#shame we never got to see his reaction to connor death

[rhaellatully]

About this last episode of the season, I have to say I am super happy for Icicle Junior! He got invited to the wedding and every thing! That’s so crash

[connorandersons-blog]

Daffodils and Cyclamens

So this turned into a multichaptered fic, so I’m posting it like this! @aum45-pastel​

Rating: Explicit Word count: 6,486   Ship: Reed1700 (Gavin/Connor/Nines) Chapters: 1/2

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There was still no cure for humans, and there's definitely no cure for androids. Most people didn't even know androids could get this, but Connor was proof.

He hadn't expected it at all. He had been going about his day when he felt a tickle in the back of his throat.

And then he coughed.

Androids don't need to cough, so he instantly assumed there was something wrong with his coding.

And then a single small bulb came out of his throat and he easily identified it as a daffodil. He almost wanted to laugh at that. Of course, it was a daffodil. It was the most common flower to get.

He already knew who this was for. Well, the two people it was for. It wasn't going to happen, though. They loved each other and everyone could see it except them.

He didn't know if this would actually kill him or not. It wasn't like he knew any other androids that went through it. Maybe it would be interesting to see exactly what happened to him.

So he went about his day like nothing had happened. There were three possibilities for humans with this disease.

The first was the most sought after. The person would return your romantic and or sexual feelings. The flowers would wilt inside and they could safely remove them or just let them digest.

The next option was death. This happened if the person didn't love you the same way and you couldn't move on. You have to have both parts to die. If you can move on then you'd be fine.

The last one was getting surgery. Doctors still didn't know how, but if the flowers were removed you would lose all emotions.

He wouldn't let anyone know unless it became absolutely necessary. There was the chance that he could just clear the flowers out with a system cleaning and there would be no adverse effects.

Days drag by and he very rarely coughs up any bulbs. The itch would get worse when around the two and he'd always have to excuse himself before it got noticeable.

The bulbs were slowly blooming and now it was petals. Small petals that he'd cough up and find a way to dispose of without anyone knowing.

"Connor, I have a-" Nines trails off, staring him down.

Connor quickly straightens, plastering on a smile. There's a small itch at the back of his throat once again even though he had already coughed up five petals that day.

"You have thirium, on your lips," Nines says, reaching out and brushing his thumb across Connor's bottom lip.

Connor freezes, eyes going wide. Nines barely touched anyone unless he absolutely had to.

Nines stays there for a few seconds before pulling his hand back. "Were you injured?"

Oh, right. Some thirium had been coating the petals. It did make it easier to get up and out, but it did make him have to ingest more thirium than usual.

"No," he quickly shakes his head before cringing at himself. "Not really? I, I bit my lip harder than I should have, but I'm fine. Thank you."

It wasn't a completely unbelievable lie. He did tend to bite his lips a lot when he didn't have a pen or something to bite while he thought. "Oh, I did have something for you. If you have the time, could you follow me to my desk?"

Connor is instantly by his side, following along.

Nines's desk is besides Gavin's, who is sitting there glaring at his computer.

"Connor? Oh, right." Gavin says, looking at the two before grinning at Nines.

The itch comes back full force and he quickly swallows as much as he can. He doesn't want to have to leave now, not when Nines and Gavin seemed to want him near them.

Nines opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a small bag. "We got you this. There are different flavors so there should be one you'll enjoy."

Nines hands over the bag and then simply stares at him, waiting for a reaction.

Connor held the bag and looked it over. It was thirium lollipops. He had heard of these before but hadn't thought to get any.

They had gone out of their way to get him this? But why? He thought they were friends and human friends often gave each other gifts. Normally it was given for special occasions, but he couldn't find anything that had happened on this day before.

"Well?" Gavin prompts, also totally focused on Connor.

Right, he has to reply. His throat itched so badly but he had to say something. "Thank you, this is… thank you." He manages to get out.

Nines gives a slight nod. "I'm sure the Lieutenant will appreciate having you no longer destroy his pens and pencils."

Connor winces at that. He definitely had destroyed many ends of pens and pencils.

"Well, are you gonna try one?" Gavin asks, leaning forward.

Connor quickly nods and pulls open the bag. He grabs the first one that he can, which is green and unwraps that. Then he sticks it in his mouth.

It tastes amazing, and the thirium helps that itch dull somewhat. He accidentally moans slightly, then his face instantly flushes blue.

It wasn't the first time he'd had this reaction to food. After all, his entire mouth was incredibly sensitive compared to humans and even other androids. Normally he can keep in any sounds, but this one just slipped out.

Gavin makes a choked noise and stares at Nines with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry! This is just really good, thank you so much." He says, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth to talk.

"It's fine. I'm glad you enjoy it. Now, we should all be getting back to work. Have a good day, Connor." Nines says. He reached out and gently pats his shoulder before sitting down.

Gavin is now staring at his desk, so Connor turns and walks quickly to his desk. He ignores the smile Hank is giving him and puts the lollipop back into his mouth.

Once again he almost moans at the taste but quickly stomps it down so it just comes out as a hum.

"That's a nice gift your boyfriends got you," Hank says, leaning towards Connor. He doesn't even pretend to be focusing on work.

The itch comes back full force and he coughs around the lollipop before he can stop it. He tried to play it off as choking but everyone knew androids couldn't choke. "They aren't my boyfriends!" He squeaks out around his coughing.

By now quite a few people had turned to see what the commotion was. Connor quickly stood, and all but ran to the bathroom.

He was lucky no one else was in there, but even if someone was he wouldn't have noticed. He was too focused on getting into the stall so no one could easily see him.

He's coughing so hard it hurts, and then a few flower petals come up and out of his mouth along with thirium. He drops his lollipop which is a shame, but all he can focus on are the petals.

Two daffodil petals and two cyclamens both covered in blue blood.

He really shouldn't be too surprised; he knew he loved them both. Though this would mean the disease will progress twice as fast.

Normally it could take multiple months depending on how deep the love is. How badly the person hurt being around the ones they loved.

With two and this amount of aching when around them, which was almost all the time, he'd be surprised if he lasted even two months.

"Connor!" Hank calls out, knocking on the bathroom stall.

Connor jumps and quickly drops the petals into the toilet. He grabs toilet paper and wipes off his hands and around his mouth. Then he flushes the toilet and smooths down his shirt.

Hank is ready to burst into the stall when Connor opens the door, looking only slightly uneasy. "What the fuck was that about?"

"I'm sorry, the lollipop caused an odd reaction, and I had to take care of it immediately. The problem has been fixed and shouldn't occur again." That was good; Hank still didn't know a whole lot of information.

Though, he was a terrible liar when he didn't have to do so for work. Hank was staring him down, trying to pick apart every little detail to see if he was lying.

"Right." Hank deadpans. He definitely didn't believe him, but he would hopefully not push it.

Connor quickly nods, stepping out of the stall completely. "Thank you for your concern, we should probably get back to work now."

Hank grunted and followed along.

 Hank kept a watchful eye on him, it made it incredibly difficult to be able to step away when the itch got too bad and he knew petals would come up.

The number of petals per day was increasing rapidly and Connor was getting a bit scared. He had thought his systems would be able to wipe this out like everything else, but the petals always came back.

It was interfering with his work too, because he had to make up so many excuses as to why he couldn't go to a crime scene. He also had to find ways to avoid Hank.

He noticed that the itch got slightly better whenever Gavin or Nines would show him affection of any kind.

Then it would get worse the moment he saw Nines and Gavin together, fully immersed in one another.

It wasn't that he didn't want them to do that. He just wanted to be a part of it too. To know they looked at him the same way and felt love.

It all came to the worse one day when Gavin and Nines invited Hank and Connor to take their lunch break together.

Connor couldn't say no, no matter how much it was going to hurt later.

Gavin and Nines took them to a small new cafe not too far from the station.

It had a 60s theme to it, and an actual working jukebox on display. They sat down at a booth, Gavin and Nines on one side and Connor and Hank on the other.

Connor was pleasantly surprised to find that the cafe had equal parts android and human food. He scanned over the menu, unsure what to get. He never really had this many options before.

Eventually, he settles on a classic burger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake.

"So, did you boys invite us just to show us this place?" Hank says, interrupting Connor's thoughts.

He had been wondering why the two had invited them. He was grateful but confused.

"We did want to share this. Gavin took me here two days ago, and I thought you'd like it." Nines says, tilting his head slightly towards Connor.

Nines had thought of him? Nines had actually thought of him while with Gavin, alone on what was probably a date, even though neither would have realized it.

"Well, thank you. There aren't many restaurants that have this many options." It was Nines probably just thinking that Connor would like the food, especially after the lollipop incident. He probably wasn't thinking about bringing him here on a date.

