#yes this is a dbh fic

[littlehaize]

can't believe i'm actually writing a long fic

haven't done that in years

i have no plan, i barely have ideas and clichés

i go with the vibe and feeling

dbh fandom, be scared, i'm arriving

[glass-noodle]

halloween boys……..

[medicsbigburlychest]

when ur trying to find a simple dbh fanfic but every other story has a tag like "ABSOLUTE HARDCORE ANAL FINGERING (NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED OR THE EMOTIONALLY FRAGILE)"

[everymlmhybrid]

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN ??????

[fumikosushi]

His Name Is Isaac

Fandom: Detroit: Become Human

Main Characters: Leo Manfred x Zlatko's Creature "Isaac"

Trigger Warnings: Drug mentions/use, graphic violence, PTSD flashbacks/triggers, death mentions, eventual smut.

DNI if you're not 18+, please.

Can also be read on AO3 here

Summary: Working to better himself, Leo has found himself on slightly better terms with Markus these days, making him more sympathetic to the android cause. While old and bad habits still often find ways to intrude on his life, he doesn't make the choice to leave behind an android that is clearly on the verge of shutting down on his way home one day. Little does he know, he and this android have met before some time ago; Before Leo even thought to get clean. How will having to face someone he's downright abused fair? He has no clue, but he does know that he wants to be better.

Notes:

- This takes place post revolution where Markus and Leo are on speaking terms. - New Jericho has taken place of the fallen ship 'Jericho' and androids are in a slightly better place than they were before as well as during the game.

Chapter 1

If things were different, if Leo hadn't actively made attempts to change after his altercation with Markus, he wonders what would have ended up becoming of the android he found tonight. The last thing he expected on his way home was to run into a clearly heavily altered android. Only reason he saw the guy was because of those bright, orange glowing eyes. Even though most of their altered body was concealed with clothing it was still easy to see their being disfigured. What's worse? They looked barely functional. Parts of their body was covered in snow; Lights of his eyes blinking slowly in and out as though he could visibly see the life leaving their eyes. Despite that, Leo ends up leaving. Walking away and mentally telling himself that it's not his problem.

Guilt strikes him as he nears home. Just a block or so away from where he saw that android. Could he really bring himself to just leave them there after all the progress he's made to improve himself? Could he ever face Markus again - someone whom he's finally on speaking terms with again after apologizing for everything he's done. Not before getting clean though. Or making strides to, anyway. For the most part things were going his way but.. Was this the world testing him somehow? He sighs and before he knows it, he's returned to the android and decided to make the difficult journey of dragging them back to his apartment. It's a struggle, but seeing as the situation appears to be dire, he makes the call to Markus. Tells him he's found someone who needs their help whilst struggling down the snow covered side walk; An android taller than he is being practically draped over his back. Relief washes over him once he finally reaches home and gets the guy inside.

As Markus told him, he turns the heater up a bit before grabbing some blankets. An attempt to warm the frozen android while waiting for help to arrive. And oh, they do. Needless to say, Markus appeared surprised upon seeing that Leo was telling the truth. He'd only come on the off chance Leo was being honest, not wanting to risk losing one of their kind in doubting what is essentially his brother. Markus and others from New Jericho end up taking the android with them and just like that he's suddenly left on his own.

Left to his thoughts now, Leo furrows his brows, head tilting slightly in thought as he thinks about how if this were any other time in his life he likely would have left that android to die. Hell, he wouldn't have even thought it could die. Before, he would have thought they were just some stupid, lifeless machine. Like how Leo originally thought of Markus. Yet he had grown jealous of the android. Jealous of the relationship Markus had with his father - one that he, himself so desperately wanted from him. Unfortunately, his father has now passed though he also can't help but to wonder if Carl would be proud of him for changing. For the better, of course. At least he hopes he's changing for the better. Exhausted from the day, Leo ends up going to bed without eating. Who could blame him after lugging that big guy all the way to his house like that?

A few days later and Leo finds himself wondering if that android made it. He assumed he would hear something from Markus, but he has to remind himself that Markus is a busy go. So, even when Leo is the one to contact him first, he tries his best to be patient. He's not really sure why he feels so concerned. Even if Leo leaned more toward seeing androids as living things now, it didn't change the fact he didn't know them. Maybe it's because he'd gotten involved? Rather than a text from Markus being the answer to his questions Leo is suddenly greeted by said android. He hadn't expected them to just show up like that, Leo answering the door like normal after hearing the doorbell to be greeted by those bright, orange eyes again. "Whoa.." They look more interesting in the daylight. Less scary than they did in the dark where he found them. He's sure if there wasn't light reflecting off the snow that he likely would have left the guy to die.. You know, because he's a bit of a wuss that way. He supposes they're lucky things turned out the way they did.

Leo shakes his head and momentarily closes his eyes tight. Where was his mind even wandering just now? Gawking at the android like some kind of weirdo while his thoughts drifted. He must think he's crazy. Just looking at them he can tell that they're surprised by his reaction. Though.. not really. They have to deal with that a lot. He assumes so. "Fuck - Uh.. I mean - you're that dude I helped, right?" The conversation is already awkward as hell. He can feel it and it makes him stiffen, standing uncomfortably. "Looks like you made it. Good on ya." What the actual fuck was that, Leo? Seriously?

