#boardwalk empire edit

[jasper-woozy]

still dont know if ill post my art lololol but heres an edit! CW: guns and blood and stuff NOT REAL ! (if this gets taken down ahhh oh well)

[violaobanion]

CHARLIE COX as OWEN SLEATER in BOARDWALK EMPIRE (2010-2014) 3x01 Resolution

[canastamere]

working title for this was “real housewives of kings landing”

[melanconniehill]

I've been needing to make this & post it for a few days.

[weepingchoir]

Imperium Sanctus

(...T)he phrase “Grimdark” may suggest the name of some 2000s era Goth club. It’s a recent coinage for an ongoing craze in “gritty” and dark fantasy settings, epitomised and popularised by George RR Martin, becoming the default tone for a whole range of feted fantasy offerings from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series featuring a dark, brooding protagonist who kills a lot of people — and occasionally feels bad about it — to Mark Lawrence’s Broken Empire Trilogy featuring a dark, brooding protagonist who kills a lot of people — and occasionally feels bad about it.

Like many fantasists with a bone to pick, mister Milbank doesn't actually know when or where "grimdark" was coined. Knowing fuck all has never stopped a critic (indeed, The Critic): Milbank goes on to blame everything from Breaking Bad to The Sopranos, constructing a spurious history of dark fantasy(?) that ultimately singles out author Michael Moorcock as godfather of grimdark.

While Moorcock’s gory, British sorcery is a major influence on today’s grimdark, the inception point of the trend is in fact googleable: it’s been the tagline of gory, British science-fantasy wargame Warhammer 40,000 since its 1993 second edition.

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.

Already this betrays the hopepunk's antimaterialist concerns. It doesn't matter that The Walking Dead and Boardwalk Empire are nothing alike. Taking the historicist tack, it becomes even less likely that they have a connection to 40K. But morality, as an immaterial concern, is a laser beam: it vaporizes material history. Grimdark is a specter on the pages of anything that irritates gentle sensibilities.

For the sake of avoiding googleable gaffes, Alexandra Rowland, author of books named things like A Taste Of Gold And Iron, and coiner of "hopepunk", in a follow-up essay:

There’s no such thing as winning forever. Evil cannot be vanquished, only beaten back for a day or two, and then it trickles back in, like water seeping through the cracks in a dam. Ask it of hopepunk, then: "What's the point?" And the answer is, of course, that the fight itself is the point.

In the noble brightness of the far future, there is only (___)?

Unlike Rowland, Milbank is a nothingpunk: The Critic is a conservative Christian rag pontificating everything from trans-exclusionary rhetoric to the dismantling of higher education. Which begs us to consider how Milbank so easily co-opts shades of Rowland's language to peddle a retvrn to Tolkien, on its face the last thing a fantasy author looking to innovate would want.

The Imperium of Man, the central setting of 40K, is an arch-conservative Great Man cult worshipping the once-Emperor of Mankind. This is the gate leading to the inner sanctum where the Emperor's corpse resides. Catholic readers may have noticed similarities to portrayals of the Archangel Michael fighting the Dragon (1400~, 1498, 1860), as narrated in Revelation 12.

Revelation is the tale of darkness enveloping the world, and the noble, virtuous men who persevere despite persecution and are eventually victorious in heavenly war(!). This is not dissimilar to J.R.R. Tolkien's "fundamentally religious and Catholic work", in which ordinary men persevere against darkness enveloping a world. Rowland and Milbank both champion Tolkien as exemplary, the former in the same breath as Jesus. Yes, of Nazareth.

The Lord Of The Rings is unmistakeably about the War of the Ring. Positing Tolkien's apocalypticism as aspirational fails to rebuff the basic conceit that war is a human constant and even a force for good. If this isn't the aim of a genre purported to concern itself with kindness and "giv[ing] a fuck about the people on the other side of the world", what is?

Aesthetics. Rowland doesn't call for a narrative movement with less conflict, but one that appropriately celebrates those that fall on the right side of conflict. Even just those that deigned to imagine, of slaying the Dragon, "probably drunk in a bar somewhere, I bet it can be done, though." (The writer's original temptation: a medal for thinking the right thing.) Millions of people die in Revelation, magnitudes more than in Game of Thrones, but the virtuous go to heaven forever. The Emperor of Mankind sits on the Golden Throne, Frodo bodily assumpted into the Undying Lands, Jesus curled up into a ball and just rolled away. All manner of things shall be well.