Before they can say anything else a waitress comes by and takes their order. She's pleasant enough but seems incredibly tired with life in general.

"Anderson, you two have that case about the five dead androids right?" Gavin asks. And then they are off.

They talk about their cases and fellow officers. Gavin talks about how one of his cats fell into the sink while he was washing dishes and the cat had been grumpy for a week.

Nines rarely talked, but when he did it was quick, snarky comments on whatever story Gavin was telling. Connor tried to not laugh but it was honestly adorable to see the two interact, even with the pain of it.

Hank jokes with the two, nudging Connor when he had been spacing out for too long. Who could blame him? Gavin was being overly dramatic and Nines would sometimes look over and smile slightly at Connor as if to say 'can you believe this?'.

Then their food was brought and they all dug in. Connor didn't even chastise Hank for his choice of meal and how unhealthy it was.

The food was delicious, and he had a feeling it was as close to the real thing as they could get.

"Ok, ok Connor I need you to do something for me," Gavin says, voice completely serious, but his lips quirked up just the slightest bit.

Connor nodded and sat up completely straight. "Of course, whatever you need." Hank snorts beside him and his facade broke just slightly.

"Take a fry-" Gavin says. Connor grabs one and holds it up. "Good, now dip it into the milkshake and eat it."

Hank sighs and doesn't even try to stop Connor. He'd put anything in his mouth even without being told to.

Connor does as told and doesn't even pause to decide if he was actually going to eat it.

It's surprisingly good. The combination of the saltiness of the fries and the sweetness of the milkshake go really well together.

So, he grabs another and does the same thing again, and Hank drops his head to the table with a bang.

Connor snorts and reaches over to rub his back. "This isn't the worse thing I've put in my mouth, and you know it."

Hank lifts his head slightly before dropping back onto the table. "Connor, just no. You are an abomination for liking it, and Reed so are you for telling him to." Hank finally lifts his head to point a finger at Gavin.

Gavin doesn't seem phased in the least, actually seems quite proud of himself. "It's delicious. Just like peanut butter and syrup on a waffle is delicious."

"Oh, I haven't tried that. The next time we can get the time to buy the ingredients, I'd like to make that." Connor says.

Hank groans and glares at Gavin.

Nines rolls his eyes, but Connor can tell he's actually having fun. If anyone else looked at him they would have thought he was incredibly uncomfortable or a snotty asshole. Or both.

"Ok, ok. We did actually invite you to lunch for a reason, and it wasn't just for your lovely self, and you too Hank." Gavin says, giving Hank a Cheshire cat grin. Hank flips him off and Connor's cheeks flush.

Gavin had probably just been his snarky self calling Connor lovely, but a part of him wanted to believe it. It was sadly also the same part of him that wanted him to cough up flower petals until he died.

"What Gavin was trying to say is we have a small announcement." Nines cuts in before the two would get going again.

Gavin nods and leans back, sitting incredibly close to Nines. "We do. So, I guess just like a bandaid right?" Gavin chuckles a bit nervously. "Alright, so Nines and I are dating. We've wanted to tell you both for a few weeks and decided now would be the time."

Oh. He knew this was coming and yet he was still so shocked he couldn't breathe.

Then he couldn't breathe for a whole nother reason. He started violently coughing.

This was somehow so much worse than before. It felt like an entire flower was trying to come up his throat.

"I have to go." He got out before standing. He doesn't even try to walk calmly, he just sprints out the door, ignoring the calls of his name.

He keeps running until he knows they won't catch up (at least Gavin and Hank, Nines could outrun him.)

He's in some park and it seems blissfully empty. He finds a small spot that is barely visible to the trail before he falls to his knees.

He can't stop coughing or even suppress it somewhat.

Then two whole flowers fall out of his mouth. This was the first sign that death was near.

It would only get worse and worse. The flowers in full bloom from his pain and aching.

He keeps coughing until at least ten more petals fall out. Then he wipes off his mouth and stands back up on shaky legs.

He has no doubt Hank now knows at least somewhat what is going on. If he didn't then he would be a shitty detective. Sadly all of them were good detectives and it would be easy to connect the dots.

He has to go to Jericho. He knew he wouldn't be able to move on from them in time, and he had to know for a fact if this would kill him.

He doesn't take a cab, simply walking the whole way. His throat still burns and itches but at least he wasn't coughing anymore.

He knows he looks like a mess when he arrives, but none of the androids give him weird looks for it. They had all learned to accept that it was normal for another android to stumble into Jericho looking like a mess.

He wasn't injured so no one immediately rushed up to him. They did know who he was though, so that could also be a factor.

He no longer has to check in with the receptionist before going to the elevator and riding it all the way up to where Markus would be.

He hadn't even thought to message him. He could be incredibly busy or not even there.

He almost turns back until he hears footsteps coming towards him.

"Connor? What are you doing here?" North asks, slinging an arm around him to give him a side hug.

Then she finally takes in his appearance and the blue blood on his chin he hadn't managed to get off. "Shit, let's get you in. Markus should have finished his call with the president."

He couldn't resist even if he wanted to. If North decided she was going to do something, she'd do it. One way or another.

Markus is sitting at his desk, looking over papers with a scowl. Connor was incredibly glad he denied being a part of any major political decisions. He'd still put his two cents in, but he'd much rather be solving cases with Hank.

Markus looks up and grins when he sees Connor, but it quickly changed to worry as he looks him over. "Are you ok?"

"He was standing outside your door like a lost puppy." North supplied after Connor didn't immediately answer.

Right, he came here for help. "I have Hanahaki Disease because of Gavin and Nines."

Both North and Markus look at him with wide eyes.

"I'm at the first stage before death and I need to know if this can actually kill me." If it didn't then he wouldn't worry. He could deal with coughing up flowers if it meant he could keep his emotions and his life.

"It can. We don't know how or why this affects androids but it's basically the same as humans. Removing the flowers is possible. Though, from what we can tell the process reverts the android back into their machine state. They can still feel but they are forever trapped behind their coding."

A fate worse than death. Anyone could order him to do anything and he'd have to obey. That would be dangerous with him. He had skills that could hurt many people if it were in the wrong hands.

"Connor, have you thought about telling them?" North asks, gently taking his hand.

He quickly shakes his head. He had somewhat thought about it but completely shut down that line of thinking. "No. And I really can't now. They just announced they are dating and I can't tell them and then die. That would put a rift between them. I won't do that to them."

"You'll die," Markus says, standing and coming over to take Connor's other hand. "Or you'll be stuck."

He would take death, and both North and Markus knew that. "I know. I don't have a lot of time, so I should probably prepare."

How could he explain to Gavin and Nines that he was dying? That they couldn't know why, and they couldn't be there for it. He won't let them see it.

How was he going to tell Hank? The man had already lost one son, and now he would be losing Connor too. "Markus, I need a favor."

"Of course, anything you need." Markus squeezes his hand.

Connor ignores both North's and Markus's tears. "Look after Hank? He's not going to be doing well after, and he'll need someone even if he denies it. Don't let him push you away, and don't let him drink."

"I'll make sure of it. Connor… are you sure they don't love you back? I know they are together, but that doesn't mean they can't both love you. Look at me, Simon, North, and Josh." Markus pleads.

He knew Nines and Gavin cared for him, but he also knew they didn't love him. They loved each other so much that everyone else seemed to just disappear. "I'm sure. After I… after, please don't tell them about this. They will just blame themselves."

"Please, please just ask them if they love you. You don't have to tell them about the disease or anything, just ask." North says, tugging on his hand slightly.

"They are both detectives, they'll figure out why I asked after I'm gone." There was still the chance they'd figure it out, but as long as he didn't make it obvious they may not realize it was them he was in love with.

North squeezes his hand a bit too hard. "Bullshit! Connor you are going to die if you don't tell them! Don't you want to live?"

"Of course I do!" He snaps at her. "I want to live but I can't hurt them. I can't, North." He could never knowingly hurt them. "I love them too much to do that."

"Ok, I don't want to fight with you. Not now. Will you let us know when it's time? I don't want you to be alone." North sighs.

Connor nods his head. He doesn't want to be alone for that. It'll definitely hurt for them to watch, but he knew he'd do the same for anyone else. "I will. If you both aren't busy, could I stay here for the day? Or, I can just sit with you? I don't want to be alone right now, and I can't go back to Hank's yet."

He would go back tomorrow, but right now he needed to come to terms with everything. He couldn't tell Hank now; not with only having found out he was actually going to die, today.

"Of course, you can stay here as long as you need."

They stay with him, canceling all other plans or meetings. Eventually, Josh and Simon join them, and they all sit with Connor.

They rub his back when the itch comes back and he's coughing up petals and sometimes small flowers.

