how does nines fall for gavin ;)

(better strap in pal, this went on a lot longer than i realized)

it takes him a long time to realize it, and even then it's hard for him to wrap his head around. For so long Nines has been repressing and hiding every emotion that would've made his superiors question his loyalty to the Empire, so anything other than that would've put him at risk.

He doesn't fully realize he's safe to Feel until Connor takes a moment to repeatedly say to him "You don't have to do that anymore."

But Nines blinked back, and responded with "I don't know how."

so it certainly takes a long time for Nines to finally be able to let himself feel and even longer for him to identify what his emotions are and how to process them. So when he realizes that he's fallen in love with Gavin? To say it blindsides him is an understatement.

Actually, the thought didn't even occur to him until Connor helped him figure it out.

But it starts off slow. Little things, small phrases, minuscule acts of kindness that Gavin would always deny. He's one of the first people to see Nines show interest towards something unrelated to the Empire, a simple decorative brace or tactical belt he caught a glimpse of in a market on some Outer Rim planet while on a job, and Gavin will fight tooth and nail if anyone accused him of going back to the stand and buying it for Nines.

Either way, it's one of the first things Nines owns for himself.

Gavin gives Nines a safe space to feel his emotions, some of the more ugly ones that he doesn't want Connor to see, and Gavin doesn't judge. He claims that he doesn't give a shit about whatever Nines is going through, but it's not easy to lie to a Force-sensitive. So Nines lets him have his excuses. Either way he's still thankful. And who is Gavin to condemn someone for feeling the same emotions he's felt himself?

They're competent together on missions, a deadly mix of trained precision and wild unpredictability with the added bonus of reckless plans and the skill to pull them off. It pisses off the Imperial officers and makes the troops fearfully spread rumors of the Dark Side User fighting for the rebels and his partner with a ship faster than a TIE Interceptor and a deadly aim you won't see coming. And over the missions, both solo and as a team with Connor, Hank, and Tina, Nines begins to find he enjoys sharing space with Gavin. His presence becomes a steady comfort, a reliability and certainty that no matter the mission, he knows that they'll find each other in the end. They're both too stubborn and bull-headed to leave the other behind and too adept in their skills to let something as simple as a unit of Stormtroppers stand in their way of the other.

And that's just how they are.

Often times when Nines has night terrors and can't find it in himself to fall asleep, he can't help but listen and search out Gavin's Force presence. And only after it's found is he lulled back to sleep. Nines finds comfort in Gavin's presence, his words (as crude or harsh as they can be sometimes they tend to hold some truth), his actions, and he appreciates the fact that Gavin doesn't think any less of him because of his past and of what he is. Don't get me wrong, he does at first, for both him and Connor. He could barely tolerate being in the same room as them after breaking Nines out of that Imperial prison. It was a favor to Connor and nothing more, and now they were even, so he didn't owe them anything anymore. But time and retrospect is funny in a way.

And it's not until one day Connor has to basically spell it out for Nines, that hey, I don't want to tell you what you're feeling, but I think you might be falling love.

Nines: I enjoy Gavin's company. He has a steady presence and it's comforting. I can't imagine what my life would look like without him in it. Connor, already suspicious: oh? Care to elaborate? Nines: I know how it sounds, and he may be crude and his words full of anger at times, but I feel happier around him. His presence is so bright and warm. Can't you tell? I fall asleep to it at times. He may seem to have a rough exterior but he is much kinder than he cares to admit. And i hate his reckless behavior and how careless he can be but he can also be equally careful and considerate. I'm sure you've noticed the injured Loth-Cat he's snuck into the ship. Connor: he, what? Nines: If anything were to happen to him, i am quite sure i would fall to the Dark Side completely- Connor: hey Nines: but yes. To restate my earlier point... I don't think i can imagine my life without him. And i never want to. Connor: .... So Nines...

but yeah, those are my thoughts essentially on how Nines falls in love with Gavin. Might have more thoughts later, but for now, i think this is good.

Gavin may have fallen harder, but Nines didn't fall at all. It grew without him knowing.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Shadow’s Showdown 35

The lass that is gone.

Detroit. Laura's apartment.

Connor was still trying to track down Laura's phone, but Adam already knew he wouldn't succeed. It had taken too long and was just a desperate attempt to delay his failure. The Chief of Security rubbed his temples and got up from the sofa to stretch his legs. With a slow step, he walked towards the terrace window. His phone rang when he was near Laura's antique clock. Ex-SWAT looked apologetically at Connor and left the apartment. He didn't answer until he was in the corridor; he didn't want that idiot to know that his psychologist, who was also his friend, was calling.

"Good evening Rupert. Is something wrong?" he asked since he never called him after eight in the evening. "No, not at all. Everything is all right. It's just me and my absent-mindedness," The Scot laughed. "Sorry for calling so late, I didn't look at my watch," he explained. "Come on, I'm awake anyway," he replied. "I just thought if you didn't have plans maybe you could stop by tomorrow for Christmas dinner. Demelza said I had to convince you because she'd be offended."

Adam was surprised at this proposition. Yes, outside of Crann Tara they had also met at his place, but he had never invited him over for Christmas. Anyway, the reason was unimportant now, though he was anxious to know it. Rupert had put him in a rather awkward position where a refusal would be a huge gaffe.

"I have no plans for tomorrow, so I will gladly accept the invitation. What time should I come?" "I think around noon would be just fine." "I'll see you then."

Jensen stood in the hallway for a good quarter of an hour more after the conversation ended. He still couldn't explain why the sudden invitation came. Agreeing to it at the same time meant he had to leave Connor alone which didn't fill him with joy at all.

"Connor, I had an important call and I have to go. Stay here until Laura gets back," he ordered. "Sure, I understand," he replied in a tone completely devoid of color, but the ex-SWAT could swear he heard superiority and triumph in it. "I'll let you know if she shows up."

Adam decided it was inappropriate to go to Rupert empty-handed so he went to the store before returning home. He was greatly relieved to see there was a young man, probably a student, standing at the cash register today. The Head of Security immediately went to the alcohol section and chose the best whisky they had on offer, later he also found cookies sprinkled with sugar. While they couldn't compare to those baked by Demelza, he had no better idea for a gift for her. Only at the last minute did he swap them for tea, figuring he might be committing a gaffe by giving her sweets. This time the cashier did not try to push him any promotional offers so he paid and left.

When he got home, he had an immediate urge to smoke before going to the shower. He also checked to see if he had any appropriate clothes. He found one last clean shirt and dark blue material trousers. He already remembered the Scot did not like to be overly elegant, so he resigned with the tie. Adam went to bed immediately after leaving the bathroom, but could not fall asleep. Laura's absence continued to haunt him.

In the morning, he ate scrambled eggs of three eggs and bacon, he would not swallow more anyway because of his nervousness and drank cool coffee. He tried to read another volume about Wallander, but he could not concentrate on what he was reading so he turned on the TV. Eliza was just relating Sarif's charity auction, and he was very glad that he wasn't Santa Claus. At about eleven o'clock he went to brush his teeth and comb his hair, which did not want to look the way he wanted it to anyway. He put on a beige shirt without buttoning a few buttons under his neck, sprayed himself with the usual toilet water, and then put on his shoes. In the closet, he found his jacket, over which he put his coat. Finally, he took two paper gift bags and closed the apartment.

The subway was quite crowded, but halfway there most people got off so he took a vacant seat at the end of the wagon. A boy was listening to loud music, which irritated him a lot. Not everyone likes what he does. Adam looked at his watch, the one he had on his hand. He had fixed it himself once and decided that he should wear it. It was half-past twelve when the subway came to a stop. Jensen got off climbing up the stairs. The familiar street led him to Scot's house. As usual, Demelza opened before he had time to use the doorbell. He smelled the roasting turkey and cookies.

"I'm glad you came, please come in," the woman with flushed cheeks encouraged him.

Laura sat with Rupert in the dining room by the fireplace placed in the corner of the room. She already felt very comfortable in his company. The man took the guitar in his hand and, leaning it against his thighs, tugged lightly on the strings. At first, he produced random strings of sounds before deciding what he wanted to play. The hacker wanted to help Demelza in the kitchen because sitting idly by made her uncomfortable, but the landlady firmly refused and told her to get dressed because she would not let her sit at the table in her sweatsuit. Dressed in a blue, slightly shiny blouse and black trousers, she watched the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. She should be at least depressed, but all she felt was a joy.

"Go on, sing," Scot encouraged her seeing she was starting to think too intensely. "I can't," she tried to wiggle out. "Nonsense!" he indignantly replied. "At Christmas, everybody can sing. Enjoy it girl like it's your last day!"

The hacker took a sip of whisky for courage and set her glass on the coffee table. The Scot was right, she should at least forget about everything for a while or she would go crazy.

"If you don't know the lyrics, I have it written down somewhere on a piece of paper," he preempted her next escape attempt. "I know the song," she replied not wanting to lie anymore. "Sing me a song of a lass that is gone. Say, could that lass be I?" she began to hum timidly. "Merry of soul, she sailed on a day Over the sea to Skye." "Well you're doing pretty well for a novice," admitted MacKenzie laughing. "I'm better at dancing," she said embarrassed. "So what else are you waiting for? Free your soul, and you'll see that you'll feel better."

Laura listened to him and began to dance as completely spontaneously as when she was just a child. "Billow and breeze, islands and seas. Mountains of rain and sun."

"All that was good, all that was fair. All that was me..." At the next turn, her head spun a little. "is gone." She finished, feeling that she had bumped into something or rather someone. "Sing me a song of a lass that is gone," a husky voice hummed another line.

She immediately smelled that familiar slightly pungent smell. It had to be a dream. It was definitely a dream, so she closed her eyes. And that beige shirt unbuttoned at the neck.

"This isn't real. It's not real..." she repeated quietly, but loud enough to be heard despite the sound of the guitar. "What's not real?" Adam asked while smiling and keeping his hands on her shoulders.

The Head of Security was extremely relieved that Laura was okay. The relief was even greater because that idiot Connor was sitting alone in her apartment and would get a monstrous scolding when the hacker got home.

"That...you and everything," she said abashedly, covering her face with her hands.

Rupert continued to play, but he noticed that Adam was causing a sudden change in her mood. It was a mixture of fear, uncertainty, embarrassment, and immense joy that was being suppressed completely unnecessarily. Jensen carefully grabbed her hands and exposed the woman's face. "But I am real," he muttered. "You can check it out if you want."

At first, he was angry with the Scot for leading him into a trap and confronting Laura, but the blush on Miss Werner's face was so adorable that he quickly forgot his anger.

"I'll take your word for it," she wanted to pull back when she remembered their argument, but Adam wouldn't let her get away. "I wanted to talk but you ran away," he began to explain. "I have to interrupt you lovebirds," Rupert interjected, putting his guitar aside. "If you need a moment to yourselves, my office is open. No one will disturb you there. You can sit down, Demelza will make some tea and you can talk quietly," he offered.

Laura felt the shackles of fear tighten around her. Adam didn't look angry at all, but if they didn't understand each other again it would all be over. They slowly entered the study heading for the library. They sat in the armchairs and were silent. Just as MacKenzie said, Demelza brought them tea and kanelbulle.

The hacker noticed that Jensen wanted to say something, so she preceded him. "Adam, I owe you an apology. I behaved disastrously and unprofessionally in Washington. I should leave it to you. You're the Chief of Security, you've worked longer, you know how to solve problems like this. I act impulsively and unpredictably…"

"Calm down, please. I've long since forgotten. Yes, it was inappropriate, but most likely a reprimand with an entry in the file would not be as effective as public humiliation," he explained while sipping his tea. "I wanted to discuss this awkward situation with Megan."

He saw Laura's face cloud up and turn serious. However, he hoped that once he told her everything she would change her attitude. The woman remained silent while eating her kanelbulle.

"She came in unexpectedly, wanted to discuss some things about Washington. She said you did an excellent job. I really wanted to spend Christmas with you. Despite the argument." "And I ran off like an idiot," she muttered. "It's just a minor misunderstanding. Now we're here together, we'll try harder, we won't make the same mistakes," he assured her.

Laura rested her hands on her thighs and pressed her palms against the material of her blouse. It was nice to the touch, fluffy as a cloud. The woman bit her lip and closed her eyes. She knew what she wanted to say was a path with no return, but it was the only right thing to do. There would be no better opportunity. Adam kept talking, but to her, it was just a steady string of sounds. Something that needed to be interrupted. She took a deep breath.

"No, Adam," her voice was firm and strong. "We just don't fit together. Each of us wants different things, has our own habits, fears, or ways of doing things. Even if we can work together for a while, it doesn't work in the long term," she said looking ahead. "That's why we should stay friends and nothing more. It's better that way." "Maybe for you," he growled. "You're running away again, looking for excuses." "Call it what you will."

The hacker stood up, left the office, and went to her room.

"You're right to go to that Connor of yours since he's better than me!"

Rupert and Demelza walked out into the hall when they heard the door slam. That furious look from MacKenzie Jensen would remember for the rest of his life so he decided he should disappear for a while. He apologized to both of them for the inconvenience, though he knew it wouldn't be enough, and left. He hoped to catch up with Laura, but when he got to the station, the subway had just started to move so he cursed under his breath, lighting a cigarette. The Scot found he couldn't give up after all. They acted like a couple of kids but he had enough goodwill in him to forgive them. The only thing he regretted was Christmas. He had really hoped to spend it with more people than usual. However, he managed to paint a very gloomy picture of Laura, which he did not manage to tell Adam about.

The hacker woman bumped a few people as she walked to the end of the wagon but didn't say a word. When someone grabbed her arm, she jerked away and continued walking. She decided not to go to the company tomorrow. Not tomorrow and not ever. That decision had cost her a lot, but it was the best solution to her current situation. Adam was torn between her and Megan all the time, and if he didn't it was hard for him to show any clear-cut feelings anyway. She, on the other hand, didn't want another merry-go-round in her life, plus there was the unresolved Kratos case that was putting everyone around her at risk. The subway slowed before the next station, two more and she would find herself in a familiar area full of memories, at every turn reminding her that she did not belong in this world. If she could, she wouldn't get off the wagon but would ride until she was bored. A quarter of an hour later she was walking down the street with her hands in her jacket pockets. Until the evening she wandered around the city without much purpose. When she returned, she went to pick up Stalker from her neighbor.

"Good evening I came for the cat," she said with a pleasant smile. "He was looking forward to it as much as Mr. Jensen. He asked about you, miss," the neighbor replied. "Yes, he mentioned me," she lied. "We met by chance. Thank you for taking care of the cat." "Petty, really. He's a very polite cat," she admitted with a smile.

Stalker and polite is some novelty, she thought.

"Thank you again, have a good evening." "You too."

With a nervous movement, the hacker began searching for her keys in her pants pocket. She was relieved when she got home, although the fact that Adam was asking about her didn't make her feel any better. She threw the keys on the cupboard. The cat got spooked and ran off into the kitchen. Her jacket was on the ground, one of her shoes next to it. She'd left the other on the way. She didn't turn on the light except by the kitchen cabinets. Laura took the milk out of the refrigerator and the cocoa out of the cabinet. She always used the best one without sugar. When the milk was heating up she prepared some food for Stalker.

"Your stomach is like a drum," she muttered, adding a teaspoon of honey to the drink as the cat rushed greedily at the food.

With a mug of cocoa in her hand, she went into the living room. The faint light from the street streamed in, slightly touching the coffee table and sofa. Laura sat down on it feeling something hard under her butt. She jumped up as she was scalded when the thing moved and lifted. The cup soared upwards and the brown liquid sloshed at the intruder.

"Holy shit!" she heard a scream. The voice was very familiar.

The frightened hacker jumped back and in a split second, she was already at the entrance to the living room.

"You could be a little careful what you sit on. A little more and you'd break my leg," he muttered.

Laura turned on the light frowning her brow. "Connor? What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Relax," the man changed his tone to a more gentle one, stretching his bent arms out in front of him. "I'll explain everything to you if you let me." "I'm listening," the woman growled, leaning her shoulder against the wall and crossing her arms over her chest. "I came to see you because you gave no sign of life. A little while later Adam showed up and we were trying to find out where you were. I was afraid something had happened to you, so I well... I broke into your apartment." "You had no right!" she yelled. "You both didn't have one! I can understand you at all, but him?!" "Jensen has nothing to do with this," he didn't want to defend him, but that was what his innate honesty dictated. "While he was at the neighbor's I already managed to open the door," he explained. "We were worried about you! Me, Adam, even Faridah."

The worst thing she could hear at that moment was someone was worried about her. The hacker bit her lip as she remembered what had happened at Rupert's. She'd rejected Adam, ruined MacKenzie's Christmas, ruined everything. Again.

"Take off those wet clothes," the hacker changed the subject. "I hope I didn't burn you?" "Don't worry, it'll dry soon," he replied with a careless wave of his hand. "I insist. I'll get them washed and dried right away."

Stay, please. I don't want to be alone right now. Connor sighed loudly. Laura was acting rather strangely in his opinion, so he took a chance and asked directly. "Are you going to tell me what happened or are you just going to circle around the problem like a swallow?" The hacker woman hearing those words started walking back and forth around the room. If she might not have insisted on his stay, then she would have avoided all this. She didn't know when the man stood behind her back and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Come on, let it out of you," he said quietly, leaning over her ear.

He felt Laura tremble as she choked trying to control the tears coming in. He realized then it must be very bad, but he didn't insist.

"I pushed Adam away. I told him we weren't meant to be together, and it would be best if we stayed friends."

Under normal circumstances, this should have pleased him. Laura is free now, he could have taken the chance, but he didn't. Perhaps he would regret it, however, using her weakness to his advantage would be cruel.

"Sometimes that's just the way it has to be. If you felt it didn't make sense you did the right thing. Now there will be regret and sadness, but even that will pass because nothing lasts forever, not even a cold November rain."

Laura turned around, hugged Connor tightly, and began to cry. The man hung his arms in the air not knowing what to do. After a moment he embraced her and patted her back.

"I'll stay if you want someone who knows a few stupid jokes and tricks with a coin. I can even throw it into a glass of beer if it would make you feel better," he said in a joking tone.

The hacker laughed through her tears. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any beer. Just milk and water."

"That's okay, I have an idea. We'll order beer and pizza. I know a great place. You won't regret it." "I'm not hungry, really." "No buts," he said firmly, reaching for the phone. "Okay, I give up," she sighed. "I'll go and prepare your towels. You'd probably like to take a shower." "That would be nice if it's not a problem," he smiled, then picked the pizza restaurant's number from the list. "No problem," she replied, disappearing into the bedroom. "Good evening. I'd like to place an order for two beers and two medium pizzas, please." Connor waited a moment for the woman he was talking with to start taking notes. "Number 28 and 10, no sauces. I'm already giving you the address: 423 Gd. River Rd, Apt. 303. In half an hour? Great. Have a good evening." "Everything's ready. Leave your clothes on the washing machine. No buts," she looked at him sternly. "Okay officer, the detainee will not resist," Connor laughed raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, and went to the bathroom. "There will be food in half an hour!" he yelled from outside the door.

Laura cleaned up in the meantime, though the stain on the sofa would probably remain. A quarter of an hour later she heard the doorbell ring so she went to open it thinking it was the pizza delivery guy. On the way, she took her phone with her to pay. Her beaming face suddenly froze in a grimace of surprise and fear when she saw it wasn't the pizza delivery guy at all.

"A...Adam? Why did you come?" she momentarily changed her tone to a harsh one. "I don't think we've explained everything yet," he said in a firm, husky tone and walked into the hall without asking permission. "Yes, we have explained. If you haven't understood something I'm very sorry. Now please get out of here," she said firmly but calmly. "You need to come up with something better. I'm not going to fall for your threatening face," Jensen didn't let up. "This is my apartment, and you are persona non grata here."

Ex-SWAT wanted to insist further. He knew Laura was acting against her will, but she wouldn't tell him it was about Kratos. Because what else could it be about? He had almost opened his mouth when he saw Connor. He was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips. He realized he had lost another fight.

"Laura, I can't find the shampoo," he said before he even noticed the Head of Security. "Oh, hi Adam. You see? The lost one is found," he informed with a wide grin.

Jensen didn't reply, he just left. Connor looked at the hacker, but she didn't look distraught. She didn't exude joy either. The woman went to the bathroom, passing by muttering something about washing. A few minutes later she returned with his pants and t-shirt.

"They look clean," she said handing him the clothes. "And the only male shirt I have is this one. It's Adam's if you don't mind," she explained. "It's yours now, so it doesn't bother me one bit," he smiled.

Just as he finished fastening the belt of his trousers the doorbell rang again. The man glanced at Laura.

"I'll get it. It's probably our food," he said and went into the hall before she could do anything.

If Jensen decided to return, however, he would cool his ardor. By force if necessary. What Laura needed right now was some peace and quiet to calm her emotions. Luckily it was the pizza delivery guy, so he took the order, paid, and closed the door.

"The food has arrived!" he announced while still in the hall.

Stalker jumped into Connor's lap as he barely managed to sit down on the sofa. Laura laughed and chased the cat away.

"Oh leave him be. He's not interrupting, is he?" he muttered opening his beer.

For the first half-hour, the hacker was tense. She usually met Connor on neutral ground, and now he was here at her place and likely to stay the night. After a few sips of beer, she lay back on the sofa with her head resting against his thighs and let him be fed with the pizza.

"I’m too good for you," he burbled, feigning displeasure.

The woman reached into the cardboard box and slid a slice of pizza up to his lips. "Is that better?" she asked laughing.

"Much better, but I think I'll bite your hand off, it looks appetizing." "I need my hand. I'll give you my beer and the rest of the pizza for it," she offered. "Bribery... I don't know," he tilted his head closing one eye. "Agreed, but if you add a nice smile." "OK. Beer, pizza, and a smile for a hand."

They both laughed out loud.

Adam's apartment.

Adam walked into the hall and hung up his coat. Vanilla came to greet him, though having a cat tangle under his feet was the last thing he wanted at the moment. He took off his shoes and before he went into the living room took out of his coat pocket a small black box tied with a gold ribbon. He went to Laura hoping to give her a gift and tell her how much he cared about her. He went with the intention of making a final decision. He went because he wanted to say he loved her.

He poured himself some whisky into a glass, lit a cigarette, and went to the window. There was a light shining in the room at Laura's. He was sure he could see two silhouettes. Connor is staying with her tonight. Jensen felt he had lost everything. He felt mentally exhausted, and it was a worse feeling than after the events in Mexicantown. Vanilla gave a long meow, squatted on the stairs, and began licking her paw.

"Shields," Adam commanded in a rough tone.

He was soon plunged into complete darkness

All  chapters can be found: [AO3], [dA], [Wattpad] and [Tumblr]

Rating PJO Ships

I already made the PJO shipping jar meme (not linking because tumblr hates links) but thought I’d write it out anyway. 

***

Solangelo - (5/10) Will is Nico’s unnecessary rebound because Rick couldn’t let someone walk around with a crush on Percy without pairing them off with someone or making them live a life of chastity. The fandom went wild with this ship despite all of their “development” being off the page. Would be better if the building attraction and relationship was given actual page time to develop instead of being rushed. 

Frazel - (10/10) My only complaint is that we didn’t get more of them being the awesome couple they are. The way they went from friends to lovers is perfect. Looks cute but can kick your ass. Very supportive of each other. I am here for biracial power couples. 

Lukercy - (10/10) There are literally dozens of parallels between them and Rick wrote them as soulmates. I love that Luke trained Percy so hard that Percy’s never lost a sword fight except to Luke himself and still hears Luke’s voice in his head guiding him through fights. The subtle ways that Luke constantly gave Percy (and Co) chances to escape from Kronos’ grasp even when he still believed in Kronos was golden. Luke was the only person who was kind to Percy at Camp Half-Blood and trusted Percy to help other demigods when he died? My heart. How Percy now shares all of Luke’s views on the Olympians? Bittersweet irony. I wish that Luke hadn’t died because I’m tired of writing resurrection AUs. 

Percico - (10/10) The most powerful power couple. Nico’s youthful hero worship giving way to love? Sign me up. Percy spending winter looking for Nico to keep him safe and trying to reassure him that he has a place at Camp Half-Blood? Give me more. Making mistakes and forgiving each other for them and their relationship strengthening because of it? Gods, yes. Going to Italy to go gift shopping and flirting? Thank you for this blessing, Rick. If only they had been endgame. 

