#the android au has been a really nice way to like... get me to discover things about myself and explore certain themes?

[kalloway]

it is women’s day but all i have to post is a preview of these 3 WIPs i’ve been working on on-and-off lately (the first one has been on-going for like... a month or two now i think lmao)

plz don’t @ me about avoiding hands, i know 🙈

anyway, i love women and im only a little biased cuz like... same... but ilu all equally 💖

[flowerbloom-arts]

The Clockwork Muddler

(another fanfic idea/concept/AU by me that other people can use, just please @ me and stuff I would love to know if you do)

Summary

Stumbling upon the aftermath of an accident never meant to be seen by anyone, a young Moomin(pappa) finds out that the Muddler is some sort of... Mechanical being. Moomin is completely horrified by this discovery, but before he could do anything the Muddler grabs him by the arm and tearfully begs him not to tell anyone, and that he'll do anything he pleases if it keeps him silent about the whole thing. Moomin, not being one to pass up an opportunity, agrees to this on the condition that the Muddler follows his every whim.

Tensions rise as Moomin sees him as far less of a person and Muddler tries to please him as best he could, and although they don't say a suspicious word of the incident, everyone else notices the strange change in their dynamic. It's only a matter of time before tensions rise to their heights; and that Moomin discovers another devastating truth.

Concept explanation

So basically this whole thing is an allegory that can apply to many things and it has alot of literal metaphors but if one were make too much of a detailed lore/explanation of the central concept then the need for logic would supersede the central message of the story.

To simply describe Muddler I would say he's basically a steampunk/clockwork android but not in a super literal techy way. It's kinda like the gems in Steven Universe, they are technically light robots but they still have bodily fluids and human emotions and the ability to digest food and stuff, you know?

Muddler's been adopted by Hodgkins since ages ago, they're not biologically related, but Muddler and Hodgkins still call the people who took care of him previously his "parents" and "uncle/nephew" are like petnames for eachother because they grew such a close bond.

Muddler is really janky on the inside, alot of loose ends and problems that cause him to be clumsy and overemotional and fixated on his collection. He also lost the lid for his chest a long time ago (probably back when he was still with his parents) and so his insides are constantly exposed but hidden under the layers of clothes he always wears.

The story takes place like... some time after Muddler's wedding. Moomin(pappa) is a very dumb and naive kid with a huge ego (I'd say he's around 16-17 while Muddler is atleast perceivably 21), and Moomin has alot of inexperience with the concept of sympathy or empathy due to his upbringing and what little he does have is relegated to Hodgkins, because Hodgkins is Moomin's favorite and most important person in the world while everyone else is just, whatever.

So when he finds out about Muddler with his gut gears spilled and trying to fix himself up quickly he freaks the heck out because holy crap did his reality just shatter right that moment. When Muddler begs him not to tell anybody he's still trying to process but gives into his offer because he's an egotistical brat with an unstable, warped self-image and who doesn't care about anybody but himself and Hodgkins.

Moomin gets progressively bitter towards Muddler because Muddler has this really cool uncle who's really nice to him and Joxter is also really nice to him and he already has a wife while Moomin doesn't get anywhere near the affection Muddler receives, even though he thinks Muddler isn't a real person but he himself is the realest person he's known his whole life. He is slowly inching closer to telling on Muddler anyway, and he doesn't even know that Hodgkins already knows. He even starts calling him a clock in his head to further dehumanize him.

During the height of this tension, Muddler and Moomin have a private conversation/argument which culminates into the reveal that Hodgkins knew, Moomin asks why in the world because he's already built up this bigotry towards Muddler in his head and Muddler starts getting all sentimental talking about his backstory. And then he looks at Moomin sadly;

The Muddler reached out for the Moomin's chest.

A click rung out in his head.

"Hodgkins always had a fondness for machines, you know. He seems to have this sixth sense for finding one," the Muddler said kindly. "The broken ones, most usually, we seem to be easier to spot with those ears of his."

No no no this can't be, the Moomin thought, he can't be like him!

The Muddler continued softly and sadly, "You told the Hemulen Aunt you were found in a seashell padded with velvet, yes? Excuse me, it must've been nice to be treated so gently and elegantly as a small one."

A shopping bag padded with newspaper...

The Muddler opened the Moomin's chest to reveal the dusty and rusty clockwork in him, "Oh dear," the Muddler covered his mouth, "I thought since you were so clean... Perhaps your Hemulen didn't bother..."

A thousand 'no's repeated themselves in the Moomin's thoughts, this cannot be true, he has to be a real person himself. He has to be! Because if he wasn't, then...

They locked eyes. Sincerity and concern met with earth-shattering terror. A pause.

"Oh," said the Muddler finally, "I'm sorry."

-

Moomin himself is made of clockwork, that's why he was different from the other Moomins and had those clicks in his head when he got ideas. His old Principal didn't even bother figuring out what he even is, let alone take care of him properly, his insides are all rusted and somewhat malfunctioning.

Moomin spirals and thinks that all the things he thought about Muddler applies to him aswell, that everything he tried to do since his escape are rendered null because he's not a real person and fake people can't become Famous Adventurers, they can't be liked or belong anywhere if people knew.

Moomin starts denying everything but he knows it won't do anything and he breaks down crying.

The Muddler looks down at him, feeling pity wash over him. Despite the cruelty and bitterness Moomin treated him with he can't help but feel bad for this child who had his whole world crash down on him. Muddler pats his head, and then Moomin receives the first hug he's ever had in his life.

[schibi12]

Toonvengers: Age of Ultroon

* cue the Avengers theme for the third time*

I know Guardians of the Galaxy is the next movie in the Phase 2 lineup but I feel storywise that Avengers: Age of Ultron is a better follow-up to The Winter Soldier so Phase 2 is gonna end on a fun note.

Our group of heroes has found the last HYDRANT base and where Loki's Scepter has been hidden all these years and where HYDRANT agents and scientists have been experimenting with it to create weapons of mass destruction or as a source of energy which failed so they decided to see its effects on toons, most of the subjects had fatal effects on most of them except for some twins, the exposure of the scepter gave these pair of siblings some superhuman powers and during the chaos of the raid the twins got out and tried to defend the base the best they could and although they failed they did plant a seed of fear within Bugs Bunny hoping that it will lead to his own self-destruction.

Okay, i had my fun being coy and secretive on who the Maximoffs are, so Pietro Maximoff I could have picked the Roadrunner or Speedy because they have superspeed, easy right? Well no because it's never been about their abilities, it is about their personality and character so my first and only choice for Pietro is Wakko, ok so Pietro is quick-tempered, a bit cocky, tenacious and impatient but what sealed the deal for me was his deep bond with Wanda, this loyalty, reliability and fierce protection of her and that just reminded of Wakko in Wakko's Wish, plus I find it hilarious that Wakko would be the one speeding around bothering Goofy

So if Wakko is Pietro then Dot is Wanda they're both aggressive, a bit bossy, level-headed, passionate, caring and vengeful, plus her magic would be colored a bit lighter a combination of Wanda's red and Dot's pink.

So our heroes successfully raided the HYDRANT base and have Loki's Scepter they shall celebrate with a party but before Thor takes the scepter for safekeeping in Asgard, Bugs Bunny and Donald decided to study the scepter and use it to initiate the Ultroon program designed to protect the world, so using the scepter of a crazy evil god who wanted to conquer the earth to start an AI program meant for world peace may have not been the best idea, so Ultroon scared and confused kills Bugs Bunny AI and gets himself a nice robot body starts quoting Pinocchio and ruins the party the heroes easily destroys the robot bodies and start to investigate on their new enemy.

So Ultroon decides the best way to protect the earth is to kill all the toons and start anew and with the internet, at his metaphorical fingertips he can easily create some android minions and block and access whatever type of information he needs except for weapons of mass destruction weird huh? But still, he needs some powerful allies so he travels to the country where the last HYDRANT base oh yeah I didn't tell you the name of this poor war-torn country, well the name is Warnerkovia, and here is where the Maximoffs were born, raised and reside and well he tricks them into joining his cause saying that they are gonna destroy the Toonvengers, an act of personal revenge for the twins since Bugs Bunny weapons were the cause of their parent's death.

So shenanigans ensue Ultroon and the twins steal some vibranink the Heroes try to stop them they fail Dot makes them see their worst fears unleashes the Hulk and Bugs Bunny has to stop them with the Hulkbuster armor they hide in Hawkeye's farm where they discover he has a wife and son so they decide there next plan of attack and they discover that all that vibranink is to create perfect robot body for Ultroon , so most of the team go to kidnap the robot body, gain some new allies since the Maximoffs discovered Ultroon true motive and left him and helped the Toonvengers but Romanoff got kidnapped by the androids when they acquired the body, Bugs Bunny was investigating why Ultroon hasn't hacked to codes of weapons of mass destructions and Thor was being a weirdo in this creepy hot tub. All our heroes reunite and Bugs decides to use the robot body to create that protector of earth he wanted in the first place since he discovered that his AI was protecting and defending humanity from the inside hiding within Ultroon program and that's why he didn't have access to the weapons and Bugs decides that he is the perfect AI for the job and embedded with the Mind Cell from Loki's scepter it is armed, a mini fight ensues between the heroes to give life to the android or not but Thor comes down with lightning and completes the process of giving life to the android, he attacks them but later calms down and proves he is on the side of good by proving he is worthy to use Thor' Mallet and they name him Vision because Thor had a Vision, oh wait I never told you Bugs AI name it is Y.A.K.K.O.

So yeah Yakko is Vision why you may ask well they're both know-it-alls, they value life, only attack when threatened, protective, and would rather end things peacefully like Yakko once said use the pen and not the sword when you're in a fight.

Romanoff sends them Ultroon plans of  lifting Warnerkovia capital city off the earth to use it as a meteor to exterminate humanity through a secret spy radio line so all our heroes go to the country save Romanoff, fight against an army of androids and save as many civilians as they can and well our heroes get some support from some allies like Daffy, Oswald Hill and Fury and with Helicarrier for the civillians who are still stuck in the floating city and they get them out of there before the explode the city so it doesn't crash so all our heroes destroy most of the androids, Vision incapacitates Ultroon's access to the internet and they're ready to explode the city but before Hawkeye can get to the Helicarrier he sees a child injured so he goes to get him and take him to his mother on the ship but before he can get there bullets are raining down from a quinjet piloted by Ultroon he just gets down and hopes for the best but luckily for Wakko was close and runs as fast as he could to save him and moves the bullets but he dissapears he went so fast he entered another universe he couldn't go back to his original universe no matter how fast he went he couldn't although this universe did had other toons with powers which they called mutants so he didn't feel that far from home.

Back in our universe Wakko was nowhere to be seen Goofy just knew he just saved his life so he grabbed Wakko's cap the only thing he left and went with the child to the safety of the Helicarrier, but for Dot she couldn't sense her brother anymore so she thought he was dead and in a cry of pure anguish she let out a burst of her power and destroyed all the androids in her range she leaves her post and goes out for revenge killing Ultroon's primary body but she left her post causing one of the androids to activate the machine that was keeping the city afloat so in a hurry our heroes manage to explode the city before the impact,  Vision saves Dot and finally kills Ultroonand the Hulk escaped on a quinjet but hasn't been found.

So our heroes have a new facility, Thor leaves on a mission to learn more of these Cells but trusts Vision to keep the Mind Cell safe, Hulk is still missing and but they have new members, and are ready to train them.

Also, I know that Vision and Wanda have a romantic relationship but for my au it's gonna be a sibling relationship, and no I'm not implying Warnercest and if you like that sort of stuff please unfollow me.

So that is it for today, I really hoped you enjoy this post I had a lot of fun writing it and I will see you real soon!!

Wait do you hear that where is that 80's music coming from?

[pechoraflow]

Promptober Masterlist

So that I don’t spam everyone 😅 I will be updating this as I post the other stories, so check back in from time to time! For now, there’s just a few clues and teasers as to what you can expect... 👀

PROMPT ONE: Dragged - MCU Speaking Isn’t Easy 1933. Tony Stark is one of New York’s crime bosses, but when he develops a soft spot for local newsie, Peter Parker, the teenager suddenly finds himself the center of unwanted attention. Tony takes Peter in for his own safety, but when their casual friendship turns into something more familial, is Peter actually safer than he was before? (Mafia AU) Related works: With A Vengeance (see prompt 8)

PROMPT TWO: Injured - Overwatch The Sacrifice of Trust When Reinhardt and Brigitte find themselves pinned down and outnumbered in Numbani, Reinhardt is forced to confront everything he has to lose, and Brigitte gets a taste of what life is like for a hero of Overwatch. Honor, glory, sacrifice. Related works: none.

PROMPT THREE: Cruel - MCU & Venom A Simple “Thank You” Eddie and Peter escape from weeks of torture, only to find that something is wrong with Peter. It’s up to Eddie to take care of the teenage superhero while they wait for Stark to show up. Related works: none.

PROMPT FOUR: Water/Fire - Avatar: The Last Airbender Pilot Zumo has lived his whole life in secret, training with Azula for the day they would be required to join the war effort with their father. He expected an eventual coronation and a lifetime spent on the battlefield; he didn’t expect to stumble upon an untrained Avatar. Now, it’s up to him and Azula to get Aang to a water bending teacher. But are there any good waterbenders left in the world? (Reverse AU) Related works: (see prompt 27)

PROMPT FIVE: Dark - Original Work Dungeons Audeen has finally found Theo, but the real culprit behind his kidnapping takes her by surprise... Related works: Loss of Wings (see prompt 17), (see prompt 26), and The Lionheart: Honor

PROMPT SIX: Formal - Detroit: Become Human Medal of Honor Hank is awarded the Medal of Honor, and Connor couldn’t be prouder. The night goes as smoothly as can be expected. That is, until the lights go out. When Connor wakes, a few questions instantly come to mind: How could he have been kidnapped from a hall full of officers? What did these apparent low-level criminals want with a state-of-the-art prototype like him? How long was he unconscious for? Why hadn’t he been rescued yet? Related works: Scars of Valor (see prompt 13)

PROMPT SEVEN: Hands - Detroit: Become Human & Alita: Battle Angel Bleed and Break RK800 is the racer for illegal fights, RK900 is the racer for the legal ones. That’s just how it is - it’s how it’s always been. However, when RK800 is bester by the new racer, North, he discovers that might not be the case. Who is “Hank”? Who is “Markus”? Does he even know who he really is? Related works: Breaking Free (see prompt 11)

PROMPT EIGHT: Frail - MCU With A Vengeance Tony is on a manhunt, searching for whoever took Peter. Thinking Steve Rogers and his gang in Brooklyn are to blame, he set out on a warpath only to find that Rogers doesn’t have anything to do with it. Tony is left with nothing. No leads, no theories, no clues...nothing, and Peter is running out of time. (Mafia AU) Related works: Speaking Isn’t Easy (see prompt 1)

PROMPT NINE: Garden - Detroit: Become Human Overheating When Connor wakes with a fever, Hank takes it upon himself to try and take care of a sick android.  Of course, he has no idea how to do that, and Connor is no ordinary android. Is there something more serious going on? Related works: none.

PROMPT TEN: Fall - My Hero Academia Natural Opposites ??????? (Murphy’s Law) Related works: none.

