#TNPLH

[abubblingcandle]

Six Sentence Sunday

From There's No Place Like Home Ch2

Ever since the Jamie Incident, AFC Richmond had been in a bit of a funk. It wasn’t even that they were in a scoring rut or they were losing. Dani’s return and Nate’s coaching aspirations actually had them playing ok and Richmond were on par with where they were with Jamie wearing the number 9. The changing room was more cohesive and everyone seemed more comfortable in themselves. Yet Jamie’s number 9 shirt still hung in its cubby. Ted had gone to remove it after he had been to see Jamie in the hospital but his fingers had ghosted over the fabric and it remained on the hanger like a shrine to the fallen.

[snowthedemonfox]

i drew ten the other day but then thought "if she wins the girlboss poll ill post it" and well here we are. yippiee!!

[demonfox-art]

pinned post :3

hi gamers, welcome to @snowthedemonfox's art blog

well.. kinda.

ill still be posting my art on my main, this is just where ill be reblogging all my art to, so its all in one spot. also makes it easier for those who wanna follow me for just my art!

so i guess its more of an archive? idk. anyway enjoy

some noteworthy tags under the cut

#tnplh au - this is my 17776 au, which i have multiple fanfics written for! still slowly working on this #dscp - not MY AU, but a group RP from the 17776 discord. i have a few ocs from this lol

#gaiaverse au - a sonic au featuring some of my ocs, where the basic idea is "what if dark gaia also lost their memory"

#reset au - dont have much for this rn, but its a rottmnt au ive been occasionally drawing stuff for

#alien au - tadc au that me and some other members of the bunnydoll server came up with :3 i just wanted an excuse to draw cool designs for the characters

#bunny au - we turned the tadc cast (mainly jax) into bunnies because we can. au is by me and @gen-toon !

#ocs - general tag for oc stuff

#snowgem - fursona :3

each fandom i post stuff for has their own tag but i wont be linking them all here

[earlywrites]

there’s no place like 127.0.0.1 commentary part I: ‘looking back’

Hey gang! Here’s part one of my commentary on my Angela & Robot fic there's no place like 127.0.0.1, a.k.a. A Weekend At Angela’s, a.k.a. Mr. Robot’s Day(s) Off. This will contain spoilers through Season 3 of Mr. Robot.

To start off, the title of the fic itself I got from a fun piece of set dressing in 3x05:

...which (and I'm probably stating the obvious here, but either way) is a play on 'there's no place like home' from the Wizard of Oz, as 127.0.0.1 is the 'localhost' of any given machine.

“Dolores… Haze?” she says, frowning [...]

I believe this is the codename Elliot would have Darlene stored under on his phone, since it’s a handle she’s used in other areas -- recently, as the name of the network she and Elliot used in the arcade during 3x09:

Somehow, he both feels like he’s been hit over the head with a truck, yet at the same time had the best sleep he’s ever experienced in the scattering of days where he’s been the one in charge. The sleeping pills on the side table aren’t a name he recognizes, and the instructional lettering is all in Chinese, but holy balls did they knock him the fuck out. Seems Angela wasn’t kidding when she said she was committed to keeping Elliot out at all costs.

I did a bunch of reading on DID and several people on the forums suggested sleeping pills as a method to prevent alters from switching over in one's sleep. Ambien and melatonin etc all seemed to also promote sleepwalking as a side effect, especially when combined with alcohol (and this is more relevant in part II), so I took artistic licence and made a fake drug that essentially knocks you out with zero (known) side effects, lol.

Residual self-image. Everyone has a face that only they can see, projected outwards into the mirror. A false idol of confidence, of ego, or a shell of dysmorphia and despair – either way, a lie repeated for so long it manifests into your own monster. Or maybe it’s something as little as a smaller nose or a slimmer waistline, look, ultimately, people like to reject reality and see what they want to see – for better or worse, ‘til death do us part, until every feature is stripped back and washed away, and that face in the mirror is just a skull the world has finally fucked. Technically, his own projection is long dead, but reanimated for a greater purpose – a divine one, even, according to Tyrell and his whole wackjob microreligion thing he’s got going on.

Residual self-image is indeed a term from The Matrix, which Morpheus describes as the 'mental projection of your digital self'. Here, it's a literal way that Robot describes how he and other people see themselves, even if in reality it can be very different. The major theme of this fic was perception versus reality, in that both Robot and Angela are focussed so narrowly on their specific ideal outcomes of Stage 2 that they omit or ignore any signs that the plan will not go exactly their way. This is the first area where I start to address that, and basically continue to hold up a sign in big black lettering that goes HEY ISN'T THIS IRONIC THAT THEY'RE SAYING THIS GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW NOW for the rest of the fic.

Still, he only gets wrapped up in this metaphysical bullshit when he’s in the driver’s seat for an extended period of time, because situations tend to arise that take him on a stroll through Uncanny Valley. For example: he showers and then shaves, but no stubble leaves his jawline. He changes into fresh clothes that Angela has left him, but the label on his jacket still proudly proclaims Mr. Robot: Computer Repair with a Smile! (still not his name, no matter how much Elliot tries to pin it to him). Sometimes he can squint through the mirror, rearrange his focus a little bit, and see this analogue of Elliot staring back at him – eyes half-lidded, the pinched anxiety on his face smoothed out. This is what they all see, which really is a poor substitute for the damn good-looking guy he’s facing off with in the bathroom vanity this morning.

Like, I've always wondered about this. Elliot is always clean-shaven after Robot's been in control for longer stretches of time, so Robot must shave, but we know he always has stubble -- how does any of this work, really? Is the fact that we see Robot's face in the mirror just a product of Elliot's overarching control over what is depicted in the show, and Robot actually sees 'Elliot's face? Who the heck knows, Sam sure as hell probably isn't going to explain it, so I'm sticking to this interpretation for now. And, also, no, Robot's never actually referred to himself as Mr. Robot in the show, going so far as to laugh at the idea of Elliot calling him that name when Krista brings it up in 3x02, which is why I have him rejecting it in here.

