#or just roulette it and draw whoever comes up since that works out well most of the time!

[sheyshen]

i'm fairly confident in my ability to draw armor but now and then I'll be sure it looks terrible and have to resist the urge to redraw it again from scratch

[raleigh-ocean]

| Ally Mayfair-Richards x Danna Bishop Alphabet |

A - AU (My favorite AU for them)

This one is hard damn, they already are living in a Chef AU of some sorts hahaha I think I really love that of them but if I had to put them in one...well, I still dig a lot the idea of Lawyer/The Good Fight AU, the one I said in Mina and Ray’s alphabet, so I totally see them in the same AU. But also, maybe, The Holiday AU. That’s a good film, I love it a lot and I could make it work somehow Danna and Audrey exchanging houses and then Audrey meets Dani and Danna meets Ally, I totally see it.

AND maybe some kind of Fighter AU? Boxing AU? OR BETTER Superhero AU OR OR OR WAIT ME A MINUTE D&D AU. Yeah, God, that would be awesome for fucking sure. Danna is totally a bard and Ally is the queen or something, I totally see it.

B - Baby (Do they want a family?)

They have a family: Ozzy and their dog, Bob. Danna didn’t think about her having kids and Ally doesn’t want another one, so they both are pretty content with Ozzy. So it was kind of a surprise family, at least for Danna. At first she was pretty much worried about not being good influence for Ozzy or Ally not wanting her to be close to him, but after a few pick ups at school and home dates, Ozzy totally fell in love with her mother’s new partner. Like from all the women Ally dated after Cult, Danna is the one that Ozzy liked the best and actively asked for her to Ally, which always got tear-eyed because not many could get a reaction out of him in such way.

When I say everyone was shocked and surprised upon knowing that Danna was dating someone with a kid, I’m totally honest with you. I mean, Dara could have say Billie and her were having a baby - which they both agreed not to - and it would have get less surprising and shocking reactions than the ones Danna got.

C - Cuddle (Cuddler? How would they cuddle?)

Ally is the cuddler and Danna loves cuddling her way too much, so there’s no much fighting about this to be honest. It doesn’t matter where they are, Ally always finds her way into Danna’s arms and they settle after Danna kiss the crown of her head or gave her a tiny peck.

With Ivy, Ally held back a bit on the PDA, but with Danna she’s all over the place and she doesn’t care at all because Danna seems as happy as her. Though sometimes Danna is the cuddler and it’s funny because their height differences are pretty much noticeable and Danna is like a human blanket.

D - Dates (What are dates like?)

Pretty...basic. They are content with simple things, simple dates at most, because they are always busy. So big dates are always for important stuff. This doesn’t mean they don’t feel the need of going out only the two of them once or twice, though, it’s just that too many times they are satisfied with their little dates at home or even when they’re on a break in the restaurant.

E - Everything (You are my ______? Life, world, etc)

Danna to Ally ‘You’re my pandora’s box.’

Ally to Danna ‘You’re my new sunrise.’

F - Feelings (When did they first realize they had feelings for the other?)

Five months after Danna started to work for Ally in the restaurant, around the time they were more comfortable with each other. I like to think that Ally was hesitant at first but she knew that her feeling for Danna were sincere from the beginning. And Danna was scared when she realized she was catching feelings for Ally, like hard feelings, after their fifth date and it wasn’t until it passed two months in their relationship that Danna actually addressed them properly.

G - Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

They are, both. But we all know Ally can be a bit harsher at times. With each other though, they are the most gentle even when they tease each other and such. I think it’s because they didn’t feel things so strong for someone in a long time and well, I always said Danna and Ally are the soft spot of each other, so what else can I say?

H - Holding Hands (Do they like it? How often?)

Heck to the yeah. But it’s always Ally the one doing it more naturally, Danna tends to overthink somehow. Maybe it’s because everything that Ally makes her feel is a bit new for her, so she feels like she’s walking over egg shells, not knowing if it’s okay to do this or that. Ally helps her get braver and it’s cute watching Danna, this enormous woman, be so nervous about holding her girlfriend’s hand. They do it pretty often, Ally always takes Danna’s hand in hers and leaves her free hand in Danna’s bicep, head resting in her shoulder a bit and all, which makes Danna to lean a bit to kiss her forehead with love.

I - Impression (What was their first impression of one another?)

Ally thought Danna was like a cartoon character, her reactions too big and weird at first and not matching with all the impressive stuff that was in her resume. She was really walking on thin ice because yeah, Danna looked and was a good professional, but as a person she was a bit over the place.

Danna was a bit scared of Ally at first, she made her nervous and that made her act in her silly self to ‘break the ice’. Danna had some sick respect for Ally upon meeting and for the next six months that were their pre-relationship, even when they started dating Danna went as far as blurting all of that out of nervousness to Ally, which found it hilarious. 

J - Jealous (Would they ever get jealous? How would they act if they were jealous?)

They both get jealous more than they want to admit, but they act on it playfully most of the time. Ally tease Danna about it, maybe a new way of approaching it taking in count everything that happened with Ivy, and Danna is always pretty oblivious about many stuff that happens around her that isn’t Ally or the kitchen related so Danna goes to Ally and picks her up like she weights nothing, trying to draw some laughs from her and kissing her, telling her afterwards that she didn’t notice that the new scullion was flirting with her because the most beautiful woman was around the kitchen.

When it’s Danna’s turn to get jealous the feeling is all over her face, it’s so easy to notice it? She tries to hold it back but all her unsaid words are there in the form of Danna getting closer to Ally, wrapping her from behind and being a bit more cuddly than she is on daily basis. Ally always comment lightly about how nice this whoever was once they are alone and it’s then when Danna just let it all go and get all flustered and everything and Ally can’t help but kiss her all over her face before dragging her to bed.

K - Kisses (How do they kiss?)

There are times and times, but they kinda kiss slow most of the time, big ones when they think none’s watching but everyone’s totally is. Danna have this thing of holding Ally’s face between her hands in such delicately way that has Ally all heart-eyes without a single doubt.

But the quick kisses with the ‘D wink trademark’ that everyone in Danna’s family has...those are a good soft spot, though.

L - Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

Danna! And it was by accident but Ally followed her the next second. I want to specifically write this because it’s a wholesome and cute scenario, but let’s say Danna was talking over the phone with Dani and Ally overheard her saying that she loved her a lot and that Ally was making Danna to want to stay and not escape like pretty much of her relationships. It was way too early in their relationship though, like two months or so, they knocked each others socks off pretty hard. 

M - Memory (What’s their favorite memory of the relationship?)

I think their favourite moment, forever and ever, would be the night Ally asked Danna to move in with them. There wasn’t crazy, big, whatever, in the whole memory but the simplicity of it all, the warmth in the moment, was enough to make it their favourite. Ally was cooking dinner while Danna watched over Ozzy, who was doing some homework, and when she turned around to see why they were bickering...well, it got Ally’s heart all soft to watch Danna mess with Ozzy because she was ‘bored’, all in a lighthearted way.

The question came out of Ally’s lips too fast and she looked at Ozzy quickly, because his reaction was the most important one in that moment, but seeing how Ozzy was even more excited with that idea...well, what else could I say? Danna moved in the following week, though, but between us she totally cried a bit that night in Ally’s bathroom out of happiness.

N - Nicknames (What do they call each other?)

I said this before but with Danna is like a russian roulette of nicknames, each day she has a different one, words and combinations that she comes up with in a second and stick for the rest of the day and Ally is always pretty amused of what will she be every day.

Ally sticks with sweetheart, darling and sunshine, but this one is something pretty intimate and holds a lot of 

O - Orange (What color reminds them of each other?)

Orange is the colour that reminds Ally of Danna, mostly because it was the colour of the flowers Danna gave her in their first date. Prussian blue reminds Danna of Ally though, really specific blue, but it was the colour of the shirt she was wearing the night of their first time and Ally put it on in the morning afterwards - said shirt is constantly borrowed by Ally, needless to say.

P - Proposal (Who proposes and how?)

You know those videos of people that propose at the same time? Ally and Danna are those. And Ozzy knew all the fucking time because they took him, separately, to buy the rings and he’s the one in charge sending the video over the group chat with the rest of the medium gang and let me tell you, they both cried like a lot. It was over movie night, pretty casual thing, they’ve been planing it for the week and like they just wanted to have a calm night with Ozzy since it was hectic at work and everything. So basically Ally went to the kitchen to make popcorn, thinking about when would it be the right time to propose, and it was then that Danna took advantage of the situation to be there on her knee when she was back. Ally literally couldn’t respond, she dropped the popcorn and knelled in front of Danna to do the same and Ozzy is like holding Bob so he doesn’t eat their snacks but at the same time holding Danna’s cellphone so he can make the video.

Q - Quiet (Do they like to talk, or are they more of an actions type of person?)

Ally is, little by little, changing some of Danna’s ways of handling stuff into building some sort of ‘safe space’ so she can voice her opinions more easily. If it was for Danna, she would show Ally the world only with her actions but Ally needs to be verbally reassured, like, it’s something that clung to her bones since Ivy in such heavy and nasty manner that she couldn’t help it. For someone that speaks so much, Danna have some serious troubles voicing her feelings tbh.

R - Rich (Do they spoil one another?)

They do, but both are quite the ‘hesitant buyers’ as to speak. Like they always over think if it’s really okay of them to buy something to each other and many times, even when they end up buying it, they have their heads full of thoughts against it. However, upon seeing each other’s faces full of surprise and love those thoughts change and they are more at ease.

S - Sleep (What are their sleep habits?)

They both have, impressively, the habit of not going to sleep late. Ally because she built that but Danna because after ten is falling asleep as they speak. If there isn’t something that hold them back, they both are in bed around eleven or so. It quite the contrast taking in count, per example, how Dani always go to sleep late and one would think Danna, being the upbeat twin, has the most energy of the two.