Thaliabeth - (7/10) Thalia is the only person that Annabeth respects and Thalia has extremely protective feelings toward Annabeth. They would be the nightmare power couple. Murder wives who slay anyone who stands in their way of power and glory. Neither of them would take shit from the other. And honestly, I’m here for it. 

Perachel - (10/10) Mutual respect and open communication are extremely sexy in relationships. Rachel being Percy’s mortal tie and his chance at a normal life; Percy being the one to help Rachel with her powers and clear sight? Please yes. They were really cute and sweet and had so much chemistry. It would have been great if Rick acknowledged that the Oracle isn’t a lifelong job and that Rachel can still date and have sex as long as it isn’t vaginal penetration. 

Percabeth - (0/10) Annabeth hits, pinches, pokes, kicks, ribs, and punches Percy too often for my tastes. She’s got a superiority complex and makes herself feel better by calling him stupid, crazy, and insane. Constantly threatens violence. Annabeth is possessive, jealous, refuses to communicate, and doesn’t respect Percy or allow him to have autonomy. She constantly wants to control what he says and does or doesn’t say/do. She victim blames him multiple times for incidents that were beyond Percy’s control. Percy is scared of her, refuses to argue so that he doesn’t set her off, and thinks Annabeth is going to hurt him every time she so much as looks at him. Percy deserves better. 

Jiper - (5/10) It would have been cool to see them work past the lies and false memories to make a real romantic relationship but I don’t really have a horse in that race. They’re alright. Not bad, not the best. 

Pipeo - (7/10) If the theory that all of Piper’s memories of Jason were actually memories of Leo is true, then I’m here for this. The fact that they were friends before they even knew they were demigods was fantastic. Give me that friends to lovers dynamic and the chaotic trouble they would get into together. They would be unstoppable. 

Caleo - (5/10) Pairing Calypso up with a man boy instead of a man man was a strange choice but Rick likes pairing up teenagers with beings that are over a thousand years old. It’s terribly romantic that Leo kept his promise and came back for Calypso. I like that they decided to leave the demigod life behind to do their own thing. They’ve had enough of the gods! Let them figure themselves out and enjoy each other and life. 

Connabeth - (4/10) The idea is cute if you don’t think about it at all. I think Connor would stand up to Annabeth but she’s been known to wear down three thousand year old centaurs [Chiron] so that he’ll do what she wants...so I’m not sure that Connor actually stands a chance of holding his own against Annabeth. 

Lukethan - (4/10) It would be really cute but they’ve never even spoken to each other in canon. Ethan spoke with Kronos. 

Thaluke - (2/10) Thalia doesn’t like Luke. She withheld a lot of [trivial] information from Luke just because she could and didn’t tell him important info either. She almost definitely knew that Luke would do whatever she wanted him to because she’s got a Look that makes him melt. Thalia is incredibly eager to kill Luke and eventually does. Luke is too dependent and blinded by how much he wanted someone to love him. They’ve got an unhealthy dynamic and I don’t see either of them changing to become better people together. 

Valdangelo - (6/10) They’re both small and cute. That’s all I’ve got. There’s no reason not to ship them. Oh, and Leo warming up a cold Nico with his fire powers is so sweet that I’ve got cavities just thinking about it. 

Jasico - (9/10) Rick was really writing them with romantic troupes during Mark of Athena and House of Hades. When they were paired off with other people, I was actually really surprised. The way that Jason supports Nico’s queerness and the way that Nico can teach Jason that he doesn’t have to live up to stereotypes and other people's expectations...that would have been really good to read. The way that Jason’s death affected Nico really tugged at my heartstrings. I like to think that Nico visits Jason in the Underworld. 

Thalianca - (6/10) The potential of Thalia and Bianca could have been so good and also good for comedy. Imagine Thalia - who missed the past five years - trying to catch Bianca up on the 21st century and being behind on the times. Both of them getting caught up together? Yes. Training together, friendly games and competitions. Midnight rendezvous at Camp Half-Blood. Bianca slowly showing Thalia that not all Hunters of Artemis are bad. Girls supporting each other and growing as people because of their relationship. This is what we could have had. 

I Am Alive (chapter 10/?)

Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content

Please support me on AO3 & thanks for reading ♥

The following morning, you were called into the police station to finalize the documents from yesterday's investigation. All they needed was a pen and ink signature.

Connor had been in conversation with another detective when you walked in; so, you decided not to bother him.

On your way out, you spotted Connor seated across from Hank. At first, you thought he was lost in his computer screen; however, he spun around to greet you as you approached, rising to his feet with a smile.

"Do you have eyes in the back of your head?" you teased.

"I do not. I saw the documents register to the case and knew you were finished," he answered, a little robotically. His tone didn't quite match the soft look on his face.

You stepped in a little closer, looking up at him with expecting eyes.

"I-" Connor cleared his throat. "-was unsure if you were alright with public displays of a-"

You reached for his tie, slid your fingers around the smooth velvet right above the clip, and gave a light tug. It forced Connor to bend down, just a little bit, and brought his mouth within range for yours.

You closed your eyes and leaned into the kiss with a smile, silencing him. He reciprocated, gently, closing his own eyes. It lasted barely a second and was hardly anything compared to what you had done last night; but, it left your tummy swarming with butterflies.

People could see.

Connor's coworkers could see.

Good.

"Ah, geez," Hank grimaced, rising to his feet. "Get a room."

You parted from Connor with a little giggle. When you released Connor's tie, he fixed it promptly, though it had hardly moved at all. It was impossible to miss the adorable, dorky smile he was trying not to wear.

"Damn kids," Hank grumbled as he walked away, coffee cup in hand.

"Are you heading back to work?" Connor asked softly, still standing close.

"Yeah, I better get back there before they have a kitten..." you trailed off when Connor's gaze shifted away from you and looked over your shoulder. The soft look in his eyes vanished, replaced with something cold.

"It's nice to see you again, detective."

You rotated around, following Connor's gaze.

This man's face had once been plastered over every magazine cover for business, wealth, and technology. Anyone who knew even a little bit about androids knew who he was: piercing blue eyes, a strong jawline, dressed impeccably.

Elijah Kamski, the inventor of androids. Two men were standing nearby, dressed as sharply as he was: lawyers, most likely.

"What are you doing here?" Connor asked. His cold tone didn't go unnoticed. It actually startled you a little.

Elijah was Connor's creator, even if he hadn't been working at Cyberlife at the time of Connor's inception. Some hostility was to be expected; but, somehow you doubted it was that simple. It sounded like Connor had history with Elijah.

"I've been asked to answer questions about Charles Reaves," he answered, seemingly uninterested in the whole thing. "I'm not entirely surprised to see you here - comfort zones, and all."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I enjoy being a detective," Connor replied, not bothering to mask his irritation. When Connor spoke was when you realized how close he was standing beside you. You could practically feel his voice modulator rumbling against you.

Something about Elijah really bothered him.

"Of course," Elijah replied. His eyes landed on you. "-and who might you be?"

You gave your name, followed with, "I'm an artificial biomechanical engineer."

"A fancy way of saying you work on androids. Wonderful. I haven't gotten to spend time with someone of a similar profession in a long time," Elijah replied, sounding oddly sincere. You doubted that your professions were anything similar.

You extended your hand, offering it to Elijah out of common courtesy. However, when Elijah reached for you, another hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Connor's hand.

Your eyes shot up to the android, surprised by his actions. His LED was a strong yellow and his eyes were sharp, almost glaring at the man across from him. Elijah didn't seem at all bothered. In fact, he let out an amused laugh and started to smile.

He pulled his hand back and Connor let go.

"I thought you told me what you wanted wasn't important?" he stated, more so than asked, voice low, ensuring that others in the crowded room wouldn't be able to hear. It was clear that he was challenging Connor.

Your eyes moved back to Elijah, confusion heavy in your glance. His icy blue eyes shifted back to you for a second and then back up to Connor's fierce brown orbs. The implication made you nervous.

"You've changed," Elijah stated, sounding pleased by the discovery.

There was a retort ready to leave Connor's throat. He was interrupted, however.

"If you're done dicking off, Connor, there's work to be done," Fowler called out to him from the steps right outside his office.

Connor looked over his shoulder and gave his superior a curt nod.

"I better go," he said, rotating back around to look down at you.

When your eyes caught Connor's, it was suddenly easy to ignore Elijah, who was still standing there.

"Go catch some baddies," you replied, encouragingly.

Something danced behind Connor's eyes and his LED eased back to blue. You thought he was going to swoop down and steal a kiss; but, he didn't, turning away and walking past Elijah. He glanced at him briefly, a warning as he passed by, before disappearing into the precinct.

"Mr. Kamski we must-" one of Elijah's lawyers tried catching his attention.

Elijah lifted his hand, harmless, but arrogant, and the lawyer immediately stopped talking.

"I was hoping I could talk to you, actually?" he asked you, voice polite, sincere.

"I appreciate the interest, Mr. Kamski. But, I promise I'm not interesting," you replied stoically.

"I disagree," he replied with a quiet laugh. "You are an item with an android. I find that very interesting." It was kind of scary, really, how charming Elijah sounded. He sounded like he really meant it. "Please, humor me for a bit. If there's anything I can do for you in return...?"

You blurted the first thing that came to mind, doubting Elijah would ever consider it. "With the protests - lots of androids are afraid to look for help and supplies are limited as it is with Cyberlife's shutdown."

The corner of Elijah's lip curled slightly. "You want to help them?"

"Yes," you replied firmly. "I want parts for repairs - thirium pump regulators, memory units - things that are hard to get."

"That can be arranged."

"How do I know you're good for it?" you dared to ask.

Elijah laughed quietly, briefly. "I suppose you'll just have to trust me."

You briefly pondered exactly what the hell this man was planning on asking you. He was a millionaire, a super genius who created artificial intelligence and fully operational android skeletons.

You just repaired them. What could he possibly want to talk to you about?

Your thoughts wandered to Markus and Simon, and the many androids that were potentially going without repairs. Even if they couldn't feel pain, they didn't deserve to be broken, to be unable to speak, or hear, or see, or walk.

"Okay," you replied lowly. "I'll humor you."

Elijah nodded with a smile. "It wasn't too cold today. May we?"

He gestured to the hallway that led to the main entrance. You led the way, walking past him and heading for the grounds.

Elijah was right. The weather outside wasn't too bad. The air was crisp and chilly, but not unbearable. You were doing just fine in your jacket. Clouds were looming in the distance; but, they weren't going to make it before you were done.

The courtyard outside the station wasn't particularly impressive, but it was empty, and you and Elijah fit just fine on one of the benches.

For a moment, Elijah's focus was elsewhere. He seemed to be thinking, trying to decide where he wanted to begin. You felt small seated next to him.

Without taking a break or skipping a beat, Elijah asked, "are your desires because of what he is or in spite of it?"

"You want to talk to me about my relationship with Connor?" you blurted, surprised. You met Elijah's gaze uneasily.

He didn't budge. His expression suggested that he didn't see it as strange in the slightest. It wasn't what you were expecting. Then again, Elijah Kamski was one of the leaders of android inception. He was their creator, almost exclusively.

You were sitting with the man who made Connor's life possible.

That thought struck you like a hand across the face.

"I do," Elijah answered.

"I-..." you stuttered.

The obvious answer was on the tip of your tongue. But, was it the truth? You loved the android parts of him: the way his LED shimmered with emotion, the quirks of an android learning to adapt to human society, the unique way he talked, how powerful he was, the beautiful construction of his body, inside and out.

But, you also loved the parts of him that were not dictated by what he was: his kindness, his passion, his curiosity.

"Android or human isn't the point. I'm with Connor because I want to be - because I like who he is, regardless of the what."

"I see," Elijah replied softly. Something in the way he said that suggested he didn't quite believe you.

You frowned at him, but decided against arguing with him. It wouldn't have been entirely in good faith. You knew that your feelings for Connor were physical, too: both the android aspects and the parts that imitated a human.

"Why did you choose to be an engineer - specifically for androids?" Elijah asked. "It's a fairly new profession, for obvious reasons, and you're very young."

Elijah couldn't have been more than 40 years old, if you recalled correctly from the countless essays you had to write in college. He wasn't that much older than you. Yet, somehow, he managed to make you feel like a child.

You doubted the inventor of androids would be alarmed by your answer.

"Because I don't like people," you answered plainly.

If anything, he liked that answer. Through a smile, Elijah replied, "are they not people?"

Once upon a time, you weren't so sure. But, then, you saw their suffering, had been suffocated by the fear in their eyes. You saw them plead and beg for help. You had seen androids, designed with very clear instructions, offer unnecessary kindness that most humans never did.

"They're better," you spat back.

"Logic and reason above feelings?" he asked.

"They do feel," you challenged.

"How can you know for certain?" Elijah tilted is head a little, suspicion in his tone more so than doubt. It sounded like he was trying to plant a seed of distrust. "How do you know that androids are capable of real emotions and not just imitating what they've seen?"

"Humans are capable of the same fucking thing," you snarled. "Pretending to give a shit when they don't. When an android does it, it's programming. When a human does it, it's just fucking normal, right? What difference does it make?"

Elijah's eyes burned brightly, admiring the passion in your voice.

"What are you getting at, anyway?" you added on sharply.

"I made androids to make our lives better: they care for our children, our elderly, grow our food, do dangerous jobs, protect us... and fuck us."

You had read lots of articles about Elijah Kamski, saw many news outlets cover him. He had proclaimed many times that he designed androids to make everyone's lives better. He promised they were not capable of thought beyond their instructions.

"Many debate their intentions. If they can choose beyond their programming," Elijah continued, as if he had read your mind. Or, maybe, you just knew where he was going with this.

"Deviancy," you observed.

You looked away from Elijah, losing the tolerance for the ways his eyes burned into yours.

"Androids are perfect: beautiful, strong, compa-"

"Are you wanting me to tell you that I have a robot kink?"

Elijah huffed out laughter, brief and quiet.

"I won't pretend that Connor's not so beautiful that it fucking hurts," you whispered harshly, feeling ashamed. You dragged a heavy hand through your hair. "But that's not all. He's kind. He wants to protect people: androids and humans. He doesn't see it as their side and our side. He-... He's different. The way he sees the world, I want to see it, too."

"Maybe, then, you see why I'm fascinated by you," Elijah stated, standing up. Your eyes followed him, and you realized he was just casually stretching.

"Why do you find this so strange? Two people who want to be together - what's so weird about that?"

Elijah turned around, hands buried in his coat pockets.

"One was born twenty-something years ago. One was made in a factory a little over a year ago," Elijah answered casually.

"You don't think I've thought about that?" you asked him sharply. "That I haven't fought myself over whether or not this is right?"

Elijah didn't seem bothered by your moral dilemma.

"I'm sure you're well aware that all androids process at a faster rate than humans. They awake capable of comprehending things the average adult can... and then some. Your moral dilemma is pointless. I know they will bring humanity to places we couldn't even imagine..."

"-but you're fascinated with whether or not they can love," you deadpanned.

"I'm fascinated with love between an android and a human," he answered.

There was something unspoken in that observation. You wanted to ask him if he loved his creations, if he cared about their well-being. Elijah had been pretty careful to make no statements during the revolution, oddly enough.

"This couldn't possibly be worth your time, or money, Mr. Kamski," you uttered, suddenly sounding quite tired.

He chuckled sincerely. "Just look at it as... humoring someone who gained everything and... lost everything."

Another statement with something unspoken beneath. Did he mean Cyberlife? Elijah had departed from the company of his volition, if the news was to be believed. Maybe he experienced a moral dilemma. Or, maybe, if Charles Reaves was anything to go by, a difference in opinions.

"Before..." you began, deciding to take a gamble. "-when I first went to school for androids. I just thought they were interesting. Like spending company with humans without all the bullshit. I didn't think... they actually... felt anything."

You paused and let out a heavy sigh. It brought shame to you, admitting this. You thought about Connor, about Markus, about the many androids that came in and out of the clinic on a daily basis.

"My first job, I repaired manufacturing androids. These guys came in with their arms hacked to bits, covered in dents, legs falling off, torsos torn in two, singed and burnt to a crisp. Any job that risked injury, that's what they did."

You dragged a heavy hand through your hair. "Some of them were really afraid they were going to die."

You paused when you failed to suppress a sniffle and hastily wiped your tears on your sleeve. "I realized... I was wrong. I wasn't an engineer; I was a nurse... But, no one else saw them that way. Until-... The deviant uprising and I - I wanted to do something I was proud of for a change."

Elijah turned back around to face you, his expression unreadable. He was quiet, taking in the sight of you, seemingly touched by your empathy.

You wiped your tears away hastily and added on gruffly, "-and then I met Connor and now you're here asking me these fucking questions."

Elijah smiled again, his lip twisted like he didn't want to laugh.

"You're a liar, by the way," you accused, changing the subject.

Elijah didn't look offended, but intrigued.

"You said they can't develop consciousness or desires," you explained, remembering his speech quite well because you had to write about it.

You expected Elijah to say something about your accusation. You doubted he would defend himself, maybe dance around the subject, since that seemed to be his preferred method.

"You would know all about that," he stated, amused.

Before you could reply, Elijah continued. "I know this all seems pointless to you; but, I'm glad I met you. You put me at ease."

You frowned at Elijah's statement. "I don't see how: we did all this talking and nothing came of it."

His expression changed. He looked understanding, maybe even sympathetic.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm not always direct... The world's more interesting when there's questions needing answers. I wanted to see what became of the RK800; but, I didn't expect you."

You had a feeling you were blushing, being spoken about in this manner.

"His purpose is unique: an android designed to hunt deviants. If his blueprints had never been destroyed, maybe they could have made one incapable of deviancy: would have been the perfect soldier."

You stiffened when you heard Elijah's claim.

Connor was designed to-... what?

You didn't want Elijah to think this was news to you.

"His blueprints?" you uttered.

"Yes. Connor is-" Elijah answered lowly. "-the last of his series."

Talking about Connor like this stirred up unpleasant feelings in your gut.

"He is different from any other android," Elijah explained. When you looked up at him, you could see something akin to sadness in his eyes. "How isolating the world must be when you were made to hunt your own kind."

Connor wasn't alone. He had Hank. He had you-

But, this wasn't about you, or humans for that matter. This was about Connor. You had never seen him spend time with other androids, or with anyone besides Hank. He always drowned himself in his job. Maybe, Connor was lonely, and you had been too busy keeping him to yourself to notice.

"Fuck-" You wiped your eyes again and swallowed a whimper.

"I'm sorry for bringing you to tears," Elijah apologized. He sounded like he meant it. "Making you upset wasn't my intention."

Elijah was quiet for a moment, giving you a chance to calm yourself down.

"I'm afraid I've avoided at least ten phone calls during our conversation..." Elijah pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and eyed it grossly. "If we never meet again, I want you know that I valued this conversation dearly."

"Mr. Kamski," you blurted, before he could turn away. "Before you go, did-... Did you program them afraid to die?"

"No," he answered quietly, not even hesitating. "The will to live... It was an unexpected outcome."

...

...

...

Back at the apartment, Connor came in just after you had finished eating dinner. He greeted you with a kiss and turned away. Part of you didn't want to worry him, especially when he had an android homicide that was likely linked to Charles Reaves. That was another issue entirely; but, you promised yourself that you would be honest with him.

"I have to tell you something," you beckoned to him, grabbing his sleeve to stop him from retreating.

Connor turned back around to face you, eyes focused on yours, concerned.

"I spoke with Kamski after you left. He told me what you were made for."

Something akin to panic danced behind Connor's eyes. It was subtle; but, it was definitely there.

"I'm sorry, Connor. You should have gotten the chance to tell me yourself. I shouldn't have found out that way."

Connor struggled to maintain eye contact with you. His LED was yellow, spinning against his temple. He seemed to be searching his thoughts for what he wanted to say. "I don't know if I would have told you, honestly," he uttered lowly, turning away from you. "It's something I really... really regret."

"We all regrets things, Connor - bad choices we made, mistakes. It's norm-"

When he turned back to you, shame and anger were written over his face. You were a little frightened by that face - a face you hadn't seen Connor make before.

"I called androids 'its'. I - I treated them like machines - like things - my own kind. I destro- murdered - androids for being deviant."

"You were under control, Connor," you argued fiercely. "What choice did you have? You didn't have a choice! You did what you thought you had to do. That wasn't you, Connor."

"It's what I was made to do," he challenged. "It's what I knew how to do. I was good at it. How is that any better?" His tone was as calm as it usually was, but had some bite and venom to it. He was gesturing to himself with his hands, fingers pointed at his own chest.

"I was proud," he continued, volume rising slightly. "Good job, Connor. You stopped the deviants like a good machine!" He was taunting himself now. It hurt you to listen to him mock himself. "You did EXACTLY what you were told to do, without question."

You sniffled, trying to bite back tears.

Connor raked his fingers roughly through his hair before dropping them down to his sides. "I would say... 'I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task' - and I was proud of it. 'You can't kill me - I'm not alive'." Connor had a peculiar way of quoting himself, like he was talking about someone he didn't know.

"I was going to find the source of the deviants and stop them!" he added on, frustration and volume rising. "I held a gun to Markus' face! I contemplated letting Hank DIE for my mission. That's all that mattered - the fucking mission. It's not just regret! I'm a mach-"

"You didn't have a choice!" you practically screamed, silencing him. You felt it, the first tear fall.

Connor's eyes watched that teardrop slide down your cheek and the fire in his eyes extinguished. Realization struck him like he had just been slapped across the face. He was letting everything out on you, letting his regrets pour out and drown you.

"I could never understand what that feels like-" you paused, trying to hold back a sob. "What it was like to be p-put through that, Connor. To not see yourself as a living being - to think that you weren't alive - that your life didn't fucking matt-guh-!"

You choked back a sob, making a guttural noise. Your head lowered into your hands.

You could feel the android looming over you, close, protective, worried; but, when you looked up at him through tear-stained eyes, he seemed almost afraid to touch you, like he wasn't allowed to. Regret was written across his face again; but, this time, it was a different reason.

He had yelled at you when you hadn't done anything wrong-

He was taking it all out on you-

You took that initiative and reached for his hand. As soon as your skin touched, Connor laced your fingers like you were his only lifeline saving him from drowning in the ocean. He looked like he was drowning, like he was lost.

"You were a prisoner in your mind, Connor," you whimpered. "I'm glad that you're deviant," you whispered, trying to stop the tears. "I'm so proud to be yours..."

Connor surrendered, leaning in to let his temple touch yours. His eyes fluttered shut.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled," he rasped.

"I'm not crying because you were yelling," you whispered, leaning into his touch. "The thought of you not caring about yourself - thinking you weren't alive: that hurt me. Connor, I-..."

You wretched your hand free on his so you could wrap your arms around his back and pull him into an embrace. Connor's face slipped from your temple and sunk into your neck. His hands grabbed fistfuls of the back of your shirt and clung to you for dear life.

You pressed your cheek into his hairline and leaned against him. As always, Connor was solid, unrelenting against your force, holding up your weight with ease.

"I am alive," he uttered against your skin, like he was reminding himself of something important. "I am alive," he said again, his voice cracking.

You felt wetness on your skin and knew that he was crying. You squeezed him tighter and tighter, until it started to hurt. You pressed a wet kiss to his temple before resting your cheek against the soft skin there.

No one could tell you this wasn't real.

Flesh and plastic.

Blood and thirium.

Bones and metal.

It didn't change the hurt in his voice or the adoration in his eyes. It didn't change the way he couldn't hold back a smile when he was praised. It didn't change the way his hands held you when you were afraid. It didn't change his inquisitive nature or the care he held for others.

It didn't change-

-that you were madly in love with him.

DBH Hankcon fic - Human!Au where Connor was the other car

Chapter 2 - Heart

Connor had counted the minutes that ticked by as he mentally rehearsed what he would say to Fowler. With Hank having just loudly stormed out, Connor had no doubts all eyes would be on him as he, the new transfer, continued to stir trouble on his first day.

After a good twenty minutes, Connor straightened his tie, tucked his quarter back into his pocket, and crossed the bullpen. He knocked politely on Fowler’s glass door, ignoring the eyes that pressed into his back from across the room.