He tries watching TV, for a bit, but nothing particularly engaging is on basic cable on a Saturday morning – crappy cartoons (they really don’t make them like they used to), some more bullshit presidential candidate Donald Trump (seriously. This, if anything, is why Stage Two is an absolute fucking necessity to get the world back on track) has regurgitated about taxes or something is being picked apart by no less than twelve ‘experts’ on CNN, and the hysteria continues on four other channels. Only one news channel is actually covering the upcoming UN vote, which is quintessential Americocentrism - like, holy shit, the UN is going to sell a fucking country to China, and all people give a shit about is some failed reality star who can't, apparently, do math beyond a grade-school level. The next channel he tries is airing a repeat episode of Teen Mom, which is about the point where he gives up and switches it off, tossing the remote somewhere down the couch.

I don't know what was on US basic cable on that September weekend in 2015, and neither do you, probably. I do know that, around this time, Trump unveiled his tax policy at a press conference. It wasn't on a Friday/Saturday, but then again, September 29th wasn't actually a Monday, so whatever, I'll take some wiggle room on that.

[...] Darlene doesn’t know about the arrangement between Angela and himself, all he needs is plausible deniability for the knock – sleeping pills on the side table, that’s it, that’s the play, if he bunks down on the couch she’ll believe he was so far under he didn’t hear any of it. Wake up, fidget a bit, Elliot-style – keep it vague, let her fill in the blanks—

I would've loved to have seen the Robot v Darlene route, where Robot plays as Elliot and finds out about Elliot's plan to have him followed, and how things might have played out differently from there, but, that would then diverge from the canon series of events I was trying to keep within. I guess we'll never know!

“I know, that’s why I set up a contingency, give me some fucking credit here,” he argues. “It’s a little self-destructive sequence, a ransomware mimic – forget to key the password into the dialog box that pops up every five minutes and you’ll get locked out, and all the files on this laptop will self-encrypt. Only I have the keys, so even if – if – he manages to resurface, he wouldn’t get far.”

I'm sure this is wildly inaccurate, since I know pretty much nothing about programming, lol. We can't all be Elliot, okay!!!

“Is it possible for you to not be an asshole for like, five minutes?” Angela mutters. “Fine. I’ll—wait, hold on.” She brings up the Netflix home page, typing ollie.p.parker@gmail.com into the email field. “Let’s see if he – nope, hasn’t changed it. Why am I not surprised.”

“This is your ex-boyfriend’s account,” he clarifies. Angela hums the affirmative as she scrolls through his recommended titles – fucking hell, there’s at least three different Adam Sandler flicks alone. “Well, good to know he’s still a fucking moron. You sure dodged a bullet there. Or,” he pivots, reconsidering the context, “I suppose, given how that all played out, got that bullet lodged in you removed before it was too late.”

Fuck Ollie, this is the least of what you deserve, you dickwagon. I had a further scene that I ended up cutting because it dragged down the pacing, where Robot convinced Angela to let him 'hijack' Ollie's Netflix account by changing the email address and password and then getting into his email account to verify the change and delete the notification emails. Anyway, he's probably suffering in the post-5/9 economy, so, suck it dude.

He wrinkles his nose. “Oh, that guy’s in this?”

“Who, Christian Slater?” Angela says, looking up over her phone as the monologue continues. She finishes her text and slides it back onto the coffee table. “Not a fan?”

“Of his works? No, I like them well enough, Heathers is great,” he says, tossing a piece of popcorn in the air. “There’s just something about his face that makes me hate him. You know, when you look at a guy, and he has a face that’s just asking for a fist? This guy. He always looks so smug.” He points an accusatory finger at the TV. “What have you got to be so smug about, huh? Besides the fact that you’re probably jerking off to that fat royalty check in the mail every month. I mean, we all know that’s what all the Hollywood schmucks are doing, tugging it to their stacks of cash, but you don’t have to wear it right there on your face so I’m reminded of the fact every time I see it. And it doesn’t help that he spends half the movie miming the act, it just makes it so stupidly meta, Christ, I need to build a fourth wall in my brain and kick over a bucket of bleach – also, by the way, what the fuck, I can’t believe you actually watched this as a child, you—”

This was probably the most self-indulgent thing I got to write. I love that Christian Slater exists in Robotverse, so that I can exercise the 'character played by actor, who also played a character in another thing, thinks this character sucks/is ugly' trope. If you missed it, here's Pump Up The Volume on VHS in Angela's childhood home in 3x06:

She’s silent, for a moment, and the movie plays on. “It helped, in a way. With my mom. There’s a line, that’s always stuck with me – ‘the terrible secret is that being young is sometimes less fun than being dead.’ See, they don’t approach death in a way that’s nice, and polite, and full of platitudes – it’s angry, and messy, and it’s okay to want to just—” She suddenly leans over to the laptop, clicking forwards a few times.

“I’m sick of being ashamed. I don't mind being dejected and rejected, but I'm not going to be ashamed about it.” She mouths along with him. “I mean, you look around, and you see nothing is real, but at least the pain is real. You know, even this show isn’t real? It’s just me, I’m using a voice disguiser, I’m a phony fuck just like my dad, just like anybody—”

If you haven't seen the movie, basically Slater's character is reacting to the news of a teen committing suicide, after they had stated the intention to do so on his show - you can watch this scene here. This is, of course, not a movie a young child should watch, but Angela has always talked about her anger regarding her mother's death, and I thought (aside from the self-indulgent aspect of Robot v Slater, lol) it would be interesting to explore how she might act out, a little, like kids sometimes do to cope with grief and pain, secretly watch a Movie Definitely Not For Kids, and within it find a helpful way to release the anger she bottled up. (Also -- she would've loved the lizard. What a cute little friend.)