PROMPT ELEVEN: Family - Detroit: Become Human Breaking Free Connor sets out to rescue Nines from Zlatko and finally reunite their whole family, but Zlatko is more sinister than they gave him credit for. Connor could still lose everything, more easily than he realizes. Related works: Bleed and Break (see prompt 7)

PROMPT TWELVE: Treasure - Detroit: Become Human Fallen in a Forest Hank was sad to see Connor move out of his home and into an apartment with his girlfriend, but they had four years together. And besides, Connor insists that he’ll visit all the time. He never does, and when he starts acting strangely, Hank takes it upon himself to try and figure out what’s going on. But maybe he’s imagining things - after all, Connor says that he’s fine, and Wendy seems nice enough... Something in his gut tells him to not let it go, and he didn’t become the youngest Lieutenant in Detroit history by ignoring his gut instinct. Related works: none.

PROMPT THIRTEEN: Loss/Reunion - Detroit: Become Human Scars of Valor Connor’s been missing for five days, but finally, the DPD manage to locate him. Hank demands to be allowed on the rescue mission, but he can’t shake the feeling Connor might be broken beyond repair. He just hopes he isn’t too late. Related works: Medal of Honor (see prompt 6)

PROMPT FOURTEEN: Red - Detroit: Become Human New Son Gavin Reed used to like Hank. Used to understand him. But then, Hank went and adopted a plastic. He’s not the same guy that recruited Reed way back when. But when Gavin is kidnapped while on a stakeout with the plastic, he finds himself wondering if Hank’s change of heart wasn’t so crazy after all... Related works: New Brother (see prompt 18) and (see prompt 29)

PROMPT FIFTEEN: Feral - MCU Keep Me Safe; I Dare You ??????? (Monster AU) Related works: none.

PROMPT SIXTEEN: Sweet - Detroit: Become Human Disconnect Hank is sick, and it’s up to Connor to take care of him. The only problem? Hank is very irritable when he’s feverish, and their relationship is still delicate. Connor finds himself navigating an emotional minefield, but what else is new? Related works: (see prompt 20)

PROMPT SEVENTEEN: Wings - Original Work Loss of Wings Clover is captured by bandits. Unfortunately, sprite wings make popular accessories for the nobles... Related works: Dungeons (see prompt 5), (see prompt 26), and The Lionheart: Honor

PROMPT EIGHTEEN: Bruises - Detroit: Become Human New Brother When Gavin and Connor are kidnapped by a new drug ting and taken to the middle of nowhere in Michigan winter, Gavin finds himself having to rely on Connor. Gavin isn’t happy about it, but they’re in it together. They’ll get out of this together. Connor has different priorities. Related works: New Son (see prompt 14) and (see prompt 29)

PROMPT NINETEEN: Horns - Detroit: Become Human Lies and Illusions ??????? (DnD AU) Related works: (see prompt 22) and (see prompt 28)

PROMPT TWENTY: Tears/Fracture - Detroit: Become Human Recalculating ??????? Related works: (see prompt 16)

PROMPT TWENTY-ONE: Forgotten/Stars - MCU A Hundred Times Before ??????? Related works: none.

PROMPT TWENTY-TWO: “You deserve this...” - Detroit: Become Human Oaths and Truths ??????? (DnD AU) Related works: (see prompt 19) and (see prompt 28)

PROMPT TWENTY-THREE: Protect - MCU Red and Blue Blood ??????? (DBH AU) Related works: none.

PROMPT TWENTY-FOUR: Sweater - Detroit: Become Human Blue Christmas ??????? Related works: I Trust Myself to be Deadly

PROMPT TWENTY-FIVE: Sunflower - Detroit: Become Human Runway Run Away ??????? Related works: none.

PROMPT TWENTY-SIX: Leaving - Original Work The Logical Conclusion ??????? Related works: Dungeons (see prompt 5), Loss of Wings (see prompt 17), and The Lionheart: Honor

PROMPT TWENTY-SEVEN: Scars - Avatar: The Last Airbender The Storm ??????? (Reverse AU) Related works: Pilot (see prompt 4)

PROMPT TWENTY-EIGHT: Run - Detroit: Become Human Past and Present ??????? (DnD AU) Related works: (see prompt 19) and (see prompt 22)

PROMPT TWENTY-NINE: ???? - Detroit: Become Human New Father ??????? Related works: New Son (see prompt 14) and New Brother (see prompt 18)

[unsettledink]

So I'm offering a Starker (or Spiderio or any combo of the three) fic, min 5k, for the Marvel Trumps Hate charity auction. I know I'm not exactly well known in this fandom, but hey, here's a chance to get some custom made fic! (The auction ends Saturday the 24th!)

I know browsing the auctions for things I want bid on, I've had some moments of 'but what specifically would I want to read?'. Maybe others are having that thought too? So I thought I'd put out some of the ideas sitting around, waiting for me to write them, in case one catches someone's interest enough to donated $10 to charity! (I've got one of these for Spiderio too, if that's appealing.)

I'm kind of grouping these because it got long. (Smut, smut + feels, fluff, oh no the sads)

Just the smut! (Ok some feels):

Continuation of Hang Up – so what does happen the next morning after that phone call? (Sex. Probably more phone sex.)

Peter is dumb online – Peter decides to auction off his virginity online. Of course Tony finds out immediately. Of course Tony buys it to keep Peter from getting hurt. Of course Tony decides to meet up and teach Peter a lesson about being safe – wait. That might have been a mistake. (It's not.)

Actually, Peter doesn't like it rough – miscommunication piled on top of miscommunication because they're both idiots who are desperate for each other, until a tipping point is reached. Happy ending! Fluffy ending!

Gag reflex training – pretty much what it sounds like. Tony having a lot of fun with Peter; messy, noisy, hopefully hot.

Experienced Peter – Peter hasn't been waiting around for Tony to be the first, and he's had time to figure out some of his preferences. Like topping almost exclusively, among other things.

Civil War pick me up – after the airport, Tony goes to check on Peter and is in desperate need of something nice. Peter really, really wants to be that something nice. Could be underage, could be not.

Continuation of Gift Wrapped – (Peter/Tony/Pepper) there's a lot more sex happening for Tony's birthday than I had time to write for kinktober.

But you want me to be safe, don't you? - Peter's hit with sex pollen, but it can be taken care of without outside help. Peter would still really like it if Tony would help. Or would at least keep an eye on him. Or at least stay in hearing range! He won't be able to resist if Peter's noisy and saying his name while he gets off, right???

Armor Kink - I mean, basically what it says on the tin. Peter’s been having fantasies about the armor forever. Tony is absolutely willing to help him with that.

ABO forced presentation – Peter doesn't know what he'll end up being, and that's bad for Reasons. He convinces Tony try forcing a presentation (not noncon type forcing) and things get weird. Playing around with the idea of how non-binary might go in ABO. Possible Tony/Peter/Pepper endship. More than likely somewhat underage.

Avengers orgy – Peter's finally old enough to join in the tradition! While he's having fun with everyone, Peter and Tony keep gravitating to each other, winding up with things getting a little too emotional when Tony finally gets his chance. Potential for Tony/Peter/Rhodey endship.

The spider bite did what?!? - Peter starts having really weird cravings when he's around Tony. Weird as in blood, and Tony is going to help him figure this out. Even when it turns into a craving for sex (and bloodplay). Even when it turns into terrifying (for Peter) egg/medical kink.

*

Smut! Oh wait, where did all these feelings come from?:

Toybox – slightly darker Peter decides if Tony won't fuck him, the least Tony can do is pay for Peter's toys, and watch while Peter enjoys them. No touching allowed since Tony doesn't want him, after all. Which is a rule that gets harder and harder to keep in place; feelings, so many feelings everywhere.

Pain kink Peter – what it says on the tin, lol. “Oh Mr. Stark, maybe you should supervise this slightly dangerous sex thing I like.” I think we can guess where it heads from there.

Call boy Peter – what it sounds like! It's an accident that Tony gets him; good thing Peter was blindfolded! Bad thing that Peter's senses are enhanced and he knows from the start who it is. Good thing that Peter's not going to say anything so he can keep this reliable customer?

Evil Ex D/S verse – Peter's pretty insecure about being a good sub for Tony and it's not helped at all when one of Tony's ex subs tells him he'll never be able to take what Tony wants to dish out. Well, Peter's going to prove him wrong! Tony really doesn't understand why Peter is making himself miserable for something Tony doesn't even want, and things almost break before they get fixed.

*

Fluff! (Crap there's not much):

Follow up to Seiche – mostly fluffy 5 times +1 where the emotion sensing bond causes (minor) problems

Fluffy D/S verse – all the fluff! All the outside POV! Everyone assumes that obviously Tony is a dom; after all, that's how he's always presented himself. Everyone is wroooooong. Tony's never been happier.

Nail polish – little bit of Tony finding it incredibly appealing when Peter wears nail polish

*

Oh No + all the feelings, heavy on the bad ones:

Soulmark AU – Tony finds out first and isn't going to do anything due to the age difference. Peter finds out and thinks that's bullshit + horribly hurt that he's being rejected. Things are forced when Peter gets hit with a drug that messes with that bond and they both have to figure out how things are going to go. Possible bittersweet ending.

Screw soulmates, actually - Post CW and Tony dealing with soulmate rejection (that’s a WHOLE other fic). Peter’s become convinced Tony’s a blank like him, and then doesn’t understand why Tony’s soulmate wouldn’t want him. Peter does! They get their happy ever after without being fated for each other, and Peter gets a chance to tells Tony’s soulmate what a dick they are. All the satisfaction!

Untenable – sequel to Indefensible and … horrible. The ABO underage incest continues, Tony hates himself, Peter is distressingly happy. Mpreg makes everything ten times worse; endgame makes everything 100 times worse. Going beyond that would be spoilery, but uh. Everything becomes 1000 times worse by the end! Yay! Yikes.

ABO accidental bonding – the worst abo version, heads up. Underage Peter, omegas are treated very poorly, Peter and Tony don't know each other beforehand and don't do great getting to know each other afterwards. Biology continues to fuck Peter over, and Tony really doesn't get how desperately Peter wants Tony to like him. Mountains and mountains of angst and sad before the happy ending.

Copy - After IW, Tony makes a Peter clone/android/whatever. Unfortunately, it just makes things worse because it’s just enough off to make it super obvious it’s not Peter. And fake!Peter knows it too. He’s just enough like real Peter to fall in love with Tony too, and he can’t figure out how to make Tony care about him instead of real, dead Peter. Not that it matters when he snap is reversed (Tony lives) and fake!Peter isn’t needed or wanted anymore. (Will probably have a sequel where real Peter finds out about all this, probably happy ending for everyone.)

Nothing sticks around - years after the blip, Peter discovers Tony, alive - only Tony has none of his memories. Tony doesn’t want anything to do with these people Peter tries to reintroduce him to; he trusts Peter and wants to stay with him. And does, for quite some time, things turning into a relationship, and even if Peter feels guilty about it, he’s happy. Right up until Tony suddenly remembers everything ... except what’s been going on the last few years with Peter. Undecided if there’s a happy ending or not.

I hate time travel - once Tony figures out time travel, he decides he needs to find out if this works by hopping forward and seeing if Peter is back. And then maybe he should hop forward a little more just to check on him. Keeps doing this, about once a year, and while Peter is so glad to see him, it’s destroying Peter to basically go through Tony ‘dying’ over and over. Pretty soon it’s fucking up Tony too, after he accidentally shows up when Peter’s in the middle of sex. Very bittersweet ending to maintain the timeline.

Fuck you, Beck - Beck goes about getting the glasses in the worst ways, and Peter finds out a little too late - way too late when it comes to sleeping with him. Not that he’s going to ever tell anyone about that. Not even Tony, when Tony comes back. Not even Tony, when it turns out Tony is interested. Okay, maybe he’ll have to tell Tony when Peter’s reactions to sex become a problem. Happy ending but lots of ouch on the way.

Sequel to Dormant - so what exactly does Tony notice the morning after? And what exactly does Peter do about it? (Spoiler: A lot more than Peter thought he would, and nothing good.)

Don't punish people like that – as much Tony/Obie as Tony/Peter, maybe pre-Tony/Peter. Obie decided to deal with Tony's wild streak by punishing him in an especially awful, painful, dehumanizing, sexual way. Tony's managed to handle how awful that was by pretending it was helpful (nope!). When Peter will not stop misbehaving, the last resort Tony can think of is what was done to him. It helped, right? (He can't bring himself to in the end, which sets off a cascading failure of repressed trauma, woot!)

Sex Pollen Non-Con – Tony's hit with some sort of fuck or die stuff; only problem is that he 100% refuses to let Peter do anything, and there's no one else. Peter, convinced that Tony's going to die, stops giving Tony a choice. What's that, the trauma Tony was hoping to spare him is replaced with way worse trauma from basically raping Tony? WHOOPS. (Probably happy ending!)

Secondhand verse – following after this, things growing steadily worse, hotter, and more complex between Peter, Beck, and Tony. Bad decisions all around! Unexpected feelings all around! General unhappiness at having feelings that can be hurt all around! Probably a series of fics.

12:00 - follow up to 11:59, Tony and Peter finally getting it on and Beck being an ass in the background. Also the prequel that’s primarily Peter/Quentin, and possibly a sequel where Tony decides that maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, watching Beck fuck Peter - and Peter liked it, right? Everyone’s down for a totally uncomplicated round two, right?

(And feel free to talk to me about anything here, I love an excuse to ramble.)

[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.

[thebiasrekkers]

Edge of Forever [BTS Space!AU]

BTS Space!AU [ ♧ ✪ ✿ ☆ ❂ ☾✘ ] “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” The stage is set and the stars are the guide for the lost souls that have congregated to one point. A fixed constant in the universe for others to discover and fulfill their wishes but will it come to ruin for others?

Pairings: BTS X OC (s) Genre: BTS Space!AU Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language

AO3

Chapter 6- New Divide

"I remember black skies, the lightning all around me. I remember each flash as time began to blur."

“Look, if I get one more goddamn message about either the Federation or the Pirates--I’m going to shoot you my own damn self.”

Yoongi growled at the screen while Jimin laughed like it was an everyday occurrence. Jin was overseeing the loading of his ship while Jungkook and Vairuit were making that the load was correct. They had gotten all the parts that they could ever need, plus some for the new ship that Nyala was taking them all to. They all had protested that Yoongi and Jimin shouldn’t go but they wouldn’t hear any of it and even the beautiful Jimin said that they would need someone with his skills once they got there. And Yoongi didn’t go anywhere major without him, so it was a deal for the both of them. Even Jin had complained that there wasn’t enough room for all of them but he was overpowered by the quiet man.

Now it was reaching Zero Hour for them and they had all kinds of people asking for the others, hoping to either collect the bounties on each of them or to get them off the station before real trouble happened upon them. Still, keeping the attention on them instead of the ship was smarter since they were finishing up. Getting out of there, however, would be the main problem as the entire area was flooding with both sides hoping to get a piece of the prize.

Yoongi had thought of that, a grin forming on his face as he placed everyone where he wanted them. It helped that he had such a network of connections and such everywhere he went, which meant that there were some that were fulfilling favors for him. They would be the decoys while they all got away, a simple plan that nobody would expect. After all, one expected the lot of them to blast their way out but any damage to the station would put others at risk. Another reason why both sides didn’t just fire upon it because it was integral to operations for both of them. Still, they laid in wait for them to come out of hiding because they couldn’t just sit there forever--and they were right.