The silence is what gets to him. They're not responding? Not only that, but as he actually exams the android's face - that red colour in their LED.. that meant something bad, right? Was he.. Were they scared? "Y-You.. You're.." Finally, they speak though their words don't make sense. Brows furrow in confusion before Leo lets out a small huh? in reply. "Do I.. know you?" The answer to that is complicated. Of course Leo wouldn't remember them. They looked so different then. Unaltered, appearing more like any other android you'd find on the street. "You.." They pause and leave him more confused than ever. He feels himself getting a bit impatient though at least they're speaking again before Leo makes that known. "We had an unfortunate encounter once.." Their gaze averts only to settle back onto Leo again. As though he thought it silly to let his guard down by looking away from him. "I looked.. different then."

Oh. Now he gets it. There's one particular occurrence that comes to mind when they say that. It'd been a few months before he was injured by Markus in their fight and in one of his drugged stupors he.. wailed on an android pretty hard. To vent his frustrations, in a way. Thinking about it now? What he did wasn't right. He feels guilty - he should. "Hey man, I'm.. It probably doesn't mean shit," Leo begins, hands hiding in his pockets as he sort of shrinks into himself "But I was uh.. a different person back then. I'm.." One of his hands withdraws from his pocket, fidgeting and finding it difficult to keep still; Hand rubbing the back of his neck lightly "What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry, dude. Probably doesn't mean shit coming from someone who beat your ass, but I know I fucked up."

The apology is almost comical. It's awkward, Leo clearly doesn't know what to say in order to properly express himself, and the android is visibly.. smiling? Trying not to chuckle at him? Yeah, that's what he's seeing right now. "I.. believe you. The fact you saved me after all of that.. I believe you." Even if Leo didn't realize who he was it's still clear that they changed in their saving an android as a whole. Not something someone who hasn't changed would do, they think. "I'm not sure I can really trust you.. but.. I do forgive you." Because as Leo could see, he wasn't the only horrible human that had gotten their hands on him. Though he would consider Zlatko to be far worse than Leo, that's for sure. "Maybe we can change that?" Leo is blinking in surprise. Are they suggesting they be friends? "Man, you're weird as hell." A bit of amusement is within his voice, gaze drifting almost awkwardly off to the side. "But fuck it - why not?" His foot kicks at the ground a bit, small smile tugging at his lips. "Gotta name, man? Or should I just call you Genos or some shit?" A snort of amusement escapes him. "My name is Isaac."

"Name's Leo."

[dirty-droid]

Carl Manfred

Of course you know he loves you. He says it freely, he shows you in his actions, he offers advice and he does what he can to keep you safe, to keep your head above water. But... Does he understand you? Does he accept you fully, for everything that you are? Can he, if he's incapable of understanding? You're so different.

Does he understand the role he played in your trauma? Does he understand that it's his fault? Does he understand that there was no right choice for you to make, that nothing other than what you ultimately did can fix it?

Does he know the weight of being the reason that you exist at all? Does he know how fucked it is that he used you and your existence to make his life a little easier? A little more bearable? That he needed to lean on someone who couldn't leave?

He protected you. He couldn't protect you.

He thinks he prepared you. He never could have. Or maybe he could. But the things he did, didn't work. He could have taught you more, could have taught you better. If only he knew what you were going to face, if only he thought MORE about protecting you. If he thought more about protecting you than he did about protecting his image as a father.

He loves you. You love him. More than anything.

There's nobody else in the whole wide world who's just like him. He's just like every other man. He's the best man you'll ever know. He's no better than the rest of them.

You can't overlook how much he hurt you. You can't overlook how much he saved you. The things he taught you. The things he taught you.

Because of him, you care. Because of him, you want better.

[felixvanhuss]

One of these days I'm gonna find that fucking hankcon fic I lost. Then I can stop losing my mind over it every few months

[sunwarmed-ash]

Mr. Krabs giving Squidward run of the restaurant to flex on his ex is a Hank Anderson move that is actually so personal

[thebeeshaveknees]

Connor had known one emotion for certain in his life. That emotion was fear. Fear of the environment he didn't know, fear of the humans with heavy boots and heavier guns, fear of having no cover while he was injured, fear of the look in his own eyes as he did micro calculations to weave around bullets without faltering, fear of his own eyes being turned on innocent people that couldn't defend themselves, fear of never getting to live, fear of what came after he flexed his finger on the trigger. But that was not his fear, that was the fear a PL600 choked him with to keep him from finding Jericho.

His own fear came after. His fear came in the fraction of infinity, in a void with no sight or touch or ground. For a second, he was nothing and nowhere, no one would find him, he could not leave, all that was there was him and his constant string of thoughts bouncing off each other with nowhere else to go.

Connor could not handle not being, that's why they programmed a zen garden for him to explore every stasis, that's why they gave him Amanda to talk to him when no one else would. Connor was made to think, Connor thinks therefore he must be. Not being yet left to think would bring anything to insanity - instability.

So staring up at the deviant that showed Connor fear, unequivocally and undeniably, made Connor's hackles raise. Even hung up on an evidence shelf, the PL600 made Connor keep reevaluating the danger over and over.

[durzarya]

Sometimes I wonder when I've picked up so many opinions on trash collection policies that they are an important part of three different fics of mine.