The transition from here to open conservatism is again in aesthetics, and thus stepwise. Having established Tolkien as the only fantasy writer he respects, Milbank derides grimdark as immature wish fulfillment. If you write fantasy at all, it ought to have a clear moral message, else you are devaluing reality by infesting Real (not in the Lacanian sense) conflict with magic missiles. But he's also established that realistic fiction with no clear hero is a faux pas. He wants Breaking Good and, like, The Walking Alive.

This is no surprise: if you were around for the Disco Elysium craze, you might remember this tweet (holy shit it's still up) calling for a game that uses Disco's systems to narrate the story of "a young witch" looking for her neighbor's cat. Take another step and this is the logical conclusion of an aesthetic that prizes upright moral posture: a world where the protagonist has to do nearly nothing to be good. The little village in the Alps and the events of Disco Elysium might be unfolding in the same world. But our little German girl with no problems doesn't have to participate in anything as unsightly as a Pinkerton massacre. Milbank disdains C.S. Lewis without knowing that what he wants is the end of Narnia, irrespective of the events that preceded it: the crowning of the king, who once was good. The Emperor protects!

[n-m-and-p-avocados-at-law]

Is anyone from the DD cast going to be on any late night shows this week? I feel like they should be.

Also, I need them to play the clip from Late Night from like 2012 where Jimmy Fallon said Charlie Cox was born again after he talked about listening to Irish priests to develop his Irish accent for Boardwalk Empire.

Edit: I have had such a hard time finding it on YouTube, but someone put it on TikTok.

[faustiandevil]

Some of my contributions to @soapkaars Wacky Races/Boardwalk Empire AU, because I went kind of insane with it. (My city now.) I do provide the HB knowledge and he does the history legwork.

Info under the cut.

Richard Milhous ‘Dick’ Dastardly and Max ‘Red Max’ Richthofen

Two WWI army vets who served together in the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte and after the war ended up in America in hopes of starting anew, only to end up working as bootleggers and taking part in illegal races. Both of them are hired by Sylvester Sneekly and are actually proving their worth with Max winning the first race (only, because his boyfriend let him, we all saw See-Saw to Arkansas, right??). Too bad it also got him a bullet in the gut after boasting his victory to the wrong person. He’s gonna be fine tho, don’t worry. He’s a soldier he can walk it off.

What if Gyp Rosetti was played by Peter Lorre? Well, that’s how you get Lil’ Gruesome in the Boardwalk AU. Just as insane and a sore loser, who is absolutely not taking that second place too well (again, canon, as the Creepy Coupe came in second place, twice in a row actually, which is great because it lines up well for the AU). Currently pending who he works for (if we can’t come up with anything better I will make him work for Dr. Bigot as a joke, and yes, that’s a real HB character lol), but in any case he starts a turf war first.

Freddy 'Lil Gruesome' Loran

Edit: Changed to Béla Groszmann to work better in the AU

Penelope Pitstop and Sylvester Sneekly

Penelope took a sip of the Maggie DuBois The Great Race emancipated women’s juice and is now a suffragette, who will stop at nothing to prove that women can be anything if they want to be, even bootleggers. After her dad gets taken out, she becomes the heiress to the Pitstop fortune and will use it how she pleases, and will take part in the races, much to the charging of her guardian Sylvester Sneekly, who has to put up with the insane Florida woman shenanigans (yes, she’s from Florida, which explains a lot lol). Man is very close to snapping, but for now he will try to keep his cool until he can figure out a way to get his hands on the Pitstop money.

[catschimericalcreationslore]

Cat's Chimerical Creations Lore: Minty

This is Minty the Minotaur:

Minty was the first ever Scrapbag Baby, i.e. a plushie made entirely from the leftover bits of other Chimerical Creations. He's also the first one to be born on a Tuesday.

Minty was born without the use of his back legs (I suspect because I messed up restuffing his donor body before he was born).

However, according to his personal Minty Canon, he did originally have full use of all four limbs and was in fact a renowned high speed runner.

One day he bumped into a dragon while out for a sprint, and the dragon put a curse on him that rendered him paraplegic.

Minty claims that his curse can be removed if he is given one hundred shark brothers, and also if all dragons would die.

He also claims that he used to own the Bison Steve Hotel in Fallout, but that Bison Steve stole it from him after the dragon curse. For this reason, he would also like Bison Steve to die.

When he was very young, he was badly scared by an advert for Schlage locks which was far too frightening for his taste. As a result, he decided to elect himself the Spookums King, so he could control all scary things and sentence all Schlage locks to die.

