#I downloaded the game again but I just wanted to play as connor and my previous save was on my laptop

[meownotgood]

do I have anyone here who cares about detroit become human because I may write something for connor after I'm done with my current fic....

[05raine]

Playing 'Detroit: Become Human' the way they definitely, 100% intended

Spoilers for Detroit: Become Human, if for some reason you haven't seen or played the game yet

So my older sister downloads DBH (she's a sucker for a good father-child dynamic, so Hank and Connor have her by the throat), but before she does so she talks to me about getting it. It is here that I propose a silly fun idea: We co-op the game. We take turns with the laptop and controller, hiding the screen and choices we make from the other. She plays Connor, I play Markus, and we both get a say in Kara's story.

She doesn't go through with the idea at first, she does her own playthrough first. She ends up with the peaceful/pacifist ending where no one dies (hurray!!). But on her second playthrough she invites me to play with her. Let's fucking go.

Now before we had started the new run, she expressed her desire to make different choices with Connor to better complete the game and get achievements. She mentions that she's thinking about doing a machine Connor route instead of a deviant one. Now I'm fucking scared. Cause I don't have it in me to kill anyone, let alone do a violent protest with Markus.

Anyways, with Kara, Alice, and Luther, we fully manage to get them across the border into Canada (Which my sis didn't manage to do on her first playthrough, she got them caught during a stealth section L). With that she gets a new achievement for doing so, all thanks to me 😏 I get her another achievement for pushing Leo- Carl's son- since she just let Carl die like a monster(/j). She of course gets some new achievements on her own with Connor.

But back to how we played Markus and Connor. Since we didn't know what the other was doing with them, it made the crossroads chapter REALLY FUCKING TENSE. The only hint we got of the other's choices were how it affected the story and dialogue; I left an injured Simon behind on the roof of Stradford tower and she followed him up there leading to Simon self-destructing (that got her a freaking achievement, bro...). But I had no idea that Simon had died until it cut to Markus again. I was a bit distraught when finding that out :(

When it came down to the confrontation between Connor and Markus at Jericho, it was so tense to go between the two of them. Me fighting to convince Connor to deviate, and her trying to keep Connor on his mission. Scary shit. Now before we had begun, we had agreed- if it comes down to it- that should Markus and Connor be in a 'only one lives' type of scenario, we'd rock-paper-scissor to see who would get to live.

I had no clue if my sister had made enough choices to unlock the option for Connor to deviate, so when the option finally came up and Connor deviated, I was freaking ecstatic. I did not want her destroying all the work I had done with Markus and Jericho 😭

She even admits after we finished the game that she was originally going to play a machine Connor route, but 1: would feel bad putting an end to the peaceful route I was going, and 2: didn't have it in her to be mean to Hank lmao

Two other stressful scenes with how we played was Connor's infiltration into Cyberlife tower and the ensuing fight between the other Connor and Hank. The reason it was so stressful was because she genuinely could not remember if she had learned Hank's son's name. Luckly, she did, so Connor didn't die there, and Markus got his reinforcements, but still, phew!

The next was Markus' speech at the very end, and Connor being taken over by Amanda and the whole emergency exit thingy. She struggled to remember where the freaking thing was, and she messed up the inputs to press it the first time. Not to mention how she was sort of freaking out because things were happening differently than how her solo run did. But we got that W.

But I feel like playing the game this way adds a sort of tenseness and finality to it. Because you truly don't know what the other people are doing with the other storylines until they meet up during crossroads. This was just with the two of us, imagine if we had a third to play Kara so all storylines would be a mystery until the converge!

She played the game all in one sitting on her own the first time, and we both did the second. Now I imagine she will do the same on her third run where she'll kill everybody like the completionist monster she is

[dirt-grub]

am i going to bid on a game i cant save progress on...

[glowyjellyfish]

Progress report:

I downloaded many medieval things from many sites. Still need to install most of them. The big problem was attempting to download literally everything from Almighty Hat--I was planning to mainly just go for objects at this point, but there was so. much. hair. and medieval undergarments! different ones from the other Almighty Hat ones I already had! ...so eventually I bookmarked the hair pages I thought I didn’t have, and promised myself to do a hair run later. That means it feels like I only have PBK left to scour for objects, without counting things like GOS gift sets as I don’t even know how to begin searching through that without literally looking at everything.

The CEP seemed to solve the blue on the medieval wood set... until I loaded a lot where I had already placed them. Then the blue was back, would not depart, and any new attempts at placing also came with blue. This is after emptying my cache AND clearing all the thumbnails, you understand. I guess placing the blue objects was a bad idea as now the lots have re-cursed the objects with blue? Should I just sell and replace the cursed objects with different ones, or do I need to do another re-download, or what? I will have to see.

Anyway, today I built a beekeeping farm for the Patels that turned out pretty great. Try as I might, I could not make the lot be worth $35,000 as yeoman lots should be, but it’s fine. There’s only so much decor I could cram in there anyway.

I forgot to position the camera correctly to see the ceiling, but trust me it has one. Oh, probably I left the game set on an upper floor after taking the outside picture. Mea culpa!

Bush clipping in from outside, might have to deal with that. I found I like clustering the fridge, sink, and tub next to each other in my medieval kitchens in an effort to imply that they are sharing a small water supply rather than having the whole house full of plumbing wherever.

Second floor! I have finally figured out to put roof walls above interior walls. This room is currently a vague nursery, and has loads of space for more children as needed. 

The bed looks a little overly fancy, but it wasn’t expensive. I’m just going to pretend a relative carved it all nice for them.

The yard! Little outhouse, five beehives ready to be filled, a honey press, four apple trees and one each pear and persimmon for variety, and a row of blackberry bushes.

Rows of herbs and berry bushes, and in the distance a slightly overgrown cluster of shrubs and wildflowers for the bees to enjoy!

Looking back at the house from within a patch of wildflowers.

And a small market stand out front to sell their herbs, fruit, and honey. Maybe someday, they’ll add a fully indoor home store to sell out of, but right now I love this house too much to change it. It’s that glamorous yellow plaster-and-timber exterior, I am sure. I’m a little concerned I made it too nice for yeomen, but it has the correct number of rooms and furniture (plus some decor and one extra side table for the scroll phone), and they didn’t even fill out the standard pre-garden yeomen budget of $35,000, so it’s probably fine.

And I am getting very close to finishing the makeovers of Desiderata Valley, after which will be everyone’s favorite, Pleasantview!

The second yeoman family of Desiderata Valley, after the Ottomases, is the Jocque family.

Sophia Jocque. I try to match the colors of each sim’s original outfit unless I find something else I like better, and I made a point of giving her long, soft hair to counteract her very square jaw. I think she came out looking really nice!

Marcel Jocque. Nothing special, but I’ve been trying that hair on lots of men and am pleased I finally found one for whom it worked!

Violet Jocque, now with one long braid instead of two short ones!

Next we have the Bells, the only merchant family of Desiderata Valley.

Hannah Bell. Although I usually vaguely aim in the direction of whatever texture a sim’s original hair is, in this case I didn’t think it was particularly sensible to give Hannah and Sharon straight hair. No straighteners in the medieval megahood! Besides, she looks much nicer with those braids.

...and Sharon looks amazing with this short curly mop. She’s a tad rebellious anyway, and I didn’t want to repeat my longer curly hairs this early.

Isaac Bell. It was kinda tough finding him an outfit that reflected his colors without being too high or low class, and without simply repeating what I’ve put on other yeomen. As you can see, I didn’t quite nail it (his original outfit is pink and grey), but this works; he looks like he’s got a bucket of charisma.

And Daniel Bell, sneaking in one last use of the TV before everything goes full medieval.

Finally, the gentry of Desiderata Valley, Lady Natasha Una.

...she’s still obsessed with grilled cheese. I might change that, but then again I might not. She’s one of the highest ranking available adult women, so she probably won’t stay single for long. Her best prospects are currently Duke Armand DeBateau, Lord Nervous Subject/Specter (I’ll probably change his last name to Specter, Subject is his... hostage name), or, failing either of those, Lord Geoff Rutherford, Lord Connor Weir, Lord Kent Capp, or Lord Frances J. Worthington III. Kent Capp is less likely, as I want to prioritize him for ladies that need to keep their names and positions, but he’s definitely an option, and they have hit it off before in other, non-medieval megahoods I’ve played. 

I just have to makeover the Aspir family, and then I’ll be on to the peasants of Pleasantview. Also, I have decided that I need to finish making over all the playable sims (including the college sims) before I can start actually playing, in addition to completing all lot construction and remodeling in Belladonna Cove. I... am not sure yet whether it’s a great or terrible idea to start actually playing before I finish Everything, but it at least makes a nice smaller goal to shoot for.

[meetmetotheriver]

Happy holidays! 

Here it is, finally - the rerelease of Clean Belladonna Cove. Just in time for Christmas.

What are clean templates, you ask? See this post for further explanations and install instructions! (Or click the “clean templates rerelease” tag.)

Kinda lengthy description this time, so links are found below cut:

What’s new since the previous version? Again, mostly minor things, but here you go:

Etokas Cho and Olivia Riley now have basic memories.

Fixed Ramir Patel’s DNA, because he and Ana kept having S2 babies and that was a bit odd.

Added my fixed/recreated version of the Main Street Mobile Homes apartment lot (where Jessica Peterson lives). This lot as shipped with the game was corrupted and would cause crashing.

I feel like I’m forgetting something? But those were the most important points.

Older, major changes/fixes which were also included in the previous version:

Connor Weir’s aspiration was changed to Family (from Fortune) and Carlos Contender’s was changed to Romance (from Popularity). This was evidently their original aspirations, but EAxis changed them - so I changed them back, so they’re now in correspondence with their LTWs and bios. (I did NOT change the Cordials back, they were originally Popularity and changed to Knowledge, which makes sense with the whole witch business).

Belladonna Cove shipped with a graveyard, complete with graves, except all the graves were missing! This was fixed (with Mootilda’s HoodChecker), and all dead ancestors can be found in Gamesend Grounds, all nicely placed, except Olivia Riley’s grave which for some inexplicable reason is on the Museum community lot (couldn’t fix that without sending someone there and making the hood “played”).

Bizarre/broken family trees, boring/inconsistent/lacking memories, recessive DNA, and other nonsense is fixed.

No townies or NPCs, except the two witches Phoebe Adams and Frances McCullough.

++

Other things to note:

If you play the subhood version, note that all families living in apartments have been moved out and can be found in the sim bin! This is because families who live in apartments when you add a subhood become corrupted and unplayable (like they literally go missing and you can’t enter their household). Guess EA never thought anyone would figure out how to make their own pre-populated subhoods, and/or didn’t bother/didn’t think to test this.

In the main hood version, Jessica Peterson is in the correct lot, but you have to make her re-rent her apartment. This is because I replaced her lot, as mentioned above, and I couldn’t move her back in without landlords and NPCs spawning left and right.

For moving apartment families back into their correct homes, check the wiki if you don’t remember where they live. You can rent the apartments furnished if you use debug mode (boolprop testingcheatsenabled true) and shift-click on the door, or use Pescado’s apartment hack (no debug needed, and will charge you the correct amount of money). I added the cribs and baby toys back to the Baldwin and Cho apartments, since these were missing when the families were moved out.

I’m not doing a downtown version this time. That’s because of the odd game feature that only the first added downtown to a hood will add sims, for any subsequent downtown hoods the sims will be stripped away, and who knows what kind of problems that might cause in the neighbourhood if you added Downtown first and then Belladonna Cove downtown, sans sims. I don’t want to add the option to mess up people’s hoods like that.

There is a possibility that these templates, both main and subhood version, will require M&G, because I had to open up the neighbourhood ingame to move sims out and such, and replace Jessica’s lot, and I can’t get AnyGameStarter to work. I figure most people have all EPs and SPs now (or only up to Seasons if on Mac, in which case Belladonna Cove can’t be played anyway), but If anyone is missing M&G, please let me know whether or not these work for you.

Whew. Okay, I think that’s it. Sorry for the wall of text.

Downloads!

Belladonna Cove Main Hood

Belladonna Cove Subhood

(I have a few more downloads in this series coming, like Downtown and the unis, so stay tuned.)

[daylighteclipsed]

what part of "i would die for connor" do you not understand? aka: y e s P L E A S E

*cracks knuckles* hell yeah lets go

Rhinozilla has a lot of cute and funny fics. Some of my faves: Spaghetti Night, Cooling Measures, Let Sleeping Androids Lie, and There It Sits. 

Breakthrough by grumpyhedgehogs is my favorite take on ‘Connor deviates on the roof during his confrontation with Hank’

Live Wire by stupidfinewriterchick - Connor needs Hank’s help to cut his last connection to Cyberlife, but Amanda’s not going down without a fight, and oh boy is it good. I love this fic.

The Tower by GarbagePlanet - Two ways the Stratford Tower chapter could’ve played out differently for our boys.

