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fourseasonsfigs · 1 year

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Han Ye with Sword

There's a tale to tell with this fig!

But first things first! What we have here is Gong Jun as our noble Prince Han Ye from The Legend of Anle, due out soon! I can't wait to see this show! We've had so many wonderful figs that have already been inspired by it, I can't imagine what it will be like when the show actually airs.

This beautiful fig was inspired by this beautiful behind the scenes picture during filming:

This costume is just gorgeous - I love the translucent painting effect at the bottom.

Let's have a few more pics of Gong Jun from these behind the scenes pictures so you can, ah, see the costume from all different angles. Right!

I'm not too busy staring at Gong Jun's Immaculate Face (although that's a worthy full time occupation for sure) to also continue to obsess with Han Ye's collection of rings. I want to buy them all when the fan merch comes out after Anle drops. I can't wait!

This fig arrived tucked away in his protective polystyrene box, his sword carefully held in his elegant little hand. Yep, as you can tell from the box, this prince is made out of resin.

Like all resin figs, princes or otherwise, I take a deep breath (and hold it!) when I unpack them, for fear they've sustained some terrible damage crossing the ocean to me. So far I've been pretty lucky, but I've seen some pics (I say with a thousand-yard stare into the distance, and mutter darkly, I've seen some pics).

Thankfully, this handsome prince arrived on my doorstep perfect and precious.

LOOK at that mouth. If you've been reading along this far (thank you!) you know my all time favorite expression is exactly this one (closely followed by the happy smiling uwu). One look at this rascally smile and you know they're up to some cutely devilish mischief! There's a whole lot of personality packed into that wiggly mouth.

I was so super happy and delighted that everything was damage free that I immediately started taking pics for this blog, stopping to ooh and ahh over how delightful he is. And then I realized (when I was all done of course), that wait, Han Ye should not be holding his sword by the blade. So I just slid the sword out, easy as anything, reversed it, and tried to put it back into his hand.

Nope. You can see how the blade itself widens at the top, and how the handle is the widest thickness of blade. And that the guard (and the pommel) are significantly larger than the blade of course, and how thereis no way to slide the sword handle in from the top. So with a sinking heart, I stared at his perfect precious little hand, and tried verrrry gently pushing the handle into his hand.

Nope. I tried bracing his little hand against my finger, and pushing the handle in a little bit harder, literally the personification of these emojis: 😰😬

Nope! So I'm sitting here sweating, and coming face to face with some choices, namely how much do I care about authenticity here, does he really need to match the picture or maintain any kind of basic sword discipline? Or do I press harder hoping that it just magically pops into his hand and risk accidentally snapping off fig Gong Jun's fragile resin fingers / hand / arm?

Dearest figthusiast, I pose this question to you, a philosophical question for the ages. What would you do? Keep a safely intact but incorrect fig pose that you know is wrong every time you look at him, or risk a slow motion nightmare of a little fig hand exploding in a shower of resin dust?!?!

Ok, maybe the explosion part is a bit dramatic. But still!

After some significant fretting philosophical pondering, I came down on Team Match the Picture. Before I do anything, I grab my phone, pull up Xianyu, and run a search. Turns out that at this particular moment in time, this fig is replaceable, and even at a reasonable price. So I thought, ok, worse case is manageable, never mind the psychic damage.

But, I figure I'd better be smart about this. So I message my BFF (Best Fig Friend, naturally), who, along with her exceptionally fine taste in figs, has experience in BJD dolls and modding. As an extra bonus, her brilliant and talented wife also has experience in modding. So between the two of them they had a whole solution, two different plans of attack, a recommendation, pro tips, safety advice and encouragement - in like 5 minutes.

So I grab my finest grade sandpaper, my dust mask, and my courage, and get to to work. Mindful I need to take it slow and cautiously, I go slow and cautious.

I could have run a (metaphorical) marathon with how much I (metaphorically) sweated over this!

I finally wiggled the handle in.

Success! Not the best job ever - I did sand down a little too much in some areas and barely enough in others, but I'm happy with it. Whew!

Ok, all fig dramatics aside, please do take a look at the beautiful detailing on the costume - the pattern at the bottom and the gold under robe. Beautiful!

You can see the sword, and slightly less elegant hand (sorry, Junjun!) there. It looks like there's a lot of room for it, and there kind of is in many places, but I still had to wedge it in.

I really like the little pleats in the back of his robe - a bit of detail that makes the back a little more interesting.

Speaking of the back, here we go. This pose always makes me think of Wen Kexing's hand behind his back, so I particularly like it. Glad I didn't have to do anything to that hand!