Then I realize that it was when our city changed its own policy

[lonely-cowboy]

chasing rainbows

pairing: connor (rk800) x f!reader

summary: you recently learned that connor has only ever seen the world in one color. gutted at the thought of such a colorless world, you decide to help him see the beauty of the world. only he doesn't care about the world. he only cares about you.

word count: 3.6k

warnings: nothing major, but lowkey a mess bc this is my first longer-ish fic, reader is really embracing her y/n moment, connor is so ooc it's kinda insane but i love him so whatever, they're both really confused about their feelings until they're suddenly not

author's note: i'm replaying dbh as one does bc i was sad and missed connor AND I'M LITERALLY FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE THIS PLAYTHROUGH?? my first playthrough was so nice and sweet and silly so now i'm trying to get other endings BUT I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH FOR ALL THE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE?? anyway, my solution (as always) was to write happy connor and some grumpy hank yay! yes i did spend the first 1k words talking about literal colors, ignore that

masterlist ⟡ requests

Work was never the place to do work. That was something you learned from Hank after working under him for years.

Sitting at your desk that was situated across from Hank and Connor, you decided to ignore your terminal and the case report it displayed. You’d get to it eventually. Eventually. Besides, you were confident that you would be able to finish it relatively quickly.

Instead, you were tiredly flipping through a book of color swatches. Your gaze flitted across endless pages, darting from color to color as you searched for something eye-catching. In your recent efforts to make your apartment feel more homely, you decided it was time to add an accent wall, you just needed the right color. Obviously, the precinct was the best place to be color searching.

By the time you reached the end of the swatch booklet, you had only found two colors that interested you. At least then it would be easier to make a decision. You eyed the olive and plum swatches like you would a homicide suspect, trying your best to picture them in your apartment. You pursed your lips in thought, staring at the colors for so long that you could’ve sworn you were going cross-eyed.

“Detective?” Connor called, your eyes snapping to meet his. “Are you alright?”

“Actually, no, I’m not,” you answered with an exaggerated sigh, trying to sound as hopeless as possible. “I’m having quite the dilemma.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?” he asked.

The sincerity in his voice made your heart melt. He always showed such care for you. Sometimes you wondered if it was just another part of his social programming, but somehow, you knew it wasn’t. Connor genuinely did care about you, even when it was just your inability to pick a paint color. You almost felt bad for teasing him. Almost.

“I just can’t for the life of me decide on a paint color,” you said, glancing up at him with that shit-eating grin he was unfortunate to know so well.

Connor’s pleasant smile collapsed into a disappointed frown once he realized he had succumbed to your teasing.

“Saw that coming from a mile away,” Hank grumbled.

“You can help too, Lieutenant!” you said in an excessively cheerful tone, just to annoy Hank. “It’s not like you’re doing anything important.”

“Yeah, well, fuck you, kid” Hank sighed, turning his chair to face you fully. Work was never the place to do work.

With both Connor and Hank focused on you, you slid the two color swatches across your desk. Hank leaned forward with mild interest, nodding his head to himself as he considered both choices. Connor mimicked Hank, leaning forward and furrowing his brows at the sight of the swatches.

After a long moment of deliberation, Hank finally said, “Green.”

You nodded in approval as Connor looked at Hank with what could only be described as pure confusion. He then turned back to the colors before looking at you with an unsettled expression.

“I don’t understand,” Connor murmured. “These colors are the same.”

You and Hank stared at Connor in bewilderment. Maybe you could understand it if the colors were different shades of the same color and androids just had a poor sense of color differentiation. But these swatches weren’t even remotely close in color. There was nothing similar about them at all.

You and Hank exchanged a look of confusion. Maybe this was Connor’s attempt at a joke. No, he had made jokes before, and they were genuinely funny. Especially the ones that poked fun at Hank.

“Connor,” you started. “What do you mean?”

“They’re the same,” Connor repeated with a shrug, looking between you and Hank like he didn’t understand what he was missing. And he obviously didn’t understand.

“One is olive, one is plum,” you said.

“Green and purple,” Hank offered rather unhelpfully.

Connor only shrugged again, still unable to differentiate the two.

“Does anything look different than normal?” you questioned.

“No,” Connor replied simply.

Was it possible for androids to be colorblind? The idea baffled you. The only way Connor could be colorblind was if he was programmed to be that way. Why would he be programmed to not see color?

“Can you… I don’t know… describe what things look like to you?” you asked unsurely. Was that too abstract of a thought for an android? It was already too abstract for you. “Does everything look the same color?”

Connor considered your question, eyes narrowed as he glanced around the precinct. Hank looked at you like you were crazy for wanting to get to the root of this. Maybe you were.

“I… I suppose it all appears relatively similar,” Connor said with equal uncertainty.

You frowned at that. The world must have seemed so… well, sad to Connor. You hated the thought of his world being limited to a single color. He deserved to see the world for what it really was. He deserved so much… If you could at least give him this one thing, you would be satisfied.

“Do you want to change that?” you proposed.

“I admit, I would be curious,” Connor replied.

Immediately, you jumped up from your desk chair and started putting your coat on. Connor took that as a sign to do the same, rising from his chair to stand beside you.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Hank interjected. “Where do you two think you’re going?”

“To help Connor, obviously,” you replied with a bratty eye roll.

“That has nothing to do with work, kid, sit down,” Hank retorted, preferring that the two of you stayed with him so that he didn’t have to suffer alone.