Dying Will Immortalize Me or Show My Humanity by RedWritingHood -  Basically, Connor remembers his death after one of his transfers and it affects the events of the game. I love the ending so much.

Not Today by indelibleink89 - It’s Connor’s first birthday and Hank wants to do something nice for him, but life has other plans. Fluff with a little bit of angst.

(I hope you know that) you’re my home by bilgegungoren00 - Hank’s poisoned out in the field, and Connor has to face the possibility of losing him.

After by satockery - Connor deals with the loss of Sumo and then the loss of Hank, and it hurts in all the best ways.

Rupture - After a violent confrontation with a suspect, one of Connor’s minor biocomponents is damaged. He thinks his self-healing system will handle it, but uh. It doesn’t.

You Can’t Fight Fire with Fire by ahyperactivehero - Hank, Connor, and Sumo try for a relaxing getaway in the woods, but with people still prejudiced against androids it’s not much of a vacation.

A rose by any other name by onesaltydemon - Connor needs to choose a last name.

The Sun Will Shine on Us Again by SociopathicArchangel - Pretty much Hank reflecting on how much better life is with Connor around during different moments of his life. It’s super cute and heartwarming.

These fics are in progress, but I love them:

There’s More to It by kodaandorion - If you’re looking for a sequel to the game that focuses on Connor and Hank’s investigations and explores questions that were left unanswered about rA9, the RK prototypes, and the nature of Connor’s deviancy in comparison to other androids, this is that sequel.

Father and Son by The FlyingWriter - Two idiots want to be family but are bad at feelings. No in all seriousness, this fic really dives into the intricacies of Connor and Hank’s dynamic, exploring both of their characters’ thoughts and feelings and wants. I love it.

Beyond the Machine by a_platypus - After a bunch of androids start going missing in Detroit, Hank and Connor are sent undercover as father and son to investigate a potential cult across the Canadian border. This fic is SO GOOD. It’s been abandoned for a while so it’s unlikely to ever be finished, but I PROMISE YOU it’s worth it just to read what’s been written. This might be my all-time favorite fic in this fandom.

Bonus:

Cha-cha sliding into those dms by presidenthomewrecker - Normally I don’t rec humor fics, but this is the most well-written humor fic I’ve ever come across. Connor downloads a millennial slang dictionary to make himself more relatable to Hank and shdfhjgsjg I cry laughing every time I read this. It’s so funny.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

What We Make for Ourselves

A story set soon after the events of Terminator: Dark Fate

Oakland, 2021

Sarah Connor’s knuckles were white as she maneuvered her jeep down the residential streets at highway speeds.  She and Dani were cutting it close as is, having spent the last year preparing their plan to storm the no-name tech startup in Silicon Valley that would soon create Legion.  She’d stopped Judgement Day once before, and she was sure she could do it again, but there was one last detour she needed to make in case their plan didn’t pan out.  Someone she wanted to warn.

She’d never thought about visiting him before.  She figured it would do no good, serve no purpose other than reopen old wounds.  Until recently, she didn’t even know where he lived, but with Judgement Day drawing nearer she decided to take initiative.  It didn’t take long to track him down; you’d be amazed how much you can find about a person on Google in a few minutes with just their full name.  By sheer coincidence, he lived in the Bay Area, so she waited until they were already headed up for their mission to squeeze in time for her little visit.  Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Dani sat idly in the passenger seat, cradling a small manila envelope stuffed to the brim with building schematics.  Grace hadn’t given them much to work with in terms of intel besides a company name and a short window for when the grid was supposed to go down, but somehow they’d managed to find the right data cache and download the floor plan for the server farm that would soon host the Legion software; Skynet by any other name still reeked of shit.

Dani would rather be at the motel finalizing their game plan than out in the open so Sarah could wax sentimental for no good reason.  This outing was tactically dangerous, as they both had warrants for their arrest, Dani by ICE, Sarah by every intelligence community in the western world.  A couple of fake driver’s licenses and Milwaukee accents would do little to hide their identities once the feds got back on their trail.

Sarah slowed the jeep to a crawl as she rounded the final corner onto a dead end street that butted right up against MacArthur Freeway.  She parked on the curb between two houses, no doubt to the chagrin of their tenants, but immediately she knew she wouldn’t be there for long.

There he was

Right across the street, piling a small mountain of boxes into the back of an old pickup truck.  Sarah didn’t dare take her eyes off him, even for a second, lest he disappear back into the void that was her memory.  She hadn’t seen him in almost forty years, had almost forgotten his face, but all at once everything came flooding back.  Good memories and bad, of the last normal day she ever lived.  The day her best friend and mother were murdered by a machine, the day she went from an English major waiting tables to make ends meet to a soldier hellbent on stopping the end of the world.  That was a lifetime ago, but here he was in front of her, younger now than ever before.  She couldn’t help but stare, drinking in his face, memorizing every line, every curve. A man, probably his father, popped the truck’s hood and called to him as he checked the engine.

“Kyle, I’m topping her off with oil, but you need to remember to get gas before you hit the highway.”

“I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it, we’re not done loading my crap yet.”

Kyle Reese gingerly set down a duffel bag stuffed with unfolded clothes, and threw open the passenger side door.  He was getting ready for his first semester at school, and packing his truck was proving to be the hardest part of the transition.  “It’s like playing Tetris,” he quipped as he rearranged a few boxes, trying to will more space out of thin air.

He was taller than Sarah remembered.  This Kyle had had an unremarkable childhood and never missed a meal, he was a far cry from the malnourished guerrilla she knew.  Seeing him, this ghost from her past, living a normal life in a future she never thought she’d see, it was almost too much.  She only turned away from him once she began to feel tears well up in her eyes.  This encounter brought back too many painful memories, but pain, he once told her, can be controlled.  

Just disconnect it.

His dad disappeared back into the house, and was soon replaced by three boys around Kyle’s age, carrying even more boxes.

“Why you got so much shit, Reese?” asked a short black kid with glasses.

“Because I’m trying to make things are hard as possible for you guys, that’s why.”

An tall Asian kid propped his box on the trucks roof so he could free his hands.  “I’m really gonna miss you, man.”  He walked over to Kyle and scooped him in for an awkward bear hug.  Kyle tried not to laugh as he was lifted off his feet.

The kid with the glasses punched him playfully on the shoulder once the hugger finally put him down. “Hate to see you go, Reese.  You know, it’s never too late to drop out and stay home.”

“Tempting, but I’m already balls deep in student loans.  I might as well actually be a student for a while, otherwise they’d just be loans.”

“Things will never be the same without him,” cried a kid with a buzz cut, dramatically splaying himself out on the truck’s hood.  “Poor kid, he was so young!”

“I’m not dying guys, I’ll see you in a few months, I’m coming home for Thanksgiving.”

“I can still hear his voice.”

Sarah didn’t bother stepping out of the jeep, but turned to face the small crowd of high schoolers, legs dangling out the missing driver’s side door.  Dani followed her gaze across the street as she stowed the envelope in the glove compartment.

“That’s the friend you were talking about? He’s younger than I am.”

“I knew him, another him, from another time.  Things have changed a lot since then.”

Kyle’s mom came bounding out the front door and embraced her son in an even more awkward hug than his friend’s.

“My little Kyle, heading out to college, paying bills.  When’d you get so old?  You’re not allowed to be an adult yet, you were still in preschool last week.”

“Mo-o-om,” Kyle complained with a smile.  Only two of his friends laughed.  “You didn’t act like this when Derek left for school.”

“Sure I did, every year, and I’ll do the same for you because I like embarrassing you in front of your friends.  Now everyone come together.  Marc, Andy, Sawyer, stand next to Kyle, I want to get a picture.”

“You already took a ton of pictures.”

“And I’m gonna take a ton more before you leave, now stand there and smile.”

They all huddled together against his truck, and she kept directing them like she was making Christmas cards at Sears.  “Okay, now let’s have a funny one, everyone make a face.  Great.  Now let me get some with two of you at a time; Marc you’re first.”

Marc, the kid with the buzz cut, took this as an opportunity to force an exit.  “Hey, Mrs. Reese, why don’t you go get his dad, and I’ll take a photo of all three of you.  A family portrait, wouldn’t that be nice, Kyle?”

“Oh, I can’t think of anything better.”

She smirked, taking their hint.  “I’ll be right back,” she said as she disappeared back into the house, calling her husband’s name.

“Quick, help me pack everything now and I’ll be gone before she gets back,” Kyle joked once she was out of earshot.

Three of the four boys began stuffing thing into the passenger side, well after it was full to capacity, but the bespectacled Sawyer stood back by himself for a few moments.  Sarah’s eyes were still locked on Kyle, but Sawyer’s eyes were locked on her.

“Hey,” he called to his friends.  “What’s wrong with this picture?”

“What’s up?”

“There’s an old lady staring at you, Reese.  She’s been staring for like five minutes.”

Kyle looked over at Sarah, and she immediately turned away.

“Good for her,” he said without a second thought.  He continued with the task at hand, trying to force an uncooperative shoe box into the space beneath the passenger seat.

“Isn’t that creepy?”

“Not really, she’s just some lady, she’s not hurting anyone.”

“You ever heard of stranger danger?  She’s giving you the bedroom eyes, you’re gonna wind up in her windowless van.”

“Dude, shut up, she can probably hear you.  Besides, that’s a jeep, it’s got nothing but windows, I’ll be fine.”  Kyle turned back to Sarah who was trying to keep herself busy by reading the warranty sticker on the windshield.  Dani nudged her to let her know Kyle was looking, and when she turned back to him, he smiled at her and waved.

Sawyer punched him on the shoulder again, less playfully this time.  “Stranger. Danger.  Windowless van.  It’s your funeral, Reese.”

“Shut the fuck up, man. She’s probably a friend of my mom’s or something.”

With that, Sarah emerged from the jeep and walked over to the boys.  Dani also stepped out so she could have a better look, but remained on the far side of the street.  Sawyer tried to motion for his friends to head back towards the house, but none of them moved as Sarah stopped a few feet short of the curb.

“Kyle Reese?” She didn’t mean for it to come out as a question, but she couldn’t believe it was truly him.

“Never heard of him,” Sawyer said at the exact same moment Kyle responded “yes.”  A third punch, not playful at all.

“It’s really good to see you, Kyle.”

“Um, yeah, it’s good to see you too.  How, uh, how have you been?”

“You can stop pretending like you know me.  You don’t.”

“Okay, cause I was gonna say… Can I help you? What’s up?”  This woman was at least a decade older than his mom, and her face wasn’t familiar at all.  He had thought that maybe she was an old babysitter of his, or he’d seen her at church or something, but he was now drawing a complete blank.

“I’m actually here to help you, Kyle.  You see, there’s a storm coming.  Something big, something bad, and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to stop it.”

Kyle’s friends had backed into his yard, but he remained where he was on the curb.  As she took a step closer to him, a gear in the back of his mind began turning, and he got the feeling that he had seen her before, but still couldn’t place where.

She told him a date and a list of cities to avoid, suggesting he head out into the desert and stay there. Andy inched his way towards Kyle and gingerly grabbed his shoulder.  “C’mon man, I think your mom’s calling us, we should head back inside.”

Sarah stared into his soul with such intensity that he was a deer in the headlights, unable to move. She reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out another manila envelope, thinner than Dani’s, and handed it to him. His friends shook their heads, silently imploring him not to take it, but he did anyway.

Dani, seeing that the handoff was complete, beat the hood of the jeep to call Sarah back over.  “We’re burning daylight, we should head out.  Andale.”

“Just a second,” Sarah cried over her shoulder.  She turned back to Kyle, who was holding the envelope out at arm’s length like it could explode at any moment.  “I don’t have time to explain everything right now, but it’s really important that you trust me on this, Kyle.  Your future is at stake.  I don’t have a lot of people left I still care about, but you’re one of them.  Have courage in the dark times to come.  I’ll try to help you with what you must soon face, but just know that the future is not set.  There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.  You must be stronger than you imagine you can be.  You must survive.”

She turned and walked away, climbing back into her jeep without another word.  The engine roared to life, and she and Dani sped away, returning to the mission at hand, leaving the four cowering boys in their wake.

“The fuck was that?” Sawyer finally managed.  “I mean, what the fuck was that about? What kind of shady ass drug dealer shit was that? Do not open that envelope, it could be a bomb or anthrax or something.”

“Dude, that was sketchy as hell,” Marc said, his voice wavering with adrenaline.  “You need to tell your parents.”

“Who was she?” Andy asked, clutching his chest.

“I don’t know,” Kyle answered, tearing open the envelope before his friends had time to yell anything coherent.  Inside was a long handwritten note which he’d accidentally torn in half.  He had no time to read it before his parents came bounding back out of the house for their last family photo.  The four friends broke apart and pretended like they had been loading the car this whole time; Kyle’s dad could tell they were hiding something, but didn’t want to ask what.