Detail of the hair and guan. The tiny little bit of over-painting on the guan isn't at all very noticeable when the fig is sitting standing in front of you.

He has a nice broad base with his shoes, and the robes, as usual, do a great job supporting him. This fig stands perfectly on his own, with no need for a fig base (although I'm putting him on one to match the rest of my figs).

The polystyrene box the fig came in was just in a plain white box, so we get to enjoy the lovely art just in card form. It's so pretty!

The fig maker says this fig is Xiao Zhe's "most handsome husband". When her matching Xiao Zhe arrives at my house I will pair them up!

Material: Resin

Fig Count: 202

Scene Count: 17

Rating: Perfect and precious (and thankfully, still with a sword arm, hand, fingers, and thumb!)

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#jzeu #han ye #legend of anle #gong jun #junzhe #figthusiast #legend of anle merch

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silver-lily-louise · 5 years

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A Whole New World - a Shadowhunters fanfic

Summary: 'He leaps to his feet, standing in the kitchen doorway, unable to tear his gaze away as the smoke coalesces into a figure. And when that figure – a tall, lean, incredibly hot man decked out in silver jewellery, and colourful silks, and dramatic eyeliner around his golden eyes – turns to face him, Alec’s pretty sure his heart stops for a few seconds.' When Alec frees a genie trapped in a lamp, he earns three wishes, and a new temporary housemate.

AO3 link, or alternatively, read Chapter 1 below!

~oOo~

Chapter 1: A Diamond in the Rough

Not a bad find, Alec thinks, a pleased smile on his face as he lifts the bundle of white crêpe paper from his satchel. He’d only gone to the thrift shop to donate some old clothes, but the display marked Oddities had glinted in the late afternoon sunlight, catching his eye – and when he saw the lamp, something about it just spoke to him. He checked the price ticket, and finding that it was less than twenty dollars, he decided it was worth an impulse buy. The cashier had smiled politely, and asked, ‘You an Aladdin fan, then?’ ‘Of course. It was one of our first VCRs – my brother and I watched it until it practically wore out.’ ‘Well, if you get your three wishes, remember where your good fortune came from, hm?’ They chuckled, and Alec had left in a distracted haze of nostalgia.

Now he’s finally home, he sits down at the kitchen table, and unwraps his treasure. The lamp is small, only about the size of a single-serving teapot, and it’s a little grubby, which is probably the reason it was such a steal. But under the dirt, the design is beautiful – the brass is mostly covered in blue enamel, detailed with an ornate sweep of jasmine vines from handle to spout on both sides. Once it’s cleaned up a bit, it’ll look lovely on the mantlepiece. Curious, he tries to rub some of the grime away with his thumb; and then he nearly drops the lamp when the friction unexpectedly reverberates around the base of it. Some sort of structural damage?, he wonders, but when he turns it around, there isn’t anything visible from the outside. Perhaps if he lifts the lid – but he abruptly finds he can’t lift the lid. Closer inspection reveals the problem; there’s an almost imperceptible layer of white wax, firmly attaching the lid to the main body of the lamp.

He was going to focus on cleaning it up, but if there’s some sort of crack on the inside, he doesn’t want to risk applying pressure in the wrong place and damaging the lamp. Instead, he finds a toothpick, and gets to work scratching away the wax seal.

The last piece breaks away, and Alec lifts the lid. His vision is immediately obscured, and he’s choking on a cloud of bright purple smoke – and before he can begin to worry about what sort of toxic shit this thing could have been loaded with, he nearly jumps out of his skin, because an unfamiliar voice says, ‘Finally.’

He leaps to his feet, standing in the kitchen doorway, unable to tear his gaze away as the smoke coalesces into a figure. And when that figure – a tall, lean, incredibly hot man decked out in silver jewellery, and colourful silks, and dramatic eyeliner around his golden eyes – turns to face him, Alec’s pretty sure his heart stops for a few seconds. ‘Ah!’ the man says, his eyes glowing as he flashes Alec a brilliant smile. ‘I suppose I have you to thank for my freedom?’ Alec can’t reply – he’s not sure he knows what language is at this precise moment in time – but the man seems undeterred, extending a hand. ‘I’m Magnus.’

Alec finds his voice then – but rather than anything intelligent, like Izzy put you up to this, didn’t she?, or at least semi-intelligent, like You’re welcome. I’m Alec, what comes out is a hoarse whisper: ‘What the fuck?’

The man – Magnus – frowns, and steps closer, freezing when Alec scrambles backwards with a frantic cry of, ‘No, no no no – just – don’t – Don’t come any closer.’ Magnus raises his hands in surrender. ‘It’s alright. I’m not gonna hurt you,’ he says, in the same soothing tone Alec once used on that cat he found cowering under a dumpster. ‘I just think you ought to take a seat before you fall over.’