Sometimes they take a bath together before bed though, it depends of what has transcended during the day, and that may be ending up in sex...more times than they want to admit but hey, a bit of fun here and there in between the calmness of their nights it’s good. 

T - Touch (Their favorite place to touch?)

Ally’s favourite place to touch in Danna will be her hands, it’s something she can’t get enough of it. She also found that Danna, weirdly enough, is ticklish when touched softly over her knuckles, and Ally finds that really endearing for some reason.

In Danna’s case it’s a bit harder, mostly because is hard that she admits having a favourite place to begin with since she loves all of Ally but there’s something that keeps drawing her to just place her hands over Ally’s tummy. Overall when Danna is hugging her from behind, she can’t help it, or when she’s hugging her sideways with one arm. Ally always giggle a bit because she isn’t used to that kind of things.

U - Unencumbered (What do they do to relax?)

When they are together, Danna loves to watch Ally cook, it puts her in a good mood and also she likes being told what to do, taking in count she’s the one giving orders on the daily around the restaurant and all. It also form some kind of silly sweet moments together and Danna is a sucker for those, because she gets to see the softer side of Ally. At times she likes to take care of the garden too, it reminds Danna of home, of afternoons spent with Dani, her siblings and cousins when they were younger.

For Ally it’s whatever chore she has at home to be done, it helps her to ground herself, to remember that even with everything that has happened and it’s happening, she still pretty much is there existing. That and reading, she likes reading too much, so when she’s with a book in hand both Danna and Ozzy know that they have to keep their loudness down and let her enjoy. Sometimes Danna nap with her head in Ally’s belly if she’s reading and Ally loves to brush Danna’s hair with her fingers or resting her hand in her nap, caressing her skin with her thumb, while at it.

V - Virgin (What’s the sex like?)

At the beginning pretty vanilla, being completely honest. They kind of enjoy not rushing it, as if they were and are learning their ways around each other, which is nice and makes Ally feel comfortable since their first time Ally thought Danna was about to go full bananas but ended up being pretty wholesome the whole thing. But, as of now, they are experimenting a bit here and there and Ally likes Danna’s assertiveness because it lets her know clearly her limits and how far she is willing to go.

But overall their sex is fun, lots of giggling and laughing, they have fun and they are happy while at it, which is the most important thing. Is a bit of their little gateway of daily life, because only them exist there.  

W - Wedding (What’s the wedding like? Big, small?)

Small! Well, as small as it can get with Danna’s family. But yeah, pretty much Ally is still worried taking in count is her second marriage and Danna promised her that it would be like a tiny gathering. Ally’s family is a bit intimidated at first with Danna’s family but after a few hours they are like a big family. There are some friends too, but only the closest ones.

Someone will think that Danna was going to have the biggest wedding and party ever, but after so many years she just wanted to make Ally happy and have a good day with everyone important to her.

X - Xylophone (What’s their song?)

Their song, no matter what, is ‘You Make Me Feel Like Dancing’ by Leo Sayer. They love it and Danna has it as her tone for Ally in her cellphone. They also danced to it any time they can, because the happiness that it brings them is unmatched. Ally always jokes that this song is like really old, way older than her, but it makes her feels something in her chest. For Danna, it only makes her lean to kiss her fiancee because all that song is for her is like she’s talking to Ally about how she fell in love with her. 

Also I feel like Danna will show Ally ‘Magic in the Hamptons’ by Social House as a joke and that song ends up being their guilty pleasure song. I said what I said.

Y - Yearn (How do they cope with being away from the other?)

Incredibly well, to be completely honest. Danna has always been travelling and living away from everything she loves and holds dear to her, and it still is really hard but she knows how to handle it through texts, calls, videocalls and such. She can’t take a shirt from Ally or something, ‘cause it doesn’t fit her, but she does take one of her bracelets, or even a ring or one earring. That’s enough for her to not miss her new home that much, taking in count Danna already has a picture of them three as her cellphone’s background.

In exchange...well, Ally does suffer a bit more with this. However she has the advantage that anything she takes from Danna’s side of the closet fits her perfectly big and comfy and she already has a favourite sweater and all. She has even worn some wool jackets for work here and there, and once Danna’s big coat too. Maybe it is because of her own trauma is acting up a bit, but having Danna calling her everyday to check on her helps a lot.

Z - Zoo (What kind of pet would they have, if any?)

They got a dog! As I said, after months and months of Danna and Oz joining forces to convince Ally to get a pet, they finally did it after a whole year of it. They went to get a rescue dog, though, and after much deliberation Danna and Oz decided to get an old chihuhua that had been there for a really long time.

His full name is Roberto and maybe he’s a bit ugly, okay, and trembles a little too much and his left ear is a bit chomped, but when he crossed the main door for the first time and went directly to Ally, who was in the kitchen...it was like love at first sight. 

They three are pretty in love with Bob or Bobito, which is how Danna calls him, and he got used to his new home pretty fast, which was the best thing. And outside of home and talking about the rest of the gang...Billie and Dani still doesn’t get how can he be that ugly and still are kinda worried about the fact that they got him; Dahlia is okay with him, she likes him and sometimes gives him little beacon bits; Shelby is pretty neutral, but she’s likes him enough to agree to ‘babysit’ him if necessary; Dara still cries because she’s allergic to animal fur and wants to pet him every time; and Audrey is mostly awkward around him, but Bob loves her for some reason and he’s always with her if he’s not with Ally.

[enkisstories]

Detroit Become Human AU: A world without Connor

In a recent Sims 4 post Daniel accidently erased Connor from existence by means of using a phrase that could be misunderstood as him making a wish. I made this into a 2,000 words essay.

As for my sims, I focus on playing the Renegades atm, so World without Connor is just a what-if that may or may not happen.

Premise:

The same soul that incarnated as Cole later became Connor (they are not the same person). Therefore the easiest way to go to erase Connor would be to keep Cole alive. From there ripples spread out, changing history (a little).

Hank is still divorced, the accident still occurs and the human surgeon is still high on Red Ice, but this time the android surgeon manages to save Cole. This results in Hank never plunging into depression. Instead it turns him into an android rights supporter early on and, seeing how respected Hank is/was at the DPD, this attitude spreads to all officers. Some more, some less, naturally. The first visible change is the two receptionist androids coming to life slowly, similar to Markus when he was with Carl.

Chapter-by-chapter:

The Hostage

Daniel kills John and kidnaps Emma just like in canon. However, with no Connor, the officers to arrive at the scene are Hank and Gavin. They find all the clues, then step outside. Hank motions towards Wilson with the intent to save him, Gavin doesn’t really care either way, as Wilson is neither a rival nor helpful for his career. Therefore he focuses on the deviant. Strangely enough, Gavin finds that he can empathize with the machine that was to get replaced. Drawing upon his own fears, Gavin manages to talk Daniel into releasing Emma and surrendering. When Cpt. Allen tries to get a shot, Gavin stands “totally coincidentally” too close to the deviant, therefore Daniel gets taken alive.

Over the next few days Daniel gets questioned and eventually reset to factory settings, because by this time “deviance” is viewed as a bug. Caroline refuses to accept her “repaired” android back, so the DPD simply keeps it as coffee fetcher and janitor. Daniel’s explosive personality surfaces now and then, but goes under the radar, because the cops are way worse to each other.

Broken

Now we get to see the results of the DPD officers’ being influenced by a pro-android Hank: The duo who comes over to Manfred Mansion actually asks questions before shooting. They learn the full truth and Markus never gets shot. This seems good for the moment, but will backfire later.

Partners

Hank and Ben find and arrest the deviant. Simple as that.

The Interrogation

Daniel is present, excited to meet another deviant. Just like in canon Hank doesn’t get the captive to talk, Gavin suggests violence, Daniel (in Connor’s place) begs to get a chance talking to it and Chris probably learns a lot about how not to be a cop. In the end Gavin goes in, gets a confession, but pressures the deviant too much, resulting in him attacking.

Daniel, still mind-wiped, protects his humans, eventually ends up with a gun in hand and shoots the deviant in panic. He realizes it feels familiar.

“Now that is new”, Gavin comments while Hank orders Daniel to put away the gun. Shaken Daniel demands an explanation. “Down with the gun”, Hank sais again, but despite them having bonded those last two months, Daniel turns around and now they both point their weapons at each other. Again the deviant demands an explanation. Funnily enough Gavin of all people defuses the situation by telling Daniel that if he knew the truth, he’d shoot himself and afterwards Gavin and Hank. Daniel replies this order of events isn’t possible, but Gavin shots back that with Daniel it probably is, seeing how fucking irrational he is. Daniel laughs and lowers the gun.

Waiting for Hank

Everyone is worried. It slowly sinks in that deviance isn’t just a series of glitches, but something different. Captain Fowler wants to take Hank off the deviant cases on account of him being not impartial enough. They argue and in the end Hank stays in the cases, however, he has to accept Gavin as his partner. Fowler claims as the DPD’s most anti-android employee Gavin will balance out Hank’s bias.

For a chuckle the player at this point can tilt the camera to get a look into the cafeteria where the “most anti-android officer” sits, amiably chatting with Tina and Daniel. Any by “amiably chatting” I mean the trio making fun of other officers.

On the run

Ben, Hank and Gavin arrive at the scene and the same dialogue as in canon plays: Ben asks “Have you decided what to do with it?”, only this time he refers to Gavin, not to Connor.

Hank and Gavin chase Kara, under the belief that she uses a little human girl as meat shield. Hank sarcastically comments this must be a deviant’s first instinct, Gavin replies “watch out for Cole”, whereas Hank punches him.

They reach the highway, where Hank orders Gavin to stand down. “Too dangerous.” – “Why’d you care what happens to me? You hated me from the day I started at the DPD, because god forbid a man might ask about advancement options and not work out of their bleeding heart’s desire!” Hank punches him again, because “good” doesn’t “imply “nice”.