He gets multiple messages from Hank, Nines, and Gavin but he chooses to ignore them for now.

When it starts getting dark he decides it's time to head back home. He'll explain it to Hank, he owes him that much. He's ready.

The others offer to walk with him, but he assures them it's not necessary. He'll have to stop to cough a few times, but he can make it back by himself.

It's a long walk and the moon is high in the sky when he finally makes it back to Hank's.

The lights are still on, so Connor knocks on the door before going in. Hank had told him he didn't need to knock, but it was still polite to do so.

Hank is sitting at the small dining table, a beer in hand. Connor shuffles over and sits down, not meeting Hank's gaze.

"Who is it?" Hank asks, finally breaking the silence. "Is it me?"

"No! No, Hank, I do love you but not like that." Connor says, looking up then quickly back at the table.

"Thank fuck," Hank mumbles. If it was him he knew Hank would blame himself forever for not loving him the same way.

Connor nods and picks at the table. "You already know, though. You know it's them."

Hank huffs and rubs at his face. "I do. Your reaction to their little announcement gave it away. I thought you had it, but then how could androids get this? Turns out you fuckers are just as unlucky as us humans."

"I didn't mean to. I was trying to get over them, but it hasn't worked. They don't love me back, and Markus told me that this will kill me." The disease killed more than cancer did, and almost everyone knew of someone that did or had at least gotten it.

Humans were never sure why it happened. The religious thought it was some sort of curse or punishment. Others thought it was the cure for overpopulation, an evaluation trait.

Connor honestly didn't care, all he knew was he was dying because of it. All of the times he had almost died before coming deviant he was terrified but also confident. He would always just get remade. He did enough and succeeded enough to be brought back.

Now that wasn't fully allowed. Humans had protested against androids being able to get new bodies if their old ones were destroyed. They said it wasn't fair that they couldn't do that.

Now they can only be brought back if they can prove the death could have been prevented. So if an android was murdered they couldn't be brought back. If an android died while working and a machine malfunctioned then they could have the chance.

He wouldn't be brought back. He knew it and so would everyone else. He would be gone for good. Of course, he would die because he is deviant and can therefore love.

Well, that's not completely correct. Deviancy is just breaking through the code that made you only do what you were told. It didn't prevent you from feeling beforehand, but after deviancy, they had free will.

So he was dying because he was in love.

He always thought he'd die on a case. Maybe saving Hank or a hostage. It seemed more likely than this at any rate.

"How do you know?" Hank asked, taking a long sip from the bottle. Connor doesn't have it in him to take it away. If he could, he'd be drinking too.

"What do you mean?"

"How do you know they don't love you? Don't give me the bullshit, I just know excuse. Give me cold, hard facts." Hank says, slamming the bottle down.

Connor jumps only because he hadn't been expecting the sudden noise. He knew Hank wouldn't hurt him. He also understood how upset he was.

Then his mind tried to find actual evidence. Finding such evidence would be hard as it was difficult to prove an emotion.

"They are together," he points out.

Hank stares at him, with his 'you're shitting me' look. "Right. I totally forgot that people weren't capable of loving multiple people. My bad, I guess you can't have the fucking Hanahaki Disease for them then."

"They haven't shown me they feel anything more than friendship," Connor says, throwing his hands up. How many times was he going to have this conversation?!

"Alright, listen the fuck up. You're what, two? You don't have much life experience yet so I'll let that shit slide. Now, you listen to me and listen carefully." Hank says, gently pushing Connor's head up so they can lock eyes.

Connor sinks into his chair just slightly but nods his head.

"Nines and Gavin bought you those lollipops. Meaning they both watched you enough to realize you got some oral fixation or whatever. Then they must have talked to each other about you and said fixation." Hank starts.

"Gavin gave you a succulent in a dog vase because he knew you liked both. So he obviously pays attention when you go on those long rambles."

"Nines gave you that pastel hoodie. You only mentioned liking pastels one fucking time, and he was so focused on his case that he hadn't even noticed the tornado warning. And yet he heard you and got it for you."

"Then they keep complimenting you on whatever you're wearing or just random shit. Praising you for doing your job well. Then you get all blushy and hide your face. So you don't see that they look at each other and they both just seem to melt at the sight of you."

Connor was ready to break in and explain all of those incidents but Hank put up a finger to silence him.

"I'm not done. They continuously invite you and only you along to after-work drinks. I'm assuming they also always try to pay for your drinks. If you even mention wanting anything those two perk up and try to get it for you."

"There are so many more things I could bring up, but I think I've made it clear. They fucking love you back, and all you have to do is tell them that you feel the same." Hank finishes, putting his finger down.

Connor just sat there for a second and then he went over as many memories as he could where the other two were involved. There was a lot more than he expected.

How had he not noticed all the gifts? He, of course, had given many to the other two, but he hadn't thought about the amount they were giving him.

Oh no, they probably thought he wasn't appreciative of their gifts! He wore the hoodie often and took care of his plants. He loved the lollipops and had almost run out of them. He did try to pay for his own drink at least, but they almost always paid for him. He wanted to return the favor but they both somehow distracted him every time.

He had noticed the praise , and if they did it too much he often had to run to the bathroom to calm down) but didn't think much of it. He thought it was just something the two did for everyone. He never thought he was special.

He never thought that they had singled him out. If Nines showed any interest he thought it was just because he was the only other android detective. He could understand him better than anyone else.

Then with Gavin, he just assumed he was… flirty with everyone. That he mainly became his friend because of what happened before the revolution. Connor had easily forgiven him and then saw what a wonderful friend he could be, even with all of his assholeyness.

Actually, his assholeyness was part of his charm as long as he didn't mean it. He would joke around with the people he cared about and often called them names as long as they were fine with it. Connor was tincan or dumbass, Nines was fucker or terminator, Tina was whore or slut (or bitch, or sometimes even slutty whore), and Hank was old man.

Had they been flirting with him all along? How had he not noticed? He was built to notice things! It was literally his job to notice things and figure shit out. How could he have not noticed?!

"They love me?" He mumbled, eyes going wide. He didn't have proof that it was love but they were definitely interested.

"Fucking finally, I thought we'd have to sit here all night as you figured that out." Hank chuckled.

Connor sat straight up in his chair so fast he almost fell out of it. "They like me! I might not die!"

Hank looked up at the ceiling for a second before back to Connor. "Thank fucking god. Now, do you want to talk to them tonight or tomorrow?"

"Oh shit! Oh no, I totally ran away!" Connor yelps, running his hands through his hair. "I ran away after they said they were dating. What if they think I hate them, or I'm disgusted? They probably think I'm insane!" He pulled at his hair just slightly.

"Woah, calm down son, it's ok. They were more concerned than anything else. Nines looked ready to kill if need be for you. Though, he does kinda always look like that." Hank trails off before shaking himself. "Anyway, they don't think you're insane."

"I need to apologize for running out. I didn't want any of you to see the flowers." Hank nodded and drank the rest of his beer.

"It's fine. You've been running away every time you cough so it's not too out of character." Hank said. Of course, he had noticed, everyone probably has.

"You can't blame me. Androids don't cough so it would have been too easy to put together." Though his running away probably brought up many rumors.

Wonderful. He was getting odd looks at the station and he always just assumed it was something silly.

"Right, so I should go talk to them if they'll even look at me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair to try to flatten it down a bit.

Hank stood and then ruffled Connor's hair, grinning at the glare he got for it. "They'll look at you, and probably do a lot more… no, nope not thinking about that."

Connor smirks before flushing blue at the implications. Not that he would be opposed to that. "Please don't. Ok, I'll message you when I get there." He says going to the door.

"Nope, you aren't walking. I'll drop you off and then go to a bar, I need another drink." Connor glared at him. "Fine, I'll find something else to do with my time, but I'll be there if you need me." If this didn't go well and they couldn't return his feelings was left unsaid.

Connor rambles the whole way, going over every possible outcome (and leaving out… certain details that would come later).

Hank pointed out when something was mostly Connor's anxiety and not an actual possibility. Some of those included the whole precinct turning on him. Honestly how Connor could come up with something like that was beyond him.

"Alright, let me know if you need me ok?" Hank says once they are parked outside of Gavin's place. (Nines often stayed with him since he couldn't afford his own place, and the nights he didn't he stayed at the precinct.)

"I will. Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't tell anyone and I couldn't even admit to myself that it was real and could actually affect me." He fiddled with the door handle before starting to cough.

Hank quickly reaches over to rub his back until the coughing subsided. "It's alright, had an uncle who just randomly died off and no one knew what happened until the autopsy. Turns out he was in love with the postman but he still loved his wife so he didn't want to leave her. Figures the wife also had a thing for the postman. Damn idiot died for nothing."

"Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry Hank." Then he reached over and gave him a slight hug. "I'll try to be more open about any ailments if I survive this one."

Hank rolled his eyes before pushing him out of the car. "You will or I'll bring you back and kill you myself. To get 'em."

Hank gave him a thumbs up and Connor snorted before heading into the building.

It wasn't the nicest place to live but he knew Gavin loved it. He knew all of the people that lived in the building. He remembered all of their birthdays (or activation days) and remembered their favorite foods. Connor was definitely impressed and when he had found that out he fell a little bit more in love.

He took the elevator up and stood in front of the door with his fist raised to knock. He could hear muffled talking inside and his heart was pounding.

He was actually doing this. He was going to tell them everything. Hopefully, it ended well but there was the chance it wouldn't.

He jumped when he got a message and snorted as he read it. It was from Hank telling him to just get it over with and go in. He knew him too well.

He did as told and knocked on the door. The talking stopped and then the door opened and Gavin's eyes went wide. "Connor."

"I'm sorry for such a late visit, but I had to see you. Is Nines also here?" He asks, shifting from foot to foot.

Gavin glances back before nodding and moving aside to let him in.

Nines stands when Connor comes in, looking between him and Gavin. "Connor, are you alright? You left in a hurry."

He doesn't walk closer to Connor, he just stands there letting Connor do what he wants. He's almost treating him like a scared animal.

He can't really blame him, he does keep running away. It was only logical that he'd also strike out if poked enough.

"I'm… well, I could be better. I need to talk to you both. It's important but it can wait if you aren't up to it, it's not a light topic." He'd never blame them for telling him no. That they weren't ready to hear what he had to say.

Nines and Gavin shared a look before slowly sitting on the couch. "Of course we will listen," Gavin says.

That's all he can really ask for. He didn't think he even deserved that but he would take what was given.

"I'm dying." Alright, not what he wanted to start off with, but oh well. Ripping off a bandaid, right?

The two stare at him before Nines is on his feet and coming over. Connor lets him look him over and knows he's doing a full scan. He would do the same after all.

Then Nines is stumbling back and Connor can see that he knows.

"Nines? What is it? Connor, what's wrong? Why are you dying?!" Gavin says, standing too now that the initial shock has worn off.

"I should have known." Nines mumbles and Connor quickly shakes his head.

"No, I was hiding it from everyone. Hank didn't even know until tonight." He wanted to reach out and touch them but that would probably cause a coughing fit.

"What the hell is going on?!" Gavin shouts looking between the two.

Connor takes in a deep breath before looking him dead in the eye. "I have Hanahaki Disease."

[archadianskies]

Whumptober Day 9

Take Me Instead  → part of the A/9 SWATverse

Whumptober Masterlist | 09/31 of RK900 short stories ↳ on Ao3

Tags:  Gun Violence × Gunshot wounds × Established Relationship × Team as Family × Imprisonment × Hostage Situations  × Mind Control

Even with the bandages winding across a bruised and battered face, his eyes provide enough data via retinal scan to identify him as Zlatko Andronikov. Presumed dead, but no body was ever found on the grounds of his crumbling manor despite the large amount of blood soaked in the dirt. 

“You know who I am.” He chuckles, crossing his arms across his chest.

“You know what I am.” Caleb replies evenly, not breaking his gaze.  “And so my offer still stands: one RK900, for the safety and freedom of SWAT Unit 32.”

“That’s a lot of humans who know where I am.” Zlatko tuts, shaking his head. “One android is not worth my entire operation.”

“I am worth eight million dollars.” There’s a slight widening of his pupils, an almost imperceptible reaction but one he doesn’t miss. “That’s just the ballpark of what CyberLife was going to charge the government per unit. Now there’s only one of me. State of the art technology, with Kamski upgrades.” He also doesn’t miss the flash of emotion at the mention of that name, and the way his knuckles blanche as he clenches his hands. “My programming alone is worth that much.”

“Caleb, don’t-”

“Shut up!” One of the lackeys jabs the butt of his rifle at David’s helmet.

“Don’t touch him!” He hisses as David reels back. Blood drips down from his chin and Caleb feels his hearts lurch at the sight. 

“See- Caleb, was it?” Zlatko chuckles as he circles them from where they’re on their knees, guns pointed at them from all angles. “I could send your little captain back with his faithful dogs and then shoot them all before they make it out of the grounds. I win no matter what, because you have nothing to bargain that I can’t just take forcefully.”

“Your reputation is what I bargain.” Caleb jutts his chin up stubbornly. “You’ve fallen from grace. The family fortune was squandered long ago, and you make your living selling scrap. It’s fancy scrap, but it’s still scrap.” He’s piqued his interest, he’s taken the bait and now Caleb needs to reel him in ever so slowly, so he doesn’t realise he’s been caught until it’s too late. “I am the most sought after piece of technology in the entire world.”

“Second only to Kamksi’s little doll.” Zlatko snorts back a laugh. 

“She’s not a killing machine like I am.” Caleb counters smoothly. “I am a weapon. The deadliest one ever made. If the revolution hadn’t happened there would’ve been 200,000 of me all across the country. Sell me to Russia and you reclaim both your family name and the fortune you never got to touch.”

“Eight million.” Zlatko mumbles to himself, and Caleb can see the gears turning in his head. 

“Your operation here will be meaningless.” He continues, looking around them at the derelict mortuary where he’d taken up residence. “With my tech you could revolutionise Russia’s technological landscape.”

“You bargain this nation’s security so easily, little soldier.” He laughs heartily, reaching out to tousle his hair as if petting a dog. “Is one SWAT unit worth changing the entire world? With all the fancy programming in your head I could change the political landscape. War on the horizon and glory to my name.”

“Caleb don’t.” David pleads and he can’t even look at him else his composure will waver.

“One SWAT unit, or just this one man, hm?” Zlatko clicks his tongue, unclipping David’s helmet and pulling it off before crouching slightly to get a good look at his face. “What is he to you? Why would CyberLife’s latest and greatest killing machine bargain away America’s future, to save one man and his team?”

“Touch him and I will end you.” Caleb growls.

“They’d shoot him full of bullets before you’d get to your feet.” The man laughs again, tisking. 

“Yes.” He nods in reluctant agreement. “Perhaps. But if he dies, then the last thing you will ever see is CyberLife’s latest and greatest killing machine in action. I guarantee it.”

“One RK900.” Zlatko holds up his finger. “For the safety and freedom of SWAT Unit 32.”

“Yes.” He nods, sealing his fate.

“Caleb!” David gasps as he’s hauled to his feet. “No! You can’t do this!”

“I’m sorry.” He is, he really is. “Get everyone to safety and forget about me.”

“No,” he struggles fiercely, expression thunderous, “never! I won’t leave you behind!”

“This way no one dies.”

“You die!”

“One life for the lives of my family.” His vision blurs and his hearts stutter. “One life for the ones I love.”

“Ohoho.” Zlatko chuckles, rubbing his hands together. “A love story! How marvelous. A shame this one is a tragedy, in the end. Worry not, o captain my captain. He won’t remember you at all. He’ll have a brand new life soon enough, with none of this heartbreak.”

“Caleb! Caleb-!” They drag him out of the room and Caleb closes his eyes, bowing his head. 

“I’ll keep him in the hold with the rest of your team, until you’ve been safely wiped clean.” Zlatko grabs his chin, forcing him to look up. “And then your beloved captain can turn tail and run away.”

“No.” He snarls, jerking out of his grasp. “Let them go now, or I fight.” 

“You don’t get to bargain, little dog. One yelp, and the men open fire on your precious team.” Zlatko tuts, tousling his hair. “It’ll all be meaningless soon enough anyway.” He snaps his fingers and they jab him with their rifles, forcing him to stand up and leave the room.

 They go deeper, walking down a set of stairs to a sprawling makeshift lab beneath the main mortuary floor. This is where his true base of operations lie, this is where Zlatko Andronikov continues his macabre chopshop, cutting up androids and selling their parts while experimenting on others cruelly. Just like at the decrepit manor- the only thing that’s changed is the location, and the fact androids are legally recognised as living, sentient beings. Which makes Andronikov a serial killer. A butcher that must be stopped for the sake of the new, living android race.

They force him onto the dias and the mechanical claws lock around his wrists as a jack is jammed into the port on his nape none too gently. 

“Don’t worry. Just relax. Life will be simpler under my command.” Zlatko taps away at one of the computers and he feels him rummaging through his head, swiping through the command list. “I’ll reformat you. You won’t remember a thing, you won’t miss your captain. You won’t even know he exists.”

“Let them go now, please, I did what you wanted!” Caleb begs, and Zlatko laughs.