And maybe this man is a stranger, an intruder, but Alec is feeling a little woozy right now, and good advice is good advice. ‘Yeah.’ He swallows. ‘Yeah, that’s – that’s probably…’ He stumbles over to the couch, falling onto it more than sitting. His eyes stay fixed on Magnus as he wanders over, keeping his movements slow, taking a seat in the armchair opposite Alec. After a few seconds, Magnus tilts his head as if carefully considering the man in front of him, and waves a hand. ‘Here. Drink this, it should steady your nerves.’ A glass of amber liquid appears on the table in front of Alec, and he just stares at it; first in bewilderment, and then suspicion. Magnus seems to understand – though at this point, Alec’s not ruling out genuine psychic abilities – because he rolls his eyes with an exasperated sigh, even as his face twitches in amusement. ‘It’s not poisoned, dear. That would be an awfully inconvenient way to do you harm. Not to mention extremely rude – as I said before, I’m fairly certain I owe you my freedom.’

Alec takes the glass in a slightly trembling hand, and downs it a lot faster than he probably should. He’s not much of a drinker, usually, but these are somewhat exceptional circumstances. Magnus gives a satisfied nod, and sits forward a little. ‘Okay, good. Now, here’s the rundown: No, you’re not going crazy. No, you’ve not been dosed with a particularly effective hallucinogen. And no, this is not an elaborate practical joke pulled by your sibling, partner, or best friend.’ ‘Who are you?’ Alec asks, and feels his face flush. At some point, he hopes to start talking in more than just blunt, three- or four-word sentences. Magnus laughs. ‘I told you, I’m Magnus. However, what I suspect you’re trying to avoid asking is what I am. Very polite of you…’ He raises an eyebrow. Alec starts, realising he’s being prompted. ‘Uh – Alec.’ ‘Alec.’ Magnus smiles. ‘And in answer to your question, I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I am, being as everyone and their cat appears to have seen that hack-job of a film Disney put together in the nineties.’ He shudders in exaggerated distaste. ‘So, you’re… you’re actually…’ ‘A genie,’ Magnus confirms.

Alec digests that for a moment. ‘So, what, someone put that wax seal on to trap you?’ He’s not sure why his brain has leapt to that question, exactly – but hey, at least he managed a proper sentence this time. Magnus grimaces. ‘No. Unfortunately, that was me.’ He snaps his fingers, and the lamp appears in his hands. ‘It gets awfully inconvenient having a fully detachable lid, and I was tired of misplacing it. Everything was going swimmingly, until I decided to visit the seafront.’ He waves his hand again, and there’s a dull flash of blue light. Alec blinks, and suddenly the lamp is free of all the grime that covered it earlier, and Magnus is holding up a small, round stone. ‘This is the culprit. It fell into the spout, effectively sealing me inside. Don’t get me wrong, I like it in there – I’ve had centuries to get it set up perfectly – but it’s nice to get out of the house every once in a while, wouldn’t you agree?’ Alec watches as Magnus squashes the stone in between his thumb and forefinger, flicking away the resulting dust. ‘How long were you stuck in there?’ he asks. ‘That depends. What year is it?’ ‘Twenty-nineteen.’ ‘Oh, good!’ Magnus beams. ‘I’ve barely missed a couple of years, then. Excellent news. I knew it didn’t feel like I’d hit the decade mark, but you never can be sure.’ Alec isn’t sure what to say to that, and so he just nods, turning his empty glass in his hands as Magnus levels a curious stare at him. ‘I must say, Alexander, you’re taking this remarkably well.’

