#that they could withstand the sheer force of his expressions in this scene

[idleorbitals]

sandray making out in ray's car. we knew this scene was coming on multiple levels but still. ouch on multiple levels

says the man that is about to give the puppy dog eyes of all time. of All Time

sandray are so tough to watch right now because the reason they're wholesome is that they're properly guarded against each other. ray, though he's clearly catching feelings for sand, is in love with someone else, which is very fortifying. sand is testing his own boundaries and being honest with himself about what's working and what isn't. he pulls physically away from ray multiple times here. this scene also has him admitting that he's never had sex more than once with someone he wasn't seeing seriously. when ray asks "so do I have to be your boyfriend to get more?" and sand says "i'll never take someone like you as my boyfriend" and then ray says "can't you just make an exception for me?" neither of them are saying what their words are (of trailer playing us again!!)

ray is not really offering, not in any meaningful way; sand is not declining as much as he is protecting himself. multiple times in this episode sand has indicated that he might be open to something serious with ray and ray has playfully offered something serious in a meaningfully disingenuous way, specifically to ward off the real conversation, and sand has performed brushing him off, to make it clear that he understands what's actually being offered and not offered. it's so twisted because all their surprisingly healthy communication is happening at a level where their words mean almost perfectly the opposite of what their words Actually Mean. it's only healthy because they both understand the nuance here. dangerous fuckin game boys

then mew calls. I've already seen some discourse about this so here comes my addition: yeah it's a good move to prioritize getting your drunk friend to a safe place. ray is doing a good thing here and he's also doing nothing wrong, even if he weren't. as aforementioned in the healthy communication bit; as sand will say shortly; he's made no promises and is well within his rights to do what he pleases, whether or not that comes at the expense of sand's feelings.

yes, and: I think this shot summarizes really well the emotional heart of this. sand is not offended by ray picking up the call. he's feeling some physical feelings, obviously, about the interruption. but it's only when ray physically shrugs off his arm that he does the kicked puppy face. we see it again when he sighs and swallows his feelings until he hears ray say "sure, where are you? i'm coming" without any acknowledgement, implicit or otherwise, of what ray will be leaving to do so.

there's a perfectly valid scenario here where ray is interrupted in the middle of fun sexy times by the deeper bonds of friendship and goes honorably to attend to those priorities. but that's not what this is, or not the whole of it. he's not just picking mew's safety over sand in this moment; he's actively pushing sand away in favor of attending to mew, before he even knows what the call's about.

sand is duly hurt and we get to hurt along with him, /especially/ because he's going to take ownership of his own pain in a moment and reiterate his own responsibility. "I don't have the right to be upset with you," he says. and on some level, this is true. but it sure is easy to get why he's hurting

(all ofts watch throughs)

#ofts #only friends the series #sandray #raysand #firstkhaotung #ofts meta #recap inCOMING #i just #got a little lost in this #if there was anyone left who wasn't a sand simp i do not have the capacity to believe #that they could withstand the sheer force of his expressions in this scene #first has the most emotive fucking face from jump and this scene was unreal #unreal #ofts watch through

[jean-does-not-have-a-horseface]

Hello, Hello, would you mind to write a scenario for Levi Ackerman with a female s/o were they have a argument and Levi accidently hurts her physical in some way?

Thank you very much and please be careful 💚

Okay, hello, I have been working on this for a HOT minute and this is the only way I thought this could go (because Levs would never ever ever ever hurt his s/o, poor man has seen his mother being violated so much too pls-) tell me if you like it, I'd be glad to know if you're satisfied with how it went.

Pairing: Levi/ Reader

Tags: Action, Somewhat!Fluff,

Warnings: Mentions of blood, gunshots, wounds you know, typical snk stuff

Bullet

Crimson liquid run in gushes from the wound in your shoulder splattering your whole body and your surroundings. The pain was immense and torturous and reeked of the adrenaline that your body was trying to produce, all on vain to soothe the uneasiness, as with every passing second the hot rushes of blood that flew to the spot put your mind in a burgundy haze. Your left hand was trembling, your body was still in shock by the hit and your necessary intakes of oxygen had long surpassed the normal rate by now but you weren't in a position to slow down.

The odds had been against you ever since you decided to follow Levi and not lead the infamous cadets of the 104th squadron.

It was the silent clicking of a gun that had caught your attention as you discussed how much of an ambush this whole situation seemed with Nifa and Levi. You almost perked at the spot, a fragment of a second faster than Levi, buying yourself enough time to jump into the most unthinkable situation; getting Levi out of this commotion safe and unwounded, you'd take the incoming shot for the stoic captain to stay alive.

The bullet had blown just through your shoulder with enough force to send you flying to the ground, meters away from the hotspot of action. As you heard Levi's voice screaming an earth shattering call of Kenny Ackerman's name you pushed through the pain that has shaken your body to the core and shot your drills to the nearest building. Your heart was beating fast, eyes rapidly checking in all directions to examine your surroundings while the pulsating of your shoulder begged with you to take action on it's recovery.

Only ever when you made sure your surroundings were clear of armed soldiers did your feet drag you outside the dark alleyway. Pushing through the intense pain you managed to shoot the drills of your gear onto a empty rooftop, trying your best to evenly distribute your weight on the equipment. One mistake and you could easily be wiped out.

Therefore you settled for sneaking carefully in between dark alleys as gunshot sounds ravaged your eardrums; It was definitely Levi who was taking all that fire on his own, sending your heart to an uncatchable pace as the blood that pulsated in every inch of your body would manage to find an exit through the wound on your shoulder.

As the blasts kept getting unbearably closer by each passing second you glued yourself to the stone wall and ducked down, to protect any part of you in order to see for yourself if Levi was indeed the target of this manhunt.

Your speculations were correct.

Upon him passing by -incredibly fast- your eyes met his for a brief moment, forcing a shocked hitch to leave his lips as his eyes widened. His expression, dark, anxious, as if he had just seen a ghost and refused to believe it.

The state of your well being was still unbeknownst to you; you hadn't even taken a chance to see how drenched in blood your clothes were.

With another fast shoot of your quills and a press to your gas' handle you landed on another rooftop, far behind from the horde of men that had all their attention on Levi.

Everything went quiet for a moment. Sheer tranquility masked the air. The fire of action seemed to have been out off momentarily, yet you don't have an eye sight of the situation. You couldn't seem to slow down your breathing not even for one second, your alert eyes repeatedly scanned the areas around you to detect any suspicious move.

Despite the unfair odds and your position you had managed to successfully locate the cart with Eren and Historia, only to come face to face with the commotion that had occured. Hange's men were taken one by one, this time in your comrade's place sat a wide eyed brunette who screamed at the horses to go faster.

The sound of shooting thundered in waves around the town, startling you, urging you to jump into action. The wagon couldn't by any means, slip away from you or your team.

You tapped against your right gas canulle, begging for the sound to signal that it was halfway full at least. The left one was busted from your previous impact against the cold stone buildings, still you were sure you could push through with as much as you had, even if it seemed deadly enough to get you killed.

The cadets were startled as the saw you as they proceeded to bombard you with questions about your condition to which you could barely reply with full sentences. Slowly your body was giving in to your injury, to a point where you couldn't ignore it. Still, you bothered with how much more you could take.

"The hell is that!" Jean inquired, eyes pacing between the gory scene unraveling before him, and you, still troubling himself with taking in what he was witnessing.

Levi flew hurriedly flew by, pumping his gas one before launching his drill to an armed man's abdomen. His face hardened as the men was dragged to him, hands already gripping his blades steadily.

He went straight for the kill. Blood cluttered everywhere around him, staining any nearby surface.

Everyone's faces went numb as frozen droplets of sweat run down their foreheads. Naturally, in your shocked state you failed to provide any comfort to them, even if their despairate eyes were begging you to.

"Follow the wagon!" Levi commanded, his breath hitching in his throat as he sat still, despairate to take a momentarily rest.

"Right!" Mikasa complied sternly.

"Listen up, these soldiers were trained to fight other people, they've already take up three of ours," restlessly, Levi flew to lead the team, launching himself alongside of you, but still not sparing you a glance. "If you hesitate for so much as a second you'll be dead. The moment you see an opening go for the kill!"

"Yes sir!" Once again the ravenette in a stone cold tone confirmed her Captain's orders were well understood, forcing a gulp to flow down everyone's throat.

"And you, (y/n)!" This time his eyes were intensely burning dark holes in yours. "You stay back and lay low, this is an order!" You watched as he gulped, taking a moment to breathe through his nose in an attempt to calm himself down. "And don't ever think about taking a bullet for me, ever again."

Despite the gallons of blood lost and the tremendous pain you managed to find the spitfire in you to reply, eyes wide with rage at his last comment.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm fine with laying low, but-"

"No time for you to form your own rebellion over my words, lay low or you're getting killed. You've made yourself the easiest target!" His words dripped of poison, unnerving anger that did nothing to convey his worry, making your head blur with similar rage.

You refused to believe that the first thing he would try to converse with you on the subject would actually turn out to be a scolding session. As if you were an imbecile child. As if you hadn't tried to push through to keep offering your abilities to your cause.

"Kenny would have shot you right then and there! What did you expect me to do?" You screamed. Your lungs burned with every command to withstand the pressure. Hot blood found its way through the hole in your arm again.

"No he wouldn't. We don't have time for this, Lay low!"

Levi's tone was sharp as a knife slicing your flesh like soft butter, somewhat hurting you more that the small piece of metal in your body. "You can't handle yourself like I can at the moment." It was rare they the two of you would bicker like this, and there was so much you could handle with an oozing wound, barking at him seemed to be the way to get your point at him.

"You're unbelievable," you squealed "I just saved your life and you're downgrading me?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, you know what I mean."

"Oh, do I now?" You mocked.

"No one else dies on my watch and you can't fight, so out of our way!"

Levi launched himself into a tent, backflipping his way through another kill. You hated to admit that he was right; you couldn't even make it to a few kills with the remaining of your gas yet the adrenaline in your body was raging against every plead of you to stay behind.

"You can't keep me out of action!" You barked, eyes glimmering with stubbornness as you followed the team's lead to the wagon. Jean was the first to land with Armin, throwing the brunette soldier way from her spot. You didn't seem to pay enough attention to your surroundings, the clicking of a gun behind you fell deaf to your ears.

"I told you (y/n) we don't have tim- watch out!" Levi's eyes widened in terror at the sight of the armed man towering behind you. Shaking hands that still held his blades reached out fast, boldly enough to launch onto the collar of your shirt, bringing your form onto him, only for your nose to harshly collide with the steel handle of his blade in the process. In turn you were thrown harshly onto a nearby tent.

A moment later his blades had slashed through the man while a rage filled scream muffled your ears.

"Armin Secure the wagon with Jean! We'll keep you covered!"

At trying to catch up in the commotion on the wagon, he witnessed in agony as Jean gulped, a gun nearly pressed to his head. Mikasa called out his name, launching her blades and spinning in the air. If it wasn't for Armin to ruthlessly pull the trigger to send the brunette to her instant death, she would have been too late to save her comrade. Levi clicked his tongue in misery. This was getting worse by each passing second.

"Armin! Jean!"

You laid on the tent, left hand scrunched against your bloody nose as you tried not to move. There were still armed men everywhere, if they detected you were alive you were done for. With half lid eyes you watched the scene unfold in front of you.

Three more men had towered behind Levi and the cadets, pointing their guns on them. Levi and Sasha jumped to the scene, shoving their comrades out of the wagon. The had successfully missed the fire of the shots for short seconds. As a sigh of relief left you your right eye lost focus. Your head felt dizzy, heavy at the numbing pain that shoot from your whole body. As the effects of adrenaline slowly wore off your body started to give in, eyes battling an already lost fight to stay open.

The last thing you heard was Levi calling out your name.

__

Your eyes painfully shot open.

The top of your mouth felt dry. You couldn't swallow. A strong metallic taste adorned the tips of your tongue. In a panicked state your eyes were blinking rapidly at the darkness around you, alternating gazes between the group of people a few meters away from you and the flickering light of the fire.

In contrary to your body, your head felt feathery light as numbness toyed on your brain, taking forms of a thousand little ants stomping each cavity they could find.

"Ah, Captain she's awake!"

Your body couldn't move and your mind couldn't think, yet Connie's words rang a few bells that alerted you. After what seemed like an eon later, a flick switched in your brain, widening your eyes upon hitting you with the most profane realisation.

"It's probably the morphine shot that has you numb like this. I took care of that bullet in your arm and I fixed your nose."

Your eyes bored into Levi's steel ones, unintentional apathy splattered all your face. You couldn't help but stop your bruised lips from forming to a small pout; as your coincidence flowed withing your body with every passing of the time you were reminded of the heated exchange of words you and your lover had shared before your body gave in.

Levi's eyes softened as he watched your face fall into an angered expression. A sigh of relief escaped him as his hand extended to your direction, calloused fingers lingering on the thin locks on your forehead.

"Shit" he groaned through gritted teeth "Fuck, I'm so sorry (y/n), you know I didn't mean to break your nose right? Given the situation I knew you'd land safely on the tent, I just had to get you out of there"

His eyes were sincere, flickering with agony as his hand rested behind your ear. The look on his face was enough to make you melt, to give in to whatever he ever said, you couldn't deny that much.

"I know how devoted you are, you could have taken that bullet for anyone not just for me, that's who you are." Another sigh escaped him, this time sneaking profoundly out his trembling chest.

"Y-you don't have to s-struggle with your-r words. You were right-t. I shouldn't have pushed my self with such little gas while losing so much blood." You coughed. Essential sentences were spilling out of your mouth. You knew when to step back into your place, especially in arguments that you were on the wrong. Levi had been right from the beginning, but you had pushed forward, worked yourself to the limit.

"Tch, I would never intentionally hurt you, you know that much right? I didn't mean to cause you more pain-"

"Levi, my love," As you laid on your back you watched the fire in his eyes cool down at sound of the endearing pet name. His chest stopped taking sharp stressed breaths and his hand started rubbing soothing circles at the nape of your neck. "You don't have to apologise, please. I was on the wrong. If anything, you saved me from being fatally shot. You shoved Jean away as well."

Levi's antics were nothing strange to you. You had spent years by his side, training as a part of his team, fighting alongside him. The way he cared for his comrades was unmatched, unable to be mimicked. You knew of his tragic past, so him acting compulsively like that wasn't something you wouldn't have expected. You weren't mad that you had gotten hurt in the process of him ripping you away from deaths grip.

The only thing that had ever made you mad was that, momentarily he wasn't willing to approve of your sacrifice to him.

"I threw you like shack of shit, I don't deserve you going soft on me. I should have not downgraded you."

Your eyes shut, lips curling upwards onto a tiny smirk, one that lifted Levi's spirits just a bit. "I'll stop being so hotheaded." You managed to admit, letting a chuckle escape your lips. Rarely you could stop yourself from giggling when you'd make up with the man.

"Brat! Don't laugh when we're having a serious conversation!" His eyes hardened, voice full of affectionate authority. You were so eager to brush off the subject of him guilt tripping himself, to lift the weight off his shoulders.

The weak bubbling laughter that escaped you after was contagious and never ending. It felt as little, continuous jolts of static electricity shocking your body as each exhale, but it was unstoppable, not even for you to answer properly back to him. The effect of the tranquilizing shot was perfect on it's part as well.

"I-it's just that i- love you. That's all. You've always got a spot on poo comment about everything."

Levi's head lowered in defeat, his nose leaving out an amused whip of air in the process. As you watched him, you felt a familiar warmth numb its way through your body from your stomach and outwards. Perhaps, this time he didn't want you to assume what he would say. Perhaps he was still guilt tripping himself or perhaps your laughter was getting through him at a moment he had to be stern. Nevertheless you never missed the words that felt his lips, before he went to quickly brush then against yours.

"I won't be as hotheaded as well, I promise. I'd take a thousand bullets for you I hope you know that."

#levi #levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #captain levi #levi attack on titan #levi ackerman imagine #shingeki no kyoujin levi #snk levi #levi aot #aot imagines #aot one shot #aot x y/n #aot x you #aot x reader #snk x you #snk x reader #snk x y/n #levi x y/n #levi x reader imagine #levi x you #attack on titan imagines #attack on titan #x reader #aot #snk #shingeki no kyojin

[k-popmakesmyday]

A/n: the way this started as a blurb and then just made it’s way to 2k 🥲It’s gonna be a oneshot now but i’ll make into a fic later 

💌 • 6:04 pm

The time was around 6pm when you decided that you had given up on true love once and for all, sighing as you launched your packed bag (an action that would most conveniently slip from your memory the next time you gracefully overslept and needed to throw yourself out the door with that same bag) off to a corner of your apartment, as if throwing away your emotions all together. You dared not to glance at the empty corner of your bedroom where your blankets usually lay neatly stacked ready for top-tier cuddling whenever the occasion should arise. So you took to propelling your body face-first onto your bed, your own constant, warm safe-haven - ready to console you whenever you couldn’t face the world. 