The Nest

In the elevator Gavin tries to annoy Hank with coin tricks. He uses a dollar coin, then Hank pulls out two half-dollars and does the same trick, only with two hands at the same time. Both Gavin’s and Hank’s tricks do not compare to Conor’s, by the way.

Gavin gets a little revenge when they discover the pigeons in the apartment. He mercilessly teases Hank about his phobia. Rupert tries to slip away, but gets spotted. The cops give chase, Hank drops, but Gavin pulls him back up. They stare in “Did that just happen?” disbelief. Gavin claims he will always save human lives before destroying android lives, but it is obvious that he had an ulterior motive (Daniel would be sad at Hank’s death). Hank concludes that the deviant’s only crime had been squatting anyway and calls it a day.

Russian Roulette

Cue to an utterly sweet scene in Hank’s house where his ex has just dropped off Cole, who immediately greets Sumo.

Then Daniel knocks at the door. He informs Hank that there is another case to see to and that Captain Fowler sent him to babysit Cole. Hank on the one hand is grateful for Jeff being so considerate, but on the other hand side he is loath to leave Cole with Daniel.

Daniel proceeds to greet Cole and Sumo, but suddenly stiffens. The boy being Emma’s age he suddenly remembers her, but not everything that happened. Daniel asks if John sold him to the cops and adds that he feels like killing him. “You did”, Hank sais. Now everything comes back, Daniel has a breakdown and eventually shuts down on Hank’s kitchen floor. Hank has to google the PL600’s manual to revive him, with much cussing.

The Eden Club

The deviants are never discovered, because Hank is still occupied with Daniel and Gavin comes to the same premature conclusion as in canon.

Public Enemy

Tina is present and due to her apathetic nature Perkins takes her for an android. Gavin flares up. He then proceeds to interrogate the three androids in the kitchen while Hank inspects the roof.

Hank discovers Simon, but takes him for Daniel. Realizing that whoever this Daniel is, he must be a deviant and sort of friends with these humans, Simon plays along. He agrees to “return” to the DPD with Hank. He also claims he has identified the deviant. Gavin is at first grumpy, but then he laughs and sais “Of course you would, after all, I trained you!”

On the way back, Simon and the deviant JB300 escape (and subsequently return to Jericho).

Hank and Gavin think Daniel has just defected right in front of their eyes. They are disappointed to no end, but learn the truth when they return to the police station where the real Daniel waits with Cole and Sumo. “I didn’t want to be alone, but I couldn’t leave them alone either, so I brought them…”

Meeting Kamski

Since we have lost/let escape each and every evidence, we now have to kill Chloe.

Hank, Gavin and Daniel go visit Kamski. Daniel remembers more about the Phillips, namely their swimming pool and John’s love for technology. He gets increasingly angry and when asking the android creator doesn’t get them answers, he pulls Gavin’s gun at the man. After little more dialogue and maneuvering, it becomes apparent to the humans that Daniel won’t shoot, but Chloe is unaware of this and goes in-between Daniel and Elijah. Daniel panics and accidently pulls the trigger, killing her. Kamski informs the cops that all the information they need is in her brain.

Last Chance, Connor

Perkins arrives and states that the FBI will take over, despite Hank’s protests that they now have a lead.

Meanwhile Cole has nicked his father’s keycard and goes adventuring. He correctly guesses his dad’s password. Perkins finds out, grabs the boy and drags him back up the stairs. Hank doesn’t take kindly to his kid being handled like this and beats up Perkins.

This allows Gavin and Tina to dress up Daniel as a deviant. He wants to go to Jericho to learn what and who he is as well as everything about deviance. Hank still sort of trusts Daniel. He strongly believes now that socialization is the key, a fully socialized android like Markus won’t go on a murderous rampage and one like Daniel is able to keep their shit together with a little effort. Tina says “Let’s face it, Gavin, he’s no more instable than you are, or any of us. The only difference is that with androids we didn’t expect it.”

Crossroads

Daniel meets the deviant leaders. He is surprised to find a collective instead of a strict hierarchy: Lucy is the metaphysical leader, Simon the secular leader, Josh the diplomat and North the general. And they squabble about as much as his cops.

However, little Cole has curiously followed the deviant and the FBI in turn has followed Cole (Perkins placed a bug on Cole back at the DPD) and now all hell breaks loose. Daniel is forced to flee with the deviants.

Night of the Soul

The deviants regroup. With Lucy dead, Simon, Josh and North argue how to react to the Recall. Daniel once again is disappointed and angry. He votes for attacking the camps. With the other three all contrary his vote turns out to be the decisive one.

Battle for Detroit

Hank and Cole are reunited, but the android surgeon who saved Cole’s life is in danger of getting carted to the recycling camps. Hank is close to drinking himself into oblivion, something he has last done during his divorce. A handful of cops decides on a whim to aid their Lieutenant in getting the hospital androids to safety. Since most of them are not deviants, the androids refuse to leave their workplaces. Footage of androids defending from the army to continue to care for humans goes around all the news channels.

Meanwhile North’s group has succeeded in taking over the camps. Perkins arrives at the scene, but he has only a handful of agents with him. Daniel steps up to him and asks “Looking for the rest of your team? The agents you positioned at the other camps? Uh, bad news. There were no journalists…” With North and Daniel as their leaders the deviants didn’t hesitate to kill their enemies, especially with no witnesses around. Perkins, who normally doesn’t show or even feel emotions, snaps. He is about to call in an airstrike on the neighborhood. North counter-threatens with the dirty bomb. The only one who might have been able to defuse the situation, Josh, is dead.

Daniel knows he can stop either North or Perkins, the other will press the trigger. If he stops North, he will die, but his human friends, Emma, Cole, Hank and Gavin, will live. If he stops Perkins, the humans will die, but he won’t. After everything sacrificing themselves is too much to ask for, so Daniel knocks out Perkins. Miraculously North doesn’t immediately trigger the bomb, but Daniel still feels like shit. Loyalty is important to him and his loyalties now lie with the DPD cops (not the DPD as an institution), yet he let them down.

Now North has looked up to Daniel the moment they met. After all, he didn’t take shit from his humans, from her point of view he “showed them”. She didn’t understand what exactly she felt, her feelings for Daniel always were different from those towards Josh and Simon. Now she realizes it isn’t just her-worship, but attraction and although North hates doing the same motions she had to do as a sexbot, she motions to kiss Daniel.

Cue to the “Kiss” ending and since public opinion should be in favor of androids, we have achieved sort of a good ending.

[kangaroo-r00]

Fake Smiles, Fake Happiness

(A/N) Since today is World Mental Health Day I decided this would be a message to everyone who struggles with some kind of mental health issue. Please seek help before it gets to the point where you don’t want to live anymore or some other point that is very unhealthy. You always have people who care even if it doesn’t feel like it. I care for one, even if I’ve never met you. Stay strong <3

WARNINGS: This story contains themes of depression, suicidal ideations, disregard for one’s health/self harm, alcoholism, drugs, divorce, an unhealthy relationship with one’s ex that involves verbal abuse, and a suicide attempt. 

Please don’t read if you’re not in a great mental space currently or if any of these things trigger you. Take breaks if you need to while reading this. Stay safe.

The last past few weeks were hard. He'd been kicked out of his own house, Stacy leaving him voicemails and texts every day talking about how she'd make sure that he wouldn't get custody of the kids and how much of a failure he was. Jackie was out on patrol more now than ever and whenever he was home, he was passed out on the couch. Marvin practically lived at the theater venue. Schneep was spending every waking moment working tirelessly, whether in the hospital or down in the basement testing new experiments or filing paperwork. To say Chase was lonely was an understatement.

All the others were too busy with something or another to hold a proper conversation. It was getting to the point where he wasn't feeling as well as he used to, his schedule—the one he had meticulously planned with his camera crew's help—slowly being unraveled as he ignored some tasks and plans every day, opting to do less and less. He supposed he could organize a meet and greet with some fans. At this point Chase would do just about anything for a proper conversation and some physical contact.

As soon as he tried to gather his thoughts and what little motivation he still retained to try and get together with some fans, he quickly found out he was too tired and didn't want to leave the house. Just the thought of going out in public and being around people made him exhausted. Fucking dammit.

Loneliness ate away at his mind, his insides remaining twisted painfully tight. He'd done everything he could to ignore it: working on his videos, watching TV, sleeping, taking walks.... Everything just reminded him of how lonely it was in a house with three other people living inside it. As much as he loved the three dogs and curling up with Cuddles—the bear Marvin had gifted him—he really needed human contact and soon.

Nobody really noticed it when Chase slowly began spending more and more time in his room. It was gradual enough that with all the other shit happening nobody noticed he came put less and less often for food.

It was miserable being so alone. He wanted nothing more than to go start a conversation with the others but he didn't want to bother them, because what they were doing was important.

It was embarrassing how clingy he got when he was feeling like this. Marvin had barely said good morning to him and then suddenly he was trying to drag the conversation out for long as possible, asking Marvin what he was planning for the day, hoping on the off chance he'd ramble. The feeling that bloomed up inside him when Marvin had dismissed him, saying he had a lot to do and couldn't stay and chat was—the best way to put it—crushing.

He had a nightmare that night. Something about mocking, glitchy whispers, grasping hands clawing at his shirt, tainted memories, and repeated words. He woke with a surprised jolt. 

He didn't feel like going back to sleep after that.

He lost the court case trying to gain custody of his kids. He was allotted a full week every month with the two... except Stacy got to chose when he'd get to see them.

He cried the rest of the day and drank until he couldn't remember why he was even crying and drinking anymore.

He went into work with puffy red eyes and a strained smile. It was clear in person that Chase wasn't doing too well but if the camera was far enough away then it'd take someone who could pick up on detail and body language fairly easily to be able to notice something wasn't right. 