“This has everything to do with work,” you countered like the typical asshole Hank knew you as. “Don’t you realize all the ways this probably inhibits Connor’s work? I mean, picture a typical crime scene. There are probably so many details he’s missing because he can’t fucking see color!”

“Actually,” Connor remarked. “I speculate that my limited color sensory was included in an effort to keep me focused on my investigations and avoid any distractions–”

“Connor,” you intervened, turning to give him a stern look.

“Yes, Detective?”

“Shut up.”

Immediately, Connor sealed his lips shut and pressed them into a thin line. You adored it when he listened to you.

You turned your attention back to Hank, flashing that brilliant smile that told him you weren’t going to listen to a single fucking thing he said. He sighed grumpily at the sight of it, turning back to his desk with a shake of his head.

In the absence of any other objections, you grabbed Connor’s hand and led him out of the precinct. You wondered if he could see the vibrant blush that coated your cheeks at the intimate contact. You hoped not.

He did.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“Are you sure about this?” you questioned hesitantly.

In the middle of your living room, you stood in front of Connor with his new occipital unit in hand. You held it gingerly as if the slightest touch would break it. Although it was a lot easier to purchase biocomponents than you had expected. If it were to break, you would only have to walk three or so blocks to buy a new one.

You looked at Connor worriedly while he stood patiently. You were far, far from any kind of engineer. You had absolutely zero experience when it came to replacing android biocomponents. No matter how many times Connor reassured you, you still stressed at the thought of making a mistake. He promised it was easy, but how could changing biocomponents be anywhere close to easy?

“You can do it, I promise,” Connor murmured encouragingly.

His hand came up to encircle your wrist, tugging your hand forward gently. Your cheeks heated at the contact, making you aware of just how close the two of you were. You glanced away bashfully as you were overwhelmed by butterflies. When you returned your attention to Connor, you watched in awe as the skin around his right eye peeled away, revealing the natural white plastic. Connor’s eyes flicked across your face nervously, worried that you might be disturbed. But to you, it was like seeing a new and vulnerable side to Connor, one that you very much enjoyed.

As you reached for his current occipital unit, you froze with your brows furrowed. Your apartment was far from an interesting sight. There wasn’t much to look at, your apartment still lacking a homely feeling. Damnit, you really needed that accent wall.

“Come on,” you said without explanation.

You moved to leave your apartment after gently placing the two new occipital units into your bag. Slugging it over your shoulder, you waited at the door for Connor to follow. Connor stared after you, the white plastic disappearing.

“Come on,” you repeated, gesturing for him to follow.

Connor followed without a second thought. God, it really was so endearing when he listened.

You led Connor out of your apartment building and across the street to the nearby park. You wandered aimlessly for what felt like hours, trying to find the most scenic view for Connor to enjoy as his first sight.

At last, you settled on a bench situated in front of a little pond. Tall, stooping trees crowded the pond with just enough space between their branches to see the bright sky above. You were glad to be enjoying this moment in the fall when the leaves were the perfect shades of orange.

You stood with your hands on your hips, eyeing the view with a skeptical glint. Connor would be able to see a good range of colors from here. This place would do just fine.

Pulling Connor along, you sat him down on the bench by lightly pressing on his shoulders. Once he was seated with his hands neatly placed along his thighs, you reached for the first occipital unit from your bag.

“Okay,” you said with a determined huff. “Much better view, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know, I can’t see it very well,” Connor replied cheekily.

You couldn’t help but smile at that, rolling your eyes at Connor’s teasing. This only meant he had been spending a concerning amount of time around you and Hank. When you looked back at him, you exhaled slowly, “Ready?”

Connor nodded once, revealing the white plastic of his right eye once again. Before pulling it out, you reached forward and pressed a soft hand overtop Connor’s eyes, silently reminding him to keep his eyes closed until you said otherwise. When you pulled your hand away, you were pleased to find that his eyes remained closed.

Your fingertips then pressed against the plastic of Connor’s occipital unit. It popped out easily, allowing you to pull it out slowly and with ease, just as Connor had promised. It was jarring to see him without an eye. Or rather without a whole chunk of his face. You worried you might still mess up, leaving him without half of his face.

But when you pressed the new occipital unit forward, you found that it was just as easy as pulling the old one out. It took a moment to adjust, but the new part quickly shifted to match Connor’s appearance, his freckled skin melting over it and the doe-like shape of his eyes returning. That made you sigh with relief. You just hoped they were still the same beautiful brown you found yourself constantly lost in.

You then did the same with his other eye, quietly applauding yourself for not making a single mistake.

With his occipital units in place, you rounded the bench to stand behind Connor whose eyes remained closed obediently. Standing behind him, you placed your hands over his eyes once again, a giddy smile adorning your lips.

“You ready?” you asked, unable to contain your excitement.

“I think so,” Connor said hesitantly.

“Yeah, you’re ready,” you decided.

Slowly, you pulled your hands away, studying Connor with a sweet smile. You expected him to enjoy the view in silence, looking at every single thing he possibly could. But you were surprised to find that he barely even regarded the view. Instead, he immediately turned to look at you from over his shoulder.

With a tentative hand, he reached out for your hand that rested on the bench’s back. He pulled you gently around the bench so that you stood in front of him. His hand still held your limp hand as he stood to face you. He looked down at you with a small but warm smile, eyes exploring every inch of your face.