Somehow, they keep this train chugging along until well into the night. His pick is next – he chooses Snakes On A Plane, just to fuck with her a bit, but it turns out she just loves snakes, because of course she does, so that backfired somewhat, aside from the fact that Snakes On A Plane is actually pretty fun if you really embrace the hammy acting and ridiculous plot. Angela parries, picking a recent release called Jupiter Ascending, a large proportion of which he spends loudly trying to work out at what point in time since The Matrix Trilogy were the Wachowskis secretly killed and replaced by doppelgänger hacks, as Angela sips her appletini and coos over werewolf-angel(?)-in-rollerskates Channing Tatum. He then counters with Sharknado 3, which is definitely a mistake, and then they have to both suffer through all excruciating ninety-five minutes of it because neither of them are willing to budge on their unspoken cinematic war. A victory for him, maybe, but a Pyrrhic one nonetheless.

Angela does canonically love snakes, so this wasn't intended to be a jab at her manipulation of Elliot this season, but, of course, interpret at as you will. This great piece of characterisation is from the Red Wheelbarrow tie-in book for Season 2 (which is an awesome read, definitely recommend):

Second, the 'cinematic war' is totally one-sided. In my mind, Angela actually enjoyed all the films they watched, while Robot basically fucked himself, lol. Look, Jupiter Ascending is a wonderful, whimsical film, that should be taken at face value for the work of art that it is. Space paperwork! Bee princesses! Eddie Redmayne whisper-screaming as he tries to marry his mother! It's an absolute cinematic treasure. I can't say the same for Sharknado 3, but, well, all in good fun.

“First off, the entire concept of monogamy is bullshit,” he replies, and yes, he is going to actually give her a serious answer. “It’s an archaic evolutionary tactic to boost survival rates among Neanderthals that has no place being the gold standard in 2015, in the same way that we don’t kill a mammoth and spend the rest of the year eating hairy elephant ass for every meal — newsflash, supermarkets exist now, there are like fifty different varieties of beans, literally just beans, so it makes zero sense to pledge your undying commitment to a can of Spam, I mean, shit, even if it’s something you actually enjoy, you’d get absolutely sick and tired of eating it and nothing else until you keel over and die. So, on that note, it’s pretty obvious why most of our parents spend the rest of their lives fucking hating each other if they’re not a part of the fifty percent who cut ties before it’s too late, because, yes, alongside the great lie of the picture perfect nuclear family, the modern factory-line industry of marriage is just a capitalist cash cow where everybody thinks they’re getting milk, but in reality? That sure ain’t a teat they’re sucking on.”

This also comes back to the Red Wheelbarrow tie-in book, and specifically, to this scene in it, where Robot rants to Leon about monogamy in the context of Mad About You:

This is probably my favourite scene from the book -- I love the idea of Leon and Robot having long-winded debates on media, and it's a pity we'll never get to see that acted out, lol.

[...] “Fuck Gosling, fuck Stone, kill Groban. Done.”

“Wow,” Angela replies, leaning back, one hand against her heart. “Wow. You’re such a dick. How can you kill Josh Groban?”

“Breaking news! What a scoop. Angela Moss, come and claim your Pulitzer,” he says. “And, to answer your question: very easily. Groban is clearly the least attractive of the three, and so by the metric of this game it condemns him to death.”

“The correct answer,” she says firmly, barreling over him as if he’d never spoken, “Is fuck Ryan, marry Josh, and, well, if I have to kill someone, I guess I have to kill Emma, but I’m sure she’s lovely. Actually, no, okay, if you get two fucks then I do to. Fuck Ryan, fuck Emma, marry Josh.”

I love Angela's love for Josh Groban nearly as much as getting to see Elliot in that 'Property of Josh Groban' sweater in 3x01. It's never been explicitly stated on the show, but my interpretation of Angela and Robot's sexualities is that they're both bi as fuck, so there you go.

“And, you know what? I don’t want to live in a world where everyone’s as cynical and jaded as you, old man. Because,” she hiccups, ending it in a giggle, “That’s what you sound like, you grumpy fuck, like you’re pushing eighty, not long until you start yelling at kids—” and at this, she cups her hands over her mouth, imitating a megaphone, “Get off my lawn, you capitalist piglets!”

“Okay,” he says, shaking his head, grinning in spite of himself as she yells out “you bourgeoisie microscum!” in a shitty imitation of an elderly man [...]

This is my favourite piece of dialogue in this entire thing. 'Bourgeoisie microscum' fucking kills me every time I read it. Originally I also had 'pushing fifty' as a sly wink at Christian Slater's real age, but no middle aged man has quite the curmudgeonly attitude to pull off 'bourgeoisie microscum'.

That's it for part one, folks! Thanks for reading, if indeed you still are. Click here for part II :D

[elphabasthropp]

significant swanfire episodes + imdb ratings

[brothersapart]

You got it on the first try! There’s No Place Like Home for sure, but... whose home?

You know, I went to look for a gif for “there’s no place like home” and all that came up was Supernatural gifs, nothing from Wizard of Oz... hmm... we’ve taken over.

I’ve placed the list of story tags in the FAQ, and will add names to it as they’re guessed so everyone can see how many unnamed stories are waiting to be guessed!

[snowthedemonfox]

@opprotunemoment

“Did you create that plot point just to get your character hurt and tormented?”