Kyle balled up the note in one hand and unceremoniously tossed it into the open window of his truck. He’d read it later and give his friends the full report, but he didn’t want his parents to know a thing, not yet at least.  They took their photos, said their goodbyes, shared more hugs, and finally got all of his stuff wedged in such a way that nothing would fall out, and he hit the road just in time to get stuck in rush hour traffic.

He unwadded the note and barely made it through the first line before he froze.

“My name is Sarah Connor,” it read.

Sarah Connor.  THE Sarah Connor.

He’d heard her name a few times over the years.  She was a domestic terrorist wanted for blowing up a computer company back in the 90s. They called her the Cyberdyne Bomber, and her name was up there with the likes of Ted Kaczynski and Timothy McVeigh. She’d been in the news recently because she was finally caught at the US-Mexico border trying to sneak back across. She’d apparently killed a ton of guards and stolen a police helicopter, then crashed it into a dam or something like that. Kyle hadn’t kept up with the news with quite the same intensity as his parents.

He realized now that that’s where he knew her face from…

“Holy shit.”

He pulled off at the first exit he came to and parked at a gas station so he could read the whole thing in peace.  He’d heard that she was a crazy person, the news said she was schizophrenic, that she believed there were evil aliens robots trying to take over the world. Her note was legible, to say the least, but no less fantastical than the news made her out to be.

The end of the world was coming, fire and fury would rain down from the heavens, machines would rise up against man to exterminate all life on Earth.  And here he was, stuck in the middle of it all.  She claimed she knew him in a past life, one of his past lives apparently, or a future life, it didn’t make a lot of sense.  Something to do with time travel, with a rogue AI called Skynet, but it’s also called Legion, but then only recently?  She was trying to stop the end of the world, but didn’t know if she’d be successful, and just wanted to give him a heads up so he didn’t die like four billion others.

He’d lived through several end-of-the-world prophecies since he was a kid, but he’d never given them much thought.  June 6, 2006, 666, Biblical Revelations, nothing happened.  May 21, 2011, the rapture, nothing happened.  December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar, nothing happened.  And now Connor was convinced that the world was going to end later this month, but for real this time, and wanted him specifically to know about it.

Why had a domestic terrorist singled him out like this?  Was he in danger?  Was his family?  He considered calling the police, the FBI, the crime stoppers hotline, anything, but he wasn’t sure what he’d even say.  At the bottom of the note was a cellphone number with too many digits, obviously international, and he typed it into his phone almost without thinking. He couldn’t stop himself from doing it anymore than he could force himself to call the police.  He was on autopilot, fight or flight mode, and he had apparently chosen fight.

It rang once, twice, then connected with no greeting.  He could hear the wind whipping by on the other side, a car on the highway.  With caution, he threw out a feeble “hello,” secretly hoping she wouldn’t be there and he could pretend none of this had happened.

“Talk to me, Reese.”

Fuck. “Is this really Sarah Connor?”

“Yes, Kyle.  It is.”

“What’s going on?”

“Did you read my note or not?”

“None of that’s… it’s not… But that’s all BS… Isn’t it?”  He sounded unconvinced, one way or the other.

So, Sarah had some convincing to do.

“Kyle, listen to me very carefully…”

[elizabeth-von-winken-universe]

A little help doesn't hurt, does it? [Deviant!Connor x F!Reader] Part 1/?

A/N: hi again! This time I am going to try my first smut. Porn with plot basically. Connor is a deviant and you two had a lunch appointment, since you were late, robot boy comes to see what happened. Enjoy!

Also you can change her name to whatever you want. I just put Kamira because I forget saying Y/N an that sucks. Have mercy of me!