Alec laughs, sharp and surprised. ‘Yeah, well, I’m only forty percent convinced that I’m awake right now.’ ‘Good point.’ Magnus sits back in his chair. ‘So, as for that favour I owe you – assuming you’re awake, and this is real, which you are and it is, by the way – will the usual do? Three wishes, excepting any feats of necromancy or wish-inflation?’ ‘I – uh – yeah, I mean, that works for me.’ He frowns, suddenly worried. ‘Do I have to make them all now?’ ‘I mean, you can, but you’ve had something of an intense evening already,’ Magnus says, a teasing lilt to his words. ‘I can wait a while.’ ‘I don’t want to hold you up, if you’ve got places to be-‘ Magnus raises an eyebrow. ‘I’ve lived for nearly eight centuries, Alec. I can afford to stick around for a week or two to return a favour. Of course, that’s providing you don’t mind me staying put for a while.’ ‘I… I don’t mind, but I don’t have a spare room,’ he says. Magnus smirks, fixing Alec with a look that makes it hard to breathe again for a moment. ‘We could always share,’ he says suggestively. Alec opens his mouth to protest, or something, but no sound comes out. Magnus laughs, apparently taking pity on him. ‘I’m joking, Alexander. Even I’m not that forward. But don’t worry about the room, I’m quite happy in the lamp.’ He looks around the room, assessing, then snaps his fingers in a gesture that declares: aha! ‘This should do nicely,’ he says, placing the lamp in pride of place on the mantelpiece, in between Izzy’s graduation photo and the golden mantel clock left to Alec by his grandmother. He turns back, gesturing to his lamp as if displaying a piece of art. ‘What do you think?’ Alec smiles. ‘Actually, that’s perfect. Exactly where I planned to put it when I bought it.’ Magnus claps his hands, looking delighted. ‘Excellent. Well,’ he says, giving a little mock-bow, ‘goodnight, Alexander. I’ll leave you to your thoughts.’ ‘You sure?’ Alec asks, and he feels himself go red yet again at Magnus’ quizzical look. ‘I just mean – you’ve been stuck in there for a while. You sure you’re okay heading back in so soon?’

Magnus looks stunned for a moment, before his expression softens into a smile. It’s warmer, more genuine, than any smile he’s put on so far, and Alec’s heart skips a beat at how beautiful it makes him look. ‘You’re very considerate, Alexander,’ he says softly. ‘But yes, I’m sure. Like I say, I like my lamp – it’s home, after all. It was only the frustration of being stuck in there I didn’t like. Now that I’m free to come and go, I’ll be absolutely fine.’ Alec nods, and Magnus waves his hands, conjuring a gentle light as he begins to melt into smoke once more. ‘It’s late – you should get some rest, too,’ he says, and then there’s only that purple smoke, which is rapidly drawn back through the spout into the lamp.

And Alec is alone in his apartment again.

He drags a hand down his face, yawning widely. It seems that Magnus is full of good advice, because sleep sounds like an excellent plan. He wonders if he ought to worry about leaving a stranger unattended in his home; but Magnus is a genie, an all-powerful magical entity, and short of sealing the lamp again – an idea that feels simply repugnant to him, given how grateful Magnus was to be free – it’s not like Alec would be able to stop him if he was inclined to create mischief or mayhem. Somehow, though, he doubts that Magnus will. It might be stupid to trust a magic man you just met after he appeared out of thin air in your kitchen, but Alec’s not sure he cares. Izzy’s always been the smart one, anyway.

He makes his way to bed, and that night, he dreams of flying over city lights on a magic carpet, next to a figure he can’t quite make out – except for their warm, beautiful smile.

~oOo~

#shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanfic #malec #malec fanfic #malec au #genie!magnus #mine #alcohol cw #drug mention #please let me know what you thought!

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junjosekaimangalover · 5 years

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Chapter 3: The Arrival Of Trouble And The Vision

You’re Life with the School of The Gods ( I do not own the characters of Kamigami No Asobi )

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kamigami No Asobi Fan-Fiction

