Fourth Study Session

[lockdownmods]

Today, there is nothing to return-- no way to be sure that the events that have repeated themselves three different weeks now have not happened yet again. But by now perhaps you're simply aware that you should be cautious on these days.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing.

And while the dormitory seems to be in the same condition you left it when you slept-- the same cannot be said of outside or the main building.

Comments

[throwabookatit]

H- how can you...?! Of course it'll matter! Even if I- even if I'm still...all of this will have happened, and- and you matter, and Hank matters, and every fucking thing here matters, alright?!

[ This at least she knows how to deal with. She's been pushing Ashton to acknowledge and feel things since they were children. This, she can do. ]

[preconstruction]

For you, maybe it does. But this is it for me. Hank believed that we could go back and figure something out so that the choice I made wouldn't have to be the same. He had found hope again. It is an extremely dangerous thing in a place like this. I should have known that.

All I have done is pretend. I have forgotten -- forgotten the important truth. Androids do not have emotions. I was built to investigate crime scenes. There is no reason that this one should be any different.

[throwabookatit]

It is different, b- because-- because it's him. And I won't let you pretend it's not! Not just for your sake...but for his!

He's more than just a victim, Connor, he's your-- he's your partner!

[ So familiar. God, why is this so familiar? ]

[preconstruction]

My partner is dead. That is a corpse.

[throwabookatit]

[ She shakes her head, insistent. ]

He's Hank Anderson. He's dead, but that doesn't change who he was, a-and I won't let you hide from that!

[preconstruction]

What good will it do me? It won't bring him back.

[throwabookatit]

It's better than forgetting how important he was to you. Acting like this isn't hurting you. You- h-he mattered! Don't insult him, by acting as if he didn't!

[preconstruction]

I have not forgotten anything. It mattered in the past. It does not matter now. More than Detroit itself, Hank was my home. Now that he is gone, there is truly nothing left for me after we are done here.

implied suicide cw

[throwabookatit]

So you're just...just giving up? [ Her heart lurches. To lose him too. ] You can't... You can't do that, I- I'll help you, please...

yeah lets just let that warning sit here for the rest of this thread

[preconstruction]

I will find his killer first.

[throwabookatit]

I-I won't let you. When that's done. As long as I'm alive, I won't let you.

[preconstruction]

You cannot stop me.

[ he literally came with a kill switch preinstalled ]

[throwabookatit]

I can damn well try.

[ If she doesn't leave him alone, he can't get himself killed. Right? ]

[preconstruction]

[ he's quiet for a long moment. ]

You are a good person, Rebecca.

[throwabookatit]

What, I'm a good person for not wanting to see another friend dead? [ she doesn't know if she could handle it, with how much else she's lost ]

Fine, then. I'll keep being one. I'll...I'll keep you alive on that alone.

[preconstruction]

[ somewhere in there, he can hear it. that concern. the fear, of losing someone else. and that, more than anything pulls him back to want to really talk to her. because deleting himself, losing hank -- those weren't supposed to affect anyone. but if she really saw him as a friend, could he hurt her in the process? ]

No, I -- I'm not alive. I've been trying to tell you since the beginning, I'm just an android.

[throwabookatit]

[ And she just gives him a sad, sad look. ]

Connor... Do you really think I could still believe that? After all this?

[preconstruction]

You have to. So that you won't get hurt.

[throwabookatit]

It's far too late for that.

[preconstruction]

I can't keep playing these games. I don't want to be used like this anymore.

[throwabookatit]

I know.

[ She starts trying to lead him...away from Hank's body. ]

None of us do, but- but it doesn't make what you felt...what you feel bad.

[preconstruction]

[ connor lets her lead him away. it's just a body. he tells it to himself over and over. it's not hank anymore. it's just a body. ]

If I allow myself to feel, I will be overrun with errors.

[throwabookatit]

Then...you'd be like everyone else. Everyone's...overrun with errors, Connor. You- ...I can't...explain this right, but- you may be an android, but I don't think...you have to be incredibly different from us. You don't have to fight it.

[preconstruction]

I can't solve the case like that. For Hank I -- I have to.

[throwabookatit]

You're not doing it alone. You've got...the rest of us. You've got me.