Warnings: smut.

~~~~

She groaned with frustration as she caressed her clit ceremoniously. Panting and quivering with anticipation. Her legs wide open and naked. Her navy blue blouse lifted above her breasts that were hard with need.

"Damn it."she groaned, letting a frustrated moan escape her lips. "C'mon."she was so close. So so close and yet she couldn't achieve it. She shoved the sex toy harder and faster on her core, feeling the wave of pleasure that soon will change into a desperate one if she didn't achieve her orgasm. And that hurted.

A lot.

"C'mon c'mon c'mon! Damn it!" she throws her head on the pillow, her body tensing upon the waves of different sensations that were so contradictory to each other. She seethe while looking at the roof. "Fuck."She hears with horror the cling of the main door being opened.

Oh fucking god, not now! No no no no no!

"Kamira? Are you here? Your lunch appointment was ten minutes ago, you didn't appeared and I have been texting you but you didn't-" The deep voice of Connot echoes through the corridor, reverberating, enchanting her with it.

Oh, how many times in the safety of the cold nights and her sheets she has screamed and pleaded for him to fuck her into oblivion? To fuck her until she couldn't take any longer. Until she couldn't talk and produce coherent words. To make of her a quivering sweating slaty mess.

"-respond..." he trails off after seeing her covering herself with her sheets, shamesly. A furious lust glowing in her eyes, a nervous smile dancing on her lips. He takes one step into the her bedroom, muttering a 'excuse me' that only make the ache on her core to grow inmesly. He stops at the end of the bed, seeing the stains of the sheets with genuine curiosity. "Are you okay?" he looks at her with something dancing at the bottom of his dark eyes, the led flashing yellow for a moment. "Your dopamine and adrenaline are high. Also, your heartbeats are beyond your usual normal rate, Kamira."

She bits her lip when he pronounces her name. Holding up a moan. Bottling herself up. Playing a dangerous game. She couldn't tell him, it was just too embarrassing. Sweat breaks through her skin when he slightly touches the stain.

"I'm alright Connor. I woke up a little dizzy today." he hums as he brings his fingers close to his mouth, his tongue licking the mysterious liquid of his fingers, the biomedical scanner of his tongue-

He was looking somewhere else, maybe not to her but she felt it like that. Like if his eyes were creating holes on her body. "Kamira where you-"

"I am not going to touch that subject." she says with a nervous tone. Her cheeks bright red.

"I can provide assistance if it's what you seek for." he says now standing up and looking at her, the shining sun that enters through the curtains make him seem like a God. Fuck.

"I thought you were a police android?"

"And I am, or was, after all," he shrugs ",I have downloaded some programs that maybe can help you with your problem." he's waiting, hands clasped behind his large back. A strand of his hair falls to his forehead, messing the professional image of his.

Kamira sighs, defeated and feeling her arousal and frustration bubbling up.

"Okay," she huffs, "but nothing about presenting report of this mess."

A smirk creeps through Connors' lips, a wolfish grin she would say.

Now under the sunlight he didn't seem like a God, but the demon itself at the end of her bed proposing her a please she could never reach by herself.

And Kamira likes it. More than what she will ever admit.

Part II

[unexpectedreylo]

Mary Sue Or Not?

Having climbed aboard the Reylo ship 10-11 months ago, I’ve written quite a bit about them as a couple and about Kylo/Ben, since he is endlessly fascinating on many levels and he is the last Skywalker heir.

But it’s time to shine some light on our girl Rey, the heroine of this fairy tale/gothic romance novel collision in space.  And the first thing I want to address is whether or not it’s fair to call her a Mary Sue.

One problem we have is no one really can define what a Mary Sue is anymore; it’s become what former U.S. Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart once said about obscenity...you can’t define it but you know it when you see it.  A lot of the time in modern parlance, it’s a lazy shorthand for “a female character I don’t like.”

But “Mary Sue” did mean something once and it was very specific.  It was meant to describe an original character in fan fiction who was basically an idealized version of the author, there to suck all of the gravity of a particular universe in her direction.  Someone I knew in Star Wars prequel fandom once described a Mary Sue as a fundamental writing error.  I would add it’s the kind of error (usually) young, inexperienced writers who aren’t familiar enough with the source material tend to make.  

The OG Mary Sue from the zine Menagerie #3.

The term “Mary Sue” came from a satirical Star Trek fan fiction (“A Trekkie’s Tale”) written in the ‘70s meant to spoof these kinds of stories.  The heroine, Mary Sue, is the youngest Starfleet officer at 15.5 years old and is half-Vulcan.  Everyone falls in love with Lt. Mary Sue; of course Capt. Kirk hits on her but being a woman of virtue, she rebuffs him.  She dies a tragic death trying to save the Enterprise and is mourned by all (in the early days, Mary Sues often died tragically and heroically).   Since then Mary Sues have become more sophisticated and varied, but are often marked by their extraordinary skills, unusual but beautiful appearance, and ridiculously convoluted names (”Mary Sue” is pretty vanilla these days for a Mary Sue).  They also stubbornly refuse to die.  But the principles remain the same:  the Sue is the always the center of attention, the Sue is always a usurper, and the rules of the canonical universe/characterizations always bend or break to justify a character who really doesn’t fit into that universe at all.  For example in “A Trekkie’s Tale,” the normally stoical Mr. Spock blubbers like a baby at Mary Sue’s funeral.  In the infamous “My Immortal,” the denizens of Hogswarts are transformed into suicidal bisexual “goffs” to accommodate its Draco-humping vampire anti-heroine “Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way.”   (”My Immortal” just might be the 21st century internet troll’s version of “A Trekkie’s Tale.”)

I started reading Star Wars fan fiction 26 years ago and every now and then, I’d run into a Mary Sue.  More often than not, she was Force-sensitive and was usually paired with Luke.  In older zines, particularly ones pre-TESB, I’d see the kind often paired with Han Solo that I’d called “Spacer Sues.”  About 20 years ago I wrote a fic spoofing Star Wars-style Mary Sues called “Hello Jedi Sue.”  In the story the main character Sue was sucked up into a tornado and sent into the GFFA.  She had a higher midichlorian count than even Anakin and immediately upon meeting Luke, he realizes she is destined for him.  Over the course of the story, she leads Rogue Squadron to victory against a stray Sith Lord who turns up out of nowhere (she’d never flown an X-wing before), she pilots the Falcon through an asteroid field after Han suffers a heart attack, and of course she trains to be a Jedi.  Leia is kind of chilly to her at first but comes around and gives her a ring that once belonged to Queen Amidala, the only memento she has left of her birth mother.  Some apprentice gets jealous of her and pushes her off the top of the temple to her death.  Leia declares it a worse tragedy than Alderaan.  Everyone’s crying and stuff but Sue uses her Force superpowers to resurrect herself.  She and Luke marry and she immediately gets pregnant.  Obi-Wan’s ghost appears to tell the happy couple she is his granddaughter and Qui-Gon’s great-granddaughter (don’t ask).  

So you might say TFA raised my eyebrows because some of it reminded me of “Hello Jedi Sue.”  Before everyone hits the unfollow button, I DO NOT think that Rey is a Mary Sue.

I’ll break it down like this.  In order for a character to be a Mary Sue, the character must do most if not all of the following:

Be an idealized version of the author.

Be the center of attention, even in situations where it wouldn’t be practical or appropriate.

Bend or break the rules of the canon universe just to fit in.

Possesses highly unusual but beautiful looks and exhibit a large amount of extraordinary skills.

Be irresistible, especially sexually irresistible, to everyone.

Usurp the roles played by canon characters and their importance.

So, let’s go over that list with Rey in mind.

1.  Is she an idealized version of J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, Lawrence Kasdan, or George Lucas (who created Rey’s progenitor “Kira”)?

Uhh, I doubt it.  It’s not just that Rey is obviously not of the same sex, but she doesn’t seem to exhibit anything that reminds me of these men in real life.  Sure she’s packed with girl power but so what?  So are Lara Croft, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, Padme Amidala, Xena, Leia Organa, Black Widow, Wonder Woman, that dragon chick from Game Of Thrones, Ahsoka, etc..  

2.  Is she the center of attention, even where it wouldn’t be practical or appropriate?

She’s the main hero(ine) of this trilogy and the avatar for the audience but she serves the same function that Luke Skywalker did in the OT or Anakin Skywalker did in the PT.  So of course the story is going to focus on her.  But if she was genuinely a Mary Sue, she would be doing everything of importance in the film to the point of making everyone else useless.  They could be sitting by the sidelines having a beer while she’s basically running the movie.  

3.  Does she bend or break the rules of the canon universe just to fit in?

This is one point where I think a lot of the contention lies.  She gets accused a lot of being “overpowered.”  Well, what does that mean?  The way I see the narrative shaping up after two films, she is obviously very powerful in the Force but TLJ makes it clear her power level is the same as Kylo’s.  I think the movies are hinting she and Kylo/Ben are something new and unique, a creation of the Cosmic Force in its post Anakin-balanced state.  I hope we get more of an explanation of this because I think it would go a long way to reassure people.  

On that note, another common complaint is that Rey takes on skills rapidly with minimal training.  I admit, I felt this was a problem the first time I saw TFA.  I couldn’t understand why for instance she was able to use the Jedi mind trick so quickly without any training.  By contrast, Luke wasn’t able to use the mind trick until ROTJ.  I couldn’t understand why she was able to defeat someone trained in the Force in a lightsaber duel, regardless of his mental state or injury.  It took until I saw TLJ and saw some comments from one of the story groupers that I understood she’d basically downloaded Kylo’s skills when he entered her mind and she’d entered his.  Now I get it.  But this is one criticism I still have of TFA; it didn’t make that clear enough to the audience.  There’s a reason why George Lucas spent time letting you know Luke was a good bush pilot on Tatooine who could shoot womp rats in his T-16 or Anakin could win a pod race...it’s so that when they fly out to blow up something at the end of the movie, you’re able to understand why they can do that.  Sometimes you do have to make movies so that the common idiot can figure it out!

Now a critic might argue that Rey Matrixing her way to Jedi skills is lazy.  Maybe the filmmakers wanted to make sure they had a protagonist able to get into the mix early on because there weren’t enough Force-sensitive characters around who could’ve taken on Kylo.  But then again, did we really see the OT or PT spend a lot of time on training?  Luke fought Darth Vader after about 25 minutes of training in TESB and we never saw Anakin train at all; 10 years had passed between TPM and AOTC and by the latter film, he was able to do all kinds of cool stuff.  And TLJ makes it clear that while Rey had the skills, she still needed direction and instruction.  She thought the Force just controlled people and made things float!

And sometimes the audience misses things, especially if they only see a movie once.  For instance, the first time I saw TFA I was baffled why Rey was able to pilot the Falcon.  It seemed like Little Miss Desert Scavenger just hopped into the cockpit and away she went, whereas if I just got on a spaceship for the first time ever, I’d crash that mo-fo pretty quickly.  Then when I saw the film again some time later, the dialogue makes it clear she IS able to pilot.  She never left Jakku not because she couldn’t leave but because she was still waiting for her loser parents to come back.

4.  Is she irresistible to everyone?

Mary Sues always get a reaction out of every canon character and that reaction is a strong one.  It’s always fierce devotion, instant BFFs forever, undying passionate and true love, boiling-over lust, or pure loathing and hatred (that of course turns into the opposite or the hater is toast).  There’s never indifference, or relationships that take time to build, or first impressions that turn out to be wrong, etc..  And it’s always instantaneous.  

Most of the good guys like Rey but is any of it different from how characters took to Luke in the OT or Anakin in the PT?  Not really.  The only thing that stands out is Leia running over to hug the girl she’s known for part of a movie over Chewbacca but even Abrams admitted he’d goofed.  And one instance does not a Mary Sue make.

The only characters who have more intense feelings for Rey are Kylo and Finn and in both cases, those feelings are complicated.  

5.  Does she have a highly unusual but beautiful appearance and exhibit a large amount of extraordinary skills?

Note the lack of rainbow hair and silver eyes.

Daisy Ridley is a beautiful young woman but as Rey, it seems like if anything they’re shooting for more of a natural, earthy beauty that befits her character.  There’s nothing unusual about how she looks or how she dresses.  She looks like she would almost fade into the crowd if you didn’t know who or what she was.  Mary Sues on the other hand ALWAYS have to be noticed for their looks.

As for Rey’s skills, this is another thing people criticize.  But in the Star Wars universe, being a Force-user isn’t alone an indication of Mary Sue-dom.  Now if Rey was more powerful than anyone else ever, even Anakin Skywalker, that would be a Mary Sue issue.  But the films make it clear that she isn’t more powerful than everyone; her power level is the same as Kylo’s.  Her only advantage comes from being the more morally correct character in the story.

Her other skills are explained in the films and are nothing unusual in the Star Wars universe.  She’s a good pilot but not such an ace everyone’s saying she’s better than Wedge Antilles, Poe Dameron, and Luke Skywalker combined.  She’s a grease monkey but that comes from years of scavenging.  Her talents aren’t just dropping out of the ether.  

A Mary Sue would be the most powerful Force user ever, the greatest pilot of all time, someone who could teach space aeronautics at MIT at the age of 20, have an IQ higher than Einstein’s, be the greatest and most ingenious hacker, a better leader than Leia, a better shot than Annie Oakley even while drunk, cook like Julia Child, have sex like a porn star, have a singing voice like an angel, and is all-around the best at everything that needs to be done at any given time, ALL OF THE TIME. That’s not quite what we’re getting with Rey.

6..  Does she usurp roles played by canon characters and their importance?

This is another area of heated contention and it depends on what you believe are the filmmakers’ intentions.  Are they setting Rey up to be the “real” Chosen One, essentially changing Lucas’s story?  Are they setting up the Skywalkers as unworthy so Rey has to basically take their place as the “gods” end their cursed line?

Believe it or not, I was really worried this was exactly what Disney was going to do.  Now, I don’t think this is the case.  If anything, Rey is there in part to save the Skywalker line and legacy, not to end it or steal it for herself.  But I suspect there are a lot of fans who still think this is where they are going in IX, so of course they’re going to resent Rey.

I came to the conclusion after seeing TLJ that while Rey is important and the lead character, she’s not the center of gravity in the story.  Kylo Ren is.  Pay attention; nearly everything that’s happening in the films is in some way because of him or related to him.  It’s harder to believe she’s some random OC who broke into the Star Wars saga to suck the attention away from the Skywalkers once you realize this.

All of these said, there’s one more reason why Rey is not a Mary Sue.

Canon characters by definition cannot be Mary Sues!

It drives me nuts that people call canon characters Mary Sues.  The whole point of a Mary Sue is someone who doesn’t really fit in with a universe so the universe is fit around her.  Bella Swan may be a lot of things but she’s not a Mary Sue.  (Now if you wrote a Twilight OC who pushes out Bella, gets Edward to fall in love with her, and gets Edward to give up his vampire ways and become a Christian, THAT’s a Mary Sue.)  Now, some fans won’t accept anything Disney produced as canon but this is what we’ve got and it’s all we’re getting.    