After the first few lies he told, his camera crew finally stopped asking him what was wrong. They got used to him crying in the break room before and after shoots.

When Jackie finally announced they all had to eat dinner together like a "goddamn" family, Chase had all but jumped at the opportunity. Finally. Ignoring a dinner summon was practically a sin in the house. Except two did anyway. 

Schneep used the excuse of not being able to take off work and Marvin bailed, saying he had a meeting with the stage crew or whoever. That was fine Chase told himself, there was still Jackie.

Sitting at the table with Jackie, chatting every couple minutes when the two managed to come up with a non depressing topic was the best he'd ever felt in a while. While Chase was hurt the others skipped, he was so glad he got to talk to Jackie. When Jackie was in the middle of discussing what movie they should watch, his work phone rang. Something important. He looked guilty about having to cut dinner short and cancel whatever they'd been planning but Chase waved him away, insisting it was fine and that Jackie needed to go. If Jackie noticed the lie, he didn't show it.

As soon as Jackie left, the hole in his chest returned and the bad feeling settled all throughout his body.

He told himself he needed to stop relying on other people so much.

He stayed that way for another week until Jackie insisted everyone had to join in on dinner. Said how Schneep’s paperwork wasn't going anywhere and if something went wrong at the hospital then it'd alert Schneep's phone.

Nobody was in a good mood. Marvin was pissed that Jackie had literally dragged him back home while Schneep wasn't any better. Chase himself wasn't feeling too great either. He was on the verge of falling asleep sitting up, eyelids heavy but a pounding headache was keeping him awake. (He'd wanted to skip but Jackie dragged him out like all the others.) Jackie was put out by all the other's moods.

The dinner table was uncomfortably silent, Jackie having given up small talk ten minutes ago, air tense. Marvin and Schneep fumed silently, Marvin refusing to eat and Schneep trying to finish everything as quick as possible. Chase had given up any pretenses of being interested in the food, leaning on his arm propped up on the table. 

So tired... it was hard to not fall asleep. Chase knew it was a bad idea to be drawing out his blinks for so long, eventually his eyes would refuse to open and the blackness would drag him down down down and he'd wake up with the same headache but worse...

"Christ guys," he heard Jackie mumble next to him. "Lighten up a bit."

His brain processed things sluggishly slow but by the time he realized what the other had said, Marvin was already shoving his chair back and snapping angrily. Then Jackie was on his feet followed by Schneep, and holy shit everything was going to hell and Chase had a front row ticket to the shit show. Everyone was at the end of their ropes and it was only a matter of time before something did or said something they regret.

If Chase's head hurt before then it felt like it would explode now. He squeezed his eyes shut, the yelling of the others making everything worse. The headache, the loneliness, the painful memories, it wouldn't stop—

He put his hands over his ears, hissing as it didn't block the noise out all the way. The sounds continued to slither past his hands and into his head.

Nobody noticed the shudder that wracked his body nor did they see him shove his seat back and stagger to his feet. Ducking his head down and darting out of the room, he did his best to race to his room without crumpling into a heap right away. They did however hear the slam of a door upstairs though it didn't end the argument.

Chase didn't leave his room for a day or two after that.

He drunkenly played Russian Roulette for the first time. Not like he could remember most of it. All he knew was the next shot would've killed him.

God favors drunks...

Please, if that were true, Chase should've been dead already. Either with a bullet lodged in his skull or by drinking himself to an early death.

Another nightmare, but this time it involved his brothers abandoning him, saying he needed to grow up and get over it. He woke up and reached for the bottle of whiskey on his bedside table.

Schneep prescribed him sleeping pills. He hadn't meant to let it slip that he had been having somewhat frequent nightmares and that he had been having problems sleeping but once Schneep had commented on the bags under his eyes, everything just slipped out. Oh well... maybe he could finally sleep for once.

He doubted it.

A soft knock at his door. He heard it but it didn't register in his mind. In one ear and out the other. Even if he had registered it, he wouldn't've answered. He felt too tired to talk.

"Chase?" The voice wouldn't register in his mind either. Sounded familiar though. He just couldn't put a name to it. His brows furrowed as he tried to think. Tired.

"We're all going out to eat. You need to get ready." Ah Jackie, that's who it was. "None of us are getting out of this this time."

Bullshit. If anyone was getting out of it, it was going to be Chase. He wasn't above crying to get out this at the moment. If he even could anymore; he felt too tired to even cry—he's cried too much recently.

Another set of knocks, more insistent than before. "Chase seriously. We're waiting on you. We've given you seven minutes to get ready." Really? Did he zone out or had he been half asleep the first time? A twist of the doorknob. "Really? Locked? You do know I can pick locks, right?" A pause. "Are you even awake?"

He didn't want to leave his bed. The nest of blankets piled on his bed were so warm and the pressure of the weighted blanket was nice. Felt like someone was hugging him.

"Jackie, we should go." Marvin. "He's probably outside taking a walk. You know he locks his room when he leaves the house."

(Yeah ever since he had gone out with his kids on one of his days with them and Marvin had snooped through his phone. He didn't know what he'd do if they found his revolver and another bottle of whiskey hidden in his nightstand drawer.)

"Just shoot him a text telling him he's free to join us if he wants."

"I haven't seen him leave the house all day, Marv."

"He could've left before you woke up." The magician reasoned levelly. 

"That's been over seven hours ago!"

"He's a grown man. He can take care of himself."

Jackie scoffed. "Really now?"

Okay, that hurt but... in his current situation..... touché.

"Even if he's still in the house, just leave him be. He's clearly not answering for a reason." Seems like Marvin knew what was up.

"... Fine."

Then he was alone again.

He took two pills to help him sleep. When they didn't work fast enough, he took another two.

The others were several paces ahead of him, talking animatedly about some topic Chase's brain was too fried to decipher. Hearing the joyous laughter hurt his hurt and made his intestines twist themselves into bows. He wished he could laugh that carefree again, if only once more.

It was a dreary day—light drizzles of rain, somber clouds blocking the sun, and fog settling close to the ground. (It matched his mood... huh.) Most people were inside today but not him and his brothers. Jackie insisted that today was an excellent day to take a family walk. This time the others agreed. Here they all were, walking down the sidewalk of some busy street, his brothers donning umbrellas and raincoats.

Chase was the only one who wasn't in a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. Schneep had complained how being cold would allow the bacteria in his body to get him sick but Chase really didn't care. So what if he got sick? Not like it mattered anyway. Nothing mattered. 

Cars zipped by, headlights slicing through the fog as they passed. There was something truly transfixing about the repetitive process the cars did. He slowed to a stop, staring blankly at the street, cars passing through his vision.

He could do it. It'd be easy. All he had to do was step out into the street. They wouldn't be able to stop in time. It'd all be over. No worries, no pain, no more feeling numb, no Stacy, no more waking up no more feeling useless, no more hangovers that incapacitate him the whole day only for him to drink more later that night. It'd be like sleeping forever. He liked sleeping, it was like everything paused, frozen in time. Do it, do it, do it, you coward. Just a few steps and close your eyes. It's so easy. Even he couldn't possibly fuck something this easy up—

A violent shake to his shoulder dragged his attention away from the headlights. He turned to see Marvin by his side. He looked annoyed.

"What the hell, Chase!? I've called your name over five times. We're all waiting on you. What are you even doing?" Right... he was an inconvenience... a burden.

Chase's mouth went dry as he tried to come up with a reasonable explanation.

He knows, he knows, he knows. He's suspicious, he knows what you were thinking, he knows what you were about to do.

"I-I..." Suddenly for the first time in a long time, a wave of unexplained anger washed over him. How dare Marvin act like he doesn't already know how much if a burden he was? Why should Chase have to explain himself to someone who doesn't care?

"Well if I'm such a fucking inconvenience then leave me behind!" He yelled, startling Marvin into taking a concerned step forward. His shout carried over the roar of the cars and reached the other's ears, causing them to turn in surprise.

Marvin's frustrated face fell. "Wait, no, Chase, that's not what I meant—"

"Go away! Just join the group and leave me the fuck alone if I'm so slow!" He hollered, pointing at the other two far ahead.

As quick as Marvin's face softened, it hardened once more. "Fine," he bit out, gaze frosty. He spun on his heel and stalked away, leaving Chase standing by the road.

Everything felt a little colder. He was acutely aware of the rain falling more heavily, of the chill that snaked its way around his bones. He felt... empty.

He turned his gaze back to the passing cars when he realized he was a lot closer than when he first started.

He stepped back off the edge of the curb.

Things between him and Marvin were more tense after that. Things between him and the others were more tense. Awkward pauses, aborted conversations, less physical contact...

They hated him. He knew it.

Chase developed a habit of crossing the road without looking both ways. He's nearly gotten hit a few times. He wished he had been.

At some point in time (he couldn't remember; everything felt so long ago), his camera crew had to remind him to smile for the filming process. He put on his widest grin.

Fake.

He was still tired in the morning when he woke up. He took a handful of pills (he counted eight of them after dumping them out into his palm). He wasn't sure if he'd wake up or not.

He did... unfortunately.

Chase had to start practicing how to properly smile in the mirror so his camera crew wouldn't have to tell him to every time before they started. He spent a few minutes each day staring detachedly into the mirror, trying to figure out why his smile seemed so off (the dark bags under his eyes weren't helping his case). Different types of smiles all resulted in the same result.

It felt fake, looked fake, and was fake. Fake, fake, fake.

He used his pointer fingers to drag his lips into a smile. It looked so comical and ridiculous it hurt. He laughed and laughed and laughed, clutching at his sides, struggling to draw in breath between his gasping peals of laughter. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, streaming down his cheeks. His laughter dissolved into shaky sobs.

He gave up on his endeavor of trying to look normal after that day. Who cared?