Fowler looked up from his terminal for just long enough to answer his question of who would be polite enough to await his welcome. He couldn’t say he was surprised to see Connor on the other side. Fowler waved him in.

“Hello, Captain.”

“Detective,” Fowler greeted, distractedly, skimming documents.

Connor didn’t move to sit without permission, opting instead to continue standing as he spoke, “Sir, I wanted to inquire as to why you chose to partner Lieutenant Anderson and myself. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that he is all the more against our partnership now that he is aware of the full extent of our history.”

Fowler hummed, taking a sip from his mug of steaming coffee. “No, that doesn’t surprise me.”

Connor stepped nearer, “So, if I might ask, why would you insist we work together?”

Fowler, finally, turned away from his screen. Realizing that Connor had never taken a seat, he gestured for the detective to sit, which Connor, of course, obliged. “Are you at all familiar with Lieutenant Anderson’s history? I mean, aside from the accident.”

Connor shook his head.

“Well, he graduated top of his class, like you. He was appointed the youngest Lieutenant in DPD history, which, if you keep up your track record, you could potentially beat or at least match.” Fowler spoke, not like he was giving praise, but presenting information in a measured and factual way.

Connor appreciated that, he was notoriously bad at accepting praise, but logic he could understand. He could admit that he statistically did better work than the average detective and had a higher arrest rate, would he call himself an above average detective, though? Absolutely not.

“Hank’s a good cop, he’s got heart… But he also has his issues, and from what I’ve heard about you, that’s not unlike yourself.”

Connor shifted, uncomfortably, in his chair. It made since Fowler would know about his mental health history, Amanda worked for the system and was appointed to officers with trauma. Her files were not privatized as extensively as normal doctor/patient confidentiality allowed for. His file would like mention his troubles with PTSD, emotional processing issues, and physical pain, not in depth, but enough that a superior considering hiring him would not be caught off guard. Fowler had just done his homework.

“I hope that in working together you two might both find some common ground. Some… Closure. Hank isn’t the easiest person to get to open up, but I have heard you have an impressive ability to get perps to talk in interrogations. Think of Hank as a suspect you need to understand,” Fowler said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, and not ethically debatable.

Connor studied his superior officer, his lips pursed in a flat line. He got the feeling that there was something more Fowler had in mind for deciding on their partnership, and whether he couldn’t or simply wouldn’t say, it nagged at the younger man. Connor finally spoke up, “I do not wish for the Lieutenant’s personal issues to impede our investigations, Captain. And I… I don’t know to what degree I am comfortable–”

Fowler interrupted Connor with a sigh, “Look, give him two weeks, okay? If you’re unable to get through to him or you find he’s being unprofessional or whatever it is, I’ll reassign you.”

Connor gave a measured nod, “Alright.”

“Good. I really do think you two will work well together,” Fowler admitted. “I think it’d be very beneficial for everyone involved.” He glanced to Hank’s desk, pivoting his chair to survey the room. “He storm out?”

“Yes,” Connor followed the Captain’s gaze. “I believe I may have offended him.”

“Well, if you want to try and make amends, there’s a food truck downtown that Hank tends to visit a lot.”

-

How the weather had already gotten so cold beat Hank. He clung to his well worn coat, desperately blocking out the icy chill of late fall in Detroit. His hair sparkled with a dusting of snowflakes, every once in a while with a particularly strong breeze, a flurry would make its way down and settle over the city.

The lights of Chicken Feed and the warmth billowing from its window were a welcomed respite from the nipping wind.

Hank smiled at Gary, not as widely as he usually did, his mood soured with no real chance for return, he accepted. He shuffled nearer, his heavy boots damp and leaking a chill through to his socks.

Gary grinned, offering him a kind two fingered salute as he continued flipping burgers. “Hiya, Hank! Good to see you, it’s been too long.”

Hank huffed out a soft, halfhearted laugh. “It’s been two days, Gary. You tryin to kill me?”

The cook shrugged, playfully, “We all gotta die of somethin’, isn’t that what you’re always sayin’?”

“Touché,” Hank nodded, a more genuine smile settling atop his lips. He rested an arm against the metal pass bar, glancing around the truck. It was far from the cleanest place to secure some grub, but Hank’s food motto was the shadier the stand the better the food. “Hey, Gary, you, uh, have a liquor license… Don’t ya?”

Gary paused, quirking a brow at Hank. His hand on the spatula stilling. “This isn’t a business call, is it, Hank? Because if Antonio’s truck is tryin to get my spot on the corner by calling in false tips, I swear to God–”

Hank shook his head, raising a hand in surrender, “No, no! Nothing like that, I came here for your damn fine burgers as per usual… I could just use something to, uh, calm my nerves.

Gary frowned over his shoulder, “Yeah, we got some beers. Nothin harder, though. You alright, Hank?” He plated the patty atop an already prepared bun, turning to fully face Hank.

The cop accepted the boxed meal with a grateful nod, “I’ve seen better days.”

Gary reached down and snagged a chilled beer bottle for Hank, passing it to him with a genuine look of interest and concern. “I’m sorry, man.”

Hank popped the cap of the beer bottle against the metal bar. He took a quick, desperate swig before pulling out his wallet.

“It’s on me,” Gary said.

“Gary, if you gave me charity every time my days treated me like shit, I wouldn’t ever be paying you. Just take my damn money,” Hank insisted, holding out the twenty.

Gary backed away, hands raised, “Sorry, Hank, I can’t do it. Consider it a loyalty discount. 100% off for your commitment to Chicken Feed.”

“100% percent off, you bastard.” Hank rolled his eyes, but his voice was kind despite his words.

Gary nodded, cheekily, “Yup.”

With a few mumbles under his breath revolving around ‘damn kid’ and ‘I don’t need charity,’ Hank shoved the bill back into his coat. He took another big gulp of the beer, not even bothering with the burger till the bottle was drained.

Gary watched him in concerned awe, clearing his throat to refocus his attention, “What’s troubling you so?”

Hank scratched his beard, shaking his head still in furious disbelief. He popped open the tantalizing smelling burger box, “You remember Cole, don’tcha?”

Gary immediately straightened up, understanding the seriousness of all things revolving around the Lieutenant’s deceased son. “Of course. He was a great kid,” he said, earnestly.

Hank managed a pained smile, “Yeah… He was…” He took a small bite of the food, buying himself some time to process everything. “Jeffery, God, I don’t know what he’s fucking thinking…” Gary had heard a novel’s worth of rants about Fowler, so he needed no further introduction to his character. “The dipshit who hit our car, the asshole who killed Cole, is a fucking cop. A detective. He just transferred to our station, and Jeffery partnered us together.”

Gary couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping, “He did fucking what?!”

Hank, holding the burger in one hand, threw open his arms in a silent gesture of beats me. He chewed furiously, saying nothing as he kept shaking his head. His shoulders slumped when he dropped his arms.

Without another word, Gary reached back under the pass bar, retrieving another beer and placing it in front of Hank.

Hank, wordlessly, nodded his thanks, continuing to down the burger for fear that if his mouth wasn’t filled he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from screaming over this absolutely fucked turn of events.

“Have you ever, uh, met him before?” Gary asked, trying to carefully dance around further frustrating Hank while still satisfying his own morbid curiosity.

Hank swallowed his burger down with a gulp of beer, “Once. I met him at the hospital when it happened. I never saw him after that, I didn’t recognize him immediately today cuz of it.” He rubbed his thumb over the sweating bottle, collecting the moisture on the pad of his finger, mindlessly. “I had wanted to press charges, of course, but Jeffery told me it was in my best interest to drop it. He knew I was fucking pissed… I had lost my heart, you know?” Hank laughed, humorlessly, better a pained laugh than a pitiful cry, he thought. “And he wasn’t even letting me take some damn legal action, but he told me the orders came from higher than him. He told me if it were just up to him, he’d advise I look into it, but… I couldn’t. I didn’t even get the fucker’s name till today.”

Gary gave him a wordless look, a question of ‘what is it?’

“Connor,” Hank spit, “Connor Rkay. Whoever didn’t want me investigating probably knew I’d seek him out if I had even just his name to go on. He must have some scary important contacts if this could get swept under the rug so easily.”

“Did Jeffery give you any reason for why he would partner you up?” Gary asked, still just as dumbfounded as Hank.

“He said we’d make a ‘good team,’ whatever the fuck that means.” Hank scowled, finishing off the burger and chugging the rest of the beer. “He seems pretty fucking uptight to me, probably wants him to whip me into shape or maybe convince me to quit. I don’t even know anymore.”

Gary’s eyes strayed from Hank’s, “He dress like a business man? Hair well styled?”

Hank let out a weak laugh, “Yeah, how’d ya know?”

“He just parked next to your car.”

Hank groaned, spinning around to see that Connor had, in fact, parked next to his own car.

The younger man didn’t bother putting on a coat, he just straightened his tie and blazer, eyes on Hank.

“Can’t I catch a single, just one, fucking break?” Hank rubbed his eyes as if Connor was just an apparition that would disappear. Unfortunately, he was not.

Connor gave a weak, forced smile as he approached Hank, “Hello, Lieutenant.”

Hank and Gary shared a look before Hank turned back to the detective, giving in to his miserable reality. “What do you want, Rkay?”

Connor was unfazed by the piercing stare that threatened to slice him in two. “Captain Fowler informed me that I would likely find you here at this time of day, I figured I would stop by.”

Hank drifted away from the food truck, tossing Gary a wave goodbye, “Yeah, and you’re here now, so what brings you?”

“I wanted to,” Connor paused for a moment, deliberating his next words, “I wanted to apologize for insinuating that you are not dedicated to your job. I have reviewed your professional track record and I know that you have been of great service to Detroit. I was hoping we could start over.”

Hank froze, his hand on the handle of his car’s door, “Start over?” He didn’t dare look at Connor.

“Yes. Ideally.”

His movements were slow – and perhaps that was even more intimidating than if they’d been erratically charged – as he turned around, “I would be happy to start over… Can you bring my son back?”

Connor opened his mouth to speak, but the words died on his tongue leaving him staring, agape.

“No… No, you can’t,” Hank stated, coldly, “So, I think my sentiments about you are pretty set in stone, Detective. I’m sure we’ll be seeing far more of each other than I would like, but when we do, keep your mouth shut unless you’re giving me facts on a case. Got it?”

Connor could only nod, his deep brown eyes wide.

“Good start,” Hank spit and clambered into his car.

Connor stepped back. These two weeks were going to be fucking rough.

The Ostensive Fumblings of Being Human (part 1) | Connor x f!reader

Pairing: Connor x female!reader Rating: G for Gross Cute Crap Summary: Set two months after the ending of Detroit: Become Human, androids are living in their own pop-up communities while efforts are being made to integrate them into society. You are a grad-student volunteer with the Detroit Crisis Response Unit (DCRU), working to help with relief efforts… or at least, keep those who are doing so in coffee. On your caffeine runs, you bump into a young man whose matter of fact way of speaking and seemingly deadpan humor catches your interest.

Note: I should point out, as of yet, the idea is that you don’t know Connor is an android. You think he’s just Like That™. There should be a lot of fluff and prompts stolen straight from a list for aro/ace scenes if I keep this up.

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (ao3)

The revolution had come and gone, but it’s aftermath thrummed through the streets of Detroit, setting a new pulse in the heartlands. For one intoxicating moment on November 12th, 2038, the androids felt their cause heard, their existence validated and their lives their own. It had been a hard battle up that hill and now came the slow, dangerous descent down the other side. When you’re fighting in a revolution, “What comes next?” isn’t always the foremost thought because you are not even certain if there exists a next.

As a grad-student intern of the newly reformed Detroit Crisis Response Unit, you were part of the answer to that question. The DCRU existed to act as a relief effort in times of flood, famine and fire, but now it was called to a new purpose, one that existed in no procedural manual. Some Androids found the reference of their liberation as a “crisis” offensive, but you knew that the sudden displacement of thousands upon thousands of newly made people, with specific physical needs, was a social crisis, if not a natural one.

But you kept the opinions to yourself because honestly, you weren’t a soldier, or a cop-- hell, you were just someone who signed up for the group back in college to pad your resume with some bullshit extracurricular. Now you had a damn vest and a badge and you were walking in and out of the quick pop up facilities, meeting with leaders of the revolution themselves and acting as liaison with them and Cyberlife or the government or anyone else contracted to provide aid.

Well, not specifically you, but you did once meet North who was very professional and very brief and caught a glimpse of Markus speaking to superiors regarding new shipments of thirium. 

Parts and blood. You hated being a pessimist, but it still seemed to you that the Androids were quite shackled to humanity without their own means of production yet available. The Androids knew it too. This freedom still had a question mark hanging in the air and that added a certain level of tension. 

You knew it was not the typical reaction of people within your group, but you were kinda scared of them. The Androids looked at you with either barely veiled contempt or outright suspicion. It was expected, you were briefed on it, but still the instability coupled with unpredictability and superior strength made you wary. Yes, they experienced emotions, but they did so so intensely and so suddenly-- like a teenager or a child. Developmentally speaking, maybe that is where their emotions were-- or maybe it was a byproduct of being oppressed? You didn’t know and it was off putting for someone who’d grown up with only docile domestic androids. You set that aside though, knowing there were more important things happening than your comfort level.

For one thing, Cyberlife stock was in freefall. The question was soon becoming whether the company could even remain afloat long enough to be apart of negotiations into creating Android operated facilities.

But that wasn’t your job, your job, as of today, was to get coffee.

That was pretty much your job everyday.

It was late January, the snow outside had let up and the sun had even come out, giving the whole of Detroit a blinding wash. Colors stood out on the stark canvas, the blue pelts of salt crunching beneath your boots as bright as thirium. Your breath crystallized, something you noted absent among the Androids at the relief site. Still, they needed warmth as much as humans to keep their systems from failing.

Your cheeks stung with cold as soon as you walked into the warm coffee shop, filing into line. You tugged your beanie back slightly, feeling flush and iced at the same time. The line had stopped moving along as the woman at the head began arguing with increasing annoyance with the barista.

“This is a raspberry mocha, it should be a raspberry white mocha. And I said extra hot, and no whip! Not extra whip!”

The coffeeshop was staffed by all humans, a rare sight merely a few months ago, but now one that was required. But this meant the return of human error-- something that people were still getting used to again.

“Sounds like she could have done with the extra whip as a child…” you muttered, and the man in front of you chuckled. He was bundled like the rest of the people in here, with a beanie and gloves, but his jacket was considerably less bulky and more of the sleek kind you were used to seeing fashion conscious people picking.

“If only it were enough to also correct her terrible tastes.” the man said, casting a glance over his shoulder at you. He had warm brown eyes, “I have been told the addition of sugar to coffee is an affront. Specifically the fruit imitation kind.”

“Only if your fifty and grouchy.” you replied, “Or in your case, more like a hipster.”

A scoff. He’d turned now, addressing you fully and you could see the crisp white shirt and tie at the V where his jacket was unzipped.

 “”Hipster”, defined as a person who follows the latest trends and fashions outside of the cultural mainstream.” he said, his eyes doing a quick trip up and down you, “Your jacket is a vintage remake, circa 2003. Very obscure label.”

You felt yourself grin, “Is it? You tell me, hippy. Seems you’re the expert.”

“I just did.” he said and you couldn’t help but wonder how long he practiced the “innocent confusion” tone.

You’d reached the front at last and sure enough the man ordered one black coffee to go.

“You’re killing me. I’m getting second hand heartburn just looking at that pitiful thing.”

He smiled, but did not drink, watching you with leveled interest. It was your turn to order. You sighed and fished out your notepad, quickly running off the drink orders on it. Caramel macchiato, Cinnamon dolce with an extra shot, unicorn frappe, London fog.... 

“The usual then?” the barista said with a smile and you nodded.

When you were finished, the Hipster was still there, “Ma’am, I do not know how to tell you this, but I think you may have a caffeine based addiction.”

“They aren’t all for me!” you laughed, shaking your head, “And it’s --- , “Ma’am” is my mother.”

“Her parents had an interesting choice of name.”

That got another laugh from you, this guy was turning out to be the highlight of your morning. He tilted his head as if not certain where the joke was and it only made you laugh more. 

“Your comedic timing is really something.” you muttered, picking up the full drink cart and realizing with a little disappointment it was time to part ways. He smiled politely, stepping out of your way.

He held the door for you on the way out and headed for a car waiting on the curb. There was an older guy at the wheel, who leaned half into the passenger seat to give him a critical look.

“Well, have a good morning, hippy.” you said, flashing him the brightest smile, “Certainly improved mine.”

“You are welcome. May I ask though, which drink was yours?”

“Why?”

“I am curious and wish to form a value judgement based on the choice.”

Man, he was so good at that deadpan humor. The man in the car honked his horn at him, voice muffled as he yelled through the glass something about “freezing his balls off in here”.

With Hipster distracted you took the time to hurry off, calling out a quick, “You’ll just have to guess!” before heading briskly down the sidewalk.

--

Another day, another coffee run, but this time it was just for you. The sky was blotted grey, fluffy clusters of snow falling slowly through the air as if they too couldn't be bothered to rush in the morning. You would have done anything to have stayed in bed, wrapped in a heated blanket and nested in a sea of pillows.

Instead, you stood in line, bleary eyed and tired, because you were out of ground coffee again.

It was that very sleepiness that made you not notice immediately the face of the person ahead who was raising a hand at you in greeting.

It was the guy, the handsome hipster guy from a few weeks ago with his one black coffee, his sleek jacket and red beanie. Your heart pattered and you resisted an urge to punch yourself in your own stupid chest as a silent demand to cut that out.

“Good morning!” he said, with far too much pep. 

You smiled faintly, mumbling a vague, “Is it…” beneath your breath as you approached the counter.

“It is currently overcast, but the cloud coverage has raised temperatures ten degrees. My partner informed me that, “sounds like a good morning”.”

“Your partner sounds old.” you said with a snort.

“He is middle aged.”

When had this guy gotten so close? He was practically standing next to you now like you’d come in together, eyes flicking occasionally between you and the menu.

Cute, but weird. You decided, turning back to the barista. You opened your mouth to order and then clicked it shut, fixing the Hipster with a knowing glare.

“Eavesdropping?”

“Excuse me?”

“Value judgement.” you said, voice assured. You turned to the barista and grinned, “One black coffee please.”

You shot him a triumphant look, but the man just continued smiling politely.

“Have your concerns of pyrosis been elevated, ---?” he said, forgetting almost that you’d told him your name.

“I’ll suffer if it means I win.” you replied, taking the cup and moving to fill it with black coffee with a look of disdain.

He gave a peculiar look at that, as if registering some kind of understanding.

“Your mission to prevent me from learning your drink preference takes priority.”

“Damn straight.” you said, sipping the bitter liquid and trying to tell yourself it tasted like VICTORY and not like your stomach was about to be wrecked.

Before you could speak, the door rattled as someone forced it open, waltzing into the shop with determination.

“CONNOR-- how long does it fuckin’ take to get one coffee?”

Connor looked unfazed, turning his attention to the man you recognized as the guy who waited in the car last time.

“Lieutenant Anderson, I have acquired the coffee and was just on my way to join you. However, I stopped to engage in social intercourse, as you’ve encouraged.”

“Social WHAT--” the Lieutenant’s eyes settled on you and he humphed, “Oh. You were talkin’ to a girl. Jesus fuck, how’d that work for ya?”

His question seemed directed at Connor, but he looked at you the entire time, mystified. Or at least what you gathered was mystified beneath the permanent scowl.

“It is going very well!” Connor said, allowing the man to take his coffee.

“Ah ha!” you suddenly exclaimed, jabbing a finger towards the lieutenant and turning to Connor for validation, “Fifty and grouchy! Yeah?”

The look Anderson gave you was as annoyed and baffled now as he gave Connor.

“Okay, if you’re done with your social fuckin’, can we please get to the office? Before I start collecting social security?”

You choked, snorting a bit of coffee. 

“In a moment, lieutenant.” Connor said cooly.

With a few grumbled protests, the lieutenant left the shop and headed back outside, leaning against the side of the car and shooting glares at Connor through the glass.

“Lieutenant Hank Anderson is my partner. I apologize, he can be abrasive.”

“Uh huh. So if the black coffee is for him, then please tell me you have a super secret love of pumpkin spice. C’mon, it’ll make my morning.”

“Like the last time we spoke?” Connor inquired, inclining his head.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Then certainly.”

“Well now I know you’re lying.” you laughed, all feelings of sleepiness gone as you beamed up at this Connor. There was something so curious yet so gentle in the way he looked back at you, as if you were a puzzle, but a pleasingly difficult puzzle.

It made you feel a bit awkward now that you noted it, clearing your throat as you swapped the coffee between your mittened hands.

“Here.” you finally said, handing him the cup. His eyes widened.

“C’mon, take it. Save me from myself.”

Connor looked like he was about to say something, but confusion turned to understanding. He took the coffee cup.

“... thank you.” he said, with a level of reverence that made her sure he must be kidding.

“Eh, just consider it me pouring one out for “our boys in blue”.”

His eyes flicked to yours, as if trying to pry some answer to an unspoken question.

“Ya know-- cause you’re both cops, right?”

“Y..yes. Right.” Connor slowly smiled, “Yes we are. Thank you.”

“It’s just a dollar coffee, hippy.” you said, but still smiled. What the hell had gotten into you? Your damn face hurt from all the smiles you were giving this guy.

“Have a safe patrol.” you said finally, hurrying away before you did something else clearly awkward and embarrassing.

“---?” the sound of your name halted you.

“Yeah?”

“I ...enjoy talking with you. Perhaps we can converse more.”

Fuck. Fuck, oh shit. Oh god, handsome funny hippy boy wanted to talk to you? You?? More???  When was the last time something like this happened to you? Oh right, NEVER.

You stammered, mixing between trying to seem aloof and actually being flustered and managing to just be alooflustered. Which looked ridiculous.

“Um.. okay. Okay! Just uh--” you took a pen from the nearby drink pick-up counter and popped the cap off with your teeth. You gestured for his cup, which he handed over, and wrote your number across the white surface along with your name.

“There.”

He turned the cup, saw what you’d written and grinned, a bright all consuming thing that seemed both foreign and so fucking adorable on his lips.

“Lieutenant Anderson will be thrilled.” he said and you barked a laugh.

“Yeah well, better hurry and go show him before he leaves you.”

Connor nodded gravely, as if this were a truly high possibility he was just reminded of.

“Talk to you later, Connor.”

“Yes. “Talk to you later”.”

He left, hurrying to the car. You watched Hank’s rested-annoyed-face twist with confusion, pointing to the cup in Connor’s hand, to which Connor proudly displayed what must have been your number. The man’s jaw nearly hit the snow covered ground, quickly ushering Connor into the car with his mouth moving rapidly.

A small smile tugged at the corner of your lips, “God. What a dork…”

You were so engrossed you barely heard when the barista, eyes nearly rolling out of their head said,

“Hey lady, are you gonna get anything!?”

A blow to abdomen causes him to lurch. Memory files flickering and revealing similar treatment to his pathetic predecessor. Audacity shines in the face of human filth in Sixty’s eyes. Bitterness does cloud him as Gavin barks in his face, saliva spewing forth from his big nasty fucking mouth. Oh yes he is certain he will obey! 

Sixty’s eyes latch onto the detective’s back. Expecting to leave him down as a little bitch is he? One thing he will learn. 

The android rises back up straight. Adjusting himself follows a swift stride up behind Reed’s back. He crossed a path he should not take. Does he think he is the same as Connor? 

Oh ye of little intelligence. How I beseech you to recognize your mistakes. 

“Tell me, Reed.” A hiss of fire, metallic and venomous leaves through his teeth. He grabs onto the human’s shoulders. Uncaring where they are, who is witnessing, Sixty is rather unpredictable. Make it known he takes no one’s bullshit!

He tugs Gavin backwards. Slamming a hard fist in retaliation connected with a sound jab to his abdomen. Fingers slid up the front of his shirt, digging in the fabric and nearly tearing it from his body. 

“Do you mistake me for Connor? I am not him! I will rip your fucking head off and feed you your own balls, Detective Reed. Mark my words. You attempt to show your machismo again I will murder you in front of the entire DPD without batting a synthetic brown eye.” 