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zeus's and Thoth's POV: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ " What is it? I requested my loyal servant, which is you, to go and get THAT girl and yet you return to me empty-handed!? " Zeus was furious. " I'm so sorry your majesty.... " The servant bowed his head shame. " I don't want to hear apologies and excuses! What I want is that girl here and now! " Zeus smashed his fist into the wall. " Well again I'm sorry your majesty but I'm not the one who has to take her life today! " After hearing those words Zeus shot his head up with his eyes widening, everything suddenly became so silent and the servant realized what he had just said. " Your majesty.....her life span is showing me that she is supposed to die today. " Thoth widened his eyes well as he heard those words. " I see.....Listen to my orders here. " " Yes? " " You are to get that girl here where I am standing here and now, do you understand? " Zeus looked at his servant with dagger-eyes that are glaring his way. " Yes your majesty. But one more thing before I leave? " " What is it? " " How are you going to get her here if she is due to die today? " Zeus smirked as thoughts and ideas popped into that smart head of his. " I have my ways, do you really need to ask? " " You're right, how foolish of me. I'm off now. " And with that, the servant disappeared by snapping his fingers together and vanishing along with the wind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone's POV: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " What was all that about? I wonder. " Hades stood there wondering while putting a finger on chin. " Hm, yeah? What's father up to? I've never him so serious about a case like this. " Apollon said. " I know! " Everyone turned towards Dionysus as he came up with an idea. " What is it Dionysus-san? " Yui asked. " Well, I was thinking that my brother can use his special psychic powers to know what's gonna happen here between Zeus and the academy. " Dionysus winked at Apollon. " Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that? I'll get right on it now! " Apollon smiled brightly. And Apollon did just that, a bright yellow light formed and balanced on the edge of his fingertips and while the light was forming Apollon started to see a vision before him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vision: ( The present Apollon is here with the future Apollon + you ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " Apollon-san! Balder-san! Come over here! I've got a surprise for you two! " (Y/N___) smiled brightly while she was holding a basket full of beautiful-brightly-colored flowers. " Coming (Y/N___-chan)! " " Coming Little Rose! " ( Note, that's what Apollon calls you now. It's like with Yui, calling her fairy and stuff. I figured that out because your character loves roses and she wears a rose pendant all the time. ) Balder and Apollon ran towards (Y/N___) but unfortunately on their way towards her Balder tripped over the flowers and then so did Apollon. " Ow....that hurt. Oh! Apollon-san I'm so sorry! " Balder quickly apologized and then quickly helped him up off the ground. " Ow....it's fine Balder, stuff happens. " Apollon quickly flashed a smile on his face towards Balder. " Gee, thanks. " " You're welcome! " " Apollon-san! Balder-san! Are you two alright?! " (Y/N___) came running towards them. " We're fine (Y/N___)-chan. Sorry I'm such a clumsy oaf. " Balder frowned. (Y/N___) stood there for a moment bending down on her knees for a bit and then she laughed. They both blinked in confusion on what was so funny about what just happened. " It's okay Balder, you being clumsy is another one of the reasons of why I love you. " Balder widened his eyes and (Y/N___) knew that she just made Balder's heart pound with her kindness. " Y/N___-chan....." " So Little Rose, what's our surprise? " Apollon stood up helping Balder up and getting him out of his daze. " Oh Right! Here you go Apollon! You too Balder-san! " (Y/N___) handed Apollon a bunch of Sunflowers and Tulips and then she gave Balder some white and red Roses with Lilies as well. Her basket was full of all different kinds of flowers that she admired a lot. " Thank you so much Little Rose! " Apollon smiled. " Yes! Thank you very much Y/N___-chan! " Balder too smiled. " Apollon, I give you the gift of the flower that represents the sun and life: The Sunflower and The Tulip. It matches you very well, full of life and it shines people's worlds while putting a gorgeous smile on their faces. " " Little Rose...." Apollon blushed and was stunned from (Y/N___)'s present and explanation to it. Y/N___ smiled again and her smile surely wouldn't fade anytime soon. " And for you Balder, White Lilies and White Roses that represent you and your grace, beauty and your purity. " " What about the red Roses? " Balder asked. " Right! The Red Roses represent the love and friendship that you have with Loki and Thor. The red petals of the red Roses are your love for Loki and his fiery nature of being a god and your best friend, the green stems of the flowers represent Thor and his strength, love and support for you and Loki. If the stem is somehow damaged or never grew then the flower cannot be a flower without it's strength of it's stem. It's like you, Loki and Thor. The friendship cannot be in balance without Thor, Loki or even you. Each and every one of you plays a very important part in your childhood friendship, so never give that up. Okay Balder? " (Y/N___) asked. Balder nodded. " Yes, of course! " Loki and Thor were watching and they couldn't believe what they were hearing, unknowingly they had a smile on their faces. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Past Apollon's POV: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " Who is she? " Apollon said in amazement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End Of Vision: Everyone's POV: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apollon had a weird face applied on and everyone looked confused and started to worry. " Um, Apollon-san? " Yui snapped her fingers and then Apollon finally snapped out of it. " H-huh!? What happened? How long was I out of it? " Apollon shaked his head. " Well for starters, you looked like you were daydreaming. About a girl perhaps? " Takeru said. " Huh? Why would you say that? " Apollon asked. " Because you said "Who is she ?" and you looked like you were in a dream. " Takeru replied mockingly. " O-Oh, I did huh? " " Yes you did, are you alright? What did you see? " Yui asked. " I'm fine Fairy-san and I saw a girl. " Apollon replied back to Yui, reassuring her that everything was okay. " A girl? " Balder asked. " Yeah and Balder? Loki? Thor? You guys were there too... " The three boys suddenly were now very interested in Apollon had to say about what happened in his vision. " Oh-ho~? What did we do? Did we like her? " Loki asked winking. " Actually, You and Thor were watching from afar from behind a tree and you two smiled towards her. It looked like she touched your hearts. She was talking about how you two and Balder were just like flowers and how if any one of you three got hurt or even separated then the flower couldn't grow, work or even bloom into something beautiful. " Everyone's eyes widened, especially Loki's. " Oh my...." Balder said. " What's her name? She sounds like my kinds of woman. " Dionysus winked. " Oh, it was Y/N___-chan, whom I call Little Rose. " Apollon replied. " Hm, Seems fitting for a beautiful goddess like her. " Balder said. " A-Actually, I think she's human? " Apollon said. " What!? " Everyone yelled. " H-How can you tell Apollon-san?! " Yui asked excitedly. " Because she gave off the same aura of humanity that you have Little Fairy. " Apollon patted Yui's head. " So amazing! " Yui smiled widely. Then everything went silent and the same thought was on everyone's mind. " Who was she and why was she going to be here? " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wooh! Can't wait till see you all until tomorrow!