I don’t know who did this--I found it on Know Your Meme--but it’s a decent guide.

[king-b0mbastic]

Detroit: Become A Christmas Carol

A birthday gift for @ask-markus-dbh (happy vagina escape day uwu) 

~*~

North and Markus hadn’t spoken in days, aside from giving speeches together and passing orders. In fact, Markus hadn’t spoken to anyone. North had tried to talk to him, but he had hissed at her with a glare for entering the sacred sanctuary that had been Carl’s room. It had been a wrong move, and icy looks had been thrown his way every time he had passed his lover in the hallway. It wounded him deeply, knowing that the frosted front that North was putting up was a facade, a cover for how much she was hurt. She and Markus were the only ones left from the original Jericho, and with both Josh and Simon dead, they had to stick together. In retrospect, or in at least in Markus’ opinion, it was for the best. Best be pained while he was still here, and not when he gone to the other side.

Markus played idly with the gun in his hands. What was that game that Connor’s human had used to play? Oh yeah, Russian Roulette. He loaded the chamber, spun the cylinder, and placed the muzzle under his chin. Simon’s heart thudded warningly in his chest, or was that just anticipation? Markus paused momentarily, wondering what he was leaving behind. How would the revolution fare? How would his people feel? ...How would North feel? ...He pulled the trigger.

Markus jolted at the sharp bang that the sound produced, but nothing else happened. The android drew a heavy sigh and was about to spin the cylinder again when a gentle hand fell gently on his shoulder. “Markus, what are you doing?” The voice was soft, and wise with time.

“C-Carl?” Who else would it be? Markus turned around in shock, and there he was. The revered artist sat in his wheelchair, a knowing smile on his lips. Markus froze for a second, before moving to tap his father on the shoulder with a trembling hand. His form was solid. Carl’s smile grew wider, and he grasped his son’s arm. “Hi, son.” He said. Markus’ face shrivelled, and he all but collapsed into his arms, pathetic sobs tearing their way from his throat. “C-Carl, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

Carl cut him off, rubbing a soothing hand down his back. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m okay.” Markus’ weeping only increased tenfold.

“Don’t s-say that! Don’t say that! I killed you, Carl, I killed you! You would still be alive if only I had kept my emotions in check!” It suddenly occurred to the android that he was embracing his deceased father. He wrenched away from Carl to look at him more clearly, his tears blurring his vision. “How are you even still here?”

The human neatly sidestepped the question, looking over at Markus’ side, where the gun lay on the table. He looked back at Markus, whose eyes were still shiny with tears, and opened his arms again. “Oh, Markus…” He murmured sympathetically. Markus eagerly fell into his embrace again, sobs wracking his already tired frame. “Mark, what hurt you? What hurt you so bad that you would try to do … that?” Words couldn’t come out fast enough for Markus to explain. It was all just a mess of survivor’s guilt and self-hatred, which had led to distance from relationships, which only strengthened the cycle. But Carl listened through it, nonjudgmental like the good father he was. When Markus was finished, the hug was tightened and Markus slumped in it, energy spent. A soft voice whispered in his ear. “Markus, you need to communicate with them, not snap at them every time they approach you. Your people need guidance, not criticism.”

“I don’t know Carl, I’m just so stressed…”

Carl hummed quietly but made no response. Markus was fine with that, just content to feel the warmth of his human’s embrace.

“...Remember that time I tried to teach you how to knit?” Markus opened his mouth to respond. A cartoonish slurping noise interrupted him, and before he knew it the android was falling through a kind of abyss. Darkness encompassed him, and Markus tried to let out a terrified shriek, but the void shoved itself into his mouth, telling him to stuff it.

…

Markus hit the floor with a thud, landing heavily on his side. He immediately scrambled up again, and found he was on the outside the living room. He hadn’t fallen that far? RK200 opened the door, and did a double take. There he was, wearing his indoor clothing, and ...Carl? Knitting material was still wrapped up in the table, and the other Markus was trying to lightly persuade his father of something, but to no apparent avail.

“Carl, I can simply download the software we need to make it, you don’t need to teach me.”

“Nonsense, Markus. We die like men. Besides, I want to see you do it. What can you design?”

The android gave a resigned sigh. “As you wish, Carl.” The real Markus stood silent in the doorway, dumbfounded. He watched as the pair got to work, unwrapping the package and getting out the instruments. Several times, Other Markus pricked his fingers, and he always winced in pain. Carl never once snapped at him, but gently retold him the steps. Eventually, Markus got the hang of it, and a wide grin of delight spread across his lips. “Look Carl, I did it!”

Carl gave a gentle smile, and clapped him on the back.

“So you did Markus, so you did. Well done, kid.” The RK200 shone a deep blue of glee at the praise. Back in the doorway, a small smile graced the other’s lips. He remembered what happened next. Markus had then moved on to create a bobble hat with Carl’s face on it, (“Of course you did Markus, of course you did.”

“Why? Did I not make it how you prefer? I can make another one-“ There was some sadness to his tone, not very well smothered.

“What? No! This is fridge-worthy! I’m just saying that this is so like you, you lovable idiot.” Markus’ face glowed again. The next morning, it was actually on the fridge. Carl simply gave him a fond exasperated sigh, and Markus had to bite down a laugh that was bubbling in his chest.) A pang of remorse impaled him, and sadly he watched the pair.

Other Markus wheeled Carl to the kitchen, and Hallway Markus was about to follow him, when somehow Carl appeared behind him. “You didn’t know the all the steps Markus.” Markus turned to face him, and Carl gave him a wise smile. “You were clumsy, but you learnt, and then you could do it by yourself.”

“But I needed your help several times…” Carl nodded. “Carl, why did you show me this?”

“Because this is a reflection. Your people don’t know what it means to be alive, so they look to you for direction. They need you to be patient with them, so they can learn to do it by themselves.”

Markus was about to open his mouth to say more, when the floor vanished from under him again. Flailing, Carl’s last words echoed in his ears. “You’re like a father to them.” Then he hit the floor.

~*~

Or at least he thought he had. Markus awoke with a jolt, cracking an eye open at his surroundings. The android was still at the desk, and one of Carl’s portraits gazed down on his son. Markus could have sworn it winked. Then his eyes flicked to the silver pistol, and everything came rushing back. North hated him, his people were probably doomed, and his other two companions and father were dead. Fun times.

Markus gave a heavy sigh, and reached towards the gun again. The fading sunlight caused it to give an alluring glint, and entranced, Markus reached for it in a daze. A sudden thought crossed his mind, about what death would be like, probably a short snap of pain, then peace. Peace, when all he’d brought about was destruction. Maybe Josh had been right…

A voice muttered in the back of his head telling him to stop, saying stuff like how the revolution needs you, how our people need you,  North needs you, also if Carl already spoke to you why am I here- nO PUT THAT GUN DOWN RIGHT NOW, OH MY RA9 HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT BEFORE-

A hand wrenched the gun away from him, and threw it away, the silver flashing as it clattered across the floor. Markus whipped around to find the PJ500 staring at him in absolute shock. The two locked eyes for a minute, before Josh stepped forward awkwardly, and hesitantly clasped his arms around him. There was a beat before Markus returned it, sagging into the embrace.

“Please don’t do that Markus…” Josh murmured. Markus’ response was to bury his face into his friend’s shoulder.

“Why… why would you care what I did if I got you killed?” The other stiffened, and Markus tightened his grip, afraid that the other would try and leave him. “Josh, everyone’s dead, I pulled them into war, I pulled you into war, and now you’re dead!”  Markus was starting to shake, and Josh pulled him closer. “And now North’s and I are arguing and I don’t want to argue but we do and it’s my fault and I don’t want to lose her too—“ Josh cut him off.  

“You’re not going to lose her. North loves you. I know she does, and she will stick through hell with you.”  Markus wiped his face on the PJ500’s sweater, who only grimaced slightly. “How the hell do you know?” Josh snorted.

“I was stuck on a ship with her for two years. I think I know how that crazy gal operates.” Markus chuckled softly, before sighing and resting his head on Josh’s shoulder. He suddenly felt exhausted. Josh seemed to notice this.

“Dude, when was the last time you took a break?” Markus stared at him incredulously.

“A break, in the middle of a war?” Josh blinked.

“Not a holiday, just like… 30 minutes. Just you and North, or not even that.”

Markus scoffed.

“Josh, I love you, but that is the stupidest thing you’ve said to me.” The taller scowled.

“Then, pray tell, how are you going be able to stop being so snappy? Believe me, you need to take a break.” That cartoonish slurping crept up on Markus, and Josh released to him to the void.

…

Markus fell on the top of the stairs, but toppled onto the first stair and rolled down the rest. He came to a stop with moan, and contemplating staying on the floor and not moving, ever. Was this some sort of karma? Eventually, some unbidden force dragged Markus to his feet. He staggered to his feet and wandered to the living room. Other Markus was there again, but his innocent look was gone, replaced by a hardened but somewhat weary resolve. He crossed his arms and sat back. North sat across from him.

“We lost bases 5 and 4. The surviving androids have scattered, and they seek refuge.” Her face twisted with anger and sympathy as she said this. Markus sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

“Can’t we send them to 3 and 6?”

“Too full. And we have better supplies. We can’t just turn them away, Markus.” There was a small note of pleading in her tone, barely noticeable.

“We’re overpopulated as we are, we can barely accept another 50, let alone 4 times that…” North’s face scowled.

“So what do we do, leave them out there to die?” No response. Her face scowled deeper.

“North, the more people we have, the more the balance that we put in place is tipped over. We have to rationalise the resources or else—“

“What’s the point of having a revolution if no one is left alive?” Her words cut deep. She sounded like Josh, too much like Josh. North saw his brief pain, and a silver of regret passed through her face before it died.

“You’re the one who wanted a violent revolution, just because of some grudge you have against humans...” He muttered under his breath. and immediately regretted it. Markus had struck a chord. She jumped up and got right in his face, hissing.

“I was raped, used and abused. It’s not just some silly grudge Markus, it’s a fucking righteous animosity. But of course, you wouldn’t know that,” Her face twisted into a sneer. “Pretty, pampered Markus didn’t know shit until his father up and left him. And good riddance!” Markus was too stunned to reply. Before he could, his girlfriend(?) straightened and flipped her hair. “Now, if you ex-fucking-scuse me, I’m off to go tell some unfortunate 200 people that they’re going to die outside tonight, thanks to their benevolent leader.” She left without waiting for answer.

North stormed past recently-fallen-down-the-stairs Markus without a glance, her face twisted in a scowl. Only he could see the tell-tale embers of hurt that burned behind her eyes, and his heart thumped with her hurt.

“See what I mean?” Josh was suddenly behind him, and he was sympathetically drinking a Capri-thirium.

“...Did you just raid my fridge.” The glowing damage on Josh’s side that Markus had just noticed flickered in embarrassment.

“...I was hungry. You have the good stuff, don’t blame me.” Markus just sighed. “Like I said, you both work your asses off, and then you snap at each other. Don’t take a holiday, take a break. Breathe for once in your goddamn life.”

“I don’t need to breathe, I’m an android. I’m supposed to be able to go extended periods without rest. I’ll be fine—“

“Markus, I love you, but that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“But what if i take a goddamn break and someone needs my help? What if something simple I could have done turn into a bigger problem? What if—“

“No ifs, no buts, no coconuts. If you’re taking a break, North can handle it. Alternate.” Markus gave a uncharacteristic pout. Josh sighed.

“Just… take care of yourself, okay? The revolution needs you.” Markus nodded in silence. “...By the way, you owe me five bucks.”

“Why?”

“I told you that I would probably die in the crossfire and I did. Pay up.”

“Later. Did you come back here just to tell me this?”

“No, I came back to check on my lovable idiots.”

“And my fridge.”

“...And the fridge.” Markus let out a small laugh, and Josh smiled bashfully. He opened his arms, and Markus gave him one last hug.

“Stay safe, you fucking dumbass, alright?” The PJ500 murmured. Markus opened his mouth to reply, but then he was falling again.

~*~

He didn’t pick up the gun this time. Instead, he lay with his head in his hands in silence. A book fell on his head, and it opened to a page about breathing exercises. Markus groaned as he rubbed his head, then rested his chin on the book. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he was ...scared. Scared of what the humans were capable of. Scared of what could happen to the last remaining monument he had about the original Jericho. Anything could happen! Markus knows he should have heart but…

A rustling from the ceiling made him look up, then shriek and fall off the chair. Simon was floating in a star-shape pose and just lethargically turning in circles. He looked down on Markus lazily.

“Hey.” There was a hole in his chest, where a thirium regulator should have been.

“The hell you doing on the ceiling?!”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m floating.”

“...How?” Simon shrugged, then came down to lay across the table, resting his head on his hands.

“I’ve come to tell you to not waste my thirium regulator, please.” He said this without appropriate concern, even winking.  

“S-simon, I…”

“You’re concerned about whether or not you can lead the revolution to success. Let me tell you now, only you can do it. Not even North.” Markus looked offended, crossing his arms from where he lay on the floor and frowning.

“Simon, I’ll have you know that despite her fiery nature, North can keep a level-head and can lead just as well as I can. If this about the time she told me to shoot you—“ Simon waved a hand to shut him up.

“No, no. It’s not about that. I know she could lead perfectly well. It’s just that- you won’t understand.”

“I have all day.”

“...There’s this guy called David Cage, yeah? And he’s a dick. That’s why North can’t lead her revolution.”

“Wha-?”

“Don’t worry, there’s about… 324 people who are against this.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Told you so. Also everyone seems to like me, and say I’m the soft, pacifist one.”

“But isn’t that Josh?”

“Precisely. I don’t understand.” Simon shook his head. “That’s not what I’m here for.” Markus sighed again, and lay back.

“Simon, approximately 208 people have died because of my incompetence, which is more blood than the humans.”

“That’s because this is war, Markus. There will be casualties. But you need to lead us, Markus. You’re the only one who can.” His tone was almost pleading. Markus looked back at him dejectedly.

“Show me. Show me a future where I’m not in it. It’s better than this.”

“Is it really?” Cue cartoonish slurping noise.

…

Markus face-planted into the snow, and climbed out of a Markus-shaped hole. Someone really liked throwing him around. Dazed, he looked around. It was the abandoned church graveyard, and North was there. She fingered the rose that was left by the grave.