And there you lay, with furrowed eyebrows as you fought with the urge to express your sorrow by helplessly sobbing while clutching you pillow for dear-life. ‘It’s nothing, stop being so dramatic, y/n’, you mumbled over and over as your voice creeped ever higher with each lie you forced out. 

It wasn’t nothing. 

You flat-out rejected the salty tracks that raced down your cheeks, cursing as you felt overwhelming betrayal while they revealed your secret to no one in particular, however your inner turmoil raged at the sign of you admitting the reality of the past hour or so. Curling into a small ball, you tried to offer yourself comfort in any way you could - yet truthfully you knew it was hopeless as it made to be no match for his comfort, the way he’d wrap you up in his arms and move his hands gently over your skin as he caught your tears in his warm hands, as if the simple action could allow him to take the pain away. 

But no, you weren’t going to think about him. 

Meanwhile, in a realm of comfort not far from your own, Felix sat crosslegged on the smooth, laminate floor of his shared dorm. ‘WHOO’-ing in victory as his blonde companion who was barely a day older than him pelted the undeserving controller away from his body in disgust. It’s brief descent making a rather ugly skidding noise as it collided with the entertainment unit, the boy huffed out his squirrel-like cheeks as he mumbled something about how the intense-sounding playlist the younger boy appointed as background was distracting him.

Felix only turned to look at his friend with a smug grin on his face, “I believe that makes 5-1 to Felix Lee!”, he exclaimed, “Need to step up your game, mate.”, the dusty-blonde smirked as he leant back against the base on the leather couch.

“Whatever, it’s exhausting playing with you.” Jisung scowled at his younger friend as he heaved his exasperated body off the ground and reached his arms up towards the ceiling to regain feeling in his many limbs that had taken to falling asleep during the gaming tournament. “What time is it, anyways? Feels like a day since I saw the sun”, the older boy forced out through a yawn.

The boy in question could only offer incoherent ‘I’s and ‘uh’s in return as he stumbled to his feet, hastily shrugging a jacket over his shoulders. Seungmin, who had conveniently just come out of the shower and happened to stumble across the scene, exchanged a bewildered look with Jisung before turning back to Felix. The two observed their brother with amazement as he struggled to shove his foot into his navy-blue trainer, the action resembling a fish out of water as he desperately hopped around on one foot. If Felix’s friends weren’t so concerned at the present moment they’d be recording his peculiar antics, ready to never let him forget. But rather they were left with puzzled looks as the front door slammed, endless, unanswered questions lingering in the air. 

Felix trusted knocking to be useless in a situation with a severity such as this one, he hastily struggled to wade through the endless puzzle of his keys before he jammed the spare key you had given him into the lock, slowing his pace slightly as he entered into your home. He knew as soon as he stood in the living room how badly he had messed up - your sadness lingered in the air protruding from your bedroom, taking blows to his own chest with each step as he found himself quite breathless. 

The chocolate-eyed boy first found your abandoned overnight bag, taking a deep breath before spilling its contents. Felix’s regret glared up at him in the shape of your blankets, pyjamas and packed lunches you had prepared for earlier in the day. He quickly tore his gaze away from the endearing note you had stuck to his sandwiches, not bearing to withstand another reason to feel impossibly worse. 

Felix tip-toed into your room as if he were afraid to wake you, yet he knew he had to talk to you - and, god, was he in for it. The boys throat tightened at the sight of you, as if it were punishing him for being so careless. He could only stare as you lay curled up in a state of uncomfortable sleep, clinging to the pillow he usually slept on. He slipped off his shoes and jacket, desperately prolonging waking you up and seeing the heartbroken look grace your soft features, he slowly knelt down and brushed your hair behind your ear, the action revealing the sheer amount of crying you had partaken in before his arrival. 

Unfortunately for Felix, you had not nearly slipped into a deep enough sleep to gain some proper rest, so the action caused you to stir and have your eyes flutter open, those who had puffed up full of emotion, their betrayal presenting itself front and centre with the harshest shade of red. The remorseful boy watched as your face convulsed into one of distaste as you quickly sat up and looked away from him. 

“I don’t want to talk to you, get out.” you croaked, voice thick with sleep and tears as you lied to the boy in front of you.

“Baby I am so.. so sorry-”, he reached out a hand to hold yours, eyes desperately searching your own when you yanked your hand away from him.

“You should’ve called,” you breathed as you fixed your gaze on the minuscule cracks in your ceiling, as if your tears would become distracted by them as you spoke not only to the boy in front of you, but to yourself. “If you’re busy, o-or if you don’t want to go out with me, just tell me”

You didn’t stop your ranting at the boys “baby, no i-”, unknowingly cutting him off as you let out the thoughts and insecurities that had been poisoning your mind all day. “- just don’t make plans and let me get all excited and stupid and then.. leave me to wait at the park by myself, with things for a picnic date and a sleepover.. looking like an idiot.” 

The boy in turn once again reached out to console you, realising he could spend his entire life searching and never find the right words to possibly comfort you in that moment - but as you weakly pushed your heart away from your body, Felix felt his own shatter into a million pieces at your confession. 

“It’s not stupid, y/n, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have called, i should’ve been there, like I promised. I would never leave you alone on purpose, i just forgot because, well. i don’t even know why. I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say right now but i promise,” he paused to look you straight in the eye, the seriousness being unusual in your easygoing relationship. “I promise i will make it up to you.” he sighed at the lack of response, yet he knew he deserved nothing less, and moved to his feet. “I know you need space so.. i’ll leave you alone, okay? Call me if you need anything, anything at all, i love you-”

The rambling Australian’s words were caught in his throat when he felt a warmth encase his wrist, he looked down at your hand and back up to meet your eyes, sporting a puzzled gaze as you sniffled. 

“Stay. Just because I can’t sleep without you.” 

Your words earned a small smile from the latter boy as he inwardly gushed over your adorable manner, he wasted no time slipping under the covers and embracing you in his arms in a silent apology, although he knew it would be one of many. Not only did he curse himself for being so forgetful, but he also felt his heart shatter at your assumption of him missing your one-year anniversary celebration purposefully. He shut his eyes and screamed at his imagination not to picture you sat on the picnic blanket all by yourself, suppressing tears as you avoided the invading gazes of passerby’s (who could easily have guessed what happened - your asshole of a boyfriend stood you up, how were they to know it was unknowingly?)

Felix had lost count of the amount of times he had attempted to drift off, never fully falling into sleep as the guilt stood in the back of his mind, nagging and mocking him constantly. The sun was finally starting to seep through the curtains as the boy decided that his torturous night’s ‘sleep’ should come to an end as he carefully removed his arms from around you and got up. Grabbing one of his hoodies you’d stowed away in your wardrobe as he made his way out to the kitchen, not forgetting to re-tuck you in before he left. 

It was some hours later when you finally announced your consciousness to the world, you dragged yourself into your ensuite to find your eyes impossibly filled to the brim with dry tears, stabbing at your fragile eyes as you began to wash up for the day. You wandered into the kitchen to be met with a sweet, inviting aroma, one that reminded you of... your birthday? Letting out a tiny gasp, you silently sat down at the breakfast bar as you watched your flour-covered boyfriend finishing piping icing on his last cupcake, before he turned around and screamed at the sight of you.

“AH!”, he scrambled to cover your eyes, “you weren’t supposed to see these yet!” His lips forming an adorable pout as he threw his arm by his side in a child-like manner. “I was gonna bring you breakfast in bed except.. it’s cupcakes”

You smiled as your heart melted at the thought, pressing a soft peck to his cheek, whispering “i love it” loud enough so that only he could hear. Despite the two of you being alone in your cozy apartment, you outright rejected the thought of anyone else getting in on the words meant for only each other.

He sighed in defeat as he presented you with a plate of slightly messy cupcakes adorned with vanilla buttercream swirling magnificently on top of each one. They may not have been the best dressed baked goods you’d ever seen, but there was no doubt in your mind that every little cake was made with the utmost care and love, and that’s all you could ever ask for. 

“I know it’s not much but... i just wanted to say how sorry I am for yesterday. This, obviously, doesn’t make up for it but if you’re feeling up to it.. we could go on our date today? I’m just so sorry baby, this isn’t enough, but it’s a start, right?” he looked up at you with hopeful, doe eyes as you nodded and pulled him down to sit next to you. 

“We’re gonna be okay, right?” the exhausted boy murmured to you, making you reply with a reassuring kiss on his temple. 

“Yeah, Lix, we’re gonna be just fine.”

#stray kids request #kpop requests #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids fluff #stray kids drabbles #stray kids blurbs #stray kids Felix #lee Felix #lee yongbok #stray kids soft hours #stray kids angst #stray kids timestamps #stray kids oneshot #felix lee

[solalunar-eclipse]

Scars You Can’t See - Chapter 8

Chapter title: Countdown

Word count: about 3500 words

Author’s Note: I tried to make this one slightly more light-hearted, but we’ll see if that worked out! Also writing fight scenes is difficult.

First | Previous | Next

...

At this rate, it was honestly a miracle that Tails hadn’t had to buy a new carpet yet.

Thankfully for Sonic’s sanity, his little brother’s determination to preserve their house meant that he’d been given lots of free rein to run around outside whenever he felt like leaving. He’d also been given fewer chores lately, as Tails knew from experience that Sonic did not thrive on order and routine like he did.

It had been three days since their visit from G.U.N. and their last contact from Omega- and Team Dark in general. Though he never said as much, Sonic was really having an issue with the fact that Tails had gotten to contact his friend twice by now, while he hadn’t heard from Shadow in ages. He tried his best not to worry, but it had just been such a long time since he’d spoken with the other hedgehog.

And Omega had said that Shadow was struggling...had practically had to relive one of his most traumatic memories….

Sonic decided that he didn’t care about any of the hybrid’s usual thoughts about expressing emotions or vulnerability- the second he got to see Shadow for real, that guy wouldn’t be able to escape the hug he had coming. The hero was practically determined to drag his friend (because they were friends, no matter what Shadow might say) to a therapist, too, since Chaos knew the guy needed it.

The blue hedgehog slowed down considerably and began to stalk through the forest instead, trying to get the majority of his anger out through his legs and movement. It wouldn’t do for Tails to see him like this…

Sonic’s thoughts circled back to how his hands were tied by what he’d promised Shadow- the hybrid had been so insistent, but now Sonic regretted agreeing not to go after G.U.N. Truthfully, the only reason he hadn’t broken his promise already was because while Tails was an incredibly clever and talented person, he could never forgive himself if the young fox got hurt. Otherwise, he would absolutely have long since blasted into G.U.N.’s headquarters, grabbed the commander by the front of his military uniform and told him in no uncertain terms that he had better stop hunting Team Dark and he’d better do it immediately. The hero had had enough of his friends suffering while he was forced to sit safe at home and wait.

His phone buzzed then, pulling him out of his tangled web of thoughts. Tugging it out of his windswept mess of quills, he saw that it was Tails calling and of course picked up immediately.

“Yeah, lil’ bro, what’s up?” he asked, hoping that most of the frustration had left his voice by now.

“Uh, Sonic?” the fox said, sounding pretty tense himself. “Since those agents came to our house a couple of days ago, I managed to hack into G.U.N.’s main server and now I can see some of what they’re doing- mostly where the organisation's sending people and all that.”

“Epic!” Sonic cheered. He began to wonder- could they use this to help their fugitive friends?

“Well, yeah, it would be...except that they’re sending an entire squad to our house. Like, right now.”

His grin froze in place. A squad of soldiers? The hero almost felt a grim sort of delight in that- finally, he’d be able to vent some of his frustration on the organization that had caused this whole mess. He hoped the house would remain standing, though. Tails had built it around a tree from scratch and was really proud of it. 

Sonic decided he’d work that out once he got home, and just a moment later, a sonic boom exploded across the landscape as he took off. 

…

Once the hero arrived at home, the duo began to set up the house’s various defense mechanisms- since they were a) very famous, b) hated by one of the most powerful supervillains in the world and c) one of them was an engineer, it was only natural that the house would be at least as well defended as a high-security bank vault. Sonic practically bounced around the house as he helped activate certain parts of their machinery, nervous tension running high. G.U.N. wasn’t going to be pulling any punches this time, he was sure of it.

Tails, by contrast, was absolutely calm. The fox was ridiculously mature for his age, and Sonic suspected that he instinctively knew by now when he needed to counteract his elder brother’s wild energy. Once everything was set up, the two built a makeshift barricade as a last resort at the front door, and waited.

Thankfully for Tails’s sanity, it didn’t take long for the trucks to arrive. 

As the three trailer trucks parked outside his house, ten soldiers poured out of each one, while several technicians began to set up some sort of weird-looking prototype laser device. The fox laughed for a second at the sight of it in a way that sent a few chills down Sonic’s spine. His brother could be downright terrifying at times.

Tails scoffed. “Please. That laser doesn’t have the power output to break my shields….wait.

“What the heck?”

The four technicians had begun to hook up the laser to- of all things- one of Eggman’s old power cores that he usually used in his bases. 

The young engineer tugged at his tails in frustration. “That’s so dumb! Sure, it might boost the laser’s strength, but there’s at least a twenty percent chance it’ll blow up in their faces! A small machine like that wasn’t made to withstand the amount of power it takes to charge an entire Eggman base!”

Sonic blinked and looked at his brother. “Those aren’t bad odds….”

“They aren’t good ones, either! I’d never let someone use a creation of mine with a one in five chance of failure. It’s just embarrassing! And it shows how far behind their engineers are!” Tails’s fur was fluffed up in outrage and irritation.

The hero almost laughed. “That’s what you complain about first? Not the fact that they’re gonna try and blow up our house?” he asked, his tone light. He snatched up the fox and rushed them both away from the front door as a precaution- that was definitely going to be their first target.

Sonic pushed Tails into the highest room in the house, before launching himself out the window and curling up into a deadly sphere of razor-sharp spikes. He vaguely heard one soldier yell something in a panicked voice, but didn’t pay much attention to it. He slammed into the ground, still in a ball, and tore off towards the laser cannon at top speed, leaving a cloud of dust behind him as he went. 

Irritatingly, the soldiers’ gunfire spattered all around the cannon, making it impossible to tear the thing apart. Sparks flew across the ground as Sonic careened around it before jumping up into a running stance and taking off in their direction. The air snapped around him as he broke the sound barrier and landed a furious kick on one of the trucks, denting the heavy steel and flipping it onto its side.

Sonic stumbled as a loud explosion rocked the ground, but kept sprinting after a glance assured him that Tails’s shields had held against the blast. The hedgehog smacked one man’s rifle out of his hand, the sheer speed of the blow bending it in half (and was almost certain he heard a distinct ‘why do we keep fighting this guy with guns?’) before he moved on. 

A dozen soldiers were on the ground either unconscious or groaning in pain by the time someone thought to radio for reinforcements- which they’d apparently had on standby ready to be helicoptered in. The blue blur wasn’t sure whether this high estimation of his fighting skills was something he should be proud of...or not.

The fur prickled on the back of Sonic’s neck as a humming noise filled the air.

A moment later, he threw himself to the ground as a red-hot laser carved a wide arc above him, slicing through the area where his midriff was a few seconds ago. He heard a faint yell of outrage from inside the house above all the noise, and stuck out his arm for a quick thumbs-up to Tails. 

A couple of seconds later, one very familiar and well-used earpiece landed in the dirt next to him as the laser swung back across the battlefield to refocus on their shields. Sonic shoved it into one blue ear before running up the side of the second truck and backflipping to land behind several soldiers. “Miss me, guys?” he asked smugly, before smirking and delivering several well-placed blows to said soldiers’ kneecaps that left all three doubled over on the ground. None of them had even seen him as he moved, which was really a testament to Sonic’s skill.

Tails’s voice crackled to life in his ear as he sent another person flying. “Awesome job! By the way, they’ve already fired the cannon three times, so either their luck is going to be great with this next one, or else…”

The cannon’s shot breached the shields, but Sonic noticed as he ran that its casing was burning red-hot, and- 

A shockwave blasted out from the cannon, making all four of its attendants fly into the air, yet in the seconds before they hit the ground, Sonic had time to:

Heave a lengthy sigh at their overestimation of the cannon.

Decide that even if they were working for G.U.N., a life was still a life.

Run around and safely place all four of them inside of a truck...

And avoid the explosion as it tore up the ground within a ten-foot radius of the machine.

(The hero had known for quite some time that being the fastest thing alive meant that he could do some really cool tricks.)

Dirt exploded in all directions, leaving a crater and a smoking lump of metal on the ground. Unfortunately, though, the house’s main defenses were down, and any second now, the helicopter would be there with enough soldiers to take out the rest. And his little brother was still inside...