P.S - PLEASE DON’T MY WORK HERE, IT’S NOT COOL

#kamigami no asobi #kamigami no asobi x reader #reader insert #fanfic #fanfiction #romance #adventure #oneshots #imagines

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aquilegiaformosa · 7 years

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for @kitchengremlinbakura

...this blood on my teeth, it is far beyond dry and I’ve captured you once, but it wasn’t quite right still, I’m telling you that you’ll be safe with me

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

No matter how much he wanted to, Breakdown couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the huddled ball of barely-contained fury that sat curled on the other side of the electrified bars. An intense sensation of wrongness prodded him in the spark every time the blue femme moved, and so he continued to watch, letting the feeling tear at him like sharp digits probing a festering wound. She wasn’t supposed to be here, and yet it was his fault that she was.

Behind him hovered the dark, gloating form of Megatron. The warlord had already made it clear how pleased he was with Starscream and Breakdown’s ‘joint’ capture of the Autobots’ second-in-command; no doubt there would be peace in the medbay for weeks, possibly months. Breakdown watched the femme’s winglets fan gently with her every careful, seething breath, and couldn’t find it in himself to celebrate.

“No doubt she will have vital information on the Autobots’ next move regarding the Iacon relics,” Megatron purred, his EM Field roiling with morbid humour. “Starscream has informed me that use of the Cortical Psychic Patch has proven effective on her in the past; however, Soundwave feels that a second Patch could possibly prove damaging, and we cannot risk whatever information she may carry.” Scarred lips pursed thoughtfully, and he turned, one brow ridge raised slightly, to consider the mech in front of him. “We’ll give her a chance to settle in – we are not without manners, after all – and then perhaps you can try your hand at persuading our guest to talk.” Breakdown swallowed against his dismay; Megatron gave a dry chuckle. “Undoubtedly your experience as both a Wrecker and a medic will be put to good use. I leave you to it.” And with that, the pewter mech left. Heavy pedesteps faded out into the hallways of the Nemesis, and Breakdown felt something cold and slimy settle in the pit of his tanks.

Funny how he had forgotten what guilt felt like.

Slowly, carefully, he walked over to the glowing bars of the cell and crouched, his processor racing and leaving his frame behind to mind itself. This was a mess, a terrible mess, a wrong mess… “I’m sorry.”

“If you were sorry you wouldn’t have let this happen,” came the immediate reply, still sharp and biting even from within the curl of limbs. “So don’t give me that scrap.”

His mouth opened briefly, even though he knew there was nothing in the world he could say to make this any better. She was right; he had finally screwed up enough to get someone killed, even if it was going to be eventual and not immediate. “I don’t…” He sighed, roughly scrubbing the back of his knuckles over the patch where is right optic used to be. “Tell me. Tell me what I should do.”

“Go back in time and let me get away before Starscream showed at the relic site,” she snapped bitterly, her helm still buried in the hollow where her crossed arms draped over her bent knees. “Do something besides freezing and looking mildly horrified. I know that turning on another Decepticon is risky, I appreciate the danger, but did you think I wouldn’t help?” Her winglets wilted ever-so-slightly. “It doesn’t matter; it’s too late for any of that, anyhow.”

‘Too late’: he simply hadn’t been able to make himself speak, to move his pedes fast enough or to bring his servos up to pull Starscream’s vice-like talons from around her shoulders (how lucky she was that the Seeker hadn’t seen fit to dig the sharp tips of his digits into her plating to make her stop struggling!). But it was also too late to accept all those offers to come back to the Autobots, all those forgiving servos that had been held out to him, invitations that he had been too complacent to accept. Not two weeks ago, hers had been the most recent offer; a plea for him to come back with her, and not for the first time. It was just the two of them that day, with no one to stop him; he couldn’t even remember whatever weak excuse he had given her for why it wasn’t going to work out. Maybe next time…?

He’d been the only one in danger then, the kind he’d known for most of his life, and so it somehow hadn’t seemed to matter all that much.