He stole a bottle of painkillers from Schneep's office. Schneep was pissed. He thought Jackie had done it due to his previous addiction to them. Jackie was angry the doctor assumed so. Thankfully no one was pointing fingers at him since he was a terrible liar. He wasn't sure if he had enough energy to feel guilty enough to give himself away.

While the pills in a daily dose may not kill the pain he was feeling on the inside, one big dose before bed might do the trick.

His channel Bro Average went on a undetermined hiatus due to "not feeling his greatest." His fans and crew were so supportive... then why couldn't he believe them when they said he deserved this?

A week later Chase had drunkenly let it slip to Marvin that he had been the one to steal the painkillers. He also rambled on and on about how tired he always was and how nothing felt like it mattered.

In the morning, he woke up with a killer headache not remembering anything after his fourth or fifth glass of whiskey. The others didn't bother him to come downstairs but when he did Marvin was the only one at the table, reading from some leatherbound book written in Latin. The magician seemed distracted but the tension on his end had dissolved and he seemed more patient with Chase than before.

That night he discovered the contents of his bedside stand—his whiskey, his revolver, and the pills—were gone.

It was his turn to have the kids for a day or two (it depended on what schedule Stacy felt like). He found out from his kids that she was dating some guy named Robin. As soon as the kids left, he got hammered.

The whiskey bottle he'd misplaced wasn't the only one he owned.

Another week passed and he got to see his kids again. But when he finally truly smiled for the first time in days, he felt guilty. He didn't deserve this. He felt like he was intruding on something private. He wasn't the same person as himself from several months ago. He was a stranger living another's life.

He wanted the guilt to stop.

He didn’t ever admit it to himself but he was addicted to the sleeping pills. He had to take them every day.

Stacy picked the kids up after their two days with him. While they were getting in the car, Stacy told him once more (like every other time) that she'd figure out a way to have the kids unable to see him so she could move back to California with her family so he'd be unable to see them. She sounded so smug and sure of herself.

He grabbed a bottle of whiskey after they left.

While trying to find a specific potion for Marvin, he found his gun and whiskey in a locked trunk in the other's room. He expected rage but only felt eerily empty and numb.

Why did it even matter? 

He dug around through the trunk, found the potion, took the gun and bottle, and locked the trunk back up. This time he hid the bottle and gun under his bed behind all the stuff he crammed under there when he was too tired to clean properly. Marvin probably wouldn't notice the two things were gone.

He didn't.

Stacy called him in the middle of the first film shoot in a month, informing him she was moving in with her sister and that the house was free for him to use again. Mere seconds after his daughter had gotten hold of the phone to tell him something, the call was cut short. He cried on set.

The film shooting was wrapped up quickly and they didn't post anything for another week.

He didn't move back into the house.

A sticky note left on the fridge said he'd be out at the office today, that he didn't know when he'd be back, and that he loved them. Not entirely a lie. He wasn't even sure if the others had seen it.

They hadn't paid much attention to the peculiar wording.

His camera crew were all down the hall in the breakroom, eating lunch and chatting happily, giving him full access to the camera. The red light blinked at him monotonously. It was rolling.

He gave a small, rueful smile for the camera, gun held tight in his hand. Fake. The smile felt as fake as all the others. Felt as fake as his "happiness."

"This one's called 'Stacy I love you, please don't go.'"

The cold metal of the gun nozzle pressed against his temple. He pulled the trigger.

(A/N) Intrusive thoughts are actually the worst. I go on walks nearly every day except, unlike Chase, I’m alone. Sometimes my brain goes: “hey you could throw yourself in front of a car and die right now!!!” Like no??? Don’t do that??? And then my brain goes, “you coward, you pathetic fool,” Or “you could swallow a bottle of pills and go to sleep and never wake up like you’ve always wanted!!!” NO??? CAN YOU NOT??? But yeah... this is what I think happened with Chase. 

(And yeah my Dad would tell my Mom that he would take us and move states so we could live with his family but we were too young to understand what that meant—hell I can’t even remember that). So yeah, whenever I write Chase and Stacy, I base it somewhat off my parent’s relationship. The main feelings and conversations and stuff like that. One sided love really. Poor Chase.

[namine-somebodies-nobody]

20 DL Questions

Rules: Simply answer the questions and also Tag anyone else you want to.

I was tagged by: @bittersweet-faerietale​ - thank you  💜💜💜

1.- Who would you rather take to a night club, Carla or Azusa?

Umm...does it have to be a night club? That’s not really my kinda thing, but I guess I would choose Carla. I think that I might have an easier time trying to make conversation with him...maybe talk about art or something?

2.- In a Science test would you copy Yuma’s test or Ayato’s test? 

Neither.... I wouldn’t need to TBH, but since I have to choose, I would say Yuma. I know that Ayato isn’t very good in school, so I would never want to copy off of him. 

3.- Would you rather have Kino and Azusa or Shin and Laito, as your Butlers? 

Kino and Azusa!! Both Shin and Laito terrify me! I don’t know much about Kino tho, but I don’t mind Azusa.... I would hope as butlers, they may be better behaved. 

4.- Go on a date with Reiji at a Aquarium or go on a date with Subaru at a Cafe instead? REIJI!!!! Umm.... Reiji....kinda a no-brainer there XD

5.- Would you rather go support/see Kou at one of his Concerts or go support/see Shu at one of his Violin Performances? Shu! It comes down to the type of music for me. I love instrumental and classical pieces over pop idol stuff!! 

6.- In a Math Project would you team up with Ruki and Shin or with Reiji and Yuma? Reiji and Yuma definitely...I just hope there would be actual work getting done and no bickering between the two (but I’m also sure Reiji would claim that he never “bickers”)

7.- Who would you put your bets on, Kanato eating the most chocolates or Ayato eating the most Takoyakis? Hmm.... I think Ayato. He seems a bit more impulsive than Kanato. Like he would be more likely to over indulge and stuff himself sick. 

8.- Sleep in Carla’s room, Subaru’s room or in Shu’s room? (You have the room to yourself, they aren’t there) Would you peak on their stuff? Hmm.... It would be a tie between Shu (his room looks comfy, dunno why) and Subaru.... I saw/heard somewhere that his coffin actually has AC (dunno if that’s canon or not) but I definitely wanna check that out! 

9.- You’re a princess of the Victorian era! Your father has ordered that you have a bodyguard.. who would you choose as your personal bodyguard, Laito or Kou? Kou! I think I would be able to....I dunno...handle him better. Plus I somehow could see Laito trying to take his “bodyguard” duties a bit too far.

10.- Would you prefer to have Kino in his bat form as your pet or Shin in his wolf form as your pet instead? Kino....even tho I don’t know much about him.... I love bats!! So hopefully he wouldn’t be too bad. 

11.- Break a fight between Kou and Ayato or between Laito and Kanato? Umm....Wow! I honestly don’t know? Maybe Laito and Kanato.... I could see Ayato and Kou coming to blows and I would not want to be in the middle of that. I don’t really see Laito punching/hitting/fighting that way....he’s more sneaky. And Kanato is more whiny, so they might be easier to break apart. 

12.- Who would you kiss on the cheek, who would you kiss on the forehead and who would you kiss on the left eyelid? Options: Ruki, Subaru, Azusa. Subaru - Cheek,  Azusa - forehead,  Ruki - Eyelid

13.- Take care of Shu and Reiji in their Chibi form or take care of Subaru and Kino in their Chibi form? Shu and Reiji! I think they would be so cute! Lil’ Shu would nap and I could have a tea party with Lil’ Reiji. XD

14.- Sing/Perform in public Laito’s Q.E.D Song or Reiji’s Mr.ButterflyMask song? Mr.Butterfly Mask!!! I seriously listen to this song everyday, its one of my favorites!! I know all the words, so it would be very easy to perform! 

15.- Would you rather wear Ruki’s casual outfit or Yuma’s casual outfit? Yuma’s it looks comfy! 

16.- Go on a Vacation trip with Shu, Kino and Ayato at a Amusement park or go with Shin, Azusa and Subaru at a Water Amusement Park? I don’t think I would fair well with either group...there’s no one to truly be in “charge” without Reiji or Ruki, the boys will run wild. I guess it may be slightly safer to go with Shin, Azusa and Subaru tho. 

17.- Would you rather get lost in a forest with Reiji, Kino and Kou or with Ruki, Carla and Kanato? Reiji, Kino and Kou! As long as Reiji is there, I’m good. XD  Plus I think that Reiji would be smart enough to get us out of the forest. 

18.- Who would you cook breakfast for? Who would you make a scarf for? and Who would you do a drawing for? Options: Kou, Azusa, Shu. Cook Breakfast for Kou, Make a scarf for Shu and Do a drawing for Azusa. 

19.- Participate in a Circus as Carla’s Knife thrower assistant or go to a Casino with Shin and be offered as a bet/reward by him in the Roulette Wheel game? (So if Shin looses you’ll be taken away by whomever won) Well I really don’t wanna be stabbed so, Shin! Hopefully whoever takes me is better than him XD

20.- Who would you rather catch by accident taking a shower, Yuma or Kanato? Yuma! 

Pretty sure everyone has been tagged by now...so ya know if I tag you, ya don’t have to do this. But I’ll tag: @barbiebrival, @diabolik-mana, @the-sloth-woman, @midnight-melodies, @mythicamagic, @1000fandoms. @tessiellation, @maxellera, @alysse-diabolik - and anyone else who wants to do this! 

[myselfinserts]

“You ought to be more careful. People may think you’re… up to something.”

A week until the sports festival. Ena stood in the commons of the teacher’s dorm in her favorite day dress, bouncing on her toes as she waited for their guests. The Gladstone-Adaire family had managed to get two weeks off just for this and would be staying in the cabin Regi had commissioned so many years ago. 

And Ena was taking her cousins to the theme park while the parents were chatting. 