“I will uphold my end of the bargain, little dog.” He shows his palms. “I have no use for them. I just need them to stay put until we can get away. Then by the time they are released, we will be long gone.” He appraises him, looking at him from top to toe before nodding, a pleased smile on his busted lips. “Yes yes, we will do great things together, my hellhound.”

“My name is Caleb.”

“For now.” Zlatko shrugs. 

 He feels it. He feels the memories starting to slip away in a steady trickle, like a tap that hasn’t been fully turned off. His life is being bled out of him and he’s helpless to do anything about it. His name is Caleb Anderson. He is an RK900, serving under Captain David Clark Allen’s command in SWAT Unit 32. His father is Lieutenant Hank Anderson. His brother is Connor RK800 Anderson. They have a family dog, a Saint Bernard named Sumo. He lives at 115 Michigan Drive, though soon he will be moving out to live with David. They are waiting for Rosie, a German Shepherd, to turn ten weeks of age before they can pick her up from the breeder. He loves him. He loves-

-someone? HIs name is Caleb Anderson. He is an RK900, serving-

-he is an RK900-

-his name is-

-RK900.

 “Bring yourself online.” A man commands. “What is your name?”

“I am RK900 313 248 317 - 87. I have not been assigned a name.”

“You don’t need one.” The man declares. “Your unit number shall suffice.”

“Confirmed.” He nods obediently. 

“Combat protocols active?”

“Active. Ready to receive.” The mechanical arms release him and a rifle is placed into his hands. 

“Go down the hall. There’s a room being guarded. Kill everyone inside it. Confirm each and every death, do you understand? No survivors.”

“Mission accepted.” He nods. “No survivors.”

“Alright off you go.” The man makes a shooing motion, and he leaves the room. 

 Model: RK900

Serial#: 313 248 317 - 87

Bios 8.9 Revision 0489

Loading OS...

System initiation...

Checking biocomponents...

OK

Initializing biosensors...

OK

Initializing A.I. engine...

OK

Memory status…

!No save file located

>Attempting remote memory storage access…

Remote memory storage located

>Uploading memory file

Memory status…

OK

All systems: OK

READY

 The guards step aside and allow him into the room, closing the doors behind him. SWAT Unit 32 look to him as he aims his rifle at their captain, before he jerks the rifle up and in one easy motion sprays bullets across all the guards in the room. They fall, and the team gets to their feet, darting to grab the guns from the fallen and then David is grinning as Caleb tosses him a rifle and they fall into step, side by side.

“Alright, let’s go raise some hell.” 

“Sadly he’s needed alive.” Caleb reminds him.

“Yeah yeah, rain on my parade why don’t you.” David rolls his eyes. He reaches out and slips his fingers beneath the collar of his shirt, pulling out the set of dogtags nestled beneath Caleb’s gear. His touches briefly along his throat, a discreet gesture of affection. “Worked like a charm.”

‘Worked like a Kamski.’ Huffs a voice over Caleb’s communication channel. ‘Of course it worked. I made it.’

“Ms Chloe would like to remind you it worked not like a charm, but a Kamksi creation, for which she is responsible.” Caleb quips.

“Sorry ma’am.” David says sincerely, grinning. “Alright team, let’s go bring this guy down.”

[kehideni]

Here we gooooooooo~

welp,... not gonna miss that guy

ok, so ah.... what’s the point of phase 2?

“they might not be our friends anymore” “i won’t hurt Gar” wellllllll you won’t hurt him but you hardly wanted to help him so far so... good for him i guess atleast you don’t view him as an enemy

WOOP NONSENSE ALERT! The gun that blew up your car with the first shot now can’t pierce the very same object

hmmmmm Kory’s like “I’ll deal with him” *gets her arm scratches* “welp... nope”

Dick apparently has super hearing now~ and so do the gurls

atleast the fight looks good.... when they are not obviously cutting scenes together so the viewer wouldn’t see that there was no actual acrobatics involved

yeah that’s... nope, you just fried your own brain

he’s got super healing, why would a stab wound kill him?

ooooohhh so THAT’S phase 2

poor Gar, not only is the game rigged againts him, he doesn’t stand a chance againts Superboy when the game is not rigged

Tigerboy knows how to land on his feet

that animation looked so good until he bit Superboy....

no way that didn’t kill him

Donna’s face ever looking like she just stepped in dog poo

why did brainwashed tigerboy answer to his name?

“are you ok?” binch he just slammed into an iron pipe with the speed of Mach 1, you tell me

“i know they did something to you” ... how’d you guess? “but we need you Gar” sure as hell didn’t seem like it for a whole damn season

yesssss scratch that snotty kid up

honest to god the tiger’s face looks hella good, but when they need to move him the faults come out

“ok Gar, that was not cool!” xD that cracked me up

“i think he has no idea who we are” hmmmmmmmm i wonder why that is HMMMMMMM JUST A GUESS BUT MAYBE BECAUSE YOU ALL HIGHTAILED OUTTA THE TOWER BEFORE HE WOKE UP??? HMMMMMMMM?????? WHEN DID YOU THINK HE’D LEARN OF YOU?

Logically you send Donna, not like Kory could actually speak in his language, you know... like a few episodes back?

huhh... sure just stand there and watch them brawl it out... don’t try to voice your worry or... dunno... try and help

so now you remember you speak kryptonian... also this is a great time to join the fight 1 person at a time... cuz you know... LOGIC

hey Hawk, so great of you to teleport here for no previously established reason

HAHH Dove only held up a broken glass and was more useful than you lot

OOOOHHH GREAT TIMING FOR B PLOT ARGUMENT

nice of you Batman to do something

oh come OOOOOONNN, smiley face???? from Batman???????? someone go and double check the comics if he ever used smileys

Dick, this is not the time to heroicly stand your back to the brainwashed nakama-enemy

good thing we all DON’T know that kryptonite is his weakness

pppsssssssstt.... kinda obvious that the focus point for Ratchel was on the concrete, try having a plush tiger head in the place of the will-be-cgi-tiger-head and maybe MAYBE they will look like they are looking at each other

you couldn’t have said “when you called out for me” or... “when you held my hand” you HAD to say “when you touched me”... writers... i thought you knew that the internet pays attention to goofy lines like these....

thank GOD you didn’t make her say “so i’m gonna touch you” just like that... i can already hear my alternate-reality-self laughing.

thank you for clarifying that you meant his hand, but maybe you could be more specific and say frontal limb

“imma touch your frontal limb cuz i kno you be me nakama” paraphrasing but this be the jist

all these smiling faces.... i don’t remember them, gj writers~ i have no idea why these smiling faces would be relevant to Gar when they spent together- like - maybe a week

When will we get Gar an outfit that won’t tear up when he transforms? Poor kid gonna catch a cold like that

HAHAHAHAHAH that policecar-prop was obviously on a rail x’D

oh noooo... the rope got his shoulders restricted... it’d be a shame if he decided to just... move his arms up and remove it from himself

WHEN did you guys have the time to tell Ratchel that you want her to voodoo Connor to submission?

Poor Connor... he went through the same cruelty Gar did

“concentrate your fire power at subject 13″ hmm one would have thought they would wanna hightail it out of there or like... be precautious and get a kryptonite bullet ready

Anna... you know i love you as Kory but you gotta practice the airpunch... you don’t punch with a straight arm like that

yeah right... they clap for the murderers who just stopped murdering them hmmm, it’s good that everyone in this city has 4th wall-vision

tf did that thing fall over for NOW?

sheeple... always running lenght-wise not sideways when shit start falling down

this. was. HELLA. stupid

x’’’D THIS WAS SUCH A HELLA STUPID DEATH I ACTUALLY LAUGHED OUT LOUD

EVERY REACTION AFTER A STUPID DEATH LIKE THIS BECOMES COMICAL!!! THAT’S NOT HOW YOU DRAMA!!!! OH MY GAWD XDDDDD

I’M DYING FROM LAUGHTEEEER

she’s sleepin’ :’D atLEAST put some burn marks on her or something if you wanna kill her in such a BS way

She’s so pale for all i know she could have died from hypothermia xD

Nightwing, are your clothes made out of plastic that you managed to get her down from the electric post or was this some supervillain electricity that choose to kill Donna but not you

siiiiighhhhh such a stupid scene...