As though he’d heard the hedgehog’s thoughts, Tails’s voice crackled to life through the speaker. “Sonic! The reinforcements are almost here- we can’t take them all, even if I come out there!”

“Not happening, pal, not unless you’ve got your mech.” Sonic insisted, putting on his ‘big brother’ voice. “Hey, wait- where’re they going?” he asked suddenly, watching as the remaining soldiers retreated to take cover behind one of their trucks. That wouldn’t really help them, but Sonic knew that they knew he couldn’t take the whole organization on by himself.

“They’re waiting it out until the rest arrive...but we won’t be here by then.” Tails said, sounding confident.

“And why’s that, pal?” He folded his arms, keeping one eye on the soldiers.

“Because-” and here Sonic suddenly heard a loud roaring noise coming from the back of the house, “-we’re going to get out of here!”

That was when the Tornado soared directly over their heads.

The G.U.N. soldiers certainly tried to shoot the plane down, but of course, they couldn’t keep up with Tails’s expert flying. Bullets embedded themselves into nothing but trees as it flew away into the forest, a blue streak taking off after it at top speed. Sonic kept up with the red biplane easily, just waiting for the right moment to...there!

He launched himself off a particularly well-placed branch, flinging himself high into the air before landing perfectly on the wing of the plane. “Alright, Tails,” he yelled, trying to make himself heard over the roar of the engine, “where to now?”

The kitsune winced and tapped his ear. “Earpiece, remember?” he asked, and Sonic cringed, realizing that he had forgotten what it was like to wear the little speaker while on the Tornado.

“Ahah, gotcha.” he said sheepishly. “So?”

Tails sighed, but not in an irritated manner. “Angel Island- nobody can find it if Knuckles wants to stay hidden. I called him up while you were out front and he said we could crash there.”

“Oh, sweet!” Sonic said happily. “It’ll be like a sleep...over…”

He trailed off weakly, suddenly remembering their home. “Sorry about the house, pal...I know ya worked hard on it.” The hero ran a hand through his quills, unwilling to meet the other’s eyes.

“It’s okay.” Tails said bravely. “I brought a few things-” he gestured to the backseat- “including all my blueprints, so I can always build us another. And besides…” here he leaned forward, catching Sonic’s eye, “home is wherever we are, so long as we’re together.”

The blue blur quickly nodded before looking down pointedly at the biplane’s wing, hoping strongly that Tails didn’t notice that his eyes had begun to glisten just a little more than usual.

(He did, though.)

…

Knuckles was happy to see them, of course, if a little less obviously so than usual due to the circumstances that had forced the two into this situation. The guardian immediately began to move the island to a new area where it would be hidden from view, while Sonic and Tails just relaxed and looked through the various items that the latter had thought to bring: a spare pair of shoes for Sonic, a toolbox and the aforementioned blueprints for Tails, plenty of food for the three of them, and of course lots of important technology.

As Tails left to go check on Knuckles, the blue hedgehog stretched out on the grass and heaved a deep sigh. What he’d give to know how Team Dark was doing right now…

…

Two days later, he found out.

The very moment that the team released the video, all three inhabitants of Angel Island sat down to watch it on Tails’s screen. The fox had been constantly monitoring the Internet for anything about the other team, especially their social media, so of course he was alerted the second anything came up.

Before they started the video, the hero had been vibrating with energy. 

By the end of the section about the ARK, he was completely still, his eyes as wide as they could go.

Tails paused the video there, as the massive wave of responses was already starting to flow. Sonic blinked back to reality to discover that his nails had nearly torn holes through his gloves- that was how tightly he was clenching his fists. He rolled his shoulders, trying to get the tension to leave his body, but he couldn’t stop thinking.

How in the name of Chaos did Shadow watch that?

They agreed that Tails would watch the rest while the other two stepped up to support their friends, and support they certainly did. Both of their tempers were running hot, and more than once the fox, glancing over their shoulders, had to remind them that caps lock was not going to be helpful right now.

Not long after Team Dark had stopped responding to questions, Sonic and Knuckles sat back down to view the other part of the video. They watched in shock as the peace and power of that meeting was violated, people arrested just like that, and yet neither of them had heard anything about this event.

Immediately afterwards, the latter got right back onto his phone and started typing out absolutely vicious responses to some of the more ridiculous conspiracy theorists. His violet eyes were narrowed in anger as he tore into their ideas- while he might not be able to convince the people themselves, he could hopefully stop more from being sucked in.

Sonic, meanwhile, just lay half on his side in the grass for a minute, trying to restrain the urge to scream. Why hadn’t he done more damage to G.U.N. when he’d had the chance? Why hadn’t he been able to see that this ran so deep?

Sonic turned his head to the side to look at his brother. “Tails?” he asked, trying to keep his voice under control. “Where’s Team Dark gonna go next, d’ya think?”

The kitsune frowned. “I don’t know...but if I had to guess, they’re probably trying to figure out how deep this whole problem goes. That’s what I think we’d do if we were in that situation, at any rate. To find that kind of stuff, though, they’d have to head straight to Central City and hack directly into G.U.N.’s mainframe...which would be incredibly risky on a good day.”

Sonic shot upright. “What if they are gonna do that next?”

Tails shook his head vehemently. “After running away from the entire organization for so long? That’d practically be a suicide mission! Even if they somehow managed to escape with the information, G.U.N. would be able to hunt them down in no time!”

The two brothers stared at each other. “But that sounds like them….doesn’t it.” Tails sighed, looking down at the grass.

“Knux!” Sonic yelled, rushing over to where the guardian sat. “We have to hang around Central City, man. If the team’s gonna head anywhere, it’ll be there. And if they’ll be in that much trouble by the time they get out of there, we have to be there to pick them up.”

Knuckles leveled him with a stare so flat it put sheets of paper to shame. “Sonic. Literally three days ago, I helped you guys escape G.U.N. and we have been hiding ever since. And now you want me to move my island, with the last ruins of my tribe’s temple and my Master Emerald, within reach of an organization that would give anything to be able to take it all for their scientists to look at.

“No. Way.”

The hedgehog widened his stance. “Knuckles.” he began, stabbing a finger at the ground for emphasis. “Literally ten days ago, Team Dark escaped G.U.N. all by themselves and have been on their own ever since. And now you want us to leave our friends, and remember, your girlfriend at the mercy of that organization, for the sake of a giant rock.

“Yes way. Absolutely.”

Knuckles scowled and blushed, avoiding Sonic’s stare after that mention of Rouge. “I guess….if we stayed away from the city itself and out of sight….”

Tails decided that this was a slightly safer moment to chime in. “I’ll try and monitor the airwaves in the area- we can move away if we think they’ve noticed us!”

“All of this is assuming that they’re even actually there.” the echidna replied, seeming slightly irritated at being outnumbered. 

“It isn’t the most logical place for them to go.” Tails agreed. “It’s ridiculously dangerous, and G.U.N. probably knows that. But, it’s also their most powerful building, which means that it’s going to have all of the more recent files there.

“While this video is some damaging evidence, it’s not nearly enough to permanently damage their standing overall...they definitely have the cash to sneak out of this level of bad press. A bigger release- now that we know this isn’t a one-time event- is definitely the best way to deal with them. And what better way to do it than to find all their super-secret files at the source?”

Sonic sighed. “Plus, I’ve got a feeling G.U.N.’s gonna underestimate that team’s habit of suffering to save others.” His shoulders sagged slightly at the thought, but he felt a little bit of the weight lift off of them when Tails leaned against him slightly with an understanding look.

The echidna watched them sympathetically for a moment before remembering that he was supposed to be arguing against them. “Well, why don’t they just go back to whatever place they busted first? That sure wasn’t in Central City.”

Sonic rolled his eyes. “It’s ‘cause they’d be expecting them there, knucklehead. Never return to the scene of the crime. That’s what they say in all the TV shows, right, Tails?”

“Well, while this is not a TV show, Sonic, you’re right.” the kitsune said, sighing. “That’s another reason for them to go to Central City.

Knuckles gave a mixture of a sigh and a growl, stalking back to the altar where the Master Emerald floated. “Fine. But if this goes south, I am blaming your-” he pointed a vicious finger at Sonic- “spiky butt for all of it.”

The hero grinned at his friend in a way he knew got under his spines, and was rewarded with a huff and another grumble. Yet the island still began to move, shifting eastward from the center of the country towards Central City. 

Hold on, guys. Sonic thought, feeling properly hopeful for the first time in over a week. We’re on our way.

#shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #e 123 omega #team dark #scars you can't see #sycs #i tend to imagine certain scenes from fanfics as movie scenes #and i think that shows in the fight in this chapter #by the way #i'll try and release a new chapter every two weeks #but that schedule is very #very #VERY tentative #there should probably be about 13 chapters in all #give or take #hope you're having a nice day! thanks for reading! #(and i hope this chapter turned out alright too) #sol’s fanfiction

[lupinsx]

Conditions Attached

masterlist

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Gryffindor!Reader

Summary: After you get tired of Fred targeting you in all of his pranks, he offers a bet to possibly put an end to it. Alas, all deals come with conditions attached.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Just a kiss, nothing too graphic.

a/n — I hope you guys like this! I decided to stray away from Draco one shots for a bit because I really like this idea. Let me know what you think of it!

——————————

"Fred! George!"

The tranquility of the early morning was suddenly disturbed with your roaring yell. With bright pink hair laid wet against your neck and a thick bathrobe covering your skin, you stood with your arms crossed angrily at the stairs leading to the girls dormitory.

There was no movement upon your call. No pair of twins rushing to apologize or promise to fix what they had done. But yet again, you knew it would be a fool's game to try and get them to listen.

Storming down the stairs, you entered the common room without sparing another second. It didn't take long for you to notice the pair of orange heads sticking out among the group of sixth years. With a determined expression capable of intimidating a Dementor, you pulled them back by their collars, forcing them to face you.

"Now, which one of you thought it would be wise to put a pink hair potion in my shampoo," you spoke with gritted teeth, gesturing to your head. A couple of students tuned in their attention after seeing the commotion, so you weren't surprised to see a slight crowd forming.

There was a series of incomprehensible looks and murmurs Fred and George made to each other before they looked back at you with an amused grin. George then took the liberty to respond, not before receiving death glares by his twin brother.

"Why it's all Freddy over here- ow!" he paused to rub his elbow after the jab given by Fred. "He was the one who wanted to do it. Don't blame me!"

You turned your gaze to Fred upon his exposure, glaring at him with all your might while he met your stare with a lazy expression. You were furious — the potion slipped in your bottle was strong enough to withstand all of the spells you gave, so the prospect of living with pink hair seemed unfortunately too likely. But what exasperated you the most was the frequency of these pranks. It was only Wednesday, but this was already the fourth time you had to confront them for their misfit behaviour.

"Well, what do you have to say this time?" you hissed, watching his expression morph from unaffected to highly amused.

"That you took 'On Wednesdays we wear pink' a little too seriously."

You groaned as you tugged on your roots in frustration. Seeing as he is no longer needed, George walked off with loud laugh. Fred stood with his back leaned against the pillar and hands shoved deep into his pockets — a position you hate to regard as being unfairly attractive.

"Blimey, I'm just kidding Y/N. It'll fade away within a week, don't get your pretty face all twisted," he added with a wink, a side grin spreading across his mouth. "Anyways, I have a very simple way this could all end. A proposition, if you will."

You suddenly released your hair from your grip, and looked at him with curious eyes. You didn't know whether to trust him on this, but you figured you'd at least listen to what he had to say. The pranks and anticipation for the next one was beginning to feel exhausting. You craved your freedom back.

With a slight nod indicating for him to speak, Fred pushed himself off the wall and took a step in your direction. "I have a Quidditch game against Slytherin this Saturday. If they win; I'll leave you alone. No more pranks from me or my brother."

Your eyes perked up at his words. Already, you were seriously considering accepting. However, you knew bets have conditions attached, so you stopped to listen to the rest.

"But," he continued with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "if we win, you go to Hogsmede with me on Sunday. Deal?"

You were hesitant to accept his outstretched hand. On one hand, both options seemed favourable, as Fred has always been the one to catch your attention. However, the ambiguity of the second possibility left you worried. Who says the pranks will stop after your date?

Before you could dwell on the decision any further, you acted on the very recklessness that got you sorted into Gryffindor in the first place. You shook his hand with a confident smirk on your face. Merlin, please let Slytherin win just this once.

"Deal."

~~~

By the time Saturday came, your hair resembled a deep violet as the pink began to fade into black. You had a hard time covering your hair throughout the week, as the cloak's hood only did justice outside of class. Many cheap insults were given whenever the teacher would walk away.

You sat in the Great Hall, mindlessly playing with your scrambled eggs while the rest of the Gryffindor table failed to contain their excitement. Loud chatter engulfed the area, and hardly anybody was sitting down properly.

"Ready to cheer us on today, Y/N?" Ron came out of nowhere, patting your shoulders roughly while taking the space beside you. He grabbed your toast and took a generous bite from it, making you swat his hand away.

You gulped tentatively at his question. You decided not to cheer for anyone today, but to silently hope for Slytherin to win. Of course, you didn't want to disappoint your housemates by arriving in green paraphernalia holding a Marcus Flint poster, but the last thing you'd want to do is boost Fred's ego by cheering for his team.

So, you merely gave a weak nod to assure Ron for the meantime.

"That's our girl!" he rejoiced, giving another one of his aggressive shoulder pats. At the noise, Fred turned his attention towards his brother, and grinned upon noticing you.

Fred got up from his spot and moved down the table, landing on the seat in front of you. Leaning in, he spoke in teasing manner, not bothering to lower his voice for the people around them.

"Are you ready for our date tomorrow?"

The area grew silent for a moment. All of the surrounding Gryffindors paused their conversations and stared at the two with disbelief. Your cheeks became crimson in an instant. The sheer nerve of his was going to be the death of you.

After getting over the initial shock, your eyes narrowed at the cocky boy. "Who says you'll win today?"

"Wait, you? And Fred? Dating? Merlin- when were you planning to tell me?" Ron squeaked, his wide eyes darting between you two. The commotion attracted Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys to the scene, while the remaining Gryffindors merely stood back with shock.

"We aren't dating! I swear, he's just being a cocky little git, that's all," you piped up in reassurance. Still, you received questioning eyes from your peers. You suddenly felt the urge to crawl into a hole.

Ignoring the stares he's receiving, Fred's mischievous grin grew at the corner. "Not dating yet, but we will be soon."

This comment caused an uproar. There was a chorus of questions and encouragement targeted towards you two while you glared at Fred's openness. He merely shrugged in response, answering vaguely to whoever asked.

"Y/N, is this true? You're going on a date with Fred?" Hermione asked impatiently, accompanied by a curious Harry and Ginny. You groaned and buried your head into your elbows in a pathetic attempt to shield your blushing.

"It's only if he wins the bet," you murmured inside your arms. "If Gryffindor wins today, I have to go to Hogsmede with him tomorrow."

Ginny squealed at the adorableness the situation is. She, alongside the others, have always been subtly shipping you and Fred. She found the banter between you two endearing, or as she likes to refer to it, 'just like an old married couple.'

"Well then, I'll make sure to play my best today," Harry said with a teasing grin, earning a playful shove from you.

At this point, people were beginning to finish their breakfasts and clear out of the hall. While the Gryffindors gave one last encouragement to the players, you managed to slip out unnoticed, headed towards the common room to do some last minute revision before the game.

You took your time travelling down the deserted corridor. It was quiet, unlike the populated Great Hall and rowdy classrooms you usually find yourself in. You enjoyed being able to hear your own thoughts without disturbance, so you chose to savour the moment of tranquility you had right now.

But unfortunately, life doesn't always offer what you desire.

"What, escaping already L/N?"

Fred stood at the end of the hallway, his loud voice nearly causing you whiplash. He wore his signature lopsided grin as he approached your still figure.

"Please, I'm only leaving for a little bit. Miss me already?" you mocked, diverting your eyes from the smile he held which you knew was undeniably attractive. The close proximity between you two didn't help with resisting the temptation to jump him on the spot, but you somehow managed to stay on your two feet.

"Why yes, quite actually," he said nonchalantly, catching you off guard. At that moment, he took a couple steps closer to your direction, making you walk a bit back. It was a relief that it was a lengthy hall and there wasn't a wall directly behind to stop you, but that wasn't an issue for Fred. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer to him, leaving your faces merely inches apart.

You stood frozen where he held you, shocked at his abrupt gesture. His eyes scanned your face, taking in your widened eyes, parted lips, and deeply flushed cheeks. He almost smirked at the sight, before leaning in slightly closer to speak.

"I'm only kidding. I came back for something in the common room."

And with that, he retreated his arms back to his side and walked off, leaving you as a flustered mess. He is truly going to be the death of you.