It was silent for a long while, the sound of their vents slightly ragged against the even hum of the cell bars. Finally, there came the soft shuffle of plating, and Breakdown looked over only to be met by a fierce, foxglove glare – bright and venomous.

“I’m not going to tell them anything, no matter what they have you do. You know that,” she said, her voice dangerously soft.

“I don’t doubt it,” he replied miserably.

“Then why don’t you just save us both the trouble,” she continued, “and skip to the end. I’ve been interrogated before; it doesn’t work on me very well, but I don’t particularly enjoy it either, and I’m guessing you could give it a pass yourself. So how about putting us both out of our misery and just—”

“Stop.” He couldn’t even look at her any more, too ashamed and too horrified to bear it any longer. Something inside of him twisted painfully at the irony of his begging her for mercy when he was hardly in a position to need it. “That’s not – Arcee please, I don’t think you –”

“What, you think I don’t want that?” She sighed suddenly, heavily, and her entire frame seemed to unspool, leaving her slumped against the cell wall with her legs in a loose crisscross and her arms resting limply at her sides. Lavender-tinged optics sought the ceiling. “Nobody wants to die, Breakdown, of course not. Not when they think about it. Most of the time, what they’re looking for is a reset-button.” She let her optics close as she settled further against the wall, winglets flattening against the slumbering ship’s lukewarm metal. “But right now I don’t really have a choice about dying, not when Death is keeping me company. And if that’s what I’m faced with, then… I’m sorry, but I’d rather not spend a lot of time suffering for other people’s poor decisions.” Her helm lolled slightly to one side, tension slowly easing out of her shoulders to be replaced with resignation. “I need… I just wanted you to give me an escape route…”

Breakdown shuddered, his gaze fixed helplessly on his trembling servos, and tried to focus… but his processor kept sliding away, playing unshot footage of the next few minutes, the next hour, the days and weeks ahead… how he knew she wasn’t going to tell them anything, just like he knew she wasn’t going to cry, or plead, or do anything but fix him with those bright, accusing optics that hadn’t left him the entire trip back to the Nemesis. If only he hadn’t been so slow to react… he buried his helm in his servos and tried not to think how he was left with a choice between the immediate and the inevitable, and how either one would haunt him regardless of his decision. There had to be a third door somewhere…

“Wait.” His quiet murmur bounced softly off the walls of the prison room like the slant of sunlight through a keyhole. “Wait, I know what we should do,” he whispered earnestly, moving from his crouch to sit down right next to the cell bars. “It’s going to work, too, because I can actually help – I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.”

“What,” she replied dully, unmoved by the sudden brightening of his tone.

“You want an escape? I’ll give you one – a literal escape. I’m going to break you out.”

“Pits of Kaon,” she said slowly, a grin beginning to form on her lips. “We’re both idiots. I’ll take your offer – help me off this smelted, Primus-forsaken barge.”

“Glad to be back in your good graces,” he laughed softly, relief trickling through his systems as he banished the dark visions of the once-definite future from his processor. “But keep it down. Soundwave uses the ship’s dormant neural network as part of his surveillance system. The walls literally have audials.”

Arcee snorted – a soft, amused sound – but shrugged her shoulders away from the cell wall anyhow. “I’ve never had inside help before,” she muttered, scooting over to sit directly beside him. “It’s going to take some getting used to.” The glowing bars between them lit her face with their sickly pink light as she tilted her helm back to speak nearly in his audial. “Really, I should have considered— well,” she amended, “maybe not. I know the frequencies to comm the Autobots for a rescue, but my personal line’s been jammed, and it’s not like I actually know where we are.”

“I can help you with that.” Maybe he’d used up all his chances, but at least there was one still left for her, and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Not this time. “I can get you to a comm station, and then hold off any response team long enough for you to contact the Autobots and send them the Nemesis’s coordinates.”

“Excellent.” A look of intense determination had replaced the burning apathy of minutes before as she rose up on her knees, servos subconsciously moving to clasp the bars of the cell before quickly dancing away as memory caught up to movement. “And you have easy access to those?”

“Yeah.” He nodded once, then again, vigorously. “Yeah, of course. I gotta be able to help bridge in miners. But listen,” he whispered, “we’re gonna have to wait until the night shift.”

The look on her faceplate was one of hesitant agreement. “I just want to know why.”

“There’s less guards, less foot traffic, and Starscream will definitely be in recharge. Probably Dreadwing, too. We’ve been on this planet for almost four years now; it’s hard not to let your recharge cycles match up with the rhythms of the planet.” He gave her a small, crooked smile. “Especially for Seekers, it seems.”

“Fair enough.” She sank back to sit on her heels. “It’s the same for us, so.”

