officers are already there, holding the perimeter. One of them fills him in on what's going on. Apparently, a concert was supposed to be held at the club. Somebody shoves a megaphone in his hands. He sighs exhaustedly and steps forward.

He faces a makeshift barricade at the entrance to the club. It's built out of various furniture and metal railing. He lazily lifts the megaphone closer to his lips.

"Uh, hello, this is the police."

At the sound of his voice, several heads peek out over the barricade. In the middle, two figures stand taller than the others. The lieutenant narrows his eyes to see clearer.

"Reed?"

"Anderson?"

"Lieutenant?"

"RK900?"

Awkward silence takes over as lieutenant Anderson tries to put two and two together.

He fails.

"The hell are you two doing here?"

Gavin straightens his back with drunken courage.

"Wha- isn't it obvious? We want music!" his voice breaks with the last word. It does nothing to help Anderson understand.

"The concert?"

"We paid for music so we want it!"

The android next to Gavin sinks to his knees.

Anderson's hand holding the megaphone drops to his hip. His other hand covers his desperate face.

"And I thought this guy couldn't get any worse..." he mumbles into his palm. He lets out a loud breath. "Time to do my work, I guess."

[Use force] [Parley] [Talk him out of it] [”RK900, do something!”]

The lieutenant lifts the megaphone again.

"RK900!"

His loud shout interrupts the android's silent prayer. His head turns towards Anderson.

"What are you doing? Tell him to knock it off!"

"I tried. He doesn't listen," RK responds.

"Well then you haven't tried hard enough."

RK gives Gavin a desperate look. The man notices his gaze and pats him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll get the band back," he mumbles with a comforting smile.

RK900 lifts an eyebrow at the lieutenant. Anderson gestures his hands encouragingly. RK looks back at his partner. The man is now using his hand on the android's shoulder to steady himself. He burps with a frown.

In one quick movement RK900 jumps behind the barricade, pulling Gavin down with him. Grabbing onto his jacket, he violently shakes the human, finally getting his full attention.

"This moronic idea of yours will never work. I need you to give this up before everybody here ends up in prison," he whispers aggressively.

Gavin's confused expression slowly transforms into a defiant one.

"We haven't spent three hours building a barricade for nothing!"

"You'll walk with your freedom unrestricted if you just use your one braincell."

"That's not enough," he retorts.

RK sighs wearily, "What would it take for you to change your mind?"

The man makes an innocent face.

"Depends. What're you offering?"

RK900 falls silent, thinking.

[”My soul”] [An offer he can’t refuse] [”Anything. Just ANYTHING”] [A night he won’t forget]

Finally, the android lets go of the detective's jacket and places his hands on the man's shoulders instead, bringing their faces closer.

"Gavin," he breathes softly, making a dramatic pause before  he continues, "I'll give you a night you'll never forget."

The man stares at him dumbly. RK900 slides his hands and gently caresses the back of Gavin's neck, pulling him even closer.

"I know you better than anyone else," his voice quiets to a whisper, "Your every desire."

The detective gulps. An unintelligible mumble escapes his lips. 

A playful smile lights up the android's face.

"So why don't we leave all this behind and go to your place right now?" He's practically holding the dumbfounded detective in his arms.

"Ah-hahhh," Gavin gives in.

"Perfect," RK winks and lets go of him.

After that, Gavin takes notice of very little of what happens around him, completely lost in his fantasizing mind.

Police officers swarming the barricade.

A night he'll never forget?

Old man Anderson yelling.

Desires?

Being shoved into a cab.

To his place?

At last, he comes around. Truly, the android is sitting next to him in the taxi, a tired look on his face. Their eyes meet. Gavin can't stop a dopey smile. The car stops with a jerk. Unsurprised by the man's inability to move, RK900 opens the door instead, pushing Gavin outside.

He finds himself in an unfamiliar place, completely devoid of civilization save for the faint outline of the city somewhere in the distance. He truns around, seeing the android still sitting in the cab comfortably.

"I- Uh..."