~~~

Once noon rolled in and the sun shined bright above Hogwarts, most of the school found themselves on the Quidditch field stands to watch the game. Gryffindor vs Slytherin is always a popular match to attend, given the high tension between the houses and the immense skill they both possess. Everyone had either red or green clothing to show support, with a couple exceptions of neutral Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs. You, however, remained the only Gryffindor in the section wearing normal clothes.

Eventually, the teams flew in for a lap around the field as their supporters cheered in encouragement. As the Gryffindor team flew by the sidelines, earning a roar from the crowd, you happened to notice the wink Fred gave you before he passed. A blush appeared on your cheeks as you shook your head at his flirtatiousness.

Now, let the games begin.

The beginning of the match couldn't keep your attention. To be fair, no Quidditch games ever did, but the closeness of the scores left you with very little satisfaction. You wanted the snitch to be caught and over with, and for your fate to be sealed immediately.

Come on, Harry, find the snitch!

Wait, no, I should be hoping for Malfoy to find it. What am I thinking?

You shook the thought out of your head and decided to occupy yourself with the match before you'd begin considering which side you're on. You knew that part of yourself wanted Gryffindor to win so you go out with Fred tomorrow, but you chose to ignore that, claiming the lack of food is getting to your brain.

You wanted Slytherin to win. Right?

"Another goal for Slytherin! I guess, if we're ignoring that disgustingly obvious cheat- ow! I'm sorry professor. The score is 50-80," Lee Jordan commentated with a brief interruption from Professor McGonagall.

They're winning. This is good, right?

Yes, you thought to yourself firmly. You wouldn't let yourself sway your opinion. A date is not as important as immunity to their pranks, you would convince yourself.

Suddenly, the whole crowd became silent, before erupting into louder cheers. The snitch has finally appeared. Harry seemed to notice it first and make the sharp dive immediately, while Draco happened to notice his figure and catch up shortly afterwards.

This is it. The moment that will decide whether you go to Hogsmede tomorrow with Fred, or can finally live comfortably and without fear in the Gryffindor dormitory. And you didn't know which one you wanted more.

Draco and Harry flew neck to neck as they chased after the snitch. It seemed just a little over an arm's length away, which was convenient for Draco's long wingspan. His fingers reached only slightly further, granting him an advantage over Harry which, given the high stakes, meant all the world to you.

Slytherin was just about to win this.

Suddenly, George passed the bludger to Fred, and he whacked the hard ball straight towards Draco's head. It was fortunate that he noticed on time and was able to duck, but this meant that his flight was briefly stopped, leaving him just behind the Gryffindor seeker for a moment.

Harry had caught the snitch.

Your jaw dropped, lips slightly parted in shock as the cheers in your section became deafening. Gryffindor won. Which meant that you had a date with Fred, and your immunity was no longer solidified. And oddly enough, you weren't entirely mad.

As the team all flew to where Harry was to celebrate, you noticed Fred fly away from them and towards the stands. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you watched him lay his broom on the railing and stride up the emptying seats.

Before you knew it, Fred approached you, making you stand on your feet. Then, he kissed you, holding your waist close to him and tilting his head to meet your lips.

It didn't take long before you began kissing him back. You were unaware of why, but you knew you wanted this just as much as he did. You loved the feeling of his lips on your own, how his fingers danced along your waistline and electrified your entire body, how soft his hair felt in your fingertips, and how perfectly you two seemed to fit into each other's bodies. The sounds of gasps and whistles surrounding you felt muted, like it was only you and Fred existing at the moment.

It was only you and Fred existing at the moment.

Eventually, Fred slowly detached from the kiss, planting another small peck on your lips before fully pulling away. He had a lopsided smile in his face, while you had an idiotic grin to match. It was then when a cough next to you pulled you two back to reality.

Upon seeing the crowd surrounding the area, you two immediately detached your arms from its hold on the other and separated in embarrassment. He gave a small chuckle at the situation while you looked down with cherry cheeks and eyes squeezed shut. They, including the Gryffindor team observing from the railing, had watched the entire kiss.

Please kill me now.

Fred cleared his throat awkwardly and turned towards you. "So, tomorrow at 11?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the Great Hall."

"It's a date," he murmured before running down the stands to grab his broom. Without realizing it, your fingers hovered over your lips, and the playback of the kiss viewing in your head brought a dreamlike expression onto your face.

You couldn't wait for Sunday to come.

——————————

a/n — That took a while to make. Please like, reblog, comment, or send something in my inbox to let me know what you think of this one shot! Thanks for reading.

#fred weasley #fred weasley one shot #fred weasley imagines #fred weasley x reader #harry potter one shot #harry potter #fred weasley fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #my prompts #writing

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer IV: Breaking the Chains

I stood leaning against Zihang, looking down at Pompeii. Tears running down my face. Sorrow weighed on me. Even though I hadn’t known him, and he didn’t know me, he’d fought hard and I never would have escaped without his help. And what was I going to tell Caesar?!

My sobs started up again and Zihang nuzzled my hair. “We have to go.”

“No, I don’t want to leave him here!”

“Gunships will be arriving from Cassell any minute how to burn this place and the servitors roaming it to the ground. We have to go.” Su Enxi spoke in a sad and quiet voice.

I walked away from Zihang and removed the pistols from Pompeii’s robe. It was the least I could do for Caesar. As I did so, a small photograph fluttered to the ground. 

The picture was taken from a distance, but the shot was beautiful. On the shores of the gulf of Genoa, Caesar and Nono stared into each other’s eyes under a garland of flowers. Caesar in his pristine white suit and Nono in her sheer white dress.

Pompeii had not been invited to the wedding. I remembered. The hurt actually ran that deep. But Pompeii had to have attended anyway. I looked down at him. He really did love Caesar. And now...

A tug on my arm. “Come on.” Zihang coaxed me gently and this time I followed him.

Su Enxi jogged ahead of us. “This way. Hurry!”

We exited down a long flight of emergency stairs and down a long hallway that opened up to a delivery entrance. A large truck was waiting.

“What took you so long! They’re almost here!” Lancelot’s golden haired head stuck out of the cab of the truck. “Let’s move!”

Enxi helped me climb in as I was holding Ru’Yi and Zihang leaped in after me. The four of us, squeezed into the truck and Lancelot drove away as the first dark shadows of the helicopter gunships swooped in from the sky.

There was a hiss followed by a loud bomb and the light of the explosions turned the skies red. I turned my face into Zihang’s shoulder, letting the tears soak his jacket.

“Do we have something in here for her to eat?”

“Just a few granola bars sorry, it was all I could grab on such short notice.”

Zihang reached into the glove box and handed them to me. He never stopped holding me, stroking my hair as we rattled over the crumbling access and maintenance road that would take us to the airport.

Enxi’s phone suddenly rang and she picked up. “Speaking. Yes, we just left. We’re on our way out of Italy soon.”

My mouth was full of granola bar but I tried to speak. “Mmf, they know about Memfei!”  “Shh... don’t talk with your mouth full or you’ll choke.”

Enxi continued to speak and her voice continued to grow lower. Her expression grew grim. “Got it. Lancey, pull over right now!”

“Don’t call me, Lancey!” He snapped as he pulled  the truck over to a shadowy shoulder covered with trees.

Once we stopped, Enxi turned and spoke directly to me with a sigh. “I’m going to explain as best I can. You may not understand all of it, but just listen, okay?”

I nodded, the gravity of the situation not lost on me.

“The Secret Party is on their way to the village where Erii and Lu Mingfei are still hiding. Mai Sakatoku and Von Frings are heading with Caesar to Japan. But I need you to go and retrieve that girly Gen brother and take him to Mingfei. It’s urgent. They’re planning on using the wood block sound to drive Mingfei and Erii to the brink of madness and kill them.”

“But... the Gattusos are dead... shouldn’t everyone be listening to Caesar?” I asked.

“Caesar declared his independence from the Secret Party just now. He’s gone full rogue.” Enxi sighed. “Anyone who opposes him is going to be met with deadly force. The school board has labeled him a traitor.”

Enxi lifted one hand to her forehead. “He’s an absolute maniac right now, but frankly, that is what the Japan Branch needs to survive. At any rate, Nono will probably survive. But that won’t help us just yet.”

“If Caesar’s not the head of the School Board then who is giving the orders?”

Enxi’s lip curled up in disgust. “A representative from the Beowulf family.”

“Beowulf?” Zihang’s head lifted in recognition.

“I’ll keep it short.” Enxi said, fidgeting with her hair. “Before the Industrial Revolution, dragon slaying was an extremely dangerous thing. The Secret Party could only rely on its own blood, alchemy, and dragon slaying swords handed down from ancestors. It was a glorious, if tragic time. The members of the Secret Party wandered around in black robes and candlesticks like a bunch of cultish monks.” She pulled out a cigarette, stuck it in her mouth and went to light it, but Chu Zihang, snatched it out.

“Mind the baby.”

“Oh... right. Damn, I guess I’m a really nanny now, huh?” She said with a bitter smile before continuing.

“Anyway, Beowulf was one of the more prominent names in that era. You’ve studied the poem, so I don’t have to explain it to you. The poem ends with the king being killed by the dragon’s poison after laying eyes on its treasure. But we know the real ending.”

“They’re actually the cruelest dragon slayers. They feed a drop of dragon blood to every child that’s born.” She glanced down at Ru’Yi.

“Only one in every 100,000 are able to withstand the dragon’s poisonous blood. And every member of the Beowulf Family can! But not only that, they’ve become addicted to it. Hungry, like Servitors. Every Beowulf family member seeks dragonblood like it’s a drug. And they’ll stop and nothing until they have it.”

Enxi’s voice lowered further as if speaking the words would some how summon these people. “That’s why the Secret Party calls them Dragonblood Thirsty.”

“They showed up right after Anjou was hospitalized.  They’ve been working behind the scenes to hunt you down. They’ve watched as you’ve escaped their grasp again and again! They’re convinced that Mingfei is a Dragon King. They’re not going to listen to reason, and they’re not going to show mercy to anyone who stands in their way. Once Erii and Mingfei are under the spell of the Woodblock and become draconized, the Beowulfs will throw everything at them and feast on their blood after the battle.”

She turned out the window. “God, I want to smoke.”

She steeled herself, “So... my dear, that’s where you come in. Mingfei has to attain his full abilities before the Beowulfs arrive. There’s only one Hybrid who can withstand the woodblock sound after Herzog’s tampering and that’s that girly Gen brother.”

“Chime?” My eyes widened.

“That’s right. We have his location from the little monster girl. I need you to go there and get him to come to her village.” She scrolled through her phone and showed me the message on it with an attached image. The image was of a building tucked away behind tall trees. Its ornate tiled roof swept up at the corners where lions stood guard, mouths open.

“You have the ability to teleport there. You’re our only hope.” She pressed the phone into my hands. 

I turned and looked at Zihang. “He knows you. You can do it easily.” He said.

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

Zihang turned and looked at Lancelot who was staring out the window, not saying anything.

“I’m going to stay with Lancelot. We’ll make our way back to Chicago and try to revert EVA to her former self.”

My heart dropped. Separated again. But I took deep breath and straightened my back. I handed Ru’Yi over to him. “Okay. Leave me here on the side of the road.”

Enxi’s eyes widened as I unbuckled myself.

“Meixiu.” Zihang gripped my arm and rested his forehead against mine. For a moment, we stayed that way, saying a silent prayer in our hearts.

“Ordinary life... with you.” I whispered.

I forced myself away, I didn’t look back at Ru’Yi. Enxi got out. I got out after her. Her eyes were wide and after we got a short distance away she stopped me. “Hey. I...”

“What is it?” I asked with a touch of impatience. Wasn’t she just hurrying me out right now?

Her gaze lowered to the ground. “I have to say. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I asked confused. “You saved us back there...”

“You’ll find out.” She rubbed the back of her neck and turned and walked away. She climbed into the truck. I listened to the gravel crunch under the tires. It motored off into the distance.

I raised my eyes to the sky and then I closed them, focusing on the image. Immediately I felt the cool shade of the trees. I took a deep breath and could smell the moisture in the air. 

I had the coordinates. I took a step forward and immediately was plunged into the dark and the cold and the nothingness of the void between spaces, spanning thousands of miles in a few seconds.

When I reemerged, the building was before my eyes. A young boy looked up at me, eyes wide. 

“Uh... Uh... K... Konnichiwa!” I chuckled, waving.

The boy ran off, screeching and then I realized I was covered in blood. “Oh my god. I didn’t even...” I looked up and several men thundered down the steps, leveling rifles at me.  I raised my hands in the air. “Tomodachi! Tomodachi! Ruri Kazama no Tomodachi!” I said, regretting the fact that I never bothered to really learn Japanese.

They seemed to get the message through and grabbed me, escorting me inside the building. I hopped on one foot to remove my shoes and tried to smile at them. The place looked run down and old on the outside, but everything inside was brand new. The tatami mats had that sweet straw odor, the red paint on the pillars carved with dragons burned bright. The walls were painted with murals of traditional Japanese art. Potted plants were in every small window.

They still held their guns to me. They were all young men and women. Their eyes were shifting around as they spoke to each other, reflecting fear and confusion, not anger.  They must not get a lot of guests here, after all Chime used the same digital Nibelungen to hide from EVAs prying eyes. I tried to smile pointing to myself. “Hao ren... I mean... Ii... uh how do you say person in Japanese...”

“You can speak English.” One of them, with russet brown hair lowered his guns.

“Ah! Thank you... thank goodness.”

A young woman came out of a back a hall. She said something in Japanese and they all reacted in cries of astonishment, shouting questions.

I just smiled. “Believe me, we’re friends.”

The young woman beckoned to me. “This way. Oh!” She looked down at my dirty stockinged feet and then hurried over to get slippers for me. They were a bit ill-fitting and flapped about as I walked.

She took me by the hand and led me down a hallway until we came to a door. She knocked twice and then opened the door.

Sitting on a small pillow in a simple shirt and slacks, his red eyes smiling from his pale face, Chime Gen looked like the least threatening person on the planet. He leaped to his feet when he saw my tattered white clothing, the blood and my haggard expression.

He sprang into action, pushing me towards the pillow and making me sit while sending rapid fire orders to the young woman. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

He’d grown out his hair, long and white. His rapid movement sent strands of it forward to veil his face, his concerned eyes.

“Chime. You’re the only person who can help us. The Secret party has found Erii and Mingfei and they’re coming over to use the woodblock against them.”

“What?!” He hissed. Immediately, the soft concerned look turned into a hard burning hatred. His face creased, the folds sent dark shadows that shattered his face like a mirror. “Who?! Herzog?!”

My heart leaped in my throat. “No.” I swallowed. “Herzog is dead. But there was another man, Bondarev, who worked with him. Herzog thought he killed him and assumed his identity as Tachibana... but he was still alive and working within the Secret Party.”

The story was confusing, even to me, but Chime’s sharp eyes took in he information. His gaze turned distant. Thoughtful.

“Turns out that he was an agent of the Gattusos. He returned to Japan again. This time under the name Shinnosuke to pursue Mingfei and I. He killed Crow.”

“Okay...” His brief fury had gone as soon as it had arrived. His expression was grim, yet calm. It astounded me that he had no further questions, grasping the situation in a single go.

The girl returned with a tray of tea and rice and vegetables. She saw us close together, saw Chime as he stroked my face reassuringly. She looked between us in stunned silence unsure what to do until Chime nodded for her to place the food and tea on the table.

“There’s no time Chime, they’ll reach Tibet soon!” I said after she had left.

He cut me off, raising his hand. “We have... defenses.” He smiled. “Even if they have an idea of where we are. The village is still remote enough that it will take time for them to get there.”

“But we shouldn’t wait. We need you to help Mingfei and Erii break the influence of the woodblock sound, like you did!”

Chime was listening, but he was still bringing me the tea. “Here.”

“Chime... there’s no time for tea!”

“I know you’re scared. You should be. We both know the consequences if Erii loses control and Mingfei... who knows?” He looked at me gravely. “But this... release... you’re seeking. That’s not something I can force. I can provide the circumstances to help. But it will be up to them to succeed.”

“What... why?”

Chime sat, one knee against his chest. “Herzog used an alchemical procedure, along with a special surgery, to divide the aspects of one’s personality. The good aspects were concentrated in one person. The bad aspects in another. Because he was looking for weapons, he concentrated all the power in the bad side.”

I tried to imagine my sweet Mingfei, my frightened Mingfei, my silly Mingfei as a bad person and couldn’t. What Chime was telling me rang true. Sure Mingfei had some annoying personality traits but he wasn’t bad. All the badness in him was concentrated in another personality.

The one with all the power.

"Mingfei... was... with Herzog?”

He nodded once. “He doesn’t remember and no one bothers to tell him.”