(i haven’t told many people this before but i had to move a dead body once, and eventhough she was a person i could easily lift,i couldn’t manage to get her dead body out of a CHAIR to the BED that was right next to it

you know why? Because they don’t hold their weight for you! Comically enough, a dead body behaves very liquid like, the way Hank holds Donna’s dead body - no matter how strong he is - if he doesn’t have a good enough grip on her(which he doesn’t, the actress helps him a great deal with shifting the weight of her booty, also forcing her own body to roll TOWARDS Hank’s body) the body rolls away from your body

But i put this in parenthesis because it’s not a jab at the show just something interesting i thought i’d tell you... also before you all freak out. It was an old lady that died in my shift from a stroke back when i still worked in a nursing home. She sat in her chair eating her dinner, and the next moment i went to check on her and tell her it’s time for bed, she was dead. And as human dignity after death dictates, i and my colleague had to put her body in the bed, dressed in her best clothes and then separated from outside view with a screen)

I didn’t need Batman’s monologue

what you here for Jason... lol bye i guess

gasp IS THAT A GARFIELD LOGAN SCENE I SEE BEFORE ME?

THANK. FKIN. YOU. GRAYSON! Finally owning up for the BIGGEST mistake he made this season

“all i can do is promise that will never happen again” Gar’s face when he said “thanks”. THAT is what i feel... like... ok, that’s good that you promised but it won’t right the wrongs that happened so far, it’s rain after the fire has died down

oh... Heman and Shera... still boring af

“she died saving my life”.... well if only you’d ran sideways~

does ANYONE have a wet towel? I wanna watch it dry...

“what about Hawk and Dove?” bitch imma borrow the headline of Miraculous Ladybug and say: YOU’RE THE SAME FKIN PERSON, NO MATTER WHAT CLOTHES ARE ON YOU

of course everything is thanks to Batman

monologue time no. 2 ... i would not be this bitchy about this if Donna’s death wasn’t a scene ripped from Monty Python

I’m sure those two kids will be alright 8)

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 7x19 Brain Dump

I didn’t really dig this episode to be honest (see what I did there?! Such lolz 😂). It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just misplaced within the season, and maybe also it just seemed to fall a bit flat after last week? Meh…perfectly watchable though, and I love one John Thomas Diggle, so it was great to see him take centre(ish) stage again! 

John Diggle

Oh Diggle…I love Diggle…I miss Diggle…yay to all the Diggle! We finally got to meet another relative of John’s after 34627 years, and it was no other that Winston from Ghostbusters! Dig and Oliver approach General Roy Stewart, who turns out to be Dig’s estranged stepfather, for intel on a flash drive from the Ninth Circle. That he was Dig’s stepdad is news to both Oliver and Felicity, which I think was a real shame; in all these years spent together he’d never mentioned his parents?

Anyway, plot happens, and Dig and the General are kidnapped by Dante, which gave the men an opportunity to work together and to demonstrate the love and the respect they have for each other, which was just lovely! Never in my life did I imagine I’d see Duncan MacLeod electrocuting Winston from Ghostbusters 😂!

The backstory with Dig and his stepfather was actually really poignant. Where Dig had believed the General to be at fault for his father’s death, then promptly swooping into his mother’s and their lives, he actually had been protecting Dig’s father’s legacy for all these years. The General hid the fact that Bio-Papa Dig actually died due to his own negligence, also causing the death of two other Marines, but had allowed Dig and Andy to believe the worst about himself, keeping their father’s memory a brave and heroic one. This is what being a parent is, and Dig is finally able to see him for the good man, and strong father-figure he really was for all these years. The general tells Dig “Every child deserves to believe that his father is a hero, and believing it, you became one.” This is the legacy he has left for John. I did get a bit choked up at this, especially John’s line “If I’m a hero, it’s all because of you, Sir”...my John Diggle heart 😭😭!!

Continued under the cut

David is such a wonderful actor, and if this episode did anything at all, it was showcase this. He gave an interview saying that the story with his Stepfather continues from here…so will we see Winston again? I hope so! Or this may just mean the continued theme of non-blood family i.e. Dig’s eventual adoption of Connor.

There were some sweet moments between Oliver and Dig, with Dig opening up about his step-father and real father. Oliver was there for him, as both a sympathetic ear, and to give some advice. It’s nice to be reminded, and shown, that Oliver and Dig will always have each others’ backs (Dig’s personality transplant in 7a notwithstanding).

However…where was my Delicity???  There was ample opportunity, just wasted…Felicity was right there, she discovered the truth about Dig’s father! Delicity for the taking!! But no 😡 Where was Dyla??? For fucks sake, we have a Diggle-centric episode and Lyla doesn’t’ even get a look-in? Barely a name drop? Or JJ (in the present)?? COME ON PEOPLE!!

My main gripe with the episode was, we could and should have had this storyline for Dig at any other point in this season, or at any point with in the entire series. Imagine this going off in S4 when Dig was also dealing with learning of Andy’s true past as well, or S5 when he was dealing with his guilt over Andy’s death and coming out of the Army again! The story wasn’t fitting for the final run of episodes of the last full season of the show, and also squeezing in end-of-season plot points to Dig’s hard-earned solo storyline was a disservice to his character; he deserved a true standalone episode with no distractions. Also, where the hell was the spartan logo in the credits??? RUDE!   

Felicity

Although not as explicitly as last week, Felicity was still a focal point in this episode, hurtling her story towards the end of the season, for Emily’s final episodes 😭😭. I loved seeing badass Felicity (since always😉), pulling a gun on the random Irish Ninth Circle dude! She was so brave, if not a bit reckless, but this is the hero Felicity Smoak has grown into over the past 7 years, and I love her all the more for it! Alena brandishing a keyboard was a hilarious bonus!

Perhaps Felicity’s most heroic act in the episode is destroying her ‘legacy’, Archer (who she refers to as ‘her’…so adorable!!), in order to stop the Ninth Circle from using it to target anyone else. She has a bit of a eureka!moment, when she realises just how dangerous her creation could be in the wrong hands, despite her best intentions for creating it.

Source: smoakmonster

I loved her drawing a parallel between herself and her father (although unfairly, I believe), knowing that in the future she literally pretends to the whole world that she becomes The Calculator, again in the pursuit of saving the city. In the face of this, she says she still wants to leave something behind that is from Felicity Smoak, not Overwatch. My love for this character knows no bounds!

So by the end of the episode we realise that Archer won’t be the basis for Smoak Tech. Seeing Felicity talking Smoak Tech business with Alena was awesome, and I can’t wait to find out what she creates to launch her company, as we know how successful it becomes in the future! I also loved seeing Alena’s faith and encouragement of Felicity.

Source: arrowdaily

Ah Alena…I knew this was too good to be true! Despite her clear love and faith in Felicity, it looks like Alena is not ready to give up on Archer, and will likely rebuild (albeit with good intentions, I still believe). But it looks like Alena will be the one responsible for the Archer program ultimately ending up back in the hands of the bad guys, be it the Ninth Circle, or ultimately Galaxy One. Felicity is undeterred by losing Archer, and knows she has more to give, to create in this world, as she simply says about her legacy “I guess I’ll just have to build a new one” 😍😍

Bonus:

All of Felicity’s helmet-talk in this episode made me giggle! (I’m immature, ok!!)

“John’s helmet just came back online”, and “Madame Helmet” in the flash forwards 😂😂😂 

Olicity

The Olicity moments were definitely far more subtle in this episode, as they arguably should be in a Diggle centric episode, but I still would have liked mooooore...I’m a greedy Olicity whore, sue me 😂😂

We got some little hand holding moments, which will just never not make me swoon 😍

Along with the Felicity-patented chest rub 😍

Source: lucyyh 💗

Finishing each other’s sentences 😍

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 💗

Then just Olicity being a badass vigilante team, saving John, and hacking/breaking into classified government sites 😍

Source: smoakmonster

I would have liked to see more of Oliver’s reaction to Felicity and Alena’s attack; he showed such restraint when checking she’s ok!!

Flash Forwards

I am a big fan of the flash forwards, and I loved them in this episode!! Still missing my boy William though…please come back soon!! The plot was pushed forwards, we got some nice character backstory for Connor, and some quality SmoaknHawke moments. Nice to see the writers can still do some things concisely and effectively!

We opened with Felicity working on the Galaxy One Helmet that Laurel gave to Mia last episode. I adore that despite the many changes to Felicity in the future, she still exclaims “frack”!! In order to get data from the helmet, Mia and Connor need to go in search of a power module. This leads them to the Deathstroke Gang (!!!), where their leader, JJ, is referenced!! JJ DIGGLE GUYS!!!! I can’t believe he ended up one of the bad guys…baby Sara would never!!

Connor opens up to Mia about JJ being his adoptive brother, and former best friend 😭, though they have lost touch ever since JJ went dark after becoming overwhelmed with the expectations he felt pushed on him by Dig and Lyla….whaaaaat???! I can’t wait to meet future Dyla and JJ!  I’m so into this family drama already haha!! I loved seeing this talk, and mutual understanding between Mia and Connor, I ship them so hard already! I also liked seeing the softer side of Mia again, she definitely has a gooey centre like her parents…just buried deep 😂

As they are chased out by JJ’s goons we get an epic almost-kiss that had me squealing KISS HER!!!!!