"You," RK points his finger accusingly, "will try to find some reason in that head of yours."

"Y-you said--"

"Oh," the android interrupts his mumbling, "I lied." He flashes Gavin a condescending smile.

"Not about the 'unforgettable' part though. And try not to take too long, Fowler wants us at the office tomorrow at 0600."

The car door shuts and the cab silently drives away, leaving detective Gavin Reed to his own devices.

The end.

Thank you for reading! I imagine it was easy to follow on Twitter in daily doses but only now did I realize that it’s pretty damn long! So if you made it this far, you’re my hero <3

If you’re interested in the outcome of the polls with percentage, the whole thread can be found here.

And lastly, if you want to see me ramble more, share random funny anecdotes and maybe write more stories, follow me on Twitter.

Signing off, 

Your friendly neighbourhood fanartist

[connywrites]

of flesh and blood 31

also on [ao3]

start - part [30]

-

"Fuck," he murmured to himself in a hushed, swift breath the way he often did.

"Fuck, I can't believe this shit, holy hell," he continued, pacing with his hands behind his head, eyes looking at the ground while he walked circles.

His dad was definitely going to be livid. He didn't have a partner on the team anymore, which evidently diminished his chances at being an objectionable case. The DPD wasn't going to be on his side for long, and once word of this got out he was as good as dead meat.

He didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could do.

Ripping open the box to look at the pieces of the chassis might not have been the smartest decision, but something buzzed in his mind as he pulled the face panel from the top and turned it around. Looking over the ports, bolts and other various pieces that composed the shell of its head, he paid no mind to the complicated connective process, eyeing over the electronic chips embedded into the shell that shaped the android's face, minus the eyes and internal skeleton nestled behind it, still in the box. All of the main biocomponents were there, but the entirety of the android body wasn't in the box; likely because it wouldn't fit without getting inconveniently bulky. What was left behind was the old thirium pump, drained of the liquid that dissipated from the human eye's naked vision, now an empty, metal-framed plastic container with a pair of holes blown through the front and back of it. It looked simple on its own, clear and hollow compared to the morbid visage of when it was spilling the glistening liquid across the sidewalk. The way the android’s old chassis was now a strange puzzle of scattered parts was a different kind of unnerving, compared to the fact it seemed like a living, breathing human being only days ago.

Shifting the pieces to look around more, he was startled to catch sight of the hands; white and metallic, with the strength that crushed his throat, and shoved him, and cut him, and everything else that wasn't with those arms in particular, but the ones after. The new, resurrected RK900 that returned once more, but with malicious intentions and a vendetta, the next in line of RK serial numbers that destroyed his furniture and soon enough might have entirely ripped him apart, too.

It was over now. It was gone and done with. Gavin knew he should be, too, listening to the strange creak of metallic joints as he prodded the fingers of one of the hands, admiring how deceptively limp the appendages were, how easy it was to shift the device in his hands, interlinking his own fleshy, calloused fingers with the clunky form of its original plastic ones, small panels intricately shaped and placed together to create joints and knuckles with the texture of artificial tendons running above the original plastic that would be washed over by the illusion of its ‘skin’.

This was hard-wired proof that the machine was nothing but that, no matter how human it seemed in their interactions from days, weeks, and months before. It was fascinating, in a way, how the human psyche digested things differently solely on appearance; a factor Elijah Kamski clearly took into consideration, considering they had functions to reveal or recede the human-mimicking tone of flesh, leaving them a bald, plastic chassis with eyes much too glossy and realistic, always popping out in contrast to the other inorganic features and structure. It was mortifying to think about how well it had taught and trained and disciplined him into treating it like a human, just as it wanted. Weren’t those already tell-tale signs of deviancy? Gavin supposed it didn’t matter, considering the tests were over, Cyberlife supposedly found the answer and the RK900 was gone.