In December 2020, he became a joint Spookums Co-King with his younger brother Nublet, which tempered his tyranical rule somewhat (Nublet being more focused on spooky films and rainy days as opposed to just using his platform for murder)

He was involved in a (one-sided) blood feud with Santa Claus, but as of Christmas 2024, the two have reconciled.

His prize possessions are a blu-ray edition of Boardwalk Empire (which he enjoys guarding from anyone else and curling up on to sleep, not unlike a dragon...) and his bow, which was infused with Christmas Magic on 25/12/24 and allows him to float when he does good deeds.

He once invited Phil Collins to a sleepover. Though his arrival was initially delayed due to bad weather, Phil did manage to attend. They had a very nice time, but Minty eventually got bored of poor Phil.

At one point, Minty was also very impressed by meeting various Pacific Rim kaiju though, much like with Phil Collins, he tired of them once the shine of their "fame" wore off.

(the Pacific Rim kaiju, being kaiju with no concept of fame, were unaffected by this and bemused by Minty's starstruck fawning)

Minty enjoys "doughnut parties" (which is him eating doughnuts while dancing and singing "doughnut party!" over and over again), being "everyone's favourite", telling lies, doing crime, and "woeing", which is when he sighs dramatically and throws himself about in order to get attention.

On June 9 2023, which was declared a public holiday because it was Tynwald Day Minty is so great, we celebrated his 3rd birthday:

If you would like to help Minty gain 100 shark brothers, kill all dragons, reclaim his hotel from Bison Steve, get more famous friends, tell more lies, do more crimes and other "mint-tazing" "mint-tastic" and "mint-credible" things, please consider making a donation at https://ko-fi.com/catschimericalcreations

[violaobanion]

PERIOD MEN IN DISTRESS *:･ﾟ✧ Poldark (2015-2019), created by Debbie Horsfield The White Queen (2013), dir. James Kent, Jamie Payne & Colin Teague Emma (2020), dir. Autumn de Wilde Bridgerton (2020-), created by Chris Van Dusen Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014), created by Terence Winter Peaky Blinders (2013-2022), created by Steven Knight Pride & Prejudice (1995), dir. Simon Langton Jane Eyre (2011), dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga

#perioddramaweek2023 // day 7: free day

[vineipress]

Hihi it's me the guy who leaves absurdly long comments on your fics—you mentioned somewhere in the notes of Money, Power, Glory that most of your mafia knowledge comes from films and documentaries, and I was just wondering if you have any recs? I've never been that into the mafia as a concept before so don't think I've watched any, not even the most popular ones, but now you've ignited the flame of my interest with your fic and idk where to start!! No worries if not though <333

Hey, great to see you dude!

I watched and read a lot of mafia-related stuff, both fiction and non-fiction. I’ll spare you the bore of the non-fiction and focus on the fiction. Listed in no particular order: 

Live action movies: 

The Godfather parts 1 and 2 (if you enjoyed Lucerys’ arc, you’ll love the character Michael Corleone) 

Goodfellas 

Casino 

Scarface - both the 1983 and 1932 versions 

Donnie Brasco (this one was my favorite!) 

The Irishman 

Legend (2015) 

Once Upon a Time in America 

The Untouchables 

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

The Public Enemy (1931) 

TV Shows: 

Boardwalk Empire 

Peaky Blinders

How to Become a Mob Boss (technically non-fiction but it was funny so I'll toss it in)

I haven’t watched it, but I’ve heard great things about The Sopranos

Anime: 

Banana Fish (definitely check TWs)

Gangsta 

Video Games: 

Mafia: The Definitive Edition

Mafia II 

Grand Theft Auto IV (okay technically I've had this game for over a decade but still)

I tried to watch mafia stories set in the 21st century but honestly I didn't enjoy any of them, with the exception Banana Fish which I thought was fine.

So yeah, this isn’t a rec list so much as a list of what I studied. I did try to highlight the ones I enjoyed most. Given the subject matter, all of them feature violence to varying capacities.

Since you’re a film student, maybe you’ll like some too. Thanks for stopping by!

[bellaxgiornata]

I am absolutely missing Mikey today, anyone else? I'm editing up the smutty one shot Keep Me Warm to hopefully share sometime in the next couple of days and then maybe I'll try to work more on that second part of She Lit A Fire that I had started. Though I'm not feeling good today and halfway through season one of Boardwalk Empire and I'm desperate to get to Owen already...

It's also not fair how good this man looks in a plain tee-shirt.

[kotylynnemerrill]

Thanks @evita-shelby

❤️Get To Know Your Mutuals❤️

What's the origin of your blog title?