The last of the cargo was secured in place when Jin took to the comms, letting them know that the ship was ready to go. The Broker then broke his silence to let the others know that they were proceeding with his plan, to cause a little chaos inside the station. Soon after, reports started to file in as Jimin caught them of the Outlaw’s last stand inside the station. It was the signal that the troops from the Federation would flood in and then the Pirates because they just couldn’t let them catch their prize. All the while, the group would take the safety junctions through the core of the station to the docks where the ship was waiting on them. It wasn’t as quick as going the direct route but it would see them there with as little conflict as possible.

Upon reaching the ship, Jin started on a tirade about how nobody cared for him and that all he was good for was to get them out of trouble. Everyone took places with Jimin taking Nyala’s place at the station she was previously at. He eased her away from it, a small smile on his face as she stepped aside--unsure about what to do in that situation.

The takeoff procedure was easy enough for them but it was getting through the ships. The space station wasn’t too far from an asteroid field, keeping the defenses of the station busy at all times with the number of stray asteroids that would head that way. Jin had been eyeballing a trajectory since things started to be loaded on the ship. He only had a few options but the field would be the best plan if they were to escape and get to subspace Drive. He just didn’t tell anyone about his plan of attack because he could only hear the opposition that would occur and he didn’t need to be distracted while getting them out of there. Once the ship made its way towards the asteroid field, that was when the concerned voices started to sound off. Even Jimin voiced his opinion about the action but Jin turned around in his seat and eyeballed them all.

“Look, this is our best chance of getting the fuck out of here so if anyone’s got anything else to say about my piloting skills--then they are welcome to take over. It’s either the field or the Armada.”

He waited for a second as silence filled the area before turning back around, resuming what he was doing before the protests broke out. He called out for Jimin to give him assistance, the other man hanging onto every word. The both of them moved at unnatural speeds as the ship sped towards the asteroid field, the words barely leaving Jin’s lips as Jimin was already punching it in. Unfortunately, there were ships that had caught onto to their plan and boldly followed them into the field. Yoongi yelled at Jin to slow down while Jungkook and Vairuit were busy blasting the rocks away from the ship. Nyala decided to help as she started to chant again, the energy gathering all around her before she released it. It sunk into the ship and Jimin reported that shields were actually gaining power because of it.

Jin weaved in and around the asteroids, dodging like he was made of something liquid. There were a few scrapes, a few bumps that just couldn’t be helped but he made it past the field and onto the other side with a victorious yell. The ship sailed right on through and started to prep for the jump to subspace, mere seconds after it was all clear. They wasted no time in getting out of there, leaving the battered ships behind them.

Once at subspace, they all breathed a sigh of relief--relaxing a bit as they took in their new freedom. Jin turned around in his seat and blew Jimin a kiss, who laughed and shook his head. Vairuit jumped up and suddenly ran to the back, where some of the cargo was stashed and brought back some glasses as well as a bottle of liquor. She grinned at everyone, knowing that she had placed it there when Jin wasn’t looking. They couldn’t really deny her the drink as the entire ordeal had been grating on their nerves.

So a drink they had.

It would be at least three days and two jumps to get to where they needed to go, another asteroid field that held an abandoned station. It was once a spaceport--until the planet nearby was destroyed. Some said that the Pirates had done the deed while others said that something had crashed into it, causing it to break up into pieces. The inhabitants had long fled the system, integrated with other parts of society in the System but the wreckage was still there. Still able to be used if one had the guts to do so and they did. The field wasn’t as dense as the one that they had gone through but it still posed some dangers.

Later on, Nyala had wandered into the cargo hold to inspect the crate that she had brought along. Her device beeped at her, varying symbols popping up as she ran tests to make sure that the cryosleep still held her in there. She didn’t notice that there had been someone behind her as she did so, more focused on her task at hand. Jimin was curious to see what it was that Yoongi had been talking about with Jungkook and Vairuit didn’t know too much about it either. Jin was more concerned about everything else that he didn’t want to bother him. So he went straight to the source.

“Miss Nyala, may I have a moment?”

Nyala almost jumped, never hearing or sensing him come up. She had been on edge about him since the moment she laid eyes on him, unsure of what it was that made her that way. Was it the fact that he just looked too nice, too innocent for his line of work or the company he keeps? Or was it something underneath that ran along the currents of their everyday lives that she was picking up on? She nodded, giving him more room in the cargo hold as she continued on with what she was doing. He peered at the device before looking up at her then to the crate, his words caught on the tip of his tongue as he chose his words carefully--like he always did.

“This crate contains the Bio-Android, yes?” A nod from Nyala signaled him to continue, “Do you think that the Pirates really will abuse her when they take her for their means?”

Nyala paused, hoping that would never happen but there was one thing that she was certain of. And that was the belief that the Armada held such strong beliefs that they would go through great lengths to achieve what they were looking for.

“Yes. And they will stop at nothing to get her and the ship we’re headed to. I understand if this is all too much.” She started to punch some buttons on the device when his hand was suddenly on her arm. His hand was gentle yet still had a firm grip there, for support. She put the device down and looked at him thoughtfully, eyes still red like embers under a dying fire.

“I don’t want that to happen to her. I am… familiar with her struggle and I care not to have the same thing that happened to me--happen to her. If Yoongi will not stay and help, then I will break myself off to help all of you along. No person should be a slave or put through something they wish to not happen.”

His soft words became bitter at the end, a glimpse of his true self breaking through the mask that he always carried. Nyala saw the paths of this man, in that moment and took a moment to realize something that she had neglected to analyze herself. The paths that they were all to tread, how they were all being gathered there. There must have been something more about their meetings than met the eye. She smiled at him, one hand reaching up to pat his cheek before announcing that she was fine. There was no damage and everyone was truly safe.

For the moment.

[so-shiny-so-chrome]

Witness: KirkyPet

Creator name (AO3): KirkyPet 

Creator name (Tumblr): kirkypet 

Link to creator works: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirkyPet/works

Q: Why the Mad Max Fandom?

A: I was actually quite fixated on Fury Road after watching it on DVD. I didn’t expect to particularly like it - I’d never seen the previous Mad Max movies (I finally have!) - but I was transfixed. And I didn’t particularly ship Furiosa and Max until the haemothorax/transfusion scene (although then I very much did). There were just so many layers of detail and backstory there waiting to be explored, because so little was actually said or explained. It’s like a neutron star of fic-fodder. And I didn’t discover ao3 til summer 2016 so I spent a full year wandering around like a lost soul. So, yeah. Quite a huge deal for me really.

Q: What do you think are some defining aspects of your work? Do you have a style? Recurrent themes?

A: Music. Minor characters looking on and commenting on the protagonists (big fan of Thomas Hardy’s more comedic efforts, where this happens a lot). Reasonably happy endings.

Q: Which of your works was the most fun to create? The most difficult? Which is your most popular? Most successful? Your favourite overall?

A: Maybe the small town modern AU (Ordinary People), because it was a nice change from the Wasteland setting. I’m not very Wasteland-minded at all. But the Bladerunner AU (Do Androids Dream etc) and the new Firefly AU are lots of fun because the two sets of movie worlds mesh together way better than I’d expected. 

The most difficult? - My Wasteland headcanon stuff. It’s too fluffy and not remotely violent which doesn’t really ring true. I’m very aware that my Furiosa is hardly ever violent, or my Max particularly mad. But that’s the great thing about fanfiction - the infinite versions of characters and scenarios. Surprisingly the Blues Brothers AU is quite tricky. I can’t quite make Jake Blues and Furiosa the same person. But it’s an excuse to listen to great tunes. And Jessie will make a comeback in that one though (she’s not dead, I should make that clear). 

On the old kudos-to-hits ratio, the Firefly AU is taking off surprisingly well, but it’s quite smut-focused so that might well account for it ;) early days yet. Bladerunner AU is doing well for a multi-chapter. Up Around The Bend (an oldie, the escape from the Citadel) is hanging in there. 

Most successful? I’m happy enough with all of them, except maybe I Kissed A Girl. Please don’t read that. Favourite overall - It’s a toss-up between Ordinary People (a chance to explore my headcanon in a modern small town setting) and the Bladerunner AU (it makes me weep). 

Q: How do you like your wasteland? Gritty? Hopeful? Campy? Soft? Why?

A: Hopeful and silly and everyone has access to a record player somehow. This is why I stick to writing AUs these days. But I’ll happily read all of the above!!! And entirely intend to!

Q: Walk us through your creative process from idea to finished product. What's your prefered environment for creating? How do you get through rough patches?

A: Watch a film, browse tumblr, listen to music, get an idea. Have a good think about it, think about it some more, find a starting point, write it down, go from there. Maybe stick a draft on tumblr if I’m not sure if it’s going to fly. Write it anyway. 

For OCs, figure out what someone looks like. That’s weirdly essential for me. Zal (Furiosa’s Dad) is Ed Harris, Young Val (Furiosa and Max’s grownup daughter) is Alicia Vikander and Toots (rescued-kid-turned-Wasteland-son-in-law) is Didier Drogba (bit of a blast from the past but hey). I was getting nowhere with Blues Mothers Jessie until I recast her as Sofia Boutella (because if Max is getting a generational update, she needs one too). And Firefly AU’s Mister Jobassa is Jakob Oftebro. All very pretty people, but what are you gonna do? But they’re only these people in MY head - they can be whoever the reader wants them to be. Oh, and Pin from Ordinary People was 100% an actual real tour guide I met on holiday once. 

Preferred environment? Usually while half asleep in bed, or walking, or In the gym, or watching tv - world building seems to be something that happens away from the keyboard. Writing itself is exclusively on my phone so can and does happen anywhere at all. Rough patches are usually caused by guilt that I’m not spending enough time on the day job :P

Q: What (if any) music do you listen to for help getting those creative juices flowing?

A: I listen to music all the time anyway, mainly upbeat pre-90s tunes. Disco, funk, ska, motown, anything like that. And it always find its way into the writing. Sometimes artificially (where I’m on a song-lyrics-as-title theme - it took ages for some of the Wasteland fics) but most times it can help shape the story in a BIG way. I can’t listen to certain songs now without reliving a chapter or a whole fic - Dionne Warwick’s Do You Know The Way To San José is Bladerunner!Furiosa’s Green Place song, and Ash’s Angel Interceptor is StarTrek!Max’s flying music - it’s noisy enough but also speaks to me about a longing to not be alone in the universe. Concrete and Clay is smalltown!Max’s bittersweet lament for Jessie and Twistin’ The Night Away is the final party scene in Cheedo’s update of The Rivals. Some fics wouldn’t have been written at all if it wasn’t for a particular song. The Black Keys’ Heavy Soul was my original Wasteland Furiosa/Max ship theme back in 2015, before I’d even heard of ao3 - that’s the closest I’ve come to a song fic. Caleb was only Caleb because of a line in Symarip’s Skinhead Moonstomp, and I was so desperate to write a fic with Leo Sayer’s You Make Me Feel Like Dancing In it that it was the final excuse for a whole modern mirrorverse to my Wasteland headcanon series. Bet you’re sorry you asked now. But I’ll have to go and put together a Kirkyverse OST list.

Q: What is your biggest challenge as a creator?

A: To put the damn thing down and walk away. To not assume it’s awful if I don’t get a kudos in the first thirty hits. Thumb cramp from phone-typing.

Q: How have you grown as a creator through your participation in the Mad Max Fandom? How has your work changed? Have you learned anything about yourself?

A: I didn’t write at all before the Mad Max fandom. Apart from a ghost story when I was about seven (it did win a prize tbh) and a truly god awful Stephen King rip-off when I was fourteen (which makes me nauseous from embarrassment when I think of it). So a fair bit, it’d probably be fair to say. It would be impossible not to, you know, from zero :) My work has changed from spinoffs of inspirational fics (thanks Squid!) to ‘well, I suppose I’ve got a head canon, let’s see if I can make this work’ to ‘goddammit I’ll finish this if it kills me’. Then I missed my exit on the Roundabout of Fic Endings and had to go round again in a modern AU mirror verse. Now it’s all movie mashups, which is lots of fun and probably never-ending. During which time I have learned that crossovers are my favourite to write. And that writing fanfic is probably not a temporary fad :)

Q: Which character do you relate to the most, and how does that affect your approach to that character? Is someone else your favourite to portray? How has your understanding of these characters grown through portraying them?

A: I don’t really have a favourite tbh. They’re all their own people and do their own thing. Writing them is very dependent on their environment, and it’s often surprising how they behave and where they end up. It feels a bit like they’re on Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Q: Do you ever self-insert, even accidentally?

A: Hah yes. The first one was Zephyr the annoying visitor in Witches and Ogres. Young Val’s social awkwardness in As was very much on loan from me. 

Q: Do you have any favourite relationships to portray? What interests you about them?Furiosa and Max are pretty much always there - sometimes it’s probably platonic, and sometimes there’s a third person involved (nothing posted yet but but but). It depends on the fic.

Q: Do you prefer to create in one defined chronology or do your works stand alone? Why or why not?

A: One big long chronology for the headcanon series (childhood to old age), then a whole bunch of little universes for everything else.

Q: To break or not to break canon? Why?

A: Not to break, as much as I can. But it depends.

Q: Share some headcanons.

A: Furiosa was never actually a wife - she was captured but dodged the whole Vault experience. Max is the original Max, of Jessie and Sprog fame. Toecutter was Joe’s younger self - he scooted around on motorbikes and raised hell before deciding to settle down and take the Citadel. AU Toast and Dag are twins (from a shady mob family). Furiosa’s Dad is a friendly Wasteland bandit. 

Q: If you work with OCs walk us through your process for creating them. Who are some of your favourites?

A: They’re supplementary characters who make the plots fit together, and sources of conflict or humour (usually both). I think I like Ordinary People’s Alexa and Mallory best. Although the Irish War Boy crew in Beyond the Pale were fun to write. Ace’s trio of love interests (Brick, Big Dave and Caleb/Pin) are a consistent theme. Sometimes I steal characters from other sources (stand up Christopher Brookmyre) when it’s convenient.

Q: What sparks your many wonderful AUs?

A: Movies, tv, gifs, tumblr prompts and general chitchat (thankyou btw!!!)

Q: A lot of your fics are light-hearted and hopeful, which is great to see for the apocalyptic Mad Max world. Your thoughts on that? What is it about the characters that inspires you to reframe them?

A: I just really like comedy and am committed to winkling it into every fictional scenario whether it’s appropriate or not. Glad people don’t hate it!

Q: Who are some works by other creators inside and outside of the fandom that have influenced your work?

A: Well, it was Squid’s ( @sacrificethemtothesquid )Length and Breadth of Fury Road that got me out of the starting blocks! Christopher Brookmyre’s The Sacred Art of Stealing was a big influence on my headcanon series, as was a particular Coronation Street storyline from some years back :) 

Q: Tell us about a current WIP or planned project.

A: Blues Brothers AU series (Sweet Home Chicago) -Wasteland Star Trek First Contact AU (Angel Interceptor) -Firefly AU (Our Mister Jobassa) -His Dark Materials AU (unnamed as yet, just brewing in my head, hope it just stays there for the meantime) -Will combine all the headcanon works into one long fic sometime. That’s everything from Witches and Ogres through to Ordinary People. Probably be called ‘All the Things that I’ve Done’ (basically the two lives of Furiosa: Wasteland and mirrorverse).