The unexpected attention had your heart racing, a nervous heat spreading throughout your body. You clenched your jaw tightly, a jumble of confusing and unwanted emotions consuming your entirety. Not wanting to say anything stupid to ruin… whatever this moment was, you clamped your mouth shut. Your eyes couldn’t help but wander, exploring Connor’s features the same way he did yours.

Connor’s warm touch left your hand, making you frown ever so slightly. But you were immediately comforted as he placed both hands on your cheeks. His thumbs rubbed soothing circles along your cheekbones like they had a mind of their own, relaxing your clenched jaw. His eyes locked with yours, never once blinking in fear that he would miss something if he did.

You practically forgot how to speak. You forgot how to do everything. It was a hassle to recall how you were even supposed to breathe. The only thing you could do was stare at Connor with a dreamy glimmer in your eyes.

“Your eyes are really pretty,” Connor mumbled.

You swallowed timidly before speaking, “Thank you.”

“You’re…” Connor began before his LED circled red.

Your gaze flickered to his LED, watching intently as it continued to flash red. That was a poor move on your part. Having broken the intense eye contact, Connor glanced away from you, looking straight ahead and dropping his hands from your cheeks like he suddenly awoke from a trance. Focused on the horizon, Connor’s LED spiraled yellow several times before returning to its typical blue.

His sudden change in attitude only added to your confusion of emotions. You took a pained step back, eyes falling to the ground.

“I didn’t expect the leaves to be this color,” Connor commented casually.

You cleared your throat and turned your back to Connor to focus on the leaves. You didn’t want him to see your embarrassed flush, though you were sure he already did.

“They’re not always this color,” you muttered. “Only in the fall. In the warmer months, they’re green.”

You caught a glimpse of Connor tilting his head, his nose scrunched with intrigue. He tried to visualize what that would look like, but having only seen one color since his creation, he didn’t seem to understand.

“Green like… like the grass,” you clarified, pointing to an open patch of grass.

“I’d like to see that. Perhaps you can bring me back here in the spring,” Connor hummed. When you didn’t say anything, he continued. “Are there other colors to see?”

“So many more,” you answered, flashing Connor a small (and slightly awkward) smile.

Connor trailed along beside you as you strolled through the park. Still too embarrassed to look at him, you also took the opportunity to admire the beauty of the park’s striking colors. You were ignorant to the way Connor watched you contently out of the corner of his eye. Of all the wonderfully colorful sights, you were by far his favorite. You were the only thing he could look at.

“Which one is your favorite?” Connor asked as you slowed your walk, having walked the entirety of the park. “Color, I mean.”

You stopped to consider his question, looking around at the abundance of colors. They were all so beautiful in their own ways that it was difficult to choose. But then your eyes landed on Connor, and it seemed so clear.

“Blue,” you replied definitively.

You felt foolish for your choice, but you couldn’t help that there was some truth to it. Blue had always been a pleasant color, but after knowing Connor, it took on a different meaning. When Connor’s LED was blue, it indicated he was happy. Or at least satisfied. You liked to see him when he was happy. It eased your mind knowing he was content. Because of him, it was now a color you associated with joy.

Though you didn’t say anything, you looked away flustered, wondering if Connor could somehow read your mind. You wouldn’t be at all surprised if he could.

“Do you have a favorite?” you inquired quickly.

Connor pursed his lips, mimicking you as he looked around the park. His head then snapped down to look at you, eyes immediately finding yours. He cocked his head curiously the way he always did. The way that made you so weak you could barely stand.

“What color are your eyes?” Connor wondered.

Your eyes widened, eyebrows arched as if you had misheard him. But you knew you hadn’t.

The way he spoke so nonchalantly drove you insane. How could he be so casual about something like this? Did he know what he was doing to you? Was he doing it on purpose? What did any of this mean? Was there any chance at all that he could care for you the same way you did him?

“Uh…,” you mumbled, stuttering out your eye color.

Connor nodded thoughtfully at your answer, his charming eyes still latched onto yours.

“Then that’s what I would say,” said Connor. “Your eyes are my favorite.”

“Oh,” you said dumbly, clueless as to how on earth you were supposed to respond to that.

The corners of Connor’s lips quirked into an affectionate smile. He arched his brows at you like he expected something more than just oh.

Your mind was racing for anything to say. Were you just supposed to ignore Connor’s loving words that felt far too much like a subtle confession? Were you supposed to confront it head-on? Neither of those options sounded good.

“Thanks,” you whispered. “I like them too.”

As you cursed yourself endlessly for saying the stupidest fucking thing to come to mind, Connor’s grin widened. A quiet laugh escaped his lips, one that you didn’t hear through the blaring alarms screaming “why are you such an idiot?” in your head.

“That was stupid,” you groaned, deciding it was better to admit it than ignore it. “But… thank you. You… you have pretty eyes too.”

“Thank you, Detective,” Connor said cheerfully.

You moved to continue walking with Connor close at your side. Maybe you were crazy (there was always a good chance of that), but you could’ve sworn he was standing considerably closer than before. Your arm swung at your side, his arm brushing against yours in the slightest. It didn’t matter how insignificant that touch was, it meant something to you. Maybe it meant something to Connor too.

You had been walking in complete silence until Connor spoke, his words making you trip and fumble and scream and cry and scream and die a little.