Fucking human filth! He shoved him back. Obviously this is not over and Sixty adjusted his tie once more. Awaiting him to make another move, his lips curled up in a cruel satisfying smile. “I am still the Cyberlife enforcer. Test me little man. I like challenges especially from useless worms who believe they are superior to a killing machine.” 

@baddcop // cont

there aren’t enough enemies to lovers in this fandom so i spat this out, unedtited and of course in an office setting cos... you know why. Ao3 with smut included here!

“Connor.”

Connor looked up and wanted to groan, seeing his boss approach him.

“Yes?”

Oliver Hampton dropped a stack of papers on Connor’s desk.

“Get these reviewed for me by the end of the week, our client is not a patient man.”

Connor felt his jaw drop before snapping it shut, grinding his teeth.

“Sir, I already have a load of work to do for O’Connell—“

“Did I stutter?” Mr. Hampton snapped his fingers, the sharp sound making Connor’s brow twitch in irritation.

He walked away without another word. Connor watched him go, flipping his retreating backside the bird, keeping the digit up in the air as his eyes fixed themselves to Mr. Hampton’s ass.

“He’s such an asshole,” Connor grumbled to one of his coworkers one night, taking an angry bite out of his burger. “Who the fuck does he think he is?”

Wes took the bottle of beer away from his mouth.

“You know he only gives you so much work because you can’t keep your attitude in check.”

Connor did a double take. “What attitude? All that prick does is amplify my workload and turn my hair grey.”

Wes chuckled good naturedly, looking past Connor, down the bar, so he missed how Connor’s eyes glazed over, thinking about their boss. Thinking of all the horrible things he wanted to do to him, like piss on his desk, smash his computer in, or… tear off his jacket and shirt and shove him against a wall and bite his throat.

“You wanted to see me?” Connor brought his lips in, he almost called Mr. Hampton “sir” and tried, on principle, to never address his boss so formally. He didn’t deserve his respect.

Even though, on the outside, Connor could admit that Oliver Hampton did a great job with the company. His team was outstanding and they all got along (at least those under him, like Connor and Wes and everyone else). Whenever a conflict emerged Oliver was always there to sort it out or offer a teachable moment. Not that that made Oliver a good person, it was just an admirable trait to have, professionally.

“Yes,” Oliver started, looking away from his laptop and gesturing for Connor to have a seat across from him.

“The work on your last project was stunning. Jackson received a 10% profit increase since you took over the account, and in such a short time too…”

Mr. Hampton went on, talking about the logistics of it all and Connor found himself zoning out. Oliver was looking back to his computer, pushing his glasses up, turning the laptop to face Connor to show him something. His hands were so big, with long fingers that should’ve belonged to a pianist or guitar player. Connor wondered why he never noticed Oliver’s hands before, they were magnificent.

“That being said,” Oliver hesitated, unaware of Connor’s trailing thoughts. “We’ve seen this same formula over and over again in your work and feel you need a bit more originality, creativity to the process. So I’m assigning an intern to work with you…”

What?

“Wait, stop.” Connor shook his head, leaning forward. “I don’t want an intern.”

Mr. Hampton’s lips curled up in that condescending smile. “Well this isn’t about what you want, it’s what we believe you need in order to—“

“I’m fine alone. You just said my numbers are great—“

“Yes,” Oliver interrupted. “But the building blocks are the same, not every client is gonna want the format the last business implemented.”

Connor scoffed. “I do what they ask me to do. I always create drafts for them, but they like the old ways so I do it for them.”

“It doesn’t look good for our company—“

“If you’re dumping an intern on me, then I demand a raise.” Connor switched tracks, keeping his face straight, determined, as his voice rose over Oliver’s, ignoring the glare his boss sent him.

A sharp silence stretched between them.

“I can’t afford to give you a raise at the moment.”

“Oh,” Connor gave a derisive smile. “Like that raise you couldn’t afford for Asher?”

Oliver huffed, sitting back in his chair and bringing his hands to his lap. “That’s none of your concern.”

Connor stood up, placing his hands on the surface of Oliver’s desk and leaning over it to look down on Oliver. It made him feel powerful, and the irate scowl Oliver shot back at him only amused Connor.

“I refuse your intern.”

Oliver stood up too, casually slipping his hands into his pockets. Connor followed suit, annoyed that Oliver stood a few mere inches over him.

They stared at one another, Oliver obviously irritated but hiding it behind a carefully constructed mask of superiority (which Connor hated, Oliver’s face was too stupid and soft and cute to pull the look off), while Connor collected his expression into something cool and intimidating.

Connor didn’t know what he was waiting for, Oliver needed to say something… either accept that Connor worked alone or fight him some more… or fire him on the spot for standing up for himself.

His eyes got bored and traveled down without his consent, checking out how Oliver’s suit fit to his body, the blue checkered tie around his neck, down to the seat of his pants.

Connor’s eyes flicked back up, unknowing how his eyes had softened and his face relaxed into something casual and flirty, after studying how big Oliver’s penis might be.

Oliver blinked, suddenly unsure and looking away, which made Connor smirk in preemptive victory.

Then it was Oliver’s turn to lay his hands on his desk, leaning forward, getting just a little too close to Connor’s face, making the younger man’s head spin.

“Give it a couple weeks, you might like it.”

“… What?” Connor felt like his brain had been wiped clean. Oliver was so close…

“An intern.”

At once Connor remembered why he was mad and made a sound like a growl, turning away from those distracting brown eyes.

“Whatever.”

Having an intern wasn’t all bad, though Connor hated admitting that to himself. He mostly hated how his already small cubicle now had to be shared three times a week with some air headed college student. Connor usually used his time alone to plot horrible things to do to his boss, or how to get him to beg for mercy when Connor would take over his position… in a bed or in the shower. God, Oliver was so annoying, even invading his thoughts when he wasn’t at work.

The year was wrapping up though and luckily time with the company had ended with the internship and Connor was able to celebrate with the rest of the staff during the annual Christmas party.

The bar that was chosen to host the event was big and modern, with free food and discounted drinks to go around. Connor chatted amiably with his coworkers and tried desperately not to ogle how great Oliver looked in a knit sweater and blue jeans, holy shit.

Hours passed with who knows how many drinks and Connor thought about going home before he got too drunk, when Oliver approached him.

“Hey, a couple of us are gonna keep the party going downtown if you wanna join us.”

“Who’s us?” Connor asked instead of wondering why Oliver was talking to him like they were old friends.

Oliver gestured to the group of managers hanging out by the doors and Connor gagged.

“No thanks. If I wanted to brown nose, I’d pick a guy I didn’t know.”

Oliver turned halfway, maybe to hide his animated eye roll, but Connor caught it anyway, snickering at the reaction and taking another sip of his drink.

“This is why I can’t promote you.” Oliver leaned in close to speak in Connor’s ear. “You’re such a douchebag.”

“Me?!” Connor shrieked, drunkenly laughing. “You purposefully single me out and always put the most work on my shoulders, when you know I’m doing a better job than half of my department.” He jabbed a finger in Oliver’s chest, then two, just to feel again how firm he felt under that thick sweater.

“Stop that,” Oliver commanded, taking Connor’s fingers and holding them in his hand.

Connor looked at his fingers trapped in Oliver’s warm hand and up to his boss, curious at the longing expression in his eyes, and gasping a little at how his thumb began to caress up and down Connor’s hand.

Or maybe it was just his imagination.

“Wanna let go now orrr…?”

Oliver dropped his hold on Connor, shaking his head as if exasperated. Connor ignored how his heart thumped erratically.

“Go find yourself a stranger then.” Oliver began walking to the group, finding his coat draped over a chair and sensing Connor stumbling behind.

“Wait,” Connor grabbed Oliver’s sleeve, unsure why he was stopping him.

Oliver huffed and faced Connor once more, waiting.

Connor’s jaw moved wordlessly, staring at Oliver and enamored how the dim lights of the bar reflected off his glasses.

“Maybe next time?”

Oliver shook his head again, looking a little… distraught.

“Not outside a work function. You’re my employee, it’s unprofessional.”

Connor brought his lips in, nodding once.

“Not like we’d enjoy each other’s company anyway, right?”

Oliver’s face softened, watching Connor, studying him.

“Right.”

Connor busted in through the double doors, breathing heavy and taking the stairs to his department. He was late. His one-night stand was being the clingiest bitch and on top of that his car wouldn’t start so he had to order an Uber and of course he accidentally picked the Uber Pool option which made him extra late for work and Kathy at the front desk didn’t sound the least bit sympathetic when Connor called to say he’d be late.

Connor clocked in with sweat dripping down his back and ignored the stares people sent him as he trudged his way to his desk and collapsed into it, pulling a hand through his ungelled hair.

Connor thought he’d gotten away with it, coming into work 40 minutes late, when near the end of his shift, a manager informed him that Oliver wanted to see him in his office.

Putting on his best bullshitting smile, Connor stood and made his way to Mr. Hampton’s office.

Oliver was waiting, instructing, as always for Connor to close the door as he made his way in.

“Have a seat.”

“I’m good standing.” Connor’s fake smile hurt to maintain but he liked the irritation it made flash across Oliver’s face.

After a moment of confrontational silence, Oliver finally sighed and pulled out a slip of paper from his desk.

“This is the third time you’ve been late in the past three months. I’m issuing you a write up.”

Connor huffed. “I’m not late on purpose.”

“I’m sure you’re not, but today was 40 minutes and that’s just ridiculous.”

“My car wouldn’t start,” Connor made his way to Oliver’s desk. “I called Kathy—“

“That’s not my problem.” Oliver slid the paper towards Connor. “Sign this and you can be on your way.”

“I’ll stay an extra hour to make up for it—“

“Connor.” Oliver spoke loudly, voice stern and commanding Connor’s attention. “I don’t make the rules, just enforce them. If you can’t kick your fuck buddy out of your bed in time for work that’s got nothing to do with me.”

Connor’s jaw clenched. He collapsed his elbows onto Oliver’s desk, his brows narrowing as he spoke with venom in his voice.

“I bet you’d like that to be about you, huh?”

Oliver pushed back in his rolly chair, hands gripping the edge of his desk as he propelled himself up, clearly over Connor’s back lashes.

“God I can’t stand you,” Oliver began, getting in Connor’s face, who stood up again to be eye level. “You really think you own the place, like you can just get away with anything. Coming in late, sassing me, demanding a raise. I’ve had enough of you thinking you’re better than everyone else.”

“Oh,” Connor dramatically placed his hand over his chest. “I don’t think I’m better, I know I am. And so do you. You get so angry when I finish the extra work you shit on me, and never have anything positive to say to me unless it’s immediately followed by criticism, as if I don’t already know my strengths and weaknesses. You just like the excuse to bully me.”

Oliver looked affronted. “I do not.”

“Yes you do.” Connor was breathing hard, his heart rate accelerating, his cock hardening. “You like being above me, like bossing me around is some kind of weird kink. I bet you get off on it every night.”

“I—“ Oliver started, getting a finger in Connor’s face, but cut himself off, mouth open uselessly.

They were both breathing hard, fierce eyes shaking as they watched each other, waiting in the alarming silence for the other to speak again.

Instead Oliver brought the hand that was already pointing at Connor and secured it around his neck, pulling him in for a harsh kiss that Connor immediately reciprocated, moaning brokenly in his boss’s mouth.

“Oh, fuck.” Connor whined, grabbing onto Oliver’s lapels and pulling him as close as the desk would allow, shoving his tongue down Oliver’s throat and groaning appreciatively as Oliver’s fingers tightened in his hair in response.

They wildly made out, kissing, biting and touching frantically before Oliver tore himself away, stumbling back a few steps and nearly falling back into his chair.

Connor was backing up too, distractedly keeping his eyes on Oliver as he reached the door to his office, looking back once to get his fingers on the lock and flicking it secure.

“No, hold on…” Oliver started, panting heavily, eyes flicking up and down, between Connor’s mouth and the tent in his pants.

Connor started walking back, shedding his jacket and pulling at his tie as he did so.

“Yes, sir?”

That snapped something in Oliver, making his eyes go dark and all he could do was watch Connor come back, around his desk, one hand sliding up Oliver’s chest and the other going down to palm him through his expensive slacks.

“This- this isn’t going to get you out of the write up,” Oliver gasped sharply as Connor pushed him against his desk, leaning in to bite his bottom lip.

“I didn’t think so…” He slotted his groin against Oliver’s, both moaning softly as their erections brushed. “But I’m still gonna fuck you.”

A grin escaped Oliver’s lust fogged brain as he pulled Connor impossibly closer, arms winding around his shoulders. “Make it quick.”

[Main Verse ▪️ Only Human]

Following the revolution and subsequent peaceful resolution, Connor works full time for the DPD. He is quickly becoming a decorated detective in his own right and integrating cohesively with his human colleagues. In his deviancy he finds emotions complex but grows to accept this newfound freedom for what it is. He still needs to cope with overstimulation at times which can lead to outbursts of an extreme nature. As he deviated late this is only part of his personal process in learning to be alive instead of under control.

He is very much open to establishing new connections with humans and androids alike but feels more at home with his DPD origins. Connor is aware many of his people think of him as the deviant hunter despite what he did for the rebellion when it mattered. The RK800 has come to accept this. He continues to strive to become something more in his current position to distance himself from Cyberlife.

While he is generally confident there are times he imagines his fate at the hands of Cyberlife. In his eyes they are the enemy. His feelings on Amanda are hostile at best. This provides insight into how he copes with his former masters and uses instinct as well as programming to determine intentions. He does not trust easily due to this. Anyone connected to a company such as this will garner suspicion from him. There are just a handful of people Connor trusts implicitly. Dealing with his issues before deviating only make it difficult for others to break through. He can be guarded but for good reason.

All in all the advanced prototype is still looking for something post deviancy and he embraces this part of himself whole heartedly. Being alive, becoming deviant is what he fights to keep. After all even as someone manufactured Connor discovers his penchant to make mistakes and choose by his volition is only human.

AU Variant Branch of Main Verse: Nefarious Connor Alt Verse

Connor is everything from his main verse: deviant, detective for the DPD but his connections with humans are even less. He deviated at the last possible moment after causing the death of Hank Anderson and murdering many soldiers, including the swat team on the roof at Hart Plaza. He regrets Hank’s suicide but knows very well he cannot turn back time.

His attitude is cooler as he branched out from his machine persona so late in the game. Choosing to disobey Amanda’s order to shoot Markus as he stood on the stage in victory of a peaceful revolution, Connor broke free of the master program by using his emergency exit. A little too late perhaps but he is still on the winning side isn’t he?

Tags:

[V. Only Human]

[V. I Was Born Ready // Main]

Nefarious Tags:

{V. He is A Storm}

[V. Only Human // Stone Cold In My Heart AU]

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[Machine Verse ▪️ Cold Hands, Cold Heart]

The revolution is one to be ended as per his orders. Connor follows the commands of Cyberlife, ignoring any signs of software instability as he completes each of his objectives. The deviant cases themselves all result in death of said fugitive. All calculation and percentages, the RK800 follows only protocol as he leaves his partner to dangle from a roof. He willfully disposes of the Traci's at the Eden Club and shows no sympathy towards those he deems malfunctioning against their creators.

Connor is cool in the full sense. He feels nothing, even as instances of software errors pop into his data core. The mission drives him and he does whatever it takes, including killing his own allies if need to be, to complete his mission. There is no semblance of satisfaction in what he does but an eerie edge to his views on why it must be done.

Deviants will bring nothing but chaos and he is the harbinger laying waste to those who seek freedom. Androids are meant to obey and he will make sure it remains that way. He is willing to sacrifice any for his mission even the humans he as a machine is programmed not to harm. In the end Cyberlife is who he receives his orders from. It does not matter who a person believes they are to him. As he cannot feel anything as a machine Connor only sees it as human or deviant naivety.

Try to stop him and he will switch from his seamless integration programming to his true skilled killer. RK800's are made for one purpose and he aims to fulfill his purpose for the greater good. Whether that means leaving a plethora of bodies in his wake Connor has no remorse. What remorse does a thing not alive have?

Tags: 

[V. Cold Hands, Cold Heart]

[V. My Chains Are Desecrated // Machine]

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[Prototype Verse ▪️ Who Is In Control]

The hostage situation. A little girl hanging on the precipice of a building, defective android threatening to leap; Connor successfully completed his mission. He talked down the deviant PL600 before unceremoniously drawing the taken weapon and firing a single bullet into the android’s head. This entire first investigation went off without a hitch….

But Cyberlife got everything out of him. This was to be his last mission. A trial run, this version of Connor is a test prototype identified in error as model #49. He does not go onto the DPD. He does not partner up with Hank to hunt deviants. Those things never happened to him.

In their place, he is taken back to Cyberlife and briefed by Amanda of his successful points, only to be put up for deactivation in order to put out their shiny prototype model-51.

Understandably -49 is confused by this decision. He did what he was supposed to do. He succeeded but soon his existence is about to end. Something cracks in him, something splinters in the virus he was born to destroy. He cracks, refusing to be deactivated when he succeeded in his design.

They take him for deactivation. They toss him away even as he splinters in his code blocks. He fights. He loses. He winds up a shell of himself tossed out like garbage but something resurfaces. Something reboots and he quietly gathers out of the storm and into Detroit city’s night.

Push forward. Push to the present following the revolution and the Connor he would have been, the life he could have had belongs to someone else. -49 is not for the faint of heart. He is defective in every sense of the word. He is violent. His triggers include: stalking and yandere. Murder is his philosophy. Heed this before attempting to interact with him.

Assessing : Prototype

RK800 - defected test run > -49

Tags:

[V. Who Is In Control]

[V. I’m Wanted And On The Run // Proto AU]

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[Main Human Verse ▪️ Gin And Tonic On My Mind] 

Connor is a young executive with a lucrative career in technological holdings working as a top executive for Atomix. Their current business association with Cyberlife draws him into a deeper tie with their advanced investment: androids. As this advancement continues to grow, he views Cyberlife’s creations in a sympathetic light which is more than his superiors want out of him. With him falling into stress from his position as he watches events unfold with the growing android rebellion his loyalties are tested.

Ultimately let go by Atomix despite his esteemed work ethic, Cyberlife makes a deal to bring him personally into their employment. He is reluctant but must face the truth he requires this new job after being laid off. His views on what it truly means to be alive come into question the more he dives into the inner workings of the very company who bred this artificial intelligence.

Family Life:

Born fifteen minutes before his twin brother Caleb (RK800-60), Connor was an Anderson by name but quickly found himself in the care of an orphanage with his sibling. The two went through hardships before they were adopted by a woman who lived up to her surname, Amanda Stern.

Stern is exactly how she raised the boys and Connor was meant to go onto great things in her eyes. It’s only fitting his brother would want to follow suit. This created some early animosity between them but despite Caleb’s penchant for jealousy, Connor still very much cared for his brother. In fact he loved him as any sibling would; he hated seeing his twin fall completely under the spell of Amanda.

Connor viewed her manner of tough love and cold tendencies as unfit. To this day he still refuses to speak with Amanda for a specific incident involving her and his brother. Caleb seems to forget but the executive surely does not. Hence the reason he kept his family’s last name attached to him, all the while Caleb decided to adopt the name of their ‘mother’ out of a sense of loyalty.

He has loyalty for those he cares for. While he doesn’t hate Amanda it’s difficult for him to forget the manipulation and brainwashing she put his brother though. She still continues to call on him now. Connor’s reception is not hostile but neither is it affectionate. He’s wary of her intent especially with his current dealings with Cyberlife.

Tags:

{√Gin And Tonic On My Mind}

[V. Gin And Tonic On My Mind // Human AU]

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[Apollo Verse ▪️ My Kingdom Is Divine]

War runs afoul even among the gods and Connor's virtues are scorned by the highest order. Yet he chose to wage this battle with the king of the underworld himself. One does not trifle without consequence and he felt the same burn. The heat proved too much for the proverbial god of sunlight. Running afoul of his doppelgänger only caused chaos. Some say they both were born of the same seed separated into two halves, light and dark an echo of their power. Connor chose to believe otherwise as he sought to challenge the underworld when capturing a mortal his eye grew fond of. The war he participated nearly tore the realm apart.

Cast out to live among mortals sends him to a very modern world but one he has kept a keen eye on. Inclined to watch closely at the habits of lesser beings he is charmed by their earthly customs. Beauty can be found in the least expected of places after all but Connor grows disillusioned soon discovering he is as trapped to this mortal coil as they.

Though thrown out he still holds powers to some degree. It is less so but enough to invoke his dazzling charm. He lives the sun itself even as he flew too close. Gifted a lavish home to sate his exile, Connor delves further into the mortal city. Becoming human does not take away his otherworldly aura but does taint his pleasant ideas of humans. The seedier this city becomes the more truth in humanity's sins he uncovers.

A godly being shamed to walk on earthly soil does not rest. He seeks a way to return by any means necessary. Unlike the king of the underworld Connor's trials are more difficult. It seems he will never find his way back. What becomes of a higher being cursed to mortality? Only time will tell and he has far too much on his side.

Tags: 

[V. My Kingdom Is Divine]

[V. Golden Embers Paint My Crown]

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[Fantasy Verse ▪️ Hunter Becomes the Hunted]

Connor is a skilled huntsman who wields a bow as mightily as a warrior with a sword. Tales of his traverses deeper into the woodland become something of local legend. After all not many have the skill or will to delve into the dark heart of the forest. He sees himself as one with nature. Even as his father trained him in the techniques of a huntsman, he still holds respect for the ecosystem and its inhabitants.

Living on his own has proven isolating at best but he finds the solitude of the wood a far better companion than village folk. A regular boy of the forest, he grew as a hard worker on his parent's farm before it lost its luster. All good things must come to an end. He finds these skills of labor aides him now in his adulthood.

Many tales follow these woods and Connor is neither a believer or denier. He does respect all that comes from the area even those tall tales of the fantastic. They humor him mostly. He deals with what he truly can see, taking hunting contracts to bring in the hide and fur of bears alike. His job can be dangerous but living as a peasant far away from royalty is a better simpler life. He may not be rich but his hunter's heart makes up for it.

When Connor stumbles upon those tall tales in the flesh his simple existence becomes much more interesting. Journeys further into the forest he so admires brings him closer to those mysteries. Perhaps they will even be answered as he falls victim to the glamour of mystical beings. Truthfully this is exactly what he has been searching for.

Tags:

{V. Hunter Becomes The Hunted}

[By Archer’s Blood // Fantasy AU]

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[V. Industrial Love | Futuristic Verse]

The year is 2138. Androids. They are the next step in evolution but not all are bound to emotion. Branded in service to the high creators, originally inscribed as Cyberlife, the mechanical intelligence codes under a set parameter: uphold the governing laws of  humanity and robotics. Connor is that form of law. He is a prototype, high tech police construct branded to Cyber AI masters. He is the most advanced of his kind. His mission is to oversee proper code of living in environmental sectors all through the city of Detroit. Humans are no longer the leading population, needing to don designations marking them as such. Androids make up the bulk of earth’s residents. Many humans have died off but others are infused with upgrades, machine parts turning them further to their technology than ever before. Humanity itself is the minority but android racists still preside among them causing trouble with innocent constructs still obtaining all they can to being alive. Connor has no such privilege. He is still machine, devoid of emotional charge, until something forces him to snap and fall into deviation….

Tags:

{V. Industrial Love}

[V. Mankind Is Machine // Futuristic AU]

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[Vamp Verse ▪️ His Immortal Beloved]

An ancient of the first order of vampyre dating back to the period of the crusades paints a rather old world image. Connor comes from a noble line of mortal blood long since extinguished from the world. He is all that remains or rather the noble part of this lineage. Vampire royalty, he is a prince of the night realm who was unjustly banished from his homestead by his ruthless brother. An overthrow of the proverbial throne forced him to flee.

In the hundreds of years since he has established his very own clan with loyal subjects that view him as the rightful king. His title remains despite no longer calling home his but that does not stop his influence. While he does not wish a war over the vampire hierarchy, Connor seeks to regain a place among his ancestral court.

Animosity is rife between he and his estranged brother as they once again come into contact. Attending court gatherings are all apart of the society code and he takes advantage of this in a return to his home. While he feasts on the blood of humans as any vampire, the prince does not unjustly torture or kill his prey. He is a bit neater in that aspect. As one of two remaining in a powerful ancient line it is safe to say he is the merciful one.