Thank you @kirkypet

[jui-imouto-chan]

Part 12 of the Mostly Human AU

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11

Suggested by @manadrite —This definitely isn’t a feel good chapter, but I enjoyed writing it anyway. Actually, that makes me sound sadistic.

Oh well.

>[X]<

Connor didn’t expect to see someone different behind the counter when he went into the pet shelter at his usual time, that day.

He always comes in at the same time every week; 3:30 PM every Sunday, on the dot.

The employee usually behind the counter, named Jesse, was teasing, but kind, always making sure the animals were on their best behavior when he let them show Connor their affection.

Of course, they would be on their best behavior, anyway, so it is redundant, but Connor appreciates the sentiment.

In place of Jesse sat a young adult, approximately 23 years of age. His name tag reads, “Thomas”; he vaguely remindes him of Luther’s relative, Adam. He had about two inches on Connor, though he was leaning against the counter, making his height seem less daunting.

“Welcome,” he said, the corner of his lips quirking slightly. Connor found himself a little winded, system fan hitching.

Thomas’ voice is smooth, rich—similar to Markus’ but somehow different.

Connor explained that he usually comes in to hang out with the animals, moving his hands around this way and that before wringing them together as he fleetingly wondered about a tiny inkling of nervousness he felt when he looked at him.

The man’s eyes crinkled as he smiled at Connor, a small breath of a chuckle escaping his mouth as he led Connor to the animals.

Connor realized that he was staring at Thomas’ mouth a lot. And maybe his warm hazel eyes, too.

Connor slowly relaxes during the time he spends with the animals, almost forgetting that Thomas is in the room.

Thomas laughs lightly at Connor being tackled by one of the pups who felt like he wasn’t getting enough attention.

“So cute.” He hears Thomas say. He wonders why he fleetingly hopes that the dark-skinned man is talking about him.

He motions for the man to join him as a few more pups follow the lead of the first, stepping their way on top of him and smothering him in licks.

Connor remembers Hank telling him that it’s weird to lick a dog back, despite it being a sign of affection. He doesn’t want to look weird in front of Thomas; the thought of the other looking at him in disgust is oddly concerning.

Connor also found the male extremely attractive.

Perhaps it was the shelter uniform being well-fitting, or maybe the friendly smile and easygoing yet professional air the other had to him.

After he made a few searches online, he discovered that his antsiness and sudden fascination is a crush.

So, the next week, he’s still searching for information.

The look on his face as he reads another article explaining it must be surprised enough to warrant curiosity on Thomas’ party

Thomas pokes Connor’s forehead, causing Connor to blink out of his stupor, tilting his head in confusion and causing the curls hanging down to bounce with the motion.

Connor then notices a faint, warm buzzing in his synthetic skin where the other pressed his finger.

“You okay? You were spacing out.” Connor smiles and nods to confirm that he’s alright. “By the way, I think one of the lizards has decided that your hair is his new home.” Thomas jokes, pointing to a lizard sitting amidst Connor’s curls.

Connor lets out a meek squeak when the lizard flicks his tongue out at Connor’s ear. He pulls the lizard off and wags his finger at him mock-scoldingly.

“I’d prefer if you take me out on a date, first, Mr. Lizard!” Connor jokes. Thomas’ eyebrow raises along with a corner of his lips in Connor’s peripherals.

“Is that so? Does that offer only extend to reptiles or are mammals included, too?” Thomas asks with a bit of humor in his tone.

Connor considers for a second. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind a play date with a puppy or a kitty, that’d certainly be more than enjoyable. Yes, I’d say mammals could be included.”

“Even humans?”

Connor tilts his head. “While I wouldn’t expect one to want to go out with me, I’d still be very likely to say yes.”

“Would you say yes to grabbing a coffee with me on Wednesday, then?”

Connor smiles; his crush wants to spend time with him? Even if it’s just friendly, he’s sure an outing would make his Thirium pump beat out of his chest.

“I would.”

Thomas’ shift was at its end when Connor stands up, making sure all of the animals are in their proper places.

He walks to the counter, smiling with a small skip in his step. Excitement for Wednesday bubbles in his chest, an odd sensation that makes him run a quick check of his biocomponents.

“Does 9 am sound good? Uh, f-for Wednesday, I mean.” Thomas’ cheeks have the slightest bit of blush as he verbally stumbles the moment Connor’s eyes meet his, sparkling.

“Yes, that sounds perfect.” Connor spots a notification in his peripherals and looks down to his phone to check a text from Hank. “Ah, I’ll have to take my leave, now. I’ll see you, then!”

As soon as Connor gets home, he lifts Sumo from the floor into a bear hug and twirls a bit. Remembering that he has to cook, he quickly places the dog down after planting a kiss near his ear.

When Wednesday comes about, Connor makes sure that he follows the comfort-casual-but-appealing outfit guide from a website online that explains to him how to escape “the friend zone”.

He heads over to where he’s meeting Thomas, wearing a nice, albeit dorky, t-shirt and jeans, along with black tennis shoes. His hair is left curly, and mostly untouched, though he wears his usual beanie for when he goes out.

Thomas looks good, but Connor hasn’t seen him look bad, though he feels like it’d be impossible for him to actually look bad, in Connor’s eyes.

Thomas’ eyes widen when he sees Connor, blush creeping up his cheeks, before he turns his head and coughs, looking back and seeming composed when he smiles.

They head inside and the two of them get coffee and sweets, and by the time they leave, Thomas’ carefully crafted composure had crumbled in the slightest.

Their outing becomes a regular event each Wednesday, and Connor now has two things to look forward to every week.

Hank asks him about where he goes, but Connor just tells him he’s out with a friend.

Gosh, Connor keeps liking Thomas more and more every moment they spend together.

The other can make him laugh and smile so easily, and he is so courteous and kind.

His love of animals shows such compassion and understanding and Connor feels himself hoping that the other may like him, too.

One Wednesday, it is unexpectedly hot. Connor wears a well-fitting but informal button-up with jeans, still wearing his beanie. His systems are lagging from the heat, and he has to pant discreetly to supply his fan with enough air to cool him down.

“Man, you look like you’re burning up! Here, let’s take this off.”

Thomas reaches over the table, pushing his fingers through Connor’s hair as he gently pushes the beanie off. Connor’s eyelashes flutter and he almost purrs as he leans into the touch. Any contact with Thomas feels nice.

Thomas teases that he’s almost like one of the cats, though his voice is slightly lower than before, and his volume makes it seem more like a murmur.

He ruffles Connor’s hair, sits back down, and places the beanie on the table, asking a nearby waitress if he could order a milkshake. Connor orders an ice cream, and they’re sure to share with each other.

Though, they only have one straw, so Connor and Thomas are taking turns with the shake.

Connor takes it upon himself to feed Thomas the ice cream when the other wants some, to the darker man’s embarrassment.

When Connor tilts his head to look outside, Thomas freezes.

Connor wonders what’s wrong. Thomas doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, doesn’t emote for a moment.

And then anger swirls into his expression.

“You’re an android, huh?” Thomas mutters, voice dark. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before glaring coldly at Connor, whose voice feels lodged in the synthesizer.

His LED, now visible, turns to yellow, flashing. Red is slowly trying to make its way in.

“I can’t believe I’ve been spending my time feeling attracted to a piece of plastic. You from the Eden Club? Is this a fucked up way for you to attract new customers? Were you planning to lead me to a room and then have me give you my life savings for renting your time all these weeks?”

Connor can barely manage to whisper weakly, “N-No, th-that’s—“

Connor feels the shake being spilled over his head. He can see red light shining against the liquid as it rolls down, cold seeping into his body. Something within himself drops, but he’s too stricken to do an internal check.

“I can’t believe I fell for it. Man, this hurts. I thought I finally found someone cool, but you were really just a scam. An advertisement. You’d never understand how disappointed I feel.” Thomas laughs in an unpleasant way.

“You’d never understand feelings. Go play pretend back in the red light district where you belong, Pinocchio.” And with that, Thomas leaves.

Connor’s eyes fill up with tears and he makes a run for it, storming out of the cafe all the way home.

He’s gone into his hiding space. Hank is calling out to him.

“Connor, I heard you come home, where are you?” Hank pauses beside the door. He can hear every whine, sniffle, and sob that escapes Connor’s mouth as the tears pour. “Oh, Connor, what’s wrong? Hey, buddy, c’mon, you can talk to me. It’ll be okay, just talk to me.”

“It hurts, Hank.” Connor’s voice is soft, but Hank can hear it loud and clear.

“What hurts, kid? Did someone attack you? Are you okay?”

“I w-wasn’t attacked, but. My chest, my thirium pump, my-my heart hurts.”

“Does this have to do with the ‘friend’ you’ve been seeing every week?” Hank’s voice grows gruffer.

Connor made a small noise of confirmation, shoulders shaking and LED flashing red.

Hank sighs. Connor’s hands are around his knees, and Hank tries to open the door. Connor lets him. Hank wraps Connor in a hug.

“It’ll be okay, son.”

Connor sniffles into his shoulder, burrowing into Hank’s embrace for comfort.

“It’ll be okay.” Hank repeats, more to himself this time.

When Connor enters sleep mode in his arms, Hank cleans his boy up, then places him in his bed, cocooned in blankets. He calls up Kara, Markus, Kamski, and the Twins.

The person who hurt his boy is going to face the consequences.

Next Level: Any New Suggestions + Anything I come up with while writing!

X | Continue to Next Level

O | Save Progress And Quit to Main Menu

—————————————- •

This one took a while; sorry for the wait!

Leave suggestions in my asks and in the comments! Feel free to ask questions, talk with me, anything!

I’m down to write Headcanons for things outside of this AU, and if you want me to write shorts with Connor paired with someone, I’m willing to do so! (NSFW isn’t out of the question 😉)

[one-of-us-must-be-crazy]

hi! :) do you have any recommendations for ripley/samuels fanfiction?

HECK YEAH I DO!!!

So I’ve scoured the internet for fanfics, and they’re all on A03, with a handful double-posted of ff.net. Before I list them though, I need to tell you: very very very few of them still update, so please leave kudo and comments, let authors know that people are still interested. There’s been a slight uptick in action this month on the a:i tags and there’s been a few new fics posted which is a damn miracle in and of itself. We’re now up to THREE PAGES of fics in their ship tag. THREE.

First of all @interferonalpha​ has some PRECIOUS one-shot’s in her ship tags and under the character tags “amanda ripley” and “christopher samuels.”

The rest of the fics and one-shot’s that I’ve found on tumblr were also posted to A03, so that’s what all the links are to. 

~Cute as Hell Amanda Ripley/Christopher Samuels fics in no Particular Order~

Noble Heart by ABeckoningCat  this is only rated G, and not even listed in their ship tag, but oh LORD. There’s a handful of lines in this that will haunt me until I die in all the best ways. It feels like something that could have actually followed the events of the game, and the character development is natural. “Is this what sweet tastes like?” INNOCENT CHILD SAMUELS HAS MORE GAME THAN HE’S EVER GOING TO UNDERSTAND.

Walk in the Park by sunnyhomes one of the, oh idk, three? four? fics that actually update, its a good length and BEAUTIFULLY written. I mean it. If this was an actual book I would buy it. I’m not going to tell you how many times I’ve read it becuase the author, @altar-of-pimps​ is on tumblr too, and I don’t want to embarrass myself. Bonus in that Walter and Dani are in this too, but Amanda and Samuels are definitely the focus. Everything this author does for them is beautiful, so I also hIGHLY rec her cut chapter from this one, “Stay.”

Salvaged Goods by Interferon a much more plausible recovery AU for Samuels, becuase its not too likely that he’d make it out of there unscathed/able to make his own repairs. Unfortunately this hasn’t been updated in FOREVER and @interferonalpha​‘s tumblr hasn’t been updated in an eon either, so I doubt its going to ever get finished.

A Glitch in the Code by interrobangme is a personal favorite, mostly from Samuels POV, it’s a oneshot on him coming to terms with/realizing that he has a massive crush on Amanda. It’s a slow build and really sweet (I mean like cavity inducing levels of sweet) story. I also read it like eight times. The author also has a Christmas-y follow up to it (thank God happy ending), and one they just posted the other day that’s also adorable.

Our Only Plan is to Improvise by Interferon good God this is great. While the author herself states that this isn’t a “what she thinks happened” so much as a “wouldn’t this be fun?” its a nice character/relationship exploration for both of them, and I laughed throughout most of it until things got heavy near the end. 

Space Drama by UndertheFridge more crack than anything, this actually is something I’d love to explore more of, that Burke lied thru his fucking teeth and Aliens and Isolation took place around the same time. The author is also on tumblr @marbleunderthefridge. Ellen Ripley doesn’t take to synthetics very well (who would after what she had been through?), so how would she react on finding out that the guy her daughter has been living with is an android? Spoiler: not very well. Also stars a “no longer surprised by shit” Hicks and a mildly insulted Bishop.

A Familiar Face and its sequel Dance With Me by ProbablyNotASquirrell ranking among my aboslute favorite fics for this ship, these are AU’s/follow up to canon where Amanda discovers that Samuels has also survived, and their slow-burn relationship is lovely. Favorite detail in it though is that Samuels no longer seems to give a shit and has become a bit snarky and teasing, and almost open with his affection for her.

[salty--alien]

Deeply Wired - cp. 4

Prologue | cp. 1 | cp. 2 | cp. 3 | Ao3

Summary: It’s 2904. A mechanician known as the Doctor finds a broken android, Rose, and decides to take it with him and fix it. The two become closer quickly but soon a mysterious virus inside Rose starts acting up and revealing its true capabilities, changing everything. When Rose’s previous owner comes around and tries to get a hold of the Bad Wolf virus, the two are left with no choice. What lengths will they go to keep Rose away from the evil hands of the Master?

Pairing: Tenth Doctor x android!Rose Tyler (au)

Chapter: 5/?

Rating: T

Wordcount: 2439

Notes: Huge thanks to both @wordsintimeandspace and @starlightkissedsmiles for beta’ing this chapter <3

----------------------------

After that night things between the Doctor and Rose started healing. Rose began discovering herself all over again with the help of the Doctor, following his tinkering with a newfound interest. He could see that she didn’t fully trust him yet. He could see it from the way she would hesitate before asking him a question or from the way she didn’t rely on him as much. It hurt, of course, but the Doctor also understood it. Her asking questions was a way to rebuild the lost trust back. And he was glad Rose was beginning to construct an independent self image.

“So, how much of it was true?” Rose asked one day as the Doctor was working on a broken computer.

“From what?” he asked, not quite sure what Rose was referring to.

“Y’know, from the story of how you found me. I was unconscious… well, shut down, more like. Was I really just lying on the street?”

The Doctor’s expression darkened as he remembered the way he had first found her. Bruised and ripped apart brutally with no remorse. “...It’s not a pretty story,” he said. “I don’t think you’d like hearing that.” “I don’t care. I asked you a question,” Rose responded stubbornly. The Doctor sighed. “Well, alright. I didn’t find you on the streets. I found you in a… in a scrapyard.”

Rose’s eyes widened in horror. Androids didn’t like scrapyards. They held a dark history of android brutality. Junkyards were meant for garbage and machinery, not androids. It was highly offensive to abandon broken AI there. Unfortunately, it happened regularly.