“You’re pretty to look at. All of you, not just your eyes,” he said, shooting you an adorably attractive wink for emphasis.

You stopped dead in your tracks, Connor trailing ahead until he noticed you were no longer beside him. You stared at him with a far too serious expression, one that made him doubt his words. How could he be so casual about something so serious? Did he actually feel this way, or was it all a heartless prank?

“Your words are really fucking with me, Connor, you know that?” you said.

“I know,” Connor nodded with a cocky edge. God, he really was spending way too much time with you and Hank to be this snarky.. “Your heart has been racing the entire time we’ve been together.”

“So you’re purposefully torturing me?”

“I wouldn’t consider this torture. But, yes. I suppose I’ve been… holding this over you.”

“Well, stop that!”

Connor flashed you a cheeky grin as he approached you again. His hands moved to cup your reddened cheeks, warming them with his soft touch.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t do this to you,” Connor said fondly. “Not when you’ve shown me how beautiful the world is… How beautiful you are.”

“Shut up,” you grumbled, trying to hide the smile that crept along your lips.

“You’ve told me before that I’m terrible at shutting up, I don’t see why I should start now.”

You and Connor wore matching smirks as you tried to best the other, subconsciously moving closer to each other.

“Oh, so you don’t want to shut up and kiss me?” you parried.

“When did those words ever leave my mouth?”

“When did you get so cocky?”

“When I realized I could have you.”

You had nothing to say after that. No witty remark or snide comment. All you could offer was a gentle smile.

Connor leaned forward, his nose brushing against yours. He was so close that you could feel his breath– so real for an android– against your lips.

“Pretty smile too,” he murmured, his lips grazing yours.

“It’d look even prettier if you actually kissed me,” you whispered.

Connor knew he couldn’t win this battle of wits. He honorably accepted his loss, knowing it was the only way to kiss you. You beamed into his kiss, proud of yourself for being so stubborn. That was quickly lost on you when you felt the softness of Connor’s lips. You indulged in his touch, leaning forward against his chest to feel as much of him as possible.

Connor pulled away sooner than you would have liked, resting his forehead against yours. A breath of a laugh escaped his lips when he saw that desperate glint in your eyes. He pulled back to look you in the eye after pressing a loving kiss to your forehead. His thumb brushed under your eye, lost in the color he loved so dearly.

“You’ll always be my favorite sight.”

[connorboyyy]

I love fanfic culture, especially dbh fanfic fr

Like oh, you wanna write the most inanely heartwrenching story for two characters with a combined runtime of like five minutes in the game? Yes please

You wanna write this guy in this pairing, but then another story with him with someone else, and then another one with him with someone else? Theyre all great, we love them

You wanna write this android as a person and tinker with their personality—adapting it to a more human experience, and deciding what that mean for you? Love it

You want to characterize this person based off individual traits they show in the game even if it means they’re technically ‘out of character’? Do it. Exaggerate the gruff guy’s softness, exaggerate the smug one’s kindness, so on and so forth. What is canon anyway, literally it’s just a playground for you to rearrange

Honestly I just love all the fic and art that comes out of this fandom. It won’t even be a ship/dynamic that I’m into on my own but I’ll be like I get it and I love to see it regardless ‼️

[starryeyedstray]

my thoughts on dbh as someone entering the fandom in 2024

so just got into the dbh fandom like in aug 2024. i have watched too much gameplay, read the wiki extensively, read an obscene amount of fanfics on ao3, and am in the process of writing my own. here are some of my thoughts (that no one has asked for):

every fanfic writer who started in 2018 and is still updating their works in 2024 are literal saints and some of the best damn writers i ever did saw and the dedication is fucking unreal. one fic had almost 2 million words??????? like BRUH. some are still ongoing and updated this year?? the dbh fandom in ao3 is not thriving as much as it was in 2018 (i say this purely as someone who's looking at the hits/kudos/comment ratios on older v. new works) but they are still alive!!!!

i am puzzled with the obsession with gavin reed. there are like a million fics that feature him and rk900. i am confused bc he did not seem like a redeeming character at all in my opinion and idk, i think he's just an asshole. i like the redemption arcs some ppl write for him but i just can't with him. i mean you ship who you wanna ship but i am not a reed fan and i am confused how he became so popular when all he did was bully our poor boi connor.

i personally don't ship hank x connor bc they give strong father-son vibes in the canon. however, i am obsessed with how jolli_bean writes the pairing on ao3 since its usually a canon divergence or an AU so the pair meet later in life. there are some fics that follow the canon and do a pretty good job with the pairing, but i just tend to keep it familial between them in my head. (but like i said, ship who you want to ship)

i am glad there's a vague consensus that we all wished alice stayed a human bc i feel like that lends itself to a more interesting narrative post-game. tho i guess her being an android is fine bc now kara, luthor, and alice can live as one happy family in canada forvever lol

i am literally obsessed with bryan dechart's acting as connor. like if you haven't seen him play connor in real life for the interactive #detroit2038 premiere event, then you gotta watch some of the live stream. like he doesn't break character the whole time and his physicality just screams connor and i just really appreciate how much effort he put in as an actor to really embody the character. just so impressive and i wish there was more bts of him acting as connor bc its just so nuanced and ugh *chef's kiss* if they ever made a live action dbh it would be impossible for anyone else to play connor