[masterofmunson]

Hi I'm not sure if you do tags but I would love to be tagged in There’s No Place Like Home 😱😍

I do!! I’m pretty sure you’re on my tag list, I was just lazy and didn’t tag anyone for the first part lol

[kyrumption]

top 5 TV episodes of all time?

once more, with feeling - btvs

some you give away - oth

birthday - ats

there’s no place like home - lost

chuck vs the colonel - chuck

[abubblingcandle]

For @ficwip word game wednesday (ignore the clock it's lying to you) which this week was Window

From There's No Place Like Home Ch3

“What is this?” Jamie whispers, hating that his voice has the squeak of a startled mouse. It was a redundant question really, he knew the markings of an intervention when he saw one. The back wall filled with three, soon to be four when Keeley finished moving over to them, anxious and pitying faces. Jamie expected it from Ted, everything about the man was designed to stab Jamie in his vulnerable underbelly no matter how hard he tried. Keeley still cared about him for some reason likely more to do with her angelic disposition than anything Jamie had done, so he could tolerate it from her. But Roy and Beard stood there in matching closed off bashful poses was the kick in the balls. Had he really fallen so low that Roy fucking Kent was pitying him? Disgusting. “I’m sorry but we’ve only got a small window of opportunity,” Keeley squeaked, biting her bottom lip and looking over to Ted for some insightful words of wisdom that would fix Jamie and then they could all go back to their lives with the guilt left behind them.

[snowthedemonfox]

its real juice hours (ft. pioneer 10)

[onceuponaprincessworld]

My Favorite Captainswan fanfictions

 I just wanted to say thank you to all those talanted writers that we have in our fandom for sharing theirs stories with all of us. This is a list with some of my favorites stories that I have read. I am thinking of making one for one-shots as well. 

MULTICHAPTERS

To Make Your Heart Race, author  fergus80, complete,

  With This Ring, author  kissmelikeapirate, complete

Life Unexpected, author  lookingforgrowth, wip

Love In Éire, author   BlackWidowNat , Complete

Theoretically, author  wtvoc, Complete

You Play Ball Like a Girl, author  WelpThisIsHappening, Complete

and in the same verse 

Just a Bit Outside, author  WelpThisIsHappening,wip 

Dropping Anchor, author  nowforruin , wip

Look What the Cat Dragged In, author  AthenaScarlet, Complete

Let's Just Be Us, author  colormyheartred , Complete,

Recipe For Disaster, author  Librarybelle, wip

The Lost Boys, author  niniadepapa, Complete

As Real As You Want It To Be, author  always-been-a-pirate, Complete

The Usual Story!, author  Cynthia03, Complete

The Rembrandt Files, author  lenfaz , Complete

In the Name of the Brother, author  tnplh , Complete

The Pirate Chef,  author  lenfaz , Complete

Brother of a Preacher,  author  lenfaz , Complete

The Fix-It Sisters, author  PhiraLovesLoki, Complete

The Best Friend's Brother AKA: The Egotistical Ass, author captndevil, Complete

The Other Prince, author  alwaysbeenapirate, wip

Off Limits, author  headoverhook, Complete

[earlywrites]

there’s no place like 127.0.0.1 commentary part II: ‘keeping up’

Welcome to part two of the commentary for my fic there's no place like 127.0.0.1! Let's dive right into Sunday morning. As before, here there be spoilers for the majority of Season 3.

“[...] And, for your information, the internet exists. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but you can find anything on there. Literally anything. Including a Keeping Up With The Kardashians fact-checker resource.” 

Keeping up with the Kontinuity Errors is a blog, currently run on the Cut, that breaks down episodes of KUWTK scene by scene, using social media and paparazzi photos to determine when each scene was actually filmed versus the date/timeframe that is claimed on the show. Here is the post on the first episode Robot and Angela watched, wherein the Kardashian-West clan et al travel to Armenia and also may or may not be in Jerusalem at any given time. I didn’t choose particular episodes for rounds two and three, but I do have a fondness for the one where Kim loses her diamond earrings in the ocean, and Kourtney goes:

“How about, the loser gets to do the dishes from last night. And this morning.”

I actually wrote this section before 3x09 came out, so this ended up being a sad piece of foreshadowing.

:(

“That’s the cholesterol,” she retorts, as she marks out new columns into her notebook. “Your diet is terrible.”

“No, Elliot’s diet is terrible,” he says, licking maple syrup off of his fingers and setting his score sheet up on his knee. It still gets a little sticky, but whatever. “I don’t get much choice in that matter. Occasionally, when I get the chance, I eat a vegetable.”

Literally how is Elliot a functioning human being. Robot brings this up in Part I, but that post was getting full, so I'm putting the discussion here, and, look. Everything about his lifestyle, his love for junk food and the fact that he probably gets 0 sleep now given Robot’s nocturnal cycle points to him being deeply, incredibly unhealthy. Having Robot making some effort to take care of their body, even as a semi-joke, is my way of somewhat justifying how Elliot is still alive, lol.

“[...] vaguely considers beating one out – because it’s been a while, and Tyrell’s snarl under the press of his hand at his throat is still tucked away in his spank bank, awaiting withdrawal [...]”

I feel like 3x09 proved unequivocally that Robot is absolutely into playing rough.

[source: @knownoshamc, x] 

“[...] I bought a few titles that looked interesting. And a few things just to mess with him - did you know there’s a game where you can date pigeons? Like, actual birds. It’s apparently very popular.”

Yes, of course I’m referring to the masterpiece of visual media and storytelling that is Hatoful Boyfriend.

He stares at her, breathing heavily, and thinks about picking up his laptop and smashing it against the smooth surface of the coffee table, watching it splinter and crack, then taking her MacBook and sending it flying across the room, shattering the glass of a window, compromising the integrity of the perfect little box she’s living in, the one she’s caged him inside. He visualizes it, until he can feel the weight of the laptop in his hands, sees in the reflection of her eyes – big, blue, steady and unwavering – how the arc of destruction plays out, walls crumbling around them, fragments spinning out in slow motion, catching the light.