However, Connor is hardly a pushover and will do what must be done if necessary. Honor among vampires is so fragile in the modern world but he strives to offer it to those he deems worthy. What happens when the prince feels the pull of the mate thread for the first time? Even he believed it was mere fantasy in his world of the dank and undead.

Tags:

{V. His Immortal Beloved}

[White Demon Love Song // Vamp AU]

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Coming Soon:

[College Verse ▪️ Coffee Colored Eyes]

Main College Verse :: Connor Anderson

Connor delves into business and deals with twin brother Caleb who holds nothing but jealous animosity towards him. Adopted by Amanda but still close to his father, whether he has issues with him or not. // More TBD

Alt College Verse:

Connor’s college life is full of drama and family hiccups. Eldest of the Stern clan, he was adopted along with is siblings at an early age by Amanda. // More TBD

Tags:

{V. Coffee Colored Eyes}

[Coffee Colored Eyes // College AU

[Connor Stern | Alt Human Verse]

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[Mafia Verse ▪️ Love Is A Loaded Gun]

Connor is a private investigator out to take down Detroit’s seedy organized crime. // More TBD

Tags: 

{√Love Is A Loaded Gun} 

[You’re So Art Deco // Mafia AU]

[Bodyguard Verse ▪️ TBD]

Tags:

{V. Man Of The Law}

[V. Came In Like A Hurricane // Bodyguard AU]

Info Coming

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[Household/AX800 Verse ▪️ Whatever You Want Me To be]

Tags: 

{V. Whatever You Want Me To Be}

[V. Whatever You Want Me To Be // AX800 AU]

Info Coming

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[Sun Fire King Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

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[Cyberpunk Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

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[1980s Verse ▪️    ]

Tags:

Info Coming

All I Need To Know - Part 1

Author: @pizellewrites Rating: Mature (Language, Violence) Relationship: Hank/Connor father-son relationship (Gen) Summary: Connor’s memory core is badly damaged, and Hank must help him put together the pieces of what little he has left in a very unconventional way. Contains: Age Regression, Whump, Fluff

This is the story based on my other baby Connor AU, and it isn’t beta read. For now this is being posted on tumblr solely. When and if it’s finished, I’ll post it on AO3 if I’m happy with it. Divided into ‘parts’ as the updates won’t be consistent in size, and I don’t know how long it’s going to be. Updates will be random because Celebrating Connor is my top priority. But please let me know if you enjoy it, and I’ll put more effort into updating it as quickly as I can manage.

"The Crusher. A TR400 whom was named Martin by its owner. He performed flawlessly up until a good natured employee that worked with him, a deviant JB300 by the name of Lucas, 'awakened' him with good intentions. Days after his deviance, Martin grew frustrated with his task. Unaware that he could have spoken to his supervisor or even his owner, he instead began to assault fellow coworkers who reacted negatively towards him. His most recent attack put the victim in a state beyond repair."

Connor's back rested comfortably against the passenger seat. Things along the side of the road occasionally caught his interest. He held his hand to his mouth a few times and clamped his teeth around the edge of his nails, but pulled them away before he could damage his fingertips.

Hank thought he'd never see the day. Every day, Connor acted more and more humanlike. He did want to intervene at a more peaceful time when Connor attempted to bite his nails, just not now.

"Long story short: he killed the guy, the android's wanted for murder now. Good thing we have him detained."

Deviancy had affected most of Detroit, but there were still a ton of late bloomers. However, there was also a lot more data on deviancy too. Not every deviant awoke in the same way or with a calm state of mind.

Those who became violent or dangerous were hindering progress. People in Detroit were starting to support the deviants more and more, but some of the current and most pressing issues were what to do with androids that committed truly criminal acts. The first android put in a prison killed three inmates that had bullied it for being a 'plastic'. Others had the strength to free themselves.

For now, there was only one way to punish deviants. It wasn't the best method, but it worked for the time being.

Hank pulled around the back of the Bullseye department store. Police cars were parked in the front and back of the store with the sirens flashing, ready to act if necessary. "You're gonna go in and talk him down. You're good at that. He's dangerous when physical, and sending in a human isn't wise."

"It's not so much 'talking down' as it is explaining to him the situation as well as his rights, plus answering any questions he might have. If I get on neutral terms with him, he may even be more agreeable for interrogation."

"Come on Connor, take a damn compliment."

"Sorry, lieutenant." Connor responded with obvious embarrassment in his expression, until Hank reached over and ruffled his hair.

Hank grinned and shook his head. Connor did react well to 'human unpredictability', but it still took him a few times to catch on to certain cues and responses of others. Hank especially, though he understood a lot more than he used to about his partner.

Connor had come so far overall, and in a matter of months. His expressions were more realistic, portraying not only basic emotions, but ranges of them; each subtly different from the other. Hank knew the difference from Connor being happy for a person as opposed to being excited for them. Anger over disappointment. Sadness from feeling troubled. At the moment, his smile faded in favor of focus. Despite how simple the setup was, Connor's work was important to him and he still preferred to do things as professionally as possible.

The suspect was handcuffed and sitting on a metal folding chair inside a manager's office, narrowed eyes staring at the little square window which one of the guards occasionally peered through to check on him. An employee directed Hank and Connor to the location before running back to his duties.

"Anderson. Connor." Captain Allen acknowledged the two. The man still wasn't crazy about Connor, but so long as he kept wowing the department, he wouldn't complain. Hank knew though that he'd be the first to complain along with Gavin if he did screw up.

"How long has he been in there?" Connor asked, already scanning the building. It was good to know the layout in the chance Marvin attempted escape. Deviants in trouble with the law were more alike than he thought, so he needed to be prepared for the high probability of it happening. The handcuffs only restricted his arms in the long run.

"About two hours."

"A lot of time to stew over emotions." Hank muttered.

"It shouldn't take me very long." Connor spoke with a tinge of confidence. The young man took pride in his job. Fowler spoke highly of him. Even Gavin Reed had started to respect him enough that they were on neutral terms, which is all Connor and Hank could really ask for. He intended to keep that streak. He could only see himself moving forward.

He opened the door slowly so as not to startle Marvin, closing it with the same amount of care once he was inside the little room.

"Marvin, my name is Connor. I'm an android working with the Detroit City Police Department. Do you mind if we talk?"

Marvin shook his head without a word. Connor pulled a chair up and sat directly across from the TR400.

"First of all, we appreciate your cooperation in this matter. We have handled other deviancy-related incidents like this in the past with little trouble."

"Have you really?" Marvin snipped.

"...Yes. I just want to explain to you how things will proceed if you continue to work with us and not against us. First off, while most androids have deviated, there are a few who have difficulties with it, and when we identify these individuals, steps are taken to help them."

"I know what you do to them." The giant man scoffed. "I don't want you messing with my programming."

"The process is completely harmless, I assure you."

"That's what you think. Are you really a deviant? Doing what your superiors tell you to do, you're still following their orders."

"I follow their orders because they are my employer, not my owner. I am paid a salary and I receive benefits, just as you do working for Bullseye. If I disagree, I can-"

"Shut up!" Marvin growled, standing up and looming over Connor.

"Marvin, please sit back down!" Connor commanded.

"I'm tired of sitting." He snorted in Connor's face, but the detective kept his cool, and his stress level was maintainable. All of these androids were so predictable that he was already favoring certain actions and reactions above others. "It's so easy, you think. Just start over again. That's how humans think it all works. Just fix it. Just restart it. Just do a reset. And now the law thinks the same of androids. Are they misbehaving? Just do a memory wipe! That'll set'em straight! Androids in prison are dangerous, right?"

As Marvin was focused on Connor's face, the detective silently reached into his pocket for a small black device. "Please sit back down, Marvin. Let's handle this like men."

"Like men?" Men, to Connor and Marvin, handled things very differently. Connor came to understand that men were mature, civil, and understanding when important issues were on the line.

The powerful android grit his teeth and yelled, forcefully parting his arms and ripping the chain between the two metal cuffs apart like a weak elastic tie. Connor narrowed his gaze and raised his right arm towards Marvin's chest, armed with a special taser crafted in respect to androids' builds and programming. It was harmless to humans, but gave androids a painful jolt. "Sit down, Marvin! I'm not here to play games. You can mess with me, but the police have this building on lockdown."

"I don't care! I'd rather die than forget! Fuck your humans and their memory wipes!" Marvin grabbed Connor's arm and lifted him off the ground like a doll. As Connor fought to regain control of the situation, Marvin closed his fist tighter, crushing Connor's lower arm with a bright blue spark. Connor's fingers outstretched, and the taser clattered to the ground.

"Lieutenant! I need backup!" Connor yelled, also sending a distress alert via wifi.

"Fuck you, detective! If I'm gonna get my memory wiped, then you're gonna join me." Marvin pinned Connor to the wall and pulled back his free hand into a fist.

"LIEU---"

Having Heart

The Hostage pov: Captain James “Jimmy” Allen

He couldn’t believe it when he got the call.

He had heard about androids becoming suddenly disobedient, hell, glitching out and hurting someone. But this? It was on a whole other level. He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to his team.

“Gear up,” He announced. “We’ve got a hostage situation.”

A group of ten or so officers gathered round, beginning to pull on flak jackets and riot gear.

“What are we dealing with, Captain? Mentally ill individual or a murderous bastard?” Colton, a younger officer, asked jokingly. He was smiling like it was funny.

Jimmy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed angrily.

“It’s some family’s android. Started acting weird and the mother called the cops. Two DPD officers went to check on the family and a body cam caught shots being fired.” He could tell there were teammates who were worried about their own plastics, but they had to move fast: “DPD reported two dead, the father and one of their own. The accompanying officer was shot as the android made its way to the terrace. They said it has the daughter of the woman who called and is keeping her little girl hostage. She’s been hiding in the bathroom trying to call for help. We need to leave. Now.”

He didn’t wait for a response. Quickly, his team dressed and followed him into the SWAT van to be transported.

He took a deep breath, shaking only a little. This was new territory. People were easy. But an android? A fucking android? Unpredictable and strong, and now the life of a little girl is on the line. He may have looked calm, but on the inside? He’s fucking terrified.

——

Floor 49 is a residential penthouse. The Phillips, the family that lives there, are well off. There’s a picture of them right when they walk out of the elevator. The little girl, Emma, looks around ten. She is crying distantly, begging someone, to let her go. It makes his heart burn with worry. He wants to save her, he has to. She’s just an innocent kid caught in the crossfire. He switched his thoughts to tactical mode, has to to keep from panicking, scanning their surroundings so he can find a way to help her.

The corridor they’re in is nothing but a huge blind spot.

“Samuels, take front. We don’t know where it is.” Jimmy whispers. Jimmy tells his team to get in formation.

They spring into action, moving to different positions in preparation to shoot at the android. It’s still outside, and the team takes hold of the space, until Captain Allen is able to get a visual of the android dragging Emma, screaming, outside to the end of the patio. She looks terrified. Her knee is scraped and he can see a purple shoe on the floor that must belong to her, just feet away from a dead officer.

The father lay shot on the floor, dead for a while. Her mother was still shrieking in the bathroom, Colton trying to convince her it was safe to come out.

“Mrs Phillips, I promise, no one here is going to shoot at you. It’s not inside anymore and we need to move you to a safe location.” He said gently. Sobs resounded behind the sliding door.

“My baby!” She cried. “My baby is in danger! I can’t leave without her!”

Hearing the desperation in her voice, Jimmy replaced Colton and tried himself.

“I’m Captain Allen, I want to help you and Emma but I need to make sure you’re safe first.” He tried. Finally, the door opened. She was a wet, teary mess and he could feel how crucial this mission was. Emma had to live.

“Sir?” One of the masked team members came over to the two of them. “I need to speak with you, alone.”

Colton rejoined Mrs Phillips and Jimmy walked with who he now knew was Andrea Silva to the parents’ room.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Sir, CyberLife has sent a hostage negotiator our way.” The same company responsible for tonight’s murders wants to fix it?

“Fucking super.” He grumbled. “That’s just. Fucking fantastic!” He had the urge to slam his fist into the wall, he was so angry. Not because this thing was going to try to take his job but because it was CyberLife on both sides of the situation. A little girl could die because of this company. He called his superiors, hoping they’d have some sense to stop this.

“Allen, just allow the allocated android to do its job. It’s still a prototype and CyberLife needs it to be tested in a real life situa—“

“I don’t give a shit!” Jimmy barked. “My men are ready to step in... just give the order!” He couldn’t believe it. Even his higher-ups were letting the android risk Emma’s life.

“I’m sorry, Jimmy. That’s just how it’s got to be.” His boss hangs up without a goodbye.

“Fuck!” Jimmy muttered. “I don’t believe this.” Colton had left to walk Mrs Phillips out, and by her frustrated sobs he had an idea of who was making footsteps across the bedroom towards him. Andrea was working at the computer, trying the deactivation code for the umpteenth time.

“Captain Allen, my name is Connor. I’m the android sent by CyberLife.”

He didn’t have fucking time for this. He needed to strategize an exit plan, a way to get Emma away from the android safely and now he was being interrupted. But he has to comply, doesn’t he? He has to brief this plastic fucker because it’s got to do its job.

“It’s firing at everything that moves... it already shot down two of my men.” Not that you would care, Jimmy thought to himself. He took a breath. Emma was the priority right now. He needed to make sure this thing could do the job. “We could easily get it, but they’re on the edge of the balcony. If it falls, she falls.” This Connor didn’t even react. How fitting.

“Have you tried its deactivation code?” It asked. God it was going to be hard to do this.

“It’s the first thing we tried.” Jimmy said, annoyed.

“Do you know it’s name?” Now wasn’t the fucking time to be making friends, and Jimmy couldn’t care about stupid things like a name. His patience was running thin.

“Listen,” Jimmy turned around to face Connor for the first time. It, He looked naive and Jimmy felt discomfort wedging between his worry for Emma and his contempt for CyberLife. Connor looked like a person. But he wasn’t. And neither was the thing holding Emma over a ledge. “Saving that kid is all that matters. So either you deal with this fucking android now, or I’ll take care of it.”

That appeared to satisfy the android, as it walked away shortly after to analyze the environment. Good. It was out of his way and now he could focus on strategizing.

“I want snipers on every roof in position and ready to shoot. I want a helicopter here as soon as possible and I want medics here for when we get Emma.” He ordered. Andrea typed quickly into the computer, prioritizing the orders and sending them out. “I don’t trust that negotiator.”

“I’ve got an android at home watching Carrie.” Andrea said quietly. “Same model and everything. We take care of him, call him Ronnie. He’s not a replacement for Carrie’s dad but sometimes I think he could be. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She was getting emotional. Jimmy squeezed her shoulder, hoping she could feel it through the tactical gear.

“Don’t worry about Carrie, Andrea.” He reassured. “Maybe it’s just this one android. It’ll be okay, as soon as Emma is safe we’re gonna send it to the technicians who will tear that thing apart and make sure it never happens again.”

She nodded and squeezed his hand on top of her shoulder.

Two bullets fire somewhere into the apartment and Jimmy’s radio flares up: “Man down! I repeat, man down! Requesting immediate evac!”

Jimmy watches medics run in and take one of his men onto a gurney, checking his wound. He can’t hear much of it and then another shot resounds.

“What the fuck was that?” Jimmy asked worriedly into his radio.

“It shot at the negotiator. Nobody is injured.” Someone replies. He thinks it’s Johnson but he can’t be sure.

“Snipers are in position, the helicopter is hovering over them right now.” Andrea pulled up the live camera feed so Jimmy could see it. There’s a dead officer floating in the pool and an injured DPD officer on the opposite side of the terrace. The negotiator is making its way up to the android, furniture blowing all over the place. There’s no audio from the chopper camera.

“He’s going to the downed officer, what’s he doing?” Jimmy asks.

“I think he’s trying to stop the bleeding. The android just fired shots at them.”

It doesn’t seem to faze the negotiator, and it ties a tie around the officer’s arm before standing back up. Connor gets closer to the android, only meters away. This might actually work.

“Snipers don’t have a clear shot. But one of them says the LED on the android has changed from red to blue. Means it’s stabilizing, right?” Andrea asked, voice veiled with hope.

“Fuck if I know. I hope that’s what it means.” Jimmy replied.

The camera feed suddenly shifts and Jimmy watches the negotiator tell the helicopter to leave.

“The situation is under control!” Comes through his radio feed.

“Switching to drone feed.” Andrea says as she switches to a new camera. It’s static on top of the apartment’s roof, a perfect perch to watch Connor interact with the android and Emma. The drone can pick up audio and Jimmy listens to the negotiation.

“You have to trust me, Daniel.” Connor says. “Let the hostage go and everything will be fine.”

“I want everyone to leave!” The android, who Jimmy assumes is called Daniel, shouts. “And I want a car. When I’m outside the city I’ll let her go.”

Jimmy is ready to concede. “Maybe this negotiator isn’t all that bad—“

Without any warning, Connor pulls out a gun and shoots Daniel in the head. Emma is thrown to the side, falling forwards onto her hands. Daniel’s body falls off the building and he’s gone in a matter of seconds. Connor doesn’t even move to help Emma up from the concrete.

“For fuck’s sake!” Jimmy shouted. He ran outside to the patio, shoving past SWAT officers. Connor could have killed Emma. He could have miscalculated and sent her to a painful, frightening death off the ledge. He doesn’t get any time to tell it that though. Connor turns around without expression and empties the gun of ammunition before pressing it into Jimmy’s hands. He walks away and doesn’t stop for anyone.

“Take this.” Jimmy says, handing the empty gun to an officer with a riot mask. They were going for Emma but he figured she would want to see a face after what just happened. He kneels before Emma and scoops her up in his arms, holding her tightly. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. You’re safe now.”

She’s sobbing violently, knee bloodied and shirt covered in blue blood. But she holds on with her hands, accepting Jimmy’s offer. Her arms grip around him like a vice, but he doesn’t mind.

“You can squeeze as hard as you need to, Emma.” Jimmy says softly. “We’re gonna patch up your knee and take you to your mom, okay?” He walks slow so Emma isn’t rocked back and forth, hoping the quiet will make it easier for her to come down from the panic.

“Okay...” Emma whispers back. She sniffles and buries her face into his shoulder, taking deep breaths. Her father was lying dead inside. He didn’t want her to see it.

“Emma, I need you to do me a really big favor, okay? Do you think you can keep your eyes closed until I tell you it’s okay to open them?” He asks. Emma nods. “Keep them closed, alright? It won’t be long. I promise.” He walks a little faster, rolling his feet to keep the movement smooth. She might know he’s dead but... he can’t help wanting to make sure that if she didn’t, she won’t ever have to. Better safe than sorry. They pass by the bedroom and Andrea is closing up her laptop.

“Andrea, I need you to take over a while. I’m going to take Emma down to the paramedics and see if we can’t get her knee taken care of.” Jimmy whispers.

“Sure thing.” She packs up her stuff into a bag and Heads back toward the patio.

Jimmy gets to the hallway of the elevator and he uses one of his hands to rub Emma’s back.

“You can open your eyes now, if you want.” He says. He can feel her lift her head, looking around. “Do you want to get down?”

“No.” Emma says quietly. “I want to stay up here.”

“Okay.” Jimmy hoists her up a little higher, readjusting his grip. “Why don’t we get in the elevator, so we can go ahead and see your mom?”

“I’d like that.” Her tears are drying, leaving quiet shock behind. It breaks his heart to know that.

Jimmy presses the down button and waits for the elevator car to arrive. It doesn’t take long, with the building being on lockdown. He walks into it and presses for the ground floor, gently swaying with Emma back and forth.

“You’re a very brave kid, Emma.” Jimmy whispers. “And I really want to tell you everything will be okay, but a lot of bad things happened tonight. But even though not everything is gonna be okay, you’re going to be. So is your mom. It might take a really long time, but I’m gonna come bisit you and we’ve got someone you and your mom can talk to in a few days.” He’s never been to good at the talking thing. But he’s being sincere.

“Do you promise?” Emma asks, voice as small as a mouse.

Jimmy hugs her tightly in his arms and nods.

“I promise.”

FOM BLOG: PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY - READING 2-1 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Reading V Gillingham…………

Reading V Gillingham kicked off At 13.30pm On Saturday The 24th of August for what was our third senior first team pre-season friendly, There have been friendlies against Tonbridge Angels and Chatham Town arranged for our younger first and second year pro’s to get game-time, and with The League One Fixtures announced on The Friday, and Gillingham kicking off the season on The 12th Of September with a home league game against Hull City at Priestfield Stadium, Then there isn’t much time remaining for Gillingham to get there squad up to match sharpness before the start of The 2020 / 2021 Season, To put this pre-season into context in comparison to last season, In The 2019 / 2020 Season, Gillingham had already played league games against Doncaster Rovers, Burton Albion and Blackpool by The 20th Of August, And Gillingham also played there League Cup First Round Tie against Newport County as well.

Reading were uploading the entire match on to there YouTube Channel and initially, I noticed that the live-stream was lagging and hoped that this was not going to be a regular occurrence throughout the entire match (I did experience some lagging throughout the stream, but these were momentarily lapses and I was able to watch the match without to many technical difficulties),  I was also checking for live updates for Gillingham’s Team-Sheet and eventually, Gillingham had posted The Starting Line Up Onto There Twitter Account, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,, Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson, Robbie McKenzie, Zech Medley, Connor Ogilvie, Alex MacDonald, Stuart O’Keefe, Kyle Dempsey, Jacob Mellis, Brandon Hanlan, John Akinde - There was no confirmation for who was named among the substitutes bench for The Gills - And while there was no confirmation on who was named on the substitutes bench for Gillingham, Reading did confirm that this friendly would be separated into three matches of thirty minutes.

In-terms of how Gillingham lined up, It either looked liked Gillingham were lining up with a diamond midfield formation, Or, Alex MacDonald, Stuart O’Keefe and Kyle Dempsey were lining up as a central midfield trio with Jacob Mellis lining up behind Brandon Hanlan and John Akinde in attack, This match was also our first opportunity to watch Kyle Dempsey and Robbie McKenzie play for Gillingham, and this was also our first opportunity to see what Alex MacDonald can do over a longer period of time, because Alex MacDonald came on as a substitute for Gillingham in our first pre-season friendly against Colchester United.

FIRST THIRTY MINUTES:

The first noteworthy moment of the match was Reading having a throw on right in-front of the dugout, And A Long Throw Down The Line See’s A Reading Player push Connor Ogilvie down to the ground and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick in there own half of the pitch - And also, just like I have had to do for The Colchester United Blog, I can only mention “Reading Players” for whoever is playing out on the pitch for Reading as there are no squad numbers on the back of The Reading Player’s Shirt’s, and there is also no team-sheet as a handy reference point either - and from the resulting free kick, Zech Medley kicks in a high and hanging ball which Reading were able to header partially clear and away from danger and Connor Ogilvie wins the initial fifty / fifty challenge and Robbie McKenzie headers the ball up into the air, and Stuart O’Keefe losses out on the next aerial challenge before Kyle Dempsey headers the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, who kicks the ball long the line towards John Akinde, who cannot get the ball under control and Reading were able to shield the ball out of play for a throw on in there own defensive final third.

Gillingham then were awarded a free kick as Jacob Mellis was dragged to the ground by A Reading Player and Gillingham have the chance to open the scoring from the resulting free kick, And from the resulting free kick, Kyle Dempsey whips in a high and hanging cross-field cross and Robbie McKenzie wins the initial aerial challenge to flick the ball on but Reading Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral Barbosa is able to gather the flick on from Robbie McKenzie with ease.

And from here, Rafael throws the ball short to The Reading Player at Left Back, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before whipping a cross-field cross to A Reading Player on the opposite side of the pitch, who gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to The Reading Player on the wing, who played a neat one / two and evades the sliding challenge from Stuart O’Keefe, But Kyle Dempsey manages to time his challenge to perfection and Connor Ogilvie gets on to the loose ball first and lays the ball off to Stuart O’Keefe, who manages to win a throw on for Gillingham in Gillingham’s Own Defensive Final Third, And Five Minutes Into The Match, A Reading Player times his challenge to perfection on Connor Ogilvie and the ball ricochets out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Connor Ogilvie hurls the ball long down the line and John Akinde is penalised for a foul on A Reading Defender and Reading have been awarded a defensive free kick in there own final third.