Rose might not be aware of every social and cultural taboo there was, but she had been watching the TV awfully lot for the past few days. Even if she hadn’t, the Doctor was almost sure that some sort of android instinct in Rose knew the implication of what being abandoned in a scrapyard meant.

“I… “ Rose began, voice wavering. She brought her hand to her lips. “I was abandoned in a s… scrapyard?” She said it like a dirty word. The Doctor could only look down and nod. “Yeah. And it’s not all. I don’t have to tell you if you don’t want to hear it, though.”

At the Doctor’s words Rose visibly steeled herself, shaking her head. “No. I can take it. Tell me.” It’s not like it could’ve been any worse than that, right?

Well, the Doctor knew it was.

“I didn’t find you whole, Rose. You had been chopped to pieces, uh… limbs off.” The Doctor glanced over at Rose who was gripping the edge of the workbench, looking a bit nauseous.

“You are whole now, though,” he said, reaching out for Rose’s hand. Her knuckles were marble white against the table. She did, however, look back at the Doctor and take his hand. There was a nod.

“You fixed me. I’m okay now,” she agreed, falling silent again. “...’s just. Why would someone do that?” she asked, a deep frown crumbling her face.

“I can only hope it wasn’t a person who did it,” the Doctor answered. “It’s possible it was a wild animal.” Thinking about it still made the Doctor’s skin crawl, but at least it was easier to accept than some person actually being heartless enough to do something like that to another living being.

It was when the Doctor felt a firm squeeze in his hand that he realised they were still holding hands. He looked up, smiling at the android beside him. Even in her distraught state she managed to smile back at him with reassurance and love.

He never wanted to let go of her hand ever again.

--------------------------

Sunlight shed light on the workshop through the colourful leaves of the old elm tree standing in front of his window. The shadows of the leaves draped across the Doctor and Rose’s faces, gently filtering the light. It was a calm afternoon, just the way the Doctor liked it. It was even better with Rose at his side.

“Are there androids who don’t have owners?”

“Of course. There are plenty.”

“D’ya suppose I had an owner, though?” Rose asked. She was in a mood for questions today, it seemed. The Doctor took a moment to ponder her question before answering.

“It’s likely, yeah. Your model was produced for…” he felt iffy even saying it, “service purposes.”

“Was produced?” Rose asked in surprise.

“Yep. Your model unit isn’t produced anymore. Most of the RO-53 units have been replaced with RO-54 units,” he explained.

“What’s so good about them that I can’t do?” Rose frowned, suddenly very defensive. The Doctor sighed.

“Nothing. And I mean it. RO-54 units are different because humans aim to build them without emotions. Purely for service and work. Your model was too… rebellious, so to speak. So it had to be replaced with a model better suited for its intended purpose.”

“...Wow,” Rose let out. “That’s just messed up.”

“I know,” the Doctor sighed. ”It’s just downright cruel. Humans want to control everything, but what we don’t seem to realise is that you cannot control life. We can try to rule an individual’s independent mind but that has never ended well.”

“I feel bad for them,” Rose said. Of course she would. She didn’t want anyone to suffer. “They must be so scared. People are messing up with their circuits and trying to turn them into machines. We’re not machines.”

“No, you’re not,” the Doctor agreed. Androids were higher than highest high tech. That’s what he’d always thought. Treating them merely as machinery was positively insulting.

He continued fixing the computer’s motherboard after their conversation dried out. Rose sat beside the Doctor quietly, following every movement of his clever fingers. It was comforting, having someone just sitting there and keeping him silent company. He knew that many people didn’t like it when someone was watching you work and it made them uncomfortable, but luckily the Doctor wasn’t one of those people. Maybe he’d been alone for too long to ever mind having somebody close, who knew.

“Give me the small screwdriver?” the Doctor asked, blindly reaching his arm out towards Rose who was sitting next to the toolbox.

“The one with the blue handle?” Rose asked, moving the tools around with one hand.

“No, the thin yellow one that has a cross shaped end.”

After hearing the tools clattering around, the Doctor felt Rose’s hand brush against his reached out one, giving the small utensil to him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he continued working with the tiny teensy bits of the damaged motherboard. “Whose computer are you fixing?” Rose inquired.

“It belongs to Mrs. Tyler,” the Doctor answered, absorbed into his work. “A nice lady. Widowed, no children. She’s a bit scary, though. Lives across the street. I repair her stuff from time to time.” “For free?” He could practically see the frown on her face, solely based on her tone.

“Uh… Maybe? As I said, she’s a bit scary,” the Doctor chuckled. “Slapped me once. But she has a heart of gold. She sometimes comes by to give me home-cooked food because I forget to eat.” “Aww, that’s nice of her,” Rose approved. For a while, nobody spoke.

“Come to think of it, there’s this funny thing I just remembered.”

“What’s that?” Rose asked.

“Weeelll… She has this dog. A tiny, tiny thing. Always barking and challenging dogs three times her size.”

“Okay…? Did the dog slap you too or what?” Rose quipped, grinning. The Doctor paused his work, looking at the chuckling android, feigning offence: “Oi!”

“Obviously not. Is just… I just remembered the dog’s name,” the Doctor admitted, embarrassed. Rose was still confused.

“So?” she questioned.

“Well… The dog’s name might or might not be Rose.” Rose’s face sobered instantly.

“What? You named me after a dog?!”

Furious. She was absolutely furious. The Doctor was quick to defend himself: “No Rose, I swear! I didn’t even remember it until now! I promise! I just… since your model is RO-53 I thought it’d be clever to… you know, the number five is kinda like the letter ‘s’ and the three is like a backwards ‘e’, right? So I‒”

“...Okay, okay Doctor, I believe you! You don’t need to explain it. Just… what the heck? That’s not funny!” Rose laughed, clearly unamused. “Not funny,” she repeated as she tried to tamp down her own laughter.

The Doctor relaxed at the sight of her, giggling and trying to be cross with him (and failing) at the same time. It was impossible not to smile at that.

Rose noticed him smiling and pointed an accusing finger at him in a half-hearted attempt to be intimidating.

“Stop smiling! I’m still very cross with you!” she tried.

The Doctor didn’t stop smiling.

--------------------------

The Doctor wasn’t a big fan of clothes shopping. He had said it before and he would remind everyone of that again if necessary. However, he noticed as he had once again tagged along with Rose to buy her new clothing, he did have a small soft spot for a certain android. Well. Small was a relative word. In reality, he was absolutely smitten, even to the point where he voluntarily accompanied Rose in clothing stores. Just seeing the android’s face light up at the concept of possessions of her own made it all worth it in the Doctor’s opinion.

Now the two were back at his workshop and Rose was walking around with her brand new pink sweater on.

Had he just said that just seeing her happy face was enough of a reward? Well, while that was correct, it was nothing compared to the hugs she gave him. Her new sweater was soft and warm, but the person wearing it was even softer. The Doctor did nothing more gladly than swoop the android up in a big hug and hear her laugh as he swirled them around.

When had he become so attached to her?

As the sun was starting to set the Doctor found himself staring at Rose instead of his work. The android was gazing out of the big window, light hitting her face in an aesthetic way that you’d see in the movies. Her brown eyes were like pools of gold against the sunlight, almost glowing.

Rose noticed the Doctor staring at her, mildly startled but quickly recovering with a gentle smile.

“What?” she asked, reaching her hand out to clasp their fingers together.

“Nothing,” he answered in kind, snapping out of his trance. “Just lost in thought.” Rose grinned. “It happens when you have such a big brain,” she teased. The Doctor smiled, biting his lip.

“Yeah, it does.”

Rose smiled wide, pressing her chin against her other shoulder. The android’s hair slumped across her face at the movement. Rose tried to nudge the mass of hair away with the help of her face and shoulder, turning to gaze at the Doctor with a wistful expression on her face.

“What?” he asked in turn, blushing from the attention he was given. Rose shrugged, squeezing his hand.

“I saw the mail at the door the other day. It was designated to someone called ‘John Smith’. So I was thinking, ‘who’s that?’ I’ve never heard you mention any John, but it’s clearly not coming to the wrong place since you open it and...” Rose’s voice faded out at the Doctor’s awkward silence and her eyes widened in realisation. “Oh. Oh! Shit, I’ve been so stupid,” she laughed. “You are John Smith,” Rose realised, an embarrassed look passing across her face.

“...Yeah, that’s… that’s me,” the Doctor said, ruffling his hair with his free hand nervously. “Never really adapted to that one,” he admitted. Rose was having a full moment of her mind being blown, though.

“I never even questioned it, for some reason. I always just thought you were called the Doctor, but… wow.” The Doctor smiled.

“It’s a rather boring name, isn’t it?” he asked, waiting for Rose to say what every other person who knew his whole name usually said first.

“No! Well… yes, but… okay, it is rather boring,” Rose admitted, “fits you perfectly, though,” she added with a tongue touched grin.

“Oi!”

“Just kidding, Doctor! You’re not boring,” Rose giggled and squeezed their hands together briefly before letting go and getting up.

“Boring, yeah right,” the Doctor mumbled before continuing his work.

--------------------------

The rest of the evening went by in a blur. The Doctor was working on Mrs. Tyler’s computer and Rose was listening to a very old fashioned and retro radio the Doctor had in his workshop. She had a lot of fun checking out the different radio stations.

“Do people even have radios anymore?” she had asked, amused. Technology had left radios behind centuries ago. The Doctor, however, had all sorts of weird gadgets in his workshop. Besides, he liked how simple the old things were. No hundreds of different buttons for a single function. Just a volume button and the one that you could use to change stations. Besides, he liked to remind Rose, those radios were amazing because you could hear all sorts of classical music from them. Since radios weren’t a thing anymore, most radio stations were gone. Some of them were still up and running. Mostly playing classics like Britney Spears’ ballad, Toxic, or the speech podcasts of the ever famous storyteller, Snoop Dogg. The Doctor never quite understood the messages of his stories. So fast-paced and… well, explicit. Rose told him it was “called art”.

The doorbell rang as the Doctor was just finishing up with the computer. Rose was in the kitchen doing her own thing.

“Someone’s at the door,” Rose announced after the bell’s ringing.

“Yeah, it’s Mrs. Tyler. She’s here to get her computer back, just in time!” the Doctor quipped, speeding up with the last touches.

“Should I go open or will you go?” Rose questioned. “Yeah, go open the door for her. I’ll be there in a minute, I’m just going to finish the computer up,” he requested, trying to be as quick as possible. He heard Rose’s steps as she walked out of the room, doing what was asked of her. He heard the door open but no further sounds of any kind.

“...Doctor?” That was Rose’s voice.

Finishing up, the Doctor got up from his seat, wiped his dirty hands on his shirt and hurried to the door.

As soon as he reached the door and Rose he froze beside her, looking at the visitor who most certainly was not Mrs. Tyler.

“Hello, Doctor Smith. I’m here to reclaim my RO-53 unit.”

[ohmygillygoshoppler]

I have no idea what this is, I just had a random idea and decided to put words to it. It’s been a while since I wrote anything that was Darksiders related, and the Office au has been hitting me hard lately. Oh well, here it is. Please don’t kill me...

Karma skipped up the enormous calamity of stairs leading into the Celestial Towers building, and boy was is swanky up here! There was even a huge, fancy marble fountain outside of the establishment! None of the Horsemen's buildings had a fountain outside! That was bogus! Karma wanted to call her Dad immediately and give him a piece of her mind.

But now wasn't the time for that; she knew her father was very busy today working with Death, and War was not the man to disturb while he was busy. Karma thought it'd be in her best interest to wait until it's almost time for him to come home. Karma quickly glanced at her watch: it was almost eight. She reflected on her task as she hopped up the final few stairs and entered the lobby.

There were a few angels walking around in finely pressed white suits, with preened and perfectly groomed wings and such. There were, also, a few constructs roaming about, like the automaton that was seated at the receptionist's desk. Holy crow, this place even had robots! And she didn't build them?! Oh hell, no...

The little trickster strode right on up to the desk and rang the little silver bell on the edge. She gave it a few good taps, squinting contemptibly up at the robot. The thin white robot greeted her with the blinking of hollow white eyes. The way it was looking at her was creepy, almost frightening. Angels didn't know how to make machines that looked friendly.

"Good Morning, Proxie." The automaton said in a musical voice. "How may I assist you?"

"Is Azreal in? I'd like to speak with him for a moment before he heads off to work. I have something for him.” Karma cooed. She blew her platinum locks out of her eyes and smiled, as nice as smile as she could muster for this creepy thing...

"You are welcome to go and see, but you must be quick. You have fifteen minutes."

"Thank you!" The little half nephilim chirped, and she went on down the hallway. All the walls were washed in white, and the lights were even more so. At the end of the hall, there was a great big window, and one could see the beautiful grounds outside. She imagined it must be wonderful to see it all from the top floor! She bet the angels could probably see the whole city from up there!

Karma approached the door the Azreal's office and stepped into the room. It was a large room with white tiles, white walls, white everything with another set of pretty bay windows. Machines are strewn about all over, but none were operating. Many data reels and punch cards were strewn about on the floor, colorful papers cluttered the desk, there were notes on the walls, but they've been there for a long time and have been smudged by oil. The only thing on was a record player on top of a far end table with a lonely chair which is overturned. It seems the scholar must be long gone. And there was a struggle of some sort? She dismissed that thought as quickly as it had appeared. Azreal probably made a huge mess looking for something.

She looked around for a computer. Nothing. She then took out her phone and took a quick picture of Azreal's calendar. She went through his drawer, took a few paperclips, (cause you can never have too many paperclips!) and turned the pretty blue chair back upright. As she was about to leave she happened to spot a purple flash from one of the fallen metal shelves. Bending over to retrieve it, she discovered it was a gem; a dark purple gem in the shape of a heart. She liked it, and decided to keep it as she exited the abandoned office. Just in case. Maybe Azreal and that broken robot of his can give answers. That thin white automaton with the bowler hat and white eyes always gave her the creeps, but it seemed to fit in...somehow.

She returned to the front desk and rang the bell again, this time without the repetition. The lanky automaton blinked it's eerie eyes down at the child, sending chills through the girl as she twiddled her thumbs in front of her. "I don't think Mr. Azreal is in. Could you check again. I wouldn't wish to disturb any of his things."

The android cocked its head toward the hallway. "Not there? Perhaps I should check." As it turned to wheel down the hall, it spun and called to Karma again. "Please do not touch anything. Have a seat and wait."

"You betcha!" She chirped, hopping into the milky chair closest to the front desk. She pretended to play in her backpack as she waited for the surrounding angels to clear the area. She hid her scapegoat, her little friend, Tetris, out of sight. She didn't have to wait much longer, since it was almost eight o'clock and work started for the grown ups soon. All in due time...

Once the lobby was completely empty, Karma skipped over to the receptionist's desk, hopping into the hard chair. She set her backpack on the desk and pulled out a notepad printed with red ink: Karmarea- CIF. She opened the laptop and proceeded to work; All she needed were a few pin numbers, change a few timesets, and tweak a name or two and jotted them all down. There wasn't much she could get from the receptionist, but all she needed was an appointment for a meeting with War within the next three days. Preferably Wednesday.

All she needed to get inside.

Thankfully, she got everything she needed before that creepy robot came back. She closed all windows and put everything back how it was. She couldn't make it to her seat fast enough, however.