My mind flashed back to the boat, where Mingfei was desperate to see his ‘father’. He said his ‘father’ had called him from a mysterious phone in a bookstore. But perhaps it was someone connected to Herzog? I shuddered to think what might have happened had I not intercepted him.

“There’s something else.” Chime continued. “If we are successful in reuniting his mind and freeing him from Herzog’s woodblock, you won’t know him any more. You might think you know him, but he will be the person you should have met... not the person you know.” Chime’s stare sounded deep into my heart, like he was looking into my very soul.

I lowered the teacup. “Then... you are not the Chime... I remember?”

“No... I’m not.” He gave me a small smile, a subtle maliciousness glittered in his eyes, a quiet cunning.

“You’ll... help me right?” I asked, my heart beating faster.

“For Erii... of course. She loves Mingfei.” He paused and took a small breath. “Unfortunately... Mingfei is not real.”

My shoulders dropped and my eyes widened. “But...”

Chime gave a deep sigh. “Do you still want me to help?”

I rested my forehead in my hands, filled with despair. Enxi’s apology. Was it for this?!

“Who sent you here asking for this?” He asked.

“Her name is Enxi Su.”

“Oh...the owner Takamagahara... or... I should say... former owner.” 

“I thought she was Mingfei’s friend...” I said, my voice hoarse with emotion.

“Well... Maybe she is. But not friends with the Mingfei you know.” Chime reached for his own cup of tea.

My face grew suddenly hot. “I don’t want to lose Mingfei... I don’t want to lose him.”

Chime moved to sit next to me, wiping my face with a cloth. “You’ve lost a lot of people. We all have. This is not an easy decision. But whatever you make... I’ll support you.”

I struggled to regain control. “They’re going to turn him into a dragon lord and kill him. I can’t let them do that.”

Chime nodded once. “I suppose then... he will agree?”

“Yeah... there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Erii.” The pain of loss assailed me to the point of physical pain. I reached up and gripped my chest, gritting my teeth. “This sucks.”

Chime let out a breathy laugh. “Mingfei has someone who cares about him. As for myself... Let’s just say things were already so complicated... my recombined personality was just one more wave in a stormy sea.” He sipped his tea. “After we do leave here, I have to ask you never to return. I want to keep this place a secret.”

“What is this place?” I asked looking around. Musical instruments leaned against the wall. There was a small laptop, headphones, microphones and bookcases filled with notebooks.

“It’s a Kabuki school. I teach the orphans from the Japan Branch. The unstable ones.” He lowered his cup to the table. “My brother enacted many reforms to re-integrate Devil Clan members back to the Hydra Clans. But so many died in the war that bad blood still remains, and many young Devil clan members have no one to go home to.”

“So this place is a haven them. And also a school. Because no matter what my brother says, unstable hybrids are simply not offered the same educational opportunities as stable ones.”

I nodded. “That’s really kind of you. Okay. I’ll keep it secret.”

“Thank you.”

“Maybe someday... Maybe someday Cassell will change and they’ll be able to study there too.”

“Hmph. Maybe... but still, unstable hybrids have issues stable ones can’t possibly understand... unless they’ve been there.”

His eyes shifted outside the door. His expression tender. He then turned to me. “Once you’re finished eating, we can go. Though, it doesn’t look like it will take you that long.”

My chopsticks were already tapping the bottom of the rice bowl.

#Dragon Raja #Fanfiction #Chime Gen #Chu Zihang #Su Enxi

[milkmynk]

There’s a HUGE chunk of plot spoilers here because otherwise the story won’t make sense. Also, very long post/rambling, because I have a lot of feelings about this scene.

>>> SPOILERS 

>>> SPOILERS

Xi had a younger sister Si Ping - different mothers - who he was relatively close with. Unfortunately due to power politics, her mother disapproved heavily of her sympathizing with Xi, and in collusion with Situ Lu, the mother gave her poison that destroyed her singing voice. Devastated by her family’s betrayal, she took several doses of the poison in one go, and staggered off to find Xi. 

Xi, to prevent her soul from going to hell for committing suicide, chose to grant her wish to end her suffering and killed her with a knife to her heart. He buried the truth inside himself to spare Situ Si Ming (her biological brother, who also looks up to Xi) the distress of knowing that their mother poisoned her... Until Si Ming forced it out of him, just prior to this.

Jinghua : “Tell me honestly. Today when the butler from the Situ clan knelt in the hall and begged for your help, did you come here because you already knew that they had laid a trap for you?”

Jinghua : “You wanted to put an end to this matter, so you didn’t retaliate when Situ tormented you because you wanted him to take his anger out on you, didn’t you?”

Jinghua : “Other than the first wave of shared damage from our spirit pact, no other spiritual damage was shared with me.”

Jinghua : “That’s because you deliberately angered him so that he would vent his anger on you alone, if he didn’t want to use spiritual attacks against you, I wouldn’t be affected, am I correct?

Jinghua : “Duanmu Xi, do you know,”

Jinghua : “Sometimes the way you do things... Really pisses people off!”

Jinghua : “You are a Yangmingsi,”

Jinghua : “You don’t value your life,”

Jinghua : “Then these strong feelings of mine,”

Jinghua : “Aren’t worth anything to you, is that it?”

Jinghua : “The words we said, the vows we made... If you do things this way, does it still have any meaning?!”

Xi : “No... I...”

Xi : “I’m sorry... Because...”

(skipped pages)

Jinghua : “If committing suicide is a sin, then Si Ping also bears responsibility for it, doesn’t she?”

Jinghua : “Don’t carry all the wrong of the world on your shoulders.”

Jinghua : “You just wanted to protect her, didn’t you.”

Jinghua : “That stab saved her soul, but pushed you into hell---”

Jinghua : “You even want to protect Si Ming, you took all the burden on yourself so that he could live in the sunshine without guilt,”

Jinghua : “You even want to protect his impression of his mother Situ Lan in his heart......”

Jinghua : “Duanmu Xi, sometimes, you’re so kind, it makes people angry.”

1. 

The thing that really killed me here is Xi’s expression in the last panel... He looked like he was about to cry, even though he had been otherwise so stoic throughout the scene.

Xi is very used to carrying burdens by himself, and he doesn’t seek understanding for his deeds because he’s resigned to rejection from the people around him. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want understanding and acceptance... Just that, like with everything else that has been denied him (damn that fucking family), he’s learned to simply... deal with it.

And then Jinghua comes along, and shows him that... He understands. Truly understands his pain, his anguish, his self-loathing, everything that he’d been keeping bottled up under a tight seal of self-control and self-sacrifice. Not only understands, but he cares, and he refuses to let Xi continue miring himself in a tangle of despair because goddammit Xi’s dear to him and he loves him too much for that.

And... Just like that, Xi’s carefully constructed buffers of tolerance and endurance crumble, despite himself. The sheer relief, after years and years of emotional neglect and loneliness, of finding someone who reaches out to you and treasures you... This is just my interpretation, but I honestly believe that this is the reason for Xi’s expression.

Xi can withstand being physically and emotionally tormented and abused without so much as a word of complaint, but he shatters when Jinghua gives him love, and HOW FUCKING SAD IS THAT.

2. 

Can we all, like, just agree that Xi is really lucky to have found someone who both cares deeply for him AND is willing to call him out on his bullshit? 

To be honest, I totally understand why Jinghua is so angry. It has to be frustrating and even terrifying when someone you love is willing to abuse themselves like this, and you’re powerless to stop them, and they’re not even willing to accept help.

It’s also sweet that even though Jinghua was pissed, he still makes the effort to connect with Xi. (The touch on Xi’s head and cheek.) 

3. 

It broke my heart when Xi reaches out towards Jinghua’s hand, then hesitates, and withdraws it. I’m not sure if he’s frightened of being rejected, or whether he feels like he doesn’t deserve Jinghua’s love for him, or whether he’s anxious that Jinghua is disappointed in him. Perhaps all three? Either way, river of tears.

And then, Jinghua takes Xi’s hand, and everything is alright.

4. 

I don’t know if Ping Zi (author) did it on purpose, but I really love that Jinghua covers Xi’s head with his cloak, as opposed to placing it around his shoulders. 

For some reason, it feels like Jinghua is making a tiny safe space for Xi in the middle of all the craziness. Am I the only one who feels this way? 

#spiritpact #soul contract #ling qi #hi i'm back overanalyzing everyone's favorite exorcist/spirit couple

[recentanimenews]

Ranking The Top 10 Best Costumes In My Hero Academia

Nearly everyone who’s seen My Hero Academia has dreamed about what it’d be like to be born with an awesome quirk. And if you’ve thought about that, you also must have considered what your costume might be. Quirks are one thing. You can’t really control what power you are born with, and if you get stuck with the ability to shoot worms out of your nose or something, then I guess the world is just going to have to put up with NoseWurmz saving it. Costumes, though, are all up to you. They are not only an expression of your super abilities but also your character.

  But which My Hero Academia characters have the best costumes? To answer that, I decided to look at their Uniqueness, Functionality, and Usefulness, and this is what I’ve arrived at:

  10. Yuga Aoyama

    Although kind of resembling Liberace performing at Medieval Times, Yuga’s costume makes totally sense given his power. As the Shining Hero who shoots a laser out of his navel, he is easily propelled by the force of his tummy blasts, so wearing protective armor is pretty smart. As are the glam rock shades, which stop him from being blinded by his own  attacks.

  Yes, the costume is a bit flashy but so is Yuga’s entire personality, and it’s admirable how much he owns it. Also, notice that despite the fact that overusing his laser upsets his stomach, Yuga has opted NOT to incorporate a diaper into his costume, unlike some other heroes (named Minoru.)

  9-8. Backdraft & Tsuyu Asui

    The key to disaster relief superheroics is crowd control. From the second you arrive on the scene, you have to establish yourself as an authority figure whose directions people will want to follow, and Backdraft’s costume does exactly that. As a hydrokinetic hero specializing in putting out fires, his costume just screams “guy in charge.” If you got caught in a blaze and the lovechild of a fireman’s bunker gear and a hydrant came to your rescue, the only question you’d have for him is “What do you want me to do?” whereas with a guy like Death Arms, your first question would probably be: “Sir, where is the rest of your shirt?”

  Tsuyu/Froppy has a similar thing going on with her costume. You only need a cursory glance at her wetsuit/flipper combo to get exactly what she’s going for: “Oh, she’s a frog. Bet she’d be good during an ocean rescue or something.” Ultimately, Tsuyu’s costumes makes you feel like she would be right in her element in the water, and if you were drowning/lost at sea etc., that’s the kind of thing you’d want to see in a superhero.

  7. Kamui Woods

  The world needs more wood-themed superheroes because Groot cannot carry that burden alone. In a world of spandex, plastics, and metal, Kamui Woods stands out as a particularly stylish hero who, other than being seemingly made from wood, also adorns his costume with a wooden mask, belt, kneepads, and shoes. So aside from looking cool, his costume is also simple and straightforward, not getting in the way of the hero’s complex attacks and also being in line with his no-nonsense personality. Wood job! (I refuse to apologize for art.)

  6. Present Mic

    Leather is actually a horrible material for superhero costumes. It’s not great in inclement weather, it doesn’t breathe, and it doesn’t allow for a lot of movement, which is another way of saying that it only works for Present Mic.

  As the U.A.’s resident rock-n-roll-themed teacher, Mic can get away with wearing an entire cow and a half over his body, immediately scoring him a lot of cool points. Mixed with the high-tech voice enhancer around his neck, he comes off as some kind of Cyborg Rocker, almost like a near-perfect embodiment of the ‘80s. But, ya know, in a good way.

  5. Katsuki Bakugo

    If Katsuki’s costume hadn’t been loud, excessive, and generally a bit too much, I’d have thought that Kohei Horikoshi doesn’t understand his own creation. Fortunately, he put Katsuki in a faux-military get-up with two gigantic grenade gauntlets that are great at generating grievous aggravation.

  On literally any other hero, this would have looked ridiculous but for Bakugo's specific brand of outrage, it all works and helps strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Although I still have no idea what that explosion decal is on the back of his head. Is it made from cardboard or…?

  4. Power Loader

    Imagine you’re a bank-robber robbing a bank, as you would, when suddenly the ground underneath your feet splits open and you’re faced with a shirtless guy in a techno-dinosaur helmet and metal gloves. Before this human Graboid could even say anything, you’d probably surrender yourself to the police faster than you can say: “Can I get a change of pants please? These ones aren’t clean anymore.” That’s the sheer power of Power Loader’s costume.

  3. Thirteen

    Thirteen’s costume is absolutely perfect for a hero specializing in saving people. Although we don’t really know if it’s an actual space suit, it seems like it could withstand anything: heat, cold, freezing waters, even the vacuum of space. The puffiness of it also softens the hero’s image, making them appear calm and gentle, which would put people at ease during a rescue op.

  Additionally, the costume creates a barrier between us and Thirteen’s devastating Black Hole Quirk, which sort of makes it like a cellphone cover for a Nokia 3310: it’s there to protect the outside world from its contents, not the other way around.

  2. Tenya Iida

    At first glance, Tenya’s costume seems very practical. As one of the fastest humans alive thanks to the engines in his calves, you would assume he’d need armor to protect himself from becoming a wet spot on some wall. But it turns out that his armor is very lightweight and offers little protection. Instead, it’s there to cut down on air resistance and make Tenya even faster, assumingly putting him at more of a risk. That is just awesome and speaks to the character’s powers of concentration and control of his Quirk.

  1. Deku (Shoot Style)

  The great thing about the latest incarnation of Deku’s costume is that it does… everything. It reflects his character as an All Might fan with little tributes to the hero here and there. It’s perfect for a combat superhero with all the additional protection that makes it seem like he knows that he’s doing. And finally, it shows you the journey of the character. If you’ve been following Deku from the beginning, then you’ve seen how he went from a rabbity- All Might tribute that was a bit silly to a refined costume that was forged in the field.

  Elements of it like iron soles for better kicks or braces and support gloves to protect himself during punches etc. were added to it out of necessity and they mirror Deku’s impressive growth as a hero. The costume is basically an entire hero’s journey in textile/metal form, and I can't wait to see if it changes again on My Hero Academia, which is completely available on Crunchyroll. 

  Which MHA superhero costume is your favorite? Let us know in the comment section!

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

  Cezary writes words on the internet. You should follow him on Twitter.

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

[themurphyzone]

Episode 42: Meap Me in St. Louis

A LONG TIME AGO,

PROBABLY A WEEK BUT THAT’S STILL KIND OF A LONG TIME, 

A WRITER DECIDED TO UNDERGO THE TASK OF GATHERING ALL SEEMINGLY UNRELATED SCENES FROM THIS TRAILER AND PUT THEM INTO A COHERENT STORY BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY GET PAID FOR THIS STUFF HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF MAKING THIS AN ACTUAL EPISODE. 

JUST PRETEND THERE’S AN EPIC STAR WARS-ESQUE FANFARE HERE. I DON’T HAVE A TEAM OF SOUND EDITORS AND AN ORCHESTRA FOR AWESOME BACKGROUND MUSIC. 

AND NOW I PRESENT 

THE CHRONICLES OF MEAP

EPISODE 42: MEAP ME IN ST. LOUIS

PART 1: THE MEAPENING 

Location: Space, the Milky Way Galaxy. Approaching Asteroid Belt at Warp Drive 2. 

Meap jerked the wheel to the left, barely avoiding a large asteroid which threatened to crash through one of the side engines. His tricked-out ship could withstand any kind of G-force, meteor showers, and the occasional laser blast from evil galactic overlords, but he wasn’t taking any risks. Unfortunately, the nearest aliens were the Martians, who were infamous for being one of the more primitive races of the universe, since they tended to break any kind of technology that came their way. 

He checked the rearview mirror, smirking when Mitch’s large and clunky ship got pelted with space rock after space rock. It would give Meap plenty of time to get to Earth without being followed. 

Clearing the Asteroid Belt was a cinch. As he passed by Phobos, he noticed a purple ship with its hood popped open on the rocky surface. A rather peculiar looking fellow with green, mottled skin and horns held up a sign that said ‘HELP. NEED REPAIR’. 

Meap instinctively recoiled, a normal reaction for his species when they saw something irreparably ugly. But as an Intergalactic Security Agent, it was his job to help the denizens of outer space regardless of species. He pulled out his favorite translator mustache, the black one that made him sound like Lorenzo Lamas. He parked his ship and hopped out, waving to the strange fellow. 

“Hello!” Meap said, holding out his hand in greeting. “My name is Meap, Intergalactic Security Agent, S rank. What seems to be the trouble today?” 

The strange alien’s pink eye bulged out toward him, while the blue scrutinized him closely. He didn’t shake his hand. “Broken,” he rasped. “Throw it away.” 