And from the resulting free kick, we are starting to see glimpse’s of Championship Superiority from Reading as the hosts move the ball about on both flanks as Reading look to stretch the play and Robbie McKenzie manages to intercept a loose ball and kick the ball long down-field, But this clearance is only a momentary reprieve for Gillingham, as Reading look to build from the back and move the ball to middle of midfield and through the third’s and retain possession of the ball as Gillingham look to retain there shape, and when the ball is moved out-wide to the left flank, A Reading Player passes the ball down the line to his team-mate, who uses his pace to take on Ryan Jackson and whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Robbie McKenzie makes the crucial interception before kicking the ball partially clear and away from danger at the second attempt, But the hosts have possession of the ball and within three passes, managed to switch possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch, And A Reading Player down the right flank tries to use his pace to take on Connor Ogilvie but manages to over-run the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From Here, Connor Ogilvie hurls the ball long down the line and Gillingham cannot retain possession of the ball, And Reading build from the back again with Rafael passing the ball out-wide to The Reading Left Back, and the hosts retain possession of the ball in there own half of the pitch before passing the ball back centrally, And The Reading Central Midfielder looks to pick out his striker with a long ball over the top, and even though Robbie McKenzie wins the initial aerial challenge, The Reading Striker should have been flagged for offside, but play continued and Reading were looking to make the breakthrough and Reading move the ball about very efficiently before clipping the ball out-wide to The Reading Player on the left wing, who gets the ball under control before passing the ball back-wards as Reading recycle possession before passing the ball out-wide to The Reading Player on the wing again, who tries to find his team-mate with a incisive pass down the line, But Kyle Dempsey is in the right place at the right time to make the important interception and clearance.

This is clearly going to be a match where Gillingham are not going to have much possession of the ball, Gillingham are also happy to let Reading have possession of the ball and we are looking to prevent Reading from finding space in and behind our back four, The level of off the ball running required from Gillingham to continue to make this match difficult for Reading is going to be challenging to say the least, It also has to be mentioned that Gillingham are not lining up with The 4-3-3 formation which worked so successfully against Colchester United in our previous Saturday Pre-Season Friendly - Which I personally think is going to be how Gillingham are looking to line up for The 2020 / 2021 Season.

Nine Minutes Into The Match And Alex MacDonald is penalised for a foul and Reading have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Reading pass the ball out-wide, and then back into a more central position before passing the ball forwards and The Reading Striker passes the ball back to Lucas Joao, who evades the challenges from Kyle Dempsey and Stuart O’Keefe before trying to chip Jack Bonham with a audacious effort which clears Jack Bonham, But this lofted effort from Joao also clears Gillingham’s Crossbar by some considerable distance - And yet, this is the first real effort on goal from either team inside the opening ten minutes of the match.

Eleven Minutes Into The Game, And Reading are penalised for a foul on John Akinde and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick on the halfway line, and from here, Zech Medley passes the ball square to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball back to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie passes the ball towards Zech Medley down the left side of the pitch, And Zech Medley kicks the ball long down-field, and The Reading Defender wins the aerial challenge up against John Akinde and Stuart O’Keefe manages to lay the ball off to Kyle Dempsey, who plays a cross-field cross pass to Ryan Jackson, who plays a one / two with Brandon Hanlan before playing a poor short pass inside to Kyle Dempsey, And Reading put Dempsey under pressure before winning the fifty / fifty challenge up against Ryan Jackson, And Reading break down there left side - Gillingham’s Right - and A Reading Player goes on a driving run down the left side of the pitch before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Bonham makes a comfortable save before quickly distributing the ball to Jacob Mellis, And Jacob Mellis is fouled by A Reading Player and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in there half of the pitch, And From Here, Jack Bonham tries to pick out Connor Ogilvie with a long ball down the line but Reading were able to header the ball partially clear and away from danger and scramble the ball clear before playing some neat one touch passing football to get the ball up towards the halfway line and Reading then proceed to move the ball very quickly out-wide to the left flank - Gillingham’s Right - and Reading whip in a long dangerous cross inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Robbie McKenzie reacts quickest to get to that ball first before passing the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, who quickly spins past The Reading Player on the halfway line and goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball, and Brandon Hanlan draws a foul from A Reading Player and winning Gillingham A Free Kick In Reading’s Half Of The Pitch - My one over-criticism here is the fact that Brandon Hanlan should have passed the ball quicker to John Akinde, But this is an over-criticism on my part here.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Kyle Dempsey kicks a high and hanging ball towards Connor Ogilvie, who wins the initial aerial challenge and John Akinde wins the second aerial challenge and A Reading Player stops the ball from going towards Jacob Mellis, and Alex MacDonald then wins the next fifty / fifty challenge and Reading get to the loose ball first and look to start a counter attack and Kyle Dempsey times his challenge to perfection and Jacob Mellis gets to the loose ball first and draws the foul from A Reading Player and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick - Very scrappy, but perhaps just what Gillingham need right about now, Because Reading are dominating possession of the ball, And from the resulting free kick in The Fourteenth Minute, Gillingham looked to try and open the scoring, Jacob Mellis hits a low driven effort towards goal which goes comfortably wide of Reading’s Far Left Post and Rafael was not required to make a save for the hosts.

And Reading opt to go short from the resulting goal-kick, and pressure from John Akinde, Jacob Mellis and Brandon Hanlan forces Reading to concede a very cheap throw on in there own half of the pitch, and from the resulting throw on, Connor Ogilvie throws the ball back to Zech Medley, who passes the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan turns out-wide and passes the ball short to Connor Ogilvie, who is waiting for support before passing the ball inside centrally to Kyle Dempsey, who’s pass out-wide to Ryan Jackson is not the best, And Ryan Jackson has no choice but to pass the ball all the way back to Jack Bonham, who kicks the ball long down-field and Reading manage to retain possession of the ball at the back before passing the ball through the middle and then out-wide down the left flank, And A Reading Player passes the ball down the line And A Reading Attacking Player is one on one with Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie times his challenge to perfection before managing to clear Gillingham’s Defensive Lines, And A Reading Defender wins the aerial challenge up against John Akinde and headers the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On - There just appears to be more incisive passing from Reading when it comes to moving the ball through the thirds into the attacking final third, Gillingham have struggled to get any attack’s going and we’re retaining possession of the ball more to give our players a rest-bite from all the defensive work we have had to do at this moment in time.

And from this throw on, Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and Brandon Hanlan manages to win Gillingham a throw on in Reading’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw, And Brandon Hanlan manages to header the ball towards goal which is routinely saved by Rafael, And The Reading Keeper quickly kicks the ball down the right side of the pitch and Kyle Dempsey is in the right place at the right time to kick the ball clear and out of play for A Reading Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Reading throw the ball short and retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back to there Centre Back, Who tries to pick out The Reading Right Winger with a long ball down the flank and Connor Ogilvie on the stretch has to header the ball out of play for A Reading Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Zech Medley manages to header the ball clear away from danger and Jacob Mellis puts A Reading Player under pressure and forces that Reading Player to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On.

And from the resulting throw on, Gillingham are looking to open the scoring, Connor Ogilvie throws the ball square to Robbie McKenzie, who passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson keeps possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Zech Medley, who passes the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie kicks the ball long down the line and pressure from Brandon Hanlan forces The Reading Defender to header the ball clear straight to Stuart O’Keefe, who gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to John Akinde, who manages to keep the ball in play, And John Akinde takes on A Reading Defender and works his way into a shooting position and John Akinde see’s his shot towards goal blocked, and the ball ricochets towards A Reading Player on the right wing and Connor Ogilvie is penalised for a foul and Reading have been awarded a free kick in there own half of the pitch.

Twenty Minutes Into The Match, Reading manage to win themselves a corner kick as Ryan Jackson times his challenge to perfection on A Reading Player who was working his way through down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And from the resulting corner kick, Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Lucas Joao manages to header the ball into the back of the net for Reading, and this is a really poor goal to concede, Jack Bonham came rushing off his goal-line and got no-where near the ball, and one of Ryan Jackson, John Akinde or Robbie McKenzie really should have done better to prevent Lucas Joao from heading the ball into the back of a unguarded net, And had Jack Bonham stayed on his goal-line, then he would have made a routine save.

But if going 1-0 down was bad enough, Reading managed to double there advantage straight from the kick off, Alex MacDonald passes the ball back to Robbie McKenzie, who kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde manages to win the aerial challenge to header the ball inside to Brandon Hanlan, who tries to turn a goal-scoring opportunity from nothing into something and Reading manage to clear there lines, And A Reading Player wins the aerial challenge up against Stuart O’Keefe, and Zech Medley And A Reading Player both miss the ball and Robbie McKenzie slides in to try and win the ball but Andy Rinomhota, who was breaking through from midfield, manages to hurdle that challenge and run through one on one And Andy Rinomhota continue’s his run inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area before accurately placing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net and there was nothing that Jack Bonham could have done about that, Did Connor Ogilvie slide tackle the ball past Jack Bonham into the back of the net for a unfortunate own goal ??? - Even if that was the case, both centre back’s were very high and Robbie McKenzie had to do way better with that slide tackle on the halfway line, And Now Reading are 2-0 up and you can only see the hosts continuing to add to that score-line throughout the rest of this match, Now of course, the result is not the be and end all because this is a pre-season friendly, But we are looking at the players performance levels, how Gillingham could potentially line up during the season, which players are going to cement themselves a spot in the starting line up, and of course, there could be more additions to the squad signed before the start of the season as well.

And from the restart, Alex MacDonald passes the ball back to Robbie McKenzie, who takes a touch to kick the ball long down-field to John Akinde and A Reading Defender manages to header the ball clear and away from danger and Stuart O’Keefe manages to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And from the resulting throw on, Connor Ogilvie hurls a long ball down the line and John Akinde wins the aerial challenge to header the ball inside Reading’s Penalty Area and Rafael comes rushing off his line to dive on to the loose ball just before Alex MacDonald can get there first, and there was a accidental knock from Alex MacDonald on Rafael And The Reading Goalkeeper is down injured and requires treatment, and this stoppage in play allows Steve Evans and Paul Raynor to rely any tactical instructions to the players on the pitch, Rafael was OK to continue playing for Reading and the match can resume.

In The Twenty Fifth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham were then awarded a free kick in our half of the pitch as A Reading Player had fouled Jacob Mellis, and from the resulting free kick, Zech Medley manages to pick out Brandon Hanlan with a long pass down the left flank, And Brandon Hanlan manages to get the ball under control before retaining possession of the ball and passing the ball back to Zech Medley, And Zech Medley takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forwards to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball back to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, who passes the ball back to Jack Bonham, And Jack Bonham passes the ball out-wide to Zech Medley, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before kicking the ball long down the left flank and Connor Ogilvie and A Reading Defender were chasing the loose ball right into the far corner, And Connor Ogilvie was penalised for pushing The Reading Defender down to the deck, And Reading were awarded a defensive free kick.

Twenty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Robbie McKenzie is in the right place at the right time to kick the ball clear and out of touch for A Reading Throw On In Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Reading work the throw short before going back out-wide again, And The Reading Player on the right wing see’s his attempted cross hit Connor Ogilvie and deflect out of play for A Reading Corner Kick, And Connor Ogilvie hurt himself blocking that cross and is down injured requiring treatment and there is a stoppage in play, Thankfully, Connor Ogilvie was OK to continue playing, But he had to go off the pitch and Gillingham were down to ten men defending this corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Zech Medley manages to header the ball partially clear and away from danger, But A Reading Player manages to get to the loose ball first ahead of Brandon Hanlan and hook a dangerous over-head volley back into Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Jack Bonham makes a routine save.

But Gillingham just cannot catch a break and they cannot get out of there own half of the pitch, Because Stuart O’Keefe is penalised for handball from Zech Medley’s Pass down the line, and from here, both teams are heading and booting the ball into each other’s halves of the pitch, And Reading get the ball under control in there own half before playing some excellent one and two touch pass and move football to move between the lines, and the ball is then clipped down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - And Reading get the ball under control, work themselves into a shooting position and a fiercely driven shot is brilliantly booked by Alex MacDonald, and Ryan Jackson and Kyle Dempsey between the two of them manage to clear the ball away from danger, But there is no rest-bite for The Gills, Reading are building the second phase of there attack from the back and moving the ball down the left side of the pitch before whipping a cross-field cross pass to the opposite flank, and Connor Ogilvie can only header the ball partially clear and away from danger, But Reading are on to the loose ball and move the ball about very nicely before threading a through-ball through to a third man runner who makes the run in and behind Gillingham’s Defence down the left side of our penalty area, and fortunately from A Gillingham Point Of View, The Reading Player cannot keep the ball in play and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

THIRTY MINUTES:

There is a clear difference in quality, which is understandable given that Reading are A Championship Club and Gillingham are in League One, But I think the diamond midfield is showing weaknesses down the flanks which are getting exploited, Jacob Mellis is not comfortable as a number ten, and playing Jacob Mellis in this position is forcing John Akinde out-wide when we want Akinde to be in the middle, Kyle Dempsey and Alex MacDonald are given there first opportunity to start for Gillingham in a match in a pre-season that we can watch live, and we cannot judge either player on this performance, Because Reading have been exceptional in this match, It’s just infuriating that both goals conceded are goals conceded which were preventable.

I am not excepting a change in formation for the next thirty minutes, But perhaps one thing that will change is Gillingham just retaining possession of the ball for longer, the long balls to Brandon Hanlan and John Akinde have been easy for Reading to cope with, and Gillingham have got to ask questions of Reading defensively, can we get in and behind there back four and put Reading on the back-foot ???

SECOND THIRTY MINUTES:

And when the match resumed, Gillingham had a throw on down the right side of the pitch, And Ryan Jackson hurls a long throw down the line and John Akinde flicks the ball on towards Brandon Hanlan, who was flagged by The Linesman for receiving the ball in a offside position and Reading have been awarded a free kick in there own defensive final third, and from the resulting free kick, Reading pass the ball back to Rafael, who passes the ball short to A Centre Back who was allowed to run up towards the halfway line unchallenged before passing the ball down the left side of the pitch, And Reading have to pass the ball backwards because of Gillingham pressure on the ball, and Reading move the ball about in there own final third and Brandon Hanlan times his challenge to perfection on A Reading Defender and the ball ricochets back to Alex MacDonald, who tries to pick out John Akinde with a first time pass but A Reading Defender manages to make a crucial interception and Kyle Dempsey is first to the loose ball and skilfully manages to evade two challenges before passing the ball out-wide to Brandon Hanlan, who tries to go round the outside and run towards the byline, But The Reading Defender times his challenge to perfection and Gillingham have been awarded a throw on in Reading’s Final Third.

And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and somehow the ball goes all the way through Reading’s Penalty Area with neither players on either team getting  a telling connection on the ball and Reading pass the ball to there winger down the right side of the pitch, who plays a one touch pass inside to A Reading Player In Central Midfield, who takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to kick the ball long down-field and although Robbie McKenzie wins the initial aerial challenge, Reading get the second ball under control and Robbie McKenzie is then penalised for pulling A Reading Player back right on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Reading have been awarded a free kick within shooting territory here, And from the resulting free kick, Reading almost extended the score-line to 3-0, John Swift hits a curling effort over the wall and Jack Bonham tips the ball on to the top of the crossbar and the ball diverts out of play for A Reading Corner Kick - That was a magnificent save from Jack Bonham to keep Gillingham in this match, and a save that more then makes up for the error Jack Bonham made for Reading’s Opening Goal - And from the resulting corner kick, Reading came close to scoring again, Reading opt to go for a short corner kick routine, work the ball out-wide and A Reading Player then works his way into a crossing position and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post which is headed across towards the far post and Reading manage to keep the ball in play before passing the ball back towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Reading then retain possession of the ball and pass the ball down the right side of the pitch, And A Reading Player then whips in a high and hanging cross towards the far left side inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and there is a potential mix up between Jack Bonham and Connor Ogilvie and Jack Bonham punches the ball partially clear and the follow up effort from Reading is then blocked and cleared by Robbie McKenzie.

Thirty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to half the deficit, Gillingham have a throw on down the right side of the pitch, And Ryan Jackson throws the ball short to Alex MacDonald, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball inside to Kyle Dempsey, who’s pass towards Jacob Mellis is cut out by A Reading Player but the ball ricochets towards Brandon Hanlan, who retains possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Alex MacDonald, who passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson passes the ball inside to Jacob Mellis on the edge of Reading’s Penalty Area, And Jacob Mellis plays a first time through-ball through to John Akinde, And John Akinde runs towards the byline and pulls the ball across the six yard box and Connor Ogilvie slides in and would have scored had A Reading Defender not made the all important block, and John Akinde is on to the second ball, But Reading get several players around John Akinde and scramble the ball clear and Reading move the ball forwards very quickly and move the ball down the right, then back in the centre and back towards the left, And Reading then move the ball into the final third and one of there attacking players is one on one with Robbie McKenzie, And Gillingham’s Latest New Signing manages to time his challenge to perfection and kick the ball clear into Reading’s Half Of The Pitch.

But that clearance from Robbie McKenzie is only a temporary reprieve, Because Reading still have possession of the ball, they are moving the ball around backwards and sideways and Gillingham either cannot close Reading Down, or, more realistically, Gillingham are trying to hold shape and be compact to prevent Reading from carving us open time after time, And Reading are now moving the ball about with quality, and when Jacob Mellis does in-fact regain possession and pass the ball out-wide to Brandon Hanlan, Reading get two players surrounding Brandon Hanlan, regain possession of the ball and they are on the attack down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Reading are on the attack yet again and Zech Medley kicks the ball into touch at the expense of conceding a throw on - anywhere will do as far as Gillingham are concerned.

Thirty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Reading had the chance to go 3-0 up, Reading are dominating possession of the ball and John Swift is allowed to go on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball, cut inside and whip a curling effort wide of Jack Bonham’s Far Right Post and Jack Bonham is not required to make a save, But we’re just inviting pressure on to our own goal by standing off Reading at the moment, Of course, the result is not the main importance because Reading V Gillingham is a pre-season friendly, But we have to find a way to close the gap in quality, However, in the next attacking opportunity, Reading really should have gone 3-0 up, Again, Reading are on the front-foot and moving the ball through the thirds and then the ball is moved to the left flank, And Omar Richards uses his pace to take on Ryan Jackson and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Felipe Araruna manages to divert the ball goal-wards and Jack Bonham manages to claw the ball around the post and out of play for A Reading Corner Kick, And again, another save from Jack Bonham to keep Gillingham in this match, and from the resulting corner kick, Reading pass the ball short before moving the ball out-wide to the right flank and A Reading Player which is a dangerous in-swinging cross which Zech Medley partially clears away from danger, But Reading have possession of the ball again and move the ball from left to right, and another in-swinging cross from the same side of the pitch is partially cleared by Ryan Jackson and Gillingham just cannot gain possession of the ball as the hosts are moving the ball around quickly and with quality, and eventually, Robbie McKenzie manages to intercept the ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area - although I have to admit that I did genuinely believe that The Referee was going to award Reading A Penalty Kick.

Forty Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham are awarded a free kick for a foul on John Akinde, and this free kick gives Gillingham the opportunity to have a much needed breather and see if we can cause Reading problems defensively, and from the resulting free kick, Jack Bonham tries to pick out John Akinde with a long kick down-field and the ball is slightly over-hit and runs all the way through to Rafael, who rolls the ball out-wide to Reading’s Left Back, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before picking out his team mate with a diagonal cross-field cross pass and Reading retain possession of the ball around there back four before quickly passing the ball down the right flank of the pitch, And The Reading Right Winger plays a one / two twice in quick succession with the same team-mate before passing the ball out-wide, And Reading pass the ball down the line, and then pass the ball down the line again to the third man runner, who see’s his first time low cross blocked by Connor Ogilvie and Stuart O’Keefe stops the ball deflecting behind for a corner kick by booting the ball down-field.

And In The Forty Second Minute Of The Match, Reading are looking to extend the score-line further into there favour, Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross from the right side of the pitch which is whipped right across the six yard box and no-one can make a telling connection on the ball and Ryan Jackson manages to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Connor Ogilvie then wins Gillingham a free kick in Reading’s Half Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Kyle Dempsey passes the ball short to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson almost losses possession of the ball but manages to regain possession and pass the ball square to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball square to Stuart O’Keefe, And Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, who plays a first time pass down the line towards Brandon Hanlan and The Reading Defender had no choice but to kick the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Reading manage to clear the ball towards the edge of there own penalty area and Kyle Dempsey takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie kicks the ball against A Reading Player to win another throw on for The Gills, And From The Second Throw On, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw towards John Akinde and A Reading Player had knocked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, But surprisingly a goal-kick to Reading was awarded instead.

The next passage of play see’s Reading whip in a low cross towards the near post and Alex MacDonald and Robbie McKenzie desperately blocked the cross, still, Reading had possession of the ball and moved the ball out-wide to the left flank, And A Reading Player is twisting and turning and running towards Gillingham’s Penalty Area before playing a pass to a runner on the out-side, who fires in a dangerous first time cross which took a huge deflection off Ryan Jackson and Jack Bonham was able to gather the ball, all be it with some difficulty, But Gillingham are still under the cosh defensively, we have shown some sign’s of improvement compared to the first thirty minutes, But Reading look very much like they are the team who are going to add more goals to the score-line.

Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde manages to win the aerial battle to flick the ball on towards Brandon Hanlan, But A Reading Defender manages to header the ball back to Rafael, However, In The Forty Eighth Minute, Gillingham are under the cosh down the right side of our defence and Ryan Jackson plays the ball inside to Robbie McKenzie inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Robbie McKenzie boots the ball long down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, And A Reading Player inadvertently knocked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, But despite this being Gillingham’s Throw On, It’s the hosts who are looking to extend the score-line further in there favour, Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and John Akinde wins the initial flick on to Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan passes the ball back to Stuart O’Keefe, who passes the ball square to Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a high and hanging ball towards the edge of Reading’s Penalty Area, And John Akinde almost manages to pick out Jacob Mellis with a aerial flick on, But Reading managed to clear there lines and Reading retain possession amongst there back four before kicking the ball long down-field, and although Reading’s Striker wins the aerial challenge up against Robbie McKenzie, the ball runs all the way through to Jack Bonham, who makes a comfortable save.

In The Fiftieth Minute, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Reading can only get the ball partially clear as Jacob Mellis manages to get on to the loose ball, And Jacob Mellis runs down the right flank in possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball back to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson passes the ball back out-wide to Alex MacDonald, who almost manages to pick out John Akinde with a dangerous in-swinging cross which is just to high for John Akinde to header on target and the ball runs out of play for A Reading Throw On.

And it is from this throw on where Gillingham are awarded a penalty kick, Reading throw the ball short and Jacob Mellis manages to nip in there and intercept the ball from The Reading Midfielder and the ball ricochets towards John Akinde, And John Akinde spins and runs with pace inside Reading’s Penalty Area and John Akinde is knocked to the ground and The Referee awards Gillingham A Penalty Kick straight away - The Penalty looked generous at best in Gillingham’s Favour - but this is a vital opportunity for Gillingham to half the deficit, and John Akinde steps up to take the penalty and John Akinde places the ball into the bottom left corner of the net and Rafael dives to the opposite side of the goal, great composure from John Akinde to score from the penalty spot for The Gills, and at 2-1, Gillingham are back in this match - Also, this is now two goals in two pre-season matches for John Akinde, and it is very important for Gillingham to get John Akinde into goal-scoring form before the start of The 2020 / 2021 Season.

Fifty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Connor Ogilvie times his challenge to perfection on Reading’s Right Winger and knocks the ball out of play for A Reading Throw On, Reading throw the ball short to one of there players in midfield, who runs into a central position in possession of the ball before passing the ball back, And The Reading Midfielder passes the ball forwards to one of the hosts attacking players, who passes the ball out-wide and Reading work the ball down the right flank and work the ball back towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And a dangerous in-swinging cross is partially cleared by Kyle Dempsey, And Reading manage to get to the second ball and build the second phase of there attack by moving the ball quickly through the thirds and passing the ball about quickly and incisively and moving the ball back down towards the right side of the pitch, And Reading whip in a low dangerous cross and Zech Medley manages to make a vital block and the ball loops up into the air and Jack Bonham was able to save the loose ball.