"What are you doing over here, little Proxie?" The void voice asked from behind Ivory sheet metal.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Karma fibbed as she fumbled through her backpack, putting the notes and pen away and pulling out a tiny white mouse. She held the mouse up for the robot to see. "Tetris just got out and went under your desk. I got him, though."

The white automaton straightened up even more, if that was even at all possible. "I'm sorry, but no animals are allowed in this building. You'll have to take that creature outside."

Mockingly, Karma blinked. "Really? Aw, geez. Welp, I guess I'll be on my way. Could you please tell Azreal I came by for him today?"

The robot waved her off with spindly arms. "Of course, Proxie. Farewell for now."

And so Karma and Tetris got away scott free. The young trickster grinned at how easily she had gotten that done, and she still had time to walk back to War's office and grab a bite from Reeth's. It was funny how these things tended to work out. She thought angelic offices and such would be harder to trick herself into. That was almost archaic! Oh well, Daddy said he needed to get into the angel's building, and so he will. And he has her to think. Karma's eyes lit up with pride at the very thought!

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the pavement before her. That was too easy. She felt Tetris squirming in her pocket, where she had put the purple heart. Something was definitely amiss, she wasn't sure what, but something was off. Maybe she would have to tell her father about this sooner than she thought.

It could be nothing, but she decided to call him anyways in case it was.

[frivoloussuits]

Scenes Aboard the U.S.S. Justice

Harvey closes situations, Donna knows everything, Jessica rules the roost, and Mike breaks all the rules. It’s all the same, but with one tiny twist-- they’re in space.

Relationships: Gen Word count: ~2.6K

Written for @suits100, prompt 40: “Outer Space!AU-- The cast of Suits as the crew on an international/intergalactic space station at the outskirts of the known universe.”

Senior Officer Harvey Specter dashes to the bridge of the U.S.S. Justice.

“About time you got here,” spits a junior officer hunched over a control panel.

“Oh, shut it, Litt, if you hadn’t botched the exit paperwork we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Excuse me? The customs board in this system is acting in bad faith, they never require a full inventory for other ships--”

“And if you were a competent quartermaster less obsessed with collecting mud samples it wouldn’t take until the day of departure to discover that we’re twenty rations short--”

“Both of you, settle down.” Captain Pearson, head of the Justice, sweeps onto the deck, and the two lower officials immediately fall silent. “Specter, this is happening because you utterly failed to show cultural sensitivity on your mission--”

“I used perfectly standard negotiation tactics!”

“That you should have known were drastically inappropriate in this solar system, so you’re going to fix this mess, and quickly. We were scheduled to make the jump to hyperspace an hour ago.”

Officer Specter glowers up at her, then snaps a switch on a nearby control panel, opening a comm link to the problematic customs officer. “Tate, you’re treating us unfairly because of the solar system where we originated, and I have to say I’m not surprised. It’s a pattern with you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about--”

“I have proof you lost General Cooper’s shipment to the Venetian-Martian Alliance’s last week. And when I say ‘lost,’ I mean ‘purposefully dumped out an airlock.’”

“You’re bluffing,” comes the response, but everyone on the bridge hears the quaver in Tate’s voice.

“Donna,” Officer Specter barks, “send File 45A90 over to Tate’s superiors at the capitol--”

“Upload commencing now,” says the android. Only those who know the Donna well can hear the definite element of snark in her otherwise obedient voice as she calls up File 45A90 and realizes it’s nothing but plans for the next all-ship fire drill.

“All right, all right!” Tate calls over the comm. “Get your ugly ship out of my system.”

“Who are you calling ugly?” Donna exclaims, but Officer Litt has already switched off the comm link and typed in the departure commands.

“30 seconds until the jump to hyperspace,” Captain Pearson says into a mic, broadcasting the declaration around the whole ship. “Head to your designated posts and strap in.”

3. 2. 1--

And they shoot into hyperspace, far above the speed of light.

Even if she didn’t know the layout of every inch of her ship, she could just follow the jazzy music wafting through the hallways.

“Officer Specter, may I come in?”

Captain Pearson hears the click of the lock, and the door to Officer Specter’s quarters slides open. The man himself is facing away from her and staring at the blue-white of hyperspace as it streaks by his window, and she doesn’t have to see his face to know there are shadows under his eyes, and maybe a tear on his cheek.

“Harvey.”

“Jessica, no.”

“You’re obviously still struggling. Bereavement leave is a perfectly legitimate reason to take time off--”

“You just made me Senior Officer because you need my help. We’re still patching holes from Hardman’s sabotage. I can’t just up and leave.”

The captain stays silent for a moment, trying to find a way to prove him wrong, but he’s not, dammit.

“A compromise, then, because you need to stop working yourself to near-death and then taking it out on local peoples and Louis,” she says. “Pick an enlisted member of our crew and make them your assistant.”

He spins around in his chair to give her a look. “If there’s any enlisted member on board who’s still willing to work with me, they don’t have enough sense for me to work with them.”

“Then take a look at some fresh candidates. We’ll be stopping by Cambridge for a couple of hours next week-- if you start reviewing applications now, you should be able to pick up someone who’s sensible and not terrified of you . . . yet.”

It’s a decent plan-- Cambridge Station is the home of Harvard Fleet Academy, the elite school where the Justice has recruited a truly disproportionate number of its crew members. Still, he can’t prevent a grimace from flickering across his face.

“I know you think you work better alone,” Captain Pearson murmurs, “but, if your only functional relationships are with me and our ship’s AI, you’re going to burn out before your time.”

It’s their second morning in hyperspace.

“Donna, I need the--”

“It’s open on your computer.”

“Oh, and also I didn’t have a chance to--”

“Your freshly brewed coffee is waiting on your desk, courtesy of one of my many lackeys.”

“Marry me?”

“I’ve got the venue picked out, just waiting for automaton marriage to be legalized.”

“Excellent,” Harvey snorts as he heads into his office and sits down to look over the list of resumes Donna’s compiled for him. He breezes through them, flicking each one off the screen after scanning it for only a few seconds, and quickly runs out of options.

“Donna--” he starts to complain.

“Harvey, don’t be unreasonable. Those were all perfectly qualified candidates.”

“I’m not looking for ‘qualified,’ I’m looking for another me.” He awaits a response, but none comes. “Donna?”

“Why don’t you put this aside for now? We’ve detected another hacking attempt from Hardman--”

“You okay?”

“Obviously! Do you really think that piece of filth could ever wound a goddess such as myself? But all the engineers will be scrambling to do damage control for the rest of the day, and they could use your oversight. I of course would never say a bad word against my primary programmer, but when it comes to group management Benjamin can be something of a . . .”

“Wuss? Pansy? Bumbling, stuttering pushover?”

“. . . I didn’t say a thing.”

Officer Specter throws himself into his new task, taking over Benjamin’s managerial role and leading the charge against Hardman’s latest attack. He doesn’t often deal directly with engineers anymore, not since his disastrous stint as an engineer working under Cameron Dennis left a bad taste in his mouth. Still, Jessica had sent him into Cameron’s clutches so that he could bring an awareness of engineering into his work as a commanding officer, and that’s exactly what he does, cleverly ordering priorities, hearing out concerns, and distributing tasks. The team finishes dealing with the hack hours ahead of schedule, thanks to his efficiency and also the surprisingly small amount of damage, and so Officer Specter sends the engineers off to a well-deserved rest.

Still, he can’t bring himself to go back to his own quarters-- they’re too quiet, too lonely, and there’s a limit to how many nights he’ll lose to chatting with Donna. For a supposedly emotionless, heartless android, she’s suspiciously successful at making him spill his deepest secrets. Instead he skulks down to the Justice’s server room, usually off-limits, and lets himself in using keycodes that technically belong only to his captain. Though he trusts his engineers, he intends to run the diagnostics again and check the ship’s systems himself, because he knows Hardman’s sly tricks better than anyone, and because he doesn’t have anything better to do.

With a hiss the doors open, letting him into the cavernous server room. The Justice is a fairly modern-looking ship, all soft blues and light woods and glass walls, but this hall looks like it’s borrowed from the next century. There are rows upon rows of pristine white servers, dotted by sparkling lights in blue and red and green. A gentle whirring hums through the air, punctuated by an occasional beep.

Officer Specter strides down the rows, looking for any clear physical irregularities before he starts in on the software, not that he expects to find any-- hackers usually aren’t careless enough to leave such obvious damage. But then he turns down a new row and finds an entire block of servers has gone dark, and there’s someone curled up on the floor in front of it.

And he’s springing forward and pinning this other intruder down and pressing the muzzle of his gun to their head. The intruder wakes up with a jolt and instinctively starts to struggle against the officer’s grip, before perceiving the cool metal against their brow and falling back against the ground, panting.

“You’re not Hardman,” Officer Specter growls.

“What-- what? Of course not!”

Without moving the gun an inch, he examines the other trespasser's features. He’s a male human, young, blond, with blue eyes and soft features currently bathed in white and jewel-colored light from still-functioning servers nearby. Definitely not Daniel Hardman, then.

“Are you one of his minions?”

“Hey, I have way better taste than that.”

“Then who are you?”

“An engineer.”

“Name your position, team, and current projects.”

“JSA-- Junior Security Architect. Infosec Team 2. My main objective is the deployment of the new Pilot Antivirus System, but I also work on testing and upkeep of core infrastructure.”

“Who in Command do you report to?”

“Officer Harvey Specter,” the intruder reels off smoothly before glancing down at the name badge of the man pinning him down. “. . . Dammit.”

Officer Specter smirks. “All right, kid. Nice try, but I happen to know every person on the teams that report to me, and JSA Sorkin you ain’t. Last chance to give me a straight answer.”

“I’m Mike Ross, born on Earth? And, uh, did you hear about the drugs bust on Atarash?”

“Oh, you have to be kidding.”

“In my defense, I’ve never been involved with the supply side in the drug business before. I think that worked in my advantage-- if the police had any sort of profile on me ahead of time, I doubt I would have been let into the spaceport.”

“The spaceport where you decided to use the U.S.S. Justice as your personal getaway car,” Officer Specter deadpans.

“Well, I figured the police would never see that particular plot twist coming, and I was right.”

“How has nobody on the ship found you yet?”

“I think because Donna likes me?”

He does a double take. “What did you just say?”

“As your ship’s managing AI she knows essentially everything, so she lets me into hiding places, warns me when people are coming, present times excepted, gives me work to do--”

“You’re a drug dealer, and apparently not even a good one,” Officer Specter scoffs. “What the hell kind of work can you do?”

Mike narrows his eyes, considering. “What if I told you I consume knowledge at a rate that makes humans, aliens and emotion-capable AIs jealous and I’ve actually passed the Earth starship service exam?”

“I’d say you’re an even worse liar than I thought.”

“You’re a senior officer, you know more than almost anybody about rules and projects and current schedules on the Justice. Ask me anything.”

“Tell me about Sarbox.”

“Sarbox is a research project commenced five years back, directed by Drs. Sarbanes and Oxley of the U.S. Department of Research. It collects data from over half a million spaceships including the Justice and uses it to verify studies by private corporations, which have famously doctored their conclusions in the past.”

“All right except for one thing-- the Justice quit the study three years back.”

“Active collection, yes, but Sarbox is still drawing on and analyzing radiation data that the Justice is gathering for SOL’s UV mapping project.”

Harvey Reginald Specter does not stoop to gaping, but he feels tempted. “How can you know all that?”

“I told you, I have an incredible memory, and Donna likes me. She’s been having me read up on the Justice, and she’s had me do odd jobs that let me get even more familiar with how things work. I’ve been helping with the Hardman attack, I identified a breach on this particular server and switched it off to contain it, probably before the official engineers even started scanning for errors.”

Harvey stares. “If you’re so competent on a ship, why didn’t you go to a training school in the first place?”

“Trevor-- the guy who set up the drug deal, you probably saw his mug shot in the coverage-- went to undergrad with me, and he convinced me to sell answers to a multivariate calc test. Turns out we sold it to the dean’s daughter.” Mike sighs. “I lost my scholarship, I got kicked out of school, and I have been wishing for a way back ever since.”

Officer Specter rocks back, finally pulling away his gun, and calls up to the ceiling, “Donna, would you like to explain yourself?”

The answer comes back, “You said you weren’t looking for ‘qualified.’”

He stares at the speaker above him for a full twenty seconds before bursting into laughter. “Mike Ross, I do believe this was your job interview.”

“Wait, what?”

“I need an assistant. Technically, I need an assistant who trained at Harvard Fleet Academy to become a commander and preferably graduated with honors.”

“. . . That’s not me.”

“If I call a certain astrobiologist over at the Cambridge station, it could be. She owes me an awful lot of favors.”

“. . . And that’s forgery and fraud.”

“You’re a genius, I’m seeing it now.” Officer Specter rolls his eyes.

“Hey, I don’t have a problem with forgery and fraud, I’m just making sure you know what you’re getting into.”

“My eyes are wide open, Mike.”

“So . . . Donna arranged this whole thing,” Mike says with wonder, then frowns. “Including the part where you nearly shot me.”

“I hacked his gun first,” the android cuts in entirely too merrily. “If he pulled the trigger, it’d switch into shock mode, backfire and just knock him out instead.”

Officer Specter glares, but he can’t stop the smile twitching at the ends of his lips.

“So, Mike, will you take the job?” she continues.

“Yes!” Then he looks at Harvey, slightly embarrassed, and amends, “If you’ll have me.”

Harvey at last pushes himself off Mike’s lap and stows his gun. “Yeah, I will. Once we get to Cambridge Station, you’re hired, and in the meantime keep sneaking around and doing whatever it is you’re doing.”

He reaches out a hand and pulls Mike up as well. “Hey, you wouldn’t by any chance be the person who ate twenty meals’ worth of rations without permission, would you?”

“Um, yes?”

“You nearly got Officer Litt fired.”

“Oh, God,” he exclaims. “Donna said it wouldn’t be a problem . . .”

“It wasn’t. Keep up the good work,” Harvey says with a smirk before heading back down the row and completing his check of the servers. If he swings by the spot where Mike is sitting more times than strictly necessary, well, that’s between him and the Donna.

He returns to his quarters exhausted that night, but as he surveys the blue of hyperspace streaming past his window he smiles, for the first time in months.

[kingbrunnhilde]

A Massive Spones Rec List

The Spones fandom is made up of some of the most talented people but is tiny and in need of more content. Due to this fact, there are significantly less Spones fics so I searched extra hard to compile a good, lengthy list of fics.. and somehow managed to find way more fics than I did for my Mckirk one?? Why am I such trash, help I need a life.

(Listed alphabetically: ** = favourite)

Addressed to the Damn Doctor by ElloPoppet | 2.5k, T

Spock writes McCoy a letter of confession, despite not quite knowing how to write a love letter. (A super sweet insight into Spock’s mind, especially on his thoughts on the Enterprise’s resident doctor.)

Best Medicine for the Worst Patient by gammadolphin | 8.5k, T

It’s a special kind of hell, becoming obsessed with the laughter of a man who barely even smiles unless he’s high or dying of blood loss. Leonard doesn’t handle it particularly well. (A hilariously frustrating fic in which Bones becomes a little too obsessed with trying to hear Spock laugh just once more.)