Elliot and Robot are highly creative, and are shown to manipulate the world around them to fit their perspective - in that vein, from Robot’s point of view, that scene would play out similarly to Cobb and Ariadne’s first dreamsharing experience in Inception.

Then he sits down next to her.

I separated this line from the preceding paragraph because this, for me, was the biggest character moment for Robot in the fic -- rather than doing what he wants, and releasing his rage, being his usual rash and destructive self, he chooses not to, and essentially releases his anger like air slowly leaving a balloon (minus the squeaking, lol). He tried to bait Angela, to get under her skin, after she made an astute judgement about him and exposed a major vulnerability of his, but she was unwavering, meeting him eye to eye. I think this point was when he gave into trusting her, knowing that she knows his weakness -- his deeply complicated, protective, antagonistic relationship with Elliot, the fact that he doesn’t want to face that he misses him -- and allowing her to keep that secret for him.

Completing Portal 2 in co-op mode ends up taking the rest of the afternoon, only pausing for snacks – and Angela takes his blithe comment on Elliot’s nutrition seriously, because of course she fucking does, and prepares shit like carrot sticks and celery with hummus which are both incredibly bland and deeply unsatisfying, so in retaliation he spends an inordinate amount of time dicking around with the portal mechanics so her character keeps falling to its untimely end. But he quickly gets bored of that, and of Angela making empty threats to beat him over the head with her MacBook (yeah, like her noodle arms could ever manage it), and does end up working with her to beat the game. The entire concept is problem-solving and teamwork, which is genuinely engaging, even though it’s obvious Angela picked this as some kind of teambuilding exercise for the two of them — which, on paper, is annoying as hell, he’s not some fucking suit in an intern program. Still, she’s not a bad partner – they bounce off each other well, sometimes literally, and she’s the one to actually figure out the shoot-while-jumping sequence needed to get through the penultimate level. For some reason, though, her favorite characters, if you can even count them as characters, are the cubes. The cubes. She fucking loves those dumb, inanimate objects. GLaDOS would definitely take her ass in to test for whatever malfunctioning part of her cortex causes her to express affection for a cube.

Hey, look, it's a game where two characters work together to aid the agenda of an evil megalomanic who's actually manipulating them and ultimately wants them to die to serve her true purpose, while ignoring warning signs saying not to trust her. Sound familiar? ;) But yes, for those unfamiliar with the Portal series, here's a little article about the essence of the co-op game; the purpose was to directly parallel it with Robot and Angela's doomed plan under Whiterose's thumb. Totally check out the games, if you haven't already! The co-op is a lot of fun, and the penultimate level took my friend and I like an hour to figure out how to complete (whereas the last level? Total cakewalk, even if The Cake Is A Lie :P)

“And we will have to manage Darlene,” she continues, bringing several onions on a chopping board over to him. “I don’t know what her motives are in coming here to look for Elliot, but either way, we have to play it safe. I’m going to give you your phone back tomorrow and if she calls, you can answer it, but… tell her you wanted to go off the grid this weekend, or something, clear your head. You can use the fact that you’ll be at work to keep it short, just enough to keep her from looking in any further.” “That excuse won’t stretch too far – isn’t Elliot getting fired tomorrow?” he asks, peeling the skin off the first onion and starting to slice it up. 

“Yes,” Angela says. “Mid-morning at the latest, but she wouldn’t know about that, so even if she wants to meet she’ll have to wait until the end of the day – if she presses for the lunch break, you can say you’ve made prior plans with me. [...] Okay, so, you’re just going to sit tight until security escorts you out, as we discussed, and don’t make a scene [...] Once you’re out, keep your distance from the data recovery center but stay in the area in case Irving and Tyrell need assistance with the execution, in which case I will contact you directly and escort you through any E-Corp facilities, since your card access will be revoked. Otherwise, go somewhere public, so that you have an alibi that can be corroborated by at least several witnesses concerning your whereabouts at the time the building comes down – but keep a low profile, get a Starbucks, or something. Make sure not to take your laptop out of your bag unless there’s an emergency, you don’t want anyone making assumptions about what you were doing during Stage Two once the dust clears and the feds look for someone to pin it on. And, if you need to call me, ring and let it dial once, hang up, and then immediately ring again. That way I’ll know it’s you calling, and not Elliot.”

We never got to really find out what Robot & Angela’s original plan was for that day, if Elliot hadn’t taken over for the events of 3x05-06. I assumed that, after Tyrell and Robot’s altercation in 3x04, the reins had been handed over to Tyrell and the Dark Army to execute, and Robot’s job was essentially support-if-needed, Angela still acting as his handler and liaising with Irving. This is my interpretation of what the OG plan might have been like -- at the beginning of 3x05, Angela encourages Elliot to pick up his phone as it rings, and then seemingly clicks that it’s no longer Robot, but still calls out to Elliot to grab lunch later. Later, she didn’t pick up her phone when Elliot called her, which I wondered about at the time since we weren’t given an indication as to whether she knew who was actually calling, and so this is my justification for that too. 

“We’ll toss those in olive oil with the carrots and set them to roast in the oven for about twenty, and in a couple of minutes I’ll get started on the steaks [...]”

I made a few fun Matrix shoutouts in this fic, and this is another one -- Cypher eats a virtual steak dinner as he trades the crew on his ship to the Agents in exchange for insertion back into the matrix, rejecting his harsh reality for the comfort of an artificial world. The recipe I had in mind is something along the lines of this one.