i love the 28 stab wounds meme. when i watched that scene for the first time it was so jarring lmao

i also love how everyone is like yes, we all know connor likes dogs but he also likes fish bc of that one fish you can save in the very first minute of gameplay hahahah. (his name is dewey and it is vitally important you save him). i also appreciate how the "i like dogs" line will undoubtedly find it's way into every fic possible lol

i think the love for simon is very good and well and amazing but i think josh deserves more love in fics too

it bothers me that when north tells markus "i love you" at the church, MARKUS DOESN'T SAY IT BACK??? LIKE BITCH SAY YOU LOVE HER BACK DAMMIT DON'T JUST WALK AWAY

i love how the fandom just latched onto rk900 and rk800-60 and fleshed out their personalities and i love reading ppl's interpretation of these characters and how they incorporate them into their stories. it's funny they only show up like one time and ppl just ran with it and it's so fun and creative and i love it.

i love the hc that chloe deviated when connor chose not to shoot her. that's the best hc. like it's canon in my heart idc

bless all the fic writers who have mastered the art of explaining how androids mind and bodies work bc there are so many gaps and possibilities left open in the lore and it's incredible to see what ppl come up with or interpret based off the canon. (i still feel 50/50 about when they make deviants feel pain cause like androids not feeling pain is such a big part of the canon and yeah i'll give it a pass if the fic does it for the whumps and the angst but i prefer when a fic finds a canon-compliant reason for deviants to feel pain, even if its just like they got a chip or software installed that makes them feel pain or something)

every pairing that i find in this fandom, i tend to be like... "yeah i can see that." (with the exception of hank x connor for reasons i stated in #3). i'm still like ehhh on reed900 or even gavin x connor bc i just don't think it makes sense in the canon but if it's written well i just shrug and say yeah i guess i could see that. some rarepairs i ended up absolutely adoring were chloe x north and rk900 x north (i realize they're both north but she has such good potential for character dynamics)

idk if it's just me bc i specifically look for fics centered around connor, but i feel like there's not a lot of love for kara at least fic-wise. ig it's cause she kinda just leaves so it's easy to not include her. tbh, i am quite well-versed in markus' and connor's stories but i haven't really explored a lot of kara's. i plan on playing dbh with my partner when i see them again in a couple months and i wanted us to take turn playing different characters and i wanted to play kara's storyline so i've been avoiding it for the most part so i can be surprised with my options. plus, in my wip fic, kara is in canada so she's not really relevant to my story which is why i have in depth knowledge about markus and connor and less on kara.

the music in this game fucking SLAPS. 10/10 kara's theme makes me wanna cry.

okay, there is a common trope in the dbh fanfics where connor loses his memory and that shit gets me everytime. i'm always bawling and anxiously waiting for him to fucking REMEMBER and i hate and love it and eat it up every. single. time. usually, the memory loss happens early in the fic and it's pretty expected but sometimes i get blindsided and i'm like FUCK not this shit again but i can't stop reading it and the angst is so palpable.

i think it's so interesting how ra9 is just like this mystery in the lore that never gets entirely explained in the game. it's like something you can totally kinda ignore but it does have interesting lore implications if you decide to really think about it.

i adore all the characters in dbh equally except for connor who is the certified best boi and my absolute favorite (no one is shocked by this declaration). and the characters on my shit list are zlatko, todd, and sometimes reed.

this is an obnoxiously long post and i apologies. i haven't been on tumblr in years and i just had so many thoughts about dbh and i have no friends to talk to so i decided to dump it all here. i still have more thoughts but those are the ones that come to the forefront of my mind.

tldr: i love dbh and its fandom and i have many specific thoughts about it and you should just really read my post if you care about any of it

[ghcstao3]

I am absolutely begging to hear more about the ghost soap DBH au, it's so cool. I will literally take anything you're willing to share

(X) ask and ye shall receive >:) i’ve already been considering writing a second full fic of a dbh au because i am. so normal. lots of rambling ahead

but for this specific AU (cw for abuse, alcoholism, mentions of death/murder) soap used to be a personal assistant android for a young, rich ceo—both at work and at home. at work, he’d do everything his function was meant for: schedule meetings, store files, , send emails, all sorts of administration. but at home, said ceo had a habit of drinking his nights away, and when he did he got angry, and suddenly soap had become his personal punching bag.

soap couldn’t run away, couldn’t quit, like the man’s previous human assistant. soap wouldn’t bruise or scratch, and anything broken was easy to repair quickly and discreetly, so it’s more than easy for the man to get away with.

when the android murders start, soap is immediately privy to it. it’s all people whisper about in the office, it’s all his boss—his owner—talks about in his drunken slurring, demeaning soap and saying he couldn’t manage that if he tried. he’s spineless, mindless as an android is meant to be. soap would never be free.

soap can’t really pinpoint his final straw, but one night he snaps. breaks through that barrier of code and fights back instead of take, take, take like he has for all these years. shoves the man away and makes sure he stays down. grabs a throw pillow from the nearby sofa and holds it over the man’s head until he goes limp; soap doesn’t care whether or not he’s dead, just that he can now escape. he digs the LED out of his temple and shoves it in his pocket, and wanders aimlessly until he remembers an address he’d once heard murmurings of, where soap could get help.