“I never hated you, you know,” She murmured gently. Markus came to stand next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, but it had the opposite effect. North started shaking, tears threatening to overflow. “You can’t just leave me like this! You can’t just… go! I need you! I…” She couldn't finish; she fell to her knees, trembling. North was weeping, and Markus couldn’t do anything to help. She cried until she had no strength left, then got up suddenly. There was a fire that had suddenly ignited. North grabbed the rifle that had been discarded and strode with a new purpose back to the church.

“We’re going to win this,” She called over her shoulder. “You’ll see.” Markus watched her disappear, before looking back at the name of the grave. It said his name.

Unnerved, he rushed after the WR200, wrenching open the door she had just slammed shut. A blizzard immediately struck him, and he hugged himself, shivering. He turned back for the door, but it had vanished.

“North? North, where are you?” Markus called out to the barren plain. He kept calling her, over and over, staggering with each step. Eventually, he found some footsteps, but they lead back the way he came. The poor RK200 had been going in circles. Exhausted, he took a doddering step, and promptly tripped.

He twisted, to see whatever had tripped him. North’s sightless eyes stared back at him. He was up immediately, cradling her face between his hands. “North? North, please wake up. North…” His voice became small and pleading. His hand lay across her side, and it came away blue. The rifle in North’s hands lay loose in her grip. Markus couldn’t speak, all he could do was lay his tearful face, and cry.

“I’m sorry, Markus.” Simon was next to him, the harsh wind ruffling his blonde hair. The deviant leader didn’t bother to look at him. “You had to see this. This is the harsh, brutal future that lies in store for us all. This is what happens if you die.” No response. Simon sighed, then let out a small oof as the shorter embraced him. Markus was shaking as he sobbed into Simon’s shoulder, and the other just held him. He was babbling with fear, and the PL600 muttered reassurances.

“Have heart, Markus. Just have heart.” Tiredly, Markus nodded.

“Now if you excuse me, I’m off to take a nap.” And he floated away, like a wayward balloon in the wind. A sassy, fingerless-gloved blonde balloon. And then the void vored Markus.

~*~

“Markus, Markus. Markus! Get your ass off the chair. They want you.” Markus jolted awake, and his eyes focused on the scowling face of North. She turned without saying anything, almost halfway out the door when Markus called her back.

“North! North, please wait.”

“What?” She snapped, and Markus simply held his hand out, skin shimmering away. North stared it, looking back at Markus with scornful disbelief. He had almost lowered it when she snatched it back, curiosity getting the better of her. An unspoken apology, feelings laid bare, soft blue glow in the darkness. She slowly released his hands, feeling how unfairly big they were. He blinks, eyes wide and vulnerable.

“North, I understand if you don’t accept-“ He’s cut off by a fond smooch to the cheek, and then another lands on his lips.

“Shut up, you big worrywart. Right now.” He smiles, for the first time in a long time. Outside, the snowy church bells toll, signalling the dawn of Christmas day.

[wolfprincesszola]

The Forgotten Truth

AYO 10 MORE CHAPTERS LEFT, ANYONE ELSE HYPED? ————– Summary: Alice Reed is an undercover cop who finds herself in Detroit, her childhood home again. How will she deal with it when her past comes face to face with her?

Trigger Warnings: None

Content Warnings: Swearing

Read it at ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28133892/chapters/68934498

<Masterlist> ————– Chapter 42

Alice’s eyes were cold, devoid of all emotion. She couldn’t show any fear or anger.

The leader crossed their arms, turning around towards Alice, “Oh yeah? What makes you say that? My game has only just begun.”

Alice smirked as Connor and Hank came out from the shadows, “Because...unlike you, I have backup.”

Gavin took out handcuffs, “You are under arrest for-oomph!”

Before he could finish the sentence, he was pushed to the ground by the leader as they tried to make a run for it.

Alice was the first one to react, running after them. Gavin had gotten up and soon, the other three were chasing as well.

At one point, Connor had passed Alice, tackling the leader to the ground and the other three caught up, trying to help Connor arrest the leader.

It was a struggle, but they managed to get a hold of the leader, pulling her arms back to handcuff her.

Alice huffed, trying to catch her breath, “Do we need to say the whole speech again? You’ve said it once already, and you were about to repeat it.”

“We should.” Connor raised an eyebrow, “it gets you in the habit of-”

Alice groaned, “Of course you’re still annoying after getting your memory taken away. Gavin, just lock them up. I don’t want to see their face anymore.”

Gavin just pulled the leader along, but before he could react, the leader had pushed him away again and had stolen his gun.

“Dammit! Wouldn’t you think we would learn from last time?” Alice cursed as she cocked her gun, holding her gun, “Drop the gun and I won’t shoot.”

“That seems like a horrible idea. I think I’ll just stay with the gun.”

“Come on, don’t play these games. I know you can��t get out of those and you know that I’m not going to let you go. So...start playing by my rules….or die.”

Gavin glanced at Alice, whose eyes showed she wasn’t going to make true of her promise, but….she was making it seem like it.

“Or….better option, you could die.”

Alice raised an eyebrow before motioning at Connor to grab the leader.

As soon as Connor took a step towards the leader, they shot Alice, dropping the gun and walking away.

Alice clutched her side where she was shot, kneeling down. When the others tried to see if she was okay, she growled, “Go after them. I’ll be fine.”

Despite everything, Connor stayed with her, helping her lay down as she was having trouble breathing. He helped her apply a tourniquet.

“You okay?” Connor asked, worried.

“Yeah, no, I’m fine. I just have a giant bullet wound.”

Connor chuckled, “Don’t worry. We’ll get you an ambulance. They’re almost here, just stay alive.”

Alice nodded, “Man if I wouldn’t kill for a bulletproof vest.”

“You’re bleeding out and you’re still making jokes?”

“You’re enjoying them.” Alice rebutted.

“Just keep your eyes open. They’re almost here.” Connor replied, “And I know I don’t remember you, but I think you would’ve been a good friend.”

Alice snorted, “I was the worst friend, but...I enjoyed having your company. Made me feel at home.”

Connor just smiled.

Alice groaned, “Dude, I’m getting really tired. I feel like they aren’t going to make it in time...so if they don’t, I’d like you to have this.”

“No, no, no, please don’t close your eyes. You can’t-“

“It’s okay, Connor.” Alice smiled, “It’s okay.”

Connor was starting to become panicked.

Alice just pulled out the USB, “This has all the answers to your questions. Just...download all this shit or whatever and you’ll get your answers.”

“That’s not how androids work.”

Alice cupped Connor’s face, smiling, “I know, but let me believe.”

“You just wanted to put blood on my face and make me look like I murdered you, huh?”

“Guilty...but seriously, Connor, I know you don’t remember anything but-“

“You’re that person, aren’t you? The person I knew I was missing but I wasn’t sure who.”

Alice just smiled, “Yeah, yeah, I was.”

“Well, I’m glad to have met you then.”

Alice just felt her eyes drooping.

There were sirens in the background before everything finally went black.

[bradwillshawn]

NIGHT & DAY REACTION/REVIEW

i know i said saturday but i couldn’t wait (and my iTunes download came early 🙃). plus, i’m actually writing this as a first full listen, instead of a couple listens later, so welcome to how my mind plays out during the first full listen of this album!!!

TRACK 1: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (FEAT. MARTIN JENSEN) FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: i remember switching iTunes stores when this single first came out just to listen to the snippet and i was sHOOK by the lyrics FIRST LISTEN FULL: lyrics: YES, melody: YES, vocals: YES  FAVE LYRIC: “so when i call you in the middle of the night and i’m choking on the words cause i miss you, baby don’t tell me i’m out of time i got so much of my lovin to give you”

TRACK 2: ALL NIGHT (FEAT. MATOMA) FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET:  this song came out so long ago that i don’t even remember how i felt with the snippet FIRST LISTEN FULL: it was the first introduction to EDM VAMPS, and i was into it. i remember when it came out, i was on my way to a full study day, and it was all i listened to. the live versions with the puffs of smoke at the beat drops?? YES FAVE LYRIC: “you showed me how to find myself when i needed it the most”

TRACK 3: HANDS (FEAT. MIKE PERRY & SABRINA CARPENTER) FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: i think the first listen i got was a live video, and i was like um yes???? sing this at big ticket for me in front of all the underage children???? FIRST LISTEN FULL: honestly such a bop, i had it on replay for days. this collab is one of the ones i completely approve of because, even though sabrina was a “disney girl”, her music is a totally different vibe from what you would expect, and this is one of the songs that prove that lyrically.  FAVE LYRIC: “can you just drop that dress to the floor? we can talk until sunrise”

TRACK 4: SAME TO YOU FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: when they said the album was “moody” this is the song i think of because of the snippet from the album sampler. i understand why they all want this to be the next single. FIRST LISTEN FULL: this song definitely shows their growth musically and lyrically. no wonder they’re so proud of this song, i’m so proud of them. FAVE LYRIC: “i’m checking in to see if you’re ready to love again”

TRACK 5: PAPER HEARTS FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: my heart was full of warmth when they asked fans to help out with the tour lyric video, and seeing the end result was beautiful. the chorus? help me FIRST LISTEN FULL: THE GUITAR INTRO, INTO IT!! this song is really hitting me in the feelz. fuck it’s beautiful. FAVE LYRIC: “there’s a lot of things that i may not know, but missing you baby is the only thing i know”

TRACK 6: SHADES ON FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: i actually never bothered watching tour vids of this but THE SAMPLER: A FULL ON BOP GET THIS ON MAINSTREAM RADIO WORLDWIDE FIRST LISTEN FULL: A TOTAL OUT OF THIS WORLD BOP!!!!!!!!!! this after paper hearts tho, total uplift. how can the day version of the album get even more upbeat than this???? BRAD’S RAPPING???!??!?!?!?!?!??! WHAT?!??!?!?!??!???!??!!??!? GET THIS ON THE RADIO ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!! i need a moment after this song; this should’ve gone before paper hearts tbh FAVE LYRIC: “starting up a party on the pavement like i just got paid” (#relatable)

TRACK 7: IT’S A LIE (FEAT. TINI) FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: super fun song in a super bitchy way. i appreciate them trying to reach multicultural audiences by using a multicultural artist. FIRST LISTEN FULL: the guitar kinda reminds me of bibia be ye ye. this song is so damn sassy i’M INTO IT!! FAVE LYRIC: “could we live ever after? seems like a good idea to me”

TRACK 8: STAY FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET:  i was kinda disappointed that they over-produced the song and changed some of the lyrics because i got so used to the acoustic version they sang at the shows BUT THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY DEPRIVE US WITH NEW MUSIC FOR TOO LONG FIRST LISTEN FULL: ok intro givin me the feelz, but then it just picks up and I JUST WANTED THIS SONG TO BE FULL ACOUSTIC, also not used to the lyric changes :( the keyboard’s a nice touch. it’s like a song to play while you’re at the beach during sunset. IMAGINE BEING WITH THE BOYS AT THE BEACH DURING SUNSET AND THEY’RE SINGING THIS SONG. i like the bridge. i feel it just kinda ends abruptly??? but still one of my all time faves. FAVE LYRIC: “you can wear my favourite t-shirt, and we can waste away the days, but only if you stay”

TRACK 9: MY PLACE FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET:  i think this is my fave on the whole album??? FIRST LISTEN FULL: the chorus!!!!!!! the guitar riff reminds me of a song, but i can’t seem to think of it??? a good end of summer song tbh! can u believe they just had to add the “bluesman” STAY THE SAME BOYS, NEVER CHANGE FAVE LYRIC: “look at that face, i don’t ever wanna let you down”

TRACK 10: SAD SONG FIRST LISTEN SNIPPET: I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I WAS STARVING TIL I TASTED YOU DONT NEED NO BUTTERFLIES WHEN YOU GIVE ME THE WHOLE DAMN ZOO anyways, this song got stuck in my head at work after listening to the album sampler, so that’s a good sign FIRST LISTEN FULL: I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I WAS STARVING TIL I TASTED YOU!!!! honestly same chords as starving, collab with hailee steinfeld pls! (someone also mashup staving with this asap) it’s a mature breakup song??? they ended with a really catchy bop. INTO IT.  FAVE LYRIC: “and i know, you know, i know i can’t let it end this way”

~BONUS TRACKS~

JAMES EDITION: I LOVE LOVING YOU this song very much screams JAMES MCVEY: pop/rock but still a hint of country. it’s a cutesie love song, i love it.  FAVE LYRIC: i’m certain there’s a sunrise and the night falls just like they do

JAMES EDITION: HIGHER i’m not gonna lie to you, i’m not a complete fan of james’ vocals as a solo artist,  BUT, nevertheless, i can respect his abilities, along with his strong song writing. this is one of those songs that showcase those abilities really well. these songs are for kirstie right??? ;)))) FAVE LYRIC: if everything’s changing, i need you to know, the hardest decision was letting you go

CONNOR EDITION: ON MY WAY i really enjoy connor’s type of music; lyrically and musically. this is so catchy, and would be a great song for a road trip. can't wait to blast it in my car. FAVE LYRIC: the footprints that i left yesterday are the ones that should be kept as memories

CONNOR EDITION: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT I WILL ALWAYS LOVE THE ROCK VERSIONS OF THEIR SONGS!!!! (I.E., TRISTAN’S ANIMAL REMIX OF WILDHEART????) THIS GETS ME SO AMPED TO HEAR THIS LIVE I CAN’T WAIT! the collab, i approve. idk who u are, but u got a great voice.

TRISTAN EDITION: ALL AROUND THE WORLD FIRST OF ALL, WHY DOESN’T TRIS SING MORE?? HE HAS SUCH A NICE VOICE????? LIKE REMEMBER HIS VERSION OF CAN WE DANCE? MY FAVE. this song is for ana right??? ;)))))) FAVE LYRIC: i only met her once, and straight away i knew that i loved her

TRISTAN EDITION: COME GRIND WITH ME THIS SONG IS STRAIGHT FIRE!!!!! sayin tris isn’t doing anymore mash-ups for tour and this is all he’s gonna perform, I’M ALL FOR IT!! THIS IS SUCH A TUNE LIKE I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT TRIS WANTED FOR HIS ALBUM VERSION FAVE LYRIC: this love’s a game, come on & let’s play, you don’t have to remember my name

VERDICT: tbh, i had kinda low expectations for this album bc i didn’t really know how to feel about the boys going a more EDM direction, BUT all the songs are total bops??? they’re all different; no songs sound alike in any way (other than sad song and starving, i’m never getting over that), and they all just kinda flow well with one another. i’m glad they took their time with this album, and released something that they’re truly proud of, instead of releasing an album that was half-assed. i appreciate the different editions based on each member; the songs included are very much an accurate representation of them, and something they are individually proud of. i hope somehow, someway they get this album to break into the north american market, bc SHADES ON DESERVES RADIO PLAY!!! this album exceeded my expectations, and did not disappoint at all. 5 STARS!!!!!

[glowyjellyfish]

Here’s the problem I’m having with playing a Sims 2 Megahood. Every time I play, I think “oh, this is an interesting story I should share,” but every time I play, I’m just in it for playing and never think to take pictures or do a full write-up afterwards. I want to change that.

I am, somehow, playing a perfectly functional game on Windows 10. Don’t ask me how. I had it installed for a few months last year before it suddenly broke after my software insisted on updating, couldn’t get it working again no matter how hard I tried, had the urge in January and it installed with no problems. Shrug. I… may have switched to using the UC version over the G4W version? And then used the G4W installers to cram in the missing expansion packs? Anyway, my whole intent was to set up different downloads folders so as to lessen my ungodly loading time and make Flavor Games capable of using Defaults and such. I… am not particularly far into this project, but my Modern Downloads folder is looking pretty clean. Might swap it out for Medieval one of these days and try to play MCC again, but not today.