His memories are a muddled patchwork, haphazard at best – the clearest ones he has are also the darkest, ones Elliot didn’t want to deal with, shoved into a box and couriered to his doorstep with DO NOT RETURN TO SENDER in big red lettering, his burden now to bear. It’s no sweat, he’s stronger than Elliot, anyhow, which is probably is the point – the nightmares of yesteryear don’t faze him much, especially now their bitch of a mother is slowly rotting away upstate.

3x07 heavily implied Robot had already emerged before Edward Alderson died, and was the alter in control when Edward collapsed at the cinema -- but, in Season One, Robot begged Elliot not to let people ‘try to get rid of [him]’ again, implying there were stretches of time in Elliot’s life when he wasn’t present. Mr. Robot’s timeline is muddled to hell thanks to Elliot’s unreliable narration anyway, but I figured that Robot’s memories would be somewhat similar to Elliot’s with more gaps in them, and more strongly feature the abuse exacted by their mother, per Robot’s role as a (deeply flawed) ‘protector’ to Elliot. Also, I’m not sure whether Magda Alderson is actually alive or dead, but ‘slowly rotting away’ can mean both physically rotting in a grave and just generally living a stagnant existence (in a nursing home, presumably), so that’s up to interpretation! 

He’s not much one for wine, but this one’s pretty good – it’s apparently a 2008 Penfolds Grange, whatever the fuck that means, and they’ve made quick work of it as the evening has wound down.

The Penfolds Grange vintage 2008 Shiraz (South Australia) scored a rare 100 points in both The Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator, two of the world’s most influential wine journals, when it was released in 2013, and I believe was initially priced at around $600-700. Price probably gave her this bottle, so it’s a good one to crack open when intending to destroy his company.

“I guess… I’m nervous, about seeing her again,” she murmurs. “It’s been so long, and so much has changed… it’s weird, because all I’ve felt up until this point is excitement, like, this is the whole reason I’m going through with all of this, to finally destroy E-Corp and create our new world, to share it with her – and yet, now we’re here, I’m not sure if I’m ready.”

Her whole deal with Whiterose is bordering on obsession, at this point. It’s somewhat disconcerting, but then again, he supposes that’s Angela – she’s just intense like that. “Look, Angela, don’t set your expectations too high on that one,” he cautions. “I don’t think either of us are going to see Whiterose again, at least, not in the immediate future. She’s not the type to just swing by to pop off some champagne for a job well done.”

Angela looks at him, frowning slightly, and then her expression clears. “Of course,” she says, finishing up her glass. “You’re right, Whiterose has more important things to do. Maybe we’ll just have to have our own celebration.”

“Maybe,” he replies, looking at her narrowly. He has an odd feeling that she wasn’t talking about Whiterose. But then, who else would it be? Darlene? No, that doesn’t quite add up.

I mean, look, at this point, it’s very obvious to we the audience that Angela is talking about seeing her mother again, and she then makes reference to Elliot believing in the #cause once he gets to see his father just before the brownout comes in. These scenes always made me feel sad to write.

The inset on the face says 29, and the hands glint at a little after six. Early, but not quite early enough to justify a little more shuteye.

In 3x05, Elliot says the Dark Army tried to execute Stage Two at 6am. Robot waking up with a start around the time the Dark Army try to attack but being completely unaware of it happening is the beginning of the end for his usurped revolution.

So that's it, for now. If you’re still here -- thanks for reading, friend! Hope you enjoyed this self indulgent spiel -- catch you on the flipside :P

[littlebitofmayhem]

CS Fic Rec

Here are a list of my fave friends to lovers/ friends with benifits fics xo

The Favour by Madj 

AU. Emma Swan doesn't do relationships, but her annoyingly attractive neighbor, Killian Jones, might change her views. Captain Swan.

Never Tear Us Apart by Kjb2609

A CS Modern AU Fanfic Killian Jones is the front man for a band who have not yet made the big time. He is also in love with his good friend (and the girlfriend of their manager) the unattainable Emma Swan. When their manager turns out not to be the man they thought, his friendship with Emma is threatened.

All That You Are (Is All That I’ll Ever Need) by bluestoplights

Modern AU / It's really difficult to figure out you're in love with your best friend if you've never known what it's like to be in love in the first place.

The Invitation by Kjb2609

When Emma Swan was feeling the pressure from her family about her single status, her friend Killian seems like the perfect solution to a Christmas invitation. A CS Fake Dating AU

The Message by Kjb2609

Emma Swan thought she was right to stop this thing with Killian Jones going too far - anything to keep their friendship intact for her and her son Henry. But when it looks as though he may have moved on, she is no longer sure she made the right decision... (This was previously in my Whenever, Wherever group but I decided to give it its own story.)

Call It Love by Montana-Rosalie

As children, Emma and Killian were friends. Now they are all grown up, and everything has changed.

It Was Certain by tnplh

If your best friend demands you marry him for free health insurance, well, maybe sometimes you just give in. Captain Swan.

15 by nowforruin

"She's fifteen the first time she meets him, her brother's new friend. She's shy and awkward, hasn't quite figured out how to tame her long blonde hair yet or grown into her spindly legs. He's already beautiful, bright blue eyes that make her wish she was prettier, older, more his type, but he ruffles her hair as he leaves with David." - Emma & Killian through the years. CS.

The Stars Walk Backwards by nowforruin

It’s only supposed to ever be one night, but before they know it, it’s a doorway in Paris, and an apartment in San Diego, and a blinking low battery light in Maine. Emma knows she needs to let Killian go, but there’s always that one day a year she can’t seem to stay away...