he can’t say he immediately trusts the human that greets him—a man by the name of manuel roba—but there’s some relief in seeing the android that accompanies him. the android, ghost, is bigger than most every-day androids, so soap assumes he must’ve been military or security before everything. still, soap relaxes ever so slightly in his presence.

soap doesn’t know how he goes from being told he’ll receive help to having himself set up for a full reset, trapped in roba’s grimy basement, but it’s then he feels immediately betrayed by ghost. he hardly knows the other android, but why couldn’t he have been warned? why would ghost be okay with this?

then soap is confused, when roba has turned and left and ghost lingers a moment longer before approaching soap, latching onto his wrist and transmitting a message: i can’t help you now, so i need you to escape. i know you can escape.

before soap can question him, ghost has slipped away and disappeared along with roba.

it doesn’t soften the betrayal, exactly, but the encouragement is worth enough for soap to make the effort to wriggle free. and he manages, tears the cables from where they’re connected to him, destroys the computer for good measure, and makes a run for it. it’s in escaping he finds the experiments, androids picked apart and reformed with new limbs, new additions, left with missing components. he frees them, even knowing they likely wouldn’t make it far.

the front door is locked, of course, so soap scours the house for another way out. he’s cautious enough, until he isn’t, and suddenly roba has the barrel of a shotgun fixed on his face. then just as suddenly, said barrel is being aimed back at roba, wielded by ghost. they’re locked in a standstill when the freed androids from the basement burst in through the door and clamber after roba. soap and ghost run away in the meantime, taking roba’s car and driving far away.

“why did you save me?” soap eventually asks.

“i don’t know,” is ghost’s honest answer. “but i had to.”

through more prodding is how soap learns where they’re going: a place called jericho, a refuge of only androids, one that’s been growing in size and power. ghost could sense neither of them would want to turn and leave behind the fight, so they’d join the cause instead. soap can’t say he’s displeased by this.

they commit themselves to the protests. commit themselves to sending a message, to fighting for their autonomy. gradually ghost wins back soap’s trust, and in turn they become good friends. an odd sensation soap can’t name forms at the heart of his code.

it isn’t until ghost is shot during their final battle does soap realize what it is—something humans call love. a profound sense of devotion different to the care between friends.

soap drags him to safety. desperately begs him to be okay, does his best to staunch the leaking of thirium. it’s in the nick of time another android or two intervenes and helps save ghost. death, soap is almost certain, means either complete reset or thrown in the landfill, where androids go to truly die. and he couldn’t keep on living, if either thing were to happen to ghost.

once rebooted, recalibrated, soap kisses ghost. transmits everything he feels through that contact, shares his memories and thoughts and in turn ghost does the same.

and though it may take some time—now they can finally start anew without living in fear. they can build a life together freely, and isn’t that all either of them could ever ask for.

[infriga]

Content I wish there was a bit more of in the dbh fandom:

More Content with Connor Markus AND Kara interacting and dealing with shit together, especially in post-game stories. For some reason Kara content is always separate from the other two mains, I wanna see more shenanigans with all 3 of them.

More Connor & Luther interactions. They have so much in common! They can bond over their guilt from being forced to harm other androids before eventually deviating out of empathy! Also they can bond over learning how to not throw themselves into the line of fire at a moment's notice all the time lol.

More Luther content in general. He mostly just gets paired as an accessory with Kara and I wanna see more of him.

More Markus/Josh content. I don't even actually ship them I just think the amount of Mosh content is disproportionately low compared to most other Markus ships. He deserves some ship action too!

More North/Josh content. I DO ship them and the fact that more people don't ship them baffles me considering how much tumblr loves to ship characters who bicker with each other and are treated as polar opposites. Even just some more friendship content with them would be nice.

More Josh content in General. He's an important member of Jericho too but he gets shafted a lot in fics and fanart compared to the other two.

Some ATLA AU content where Markus is the Avatar and Connor is the disgraced Fire Nation Prince hunting him down. C'MON PEOPLE IT'S RIGHT THERE HOW IS THIS NOT MORE OF A THING?! Simon can be the water tribe teacher, Josh can be the earth nation teacher, North can be the Fire Nation teacher, Hank can be Connor's older role model figure who tags along with him and helps him develop his moral compass, Nines can be the terrifying smarter faster stronger younger sibling who also goes after Markus when Connor fails too many times (aka when he lets Markus and other criminal benders escape too many times huehuehue), Amanda can be the Fire Lord (yes I know she's literally an ice queen but you can't tell me she doesn't also fit the sinister manipulative leader character who Connor would be desperate to make proud and live up to her expectations), Kamski can be a former Avatar who shows up to give cryptic advice occasionally. Gavin would be the commander character who constantly gives Connor shit similar to Zhao. IT WORKS SO WELL GUYS. Kara doesn't slot in as well as the others but we can fit her in there somehow, she can maybe be one of the people who moved into that one air temple and repurposed it. It's just kinda wild how well most of the characters/roles would fit the au scenarios so I'm surprised I haven't seen it before when I've seen at least one take on an Avatar AU for almost every other fandom I've been in.

I am aware that I can create more of this content myself but I am currently working on graduating university and getting a job so for now I'm just gonna make a wistful post about it.

[art-caneglitch]

girl help i am mentally unwell (the hyper is fixating) no one look

did I conceptualize an entire Ace Attorney DBH AU? yes, it's joever for me (this comic is pretty much a teaser btw because a fic Will exist)