Meap leaned over the exposed engine, examining several of the close wires. “Don’t be so dramatic, friend!” he said, attaching the wires to their correct outlets. “Your wires just got knocked loose. It’s a common problem with ship models from the Cygnus cluster. How about I give you the coordinates to Dave’s repair shop? Real good guy, prices aren’t bad either. He deals with stuff like this all the time-” 

A shadow fell across him just as he turned around. A slimy, pink appendage was the last thing he saw before his vision faded to black. 

“You took her,” the raspy voice said. “Now you will be thrown away too.” 

Now entering Earth’s atmosphere. Autopilot set to land on North American continent. Target: The Flynn-Fletcher family.

“Happy birthday even though this song is copyrighted and we could get sued if we sang it the proper way on this show, happy birthday to you!”

Buford inhaled deeply, then blew out the candles in one powerful breath. “I totally meant to do that,” he said, laughing when all the frosting and candles stuck to Baljeet’s face from the sheer force of it. 

Baljeet grabbed a towel, glaring at Buford as he wiped the mess out of his hair. “Of course you did.” 

“C’mon, just hurry up and stuff your faces with cake already. I wanna get to the presents,” Buford gestured to the pile of gift boxes that overflowed one of the tables. 

“Oh, Buford,” Isabella sighed. “It’s not about the presents.” 

“Yadda, yadda, friends and family,” Buford rolled his eyes. “Could we save the afterschool special talk for when it’s not my birthday? You guys are killing me with the sap.”

“But the presents are a bonus,” Ferb sagely added. 

Phineas took a large bite of his chocolate cake, grinning widely. “Don’t let Mom’s cake go stale, you guys! Dig in!” 

Candace and Jeremy sat under the shade of the tree, completely absorbed in their own little world. “So yeah, that’s how I managed to fix the fryer with nothing but an empty ketchup packet and thumbtack,” Jeremy finished. 

She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind next time I need to fix a fryer and I can’t immediately call my brothers for a quick fix.” 

“Jeremy!” a cute, bubbly voice squealed. “Kiss it! Kiss it better!”

Candace winced away when little Suzy ran up to her older brother, holding out her finger, which was streaked with red. Suzy not-so-subtly planted herself between them, her shoes digging into Candace’s exposed knee. It took all of her self-control to not cry out in pain. 

Gently setting Suzy on his lap, Jeremy leaned down and placed a large kiss on her finger. “Can’t have my favorite little girl getting hurt. How does it feel now?” 

Suzy giggled. “Much better! Thank you!” 

The scene would’ve been so much cuter if Suzy had actually cut her finger instead of scribbling red marker over her skin. 

“Suzy, drink something before you run off and play,” Jeremy said, handing her a cup of fruit punch. Suzy smiled sweetly at him before taking a sip. She took a step forward, then shrieked as she suddenly tripped and fell on her stomach. 

Candace yelped, unable to avoid the splash of fruit punch that soaked her face and part of her blouse. She was incredibly thankful her skirt hadn’t been in the line of fire. 

“Suzy? Are you hurt?” Jeremy quickly asked, his eyebrows raised in worry. “Sorry, Candace. I can grab you a towel if you want.” 

The opening of the cup was suspiciously tilted towards Candace, and he didn’t even notice. The thought of being left with Suzy made her shiver. 

Candace waved him off. “It’s...it’s fine,” she breathed, covering the wet part of the fabric with her arms “I’ll just go change and dry off myself. No problem here.” 

Jeremy glanced at his little sister. Her expression instantly changed from a malicious smirk into an adorable guilty face with watery eyes that were way too large for Candace’s liking. “Suzy, what do you say?” he prompted. 

“Sorry!” Suzy squeaked.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Candace forced a smile, which quickly disappeared as she walked back into the house. The chatter died away as the kids watched her close the sliding door. 

It wasn’t fair, Candace thought sourly as she stormed up the stairs. Suzy was absolutely determined to keep her away from Jeremy at all costs, always ruining the moment, and humiliating her at every turn. At this point, Candace was convinced that Suzy was actually a criminal mastermind who got plastic surgery to look like a child because no police force on the planet would ever dare to arrest a four year old girl. 

She considered talking to Jeremy and his parents, but they would probably refuse to believe her and she would be forbidden to date Jeremy ever again.

“That’s rich,” Candace muttered angrily. “’Hey, Mrs. Johnson. Your beloved little girl is actually a psychopath who needs to be institutionalized before she murders me in my sleep with a hair tie and teddy bear. Maybe you should watch her because she is the living example of appearances are deceiving’. Great. It sounds stupid in my head. It sounds even stupider out loud. Sometimes I just want to stuff those stupid pigtails down a garbage can.” 

She changed into an identical red shirt and washed her face, sighing when she finally deemed herself presentable again. 

“Hey, Candace!” Phineas exclaimed the moment she walked outside, pointing excitedly at a familiar spaceship that had definitely not been there when she’d left. “Look who else showed up! I don’t think Buford and Baljeet have met Meap yet. Boy, are you gonna love him!” 

“Isn’t that the-” Baljeet instantly quieted when Buford shook his fist. 

“We had an agreement, don’t say anything about that time!” he growled. 

Baljeet crossed his arms. “Momentary lapse in judgment, I apologize. There is no need for threatening hand gestures.” 

The ship door opened, and Meap climbed out. “Can we keep him?” Suzy shouted, breaking the stunned silence. 

Jeremy chuckled. “Sorry, I don’t want competition for the cutest critter in the house.” Suzy beamed at that, then cocked her eyebrow at Candace in a silent ‘take that, pencil-neck’. 

Candace tore her gaze away from Suzy and focused on Meap instead, wondering why he hadn’t pulled out his translator mustache yet. He had a half-lidded, bored expression on his face. 

As he was walking towards them, his ship suddenly exploded. 

However, explosions were common sights in Danville, so nobody batted an eye at that. 

She felt like something was off, but couldn’t put her finger on it. 

“Meap! You came just in time!” Phineas exclaimed, rushing forward to shake Meap’s hand. The alien didn’t return his enthusiasm. “You’ve never met Buford, Baljeet, Jeremy, and Suzy, so here they are! It’s Buford’s birthday too, typically it’s Earth custom to give one a gift on birthdays, but you didn’t know so that’s cool-” 

Buford sniffed. “No, it’s not.” 

“Meap, are you feeling okay?” Isabella asked. “You look kinda sick.” 

Meap ignored her, stopping when he was in front of Candace. “You are my creator,” he spoke. “And you have thrown me away. Now it is your turn to be trash.” 

Candace raised an eyebrow. “Look, is this payback for me thinking you were a stuffed animal the first time we met? Cause I’m not following.” 

“Precisely,” Meap rasped. “Jerry the Platypus, the sleeping agent.” 

“Jerry the Platypus?” Candace asked, confused. A fat, dopey platypus in a fedora wiggled his fingers at them. Then he fell flat on his face, a loud snore escaping him. 

Meap’s eye twitched. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stalked over to Jerry, lifting him by the neck in a surprising feat of strength. “I did not mean you when I said ‘sleeping agent’.” 

“Why does he look like Perry?” Phineas asked. 

“And Meap needs a tool to speak our language. Usually with a regional dialect,” Isabella added. “And what did he mean when he said Candace threw him away?” 

Buford huffed. “First, leave the dunking people into trash cans to actual bullies. Second, can I open my presents now?” 

“I’ve never dunked anyone in a garbage can!” Candace threw up her hands in exasperation. “I’m just as lost as the rest of you!” 

“My deepest apologies about the wait,” Meap said, holding out a cylindrical container. “This body does not have a nose so I shall go unaffected.” He twisted the ends, releasing a sweet-smelling gas, which quickly covered the backyard.

Baljeet collapsed first, followed by Suzy, then Isabella succumbed. 

Candace coughed, then quickly held her breath to avoid breathing it in. It didn’t work, and she swayed on her feet. 

“Must...open...presents....” she heard Barney say. Or was it Bollock? Benny? The gas must’ve been affecting her mind. 

Her eyelids drooped shut just as she caught a glimpse of her brothers struggling to breathe. She reached out-was her arm moving at all? Then everything faded into blissful silence. 

“Then I will marry her. After that, she will be disposed of.” The alien didn’t have the hands or fingers necessary to tent his stubby arms together, but he was doing the equivalent for his species. 

And he was more mysterious with the black spinning office chair. Staring into the void and contemplating his meaningless existence was far easier than dealing with his subordinates. 

The two minions in his office saluted. 

“And have you contacted the other one? She is currently with Candace’s friend,” the alien asked. 

“Uh, she’s not interested, boss,” one of the minions stammered. 

“WHAT?” he screeched, his stubby limbs completely useless in whipping the chair around to face the minions. “Ugh, this chair is rubbish too. Get me a new one!” 

They scurried off, tripping over themselves in an attempt to get away from their boss’s wrath. 

“Waste. All of them,” he muttered. “What is she doing that’s so important anyway?” 

“Bunny-Bear, who was that?” Stacy asked as she laid two of her shirts on the bed. 

Bunny-Bear dropped the phone and inspected a shirt carefully, “Like, a bunch of lame-o’s. Now girl, if you go with the calm ocean blue that oozes coolness, but the tsunami blue screams wild and rocking that bod. It’s, like, your choice.” 

Stacy glanced at the blue shirts that were no different from the rest of her everyday clothes, then picked up the one that was apparently calm ocean blue. “You are the best fashion consultant ever.” 

“Tell it to my agent.” 

“How’s that Candace tracker working?” Jeremy called, bouncing Suzy on his knee as the group waited impatiently. 

Phineas gave his handheld device a light smack. “Yeah, the cuteness tracker has never been one of our more reliable inventions,” he admitted. “The program Ferb installed to block the interference from Isabella’s cuteness isn’t working anymore. Maybe we need an additional formula to block Suzy’s as well.” 

Suzy giggled brightly. 

Isabella sighed dreamily, her hands clasped against her head. “You really think I’m cute and not just because I weaponized it against Mitch?” 

“Well, your signal was a lot stronger than even an entire cuteness-based planet,” Phineas shrugged. “I never meant that the readings were entirely unreliable.” 

“Well, it’s not given in the most conventional way, but I’ll take it,” Isabella declared. 

“So we headin’ off now? Cause I haven’t been paying attention since we woke up from that sleeping gas thing,” Buford asked as he ripped open another present. “Oh sweet, a baseball bat! This’ll be useful for wherever we’re going.” 

Baljeet was dangling by his overalls from a tree branch, so Ferb handed him the equations to look over. “Why did I give him a bungee cord...should’ve made it a gift card,” he muttered. “Anyway, you could easily block out 76% of the cuteness emitted from fluffy puppies and kittens if you replaced the square root of three over unicorn with 4p, p standing for pastel.” 

Ferb nodded and adjusted the equation, then showed it to Phineas. He quickly plugged it into the system. 

“Guys, we got it!” Phineas shouted. “Meap’s on course to St. Louis! And he’s got Candace with him! But not Jerry the Platypus, guess he forgot him.” 

The group glanced at the pudgy monotreme, who hadn’t noticed that he’d been left behind. Isabella helpfully grabbed him a slice of cake. It would probably tie him over until they got back and figured out what they could do with him. Jerry dug in once the plate was in his hands. 

“Eh, I’m sure Perry will get along with him just fine,” Phineas said. “Speaking of which, hey-”

“Where’s Perry?” Suzy cut in. She cutely rocked on her heels. 

“Suzy, I know you were excited to have your turn, but interrupting people is rude. What do you say?” Jeremy gently scolded.  

“Sorry!” Suzy chirped. 

Phineas smiled. “Hey, no worries. Anyways, we’d better rig a teleporter so we can get to St. Louis. Which is kind of a strange place to choose a hideout. I was so certain we were going into space again.” 

Doofenshmirtz on the St. Louis bus system!

“Yes, I’m just a guy who’s a sucker for the sounds of mass transit!” Heinz sang, a little too loudly. Perry looked around, but nobody was showing signs of wanting to throw them off the bus and slapping a lifetime ban on top of the humiliation. “What, you don’t know that song? C’mon, Love Handel released this single after their bus turned over in Albuquerque back in ‘93! It perfectly describes the frustrations and weird things that happen when you take public transportation at odd times of the day. You should give it a listen sometime.” 

“Okay, okay. No need to shove me. Or lightly tapping me, in your case. I can walk.” Candace carefully nudged Meap off her leg and pushed the child safety gate open, which apparently led to the mastermind of the entire operation. 

Honestly, she was so much more irate at her phone being nothing but a smoking hunk of silicon and sparkly rainbow goop, courtesy of Meap. Her mom was not going to be happy about this. 

“Sit down, Candace Flynn,” the figure in the office chair rasped. 

Candace rolled her eyes as she obliged his request. Couldn’t she have been kidnapped by someone with a little more originality? 

“So, you’ve been living the good life. Without a regard for those you’ve tossed aside.” 

She shrugged. “Meh, I’ve been pretty unsuccessful at busting all summer. I don’t know if that qualifies as your definition for a good life. So, how do you know my name?” 

“I see you’ve already forgotten. Very well. You already know me as-agh, this chair deserves the furnace more than the other one!” 

Candace pitied him. She truly did. 

“I can’t do a dramatic reveal cause my limbs don’t have the length needed for this. Do you mind turning me around?” 

Candace spun the chair around, gasping when she recognizing the ugly,  mottled lovechild of a cow and frog. 

“IT IS I, SEÑOR FRAWG! MWAHAHAHA!” he cackled, then cleared his throat. “Seriously though, just call me Frawg. The señor part makes me sound like an uncle that nobody in the family ever talks about cause he’s a weirdo or something.” 

Candace screamed at the top of her lungs, shattering all the glass in the state of Missouri and causing the glassblower shops in the area to go out of business. 

TO BE CONTINUED 

DUN DUN DUN

#phineas and ferb #candace flynn #fanfiction #phineas flynn #ferb fletcher #canderemy #evil suzy johnson #isabella garcia-shapiro #buford van stomm #baljeet tjinder #meap me in st.louis

[roseymoseyberry]

Clever Lines (one-shot)

I realized the other day that it had been three months since I last posted a fic about my otp, and that’s a crime. Also I’ve been getting the itch to write them anyway so it was just a matter of time.

But this time the old husbands are young singles meeting and flirting, because I love thinking about their little pre-war friend group plus Jazz, because if anything can make the pre-war friend group better, it’s Jazz.

I’m absolutely slipping in that Party Ambulance headcanon here, and I know we all love small and sweet Orion Pax, but I am personally even more in love with tall and lanky Orion Pax who is wildly proactive and never afraid to speak his mind, but appropriately polite as he does. I mean, come on. He went out of his way to track down and befriend gladiators. He’s a brave little archivist.

Also this is inspired by an A Softer World strip oops. The specific line has been altered to make it more conversational but you’ll know it when you see it.

Title: Clever Lines

Series: Transformers Prime with a little inspo from Aligned as a whole (aka Jazz haha)

Ship(s): Orion Pax/Ratchet with a huge smattering of Jazz&Ratchet friendship

Rating/warnings: PG-13 for alcohol, references to fighting and fragging, some intoxicated kissing, and just a lot of Ratchet worrying too much

“Oh scrap,” Ratchet hissed as he spun on his pede. He blindly reached out towards Jazz, grabbing him by the closest edge of armor he could get his digits around to pull him towards the same direction he was facing.

“The frag, Ratch--?”

“Just act casual and don’t look over there!”

Jazz huffed as he settled next to Ratchet, crossing one arm over his chest while the other brought his drink to his lips for a slow sip, before replying, “Well, that’d go better if we weren’t staring at a wall, but I guess I’ll make it work.”

Ratchet’s engine grumbled but he had to admit that this was far less conspicuous than he had hoped for. He could blame the high grade for the sheer lack of spatial awareness that brought him here, and that was true, but he was pretty sure blind panic had a big part.

“Ok, fine. We can turn towards each other.”

“But I was starting to enjoy the view,” Jazz deadpanned, as if Ratchet couldn’t read the way his visor flickered with humor. Still, he dutifully twisted and leaned his shoulder against the wall, all grace and casual confidence. Ratchet was sure he wasn’t nearly so convincing, never mind that he had never had his drinking companion’s grace, but he did his best with what he had.

Jazz had the handsome frame of a nimble dancer and the Unmaker’s smile to charm his way around the city. Ratchet, on the other hand, had neither, and had instead learned to utilize the bulk of his frame and the boldness of his personality to make his way through crowds and into mecha’s sparks when he cared to.

They had both made their individual marks on the party scene before they had finally crossed paths all those years ago. The night that the Party Ambulance and the famously infamous Jazz met was the night they got completely sloshed and argued, danced, brawled, and fragged each other well into the next morning. When they woke up sprawled across a berth neither of them recognized, they both came to the conclusion that they were best friends.

The fact that Ratchet’s partying nights were fewer and further between now, not to mention far from the wildness of those years, hadn’t kept him and Jazz from being inseparable when Ratchet wasn’t waist-deep in finishing medical school. Ratchet was beginning to suspect that Jazz was using him as an excuse to pull himself back a bit as well, but he wasn’t about to complain.