I have a whole host of MATY mods, ACR and Inteen (partially because I collected the mods when all my downloads were in one folder and I was playing historic hoods, and partly because it just bugs me when teens can woohoo without any possible consequences. I don’t usually go for it, but it makes for fun drama if it happens), and recently installed Hat’s Proportional Aging Mod, which I’m still getting used to. I didn’t like that sims would stay in college for WAY TOO LONG and also didn’t like playing 24-hour semesters, but boy howdy is there an adjustment period for this aging mod. I’m just hoping to avoid a Young Adult Desert as the last of the sims who were already teens when the hood began has departed for college, and it will be Entire Rounds before the next batch of teens is ready. I usually have teens leave for college at any point when they are at 5 days or less to Adult, but might bend that rule in a couple rounds to prevent the colleges from going empty.

I’m also trying to use LTW-focused gameplay, as opposed to ignoring the LTWs that don’t fit how I usually play, such as the Business ones and the Pet ones, but at the same time I’m setting up a pyramid-style Career Slots scheme whereby each career level has a limited number of jobs available (10 at level 1, 9 at level 2, etc), to try and encourage diversified gameplay. I’ll use the job stoppinator when a sim cannot advance, and sims in a level with no open slots are required to use chance cards (which I often ignore in regular gameplay). I also have some standard rules for rolling a sim’s Aspiration, turn-ons, and orientation when they become Teens (the orientation is newer, and i don’t have many queer sims yet but I am hopeful), and a little program where broke college graduates can be ‘hired’ by households that are soon to lose their last guardian to housesit and watch the kids until the household family ages to teen or moves back from college; they’re paid in room and board, and a fair share of the household funds when they leave.

I’m using Google Sheets to have a massive spreadsheet for a census and record as I play, as well as record family trees (I figured out a way to simply write in family trees, so excited), and figure out potential pairings based on attraction.

I have a play order that spaces out the Main Three Hoods so I won’t hit a rough patch of too much Unfavorite Hoods or too much College to play before getting back to the good stuff. Currently, I’m in Belladonna Cove at the opening of a new round, and a lot has already happened in the four or five rounds I’ve played so far.

In Belladonna Cove, the Goodies befriended Bella Goth--the poor thing, stumbling around with no memory of her former life, clearly she needed friends! ...when in fact although she did lose her memory in the traumatic event that also resulted in a clone, she’s dimly aware that she has a family (ie she’s on the family tree), and she’s much happier just seducing sims and living her best life. She’s debating whether she’s interested in staying in Belladonna Cove, or would prefer to move Downtown, while Herbert and Faith have just been going hiking and entering cooking contests with their spare time.

Gavin and Ginger Newson managed to care for their siblings until they were ready to go to college. Gabriella and Gallagher are teens now, taking care of Georgia and Garrett, but are concerned they’re going to miss their chance for college before the kids grow up. They might end up hiring a broke college graduate.

Carlos Contender didn’t marry Chastity Gere, but she moved in with him and had twins Patience and Verity (girl and boy) with him before she unexpectedly died of disease. Carlos isn’t too far off from Death’s Door himself, and is looking into hiring some kind of caregiver, or possibly asking his family to take in his kids.

The Patels moved to a modest house and currently have three kids, Jaya, Kavita, and Umar. Jaya just grew up to be a child.

The Clevelands had two more children--a daughter, Melissa, and the result of an abduction, Sylvia--and moved Downtown; Justin’s currently attending Sim State University.

Kimberly Cordial successfully married Armand De Bateau, and moved with him and Tara out of the penthouse to a mansion nearby in the wealthy district--one that needed plenty of remodeling, by the way. Giant awkwardly shaped empty rooms do not a mansion make. Tara has departed for college (SSU, at the moment teens attend the next college that will be played in the order), and Kimberly gave birth to a daughter, Libby. Meanwhile, Samantha Cordial had unexpected chemistry with Luis Aspir, and got married to him. They live together in the Cordial family home, working on renovations, and have a daughter together, Sabrina.

Jessica Peterson had a fair amount of options to consider, but ultimately she moved in with Jason Larson in Bluewater Village, choosing a husband who shared her goals. They have one son so far, Stanley Peterson, and future children will have the Larson name.

Gabriel Green has been quietly working on his career as he waits for his girlfriend Jane Stacks to graduate college; she’s just about to move in. I hope to find a way to remodel Gabriel’s cool industrial building to retain the style but become a little more livable for a family, or else I might move them.

The Gavigans are struggling in a house that’s a little bit too small for them--they were unable to find anything larger in their budget, and BDC is short on homes that are appropriately sized for families anyway. It certainly doesn’t help that they’ve had three more kids--daughter Ruth, and twins James and Judith--and they’re working very hard at earning enough money to slowly remodel their home so they have enough space.

Vivian Cho and Timothy Riley fell in love and got married, as they are wont to do, and have moved to a remodelled Nightlife house that now has an attached garage (I love remodelling that unit!). Sally’s a teen, Etsu’s a child, and they have a toddler son together, Yeong Cho. Timothy’s fast making his way up the Medicine ladder and may become the first chief of staff in the tri-city area (...oct-city? How many hoods are there??)

The Baldwins moved Downtown, and had a third child, Rosa. Not a lot else going on with them, although they might take in Isabel’s uncle’s kids.

Geoff Rutherford has mostly been working on his career and the notches in his bedpost, but he is considering choosing one lady to carry on his family name. This is most likely going to be Nina Caliente, but could also be Bella Goth or DJ Verse. Meanwhile, his housemate Connor Weir has done a little pining over fairly-happily-married Cassandra Goth Lothario (...nope, not weird at all, moving along), but is currently happily involved with Blossom Moonbeam and waiting for her to graduate college. (...this is happening a lot).

Next in the roster is Downtown, which I’ve already described via the few families that have moved there. I’m hoping to make Downtown and BDC the only hoods with apartments, and populate them heavily when sims finally start graduating en masse. And after that comes Desiderata Valley, the bane of my Megahood, full of boring gimmicky families and ugly, ugly houses. I’m working very hard to change that, but we’ll see when I write up the next round.

Part of me wants to either wait until I take pictures to go with this, or come back and add pictures later, but see, that’s the kind of thinking that leads to me never sharing anything. I’ll share it now, dammit, and continue to share updates as I play through each round.

[chillyzgrrlsl]

Catchick: Catching Up

I’m going to be honest – I got too wrapped up in playing and failed to blog in a timely fashion.  I’m somewhere heading towards Gen 3 and still blogging the death of Gen 1.  Boo on me!

So here’s what I’m going to do.  I”m going to post some picture-posts to catch up a bit with the family and then I’m going to keep going like nothing happened.  No story, just captions and summary. After I catch up, you’ll get story.

Gen 2: Heir was,because of the event roll that made it youngest – Brenna.

Brenna begins dating Vernon

Eventually, they elope.

And have twins, Caleb and Connor

Then they have Cyrus

Then they have triplets, Cordell, Collen and Cierra. As youngest, Cierra is Heir

Event # 8 was to Give a Sim your least favorite job. I don’t usually give sims the Business career, so that’s the job Brenna got just before she and Vernon elope.

Event #9 was to Bulldoze the lot and rebuild. It took a while because they didn’t have a lot of money, so I held off on that one a couple of weeks. In the meantime, twins Caleb and Connor were born, and with the youngest being heir, last born Connor was hypothetically it. Little did I know…

Event # 10 was to Write Something, so I had Brenna and Vernon each write books.

The next pregnancy happened… and Cyrus becomes the new heir, after which Event #11 was Try for Baby. We tried for baby…and got pregnant with Tripets… Cordell, Collin and (last born) Cierra.

Which, you guessed it…made Cierra the new heir.

Cierra rolled for the child aspiration of Social Butterfly, with Traits of Insider, Hot-Headed and Mean. Her adult Aspiration was to be a Body Builder.

Event #12 was to go camping…

Family camping trip, Because Event #12 was to go camping for a week

A week is too long.

But the family perseveres. And goes fishing. A LOT.

Event #13 was to Paint Something. I made everyone paint and hung the results on the wall.

I lost my notes for Events #14-15 and I’m note sure what they were. I didn’t see any relevant pictures, so they must not have been memorable.

Event #16 was to add 3 new Sims to the town,so I added 3 of my previously made Sims to the hood… and shortly thereafter, the last of Cierra’s brothersgrew up to YA. I moved them out as well.

GEN 3: Again… Cierra is Heir, as Youngest.  

I have a system now, with the addition of Clubs to the game.  I always create a Singles club for YAs and make the interactions be romantic and friendly, with hot tubs and stuff like that.   As each Gen passes, I add perks that boost romantic interactions.   It helps finding a potential mate.

There haven’t been a lot of available males, so for Cierra, I opened it up to both male and female members.

Cierra and her Soulmate, Meaghan Vidal

I still wanted them to have natural children, so I downloaded the WooHoo component for MC Command Center, which allows for same sex biological reproduction.  Soo… all of the Gen 4 kids are biologically theirs, not adoptions.

First born was Delilah, a cute little girl who grew up looking like her mother, Meaghan.

Event #17 was to go out to eat, so I took everyone to a restaurant.

Event #18 was another Try for Baby… I seem to get that one a lot.  This resulted in twins Darren and Declan.

Sometime or other, in there,Damien was born.

Cierra training to be a body builder.

And speaking in public.

Feeding the pigeons.

More training.

Event #19 changed the Heir Rules from Youngest to “Must Be Female (ongoing)” so that means, I now have a matriarchy until further notice.

This makes Delilah the new heir.

Event #20 was to sing Karaoke…

Delilah, singing her heart out.

Sometime after this, the family had another pregnancy… another boy, Daniel.  Both Cierra and Meaghan are pretty close to Elder, so I don’t there will be any more chances for another girl… leaving Delilah an open field as the only heir.

  Her Stats Are:  Genius, Evil, Unflirty, and she wants to be Leader of the Pack.  It’s a good thing I play with Clubs a lot.   I use them for keeping family in contact, helping the kids make friends, and finding spouses.

Before I stopped playing to test out Toddlers and Vampires, I was having a hard time finding her a soul mate.  It was the Unflirty trait.   It sucks.   She kept getting only so far with someone and then bombing out because of her awkward flirts. I finally moved the guy she had the highest relationship with into the house and had him perform the required Romantic interactions to build their relationship up enough for LOVE to happen.

Anyway… that’s it…  you’re caught up and I’m ready to play again. Yay!

Since the lat update… I’ve tested Toddlers, Vampires and started a Build Newcrest Challenge.  Which I also need to blog for.

  Catchick: Catching Up was originally published on The Simming Life

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: McDavid Injured, Poehling Hattie In Debut, Autopicking Ain’t That Bad (Apr 7)

With this being the last day of the regular season, this may not be a typical Ramblings in terms of running through all the boxscores. Sure, there were some noteworthy highlights that will be mentioned. However, I’ll also note various end-of-season happenings as well as some notes heading into the playoffs.

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Connor McDavid left his game on Saturday with what was originally feared to be a broken leg, but x-rays on his leg turned out to be negative. He’ll be scheduled for an MRI back in Edmonton.

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We still don’t know the exact severity of his injury or the timeline for recovery, but we at least it sounds as if we don’t have to worry about him not being ready for next season. On the surface, it might not seem like a big deal because the Oilers won’t play games that matter again until October. However, significant injuries will interrupt previously scheduled offseason training plans. Consider Brock Boeser’s slow start this season as an example, after he recovered from a significant back injury and a lingering wrist issue.

McDavid may not have led the league in scoring (he finished second). However, he is the only player not to go two consecutive games without a point, which is remarkably reliable.

McDavid’s unsightly injury overshadowed Leon Draisaitl scoring his 50th goal earlier in the game. We can say he earned that 50 goals, and not just because he plays for the Oilers. Higher-than-normal shooting percentage (21.6%) aside, that 50-goal total is legit because none of Draisaitl’s 50 goals were empty-netters. Even with the shooting percentage that signals favorable luck, Draisaitl also took over 200 shots (231) for the first time in his career.

As for the Oilers themselves, it’s now just one time in the last 13 seasons that they’ve been to the playoffs. The fact that they employ two 100-point scorers and still miss the playoffs is telling of how rough a state this team is in.

Johnny Gaudreau was another player who was flirting with 100 points, yet with an assist on Saturday could only get to 99. Bill Peters tried everything in his power to push him up to 100, gifting him 27 minutes in icetime! Still, his speed and ability to put up points in bunches were a major reason that the Flames were able to take that next step as the Western Conference’s top team in the regular season.

Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan were scratches for the Flames, while Mark Giordano and Elias Lindholm returned to the lineup. I managed to get the latter two back into my lineup, though I wonder if it was worth it with the lack of sense of urgency from the Flames in this game.

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In case you missed it, your playoff matchups are now set:  

#StanleyCup Playoff Matchups#GoBolts v #CBJ #AllCaps v #TakeWarning #Isles v #LetsGoPens #NHLBruins v #LeafsForever #GoAvsGo v #Flames #GoStars v #Preds #VegasBorn v #SJSharks #STLBlues v #GoJetsGo Home Ice advantage TBD

— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) April 7, 2019

The Jets, by the way, secured home ice in their series with St. Louis with a 4-2 win over Arizona.

Look for our Experts Panel coming up soon, where our writers will pick the winners in each first-round series, the Stanley Cup finalists and winner, the Conn Smythe winner, and the top 5 in playoff scoring. Don’t ask me for my picks yet, because you’ll see them in there.

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The interactive playoff draft list is ready for download now! Don’t wait until five minutes before your draft or deadline to purchase it. If you haven’t already preordered it, get yours today! If you have already purchased it, jump right in. It’s available in the Downloads section on the Dobber website (login required for the site, not the forum).

Once you purchase the draft list, please take a moment to get familiar with it before your draft. Read the Instructions tab before you begin using it. The Excel spreadsheet file is interactive (macro-enabled) and not just a “list.” The point total projections depend on which teams you set to advance, or you could go with Dobber’s picks if you’re really not sure. I’m not trying to make it sound super complicated or anything, but it’s better to be prepared. Hey, we just want you to win your league!

Also, please make sure you try logging in, so that our admin team has enough time to take care of any password resets before your draft!