What We Wouldn’t Do by Sambethe

"Seriously. We know how to pick 'em, Jones." In the wake of another break-up, Emma & Killian make a drunken pact. [Captain Swan, with mentions of past Emma/August]

When Killian Met Emma by lenfaz

They met when they were 22, fresh out of college and ready to embark on a two-day journey. Killian was looking for a partner for the trip that would take him to his new work in advertising in a new city. His former roommate David had mentioned that his girlfriend's friend, Emma, was headed to Chicago to work in social services. Friends with Benefits AU

Someplace Nice by evil_isnt_born

Every time Emma wanted to escape her life for somewhere better, she only had to call and he would be there

Theoretically by wtvoc

Emma's friend Killian has a reputation for sleeping around (and so does she). When he gives her a surprising gift on her thirtieth birthday, something about it unleashes the question she's been wondering for years: is he really as good as they say?

The Fourth Time by headoverhook

You always meet twice in life, but sometimes it takes you more than two meetings to realize that you’ve met your second half. ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ AU.

The 12 Tropes of Christmas by nostalgia_101

Modern AU - When Emma and Killian realize their friends are hellbent on setting them up as a couple, they put their heads together and plot out a way to get their revenge.

Remember This Moment by colormyheartred

The one where Emma’s in prison but Killian’s waiting for her when she gets out.

Virtue by startswithhope

What if the person you always go to for answers has actually be the answer all along? 2400 words of fluffy, mildly smutty, Lieutenant Duckling for your AU week reading pleasure…

More Than You Bargained For by A Whisper Of Grace

AU. A year after their break up, Neal is back in town and determined to get Emma to speak to him. She wants to show him that she doesn't want or need him back in her life, and reluctantly enlists Killian's help to do so.

I Won’t Say I’m In Love by wrnkledtime

i won’t say i’m in love: “i recently dumped my ex and i just realized that he still has something really, really important of mine that he took away from me during our relationship - i need to get it back right now immediately and you’re helping me sneak into his house bc you don’t know it yet, but this has everything to do with you” au

aka the one where killian and emma are best friends, who have pined for one another since the beginning of time, and they get uninvited to neal’s lame ass halloween party (that they didn’t wanna go to anyways), but then emma realizes that neal still has her good luck charm and she wants it back for an upcoming exam, so of course she’s going to drag killian along with her.

Her Crowning Glory by emmaofmisthaven

AU. The laws are clear: to be crowned Queen of Eala, a princess has to be married. Emma has a month to find a husband, or else the crown will be snatched from her and given to the only other heir to the throne, one Killian Jones.

We Can’t Be Friends by FluentSarcasm

For CS AU Week on Tumblr: Emma Swan & Killian Jones have been best friends for over 15 years when she gets pregnant by her boyfriend Neal. When Neal dumps her and dies soon after, Killian steps in to help her raise Henry. Emma's realization that she's been in love with Killian all along forces her to admit that maybe she doesn't want to be /just friends/ anymore.

Worth the Risk, Worth the Guarantee by piratesails

The rule is simple enough: don't fall for your best friend. No matter how loudly her laugh echoes in your head in the middle of the night, or how beautifully endearing the freckles that climb up her arms look under the afternoon sun. And yet, Killian finds it hard to run out of reasons why Emma Swan is the most perfect person he has and will ever meet. Lt. Duckling. Oneshot.

Make Believe by emmasbeanies

AU: Killian Jones & Emma Nolan have been inseparable since childhood, but when Emma gets the chance to move to New York for school, Killian has a choice to make. Will he let her slip away or will he admit to the feelings he's been hiding all along?

7 Minutes by startswithhope

Modern AU - "We've been nothing but friends for our whole lives but then we played seven minutes in heaven on a dare and now I think I might actually be in love with you." Expect a sexy spin on the best friends secretly in love with each other trope...

[brothersapart]

FAQ

(the mobile-friendly version)

Background information:

Brothers Apart was started by @nightmares06 October 24th, 2014 and has been going strong ever since! During the last two years two other writers have been added to the team along with a very helpful assistant!

The main storyline, Brothers Apart, has since sparked a collection of AUs. Each storyline is individual in and of itself, but all tie into the main arc in their own way. Visit Links to find your way to the stories.

Why don’t you just post Brothers Apart and not all these other stories?

Since Brothers Apart is (mostly) written by myself, there isn’t enough story built up to have a backlog. Due to a falling out with a former beta reader, writing for Brothers Apart was frozen for a year. During that time we conceived a number of other storylines, and we invite you to enjoy them along with us.

When/where do the stories post?

Sunday, 9pm EST Wednesday, 9pm EST

Any changes to this schedule will be announced on the tumblr as soon as we know about them.

There are three different sites the stories post on:

Archive of Our Own || Fanfiction || Deviantart

Any prompts received will be posted to the tumblr blog before appearing on any other sites, otherwise stories are on the three sites listed above.

Order of creation of the various AUs:

Brothers Apart– “But what if I never fixed Sam?”

Brothers Found– “But what about JACOB?”

Brothers Adopted– “Okay but Jacob’s too cute, let’s make him small”

Brothers Divided– “… bad, Dean”

Brothers Together– “OSCAR”

Brothers Lost– “Okay we should make BOTH brothers small”

Brothers Asunder– “Wee Sammers and Bowman as brothers!”

Brothers Unexpected– “Because Sam/Jacob and Dean/Oscar are too cute to contain”

Brothers Consulted– “I wonder how Sherlock and Dean would react to each other…”

**Various unannounced ideas**

Brothers Saved– “Big Sam and his tiny big brother strutting around”

I love the artwork! Why don’t you have more of (insert character)?

We love the art too! But since we’re writers, and our skill at actual drawing is lacking, all of the artwork you see posted here (with a few incredibly rare exceptions), are either commissioned with our own money or submitted by fans (you lovely, lovely people). We love supporting our favorite artists, so we won’t stop commissioning anytime soon, but it’s dependent on if we have money at the time we get the idea.