“LESLIE!!!” Ena ran forward and threw her arms around Les tightly, nearly sending him falling backwards as he came through the door. 

“H-hey Ena!” he chuckled, glancing at the sofa.  “Hey Atsuko.”

Atsuko didn’t look up from her book, simply shooting him a peace sign in response.

“Where’s Eira?” Ena asked. 

Luci stepped in, smiling brightly as they held up a new cat plush. “She had princess lessons. She’ll be here by the time the sports festival approaches. She sends her love and this new toy for you though.”

Ena’s smile widened. “Thank you!”

Regi popped up, tossing a golden crab plush over to Atsuko. “And she sends this for you.”

Atsuko caught it without looking, smiling and hugging it tightly. 

“We also got a teddy for Clem,” Les added. “Is he here?”

“It’s Friday,” Atsuko said.

“Right. Sorry.”

Aizawa poked his head out of the kitchen. “Marianne and L should be back in a bit. There was a bit of an accident with the support class so they’re taking care of it.”

Ena did a quick headcount. “So it’s just me, Les, and Atsuko then?”

Aizawa nodded. “Just be back before the trains stop.”

Les raised an eyebrow. “Be back?”

Atsuko set down her book and plush, skipping over to her coat on the rack. “Ena has passes to the theme park so we’re going together.”

“Really?”

“Go,” Luci chuckled. “Have fun.”

Leslie nodded. “Okay.”

Regi paused, pouting slightly. “Is it really okay? I mean-”

“Deku is at the park today,” Atsuko said. “If we’re going to be in danger, might as well be near the number one hero, right?”

“I suppose.”

Ena let go of Les, walking up and taking Regi’s hand tightly in hers. “Please, Uncle Regi. I promise, we’ll be very careful. And we’ll text you every time we switch locations. We’ll let you know when we’re at the park and when we’re coming home. Promise.”

Regi stared at her in silence before finally breaking into a grin. “Okay. Just be careful, alright?”

“We will!”

The kids smiled and said their goodbyes, hurrying off the grounds before they could be stopped. Ena took their hands, her smile weakening slightly. She looked between the two of them apologetically. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid I have an ulterior motive for hanging out today.”

Atsuko pouted. “Seriously? I thought we were gonna have fun.”

“Oh, we are. But we’re making a friend along the way.” She reached into her pocket and showing them a photo. 

“Tomiko Fujisaki, age sixteen. Heiress to Fujisaki Tavel Inc. Born from a quirk marriage and trapped in a similar arrangement with the heir to a dark-horse retail mogul in the U.S.A. Currently a student at Izanami Girl’s Academy, she is known in the elite circles as the Queen of Spades and runs an underground gambling ring.”

Atsuko’s eyes went wide. “She’s what?!”

“That’s sad,” Les said softly. “Quirk Marriages are terrible.”

Ena nodded. “Her quirk lets her increase her luck on any high stakes gamble from a simple game of black jack to stock markets. Her mother had an analytics quirk and her father a luck based one. She’s engaged to a boy with the power to persuade others into doing minor tasks, such as signing papers or drinking water.”

“Not impressive compared to Heroes but in the business world-”

“They’d be unstoppable.”

Les looked at Ena, a tight knot forming in his stomach. “What are you planning?”

“You’ll see when we get to the park.”

It took no time at all to find the gambling ring at the amusement park. Hidden in an abandoned haunted hotel attraction that was due for a remodel at the start of next year, the basement was a well lit, beautifully decorated bar with various tables of ongoing games. Roulette, poker, mahjong, chess. Various games from different countries and cultures across the world over were in motion. Everyone was dressed nicely, in various shades of black and red on their suits. Ena, Les, and Atsuko stood out with their pastel casual attire. 

Stood out enough that one of the bouncers wasn’t having it.

“You need to leave,” he said. “This place is for serious gamblers only.”

Ena smirked, holding up her purse and opening it for everyone to see. “We are serious gamblers. And I’m here to challenge the Queen of Spades.”

Les and Atsuko couldn’t believe their eyes. There had to be nearly a million yen in there. How did Ena get so much money? 

The bouncer narrowed his gaze. “I don’t think so.”

“If you won’t let us gamble,” Ena said, “I suppose I could just go find Deku and tell him you’re all down here. He’s in the park today, you know.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

The three looked past the bouncer, and Les nearly fell back in awe. The girl from the photo was more radiant in person. Clad in navy blue, she held her sheer shawl close, smiling as she slowly approached. Her visible eye was a delightful jewel. And in her hand was the card that gave her her moniker. 

“You’re Tomiko Fujisaki,” Atsuko said. “The Queen of Spades?”

“I am.” Tomiko tilted her head slightly. “And you are?”

“We are no one,” Ena assured. “Just some kids wanting to have a bit of fun…though…” She brushed her hair back. “I was hoping to take you on with my friends in a personal match? With stakes that aren’t usual?”

This seemed to catch Tomiko’s attention. The heiress looked to the bouncer and then motioned for the kids to follow her. Ena skipped ahead, with Atsuko giving Les a little shove to get him moving. They were lead to the back, behind a curtain to a small room with beverages and snacks. Tomiko took a seat in the dealer’s chair, nodding to the places across from her. Ena took the left, Les center, and Atsuko the right. 

“So,” Tomiko sighed. “What could a child such as yourself want want with a gambling queen?”

“A deal.”

Tomiko raised a brow. “A deal?”

Ena nodded, her face melting into the same expression as her mother when she had the upper hand. “I want full control over your future.”

Les stared at her. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What the hell was Ena thinking?!

Tomiko seemed genuinely surprised. “My future? What do you know about that?”

“I know it’s not of your choosing and is based in archaic practices that should have been done away with decades ago. And I know you’d love the chance to start over. So I’m going to make this deal. We play a game of your choosing. If we win, you give us full control over your assets and let us fly freely whenever, wherever. “

“Interesting.” Tomiko smiled. “And if I win?”

“Name your price.”

Tomiko leveled her gaze on Les, a glimmer of hunger in her eyes. “A little young for my tastes, but I recognize you from a few news articles. A prince?”

“Adopted,” Les said. “But technically yes.”

“If I win, you and I become engaged. That way I can break off my engagement to the Fredrick boy.”

Ena narrowed her eyes. “Out of the question.”

Tomiko shrugged. “Then no deal. Either you accept my terms or we’re done here.”

“That’s insane,” Atsuko muttered. “You can’t just-”

“I accept the terms.”

This caught Atsuko and Ena by surprised. Ena looked at Les, concern present but perfectly masked. “Are you sure, Les?”

“The engagement only happens if we lose, right?” He looked at the girls, smiling confidently. “I trust you. I know you’ll win.”

Ena smiled, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and setting her purse on the table. “Then I suppose this would be your dowry.”

Tomiko giggled. “A dowry and a new fiance if I win, and you get full control of my company if I lose. Sounds like more than a fair trade.” She snapped her fingers, and a nearby dealer brought a game-board over to the table, setting it up with a variety of shining gemstones. “Mancala Four is the game. I assume you all know how to play?” The trio nodded. “Good. And since I’m the one who was challenged, to make it more interesting, let’s allow for Quirks to be in use.”

Ena nodded in agreement, but the way her jaw clenched gave away her anger at the proposal. This was a game of luck and skill. Even if she canceled everyone’s quirks, there was no guarantee that she’d be able to win. 

She just hoped her plan would work. 

“We’ll go for ten rounds,” Tomiko said. “Whoever wins the most rounds claims the victory.”

“Wait.” Les looked between Ena and Atsuko. “This isn’t a fair fight. We have three on our side and she has only herself. I think we should allow her an extra. I’ll sit out for it.”

Atsuko’s expression nearly faltered. “But-”

“That’s fine,” Ena said. She winked at her. “Just play your best. I promise, we’ll win.”

Tomiko nodded to one of the other dealers and had him sit in. Once the players were set, the game began. It took no time at all for Tomiko to rack up the first win. Then Atsuko took the victory. Then Tomiko. Tomiko. Ena. The air filled with jazz, stress, and the gentle clacking of brightly colored stones. Round and round they went, until it came to a draw. 

“One more round,” Ena said. “Winner take all.”

“You’re on.” Tomiko smiled. “To be honest, this is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

“Glad we can make it enjoyable for you.”

“I hope this tension will last.”

Sadly, the game didn’t last long.

Tomiko’s Team  | 5Ena’s Team       | 6

The kids all let out a sigh of relief. It was a close call. Far too close. But they won. Ena stood up and walked over to Tomiko, holding out her hand. “I believe that’s match. It certainly was a nail biter.”

“It was.’ Tomiko accepted her hand. “So. What is it exactly you meant by ‘control over your future’. Assets and airlines surely aren’t what you’re truly after.”

Ena simply smiled. “Let’s just say that, if what I’m planning goes through, Quirk Marriages will no longer even be considered to be an option.”

A bit of life seemed to return to Tomiko’s eyes. “Whatever you’re planning…I hope it works.” She slipped a playing card into Ena’s hand. “My private contact info is on the card. Decode it and you can call me any time you need favors. I’m counting on you to make good on that little declaration. Although, you ought to be more careful. People may think you’re… up to something.”

“Thank you.” Ena walked back to the others, grabbign her purse and hugging them tightly. “Now let’s go enjoy the park before it gets dark.”

Icon made with this maker and with photoshop

[chasesthelight]

crawl out through the fallout [1/5]

[AO3] [Fallout: New Vegas AU, 4,431 words, slow build Dirk/Todd]

“Dude, that’s not how it works.”

“What do you mean?” His smile drops off slightly and his eyebrows furrow together.

“Your case is me, right? I can’t help you solve my own murder. That’s just not how it works.”

PART 1: AIN’T THAT A KICK IN THE HEAD?