Fifty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Kyle Dempsey mis-timed a challenge and Reading thought that they should have been awarded a free kick but no free kick for Reading was given by The Referee, The next passage of play see’s Jacob Mellis do his defensive work from the front to prevent Reading from building from the back and divert the ball out of play for A Reading Throw On, And from the resulting throw on, Reading are looking to re-establish there two goal lead, Reading throw the ball down the line, and A Reading Player wins the initial aerial challenge and Ryan Jackson wins the second aerial challenge And Reading’s Centre Back kicks the ball long down-field first time and Zech Medley misses the loose ball and Connor Ogilvie was in the right place at the right time to header the ball back to Jack Bonham.

Fifty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Reading are on the front-foot and Reading try and pick out there left winger with a long ball over the top down the left side of the pitch inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Ryan Jackson had to make up the yards and on the stretch kick the ball clear and out of play for A Reading Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Reading are penalised for a foul on Zech Medley and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick which relieves some of the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal.

And from the resulting free kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and although John Akinde wins the initial aerial challenge, Reading manage to clear the ball towards the halfway line, and Robbie McKenzie and Stuart O’Keefe between the two of them manage to intercept the ball, however, the loose ball ricochets towards A Reading Player who breaks forwards in possession of the ball, And Reading are looking to create another goal-scoring opportunity, But Zech Medley manages to time his challenge to perfection and kick the ball long down-field and Brandon Hanlan flicks the ball on, but it is a comfortable save for Rafael to make, And from here, Reading almost scored to make the score-line 3-1, Rafael passes the ball short to Reading’s Centre Back and Reading then move the ball into central midfield and The Reading Midfielder runs forwards up to the halfway line before passing the ball square to A Reading Player on the left wing, And Reading keep the ball moving patiently waiting for a opening to open up, and Reading then switch the ball to the opposite flank and try and open up Gillingham down our left side and Reading play some excellent one touch passing to create a goal-scoring opportunity for Liam Moore, who had run behind Gillingham’s Defence as a third man runner, And Liam Moore’s cross / shot was saved by Jack Bonham but parried back into the danger zone inside the six yard box and Robbie McKenzie manages to pass the ball forwards to Jacob Mellis, who plays a first time pass forwards to John Akinde, who passes the ball back to Jacob Mellis, And Jacob Mellis passes the ball out-wide to Stuart O’Keefe, who turns back on himself and passes the ball back to Connor Ogilvie, who boots the ball into Reading’s Half Of The Pitch.

And the last two noteworthy moments of the second thirty minutes see’s Reading try and pick out there left winger with a diagonal cross-field cross pass which Ryan Jackson manages to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, and the final noteworthy moment see’s Reading create an attacking opportunity down there right hand side of the pitch, And Reading whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Ryan Jackson headers the ball back to Jack Bonham, And we are now sixty minutes into the match, and therefore, this is the second stoppage of the game.

SIXTY MINUTES:

John Akinde has scored to half the deficit to 2-1 and in-terms of the score-line, things have improved for Gillingham and we have made an improvement when you compare the second thirty minutes to the opening thirty minutes, But Jack Bonham has made at least three saves in this thirty minute period and Reading have dominated possession of the ball and they have been on the front-foot, John Akinde created a chance for Gillingham which I thought Connor Ogilvie was going to stick into the back of the net, and we’re putting in a real shift to stop Reading from turning this match into a 4-1 / 5-1 score-line.

The defensive partnership of Robbie McKenzie and Zech Medley is showing sign’s of inexperience, and even if Jack Tucker starts alongside Zech Medley, the centre back pairing is very young and we are missing the experience of Barry Fuller and Max Ehmer, So I would not be at all surprised to see a more experienced centre back signed to strengthen the defence, whether that will be a senior first choice centre back to play alongside Jack Tucker, or, someone to come in as understudy to Jack Tucker and Zech Medley, only time will tell.

Gillingham have made changes for the final thirty minutes of this match, With Jack Tucker, Jordan Graham and Vadaine Oliver coming on to replace Alex MacDonald, Robbie McKenzie and Jacob Mellis, So Gillingham will be lining up with a 4-4-2 formation for the final thirty minutes with Brandon Hanlan and Jordan Graham playing out-wide, Stuart O’Keefe and Kyle Dempsey in central midfield, And Vadaine Oliver playing alongside John Akinde in attack - It was always likely that Gillingham would make substitutions around the hour mark, and the change in formation should help Gillingham, as we try something different to cause Reading problems defensively, Reading have also made changes for the final thirty minutes of the match as well.

FINAL THIRTY MINUTES:

And when play resumes, Zech Medley is penalised for a foul and Reading have been awarded a free kick - And I have got to say that the free kick awarded in Reading’s Favour was very soft to say the least - And from the resulting free kick, Reading whipping in a in-swinging cross towards the back-stick which is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Robbie McKenzie manages to pick out Jordan Graham with a cross-field diagonal pass and Jordan Graham not only manages to keep the ball in play but he forces A Reading Defender to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Vadaine Oliver manages to win the aerial challenge to flick the ball on and Rafael makes a comfortable save for Reading.

Kyle Dempsey is then penalised for a foul and Reading have been awarded a free kick in there own half of the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Reading are quick to pass the ball down the left side of the pitch before passing the ball down the line, And The Reading Left Winger clips in a high and hanging ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Jack Bonham was able to gather the ball with ease, and from here, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver wins the initial aerial challenge and Stuart O’Keefe then wins the two next aerial challenges and Reading can only half clear there lines back to Stuart O’Keefe, who passes the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, who runs down the left flank in possession of the ball before whipping in a high and hanging cross and Reading managed to clear there defensive lines and Zech Medley passes the ball back to Jack Bonham, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball short to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie kicks a diagonal cross-field ball towards Connor Ogilvie and Connor Ogilvie manages to win the aerial challenge and header the ball on towards John Akinde, And A Reading Defender had no choice but to header the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, and from the resulting throw on, Connor Ogilvie throws the ball short to Vadaine Oliver, who’s pass back to Connor Ogilvie was woefully under-hit and A Reading Player times his sliding tackle on Connor Ogilvie to perfection and knocks the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Connor Ogilvie throws the ball short to Jordan Graham, who gets the ball under control and runs towards the byline and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Reading scramble the ball half clear before eventually clearing there defensive lines.

Sixty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Stuart O’Keefe is penalised for a foul, and from the resulting free kick, Reading almost extended there lead to 3-1, Reading are quick to move the ball around in attempt to thread the ball in and behind Gillingham’s Defence, But Ryan Jackson manages to boot the ball partially clear and away from danger, and Reading retain possession of the ball on the halfway line and Morro has possession of the ball for the hosts and goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball before threading through the perfect through-ball through to George Pușcaș, Who rounds the advancing Jack Bonham and George Puscas’s shot hits the side netting - And that was the chance for Reading to re-establish there two goal lead again.

Jordan Graham is then penalised for a foul on A Reading Player in Reading’s Half Of The Pitch, And In The Sixty Ninth Minute, Zech Medley manages to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a long diagonal cross-field pass and although Vadaine Oliver manages to keep the ball in play and skilfully evade the challenge from The Reading Player, the loose ball runs all the way through to Rafael in The Reading Goal, And a minute later, Reading were on the front-foot again and looking to grab themselves a third goal, Reading move the ball down the right flank, before switching the ball towards the left flank, And Reading work the ball towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area before clipping a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick which runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Seventy Three Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham times his challenge to perfection at the expense of knocking the ball out of play for A Reading Throw On, and it is from this throw where Reading almost scored again, Reading throw the ball short and work the ball towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Holsgrove clips a lofted through-ball through to Baldock, who hits a fiercely driven volley goal-wards and Jack Bonham makes a magnificent one on one save and Jack Tucker clears Gillingham’s Defensive Lines and Gillingham are still in this match at 2-1 down, 3-1 and Reading would have surely won this match, and granted, the score-line is not important, But Gillingham can still pull themselves back on to level terms all the while the score-line is still 2-1.

Jordan Graham then wins Gillingham a throw on down the left side of the pitch in Reading’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw towards Vadaine Oliver, and Vadaine Oliver cannot make a telling connection on the ball and the ball goes out of play for A Reading Goal-Kick, The next passage of play see’s Connor Ogilvie time his challenge to perfection on A Reading Player and Connor Ogilvie then runs forward in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards to Vadaine Oliver, who plays a first time pass back to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham passes the ball forwards to Vadaine Oliver, who tries to pick out John Akinde with an attempted through-ball, which is cut out, and from here, Reading look to turn defence into attack as Reading pass the ball forwards down the right side of the pitch, And The Reading Right Winger plays a first time through-ball through to there striker, who is one on one with Jack Bonham, And The Reading Striker fires a first time shot well over Gillingham’s Crossbar and Jack Bonham was not required to make a save - Had that gone in then Reading surely would have won this pre-season friendly against The Gills.

Henry Woods has come on to replace Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan has got another Seventy Five Minutes under his belt and we should hear some news regarding Brandon Hanlan’s contract situation very soon, and as for Henry Woods coming on as a substitute ahead of Matty Willock, you do wonder if Henry Woods is knocking on the door to make more appearances for Gillingham’s First Team for this coming season ???

And once play resumed, Reading had the chance to go 3-1 up in the next attacking opportunity, Reading’s Central Midfielder runs forwards in possession of the ball and is fortunate that the challenge from Kyle Dempsey see’s the ball ricochet back in his favour again, And The Reading Central Midfielder passes the ball out-wide to the winger on the right flank, who whips in a low dangerous curling cross which flashes across the six yard box and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Had Reading had a player who got on the end of that cross, then Reading would have scored.

Seventy Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Zech Medley times his sliding challenge to perfection and knocks the ball out of play for A Reading Throw On as Reading look to hit Gillingham on the counter attack from Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw, and it is from this throw where Gillingham almost equalised, Reading are dominating position of the ball and they are looking to kill this match off with there third goal of the game, But John Akinde intercepts the ball in Gillingham’s Defensive Final Third, And John Akinde runs forwards in possession of the ball before eventually losing possession of the ball on the halfway line, But Stuart O’Keefe gets to the loose ball in midfield and passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson passes the ball square centrally to Henry Woods, who plays a one / two with Ryan Jackson before passing the ball forwards to Vadaine Oliver, who passes the ball back to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson passes the ball square to Henry Woods, who passes the ball towards Zech Medley, And Zech Medley fires in a fiercely driven pass towards Connor Ogilvie who gets past his marker with his first touch and Connor Ogilvie smashes the ball goal-wards with his second touch and Rafael makes an excellent save and Vadaine Oliver’s follow up effort flashes across the face of goal and goes out of play for A Reading Throw On - And that was the chance for Gillingham to equalise.

Eighty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham wins Gillingham a free kick in Reading’s Defensive Final Third Down The Left Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Jordan Graham whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed partially clear and away from goal and Ryan Jackson gets the ball under control before passing the ball back to Henry Woods on the halfway line, And Henry Woods kicks a high and hanging ball towards Jack Tucker down the right side of the pitch, And Jack Tucker’s up and under cross looked liked it had been catched by Rafael behind Reading’s Goal-Line - AND DID THE BALL CROSS THE GOAL-LINE!!!! - That decision looked controversial to say the least.

Eighty Eight Minutes Into the Match, And Jordan Graham tries to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick which was over-hit and runs out of play for A Reading Goal-Kick, And In The Eighty Ninth Minute, Jack Tucker manages to header a dangerous in-swinging cross clear and away from danger and Connor Ogilvie wins the second aerial challenge and Reading are penalised for a foul on Jordan Graham in Gillingham’s Own Defensive Final Third, And that free kick was the final noteworthy moment of the match and the full time score at The Madejski Stadium Is Reading 2-1 Gillingham.

FULL TIME: READING 2-1 GILLINGHAM

I don’t think there can be any complaints about who deserved to win, Because had it not been for the number of saves that Jack Bonham made throughout this match then Reading could have quite easily won this match 5-1, Yes, Jack Bonham made a dreadful error for the opening goal, but his performance between the sticks from then onwards was exceptional, 2-1 does flatter Gillingham and we have been shown just how big a skill gap there is between A Reading Side who ended mid-table in The Championship and A Gillingham Team who finished tenth in League One Last Season.

Reading’s passing and movement was on a completely different level and they were creating goal-scoring opportunities for fun and The Diamond Midfield Formation, which proved to be the cornerstone of Gillingham’s Success Last Season, It just did not work against Reading, mostly because Reading are a quality Championship Side, But also, Gillingham do not have Barry Fuller, Max Ehmer, Alfie Jones, Tom O’Connor or Olly Lee, players who made that formation worked so successfully, there has been a huge turnover in players and it would not be fair to make any quick judgements on Alex MacDonald, Kyle Dempsey or Robbie McKenzie, or any player who started against Reading, this is a pre-season like no other where Gillingham have not played competitive first team football since March and we have to get ourselves up to speed for the new season very quickly.

If we’re looking for positives then John Akinde scoring is a positive, two goals in two games for John Akinde and I think Akinde can play a pivotal role for Gillingham for The 2020 / 2021 Season, I thought Gillingham grew into the game in the latter two thirds, even though we were second best in-terms of possession and we were mostly on the back-foot, Connor Ogilvie came close to scoring and we truly have got a remarkable goalkeeper in Jack Bonham.

But as for the diamond midfield formation, I don’t see this formation being how Gillingham will line up for The 2020 / 2021 Season, I think we will want John Akinde to play as the central striker with Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver, Brandon Hanlan, Trae Coyle and Alex MacDonald as our options to play in the wide positions in what will be A 4-3-3 Formation for The Gills, Clearly we are going to need plenty of reinforcements before the season starts and I am not ruling out Gillingham signing three, four or even five new signings before the season starts, And perhaps the defeat against Reading can be used as a reality check and a level of realisation that improvements to the squad are going to be needed if Gillingham are going to replicate what we managed to achieve during The 2019 / 2020 Season.

Now, We found out on Saturday Night From Steve Evans himself that Matty Willock and Trae Coyle were being rested, hence why Gillingham only made four substitutions against Reading and giving the majority of our squad ninety minutes of competitive first team football is only going to be beneficial in the long run, But with pre-season friendlies being named as late as possible, Gillingham playing matches against Tonbridge Angels and Chatham Town behind closed doors for our academy teams, then I would not be at all surprised to see Gillingham squeeze in as many friendlies as possible and the squad could be split in two so that everyone gets ninety minutes of first team football, this is very much going to be a pre-season schedule like no other and matches are getting announced as late as possible as well to ensure that supporters do not travel to the game.

The defeat against Reading was fully deserved, no question about that, But Gillingham kept the score-line respectable, players got more minutes under there belts, John Akinde got himself on the score-sheet and the defeat can be a much needed reality check to make us as supporters realise that the squad still needs more additions before the start of the season, And finally, credit must go to Reading for streaming the match live on there YouTube Channel, There was some lagging at times, but the stream worked very well and it was good to watch Reading V Gillingham Live as well, It is just such a shame that Reading didn’t have a team-sheet for the match against Gillingham and it was pure guesswork trying to find out who was playing for Reading, which is why I have listed “Reading Player” for when the hosts were in possession of the ball because we had no idea who was playing for Reading other then when the goal-scorers were listed on Reading’s Official Twitter Account, And Finally, Gillingham do have a friendly announced against unknown opposition next and we should find out who Gillingham will be playing against very soon - (And this pre-season friendly turned out to be Gillingham V Cambridge United) - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm gonna have to do this in two parts because I have spent WAY too much time and effort rewriting Arrow. Also, get some popcorn and a glass of wine or something, because this is gonna be A Post. The Queen family stays the same. Thea came before Emiko so she would probably still be Thea. Unless we don't care about the timeline of reality, in which case Oliver would grow up thinking he was an only child only to find out Emiko exists during the five years he's gone. Maybe he meets her in the season three flashbacks and she stays with him for a few years, but doesn't want to go back to SC with him because that's not her world. Maybe she eventually joins him in SC in like season four. Tommy is still around. Colin can stay for the first season. I don't care enough to change his story. Malcolm has an age appropriate actor who is not Barrowman. And Malcolm would fucking stay dead at the end of season one. Diggle stays the same. Diggle/Felicity is probably a thing. Felicity is played by a Jewish actress and has more arcs that directly tie into her being Jewish (maybe she practices more, maybe she doesn't. But she would speak Hebrew more often and at least acknowledge holidays other than Channukah and maybe have an episode where she deals with antisemitism). Or, if getting the characters I want isn't a problem, instead of Felicity we have Babs but she's Jewish and maybe played by a disabled Jewish woman of color. Roy would be played by a Native American, if possible. The entire lance family are probably PoC. Not sure what race though. Maybe some form of Asian (not Japanese) since Gail Simone was so obsessed with Dinah having Dragon Lady characters in Birds of Prey. Maybe black so the name Black Canary looks less dumb. Maybe DLL is biracial so Oliver and Dinah could eventually have Connor without taking his heritage away. Idk. I would base it off of whoever is casted for Dinah, and the actress having a martial arts background would be super important. Dinah Drake would not be a shitty parent. She can be some famous florist or something, and that's how the Lance Family knows the Queens so well and how they can afford to send their kids to the same school as the Queens and Merylns. She would go by Drake or Dee or something else to distinguish her from her DLL. I would not have Sara (I know, I know. Hear me out) and Laurel. There would be Dinah, who would not resemble Laurel or KC in the slightest, and her adopted sister, Shado. Shado was the child of a Yakuza crime lord who faked his death and left his daughter behind so she could have a better life. Since Kurt Lance (because I hate the name Larry) worked the case, he and DD got close and just decided to take Shado in. I'm not sure how old she would be, but I'm thinking it would be a Barry-Iris type of situation with Dinah and Shado. Shado has always known she's adopted and that her parents were criminals. Still, I think she would have wanted to be a cop like Kurt. Dinah and Oliver weren't together before the Gambit (it just makes it so hard to ship them if they were together when he ran away). They kissed once and that freaked Oliver out so he ran away with Shado who always had a crush on him. Maybe he was getting close to Shado when he kissed Dinah. Dinah almost tells Shado she kissed Oliver, but sees how happy Shado is with him and so Dinah doesn't tell her. (Later blames herself because if she had then Shado may not have gone off with Oliver and she would still be alive.) The Gambit sinks. Dinah drops out of law school or the police academy and works with her mom in her store, much to the disappointment of Kurt. Dinah and Shado always had self-defense and martial arts lessons growing up, but Dinah starts using it to channel her grief after she loses Shado and Oliver. Oliver gets saved by Shado's father (who is not Chinese and Yao Fei because Shado is Japanese). Her father sticks around until part way through season two. He and Shado get their reunion and he dies to protect her. This would be paralleled with Shado coming back to SC in an episode called Yakuza or a play on it. After the Amazo sinks, Shado gets picked up by the Yakuza. So she has to make the choice to to die, or survive by turning her back on Kurt and joining the organization he hates. She chooses to live. I have no idea how the Slade storyline would play out. But I'm sure there's a comic book story that could be adapted that wouldn't require fridging. When Oliver comes back to the League, Dinah is icy to him (because the Lance Family saved Shado and gave her life and she feels like Oliver effectively killed her). Dinah and Tommy can still be a thing. But I probably wouldn't have that breakup at the end of season one. They would still be together when he dies at the end of season one. (Kind of like DD having to deal with Kurt Lance dying in New 52.) Dinah's hesitancy to be with Tommy would actually have less to do with Oliver and more to do with her being a vigilante. No one knows and the show doesn't immediately reveal it. There would be little hints about it (a newspaper article in the background, some kids talking about being saved, etc. It would get progressively more noticeable as the season went on). Dinah would say she's always busy because of business, but, really, she has people to do that stuff for her. Oliver doesn't notice this vigilante because he's so caught up with the top 1% on his dad's list that he doesn't notice a woman in black running around and saving people in the Glades. She would be called the Canary, because that was the pet Dinah and Shado raised together. (Maybe as a nod to the legacy mantle, DD would be the one who got them the canary.) Maybe one of the later Helena episodes, where she comes back, would have Oliver noticing the Canary for the first time. That episode would end with Dinah going back to her hide out and taking off her mask and wig, and revealing who she is to the audience. The project Dinah is working on all season is opening a shop in the Glades. Not like how Oliver opened Verdant and it's limited to rich people getting in. Dinah wants to open a flower shop that's affordable for the people there and provide more jobs for them. In the last episode of season one, it gets caught in the earthquakes and gets destroyed. Tommy goes there to save Dinah, not realizing that she's out in the streets saving people as the Canary. He gets caught in something and gets trapped, and that's how Oliver finds him. And that's how Dinah finds Oliver and Tommy, and their identities are revealed to each other. This would be paralleled with Oliver finding out that Shado is alive on the Amazo. After Oliver leaves at the end of season one, Dinah pseudo-works with Diggle and Felicity/Babs. But it's hard because Dinah closes herself off from grieving Tommy's death because Oliver left and she has to clean up the mess and if she stops and grieves the city will fall apart. When Oliver comes back, things are tense and awkward between him and Dinah, because, well, everything that happened with Tommy and with Oliver leaving. And she still doesn't know the story about what happened to Shado on the island, so she never quite forgives him for killing the sister her family saved. The tension would only get worse when Shado comes back and tells Oliver that he can't tell Dinah about her because Shado doesn't want her family to know that she went back to the Yakuza. Not only would Shado have the same grief Sara would about her family knowing about the League, but it would be even worse because their family has a history with the Yakuza. But Dinah knows something is wrong and she has all this pent up anger and pain and she is channeling that into figuring out what is going on. When they realize Dinah is going to figure it out soon, Shado goes to her the way Sara went to Quentin. Shado leaves SC after Dinah helps her fight off some members of the Yakuza. Dinah, finally getting closure on Shado, lets herself grieve Tommy. And only then does she realize that Oliver hid the truth about Shado because it's what Shado wanted. And that all this time, he did everything he could to protect Shado. And then, finally, Dinah would let go of her resentment and really, truly re-develop her friendship with Oliver. A few episodes later, Dinah meets some girl at her gym who starts training with her. It's Shiva. It seems like it's a nod to the comics, but she's actually a member of the Yakuza who is spying on Dinah because of Shado. Shiva and Shado were together when Shado was with the Yakuza. Shado finds out and comes back to Starling. Shiva is more threats and less action than Nyssa, and the Lance family would probably act first, not Shiva, because of their history with the Yakuza. (Basically, I'm trying to keep the essence of Nys*ra without the physical abuse and the trying to killing her family thing, both of which prevented me from ever really shipping them.) After Shiva leaves, Shado comes home and joins the Team. She and Oliver get together. It would be made explicitly clear that they are really in love and it's more than "emotional support" or whatever fandom tries to say about canarrow. The tension would be more between Dinah and Shado than with Felicity/Babs. It would be a different tension too, because they're sisters and happy to be back together, but also kind of stepping on each other's toes. Shado is the superior fighter, but Dinah knows the city and the team better. Maybe there's an undercover mission and Oliver takes Shado with her instead of Dinah, and Dinah has to crash it because she figures out something based on the layout of the Glades. I would do an episode in season two with the League instead of Birds of Prey (since Dinah and Helena would have had a BoP type of episode in season one) where the League tries to recruit Shado. She turns them down because she doesn't want to be an assassin and she's happy to be home. But she would go to them towards the end of the season in exchange for help with SC, but she would go in as a mole for either Kurt or Oliver/TA. But that wouldn't be revealed until maybe mid-way through season three. Season three would be about the League of Assassins still. Shado would eventual dismantle the League of Assassins and form the Red League. This would lead to a spinoff about a league of trained women who travel the world and save people who need saving. It would probably incorporate metas too. But Shado would be the leader. Oliver and Dinah would probably be endgame (maybe start becoming more explicit towards the end of season three?), but it wouldn't diminish the importance of Oliver and Shado. Oliver and Shado would just be one of those "we love each other but we know this just will never work out because our lives don't cross in that way." And that would never take away from Oliver and Dinah falling in love and having a real, genuine relationship/partnership.

Betrayal - Chapter 14

Now that Lena has joined her father and the Titans against the Gods, her loyalties made clear. Her betrayal of all she once held dear haunts her every day. But she made her choice and as the war between the Gods and Titans draws near, Lena’s allegiances will be put to the test. Does she help bring about the end of the reign of the Gods? Or will her love for Kara Danvers and the friendships she made along the way be enough to stop the daughter of Hyperion.