If you want to help us out, please Buy Me a Coffee and let us know what character or AU you want commissioned! Once we have enough money for that AU, we’ll get it done.

When does (insert story) start posting?

We’re not sure when each story goes up, we only have a timeline for the days stuff will post. To prevent any stories from gaining favoritism over others, we started running a poll. During the last week or two of a story, there will be a poll with (2) to (6) options offered, and the winner will be the story that starts next!

Keep in mind that the stories that appear in the poll will be fully written/edited and beta’d by our wonderful beta readers, any stories that are incomplete in any fashion will not be included.

The poll is run through SurveyMonkey, and each person gets only (1) vote! Duplicate votes WILL BE REMOVED.

Can you go back to posting stories about only Sam and Dean?

No.

Seriously, we’re going to keep writing together because we do it for fun. You’ll see classic Brothers Apart stories come around when I finish them, but you’ll also get a lot of the collabs we do. We write for ourselves and to get rid of stress. Since we’re not paid to do this (in fact, we spend a decent amount of money on story things), we’ll continue to write what we like.

We still love feedback and getting new ideas from all you readers out there, so keep sending us prompts and suggestions! Just don’t be upset if we don’t do yours– we might not be feeling it.

There’s a book? Where can I get a copy!?

There used to be a book, but it has been discontinued and no longer offered as an option in the contest. Thanks for your interest!

Will Castiel be in the story?

Go read all the stories.

Why didn’t my ask get answered yet?

Generally only one ask is answered a day, please be patient with us.

Popular Tags:

#commissioned art– all the artwork commissioned by the writers of the BA for the stories/ideas we have.

#fanart– artwork done by the fans.

#contest entry 2016– entries submitted for the 2016 BA contest

#bac 2017 tumblr– entries submitted for the 2017 BA contest on the tumblr side (for DA entries, go here).

#daily update– all the story excerpts posted since the beginning.

#prompt– finished prompts (or unfinished prompts, multiple things get filed here).

#submission– wonderful submissions from you readers!

Commissions are open!

What characters belong to who?

@nightmares06–

Supernatural characters– Sam and Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, John Winchester (though I’ll warn that any prompts for John Win are the least likely to be fulfilled because he usually gives me writer’s block), Castiel, Gabriel, Rufus and Rumsfeld. Various other Supernatural characters.

Original characters– Nixie, Ilyana, Celeste (problematic fave), Walt Watch, Mallory Watch, Briella Watch, Moira Wainscot, Krissy Vent, Sean, Kara Bolt, Christian Bolt, Mikael Foyer, Noonia and Elenia.

@neonthewrite–

Original Characters– Bowman, Jacob Andris, Oscar, Rischa, Cerul, Scar, Vel, (any of the wood sprites, basically), Colfax and Adrian (better prompted at @alittleblogoftrust ), Asp the shadow sprite, Indigo Seraf.

Only original characters, as canon characters tend to come very slowly for me.

@borrowedtimeandspace--

Sherlock Characters– Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, Greg Lestrade, Mrs. Hudson, Molly Hooper and Mycroft Holmes.

Doctor Who Characters– Mostly Tenth Doctor, will do Nine, Eleven, and Twelve (I’m working through Classic Who at a snail’s pace xD) Willing to write for companions from New Who as well.

Original Chracters– Zepheera is my main OC, Stan Baker, Simon Baker, Nathan Sullivan and a bunch of borrower bbys: Kernel, Orrick Shelf, Boston Mantel, Baycliff, Klerida, Marcue Overmantle; basically, if you’ve read my stories, any of the OCs are up for grabs.

Story excerpts

Each day on brothersapart.tumblr.com, we will be posting a new excerpt from a story we are working on at the time. This happens at 10a.m. est, and it’s a tiny blurb from the story.

A bit on the tags for our story excerpts:

#trnt here is the abbreviation of the story the excerpt came from– later revealed to be “The Road Not Taken”

Abbreviations we’ve used and their names if announced:

#trnt– The Road Not Taken (posted)

#twf– The Water’s Fine (posted)

#tnplh– There’s No Place Like Home

#atth– A Time to Heal

#iatwaa– It’s a Tall World After All

#sow– Sam of Wellwood (posted)

#don– Dean of Nowhere (posting)

#bofa– Bobby of Far Away

#dow– Dean of Wellwood

#awos– A World of Secrets

#eotm– Epidemic of the Mannequins

#ws– Wayward Sons

#bah– Bigfoot's a Hoax

#coth– Clash of the Hunters

#auv– An Unexpected Visitor

#sotw– Shadows on the Wall

#gacs– Garlic and Cold Spots (posted)

#tsotf– The Study of the Four (posted)

#tttb– The Ties that Bind (posted)

#ababs– A Burglary at Baker Street

#teome– The Enemy of my Enemy

#jiw– Jacob in Wonderland (posted)

#rt– Road Trip

#a:asocs– Aftermath: A Series of Consulted Shorts

#bp– Bittersweet Parting (posted)

#ffh– Far From Home 

#fs– For Science

#adod– A Day of Duality

#bftp– Blast from the Past

#apias– Any Port in a Storm

#thoaw– The Heart of a Wolf

#san– Sam and Nicholas

#apfo– A Place for Oz

#sb– Something Borrowed

#ttol– The Trials of Logan

#lald– Live and Let Die

#aol– Avenue of Life

#malc– M&Ms and Lucky Charms

#afin– A Friend in Need

#boan– Birth of a Nightmare (posted)

#rj– Regarding Jacob

The last kind of tag you’ll see is the queue tag:

All this means is it is a reblogged excerpt from 2016, you can go to the original post to find out its tags.

This has been a dissertation on tags!

If you see any questions we left out, be sure to send in an ask!

[masterofmunson]

Can I be tagged in There's No Place Like Home? I really like it!

absolutely!