Blues March by IntuitivelyFortuitous | 7k, T

Leonard McCoy sees his friends bleed. He loves the blood when it is inside them, flushing their cheeks and warming their skin. When it colors his hands on the operating table, he can think of little but the time he has with them, and a minute is too long to waste. He’s not going to let Spock get away that easily. (Gruesome and sad yet somehow really sweet.)

The Body by therev | 13k, T

McCoy’s consciousness is transferred into an android body after a fatal accident. Spock helps him remember the man he used to be. (Wow a really creative and fascinating fic that could have gone totally wrong if it hadn’t been written by such a talented author.)

Body Temperature by MaidenofIron157 | 4.5k, G

Average Vulcan body temperature is approximately 8.6 degrees lower than humans’. It is only logical that Spock would eventually become cold within his lover’s quarters. The doctor comes up with a solution. (The blanket cocoon, the clothes sharing, Spock being in love with Leonard’s scent.. asdfghjkl too adorable to handle.)

Compassion Is a Virtue (But I Don’t Have the Time) by therev | 5k, E

McCoy and Spock switch bodies. Things get out of hand. (I love the way the author addresses the difference between human and Vulcan physiology. And you know, there’s also some sexy times too if you’re into that sort of thing.)

Do Vulcans Dream of Electric Doctors? by Neigedens | 4k, T

“It’s probably not even your fault, Spock,” he muttered. “I was probably destined to go mad in space some day anyway. You probably just made the process a lot more efficient. How typical.” Dr. McCoy has got Vulcan on the brain. Set during “The Search for Spock.” (The usual Spones banter but whilst sharing the same brain. Bonus: dream sharing.)

The Edge of Never by therev | 17k, T

Alternate ending to “City On The Edge of Forever”. Edith Keeler didn’t die. Jim couldn’t let her. The triumvirate are trapped in the past with an altered future. Jim must correct his mistake while Spock and Bones get domestic. Set in 1930s New York and rural Georgia. Mostly pining of the space doctor variety. (I didn’t know I needed domestic 30s Spones until I read this omg. And don’t let the 'slow build’ turn you off because it’s so worth it.)

Everything About You by sleepymccoy | 2.5k, G

A minor transporter accident has Bones and Scotty squabbling about safety while Spock watches. Spock gets lost in his own thoughts, thinking about his relationship with Bones. (‘Vulcans don’t get distracted,’ you say? Well you’re wrong because they can and the results can be incredibly adorable.)

Familiar by starstrung | 3.5k, T

The Romulans really need to stop shooting at their artificial gravity systems. (Almost like four ficlets in one if you will. All super heartwarming and nicely come together at the end. So well written!)

** Feigned Intimacy by IntuitivelyFortuitous | 4k, T

Jim was playing matchmaker again and McCoy was not happy about it. The fact that he had to spend the rest of the evening clinging to Spock like a damsel in distress was bad enough, but teaching him how to act like they were together? It’d be easier to cure Denobulan malaria. (Fake dating fics are hard to get right but this one is by far the best I’ve ever read. It’s so soft and sweet and fits TOS really well.)

Five Times Spock Was Interrupted While Trying to Confess His Love for McCoy and One Time He Wasn’t by therev | 3.5k, T

To be fair, he could have tried a lot harder, or spoken a bit faster. (One of the greatest 5+1 fics. And bonus points for that summary lol.)

Fragment by babel | 2.5k, T

McCoy deals with the aftermath of his mind meld with Spock in the mirror universe. (Post TOS ep “Mirror, Mirror”. Haunting but beautifully so.)

Insight by JiM | 4k, T

McCoy is the one who’s blind, but Spock has been slow to see. (Just. Excellent.)

** In Sickness… by mymetalphantom | 6k, G

Spock gets ill and not only does he have to deal with the illness, he also has to contend with his troublesome Human side. (Omg soft & sick Spock with a concerned Bones is just too cute I can’t deal. Also, the writing is incredible.)

In Vino Veritas by black_tea | 3k T

Bones over indulges at Jim’s party and ends up losing his impulse control thus forcing him to face the truth of the situation between himself and his Vulcan shipmate. (Post-Beyond fics are the absolute best and this one hits all the right spots. AND there’s an great sequel in which Spones goes swimming. Niceee.)

Last to Know by Dizzydodo | 19k, T

When Leonard is fatally injured, Spock attempts to save him with a bond. Unfortunately, Leonard mistakes this for an act of duty, and all Spock’s hints to the contrary go unnoticed. (The way the author wrote the bond as well as these two’s relationship was excellent.)

Long Last Night by Vera_DragonMuse | 23k, M

The sense of a long last night over civilization is back again. -Norman Mailer Two years after a terrible virus wipes out most of the world’s population, McCoy tries to keep mind and body together. Modern Post-Apocalypse AU. (I’m not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic stories but ohh boy I was completely sold on this one. Extremely well written and great characterization. Highly recommended!)

Nothing But Halves by therev | 11k, T

McCoy wishes he could talk to Spock’s human half. After a transporter malfunction, he can. (One Spock, two Spock.. Great fic that delves into Bones discovering Spock’s struggles with his human and Vulcan halves and how they’re not as different as they may seem.)

One Little Mistletoe Kiss by tprillahfiction | 1.5k, T

Spock and McCoy eat Christmas cookies and kiss under the mistletoe, Spock/McCoy style which means bickering and McCoy complaining and swearing. (SO HEARTWARMING. TOO MUCH FLUFF LET ME LIVE.)

Our Doubts Make Us Traitors by LogicalBookThief | 5k, T

Dealing with what did and didn’t occur on Altamid leaves McCoy incapable of sleeping. Paying his most recent patient a visit seems to be the only cure. (What can I say? I just really love post-Beyond fics.)

Perfectly Logical by Zauzat | 4k, T

Kirk has had enough of Spock and McCoy’s public squabbles. He orders them to sort it out. He just doesn’t anticipate the solution they come up with. (Love the way the author handled both mind melds and the boys’ relationship. A+)

The Placebo Effect by IntuitivelyFortuitous | 3k, T

Alright, maybe he should listen to Spock more often. Maybe he should not drink everything that gets put in front of him. In his defense, it was purple and sparkly no human with a decent sense of curiosity could resist at least a sip. He didn’t expect it to give him a sixth sense, though. (A really original and creative fic that’s also hilariously well written. Loved it.)

** Satisfactory by Damalur | 5.5k, G

Advancing in a relationship with Leonard McCoy only seems logical, particularly after Spock hears that the good doctor carried his katra in another life. (My first and possibly favourite Spones fic. Well characterized, hilarious, and sweet.)

something borrowed, something new by kojafras | 1k, NR (I’d say G)

Spock gives Leonard a tracking device. Leonard is less than thrilled. (A hilariously adorable post-Beyond fic that captures their relationship perfectly.)

Somewhere Only We Know by sullacat | 14k, M

Spock and McCoy find themselves thrust into a new world and a new life. Can they work together to find their way home - or is being lost the best thing that ever happened to them? Reboot of Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'The Inner Light’. (Wow such an amazing AU. I love how both Spock and Bones are written and how they slowly fall in love. Gahhh my heart.)

Surgeon’s Mate by belmanoir | 4.5k, T

Spock likes McCoy. McCoy won’t take a hint. (The ultimate TOS fic.)

** volatile; handle with caution by starstrung | 8.5k, T

Spock moves in with McCoy in his lab and they have to learn to share the same space. (One of my absolute faves. Their voices are written perfectly and the plot is simple, but very very effective.)

Recommended authors:

all writers of the fics listed above of course

especially starstrung and therev, a couple of each of their fics are on this list but they have many other superb Spones fics

IntuitivelyFortuitous has an amazing Spones Oneshots series. I reced 3/5 of the fics in the series (so far?), but I highly recommend the other 2 as well

Think I missed any fics? Have a rec for me? Send in an ask! (Seriously, I love receiving asks, please feel free to send away)

A Massive Mckirk Rec List // A Massive Spirk Rec List to come soon(ish)

[pipedreamprayer]

ep 68

there was just...so much i wanted to think about after the episode was done that i wound up noting down my reactions and thoughts as I watched to get them straight and wouldn't forget anything

now I’m just...overwhelmed and curious to see if anyone has any thoughts to add to anything - hence me making use of the copy and paste function

Wait, Ai has had dreams before?! Well…I guess that answers the question of ‘’do androids dream of electric sheep’’ even if a fully sentient AI sans the robotic body is a bit far from android…

…why does the Cyvberse look like a set piece? With splits in the panels showing flat scenery and no movement in the smoke of the volcanoes?? IM SUSPICIOUS

Are you flipping serious, Yusaku perfectly serious and straight faced determined that Ai was definitely not present by using soap operas as bait. What is this episode and where has it been all my life

GOOOD GOD ROBOPPI IS THE CUTEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!!

So it’s is now confirmed that none of the others have been to Yusakus house before….and still have yet to…still, I wonder if the whole helper robot situation is a part of the reason he’s allowed to live alone – he has a helper

Wtf what are the little noises she keeps making, her reactions to the butterfly were adorable but the one when she’s plugged in and has hearts in her eyes…Vrains is seriously pushing the robot sex agenda with her aren’t they?

Oh holy smokes they lured him in via his own vanity THEY DEFINITELY KNOW HIS PERSONALITY WELL

Yusaku is learning to be more cautious with his allies and im so proud! if...worried as hell that he’s going in alone

Oooh Flame’s kind of bitter about Windy being treated with suspicion…I can’t wait to see his reaction when he discovers how warranted that suspicion was…

Holy shit even for an insidious plot involving a fake Cyberse the Ignis are enough the comedy part of the show that they screw up faking Linkuriboh - and Ai still doesn't catch on!

Wait…wait the Cyberse was SPREADING before it was destroyed?? That…I worry that has some concerning implications that the Ignis COULDN’T have just…been left alone forever, that eventually their interests would clash with humanities bc they were taking over the network or something

Ahaha holy shit I totally forgot about the whole joke with Ai not understanding Linkuribohs language no matter how he behaves like he does, and now I cant stop remembering the joke at the starts of season 2, damn that was funny

Dear god they even programmed this fake Cyverse to look like corrugated cardboard around the hole rather than, you know, actually make it look more like a real imitation

Damn Ai is well animated this episide…

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH IT’S THE RETURN OF THE LOST INCIDENT THEME!!!!!!!! that's NEVER a good sign

Dear god the Ignis have their own language and it sounds like speaking in electrofunk tongues straight from digital hell. Really puts that au i’ve been thinking about where the Ignis are demons into perspective…

Mmmmkay so literally every fiber of my being is screaming not to trust Windy at the sight of him. From how he appeared out of thin air (as awesome as that was) to the way he’s sitting to how casual he is about all this, all ‘yo!’ and everything…also, his questioning why Ai isn’t speaking Ignis anymore brings up a lot of questions…especially since the biggest difference between Ai and everyone else is that he’s had an extra 5 years wandering the network experiencing life outside of the isolated space the Ignis made for themselves – he’s seen more of humanity than any of the others by a long shot and he’s decided he prefers emulating them over following the lead of the rest of his own kind, and that’s why I think he’s gonna make a big difference to the war that's apparently inevitable. I even wonder if we’ll see a parallel to what he said to Yusaku about the Cyberse being his paradise at the end of season 1 – I wonder if we’ll see him talk about the good parts of the human world to the Ignis

Oooooh I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable at how the fake Cyberse is now clearly an enclosed box…its really such a small space compared to what it would be, and what ought to be big open spaces for everyone to roam about in have become walls of a container…

Kudos to Windy’s voice actor, he sounds like he has a constant smile on his face even without the character having a mouth…

Oh good, even Ai realises how creepy his associate is

THE SHADOWY MAN ISNT A PERSON AT ALL ITS ANOTHER HOLDING PROGRAM LIKE ECHO OR THE TREE MAN!!!! Fucking hell why did I not think of that before… Bohman and all were never talking to the figure itself, but the Ignis on its arm…

Also HIS EYES ARE DIAMONDS!!! We finally have the full appearances of all Ignis and…damn are they interesting – Lightening is so…sharp in every way!

Ooh wow Ai was so used to being in the real world or Vrains he didn’t consider that he wasn’t limited by physics here…

…Is Ai meant to have hands way bigger than the others?? Cause I just noticed his forearms expand way more than Windy and Lightening at least, I need to look at the others designs to check it i’m pretty sure Aqua and Earth have similarly human proportioned hands compared to the rest of their body

Of COURSE Ai is the one who named him – thinking about it, I wonder if it came from liking his own name and seeing Flame also take pride in his name that he wanted to make sure the Ignis all had names

Wait there was a SPY in the Cyberse that led to the attack?! That...changes a lot of things...there was issues WITHIN the Cyberse that led the danger there, not solely an outside force interrupting their paradise

Aaaw Ai cares about Aqua

Wait she went missing BEFORE the attack?! And Ai doesn’t believe she’s the spy damn I love his faith in her

Hahaha Ai is getting called out for his naming habits and acts like a petulant child defending himself saying it’s for convenience – if that’s not a metaphor for the writers answering questions they knew would come up, I don’t know what is

Uuuuuuhhhh I do NOT trust how much Windy is pushing for Aqua to be the spy…It feels like deflecting the attention from himself and Lightening…but Ai isn’t letting himself be lead about, and somehow the fact it’s out of faith in Aqua as opposed to realising they’re trying to manipulate him just makes me all the more proud of him!!

Ai is asking the real questions here…

FAKE LINKURIBOH IS A SPY FOR THEM BOTH!!??!?!

FUCKING LINK SENSE IN ACTION RIGHT THERE!!! Uuugh this raises so many more questions though….how does he know how to do that?! Has he had practice with it, or is it some sort of unexplained instinct? Why hasn’t he done it before?! Like, I dunno, to find Bohman!!

Mmmmmmmmm I don’t like the superiority complex coming from Lightening…it reminds me of Kogami tbh, both how highly they think of themselves and how they’re of the belief that Ignis are superior but vulnerable enough to be destroyed. Except Kogami thought humans needed to attack before the Ignis wiped them out, and Lightening thinks they need to escape humanity’s reach before humans wipe THEM out

Wtf wtf WTF WTAF nonononono you guys weren’t supposed to actually take Kogami’s crazy lessons on board, you were supposed to have left his control bc you DIDN’T want to do as he said!!

Fucking hell a flaming Kogami bc of how the Ignis were named and…GAH I CANNOT HANDLE THIS INSANITY

So…they’re so high and mighty above the humans, but are utterly dependant on them for survival, as their whole world exists on the manmade network…and they’re going to enslave mankind to ensure they don’t get cut off…writers what on earth...