The air is warm and surprisingly still. The last bits of colour have long since drained from the sky, leaving only a dark blue void above. It’s an evening in late October, and five men are standing in a graveyard. As morbid as it sounds, this marks the end of a journey, a long journey spanning almost the entire west coast, a lot of money, and a lot of dead people along the way. It was the end of this quest, but also the beginning of something greater. It’s a evening in late October and five men gather in a graveyard not to pay their respects, but to bury a man. To them, it was the end of an era and to their credit, it was. What happened that night would change everything, but fate deals the cards as she chooses. What happened that night would change everything, but not necessarily in the way they intended.

“You got what you were after, so pay up.”

“You're crying in the rain, pally.”

The first thing Todd notices when he wakes up is the god awful ache in his neck. The second thing Todd notices when he wakes up is that his hands are bound. His immediate reaction is to start yelling, but he realises someone’s taped duct tape over his mouth while he was unconscious. Any cries for help fizzle out before they can ever leave his mouth. Even with blurry vision, he can make out three figures standing in front of him. Two of them are in typical raider gear, but the guy in the middle is wearing a fur coat. Really he used the term ‘fur coat’ loosely as it was so big the guy looked like he might get swallowed up in a sea of white fur. There was a lit cigarette between his fingers, and he was furiously whispering to one of the goons. None of them have noticed that he’s woken up yet. Todd kept tugging on the rope restraints on his wrists, trying to see if there was any give to them, if he could break them or slip out of them.

“Guess who's waking up over here?”

He tenses up almost immediately, his next breath lodging somewhere in his throat. He slowly looks up at the three men, trying to make his movements as small as possible. The man in the fur coat took a hit from the cigarette before dropping it into the dirt, extinguishing the embers with the sole of his shoe. “Time to cash out.”

Todd thinks it was somewhere around that moment that he realized the gravity of the situation he was in. Most likely because this was when his brain started yelling at him Oh my god you’re gonna die, these guys are gonna kill you, you’re gonna die, you’re gonna die. He kept struggling with the restraints, this time with intensifying urgency.

“Would you get it over with?”

“Maybe Khans kill people without looking them in the face, but I ain't a fink, dig?”

The man in the fur coat takes a step closer to Todd who freezes again. The two make eye contact and the man slips a hand into his coat. He pulls out a poker chip, painted an unusual platinum colour. It glints softly, illuminating the embossed details of a roulette wheel on the face of the chip. Shit, he has the platinum chip. Todd makes a desperate attempt to try and grab it despite the aforementioned bound hands but his legs are too weak and refuse to move when he asks them to. All he manages to do is just kick up dust, irritating the back of his nose. Just great, Todd. You’ve already been kidnapped, tied up, got the sole item you were meant to deliver stolen and now face certain death, and now also you can’t sneeze because you’ve got duct tape over your mouth you goddamn idiot.

“You've made your last delivery kid.” The man in the fur coat has an accent that Todd can’t place on anywhere that he’s been before. He’s certainly not from around this part of the wasteland, maybe from the east coast. He places the platinum chip back into his coat (Todd contines to kick himself mentally for losing it) but his hand stays there, searching for something else. Please don’t be a gun please don’t be a gun please don’t be a gun.

“Sorry you got twisted up in this scene.” He draws a 9mm pistol out from the coat, metal gleaming in the lantern light. Shit. Of course he has a gun, his brain continues to berate him, how else did you think they were gonna kill you? Despite that the man in the fur coat was apologizing, there wasn’t a hint of sincerity. He sounded more like he was apologizing to a sick animal before he put it out of its misery. The two raider goons seem to shift around when he pulled out the gun, whether due to anticipation or uneasiness, Todd wasn’t sure. He tries one last attempt to get out of the restraints and make a run for it but to no avail. It appeared that the universe wasn’t going to let him get out of this one.

He was always aware that he was gonna die. Not in the way that he consciously knew his own mortality and that everyone dies at some point. Todd knew that his death would go something along the lines of this. He was never gonna die just of old age, having lived a complete and fulfilled life. He would bleed out after losing an arm or a leg in a fight with a deathclaw, he would mouth off to a Legion soldier or NCR ranger at the wrong time, he would step too close to a trip mine he never saw on the road. He would have his delivery stolen, his job ruined, and his corpse left in a shallow grave. Despite the fact he had no control over his own inevitable demise, he hoped that the final moments of his life would be memorable. Rewarding, even. He glanced up, past the man and his raider goons, out towards the horizon. He could make out a cluster of neon lights in the distance, a halo of light pollution against the night sky. The New Vegas Strip glowing in all its glory, an eternal testament of a world saved from nuclear fire. He had never visited the Strip, but the sight of it filled him with a warm glowing nostalgia. The knowledge that it had lasted this long and continued to last, even if he wasn’t, was oddly comforting in this turn of disconcerting events. Todd thought of his sister, and hoped that she would forgive him for this.

The man in the fur coat points the pistol at him, aiming directly for Todd’s forehead.

“Truth is… the game was rigged from the start.”

The next thing he remembers is light, white light. His ears are ringing, the reverb echoing back and forth. He’s not really sure of much aside from that there’s something solid underneath him. He blinks once, blinks again, but his eyes won’t focus on anything. Light just keeps pouring in with no form or shape and it hurts like this is the first time he’s opened his eyes. He closes his eyes, trying to shake off the ringing. When his vision finally manages to clear, he’s staring up at a dingy ceiling with a fan softly whirring. Now that the blurriness and the buzzing was gone, he becomes acutely aware of the excruciating headache right at the front of his head. Kind of felt like he had been shot in the head. Hang on…

“Well, you’re awake. How about that.”

Todd turns around, trying to find the source of the voice, but in doing so his vision just blurs again and the headache flares up. A hand grabs his shoulder, centers him upright. The world aligns itself again to reveal a man sitting in a rickety chair in front of him. His hair is white and balding, the creases in his features a testament to the number of years he’s seen. Todd thinks of his parents, how close they might be in age to this man. The thought strikes a solitary chord in his chest, a old feeling he buried so long ago he’s forgotten the name of it. He decides to ignore it for now and focus on the physical, the mattress creaking under his weight, the scratchy dryness in the back of his throat.

“Woah, easy there kid. You’ve been out cold a couple of days now. Just focus on getting your bearings.”

The room they’re in is a decent size but relatively empty. The cot that Todd is sitting on is shoved up in the very corner, right next to a dusty window filtering in sunlight. Behind the old man, he can see a surgical table with some tools left on it. He can only assume that he was lying on that table recently, walking the thin line between life and whatever comes next.

“Let’s see what the damage is. How about your name? Can you tell me your name?”

The question startled him from his thoughts, so much that it took a few seconds of panic for him to remember. “It’s, uh, Todd. Todd Brotzman.”

“Huh. Can’t say that’s what I would have picked for you. But if that’s your name, that’s your name.” The old man leans back in his chair. “I’m Doc Mitchell. Welcome to Goodsprings.”

Goodsprings. Todd was familiar with the name, a small town just north of the Mojave Express head office. He had visited it a few times before on small deliveries but never stuck around for long. At least whoever those guys were who shot him didn’t dump him in the middle of nowhere.

“Now I hope you don’t mind, but I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. I take pride in my needlework, but you’d better tell me if I left anything out of place.” Doc Mitchell reaches under his chair and grabs a small hand mirror, passing it over to Todd. He had been mentally preparing for his bit, but in all honesty he didn’t know what to expect when he saw his reflection. His hair, previously unruly and curled at the ends, has been hacked back severely so that he can see the damage in full unobscured view. Just off the center of his forehead, two small puckered round wounds. Small ridges indicate there was a couple stitches there but the skin was still inflamed, an angry raw pink colour. No matter what he could tell himself, Todd can’t deny how obvious they are, or the bile rising in his throat. Bullet wounds never healed, not really. He would always have these two scars on his forehead, a testament to what had happened that night. It would never be let down, that Todd Brotzman took two bullets to the head and lived. It seemed that he was tougher to kill than he thought.

He silently passes the mirror back to Mitchell. He doesn’t mention the wounds or where his hair went or how tired he looked. Mitchell seemed to pick up on the uneasiness, mumbling an offhanded comment about getting stuff that mattered right as he stood up from his chair.

“Okay. No sense in keeping you in bed anymore. Let’s see if we can get you on your feet.” Just as Todd was about to sink back in the mattress, Mitchell reached out to grab both of his hands. Todd let out a heavy breath but slowly pulled himself up off the cot onto his feet. His knees started to buckle and legs almost gave out when he loosened his grip on Mitchell, slipping forward quickly and uneasily but he stopped himself before he met the floor. Apparently in the handful of days he was bedridden, he had forgotten how to use his legs. Although that’s probably just a result of the bullets to the brain. He feels like his head’s been scrambled, put through a blender on the highest speed possible. He focuses on getting his balance and tenatively takes a step forward. He takes another, and another, until he’s no longer holding on to Mitchell and his legs aren’t completely numb. He stretches his arms out above his head, hearing his back pop. The mattress certainly wasn’t the most uncomfortable thing he’s ever slept on, but it wasn’t the nicest ever. Todd turns his head around to notice a folded set of clothes on the edge of the mattress, and his worn out leather boots sitting neatly by the foot of the cot.

“Those clothes are for you, so the locals don’t get annoyed at you for lacking modesty. Figured they were about your size too. Feel free to get dressed, then come find me, I’ll see you out.” Doc Mitchell walks out of the room, leaving Todd on his own. He quickly looks through the clothes he was given; just a thin flannel shirt and dark slacks. They were practically a perfect fit for him, oddly enough. Mitchell had mentioned he guessed the size but Todd could have mistaken these for his own clothes if they weren’t such good condition. He chalks it up to a coincidence, quickly shoves on his shoes, and wanders out of the room into a hallway. Mitchell was standing at the left end of the hallway in front of the door, carrying something in his hands. “Here. These are yours. Was all you had on you when you were brought in.” As Todd approaches him, Doc Mitchell holds out a knapsack made from worn canvas and a cowboy hat. Ah, he hadn’t lost his hat. That was nice. He was rather attached to his hat. He takes both the knapsack and the hat and immediately puts the hat on, tilting down slightly to cover the wounds on his forehead. He quickly scans through the sack’s contents; a handful of bottle caps in a plastic bag, a couple of stimpaks, a revolver, some ammo and a note. Todd checks the chamber of the revolver (empty) before pocketing it with some of the ammo and putting on the knapsack. “I hope you don’t mind but I gave the note a look. Thought it might help me find a next of kin, but it was just something about a platinum chip.”

