bakerstreet

-51.

[I'm good if you're good!]

I might have an idea, but I won't press.

[Yeah, that part he knows!]

[ oh, i'm good :eyes: all connor variations are a thing of beauty ]

Hm. Maybe that's why? -52 here.

[ would they have, uh, downgraded him in that area without telling him about it? you know, it's possible they wouldn't think he needed the memory... ]

... Yeah. We don't have to talk about it.

[I couldn't have said it any better! 😃]

-52? Oh. ...oh.

[He hopes not, but they might have if they got their hands on him again? He hates that thought though.]

I imagine we don't.

Yes, I'm afraid so. My mission was successful, but...

[ sorry, -51. he did what he had to do. ]

Right. It's... complicated.

I'm glad you found someone.

Your mission was successful? You're not- you didn't deviate?

[Shit. He knew for himself it wasn't a sure thing, but he can't imagine not deviating when offered the chance to.]

Even more so than I thought.

Yeah, thanks?

Oh, no, it's not that. I only meant that I managed to save Emma.

[ lmao poor connor, he didn't mean to startle him. ]

... Can I ask how so?

[ because that's a bit foreboding. ]

Oh. I had preconstructed that as one of the outcomes, but the snipers ended up taking out Daniel after I convinced him to let Emma go.

[More like scared the everloving shit out of him, but good, it's all good, everything's good.]

I had thought you weren't a deviant, that's all. It would make things very complicated. Nothing more than that.

I was worried I wouldn't be able to, so I jumped for him.

[ interesting... he's not entirely sure he wants to know all the ways in which he may have gone wrong, but he supposes it all turned out for the best in the end. probably. ]

I see. No, I am deviant. Although I haven't had long to get used to it.

It was touch and go for a while. He was so unstable.

[Pardon the pun! This Connor did other things wrong, it happens. Sorry, Tracis.]

I was on my way to meet Hank at Chicken Feed when I turned down an alley and ended up in Sex City.

[Otherwise known as Duplicity. This Connor essentially grew up there.]

Sometimes I think I'm beginning to understand how he felt.

[ ha ha :eyes: this connor, um, did okay, except that his player had some trouble keeping some of the other characters alive ~~i'm so sorry kara i didn't know the boat would be like that ]~~

That's quite a detour. I'm not sure I like the sound of that.

[ he really has no desire to leave detroit at all. especially not now. ]

And you've been there since?

Yeah, I know.

[~~I got Kara across but Luther got killed in the boat and Alice died in her arms on the shore and I ugly cried WHY???~~]

I wasn't thrilled about it either. It's been a year for me and I still miss Hank. I'm still there. No going home in sight.

[Although he's made good friends and he has an SO so life there isn't all bad.]

It's... hard.

[ i was an idiot and forgot to hide luther and alice when the police came so i got luther killed, which i felt really awful about because i knew how that sequence went, i just panicked l m f a o. so i had to sacrifice kara to save alice in the end T__T i was not happy ]

I'm sorry. Is there anything you'd like to know, about what's been happening while you've been gone? Events might not be entirely the same, but...

[ it's something, right? ]

It's been about four and a half months since the end of the revolution for me.

It's very hard. Especially when you're trying to learn the ins and outs on your own, like Daniel. It's hard even with support.

[~~I will cry with you! We can cry together!~~]

Everything. I want to know everything. But mostly- is Hank okay?

[It's a lot.]

Sometimes I wish I could have done things differently. Then, and during the investigation.

[ maybe he wouldn't have left so many bodies behind him if he had changed his way of thinking earlier. but... it's too late to wonder about now.

~~we will, we will cry together T_T~~ ]

Hank is fine. He's doing well, all things considered. Drinking less. Eating a bit better.

I'm staying with him, for the time being. None of the pro-android laws have been passed yet, but Markus is in talks with President Warren, and it shouldn't be long before they start going through. Meanwhile, the DPD is beginning work on building android defense cases. I went back, by the way. I thought maybe if I did, I could make up for... for everything.

Same here. I wish I'd known during the investigation what I found out later about deviancy and Cyberlife.

[Daniel, the Tracis, Ortiz's android, the android from the broadcast tower- not Simon, the one from the kitchen. All casualties of his ignorance and blind loyalty. He was so stupid!

~~Sobs!~~]

That's so good to hear. Relieving, really. I've been worried about him.

I think I probably would have stayed with him, too. I'm glad he opened his life to you. And Markus, and the DPD! I would have gone back. I opened an investigative agency in Duplicity but I'd return to the DPD in a heartbeat.

It's... nice. Although I worry I don't deserve his kindness. I haven't got any way to repay him. At least with the DPD, I can do my job and it's enough.

[ he can't help feeling sympathetic toward connor's situation, but maybe that's natural. ]

I hope you get to go home someday.

Don't feel that way. I don't think Hank's thinking anything along those lines. He wouldn't have opened his life and his house to you if he didn't care. I don't think he's looking for repayment, either- or you already are without realizing it.

[This one's a little envious, but overall he's satisfied with the life he has going on, so don't feel too bad, Connor!]

Thank you. I think I will one day.

I'll try to work on it. I guess it's just, after everything...

[ like he said, it's hard. but he knows they both understand. ]

I'm sure you will. And I'm sure you're right about Hank.

It's a lot. I had help, and without it, I don't know what I would have done. You'll get there. Hank will help you.

[Better than anyone else could. He's got your back, Connor. As much as he can.]

I know- about both things.

Thank you. I'll get there.

[ it's funny, to see such confidence in his own words when he doesn't feel it himself. it almost makes him wonder if there isn't something wrong with him. him specifically, that is. something he lost when his serial number increased from 51 to 52. but he knows that kind of thinking isn't going to help. all he can do is carry on. and maybe talk to hank about it, although so soon into his deviancy, the task seems daunting. ]

What will you do now?

I have a lot of faith in you, Connor.

[-51 has had a year to get where he is now, and it hasn't been without a lot of struggling. He's still struggling, if -52 wants to know the truth of it. His SO is talking about counseling. So it isn't just him and it isn't that -51 knows some secrets he's not sharing. But he does have more experience, and he has a lot of support.]

What I always do- keep on keeping on. ...And look at buying a motorcycle.

I appreciate it. I suppose there's some extra merit to having faith in yourself.

[ is that a joke? he's not even really sure himself. ]

A motorcycle? I've only ever driven Hank's car.

[Is laughing at himself a form of vanity or bullying? It was good, joke or not!]

That's the spirit!

Oh I've never even ridden on a motorcycle, but I'm not going to let that stop me. One of my friends got one so she's taking me to look at some. Gonna get a new jacket and sunglasses, too. I'm pretty stoked.

[Sometimes what Hank doesn't know is for the best.]

[ hank probably wouldn't appreciate the irony of connor doing something dangerous (particularly, something so dangerous involving a motor vehicle) after all he's taken him to task about his drinking, but he won't mention it. there's something satisfying about seeing himself so excited. ]

I suppose it could be fun...

You're going to buy clothes?

[ maybe that shouldn't be as notable as buying a motorcycle, but it's just different when you're an android. ]

TFLN

and his window-entering skills!

it's really a signt to behold

he showed everyone how it was DONE

that man can move

and HOW, i might need to fan myself

:big_eyes:

😂

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