Oh sweet Jesus humans won’t even have THAT reason to keep existing fairly soon...I am VERY afraid of these 2

Wait, does that imply they’re making robotic bodies or something in order to affect the real world and be able to keep making hardware?? Cause…that could mean IRL duels against robots…

…wha, Ai? Wise? And what the hell is this about evil wisdom?? If that’s a jab at the dark element of monsters leading to fiends and whatnot, I don’t get what evil wisdom actually…implies. You could potentially stick evil in front of anything to joke about the dark ignis if that were the only reason, so there’s something I’m missing…though it’s nice to see that Windy and Lightening aren’t…like, 2 sides of the same coin, they’ve got their individual personalities and quirks and aren’t constantly on the same page

Oh…oh fucking hell he has a good point. I hate to admit it, but he does. Even if Ai believes Playmaker wouldn’t delete him, Ai will outlive Yusaku and then…there’s billions of humans out there, but that’s no guarantee that there will always be at least one capable person willing to defend him from those who DO want him dead. Trying to count on humans when you’re immortal and inhuman is…so risky it basically comes down to blind faith. And, frankly, the acceptance that things will probably one day go wrong. Humans accept the inevitability of death, but damn that must be difficult to face for creatures who’d been promised immortality from the get-go. They’ve been making plans for the long-long term future, so the threat of destruction must be…infinitely more terrifying and unknown to the Ignis than to us…

PLAYMAKER!! Interesting that the other 2 knew he was coming and didn’t…hinder him in any way

Wait, they were waiting for him?! Ooooh that does not bode well…

I’m so fascinated in how they are, for the most part, repeating themselves to Playmaker yet are going about it so so differently from how they treated Ai…

Also, the way the flashback reminded me that Kogami thought of humans as vulnerable while trapped in the real worlds dangers is a parallel to how the Ignis are vulnerable while they don’t have control over the hardware that runs the network they exist on

…DAMN that’s an interesting response from Yusaku! He isn’t denying that the Ignis might well be the closest thing to humanity’s successor, and we know he’s going to be honest about that sort of thing. This is his actual opinion. But, furthering that opinion, that possible label doesn’t give them the right to hurt people as though they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, like how Kogami treated the kids and their families. And…he’s right, or at least I believe so. The Ignis are functionally immortal and have such power in the way of the network, the thing that humanity is so dependent on nowadays, but that’s not…the most important part of the situation. Yusaku just…wants people to stop suffering, whether by the Incident or the network being destroyed or this whole debacle…god I love this character

Ooooh no Windy took that very wrong…it sucks, bc that’s such a…childish argument! its all ‘’If you agree with me great, if you don’t, then you’re lying about your motivations and you’re an enemy and we shouldn’t listen to you’’! Like…dammit you guys are based off of 6 year olds and despite the whole ‘our mission’ this and ‘enslave humanity until they have no further use’ coming across as big important serious decisions made by big important serious people, they’re not the most mature

…fuck that’s even MORE sinister than I expected! They just…don’t care about humans enough to give a shit whether they’re suffering or have lives of their own, they just see them as a resource that will eventually need to be annihilated before they become a threat to their own existence…dammit, it’s not far from how we treat animals!! In fact, that’s exactly what it is! They consider themselves above humans even though they only exist because of them and are still dependant on them, but don’t see them as worth the same consideration they’d give one of their own (though even amongst themselves they’re pretty harsh given how they’ve talked about Aqua) so they’re willing to use them then throw them away like they…have no inherent value, no right to their own lives! Dammit, this feels horrible being on the other end of that…I might need to go vegetarian after this…

Ooooh Ai you sly fox…as much as I love more validation that Ai is a manipulative ignis and they know it while humans and us watchers have been assuming nothing but idiocy is in that head of his, I wonder how much was…genuine. I mean, wanting to try to find a solution with Playmaker seems…in character for him, particularly after that montage of him remembering all they’ve been through together. Still, the way he said goodbye without looking at them makes me feel like he’s trying to hide how nervous he is…and with good reason since they know what he’s up to. I’m starting to get why they call him wise, which is something I never thought I’d think

Dammit these 2 are really scaring me with how they’re just..so causal about chatting as they let Ai drift farther and farther away, fully aware they can cut him off whenever they feel like it and without a doubt are going to do so…

AGH THESE GUYS ARE ON THEIR HOME TURF AND THEYRE FUCKING POWERFUL

HAHAHAhahahaaaaa*whimper*…at least Windy is aware how sinister they’re coming across, even if he doesn’t seem to care…these guys are reminding me of Revolver and Spectre WAY too much

t-t-take over his programming?? Wouldn’t that…be like an Ignis lobotomy?!

‘’his opinion is 1 in 8 billion – you think that will change everything?’’ uuugh I mean he has a point but also this is a card game anime so…hopefully the answer is yes? Hopefully…this IS a very unconventional YGO after all…

Goddammit they don’t have to be so snide about it! Ai was trying to pass on what he’s learnt in his time with humanity – not to underestimate them! Especially his partner!! God I can’t wait for Playmaker and Ai to defeat them and ruin their plans like they did Kogami’s, it will somehow be even more satisfying to see these 2 learn how wrong they are about humanity…

…HE’S ONLY JUST NOW REALISING HE SHOULDN’T BE OUT OF HIS DUEL DISK?!?! dammit, he really is still our lovable dumbass, isn’t he?

HOLY SHIT A MOTHERFUCKING JOJOS REFERENCE this show has no shame and I can’t get enough of it

‘’After I’ve broken down everything that makes you your own person and absorbed you into myself I’ll fix what I don’t like about you’’ FUCK OFF WINDY

So Lightening is too fast for anyone to follow, and Windy has the best control of the Data storms, Earth is the best duelist, Aqua can tell truth from lies…I wonder what Flame and Ai’s specialties are…Ai’s might be monster making since he gets on so well with Linkuriboh and created Storm Access

WHAT THE HECKITY HECK

OH

OOOOH ONLY ONE PERSON MAKES ENTRANCES THAT EXTRA

Revolver, welcome ba-HE HAS EYEBALLS?!?! And eyelashes even prettier than Playmakers…what

‘’were you able to predict that I’d show up?’’ FUCK YEAH, GIVE THEM A TASTE OF THEIR OWN SASS!!!

Ow…my hands hurt bc I couldn’t refrain from slapping the palms together like an excited seal’s flippers…dafuq is wrong with me, I don't even regret it I was too invested in the new developments!

AaaaaAAAAGGGGHHH THEYRE DESTROYING THE FEEBLE CYVERSE IMITATION like it’s a fake probably meant to lure Ai more than anything but the fact they’re going to all that trouble despite that…damn they look so sinister lit by the fires of their own attack on a defenceless…place. I dunno what to call this area tbh. But it’s such a good way of showing how dedicated they still are to the cause by replicating the destruction of the real Cyberse, and to remind us that, well, they’re not good guys by any stretch of the mind. Revolver might have swooped in and saved the lives of our protags, and may have even intended to interrupt the process, but it wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart, it was most certainly bc of the same reason he’s avoided targeting Playmaker himself – he wants to duel him again and cant if he’s dead. Jeez…here’s hoping at least SOME of him just plain wanted to, just simply didn’t want him to die (even though he still definitely wants the Ignis dead).

And on that note…he kind of has a point, much as I hate to say it. These 2 are literally aiming to enslave and wipe out mankind after all…but goddammit I want to be on Ai’s side and say that there’s hope for a peaceful resolution! I just…don’t know if it’s possible with both sides containing such stubborn, angry parties…is it even possible for beings so long living to change their mindsets from what has apparently been their thoughts since creation? I can’t imagine Ignis commonly being open to change…

Uuuugh my god that preview though…Ai and Playmaker are caught between a rock and a hard place, 2 sides riling for a genocide of the other while the ex-emissary of revenge tries to talk peace and acceptance, co existence and letting go of one’s rage in order to have hope for the future…and that…kind of feels like what this is really about? As in, the future. Both Hanoi and the Ignis (not just these 2 but all of them sans Ai) are concerned with the future, with making sure they survive to EXIST in that future no matter the cost. And then there’s our protagonist pair – one who fought so hard to be able to move on from his trauma, to have a future worth living at all, and the other who spent his time in the Cyverse idling and enjoying life one moment to the next with no real regard for his duty as a leader there…who has now learnt so much from these transient humans in regards to taking risks and working hard for what is worthwhile. They’ve certainly got the best chance of anyone in the 8 billion strong population of the world of getting through to these guys, of changing their minds about how to consider the future.

[etechwire-blog]

One week with the Boox Max2: is it finally time to go paperless?

New Post has been published on https://www.etechwire.com/one-week-with-the-boox-max2-is-it-finally-time-to-go-paperless/

One week with the Boox Max2: is it finally time to go paperless?

Main image credit: Jamie Carter

Handwriting is back in fashion. After a decade of typing and tapping, the Apple Pencil now allows the marking up and annotation of documents, presentations, and spreadsheets in Apple’s iWork apps, and Samsung’s S-Pen is a hit with artists. To anyone, like me, who’s sick of staring at LCD screens, it seems like the right time for there to be an E Ink version of all this. 

Cue the 13.3-inch Onyx Boox Max2, an A4-sized E Ink display with Wi-Fi that’s somewhere between a Kindle Oasis, the Remarkable, and a full-sized tablet.

The Boox Max2 has a web browser, Android apps, and more besides. Credit: Jamie Carter

Price, design and features

Selling on Amazon for $799 / £699 / AUS$1,070, the Onyx Boox Max2 arrives in a grey felt cover and seems to weigh a little more than a stack of papers or magazines. On one side is a loop for cradling a Wacom digital stylus (in the box), while on the bottom are slots for micro USB, mini HDMI, and a headphone jack.

Wait. HDMI? As well as acting as an ereader and a document annotator, the Onyx Boox Max2 can be attached to any Windows laptop or desktop PC to act as a second screen. Does that sound weird? It should do. It is.

Using it as an ereader

I decided to use the Onyx Boox Max2 as a simple ereader for the first few days. At its core, this is a device that’s all about its screen. E Ink looks like paper and can be read easily in direct sunlight, and on the 13.3-inch Boox Max2 it looks awesome. An E Ink Carta display, it sports a resolution of 2200 x 1650 pixels, which gives a pixels-per-inch (ppi) density of 207. That’s a few less than the 12.9-inch iPad Pro‘s 264ppi and the 12.3-inch Microsoft Surface Pro‘s 267ppi, both of which are rivals in terms of screen real estate.

The built-in ereader software is excellent. Credit: Jamie Carter

If that makes relatively little difference for reading, know that the downsides to E Ink are that the screen is black and white only, it takes a second or two to change page and refresh the screen, and it doesn’t support any kind of video or animation.

How it measures up

However, everything looks sharp enough, and it otherwise compares well physically to its tablet rivals. A mere 7.5mm slim, the Boox Max2 clocksin at 573g. By comparison the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is 6.9mm slim but weighs 677g, and the 12.3-inch Microsoft Surface Pro is 8.5mm and 768g.

As well as being slimmer than any similar-sized tablet, the Boox Max2 has a standard micro USB slot for recharging its internal 4100mAh battery, which lasts a whopping four weeks. In that sense, it’s a completely different beast to its power-hungry rivals.

The controls are simple, but an HDMI slot is a surprise. Credit: Jamie Carter

One of a kind? 

Is the Boox Max2 a one-of-a-kind gadget? Actually, it’s not. Sony’s DPT-RP1/B Digital Paper is an identical size, uses the exact same E Ink Carta screen, and sells for a similar price. There’s also the Remarkable. Like those two devices, the Boox Max2 uses the cloud to fetch files. Unlike those two devices, it runs on Android 6 Marshmallow, so can embrace the never-ending world of the Google Play Store apps.

Any Android tablet can do that, of course, and yet it’s this ereader’s killer feature. It also has a web browser, but the uniquely open approach to Android means you can try any app and see what happens. So I did. 

You can download any Android app. Credit: Jamie Carter

Now add Android apps

Dropbox (or any cloud storage app) is the no-brainer, enabling any file to be accessed and saved to the Boox Max2’s 32GB innards. Evernote was next for notes, then Pocket for reading offline articles, Readly for magazines, and both the Kobo Books and Amazon Kindle apps. The greatest irony is that the latter two are perhaps the best apps of all. They look great, work fast, and the latter had me browsing a few titles I’d forgotten I’d bought on my (now mostly ignored) Kindle.

Audio and streaming music

After a few days using the Boox Max2 to read ebooks, webpages and magazines, I tried a few more apps and discovered that it also does audio. Not only can you download apps for Spotify and Deezer, but the music plays from a tiny built-in speaker. It’s very weak, but no matter because the Boox Max2 also has a 3.5mm jack for attaching a pair of earphones. Being able to listen to MP3 music does give the Boox Max2 more of an everyday gadget feel, even more so when I managed to connect a pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones.

Annotating documents

The Boox Max2 can also read documents aloud in a fairly natural-sounding voice, and it highlights the passage it’s reading. However, all of this is novelty stuff. What’s it like for annotating documents? 

Well, firstly, it takes anything. A total of 15 formats are readable (TXT, DOC, PDF, EPUB, RTF, MOBI, CHM, DJVU, ZIP, HTML, FB2, MP3, WMA, JPEG, BMP, PNG and GIF), palm rejection is fine (so accidental presses of the screen won’t be registered), all documents can be zoomed, and everything can be scrawled on. You then save your scribbles as a PNG file.

I found the almost A4 size of the Boox Max2’s display addictive, using it to both edit and mark up a lot of articles on the go, and to make notes on scientific papers published as PDF files. There are a few quirks; some files saved to the internal SD card were difficult to open, sometimes leading to a ghost version of a previously opened file, while the notetaking app was sometimes slow to recognize pen strokes. In spite of this, annotations remain by far the Boox Max2’s best feature, and the main reason to buy.

The real treat is annotating documents on an A4-size display. Credit: Jamie Carter

A second screen?

If annotations are the Boox Max2’s best feature, the screen-extending option is one of its worst. It’s easy enough to set up: attach cable from the Boox Max2 to the HDMI slot on a laptop, and fire up the Monitor app on the Boox Max2. In the marketing the Boox Max2 is shown on a stand that props it up in landscape or portrait mode; however, this is an optional extra, and we could only find it at a Chinese online store, so you may need to hunt around a bit or use a generic tablet stand, or, as we did, a regular book holder. But that’s not the main problem.

Screen extending on an E Ink display? Why? Credit: Jamie Carter

What I got really confused about was what kind of document to put on the Boox Max2. It does suffer from the occasional freeze-up, and in comparison to a tablet it’s a generally slow device. That’s E Ink. But what kind of document would anyone want to put on an E Ink device? A PDF or even a web page works okay – something you might need to refer to while writing – but the presence on the Boox Max2 of Dropbox and a web browser makes cabling-up seem unnecessary.

The usefulness of screen extending is also hampered by the fact that anything shown on the E Ink screen can’t be annotated, since the device’s touchscreen features are all paused. 

So while it’s a nice idea in theory, monitor extension on the Boox Max2 is a feature searching for a use-case. 

Would I buy it?

The Boox Max2 is a refreshingly different kind of device, but is it a must-have gadget? It’s not without quirks. It takes about a minute to start up from standby, and does so with the Wi-Fi switched off (necessitating constant dives into the settings menu), while brush strokes sometimes go unrecognized for too long. It’s also hard to get really excited about using apps on such a slow-to-refresh screen. However, the Book Max2 never ran out of battery in a week; it’s so power-efficient and paper-like that it feels like anti-technology.

A doodler’s dream? Credit: Jamie Carter

If Onyx can iron out a few issues and make it 100% reliable, it’s a genuine contender for anyone who (a) can’t face staring at yet another LCD screen, or (b) is desperate to make the whole ‘paperless’ office concept of 20 years ago an actual thing. For editors, writers, and anyone constantly marking up copy, presentations or books either on bright LCD monitors or on paper, the Boox Max2 presents a refreshing third way.

Can it replace your pen and paper? Not entirely, perhaps, but it comes pretty close.