Jazz was an incredible friend.

And that was why he gave Ratchet the dignity of not immediately looking out into the crowd to try to find the mech who had Ratchet in a tizzy and no doubt giving them away. Instead Jazz held Ratchet’s gaze and asked, “So, who walked in that you’re so desperate to avoid?”

Ratchet grimaced and took a large gulp of his high grade.

“Have I ever mentioned that one archivist?”

“The snarky one you nearly started a physical fight with when he said he couldn’t find that article you needed because they were closing in ten minutes?” Jazz replied with ease, because of course, the mech was like a sponge for any information he thought might be important or embarrassing later.

“No, not him--”

“Then the cute one who volunteered to help you find the article anyway and then spent the rest of the night at some caf�� with you so you could use his access to the digital archives and finish your papers on time?”

Ratchet felt embarrassed heat spread up his neck and into his face. It hadn’t been his proudest moment, but having three papers due the same day had left him with little dignity and endless gratitude towards that archivist. He still wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that the archivist had also been unfairly attractive and that they had actually gotten along well enough that the last couple hours at the café had actually just been chatting, admittedly a little deliriously on Ratchet’s half.

At the very least it made it more embarrassing.

“That’s the one.”

Jazz’s visor brightened with interest as his mouth started to curl around the lip of his cube, clearly enjoying Ratchet’s flustered expression more than his drink.

“Orion Pax, right?”

“Of course you’d remember,” Ratchet grumbled, receiving a snicker in response.

“Never forget a name or a face. Speaking of--”

“Don’t look!”

“Relax. I can be subtle,” Jazz reassured, lifting his drink to his mouth again so he could tap his pointer digit against the side of his visor. “Let me do a little bit of espionage to soothe your overcharged spark.”

“As if you haven’t gone drink for drink with me.” Still, after a moment, Ratchet sighed. “A helm taller than me but he’s lanky, all legs--”

“Lanky? You usually like ‘em--”

“Focus, Jazz. Yes, he’s lanky. Red and blue paintjob, and he’s got—he’s got this crest on his forehelm along with audial finials on the sides--”

“Got ‘im,” Jazz said. His helm tilted slightly. “No kidding about lanky though. Course, with that face and those legs? Can’t argue there.”

Ratchet would swear he could feel a processor ache coming on.

“What is he doing, Jazz?”

“He’s getting a drink.”

“Really?”

Jazz’s brows didn’t need to be visible for him to give a withering look.

“Do I need to remind you we’re at a bar.”

Ratchet grimaced but pushed on, “He just doesn’t seem the type. More of a ‘fun night out is a night in’ type.”

Jazz snorted, replying, “You really are going soft if a nerd like that has you wound up tighter than a turborabbit in heat. That why you flipped your lid? Worried about him finding out about the Party Ambulance that comes out when the sun sets and your papers are finished?”

Ratchet glowered at him, turning his helm to look away before realizing his folly. He was now looking out into the crowded bar and by the Allspark, there was Orion across the way. The archivist’s back was towards them though as he chatted with the bartender, and—

“Who the frag is that?”

Jazz whistled as, on top of the one gigantic mech at Orion’s side that Ratchet was talking about, yet another mech sidled up to Orion’s other side and took a drink that Orion handed to him.

“Well, I can officially say you don’t gotta worry ‘bout your little secrets, because he’s hanging with folks who’re shadier than you ever were, Ratch.”

The first mech was enormous – a little over a helm taller than Orion and far broader with heavy looking silver armor. There was at least one large healing weld across their back that Ratchet could see from the distance. The other mech was shorter, but their build was still sturdy, certainly one built to withstand a fight. And when they turned their helm, their face was completely covered with a visor.

A visor that Ratchet would swear glinted, as if they had met optics.

Ratchet immediately looked away, turning to Jazz to find his friend still zeroed in on Orion and his companions.

“You know them?”

Jazz’s lips curled into a smirk.

“Like I said, I never forget a name or a face,” he replied. “You never did get into going to the Pits, did ya?”

Ratchet’s brows furrowed. “You mean gladiator fights? Course not. I see more than my fair share of spilt energon as it is, thank you very much. Why?”

“No reason,” Jazz lied before throwing his helm back and starting to chug his drink.

Ratchet watched him with narrowed optics before his high grade-addled processor put it together.

“No. No. There’s no way that those two are gladiators. What would Orion be doing with ruffians like that?”

With one last gulp, Jazz finished his drink and grinned at Ratchet.

“Like you’re one to talk. Now stop worrying,” Jazz insisted as he tipped the empty cube towards Ratchet, “and finish your drink.”

Ratchet’s drink was still at least half full, never mind the fact that he was beginning to suspect what Jazz had planned.

“Oh no. Don’t you dare,” Ratchet hissed, nudging Jazz’s shoulder with the servo holding his drink as he leaned in. “I have this under control without you forcing your way in as my wing-mech.”

“Gonna go back to your staring contest with the wall?” Jazz teased, his grin full of too many dentae when that was enough to have Ratchet’s face twist with flustered indignation. “Come on. Finish your drink and let me get the ball rolling.”

“I don’t need you to--!”

“If you don’t finish that drink,” Jazz warned as quicker than Ratchet could track, the cube was plucked from his digits, “then I’ll finish it for you. It’s up to you how much liquid courage you want in you once I’ve done my magic.”

Ratchet shot Jazz a look and his engine growled, but he still took the cube back and chugged it.

And then once it was empty it was in Jazz’s grasp again.

“I’ll just get us another round,” Jazz purred as he pushed off the wall. “Don’t miss me too much.”

And then he slipped into the crowd. Jazz had a nearly supernatural ability to find his way through the busiest of bars quickly, so it wasn’t long before he had found a place at the bar next to the mech with the visor. Whoever they were, they weren’t surprised to see Jazz. Or Ratchet didn’t think they were, but he couldn’t really tell because of said visor.

Orion though startled, and then—

And then he turned and looked in Ratchet’s direction.

Their gazes met and Ratchet would have sworn his spark stopped right then and there. Orion’s optics were bright and without a doubt focused on his, though he looked unsurprised to see Ratchet at least. In fact, Orion smiled, small and too sweet, and Ratchet had no idea how to react to that. Ratchet knew how to flirt with mecha like himself – mecha who drank too much and got into too many fights and wanted to just escape life for those brief hours spent on a dance floor before jumping right back in thrice as hard. If the mech even three stools over from Orion had caught his attention, it would have been easy to throw them a wink, to stroll over and drop a line.

The Party Ambulance knew how to flirt.

The medical student with a crush on an archivist he had once shared energon with while talking about archival organizational systems and favorite cities and plans for the next couple of years?

He had no fragging idea.

Before Ratchet could think about it, his servo lifted and gave a small wave.

A wave.

Jazz would never let him live that down.

Before Orion had an opportunity to react to that, the large grey mech beside him grabbed his attention, leaving Ratchet to just awkwardly stand by the wall while he watched the scene across the way. Something was being placed in Orion’s servos and Jazz leaned past the visored mech to say something to him.

Primus. Ratchet was regretting not being more forceful about keeping his drink because at least it would have given him something to do. Instead all he could do was fight the urge to squirm, wondering if it wouldn’t just be better to go over and face the embarrassment he had made of himself face-on.

But then Orion was turning, glancing up at the grey mech for one last exchange, and then he was making his way through the crowd.

Towards Ratchet.

Ratchet could only stand there in a mixture of trepidation and idiotic hope as he watched Orion’s progress. It certainly took him longer than it had Jazz who now seemed more than happy to lounge against the bar to chat with Orion’s companions, though his visor was no doubt hiding a gaze that was squarely on Ratchet.

And then there Orion was.

His smile was still small but sincere and each of his servos held a cube of high grade.

“Hello, Ratchet,” Orion greeted as he stepped closer, the volume of his voice just loud enough to be heard over the mild din of the bar. Still though, it didn’t sound strained or at all tinged by any of the awkwardness that Ratchet felt consumed by. Orion lifted one of the cubes in invitation. “Your friend told me you were in need of a drink.”

That slagger.

Ratchet grasped that kernel of irritation and held on tight to pull himself out of his fluster.

“Better not have let him convince you to buy it. Jazz is damned good at getting other mecha to pay for his drinks,” Ratchet replied as he took the cube. Somehow though that just made Orion’s lips curl more which in turn made Ratchet’s spark flutter.

“I’ll admit that I didn’t take much convincing.”

“Too easy,” Ratchet teased as he took a sip. It was a sweeter mix than he was used to – delicious for certain but lighter on engex content than Ratchet would let himself spend shanix on. “It’s good.” After a beat Ratchet quickly added, “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Ratchet couldn’t hold Orion’s gaze for long, not when he had no idea what Jazz had told him or what to even do with himself. Ratchet was caught between acting friendly like he had when they had met and acting flirty like he would with any other mech he was attracted to, not sure which was the better option with a mech like Orion. So somehow Ratchet ended up just blurting out, “So, you come here often?”

If Jazz wasn’t quick about it, Ratchet was going to kill himself over that cliché line before Jazz ever got the chance.

Orion’s expression wavered, slightly frowning, and this one was definitely a record for how quickly Ratchet had fragged up—

“No, I must admit that I actually came specifically to see you.”

Ratchet’s optics widened as they snapped up to Orion’s face and he reset his audials.

“What?”

Orion was now the one to glance away, looking a bit abashed. “It was pure chance that I was in the medical section that day since I don’t work on the public side of the archives often so I was unsure that we would ever happen to cross paths again, and one of my friends has a particular talent for finding mecha so I—I asked him for a favor.”

Ratchet couldn’t help looking over at the two gladiators – how had this darling archivist found himself friends with mecha like that? – before returning to Orion, who was now looking down at him, concerned optics searching him for a reaction.

And that’s when it had really set in. Orion had wanted to see him again, and instead of simply hoping to cross paths, Orion had someone find Ratchet so they could make sure they met again. And on top of that, he was worried that Ratchet would react badly to that fact. However, Ratchet couldn’t help being impressed and, quite frankly, flattered. His sparkrate picked up and his face heated and oh was that glimmer of hope getting brighter.

“Well,” Ratchet said, tipping his cube towards Orion with an embarrassed chuckle, “you managed to find me despite my best efforts.”

“Did you not want to be found?” Optimus asked, concerned still, and it was cute. It could have been the high grade talking, but Ratchet was certain that the archivist couldn’t have looked any more adorable than with his brows knitted and his optics wide.

“More that I didn’t want to be found here,” Ratchet admitted with a shrug, pausing to take a gulp of his drink for strength. “Easier to keep up a more flattering image of myself at the archives than here.”

Optimus’s helm tilted slightly, but something like amusement flickered in his brilliant blue optics.

“And what image have I found here then?”

“Med student by day, party ambulance by night, and all around pain in the aft,” Ratchet recited, as he had a million times before at thousands of parties.

Orion’s chuckle, warm and barely audible over the noise of the bar, was by far the greatest reaction he had ever gotten, and Ratchet’s spark swelled.

“Is that what you think I see?” he asked, tone full of humor.

“If not yet, then give me a couple more drinks to prove my point,” Ratchet insisted, his lips curling at the corners as he felt himself relax. The almost familiar ease he had felt with Orion before was back again.

That or the high grade he had chugged was kicking in.

“I thought Jazz was the one looking for free drinks.” Orion was teasing him and Ratchet couldn’t help laughing aloud now.

“No, no! I didn’t mean—I can pay for my own drinks, thank you very much.”

Orion made his way closer, shifting to the side so Ratchet wasn’t trapped between him and the wall, and Ratchet thought to himself that he really wouldn’t have minded that so much. And Primus was that a thought he shouldn’t be having at the moment.

“Then I really don’t see what you have to worry about. I’ve yet to see any supposed ‘party ambulance’ or ‘pain in the aft’.”

Ratchet rolled his optics before replying, “Need I remind you that I was the deranged medical student who had you up until sunrise because I had papers to finish.”

“And I had a lovely time,” Orion replied easily.

“I also nearly punched out your coworker.”

“You’re not the first and you won’t be the last,” Orion insisted, shrugging ever so slightly in the face of Ratchet’s surprise. “He’s not a particularly likeable mech.”

“And you think I am?” Ratchet asked with a snort.

Orion immediately, without a second thought, nodded and said, “I do.”

Ratchet nearly choked on his high grade, wincing as he forced it down his intake correctly and tried to ignore how his whole frame burned.

“Well, that’s very flattering of you.”

A moment passed, and then another, and Ratchet was too flustered to think of anything to say, instead just focusing on his drink and trying desperately to come up with something—

“Ratchet?”

Ratchet’s optics flicked up to Orion’s face. The archivist was staring down at him, optics bright, focused. And he was leaning closer – not too close, nothing invasive but feeling all the more intimate for it.

“You should know that I wanted to find you because I think you’re beautiful and I would like to kiss you,” Orion said, quieter now that they were close, quieter but in that deep voice of his, and Ratchet’s spark pulsed hard at the blatant confession. He opened his mouth, feeling as if that deserved something in response, but Ratchet was wordless. Orion continued, “I know that usually mecha use more, ah, clever lines than that in situations like this, but none of the ones I found seemed to be about you or me. So if you would prefer, I can come up with something, but I wanted to say that first.”

It took rebooting his voicebox twice before Ratchet could stammer out, “No, that—that won’t be necessary, that was – that was good. I mean--” Ratchet grimaced, his face feeling as if it was melting off because this was ridiculous, he was making a complete glitch of himself.

But Orion didn’t stop smiling. If anything, he looked rather charmed.

“I hadn’t realized you were so shy,” Orion commented, teased really, and that was enough to finally snap Ratchet out of his reverie with a startled laugh.

“I’ve been accused to be many a terrible thing, Orion, but shy isn’t one of them,” Ratchet said as he waved his servo in dismissal of the idea.

“You could have fooled me,” Orion insisted, unmoved but clearly amused.

“Well, that’s--!” Ratchet paused, floundering for a moment as his chuckles trailed off, until finally he continued, “It’s a very recent development, I assure you.”

Orion’s optics cycled with interest.

“Oh? How recent?”

“Well,” Ratchet drawled, enchanted by the way Orion looked at him, as if he was somehow equally enchanted by the mess of a mech before him, “how long ago was that night at the café?”

That finally caught the archivist by surprise. Orion’s expression froze and his optics were nearly blindingly bright.

“Ratchet?”

“Yes?”

Orion’s digits were gentle under Ratchet’s chin as he leaned down closer.

“May I kiss you?”

“Please.”

Orion leaned down further, closing the distance as his free servo found a place on Ratchet’s waist, and Ratchet eagerly reached up to pull him in faster.

Until the splash of his forgotten drink across his digits and down Orion’s back startled him and Ratchet could feel humiliation shoot across his lines lightning fast as he yanked his servo back and tried to pull away.

“Frag, I’m sorry --!”

”It’s alright,” Orion laughed, keeping Ratchet close as he plucked the now empty cube from Ratchet’s servo and placed it on a table next to them where his own drink was. Ratchet couldn’t remember when the archivist had abandoned the drink, couldn’t really think past the embarrassment that he had just dumped a drink on Orion, and now of all times--!

And then Orion was pulling him back in and kissing him.

Orion’s lips were sweet with lingering high grade and impossibly soft, and Ratchet quickly lost himself in the feeling of them as he clung to the archivist, kissing back with fervor. Warm servos cupping his cheek and pressing against his lower back, a clever glossa meeting his own eagerly, and the gentle rumbling of Orion’s engine when Ratchet nipped and sucked on his upper lip – it all left Ratchet feeling heady with affection and lust.

Ratchet couldn’t help a muffled groan as Orion retaliated by capturing his bottom lip between his dentae.

“Orion?”

The archivist hummed in question as he kissed the corner of Ratchet’s lips, giving him room to speak, and Ratchet’s spark throbbed.

“You can’t let me go home with you,” Ratchet insisted, aware that the effect was ruined by how breathless he sounded and how his digits pulled at Orion, “no matter what I say later.”

“That’s rather presumptuous of you,” Orion commented, voice full of amusement and somehow deeper than before. Ratchet shuddered slightly and moved his helm so their mouths brushed again, stealing a quick, wet kiss.

“That’s just how things usually go when I’m overcharged and kissing someone at a bar,” Ratchet said as he nuzzled his way under Orion’s chin to drag his glossa up a prominent fuel line before sucking on it. Orion’s engine gave a subtle rev at that and his servo behind Ratchet’s helm stroked encouragingly. “But I like you too much to ruin this with a one-night stand.”

Orion moved then, swooping down to kiss his way into Ratchet’s mouth, long and deeply enough that by the time he pulled away, Ratchet panted against his lips since his overworked cooling fans found little relief in the crowded bar.