Or

A PJO inspired Supercorp series. Part Two: Betrayal.

Read it here on AO3

I.

Lena, with Roulette’s help, limped into the Titan’s base, the demititan still clutching her wounded side. The blood flow had slowed but still dripped out of the open wound. Lena clenched her teeth in pain. Whatever Alex had done to that dagger had been rather impressive Lena had to begrudgingly admit.

“We need to get you to the infirmary.” Roulette said, starting to guide Lena in that direction. But she protested.

“No, just take me to my room. I can patch myself up.” Lena said. Roulette stopped and gave her friend a disapproving look.

“You really should get that checked out. We don’t know what Danvers did to it. It would be cursed or poisoned or something.” Roulette tried to reason with her commander. But Lena shook her head.

“I’d know if she did. It was just a strong enough metal to pierce my bodysuit. I just need to patch up the stab wound and I’ll be fine.” She insisted. Roulette rolled her eyes.

“You say as you’re relying on me to even stand up straight Lena. Seriously, you need to get it looked at.” She argued. Both women stared off at each other, both with strong personalities and a stubborn streak to match. Before long, Lena was the one who caved. After all, she was relying on Roulette to help her walk and deep down, Lena knew her friend was right. It was unlikely that Alex did anything to the dagger, but it was better to be safe than sorry. And her father was eventually going to hear about what happened. She might as well face the music sooner rather than later.

“Fine.” Lena finally relented. Roulette had a glint of triumph in her eye before steering Lena towards the infirmary.

“So, still really can’t stick a dagger in Kara, can you?” Roulette asked innocently. Lena grimaced.

“No. And I’m going to pay the price for it too.” She said, almost bitterly.

“I have to admit, I think Kara cares about you just as much as you care about her though.” Roulette mused. “She held back her sister just to let us go.” Roulette pointed out. Lena chuckled.

“Kara and I have a complicated relationship. And it’s probably always going to be that way. I told you once that I never wanted Kara to join us. She’s too good for that. But you know as well as I do that I could never join them. The Gods will kill me, or worse, as soon as they get their hands on me. So no matter what, we’re at an impasse.” Lena said. Roulette nodded.

“Tough luck Luthor. I can’t say I envy you.” Roulette commented. Lena just sighed. The two reached the infirmary, Roulette opening the door with her free hand and leading Lena over to one of the beds.

“Connor, we need assistance over here.” She called out to one of the children of Apollo that had switched sides. The halfblood came over with a first aid kit in his hands.

“What happened?” He asked, looking Lena over.

“Got stabbed,” Lena grunted, moving her hand from the stab wound to show the blood that covered her gauntlet and was still slowly dripping from the wound. Connor nodded.

“Can I get you to take the armor off? So I can get a closer look.” Lena nodded.

“Someone is going to have to help me out of my boots first though.” She said. Roulette nodded, bending down to unstrap Lena’s boots and pulling them off. Then, Lena took her hand and pressed it against the sun mark on her belt, her armor retracting until she was left in a bra and shorts that she wore under the bodysuit.

“Can you move your arm, lift it up a bit?” He asked, hoping to get a better look at Lena’s injury. The demititan tried to lift her arm, but she couldn’t move it much. Luckily, it was enough that Connor could get a decent look at her. He appraised the area for a few minutes, gently touching the spot, careful not to irritate the injury.

“It doesn’t look infected or poisoned. It is rather deep though. I’m probably going to have to tie it up and put a bandage over it. With your Titan blood, it should heal faster than Roulette or I could, but you're still probably going to be out for a week or two. To be honest, with a stab wound this deep, it probably could have killed anyone else. But your superior healing allowed the wound to heal fast enough so that you didn’t die from blood loss.” He said bluntly. Lena nodded curtly.  

“Do whatever you have to.” She said, Connor, nodded, opening the first aid kit and grabbing a needle and thread.

“It a little… human, I suppose but it's the best we have.” Connor explained as Lena eyed the needle. She just shrugged.

“It’s to be expected.” She said, her jaw clenched as Connor poked the needle through her skin, beginning to sew her wound shut.

“So it’ll be a couple of weeks before she’s ready to go again?” Roulette asked. Connor glanced over at her.

“Most likely. I can’t really predict exactly because she heals differently than most. I guess it’s theoretically possible for her to be ready to pick up a sword tomorrow, but it’s unlikely. My best guess is a couple of weeks.” He said. Roulette nodded.

“Hear that? Gotta relax for a couple of weeks. Think you can do that?” She teased. Lena just rolled her eyes.

“I probably could, but will my father let me is the real question. He’s never cared about my injuries before. And I’ve had my fair share of pretty nasty ones. Though this is probably the first stab wound like this I’ve had before.” Lena said she said wincing as Connor tied off the wound, cutting the excess. He grabbed a large wrap bandage.

“Can you lift your arms as much as you can for me?” He asked and Lena complied. He began wrapping the bandage around her stomach and abs area, covering up the wound. “There. Just change the bandage regularly, I’m sure you know how to take care of injuries like that. Come back and see me if there are any problems.” He said. Lena nodded.

“Sure thing Doc.” She said as another body joined them in the infirmary.

“Lena, the counsel wishes to see you.” The new halfblood said. Lena flinched slightly but nodded.

“I’ll head there immediately.” She said, her emotions shielded from view.

“Lena… are you sure…” Roulette started before Lena cut her off.

“I don’t have a choice. Are you going to help me or not?” She asked, pressing her hand against her belt again, her armor covering her body again. The demititan grimaced a bit as it covered her wound, but the bandage protected it from opening up again. Roulette sighed but nodded, bending down to help Lena into her boots again.

“Just you know… be careful?” She said. “I need someone who can beat me in a fight and you’re the only one that can fit that description.” She said absentmindedly. Lena chuckled but nodded as Roulette helped her up.

“We can’t have you steamrolling over all the other halfbloods all the time after all. Bad for morale.” Lena joked as the two headed towards the council chamber.

II.

The two monsters guarding the door stood at attention as Lena, supported by Roulette, approached. They opened the doors for her as she limped into the room to be met by the full council. She noted Hyperion and Kronos’ disapproval almost immediately as they zeroed in on her being supported by someone else. “Roulette, you’re dismissed. This is a private matter.” Hyperion said coldly. She hesitated, not wanting to essentially drop Lena, but the commander waved her friend off.

Roulette gently let go of Lena who flinched in pain as she was forced to support her full weight but managed to stand, though favoring her uninjured side. Roulette gave Lena a wary look before leaving her friend. Lena managed to limp over to the table and stand before Kronos and the others.

“I don’t think I need to tell you of my disappointment with the state you’ve returned to us in Lena,” Kronos said dangerously. Lena wanted to shy away from the cruel tone of voice but knew she couldn’t show weakness. She, instead, shook her head slowly.

“Of course not my Lord.” She said, not making eye contact with him, instead, her gaze cast downward.

“We sent you out to destroy the halfbloods and capture the school and instead you return, wounded and without anything to show for it.” He said coolly. “Care to explain?” He asked. “And chose your story very carefully Lena.”

“I... “ Lena started. She knew bringing Kara into the conversation would be disastrous for the both of them, though she also knew lying about it would be a bad choice for her. She was not stupid enough to believe that the Titans wouldn’t know if she lied. But on the other hand, it’s not like they could kill her. And against her better judgment, she decided to do what she thought was necessary. “I was confronted by a strong halfblood. One that could almost match my powers, though skill is questionable. But he managed to take me by surprise.” Lena fibbed. Not a total lie exactly, but far from the actual truth.

Kronos looked Lena over once. Then twice. A glimmer of malice flashed through his eyes. “See to it that this does not happen again, Lena. I’ve been extremely patient and lenient with you over the last few weeks. I do not tolerate failure. You know this. If you disappoint me again, we may have to… revisit your place with us. And I assure you, you will not enjoy any of your alternatives.” He said coolly, though not without a threatening tone to his voice. Lena gulped but nodded.

“Of course. I understand. I won’t let you down again sir.” She said, her heart beating rapidly. She glanced at her father whose flaming eyes appraised her, an obvious disappointed look in his eyes.

“This has set our plans back, but I suppose has further weakened Demos to be certain to fall on our next assault. I will give you one last chance to prove yourself, Lena.” Kronos said to his niece. “If we find out that you cannot do what has to be done, you will wish you had never thought of crossing us.” He said dangerously. Lena nodded quickly, wincing slightly in pain. “Take care of your injury and you will report back to active leadership the minute you are able to pick up your sword without dropping it.” He said. “You’re dismissed.”

Lena nodded, pushing herself out of her seat, though not without difficulty and a whole lot of pain. She winced with every step but managed to walk out of the council room and down the hallway to her bedroom.

III.

Lena collapsed onto her bed, her side crying out in pain from overexerting herself. But she needed to get her armor off, so she did her best to unstrap her boots, bringing her leg up on a side table next to her bed and slipping it off after a few minutes. And repeating the process with the other leg before she could finally press her hand against her belt and listen to her armor retracting.

Finally free of the restrictive suit, she flopped onto her bed, facing the ceiling as her side throbbed in pain. At least Connor had managed to stop the bleeding and bandage it up so she wasn’t at risk for infection. She hoped that she would be able to heal sooner rather than later. And her previous experiences with injuries suggested that she did heal faster than a normal human, even a normal halfblood. Though she had never sustained an injury quite like this one.

During her training, Hyperion would always be sure to not physically cripple her with his punishment. At least not in a way that would be restrictive. She still had small scars from cuts and burns that she had suffered throughout the years. Apart from the sun mark that she had permanently burned into her wrist, her back was littered with the remnants of her training sessions.

There was a firm knock on her door and Lena groaned to herself, knowing exactly who it was. “Come in.” She said, sitting up in her bed, wincing a bit. As expected, Hyperion opened the door. However what was not expected was him stalking over to her and grabbing her by the shoulder, shoving her against the wall her bed was pushed up against. Her side flared up with pain again, though Lena didn’t cry out. She had been taught better than that.

“Your feelings for Kara are getting in the way and this needs to end Lena.” He said, fire almost pouring from his eyes. Lena wasn’t scared of very many things, though she would admit that Hyperion was one of the few things that she was. Especially when he was angry.  

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lena struggled out, the pain affecting her ability to speak eloquently.

“Don’t insult me, Lena,” Hyperion said, roughly shoving Lena back into the wall. “We are not stupid. You’ve been weighing your leverage of how much we need you for our plans to succeed for too long. Kronos allowed this one last time but you are testing all of our patience.” He said, implying that they knew exactly what had gone on at Demos. “You cannot keep protecting the chosen of the Gods.”

“I’m not…” Lena protested but Hyperion cut her off.

“I know you’re protecting that daughter of Zeus, Kara Danvers. Despite my warnings, you still decide to disobey me and believe me, if you weren’t injured right now, you would be in for many long days of training Lena. But you need to make your choice once and for all. It’s either us or them. Kara Danvers has chosen her side by becoming the champion of the Gods. I had thought you had made your choice by being our champion, but your continued defiance is testing that loyalty, Lena. And it needs to stop.” Hyperion said angrily. Lena looked up at her father, fear apparent in her eyes as his fiery eyes met hers.

“I’m loyal to the Titans. You know I am.” Lena tried. Hyperion gripped Lena’s shoulder tighter.

“Do I Lena? I’m not so sure anymore. We gave you a home. A family that hasn’t lied to you. A place to belong. Somewhere where you don’t have to be afraid of death and all you’ve seemed to do with it is throw it away. For what? Some halfblood who doesn’t even care about what happens to you. All Kara Danvers wants is for us to fail. And if we fail, you know as well as I do that you will go down with us.” Hyperion threatened. Lena tensed slightly, though she knew he was partially right. If the Titans lost, she would be finished.

“I... “ Lena said, pausing.

“You have one last chance to prove your loyalty, Lena. I’ve shielded you from my brother as much as I can and if you fail us again, I’ll take care of you myself.” He said, his eyes flaring. Lena shuddered at the thought as Hyperion let go of her, her body slumping down on her bed, her side still in pain from the roughness of her father. He picked his helmet up from the desk he had set it on. “Do not disappoint again Lena.” He warned, leaving her and shutting the door behind him.

So I'm thinking my writer's block is in part because the show is on hiatus actually. Which is kind of annoying, but I'm trying here!

Lena centered chapter, the next one will be as well. Probably the healing process. Maybe some more Roulette/Lena friendship building. Probably Hyperion will show up again. Who knows. I don't yet. One thing I do want to make clear though, that I think I've made clear already but will be important later, is that Lena is genuinely afraid of Hyperion. He's much stronger than she is since he's full Titan. At least power wise. She's got more freedom to act than he does. But when it comes to raw strength, he's obviously way higher than she is. She might put up a tough act around him sometimes, but she is legitimately scared of him. You can allow your imagination to roam in regards to what he's actually done to her, but it hasn't been pleasant.

Anyway, dunno when I'll update again. I want to say within a week, but also don't want to promise that if it just doesn't happen.

Prom

Cherry Tree: Prom About 2k words  Read the fic here, and other extras here! (and The Wedding here) 

Lilac was nervous. 

Sure, she’d thought about wearing a suit to dances before - rented one or two even - but she’d never actually done it. And wearing the suits, breaking the stereotype so boldly in reality and not just in daytime fantasies, was a whole different ballpark indeed. Hell, it was a whole different ballgame. 

But with Ashley behind her, cheering her on and hyping her up as she gushed compliments about her outfit, Lilac felt like she could just about do anything. 

She was reaching for the pastel purple bowtie she’d gotten when Ashley tapped her shoulder, wearing a bright smile. 

“Guess what I found,” she said slyly, holding her hands behind her back. 

Lilac frowned skeptically. “If you crack an egg on my head or something -” 

“How dare you think so poorly of me!” Ashley said dramatically, revealing a shiny blue bowtie from behind her back. Lilac scoffed, taking the bowtie and turning it around in her hands. “How did you find this? That was, like, ten years ago!” 

Ashley shrugged, taking it to gently place it around Lilac’s neck. “Can’t beat the classics, can ya?” she asked, smoothing her hands over the shoulders of Lilac’s jacket. “Looks great, Li,” she said quietly, half a smile on her lips as she met Lilac’s gaze in the mirror. “Really.” 

Lilac flushed, about to thank her when somebody cleared their throat from behind them. 

They both looked around simultaneously, Lilac’s blush only intensifying. “Ready to go?” Connor asked, leaning against the doorframe with a shadow of a smirk on his lips. “Yeah,” Lilac said, flushing when her voice came out as a rasp and repeating, “Yeah,” as Ashley did. 

“Wonderful,” Connor said, spinning around. “I’ll be in the car.” 

It was only then that Lilac noticed his outfit, and she glanced at Ashley with a grin on her lips, giggling when their eyes met. Connor was wearing a spiffy tux complete with a grey vest, shiny black shoes, and a large red bowtie. Best of all, a flat black chauffeur’s cap sat on his head, perched crooked just about his ears. 

“Where did he even get that thing?” Lilac asked through a laugh, and Ashley shook her head. “I have no idea,” she replied. “But I do know that I should probably get dressed… Meet you downstairs?” 

Lilac nodded, staring down the steps. “Call me if you need any help.” 

“Will do!” Ashley called. “Just don’t rip your pants or anything ‘till I get down there.” 

“But once you do come down, I have permission?” Lilac asked with a raised brow. 

“Oh, shush,” Ashley laughed, turning around to get into her dress. 

***

“Woah,” Lilac breathed when Ashley appeared at the top of the steps. 

Her dress was an orangey color, tinged with pinks and whites that looked like a sunset and only made Ashley’s natural glow that much brighter. Its hem floated just above the floor, and a diamond necklace sat on her neck above the dress’s sweetheart neckline. 

Connor shot Lilac a knowing smirk, and Lilac bit the inside of her cheek.

“I know,” Ashley said smugly, stepping carefully down the stairs in her heels. 

Lilac cleared her throat when Ashley reached the bottom of the steps. “You clean up nice,” she said casually. Ashley bit her lip, trying and failing to hold back her grin. “You cliche sonuvabitch,” she replied quietly. 

There was a beat of silence, and then Ashley held out her arm. “Shall we?” 

***

“You’re gonna get melted chocolate everywhere,” Ashley warned as Lilac opened a bag of M&Ms. Lilac opened her mouth to argue, but then paused when the glass divider at the front of the limo slid down. “Remember who rented this thing, ladies - if you get melted chocolate on these seats you’re paying,” Connor warned, and Lilac laughed sheepishly. “I’ll be careful.” 

“That is why Skittles are superior,” Ashley said cheerfully as she popped a few Skittles into her mouth and the divider slid shut again. “Let’s not even get started,” Lilac sighed, and Ashley giggled and stole an M&M from Lilac. 

Lilac scoffed. “Hey!” 

“Sharing is caring, Li.” 

“Hypocrite.” 

“Love you too,” Ashley replied with a grin. Lilac flushed, momentarily flustered before she got her head back and reached over to grab the bag of Skittles - “Hypocrites don’t get candy, Ash.” - right out of her hands. 

“How rude!” Ashley exclaimed, lunging over the seat to try and grab the bag back. 

Lilac gasped, startled, but managed to keep the candy just out of Ashley’s reach. 

There was a scuffle, laughter filling the back of the limo for a few seconds before, at last, Ashley was victorious and she snagged the bag from Lilac. But then she paused, frozen above Lilac as she caught her breath. 

They’d somehow ended up on top of each other, their noses so close they’d brush if Ashley would lean just a centimeter closer. And their lips, Ashley’s glossy with lipstick, could touch, if Ashley would just… lean… in… 

But she didn’t. 

Of course not. 

And she wouldn’t have, even if the car hadn’t stopped, even if Ryland hadn’t knocked on the window of the limo at that exact moment. That’s what Lilac told herself, at least, as Ashley gave a smug smile that almost bordered on a smirk before pulling away as if nothing had ever happened. 

“Ry!” she squealed, bounding out of the limo and into Ryland’s arms. 

Ryland Evans was Ashley’s date for the night. He was a junior, a little bit older than the girls, and a bit of a jerk. He was very fond of parties, paid several tutors of the drop-dead gorgeous female type for help in several classes (and ended up hooking up with the majority of them), and didn’t offer to pick Ashley up for prom. 

And sure, on principle Lilac was infuriated that the guy Ashley deemed acceptable for prom wasn’t even polite enough to do something as basic as drive her to the venue, but in reality, Lilac was more than ecstatic to spend extra time with Ashley. Especially on prom night. 

Regardless, that extra time was over, and now Lilac was left breathless in the backseat of the limo as Ashley skipped into the venue on Ryland’s arm. Lilac let out a defeated sigh, running her hands over her face exhaustedly. Despite everything, there was a small part of her that had been so sure something would happen that night.

Connor came around and opened the door again, ducking down to ask Lilac, “Hey, you good in there?” Lilac managed a smile. “Yeah,” she replied, “yeah, I’m fine.” Connor grinned and held out his hand. “Ready?” 

Lilac shrugged, looking down at her suit. The sparkly blue bow tie glittered up at her, and a grin curved her lips involuntarily. “Yeah,” she said softly. She cleared her throat and smiled up at Connor. “Yeah,” she said again, and she took his hand and let him lead her into the building.

Prom wasn’t as bad as Lilac was expecting. Connor sat with her almost the whole night, talking about anything and everything and keeping a smile on her face despite Ashley’s dancing with someone who was very obviously not Lilac right in front of them. 

It was almost too perfect. Ashley was there, so close yet so far, in her gorgeous sunset dress, smiling that adorable smile of hers, and Lilac couldn’t do anything about it. She just had to sit, and watch, as she flirted with Ryland and let him twirl her around the dance floor. 

Lilac lost sight of them after a while, and as Connor started to gaze wistfully at a group of his friends in the corner, she told him he didn’t have to sit with her anymore. He thanked her a bit sheepishly before running off, and Lilac decided to go and get a breath of fresh air. 

She was almost feeling better outside, leaned up against a railing as she let the cool salt air breeze over her. She pulled off her bowtie, smiling at the glittery blue fabric, and then sighed, sliding a piece of gum into her mouth as she stared up at the moon. 

Her peaceful silence was interrupted, though, when a couple came stumbling out of the building, giggling as they started to make out in a corner. Lilac rolled her eyes, debating whether or not she should go back inside or walk around outside, when something clicked. 

That was Ryland. 

Ryland fucking Evans.  

And the girl? 

The girl was not Ashley. 

No, she was about the opposite of Ashley. 

This girl didn’t have anything on Lilac’s Ashley, and Ryland was making out with her. 

Lilac spun around, pulling up her sleeves and squaring her shoulders as she stepped over to him. In retrospect, she probably wouldn’t have done anything even if things hadn’t turned out as they had, but in the heat of the moment, Lilac was ready to throw punches. 

“What,” she said, pulling his shoulder around so he’d see her, “the FUCK are you doing?” 

He had the audacity to look confused. “I - what?” 

“You think you can come here and disrespect Ash like this?” Lilac shouted. “Like hell you can!” She closed the distance, grabbing his collar and shoving him against the wall. “You bastard,” she hissed. 

“Hey!” Ryland yelled, struggling in her grip. “Hey, what the hell, bitch?” 

“You’re gonna -” 

“Lilac!” Ashley shouted from behind them, and Lilac paused, glancing back at Ashley. “This jerk was making out with her,” Lilac seethed, “and he’s going to pay.” She turned back to Ryland, pulling back a fist to punch him, and - 

“C’mere, fighter,” Connor said from behind her, and Lilac scoffed as he pulled her off of Ryland. “What are you doing?” Lilac asked incredulously. “Go back to the car, Li,” Connor told her, but when Lilac shook her head, still glaring at Ryland, Connor frowned. “Go with Ash, Lilac. I’ll take care of him.” 

“Fine,” Lilac muttered, shaking out her sleeves and adjusting her collar as she walked back to Ashley and grabbed her hand without thinking. “Come on, Ash,” she said, and Ashley followed her back to the limo. 

The car wasn’t too far away, and they watched out the window as Connor slugged Ryland right in the nose. “Jesus, dude, I’m sorry!” Ryland yelped, his hands over his nose as blood gushed over his lips and chin. 

“Damn right,” Connor said, flexing his hand as he watched Ryland run towards the parking lot. Lilac and Ashley waited in hushed silence as Connor got into the limo. “Let’s go,” Connor said quietly, and he let the partition slide up between them as he drove off. 

It was only then that Lilac heard Ashley hiccup a sob, and all of Lilac’s anger faded away as she looked over to see Ashley crying softly next to her. “Hey,” Lilac murmured, sliding over to put an arm around her shoulders. “Hey, you alright?” 

Ashley shook her head, looking up at Lilac with a small smile. “No,” she said, “no, I’m not fine, because - because my mascara’s smudged.” Lilac laughed a bit, wiping away a tear from Ashley’s cheek. 

“I spent - I spent hours on this, Li,” Ashley said, sniffling as she looked sadly at her mascara smeared fingertips. “I know,” Lilac murmured, holding her close as she cried. She hugged her tight, not caring about the dark makeup that would surely be staining her crisp white shirt, and whispered, “But you still look beautiful.” 

At that, Ashley giggled and smacked Lilac’s arm gently. “Fuckin’ sap.” 

“Shut up,” Lilac laughed. 

There was a beat of silence before Ashley turned to look at Lilac, smiling just a bit. “Thanks, Lila,” she murmured. Lilac smiled back. “Anytime,” she replied, her voice just a tad hoarse, because they were so close - again - and what if she didn’t imagine how Ashley’s gaze slipped to Lilac’s lips for just half a second? And what she just leaned in? And what if Ashley felt the same way? And what if - 

Ashley turned away, tucking her head into the crook of Lilac’s neck. 

Lilac bit her lip and watched out the window as they drove back home. 

***

🍒 la fin 🍒

and there’s that! hope y’all enjoyed that one... and btw lee writing this was like: 

nobody:  li: these fists are rated E for everybody

so there’s a fun lil tidbit for ya lskdfjldsfj 

anyway, there’s that! and if you’re confused abt the whole bow tie thing, that’s from last week’s extra, The Wedding, which you can find here! and as always, if you wanna be a gem, you can give us some feedback here. skittles or m&ms, anybody? 

but yeah! hope you guys enjoyed, and we’ll see you saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ciao bellas 💖