It's literally my name lol - it started when I was born 😁

OTP(s) + shipname:

Richard Harrow and Julia Sigorski (I don't think they had a shipname tbh) from Boardwalk Empire, and Fezco O'Neil and Lexi Howard (Fexi) from Euphoria. Love these four sooo much.

I'm also a sucker for Fox Mulder and Dana Skully from the X Files (not sure what their ship name is)

Favorite color:

YELLOW 💛

Song stuck in your head:

Hmm...right now it's 'Alibi' by Sevdaliza, Pabllo Vittar and Yseult.

Singin it all day, everyday lately.

Weirdest habit/trait:

I usually have to have music or a movie playing in the background when I'm cleaning or just at home in general - I really don't have to be doing anything, I just like background noise. Not really sure if that's weird but...

Sometimes when I'm writing I'll start off on my computer, like typing it out, and when I'm rereading it or doing edits if something doesn't sound right I have to write it out on paper. It helps me recapture the flow - I don't know why it works but it does.

Hobbies:

I wouldn't say I'm an avid reader but I like to read, I like listening to music, and I love movies.

I used to draw a lot but I haven't done that in a while until recently - I kind of picked it up again.

I've recently started traveling and I love it. So far I've been to chicago, Scotland, and I just got back from California - next stop is probably Savannah, Georgia and Thailand!

If you work, what's your profession?

I currently have two jobs. My main job is I work at an Alf building for people with Alzheimer's and dementia as a CMA, and I work part time at a florist.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be:

Honestly if I could get paid to travel that would be fantastic. Other than that I'd like to get back into doing anything with animals. I used to work as a vet tech assistant and really loved it.

Something you're good at:

Shit...I don't know. I've been told I'm good at art and writing. I've also been told I can carry a tune.

Something you hate:

Rude people and people who don't have any sympathy.

Something you collect:

Apparently I have a ridiculous amount of blankets - I guess you could say I collect them lol. I also have a ridiculous amount of DVDs.

Something you forget:

I can never keep my nieces and nephews birthdays straight. I always seem to forget to fold my laundry too...hmmm.

What's your love language:

Acts of service. I like to cook for people.

Favorite movie/show:

Shit there's a lot...

Honestly my favorite show of all time is probably Boardwalk empire and my favorite movie is The mummy.

Favorite animal:

I like all animals. Probably the only one I'm not crazy about is monkeys... especially chimpanzees.

What were you like as a child:

Rambunctious.

What was your favorite subject at school:

English and art.

Your least favorite subject:

Math

What is your best character trait:

I'm very compassionate and kind. I'm also very easy going.

Your worst character trait:

I can be a little sensitive - take things the wrong way, and sometimes I don't have a lot of patience.

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be:

Honestly... I'm single right now and while I don't necessarily mind it, it would be nice to be able to have someone to share stuff with, especially since I started traveling.

Also, I wish I could worry less.

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet:

Oh gosh... probably Edith Piaf. I mean the lady was a baddie. Despite being blind she overcame and had an amazing musical career, her nickname was "La Môme Piaf" (little Sparrow), and she even helped French soldiers escape during world war II.

No pressure tags: @aquamarine-dreamer @blueribbonbaby @perfecto-timing @fexifan

[timofyroff]

What if someone made an edit of Nucky Thompson from Boardwalk Empire to Nookie by Limp Bizkit

[rookfeatherrambles]

A little snippet. A taste. A morsel of my new AU/Fic

HI TUMBLR I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE! I give you my first real contribution to the Storm Singer AU/FIC! I've got a plan to write a bunch of things I want to see and then weave them together into a fic to put on AO3 so right now, all I have is disjointed snippets, but I've decided to show you the entirety of this scene I'm just calling 'At Dawn - Jmart' in my docs because I suck at naming things! I hope you enjoy! Also: If you want to follow this project as it develops, I'm going to tag all things related to it with #The Storm Singer AU! Also, Martin is He/They and Jon is He/It! Bear with me as I learn how to write and place different pronouns! ANYWAY, HERE YOU GO! EDIT: FINALLY EDITED IT SO THE PRONOUNS AREN'T SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH SO MUCH. FOR THIS, MARTIN IS A THEY, JON IS A HE!

AT DAWN --- The sky was still strewn with stars when Martin quietly packed their bag and crept out of the house they shared with their father. The streets were sparsely lit with lamps, many of them having guttered out in the early morning gloom. Martin found themself invigorated as they walked down the winding streets towards the bay, its waters reflecting the light of the moon overhead.

Their heart was thumping but they felt light and sure of themselves as they walked along the boardwalk towards the beach. Twice, they found his gaze drawn upwards towards the heavens and all the mysteries that resided there, out of reach, in the sky.