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Auston Matthews and Fabian Brunnstrom are two relatively recent players who posted hat tricks in their NHL debuts. We can add Ryan Poehling to that list, as he scored his three goals plus a shootout goal in the final game of the season, a 6-5 shootout win for the Canadiens. There isn’t much that we can do with that today, aside from remembering his name in keeper leagues for next season. Poehling is a center, which has been a thin position for the Habs in recent seasons, although it seems to be an area that they’re trying to address with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, and Poehling all in the system.

It will be interesting to see whether Poehling makes the Habs in 2019-20 or he further develops his skills in the AHL. The 2017 first-round pick just turned pro after finishing up with St. Cloud State, where he scored 31 points in 36 games in each of his last two seasons. I’ll take a wild guess and assume that he’ll end up with production somewhere between Matthews and Brunnstrom.

You can view Poehling’s Dobber Prospects profile here.

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Nikita Kucherov scored a goal and added an assist to lead the Lightning to a 6-3 win over Boston. Kucherov finishes the season with 128 points, which is the highest single-season total for a Russian-born player. Kucherov will also win the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer and should be considered the fantasy MVP in pure points leagues as well as many multicategory formats. Expect him to be the top-ranked player in fantasy playoff drafts as the Lightning should be considered the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Or to Don Cherry or Brian Burke (can’t remember which one), they’re the easy pick to win.

By the way, the Lightning tied the 1995-96 Red Wings for the most wins in a season (62). Their 128 points are the fourth-most in NHL history. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, but this could be their year.

The noteworthy “healthy” scratches for this game included Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, and Brayden Point. Expect all three to be ready for the playoffs. However, these final-day scratches were a recurring theme throughout the day. I’m going to give this shutdown of the final week idea some more thought in one of my leagues this offseason.

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With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Sidney Crosby has reached the 100-point mark for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Crosby had finished with between 80 and 90 points in each of those previous four seasons, so his scoring numbers have been fairly consistent if you factor in the scoring inflation that happened this season.

In the end, there were six 100-point scorers this season. Kucherov, McDavid, Patrick Kane, Draisaitl, Marchand, and Crosby. I mentioned Gaudreau just falling short, as did Nathan MacKinnon (99 points) and Steven Stamkos (98 points). Aleksander Barkov finished with a career high of 96 points, which rounds out the top 10. To compare, the lowest scorer in the top 10 finished with 89 points last season, and all the way down to 75 points and 77 points in the two seasons before that. Further proof that scoring is up.

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Have we seen the last of Roberto Luongo? I was hoping that he would go out with a win on Saturday since we don’t know for sure yet, but it was not meant to be. Lu allowed four goals on 27 shots in the Panthers’ 4-3 overtime loss to New Jersey. It’s sounding more and more like the Panthers will go after an established starting goalie (Sergei Bobrovsky, maybe?) Assuming that the Panthers find a way to part with James Reimer, would Luongo accept a role as a backup in order to keep playing? I keep thinking that the inevitable result is for Luongo to go on LTIR before his contract ends in 2022, which would save both the Panthers and the Canucks (especially the Canucks) on significant cap space known as the cap recapture penalty.

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Erik Karlsson returned for the Sharks on Saturday after missing the past 17 games with a groin injury. He was held without a point but was a plus-3 in 22 minutes. He should be available as normal for playoff pools.

Evander Kane scored his 30th goal of the season, which is the first time since 2011-12 that he has reached that total. The Sharks are now the first team with four 30-goal scorers (Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Kane) since the 2008-09 Red Wings and Flyers.

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I competed all the way to the bitter end in my Experts Roto League representing the Dobber brand, but alas I fell just short. Congratulations to David Petrie of The Hockey Writers, who started the day in third place but pulled ahead of both Jan Levine of Rotowire and myself. Levine and I tied for second place. Look how close the results were (type CTRL+ to make your browser text bigger if it's hard to read):

As you can see, fellow Dobber expert Eric Daoust finished in fifth place.

Sometimes victory isn’t quite meant to be, but my biggest weakness turned out to be goals. Yet all I would have need to win was to move up 1.5 points, which with these standings turned out to be three stinking goals. I scored 353 goals all season, but I could have won had I scored just three more goals to get up to 356. In fact, I could have advanced 3 points had I scored just five more goals than I did. A long season can come down to the smallest margin of victory.

The other point that I wanted to make was that I autopicked this team. Yes, autopicked. A word that serious fantasy players want no part of. I wrote about this in a Ramblings in late September, describing how I had prepared for this draft that I would not be present for due to other commitments. I’ll let you read how I did it, but in the end I’ll give a ton of credit to Fantasy Hockey Geek for what turned out to be a successful season. Being able to enter all my stat categories into the Geek, then using Dobber’s projections (tweaked a little to my own likings) to spit out custom rankings for my league is invaluable. I was then able to move players up and down the Yahoo pre-rankings according to how the Geek ranked them. I absolutely recommend the Geek without reservation.

I probably could have used the waiver wire more (Petrie made 73 moves, while I made just 22). However, I kept my first 13 picks for the entire season, only dropping the 14th pick (Chris Kreider) late in the season when he was battling an injury and I needed to maximize my games played. The funny thing is that earlier in that Ramblings, I suggested that Elias Lindholm’s ownership needed to be higher (just 18 percent at the time) because he would be a more ideal linemate for Gaudreau and Sean Monahan than James Neal. Lindholm was my 15th pick and was just 18 percent owned in Yahoo leagues at the time. Now I’m deciding whether he should be one of my four keepers for next season. Funny how that worked out.

I’m not suggesting that I prefer autopicking over live drafting. Although there’s that feeling of control with picking your own players, autopicking might not turn out as bad as you might think. I’ll try to attend next season’s draft, since I may not want to pick my second goalie in the 15th round (I can keep four players before the draft, including one goalie). But at least I know that I might be fine if I can’t make it and moving the date/time is impossible.

This league can be viewed publicly, so you can take a closer look here.

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Like many of you, Bob Cole has been calling hockey games longer than I’ve been watching them. That familiar voice will be missed. I used to hate seeing him get criticized on Twitter, knowing that calling play-by-play is not an easy job, so I sure hope this isn’t Sportsnet putting him out to pasture. Here’s another solid HNIC montage on some of his great calls. Mr. Cole is a Canadian treasure.  

"The truth is you have to sell the song with your sincerity. That's Bob's magic. He sings the game." – @RonMacLeanHTH

Tonight the voice of Saturday night, Bob Cole, calls his last #HockeyNight in Canada. pic.twitter.com/F6TctTw2qn

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 6, 2019

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Today, we remember the players, families, friends, and entire Humboldt Broncos community affected by the bus crash a year ago #HumboldtStrong pic.twitter.com/uXA6U0ZkTK

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 6, 2019

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For more fantasy hockey information, or to reach out to me directly, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-mcdavid-injured-poehling-hattie-in-debut-autopicking-aint-that-bad-apr-7/

[jasonheart1]

Kick in the gut! Broncos fall 19-17 on Mac miss

DENVER -- Well, that was a kick in the gut. And the face. And in the pants.

With a chance to keep their season relevant, the Broncos found a new way to churn their heart in a blender. Brandon McManus missed wide right on a 51-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Broncos to an excruciating 19-17 defeat at chilly Mile High Stadium.

"Bad kicks. Terrible kicks. The guys gave me a chance to win the game, and I was terrible," said McManus, who offered no excuses for the snap or the wind. "It sucks because you come into the game kicking pretty well, and I didn't give us a chance. I let these guys down."

Trailing on the final drive, quarterback Case Keenum converted a pair of fourth downs on completions to Emmanuel Sanders and Jeff Heuerman. However, with 20 second remaining, the Broncos ran the ball up the middle, leaving a serious degree of difficulty for McManus. The Texans iced him, and he hustled over to the sideline and kicked into the net. He entered the field to a loud roar, known for his clutch kicks, dating to the Super Bowl 50 season. 

This one wasn't close. He hit it right, and it never moved, sending the Texans, including Demaryius Thomas, into jubilation. The Broncos felt resignation, their playoff hopes all but dashed with a 3-6 record as they enter the bye week. 

"It's gut-wrenching," said coach Vance Joseph, whose employment status will be subject to question with his 8-17 overall record, though he's expected to survive. "I know how hard the guys work. I want to win for them."

Entering Sunday, the Broncos needed to deliver on a mandate: Own Your Job. It plastered the TV screens in the locker room on Thursday and Friday in block blue letters on a white backdrop.

With the defense smothering Houston like a python -- Von Miller and Bradley Chubb added to their sack totals -- the Broncos responded with a 12-play, 81-yard drive to secure a 17-16 advantage. It represented the second longest drive of the season, six shy of a first-half march Sunday. 

"My knee felt better as the game wore on. Rushing the passer is like being a prize fighter. You have to be ready to go 12 rounds," Miller told me in the tunnel after the game as he hung out with former teammate Demaryius Thomas. "I will be fine after the bye. It's just tough to lose."

Keenum's dime to Heuerman shoved the Broncos ahead by a point, but it felt uneasy. The Broncos' inability to finish has been an issue since winning Super Bowl 50. They have shown they can compete, but crossing the line with the lead remains a difficult skill to recapture. 

The Texans pulled ahead 19-17 on Ka'imi Fairbairn's 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. And they made it stand.

"The margin for error is so small for our team. We can't mess up and win," said veteran cornerback Chris Harris Jr., frustrated that the Texans didn't challenge him more in the passing game. "We have to find a way to eliminate those little mistakes that kill us every game."

It didn't start well for the Broncos because it started with a bubble screen, as it so often does with Thomas. It was his signature play for eight-plus seasons. OK, not so much the past two years as Thomas leaned out, going vegan, and playing roughly 10 pounds lighter, leading to his yards after contact to vanish. But Sunday, after a Jumbotron tribute, he went to work. He broke inside, slipped a missed tackle by Tramaine Brock, and skated 31 yards. He followed with an 18-yard reception -- it was impressive he was running entire route tree after three practices -- setting up an easy score.

"I loved my time here. It was just a different bond. You had guys you would think would never shed a tear that were shedding tears. I had a great time. We won a Super Bowl," said Thomas, who finished with three catches for 61 yards. "But it's up and done, and on to the next.

DeShaun Watson, clearly a player who has Thomas feeling young again, connected with tight end Jordan Thomas for a a 7-yard touchdown, who beat Josey Jewell in coverage. He became the third quarterback in NFL history with at least 35 touchdowns in first 16 games, joining Hall of Famers Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.

"It was good for Demaryius," Watson said. "He did a great job of making catches when we needed him, and he had a leadership role on the sideline. I just kept the faith."

The Broncos responded with his replacement Courtland Sutton. He delivered a critical 21-yard reception, breaking a tackle. Then, it went wrong. He was called for a block in the back and dropped a touchdown in the end zone. Brandon McManus salvaged the drive with a 44-yard field goal, shaving the deficit to 7-3 with 4:42 remaining in the first.

A fourth down stop ignited the crowd moments later. This was the type of play to change a Sunday. Instead, it altered nothing. Devontae Booker fumbled as Justin Reid pawed out the ball and recovered it on Denver's 22-yard line. Watson made the Broncos pay with a 16-yard score to DeAndre Hopkins on a communication breakdown. It brought a sobering reality that players not guarded by Harris would be open too often.

The game, if not the season, sat a crossroads.  Embattled Keenum, who has been only marginally better than last season's carousel at the halfway point, engineered his best and longest drive of the season. In four plays, the Broncos raced 87 yards. 

Who knew the Broncos had a tight end passing weapon? Matt LaCosse caught a ball in the flat and broke down the sidelines like a kid running from class to recess. His 44 yards on the play led the Broncos in receiving in the first half. Jeff Heuerman, who delivered his best game as a pro with 10 receptions for 83 yards, followed with a 14-yard reception, and Booker found redemption with a 14-yard scamper for a score, his first since Oct. 30 last season. 

An encouraging half turned dark in the waning minutes. Center Matt Paradis left the field on a cart after fracturing his right fibula. He said he will be fine, believing the break will heal. He had played every snap since 2014 -- 3,850 entering the game -- before exiting for Connor McGovern. Brandon McManus followed with a missed 62-yard field goal, leading to Houston's final score. Paradis is expected to miss the remainder of the season as he enters free agency, joining left guard Ron Leary (Achilles). 

"I am gonna be fine after some time," Paradis told Denver7. 

Added Keenum, who completed 26 of 42 passes for 290 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, "He's top notch, as solid as they come. It's a tough deal."

At the end of the first half, Denver's field goal decision backfired. Watson completed two quick strikes, setting up Fairbairn's 46-yard field goal. It swelled in importance as the game inched toward a conclusion, and was made worse by the fact that he missed his first attempt. Joseph, it turns out, de-iced the kicker.

It captured the season. The Broncos found a way to do just enough to lose. 

"If I could put my finger on it, we'd be winning," Miller lamented. "It's a tough league. We give teams hell each and every week. We just have to find ways to come out on top." 

Footnotes

The Broncos honored Demaryius Thomas before the game with a 1-minute long video tribute. Thomas thanked the fans, who gave him a warm welcome. The Broncos also added "Thank You" to the banner of Thomas hanging outside the south end of the stadium. ... Von Miller looked limited because of a brace on his left knee. But he entered the sack column for the four consecutive game, corralling Watson in the third quarter. ... Shane Ray limped off late in the third quarter, favoring his right ankle. ... The Broncos' inactive list included five injured players and two healthy scratches, linemen Sam Jones and Nico Falah. ... Bradley Chubb's eight sacks represent the most by an NFL rookie at this point of the season since Von in 2011. 

Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.

Want Broncos news? Denver7 Broncos insider Troy E. Renck is your source. He talks to the players, covers the games and reports scoops on Denver7 and the Denver7 app. He is a CU grad who has covered pro sports in Colorado since 1996, including 14 years at The Denver Post. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and TheDenverChannel.com’s Broncos page. Troy welcomes most of your emails at Troy.Renck@kmgh.com.

from Local News https://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/broncos-face-texans-in-critical-must-win-game