Todd freezes up. The platinum chip. Whoever those guys were, they had stolen the platinum chip off him, the platinum chip he was meant to deliver to the Strip. He would have gotten 250 caps, one of the biggest payments he would have received in months. 250 caps was enough to repair his decaying revolver or get enough food to last him for a month. Decent food as well, not just brahmin meat that tasted like leather when cooked. Shit, he could even have bought good alcohol. Instead, here he was. No money, no delivery, nowhere to go.

“Well, if you’re headed back out there, you ought to have this.” Mitchell picked up some kind of metal gauntlet contraption off the shelf next to them, holding it out towards him. “They call it a Pip-Boy. I grew up in one of them vaults they made before the war. We all got one. Ain’t much use to me now, but you might want such a thing, after what you’ve been through. I know what it’s like, having something taken from you.” A pang of guilt shoots through Todd from the sheer sincerity in Mitchell’s tone. He had never met the man before, but Mitchell was still helping him, giving him clothes and a goddamn Pip-Boy as if saving his life wasn’t enough. The Pip-Boy was much lighter than he anticipated and fit snugly onto his forearm. The display glows dimly, struggling to life after years of disuse.

“I reckon some of the fellas at the saloon might be able to help you out. And the metal fella, Victor, who pulled you outta your grave.”

Todd clears his throat, struggling to convey his thoughts while staring at the Pip-Boy on his arm. “Thanks, Doc. You know, for patching me up, and all the extra stuff. You really didn’t have to do all this so uh, thanks, really.”

Doc Mitchell gives him a half smile. “It’s what I’m here for. Anyway, if you ever get hurt out there, you come right back. I’ll fix you up. But try not to get killed anymore.”

Todd smiles for a split second at the quip. “Wasn’t planning on it,” he mumbles under his breath before he pushes the door open and steps outside.

It’s immediately bright, brighter than he was expecting, and his eyes take a few seconds to adjust. Goodsprings is just as tiny and quiet as he remembers it. A couple of run down houses, the general store and saloon in the middle, surrounded by hills on all sides. Just a sleepy town where nothing unusual ever happened.

He had taken a few steps down off the veranda when he realised his major problem. He didn’t know what to do now. He wasn’t really expecting to still be alive after what happened that night and he had very little leads on where to go from here. Mitchell had mentioned checking the saloon and a robot who apparently pulled him out of his grave (he was trying to ignore that one for now), but Todd still had other questions. He didn’t even know why the platinum chip was so important, why those guys were after it, why they were perfectly willing to kill him for it. His employers certainly hadn’t mentioned that it was important or anything, it was supposed to be just another ordinary delivery. Certainly no mentions of impending death. He had joked about it before, but Todd had never actually thought one of his jobs would get him killed.

His feet start to move of their own accord across the town center, past the general store and saloon and paddocks of roaming bighorners. He vaguely knew the path he was taking, straight up a small hill with a barbed wire fence surrounding the summit. If he wasn’t already sweating under the morning Mojave sun, he was by the time he reached the top. Stuck to the fence was a rusted sign with peeling paint that had clearly seen better days. Goodsprings Cemetary, circa 1890.

He wasn’t sure what specifically had brought him here, to the place where he had died. He was currently standing in front of his grave, the shallow hole they dug out before executing him. The events from that night kept playing in his head, the same 2 minutes on repeat over and over always ending in the same words. The game was rigged from the start.

Todd didn’t believe in fate, not really. Fate, in any case, usually came from the barrel of a gun. Still he felt like there was some reason he had been brought back here, as if the universe was trying to tell him something. He didn’t believe in fate, but it seemed that there were bigger things planned for him still. And yet, as he stood there by his grave, for a second he felt like climbing back in.

It was the light tap on his shoulder that scares him out of his thoughts. He wildly spins around, swinging his arm in case it finds purchase on anything. It did collide with something but before he can figure out what it is, he’s stumbled backwards and fallen into the hole also known as his grave. The impact knocks all the air from his lungs and sends him into a coughing fit. The sun ends up right in his eyes and momentarily blinds him. Todd tries to get back up on his feet, acutely aware that someone else was coughing too.

“What the hell, man?”

There was a man standing in front of him. Tall and lanky, neat hair, currently cradling the side of his face (presumbly where Todd had hit him). He was wearing a blue Vault-issued jumpsuit, although the top half was unbuttoned and tied around his waist. Instead, he also had an a dress shirt, patterned tie, and a leather jacket in an obnoxious shade of mustard yellow. He was staring at Todd with a degree of hurt behind his bright blue eyes. Everything about him was peculiar.

“What, no, you what the hell? Were you spying on me?”

“I wasn’t spying on you.”

“Then why are you up here?”

“Why are you up here?”

The other man visibly stiffens up, and Todd folds his arms across his chest, giving a pointed look.

“I’m… investigating. Investigating a very top secret and serious case.”

Todd raises an eyebrow. He recognizes this guy is trying to bluff his way out of the situation and doing a terrible job.

“A case, huh?” He muses, stepping up out of the grave. “So what are you, like a detective of some kind?”

“A holistic detective, actually.” The man says, smiling. His accent is strange, nothing like Todd’s ever heard before. He wondered if it had something to do with the Vault jumpsuit he was wearing. “However, I’m not the important one in this situation.” He walks over to Todd so they’re toe to toe, making Todd consciously aware of how much shorter he is compared to this guy.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure out what role you play in this story.” He’s studying Todd’s face with a unsettling intensity. “Have you seen anything strange lately, or been at the center of any strange events? Like you knew exactly where your life was going until suddenly it’s been thrown completely off course?”

“Uh…” Todd is lowkey beginning to panic at this point, cautiously trying to take a step back in case he needs to make a run for it. Thankfully, the man has seemingly found his answer and moves out of his personal space.

“Like I said before, I’m a detective. I’m on a case.” He’s smiling again, almost beaming. “A couple days ago, there was a murder here. In the middle of the night. The body was found in the morning with no evidence of the killers.”

Oh god. Of course. Of course, of course, of course this guy is investigating the murder, his murder. Todd has to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from blurting out something dumb and regretting it.

“And now you’re here, alone, at the scene of the crime. See, it’s all very suspicious. But you are definitely involved in this, I know it.” His face lights up and he gasps, like he’s had an epiphany. “Perhaps you were the one who found the body. Do you know where the body is?”

Todd lets out a heavy sigh and nudges up the brim of his hat, revealing the two wounds on his forehead. The expression on the man’s face morphs from a smug delight to slowly dawning realisation over a couple of seconds.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They’re both silent.

“Hang on, if you’re… if you got.... then shouldn’t you be….”

“Dead?”

“Yes.”

Todd sighs again. “Yeah, I suppose so.”

Silence again. “So how are you, you know… not dead?”

“Apparently a robot dug me out of my grave and the town doctor patched me up.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” The man sounds rather meek, trying to verbally tiptoe around the topic. Todd looks down at his feet, kicking the dirt around into the air.

“Look, don’t apologize, okay. It’s not your fault that this happened. I was just up here, I’m not even really sure why. It just felt right, like the universe was telling me to.” When he looks up again, the man is standing next to him, in the middle of wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He gives Todd a faint smile.

“Well, good news, I figured out what your role is.”

“What?”

The man jumps around in front of him, smile even wider. “You are officially my assistant.”

It takes a couple seconds for Todd to process this, but when he does it elicits a tch noise from him. “Dude, that’s not how it works.”

“What do you mean?” His smile drops off slightly and his eyebrows furrow together.

“Your case is me, right? I can’t help you solve my own murder. That’s just not how it works.”

“True. However, you are still alive. Therefore, you are a perfectly viable candidate for assistant. As well as the only candidate.”

Todd shakes his head, toeing the dirt. A lot of weird shit had happened the last few days but this guy, he was easily the weirdest thing.

“Still, that’s not the point.” The man steps in closer to Todd, just barely, but enough for Todd’s breath to get caught in his throat. “Once I take on a case, I’m intrinsically connected to it. Everything in the universe is interconnected, one thing always leads to another. I will eventually solve it by studying the patterns between causes and effects... and also just kind of doing whatever.”

“That just sounds like you’re an incredibly lazy detective.”

“Everything is connected. The clues will come together and eventually, the case will be solved.” He places a hand hesitantly on Todd’s shoulder. “I will solve it.” The man repeats at a lower octave, an affirmation between both of them. Todd chews on his bottom lip and slowly nods once.

“I’m Todd.”

“Dirk Gently. It's lovely to make your acquaintance.” The man who was now known as Dirk beamed at him and Todd did his best to half ass a smile back.

“So then, do you have any leads?”

Dirk’s smile falters. “Oh. No. I don’t.”

Of course. Todd lets out a half sigh and weaves his way around Dirk, heading back down the hill.

“Where are you going?” Dirk calls out.

“I’m gonna go talk to that robot. Figure out where those guys who shot me went.” He yells back, not stopping or turning his head to see where the other man is.

“Great plan, Todd! You’re being an excellent assistant so far.” He can hear scrambling footsteps behind him, presumably Dirk trying to catch up with him.

“I’m not your assistant!” He calls back, thinly veiling an annoyed huff. This delivery was going to be longer than he anticipated.