“You can’t ruin this.”

Ratchet snorted and replied, “Is that a challenge?”

“More like reassurance,” Orion replied as he trailed his soft, damp lips along Ratchet’s check towards his audials. “Though I can promise you we won’t interface tonight.”

Orion’s mouth was hot around Ratchet’s audial finial and he gasped aloud as his frame arched up against Orion’s.

“You sure? At the rate you’re going, I could be convinced.”

“Which is why we won’t.” Orion drew back until their gazes met, his expression serious as he said, “Not while you’re overcharged.”

And that—

That was new.

Ratchet’s spark ached with emotion strong enough that he dared not name it.

“That’s very considerate of you,” Ratchet managed, aware of how ridiculous that sounded when they were entangled together, spilt high grade growing sticky on Orion’s back and Ratchet’s lips nearly feeling bruised from their fevered kissing. “And that only makes me like you more, so now that we’re agreed about what we won’t do tonight, can we return to what we are doing?”

The serious expression eased into a warm smile as Orion leaned in, but only enough to press their forehelms together. “At this rate, we’ll never get back to our friends.”

“Frag ‘em. This is what they wanted anyway, isn’t it?”

“A fair point, Ratchet.” Orion pressed a slow kiss to Ratchet’s lips. “But we’ll have to face their gloating eventually.”

Ratchet frowned and somehow that just earned him another, albeit chaste, kiss.

“Fine. But you owe me at least one more session like this before the end of the night,” Ratchet demanded, finally removing one of his servos from Orion’s frame to point at him, “and your commlink.”

Orion huffed a soft laugh as he nodded.

“Perhaps even plans for an actual date?”

Ratchet rolled his optics as he stepped back, though he reached to grab Orion by the wrist.

“Obviously. Now come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and then we’ll find where those slaggers got off to. Your big frag-off friend can’t be hard to find in here.”

“Of course.”

Orion’s whole face was lit up with tenderness and quiet joy, and Ratchet swore his processor hiccupped.

Ratchet had been so wrong before, because this. This mech, this face, looking at him with such adoration, was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

“By the Allspark,” Ratchet murmured. “You really do think I’m likeable.”

And Orion laughed, bright and rumbling.

“Exceedingly so, Ratchet.”

Within seconds, Ratchet had Orion back against the wall and was savoring the sensation of laughter against his lips.

Jazz could wait another five minutes before getting Ratchet’s begrudging gratitude.

#fanfiction #tfp #I hope to write more with Jazz in the future because boy is he a fun character #also characterization is hard when you're writing them young and pre-war and also a little drunk

[readbookywooks]

The Man of the Waters

IT WAS THE ship's commander who had just spoken. At these words Ned Land stood up quickly. Nearly strangled, the steward staggered out at a signal from his superior; but such was the commander's authority aboard his vessel, not one gesture gave away the resentment that this man must have felt toward the Canadian. In silence we waited for the outcome of this scene; Conseil, in spite of himself, seemed almost fascinated, I was stunned. Arms crossed, leaning against a corner of the table, the commander studied us with great care. Was he reluctant to speak further? Did he regret those words he had just pronounced in French? You would have thought so. After a few moments of silence, which none of us would have dreamed of interrupting: "Gentlemen," he said in a calm, penetrating voice, "I speak French, English, German, and Latin with equal fluency. Hence I could have answered you as early as our initial interview, but first I wanted to make your acquaintance and then think things over. Your four versions of the same narrative, perfectly consistent by and large, established your personal identities for me. I now know that sheer chance has placed in my presence Professor Pierre Aronnax, specialist in natural history at the Paris Museum and entrusted with a scientific mission abroad, his manservant Conseil, and Ned Land, a harpooner of Canadian origin aboard the Abraham Lincoln, a frigate in the national navy of the United States of America." I bowed in agreement. The commander hadn't put a question to me. So no answer was called for. This man expressed himself with perfect ease and without a trace of an accent. His phrasing was clear, his words well chosen, his facility in elocution remarkable. And yet, to me, he didn't have "the feel" of a fellow countryman. He went on with the conversation as follows: "No doubt, sir, you've felt that I waited rather too long before paying you this second visit. After discovering your identities, I wanted to weigh carefully what policy to pursue toward you. I had great difficulty deciding. Some extremely inconvenient circumstances have brought you into the presence of a man who has cut himself off from humanity. Your coming has disrupted my whole existence." "Unintentionally," I said. "Unintentionally?" the stranger replied, raising his voice a little. "Was it unintentionally that the Abraham Lincoln hunted me on every sea? Was it unintentionally that you traveled aboard that frigate? Was it unintentionally that your shells bounced off my ship's hull? Was it unintentionally that Mr. Ned Land hit me with his harpoon?" I detected a controlled irritation in these words. But there was a perfectly natural reply to these charges, and I made it. "Sir," I said, "you're surely unaware of the discussions that have taken place in Europe and America with yourself as the subject. You don't realize that various accidents, caused by collisions with your underwater machine, have aroused public passions on those two continents. I'll spare you the innumerable hypotheses with which we've tried to explain this inexplicable phenomenon, whose secret is yours alone. But please understand that the Abraham Lincoln chased you over the Pacific high seas in the belief it was hunting some powerful marine monster, which had to be purged from the ocean at all cost." A half smile curled the commander's lips; then, in a calmer tone: "Professor Aronnax," he replied, "do you dare claim that your frigate wouldn't have chased and cannonaded an underwater boat as readily as a monster?" This question baffled me, since Commander Farragut would certainly have shown no such hesitation. He would have seen it as his sworn duty to destroy a contrivance of this kind just as promptly as a gigantic narwhale. "So you understand, sir," the stranger went on, "that I have a right to treat you as my enemy." I kept quiet, with good reason. What was the use of debating such a proposition, when superior force can wipe out the best arguments? "It took me a good while to decide," the commander went on. "Nothing obliged me to grant you hospitality. If I were to part company with you, I'd have no personal interest in ever seeing you again. I could put you back on the platform of this ship that has served as your refuge. I could sink under the sea, and I could forget you ever existed. Wouldn't that be my right?" "Perhaps it would be the right of a savage," I replied. "But not that of a civilized man." "Professor," the commander replied swiftly, "I'm not what you term a civilized man! I've severed all ties with society, for reasons that I alone have the right to appreciate. Therefore I obey none of its regulations, and I insist that you never invoke them in front of me!" This was plain speaking. A flash of anger and scorn lit up the stranger's eyes, and I glimpsed a fearsome past in this man's life. Not only had he placed himself beyond human laws, he had rendered himself independent, out of all reach, free in the strictest sense of the word! For who would dare chase him to the depths of the sea when he thwarted all attacks on the surface? What ship could withstand a collision with his underwater Monitor? What armor plate, no matter how heavy, could bear the thrusts of his spur? No man among men could call him to account for his actions. God, if he believed in Him, his conscience if he had one-these were the only judges to whom he was answerable. These thoughts swiftly crossed my mind while this strange individual fell silent, like someone completely self-absorbed. I regarded him with a mixture of fear and fascination, in the same way, no doubt, that Oedipus regarded the Sphinx. After a fairly long silence, the commander went on with our conversation. "So I had difficulty deciding," he said. "But I concluded that my personal interests could be reconciled with that natural compassion to which every human being has a right. Since fate has brought you here, you'll stay aboard my vessel. You'll be free here, and in exchange for that freedom, moreover totally related to it, I'll lay on you just one condition. Your word that you'll submit to it will be sufficient." "Go on, sir," I replied. "I assume this condition is one an honest man can accept?" "Yes, sir. Just this. It's possible that certain unforeseen events may force me to confine you to your cabins for some hours, or even for some days as the case may be. Since I prefer never to use violence, I expect from you in such a case, even more than in any other, your unquestioning obedience. By acting in this way, I shield you from complicity, I absolve you of all responsibility, since I myself make it impossible for you to see what you aren't meant to see. Do you accept this condition?" So things happened on board that were quite odd to say the least, things never to be seen by people not placing themselves beyond society's laws! Among all the surprises the future had in store for me, this would not be the mildest. "We accept," I replied. "Only, I'll ask your permission, sir, to address a question to you, just one." "Go ahead, sir." "You said we'd be free aboard your vessel?" "Completely." "Then I would ask what you mean by this freedom." "Why, the freedom to come, go, see, and even closely observe everything happening here - except under certain rare circumstances-in short, the freedom we ourselves enjoy, my companions and I." It was obvious that we did not understand each other. "Pardon me, sir," I went on, "but that's merely the freedom that every prisoner has, the freedom to pace his cell! That's not enough for us." "Nevertheless, it will have to do!" "What! We must give up seeing our homeland, friends, and relatives ever again?" "Yes, sir. But giving up that intolerable earthly yoke that some men call freedom is perhaps less painful than you think!" "By thunder!" Ned Land shouted. "I'll never promise I won't try getting out of here!" "I didn't ask for such a promise, Mr. Land," the commander replied coldly. "Sir," I replied, flaring up in spite of myself, "you're taking unfair advantage of us! This is sheer cruelty!" "No, sir, it's an act of mercy! You're my prisoners of war! I've cared for you when, with a single word, I could plunge you back into the ocean depths! You attacked me! You've just stumbled on a secret no living man must probe, the secret of my entire existence! Do you think I'll send you back to a world that must know nothing more of me? Never! By keeping you on board, it isn't you whom I care for, it's me!" These words indicated that the commander pursued a policy impervious to arguments. "Then, sir," I went on, "you give us, quite simply, a choice between life and death?" "Quite simply." "My friends," I said, "to a question couched in these terms, our answer can be taken for granted. But no solemn promises bind us to the commander of this vessel." "None, sir," the stranger replied. Then, in a gentler voice, he went on: "Now, allow me to finish what I have to tell you. I've heard of you, Professor Aronnax. You, if not your companions, won't perhaps complain too much about the stroke of fate that has brought us together. Among the books that make up my favorite reading, you'll find the work you've published on the great ocean depths. I've pored over it. You've taken your studies as far as terrestrial science can go. But you don't know everything because you haven't seen everything. Let me tell you, professor, you won't regret the time you spend aboard my vessel. You're going to voyage through a land of wonders. Stunned amazement will probably be your habitual state of mind. It will be a long while before you tire of the sights constantly before your eyes. I'm going to make another underwater tour of the world-perhaps my last, who knows? - and I'll review everything I've studied in the depths of these seas that I've crossed so often, and you can be my fellow student. Starting this very day, you'll enter a new element, you'll see what no human being has ever seen before-since my men and I no longer count - and thanks to me, you're going to learn the ultimate secrets of our planet." I can't deny it; the commander's words had a tremendous effect on me. He had caught me on my weak side, and I momentarily forgot that not even this sublime experience was worth the loss of my freedom. Besides, I counted on the future to resolve this important question. So I was content to reply: "Sir, even though you've cut yourself off from humanity, I can see that you haven't disowned all human feeling. We're castaways whom you've charitably taken aboard, we'll never forget that. Speaking for myself, I don't rule out that the interests of science could override even the need for freedom, which promises me that, in exchange, our encounter will provide great rewards." I thought the commander would offer me his hand, to seal our agreement. He did nothing of the sort. I regretted that. "One last question," I said, just as this inexplicable being seemed ready to withdraw. "Ask it, professor." "By what name am I to call you?" "Sir," the commander replied, "to you, I'm simply Captain Nemo;* to me, you and your companions are simply passengers on the Nautilus." *Latin: nemo means "no one." Ed. Captain Nemo called out. A steward appeared. The captain gave him his orders in that strange language I couldn't even identify. Then, turning to the Canadian and Conseil: "A meal is waiting for you in your cabin," he told them. "Kindly follow this man." "That's an offer I can't refuse!" the harpooner replied. After being confined for over thirty hours, he and Conseil were finally out of this cell. "And now, Professor Aronnax, our own breakfast is ready. Allow me to lead the way." "Yours to command, captain." I followed Captain Nemo, and as soon as I passed through the doorway, I went down a kind of electrically lit passageway that resembled a gangway on a ship. After a stretch of some ten meters, a second door opened before me. I then entered a dining room, decorated and furnished in austere good taste. Inlaid with ebony trim, tall oaken sideboards stood at both ends of this room, and sparkling on their shelves were staggered rows of earthenware, porcelain, and glass of incalculable value. There silver-plated dinnerware gleamed under rays pouring from light fixtures in the ceiling, whose glare was softened and tempered by delicately painted designs. In the center of this room stood a table, richly spread. Captain Nemo indicated the place I was to occupy. "Be seated," he told me, "and eat like the famished man you must be." Our breakfast consisted of several dishes whose contents were all supplied by the sea, and some foods whose nature and derivation were unknown to me. They were good, I admit, but with a peculiar flavor to which I would soon grow accustomed. These various food items seemed to be rich in phosphorous, and I thought that they, too, must have been of marine origin. Captain Nemo stared at me. I had asked him nothing, but he read my thoughts, and on his own he answered the questions I was itching to address him. "Most of these dishes are new to you," he told me. "But you can consume them without fear. They're healthy and nourishing. I renounced terrestrial foods long ago, and I'm none the worse for it. My crew are strong and full of energy, and they eat what I eat." "So," I said, "all these foods are products of the sea?" "Yes, professor, the sea supplies all my needs. Sometimes I cast my nets in our wake, and I pull them up ready to burst. Sometimes I go hunting right in the midst of this element that has long seemed so far out of man's reach, and I corner the game that dwells in my underwater forests. Like the flocks of old Proteus, King Neptune's shepherd, my herds graze without fear on the ocean's immense prairies. There I own vast properties that I harvest myself, and which are forever sown by the hand of the Creator of All Things." I stared at Captain Nemo in definite astonishment, and I answered him: "Sir, I understand perfectly how your nets can furnish excellent fish for your table; I understand less how you can chase aquatic game in your underwater forests; but how a piece of red meat, no matter how small, can figure in your menu, that I don't understand at all." "Nor I, sir," Captain Nemo answered me. "I never touch the flesh of land animals." "Nevertheless, this . . . ," I went on, pointing to a dish where some slices of loin were still left. "What you believe to be red meat, professor, is nothing other than loin of sea turtle. Similarly, here are some dolphin livers you might mistake for stewed pork. My chef is a skillful food processor who excels at pickling and preserving these various exhibits from the ocean. Feel free to sample all of these foods. Here are some preserves of sea cucumber that a Malaysian would declare to be unrivaled in the entire world, here's cream from milk furnished by the udders of cetaceans, and sugar from the huge fucus plants in the North Sea; and finally, allow me to offer you some marmalade of sea anemone, equal to that from the tastiest fruits." So I sampled away, more as a curiosity seeker than an epicure, while Captain Nemo delighted me with his incredible anecdotes. "But this sea, Professor Aronnax," he told me, "this prodigious, inexhaustible wet nurse of a sea not only feeds me, she dresses me as well. That fabric covering you was woven from the masses of filaments that anchor certain seashells; as the ancients were wont to do, it was dyed with purple ink from the murex snail and shaded with violet tints that I extract from a marine slug, the Mediterranean sea hare. The perfumes you'll find on the washstand in your cabin were produced from the oozings of marine plants. Your mattress was made from the ocean's softest eelgrass. Your quill pen will be whalebone, your ink a juice secreted by cuttlefish or squid. Everything comes to me from the sea, just as someday everything will return to it!" "You love the sea, captain." "Yes, I love it! The sea is the be all and end all! It covers seven-tenths of the planet earth. Its breath is clean and healthy. It's an immense wilderness where a man is never lonely, because he feels life astir on every side. The sea is simply the vehicle for a prodigious, unearthly mode of existence; it's simply movement and love; it's living infinity, as one of your poets put it. And in essence, professor, nature is here made manifest by all three of her kingdoms, mineral, vegetable, and animal. The last of these is amply represented by the four zoophyte groups, three classes of articulates, five classes of mollusks, and three vertebrate classes: mammals, reptiles, and those countless legions of fish, an infinite order of animals totaling more than 13,000 species, of which only one-tenth belong to fresh water. The sea is a vast pool of nature. Our globe began with the sea, so to speak, and who can say we won't end with it! Here lies supreme tranquility. The sea doesn't belong to tyrants. On its surface they can still exercise their iniquitous claims, battle each other, devour each other, haul every earthly horror. But thirty feet below sea level, their dominion ceases, their influence fades, their power vanishes! Ah, sir, live! Live in the heart of the seas! Here alone lies independence! Here I recognize no superiors! Here I'm free!" Captain Nemo suddenly fell silent in the midst of this enthusiastic outpouring. Had he let himself get carried away, past the bounds of his habitual reserve? Had he said too much? For a few moments he strolled up and down, all aquiver. Then his nerves grew calmer, his facial features recovered their usual icy composure, and turning to me: "Now, professor," he said, "if you'd like to inspect the Nautilus, I'm yours to command."

#20000Leagues