“The chances of escape will be much better, and it’ll be easier to fend off the smaller teams.” Never mind the fact that, once she was safely off the ship and back with the Autobots, he would have to face the collective fury of the Decepticon Command Triad alone; right now he had a plan to fix this, and the opportunity to act on it. “We probably won’t be detected until you comm out anyway. You should be off the ship without too much trouble.”

“Sounds g—” She paused, her optics narrowing. “’We’. You mean ‘we’ should be off the ship.”

He frowned uncertainly. “I do?”

“Yes! What –” Her expression abruptly flattened out into a dreadful calm. “Breakdown. You actually thought—?” There was a moment as she studied his face. “You did. Primus in the Well…” One small pede slid gingerly between the cell bars and kicked him sharply in the thigh. “You’re coming with me, you idiot!”

“I—”

“No! You really thought I was just going to waltz off the ship without you? I—” She broke off, yelping, as her shin brushed against the bars with a crackle of static. Carefully the singed limb was slipped back into the cell to the tune of muttered curses, and she folded her legs beneath her with a sour expression. “I don’t leave people I care about behind; not if I can help it. And I told you, I’m well aware of what it can cost a Decepticon to turn on his faction, and there is no way in Pits I’m going to leave you to face that. It’ll be hard enough just getting a Groundbridge up here; why wouldn’t the Autobots take you after going to all that trouble to begin with?”

“That’s not quite what…” Breakdown attempted to gather his thoughts, still a bit startled by her outburst. “I figured you’d need a rearguard,” he concluded lamely.

“Rearguards can shoot while retreating,” she sighed exasperatedly. “And everyone will be there to help us.”

“Well, yes. I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking about it like that. But,” he added, holding out his servos placatingly, “it wasn’t anything about whether or not you cared; I just assumed we both thought that would be an acceptable risk.”

“It’s not,” she replied flatly. She looked up at him, expression torn between sympathy and frustration. “You really think you’re worth that little?”

He paused, considering, and after a moment said, “It’s more that… that I think you’re worth that much.”

Whatever words she’d had for him died on her lips, her winglets lowering to lie almost flush against her back as she struggled to look anywhere but at him. “Hardly,” she managed at last. “And I’ve come to realise that first-hand.”

Neither said anything for a while, and this time the silence grew long past the point at which it turned agonizing. Breakdown was the first to speak again.

“Since we have plenty of time while we wait…” Hoisting himself to his pedes, he carefully punched in the four-glyph access code, and the cell door opened. “You might as well let me look at that burn.”

“It’s fine.” Still, she scooted over to make room for him in the small cell. “I thought you said Soundwave was listening – this hasn’t exactly been sounding like an interrogation.”

“It won’t matter as long as we’re quiet.” He settled down across from her. “It’d be a few days before anyone started paying attention; no-one’s really interested in what would be going on at this point. Threats and intimidation,” he clarified when her helm tilted curiously to one side. “An offer to switch sides, maybe.”

“So that’s what ‘settling in’ is.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then we’re right on track,” she muttered, stretching out her left leg for him to see. “I have a medkit, if you need it.”

Breakdown unsubspaced his own kit and bounced it lightly in his servo. “I’ve seen your lousy Autobot field kits. Mine has burn gel.”

“So do ours.”

“This kind is better.” Taking out the little ironglass container, he cupped her calf carefully in one palm, digits gently exploring the blackened edges of the burn on her shin guard. “Not too deep. It only looks bad – probably feels bad, too.” She nodded, idly biting her lip but seeming otherwise unconcerned as she watched him work.

“Won’t be trying to kick me again anytime soon, I bet,” he remarked, scooping a generous dollop of clear, greenish goo out of the jar.

“I’ll kick you clean onto your aft, if you keep giving me this much trouble.”

“Can’t say I wouldn’t deserve it.” He carefully spread an even layer of the gel over the affected area with slow, smooth strokes. A moment of rummaging in his kit produced flexible repair mesh, which he began to wrap firmly over the treated burn. “Arcee…” He glanced up to find her optics on him, open and inquiring; he quickly looked back down at what he was doing. “I am sorry, you know.” He separated the roll of bandaging from the wrap and smoothed the self-sealing material together. “For all of it, not just what happened today.”

Her leg slid from his grasp, only to be replaced by one delicate servo. “Oh, Breakdown…” she sighed, brushing her free servo along the side of his helm. He caught it gently, digits still tacky with burn gel. “Of course I know,” she said softly, leaning in to let their forehelms gently rest against each other. “I know, and it’s all right.”

#Mana #BreakCee #Arcee #Breakdown #maccadam #EagleFic #general warning for wartime imprisonment and darkish themes #hurt/comfort #Transformers

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