That meant these hunks of useless machinery were as good as garbage, he figured, coming to terms with the fact they really were only there to scare him. Taking a deep breath in through his nose, then out with a flare of his nostrils, he tossed the pieces back in the box, and slammed the lid back on with the thought of how much it might weigh and how far he’d have to carry it to the nearest dumpster. Would that be suspicious? In all reality, he didn’t know how often commonplace people threw out their androids, and the last thing he needed was to attract more attention.

-

Going home to Sumo laying on the couch was much more comforting than seeing the RK900 waiting there, staring at him expectantly; the dog lifted his massive head with an attentive whine, wagging his tail, and Gavin lifted his eyebrows to offer him a tired expression while he peeled off his nice coat to hang up on the nearby rack.

“Look at you. Getting to lay around here all day, doing nothing,” he murmured, but his voice was fairly playful, even though it was lethargic. Sitting down and leaning back into the comfort of the new couch cushions, he welcomed Sumo with open arms as the dog plodded heavy paws onto his legs, making him chuckle at the force of the St. Bernard’s weight as he settled to lay his head down on his lap. Generally, he’d consider it too early to sleep, but seeing as he clearly wasn’t getting up to make dinner anytime soon, he figured he’d make himself comfortable, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV to shuffle through the channels in an attempt to find something to watch.

Coming home without the sense of danger throughout his house was something he’d began to appreciate, even if the only reason he had a house in the first place was because of the RK900’s affinity for ‘gifts.’ Large, unnervingly expensive, long-term ‘presents’ that were supposed to aid him in the long run, but for what? Sighing, he leaned his head back, absent-mindedly running his hands through the big dog’s thick fur, closing his eyes as he let his mind run rampant with ideas, memories, and the thoughts for his future. As it was clear he wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon, he decided it was best to rest where he was for now.

-

“Yeah, I tossed the damn thing out, finally,” he said with a lighter tone to his voice, sounding relieved.

“Good. I can’t imagine what good it was doing for you, sitting around in the garage,” Tina responded with a bit more harshness than intended; but with the knowledge the ‘souvenir’ was continuing to destroy his psyche, she felt a bias over the fact it should have been thrown out since the night she unwrapped the box, expecting literally anything but the blank face she’d discovered first thing upon opening it. Gavin remembered panicking, scrambling to apologize as they ended the night early and she headed home, deciding that was a bit much and not talking to him for a couple weeks thereafter. As he was afraid to lose the only person resembling a friend he seemed to have, he didn’t take any action to bother her, simply hoping she’d contact him again; and feeling all the more relieved when she did.

“I dunno,” he admitted as he was at a loss for words.

“I thought if I kept it there, I could contain it somehow. But I can’t contain something imaginary. Should have thrown it out the night you were at my place,” he stated with a sigh, rubbing the creases in his forehead with his index finger and thumb, elbow to the break room table as he glared at his partial portrait staring back at him from the white surface, staring it down in a reflection of self-loathing.

“It’s still messing you up?” Her voice sounded callous, but he didn’t blame her for not knowing better.

“It never stopped,” he snapped in a voice that sliced through the air with its bite. She paused.

“Have you met the new guy yet?” A swift subject change ought to help them both feel better, she figured.

“Huh? Sure,” he said with a nod to himself, knitting his brows as he thought back to the annoyance that was supposedly the new aid for the team.

“I can already tell he’s gonna be a pain in the ass.”

“I think he already is,” she agreed.

“The FBI are already snakes, and Perkins is…well, who he is,” she expressed without so many words. Gavin made a disgusted noise, shaking his head to himself.

“Tell me about it. At least Perkins only shows up when he’s needed. I have a feeling this kid’s gonna be a lot nosier.” She paused.

"So...how are you holding up? With it being gone, I mean." Gavin's lips twitched back in a grimace, and he sighed.

"Okay, I guess. It doesn't feel real. Followed me everywhere, from work to bed and back again." Her gaze dimmed uncomfortably.

"Well, you've invited me over to your place, why don't you come to my house? A change of scenery often helps." Blinking with his usual dumbfounded stare of disbelief, Gavin paused, before nodding.

“Yeah, alright. That doesn’t sound so bad.”