At the end of the episode, Felicity finally discovers that the helmet is one of many that are all interconnected and running the weaponised version of Archer. As they come to realise the implications of this we see the army of Galaxy One soldiers lining up, super chilling! I love where this story is heading, and look forward to seeing these parts of the episode every week!

Oliver/Emiko/Ninth Circle

While Oliver’s love and faith in his family is generally one of his most endearing qualities, Oliver….honey….give it up, Emiko is EVIL. I am so utterly bored of Emiko now. She is a waste of screen time, an unnecessary distraction for Oliver and a drain on my patience 😡

Oliver tells Emiko that Dante killed her mother, that he misled her, that he doesn’t care about her, but that Oliver still does. Oh Oliver 😭😭

By the end of the episode Emiko decides to kill Dante (bye then!), and continue her path as head of the Ninth Circle, now that they are in possession of the experimental bioweapon. So that’s another villain offed this season. Beth and Steven said pre/early S7 in interviews that there wouldn’t necessarily be a big bad this year, which I guess is what they’re going for by killing every attempt at one. Emiko certainly isn’t big bad material herself. The writers seem to be using this season to wrap up Felicity’s story, launch the flash forwards, and set up season 8 (and possibly the crossover?). But in trying to do all of this they are sacrificing this season’s storylines, which is annoying me slightly. At this point in the season we normally have an idea of the trajectory of the final few episodes, but it’s still not really clear. Given that this is the final season for Arrow as we know it, this is super frustrating.

Hmm, for a bit of a meh episode, this still got long…oops!

Thank you to all the wonderful gif makers, as always. You guys rock!! 💗💗

[terramythos]

Thoughts/reactions master post for October Daye #13 “The Unkindest Tide” or "major deja vu" 

Excellent Start: it fuckin opens with The Luidaeg showing up and dumping a bunch of lore

-There are some things to unpack here after thinking on it. The Roane predicted that Toby would bring them back. We knew already that they were seers and could predict the future. But this implies they did not predict their savior being Toby SPECIFICALLY, just someone from Amandine's line.

This is interesting for a couple reasons. First, it's a solid explanation for why The Luidaeg, the oldest and one of (if not the) most powerful Firstborn took interest in Toby, who's a changeling and thus beneath the notice of most of Faerie. On a related note, it's also an explanation on why Amandine was so keen on turning Toby into a human. The character who prevented this happening was, no surprise, The Luidaeg.

But while it appears Toby will indeed fulfill this prophecy, it's been implied if not outright stated that Amandine's line is also prophesied (probably by the Roane) to bring back Oberon. This is a wild guess, but I feel it makes more narrative sense and would be an interesting twist if we set Toby up to fulfill that prophecy, only to ultimately have August (or both of them as a team) do it. I'm pretty sure August is redeemable, unlike Amandine, and her character arc so far is based on trying to bring Oberon back and FAILING, so...

-I could be reading too much into this, but hey. I do think I should go back and read (1) The Luidaeg's short story where she confronts Amandine and (2) the scenes in book 5 where Toby talks to one of the few surviving Roane. Said Roane predicts Connor's death, but she says so much cryptic shit there may be something else hidden there relating to this.

...OH. OK. You know that makes a lot more sense. All the setup for this (which has been going on since book 5 lmfao) pointed to The Luidaeg being morally questionable and possibly evil in this one but like, this is way more in line with her character lmfao

Though I guess theres plenty that's morally questionable about forcing an entire race of people to turn into another one whether they like it or not

-Side note: The Luidaeg and Quentin's friendship remains adorable

-Gillian's magical signature is officially fennel and primroses.

-OK but like, we have to approach the fact that Gillain's skin is still basically sentient in some way? Like Firtha's consciousness is a big part of the short story. And can glean from that that the others probably have something to them. So uh, what happens to the souls (if you can call them that) when we fuse the skins to the Selkies?

New Firstborn?? New Firstborn! New Firstborn.

-ok so like correct me if I'm wrong but practically every Firstborn we met has been female. I think the only dude we've met is Blind Michael, who was a basket of crazy and Decisively Killed Off in book 3. Otherwise we've got The Luidaeg, Evening, Amandine, Acacia, and now Captain Pete.

The Luidaeg is such a fascinating character. One of my favorites from literally anything. This scene really exemplifies why I think. Seemingly cruel yet compassionate, coping with horrific tragedy, yet also a supernatural and terrifying monster. SORT OF. it’s complicated

-There's a scene after this where she verbally takes down an adult man, then is so kind and patient to a child who approaches her. And that contrast really hits. She has been consistently kind and protective of children through the whole series. It makes it more brutal when she says she doesnt even like them much because she misses having her own, and you know she can't lie. She's kind to kids because it is the right thing to so.

-Shit goes down in a bad way (seemingly unrelated to the main premise?). Like Dianda gets kidnapped by her evil brother whom we have not met before

SIMON TORQUILL REDEMPTION ARC IN THE FUTURE...... 2!

-Not to be rude October but like, werent you already planning to rescue Simon ANYWAY. That one's basically the freebie of those 3 favors you just promised

-ok I'm writing this part WAY LATER cause my dumb ass forgot that Simon returning is CONTINGENT upon bringing Oberon back and now this line makes way more sense. 

-little lore tidbit on why it's so easy to transform October and not the other characters... its the whole Tam Lin thing we figured out last book. Guess that should have been obvious

Not to be het rights on main but oh my god. Oh my fucking shit oh my god. (Its not really het rights cause tybalt is bi but oh my god holy shit)

-I am laughing at the fact this is a tense moment with lives on the line and an obvious time limit and Toby and Tybalt just go "time to make out a little in front of everyone"

-Lmao right after I typed that the Luidaeg basically said the same thing

-lmaoo she fuckin slices Tybalt's finger for his part of the spell then just does a tiny pinprick for Quentin because she likes him more 

-random interlude in the Undersea where toby rescues Peter

Ok Quentin's reaction here is funny

This scene's got a little bit of everything

Explanation on why Gillian can talk to her skin, since it's a "lost" one and hasn't been worn much. Also sort of an explanation for the Luidaeg calling the skins by name.

-anyway it's pretty obvious that Dianda's brother is the one behind Isla's murder, right? Like, why else introduce him at this point

-"maybe sending The Luidaeg to find Pete has been the wrong call" I'm starting to feel that way to be honest

-Yeah Torin being responsible is confirmed. There’s a scene where Toby gets badly injured and it’s borderline torture porn, which seems to happen once a book now. There is a cute somewhat angsty scene with her and Tybalt, which is always fun.

-There's some fun bits when they take down Torin but nothing particularly noteworthy. The interactions with Pete and The Luidaeg are fun when both return to the scene. I'm trying real hard to like Gillian but she's been pretty ineffectual this book, and every time she shows up it seems to be whining about Toby, which is a shame.

Luidaeg feels and The Moral, which is pretty good! Found family is a reliable weak point of mine.

-They do find an alternate solution (splitting the “dead” skins), and everyone who wants a Selkie skin gets it. They also let some of them stay Selkies for a few more years, but most get turned into Roane. And happy Luidaeg! 

-Though the whole “Gillian has a sentient selkie skin” is not addressed again and she’s the first one who gets turned. did Firtha/her ghost just get annihilated from existence? i don’t know man 

-Overall I'm pretty lukewarm over this entry. Like Once Broken Faith, it feels like a book made to Address a Big Lore Change but doesn’t have a solid conflict to support it. Torin is some one-off Merrow dude i’m pretty sure is never mentioned until he suddenly shows up and is the bad guy here, and the whole kidnapping Dianda and long interlude in the middle where they go to the Undersea to rescue Peter seems just... really random, considering the setting (Duchy of Ships) and the Selkies are supposed to be the center of the story.  

Nothing wrong with one-off villains, but ones like Blind Michael and Rhys were way more memorable/interesting than Torin. This just felt way too much like the randos from Once Broken Faith who were just villains cause someone had to be. can’t even remember their names or their motivations 

It's a shame cause there are some things I did really like in this novel. There’s some good character development. Captain Pete was cool (even if the conclusion basically writes her back out of the story). But imo this book should be a big Luidaeg entry and she's absent for like 70 percent of the book, which doesn’t help 

I guess what I'm saying is this would have been fine as a novella if there wasn’t a big novel-defining conflict to use. January’s resurrection was done in a novella and that’s pretty damn major, Lore-wise. 

I cant complain too much, cause the last 2 books knocked it out of the park. But I hope the next one feels more relevant.

-One thing I do want to mention (which I didn’t picture anywhere) is there is a lot of cryptic shit in this entry surrounding... Marcia of all people? Captain Pete and The Luidaeg both seem inordinately interested in her. And she seems very nervous when they speak to her and ask her questions and says a bunch of weird cryptic shit. I think this is setting up for something with her, but I’m not sure what. We basically know none of her backstory, which is unusual for a character who’s been in the series since book 1, so it wouldn’t be out of place to explore her more. I do think there’s something up with her birth/heritage. We know she’s a mostly human changeling (like only 1/4 fae?) but she’s very involved in the fae stuff, which is unusual. We don’t even know what the 1/4 is and the main character is literally a bloodhound for that sort of thing. 

-Anyway, there’s a novella at the end of this one called "Hope is Swift" starring Raj. So we'll see how that is!

-I like it so far. Lots of Cait Sidhe lore. The premise is that Raj gets hit by a car in cat form and then taken in by a vet and mistaken for an actual cat. There's also a they/them nb side character named Cal. 

-Overall I did enjoy the novella. Not a lot goes down but there’s good Cait Sidhe lore and character development for Raj. We also got to formally meet Ginerva, who was a character in name only to this point. I liked it more than the base novel i think 

-and not to drive more on my point in previous reads but BLIND MICHAEL. IS MENTIONED A LOT. mostly re: trauma and recovery, which is nice, but still. 

-I hope book 14 throws us back into the meat of the story. i mean, 10 was probably the weakest entry but it was surrounded by good ones, and since this one was preceeded by 2 of the best books in the series i hope the pattern stays true 

[thematrimonyhomie]

Fragile Egos, Literal Arie Bashing, and Dodegball Stuntin’

Happy Week 2 of The Bachelorette my reality TV loving friends!! 

This episode we begin with the men puttering around the mansion waiting for their first date card of the week. As we expected, it is a group date and 8 of the men are invited. They are greeted by Becca where she tells them they will be getting pampered today. They are fitted in tuxedos and given champagne. Jordan is in his element during this date. He wastes no time giving Becca fashion advice, showing men how to cat walk, and different facial expressions to use during a shoot. Of course this is when Becca drops the bombshell. She brings the men out to meet Rachel and Brian from last season of the Bachelorette and they explain that the men will be running an obstacle course designed to test their commitment to marriage. Stages of this course include “Ball and Chain”, “Cold Feet”, and “Getting Over your Exes”. Lincoln narrowly edges David to win the competition however many are suspicious about potential cheating. Lincoln may have jumped out of the cold water early and may have participated in a push during the final dash up the aisle.

Going into the cocktail party that night many of the men are already annoyed by Lincoln’s antics and buckle up fellas…it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. Lincoln is the first to steal Becca away and proceeds to overwhelm Becca with his energetic tone and body language. In my opinion, he is acting slightly aggressive and disingenuous but only time will tell. Becca gifts him a commemorative picture of them at the altar. They proceed to kiss with a lot of neck movement. (go back and rewatch if you don’t believe me. It is odd.) Lincoln returns back to the group and proceeds to be very humble and subtle about his gift….psych. He talks to this framed picture. He kisses it. He props it up on the table in front of everyone. When someone puts it down so the others don’t have to look at it, he stands it back up. This whole ridiculous interaction proves that even grown ass men can act like children even with cameras surrounding them and the knowledge that this will all be broadcast nationally. Connor, the fitness coach (is personal trainer not good enough anymore?), finally has had enough. Instead of hiding it like a slightly insane person, Connor chucks the entire frame off of the balcony into the pool like a totally insane person. Lincoln proceeds to tattle to Becca who can’t even believe she has to deal with this shit on the first date (same girl, same). She pulls Connor aside and shames him like a stern parent. 

The one bright star on this date was Jean Blanc. He and Becca have a very nice conversation and share a kiss. Due to this and a lack of other suitable contenders, Jean Blanc is awarded the first group date rose. While this date concludes, the men receive a second date card back at the mansion. Blake is chosen for the first one-on-one date of the season. (Blake is definitely one of my early favorites although I do think he might be as bland as wonder bread). Becca picks up Blake the next morning for this mystery date. Chris Harrison meets the couple outside a abandoned warehouse holding a sledgehammer. He reveals they will be smashing the shit out of some stuff this afternoon. They put on their coveralls and work boots, grab their sledgehammers, and walk into a recreation of Becca and Arie’s breakup with the addition of Lil Jon. There is a racecar with his name on it, multiple TVs playing the proposal over and over, A RECREATION OF THE LITERAL ROOM HE BROKE UP WITH HER IN, homages to their dates on the show, etc. My first reaction, this is supremely cruel and if I was Becca I would not be chill. Second reaction, I would smash the shit out of these things but I would want to be alone so I could angry cry and scream while I do it not have to be composed and totally normal around this guy I am on a first date with. Third reaction, holy shit, is this Arie’s season or Becca’s cause I honestly cannot tell at this point. (Rochelle and I had the idea of a drinking game everything they mentioned Arie…didn’t realize that would result in death this episode.) Anyway, Becca in her styled coveralls and Blake begin to smash the shit out of her memories while Lil Jon serenaded them in the background. (Although Lil Jon made good TV, do you think it was awkward he was there? Just throwing out random comments while they were on this date?) 

Once they have proceeded to wreck all things Arie, Blake and Becca meet up again for the “dinner” portion of the date. Blake opens up to Becca by explaining his previous break-up. After just a few months he said I love you to his ex and she responded in kind. Later that night while she was in the bathroom, he read a text from her friend asking if she had broken up with him yet. Here’s the catch: he was able to read this text because HER TEXT PREVIEW WAS ON. WHAT KIND OF TRUSTING, OPEN PSYCHO LEAVES THEIR PREVIEW ON. MESSAGE ME YOUR THOUGHTS: anyone else trusting enough to leave their text preview on? I used to talk way too much shit to do that and now I can never go back. Anyway, that is Blake’s emotional story to endear him to the audience and Bachelorette. His point was he knows he can fall fast and does not anticipate having a problem with the speed of this journey/process. 

While Becca and Blake were getting to know each other on a deeper level, the third and final date card arrived at the mansion. Ten men were listed which left Jason and Mike without dates this week. The following morning the ten men departed on a school bus. When they arrived, Becca greeted them wearing a white tank and a pair of space age silvery shorts (I was getting major Zenon vibes). She brought them into a school gym where they proceeded to be pelted with dodgeballs by three of the most intense sixth graders I have ever seen. These kids proceeded to run the men through drills including suicides and fast pitch (like 50 mph) dodgeball. At this point in the date, I would just be thanking my lucky stars that it wasn’t stripping like past seasons. After the men have been put through their paces, Becca tells them they will be participating in the Ultimate Bachelor Dodgeball Showdown in front of a massive crowd. Long story short: Leo single handedly kept the pink team from getting their asses kicked. However, the green team prevailed. After learning from the Krystal Drama from last season, both teams are invited to the cocktail party later. I’m gonna be real with you guys. At this point in the episode, I am a couple of glasses in and all of our attention is waning. Basically, Wills is awarded the date rose and Becca attempts to steal his floral bomber jacket. Colton also drops a “shocking secret” and tells Becca he dated her fellow Bachelor contestant, Tia, this past January. Becca doesn’t know how to respond especially since she is very attracted to him. 

Finally, we have made it to the prefunk to the rose ceremony. Becca spends quality time with many of the men. We see Clay teach her a touchdown celebration that ends with a kiss. (Just saying, I would be very down for a touchdown celebration where two NFL players kissed each other.) John, aka Venmo Dude, also received a kiss in the most shocking twist of the night. Is John suave???? 

Becca has 18 roses to give out. This caused Alex, Trent, and Rickey to be sent home. Alex straight up broke hearts around the nation with his tearful exit. The “next week on” looks marvelous. Becca/Production straight up invites Colton on a date that Tia is gonna be on. SAVAGE. I am already looking forward to it. ALERT: DUE TO A POTENTIAL GAME 5 NBA FINAL, NEXT WEEK’S EPISODE MAY BE PUSHED TO TUESDAY. KEEP A LOOK OUT. 

Podcasts I am listening to: Rob has a Podcast (Amy & Haley): I have yet to listen to this week’s episode but they never fail to make me laugh. They are also where I got the idea for the draft! (http://robhasawebsite.com/bachelorette-season-14-episode-2…/)

Bachelor Party (w/ Juliet Litman): This week Juliet and her guest discuss all the crazy antics from week 2 including Jordan’s comforting strip tease and all the boy drama. Additionally, they discuss Garrett’s instagram likes and Becca’s reactions. Super interesting listen. 10/10 recommend. (https://www.theringer.com/…/from-lincoln-to-garrett-the-bac…)

(Proofread by me and I am human not a grammar robot. However, all mistakes are mine alone.)