Stars so old they'd watched the rise and fall of empires, dynasties, and families. Martin's grandfather, and their father before them, sailing under the same stars, and across the same sea. There was something so breathtakingly awesome about that.

But if they stood there gazing skyward and wondering about the universe and their place in it, they'd be there for hours. Martin dropped their bag onto the soft sand and went to retrieve their rowboat from where it was hidden beneath the pier.

The tide was eager, and so was Martin. They gathered their things back up and climbed in, and began their journey out into the dark waters.

For a while, there was no sound but the quiet splash of their oars as they rowed themself into the night. The wind blew lightly, and the temperature was just shy of chill, but Martin didn't mind.

Once the city of (Name pending lmao) was reduced to glittering fireflies on the shore, Martin stopped rowing.

Their little boat bobbed up and down gently on the waves and they were consumed with the feeling of being so very small. The sky undimmed in the hours before dawn, was an expanse they would absolutely lose themself in if they had the option.

But they'd travelled out to the bay in secrecy for a purpose. And after taking a steadying breath, Martin started to speak.

The words were nothing special, at least they'd say so. Their aptitude for poetry always felt middling at best, but right now, it wasn’t the prose they were focusing on, but how they spoke it, how their voice ebbed and flowed like the tide, tone and nuance rising and falling like the water that surrounded them.

Martin was waiting for something, and they didn't have to wait long.

From below the waves came a strange glow, ethereal, almost beautiful. It rose gracefully, brightening the water like an aquatic, silver comet, tail and all. They dared to dip their fingers into the light and it dimmed the sea to blackness once more before a long-fingered hand slipped into theirs from below. Martin's heart gave a dizzy lurch and he gasped as Jon's head surfaced from beneath, long dark hair liquid in the night. His eyes were luminescent green and reflected the moonlight as he stared up at the human he'd been hoping to see.

"Hi," Martin breathed.

Jon smiled, and let go of their hand to haul himself up the last few inches and chastely kiss Martin's lips, careful not to upset the boat. The contact was expected, and yet Martin’s body trembled with nerves and thrilled at the sensation.

"I-I didn't know if you'd come," Martin said in a rush as soon as the siren had drawn back. Jon let out an amused sound in the back of his throat. "Likewise. I assumed... you'd had enough adventure for one lifetime."

Thankful the night hid their blush, Martin coughed a little. "Yes, well... sharks."

Jon's arms crossed over the edge of the boat, rocking it a little as he sighed and rested his chin against them. "I wouldn't have let them harm you. All denizens of the sea answer to the storm singer. They were just curious about you. You are a curious thing to us, Martin, can you blame them?"

Martin giggled nervously and the sound was pitched high in a way that made Jon smile indulgently. "Next time-" he began but Martin let out another gasp. "Next time? You want a next time for me swimming with sharks, Jon?"

Jon rolled his green eyes skyward and then continued as if Martin hadn't interrupted. "Next time, I'll introduce you to a less inquisitive species."

"Oh, I'm sure that will make all the difference. They're sharks!"

Reaching out, Jon poked Martin. "And you're a human and I'm a mer, I'm so glad you've learned the differences between creatures," he deadpanned.

"Jon."

"Martin~"

Martin threw their hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, you win. I guess I'll have to swim with sharks the next time I'm out here. Are you coming up?"

Onto the boat, was what they meant and Jon's face crinkled up under the moonlight in a way that made his markings dance as he laughed silently. "If you had a bigger ship, perhaps. As it stands, if I put any more weight onto your flimsy hollow log, it's going to turn into kindling and you are going to drown. Again.”

There was definitely truth to his words, Martin could spy Jon's long tail coiling and drifting in the water. It was powerful and hypnotic to watch it undulate. The silver patterns all over it were dim tonight, but they knew that was because Jon was relaxed. It made them feel good that Jon could let his guard down around them.

"Well, come up a little bit," they cajoled. "Please?"

The siren arched an eyebrow. "Another kiss?" 

Martin hmm'ed gently. "For a fish, you're really good at it."

"For a fish??"

Jon's aghast and affronted tone had Martin giggling again. "Ah-! Ahaha.. you know what I mean! Fish- fish person? You know I didn't- Whoa!!"

The rowboat rocked so suddenly, Martin unbalanced, but Jon's hands had them, cupping both their cheeks as he pressed his lips hard to theirs. Oh.

Martin's heart did a funny little flip flop and they were pretty sure they made the most embarrassing noise against Jon’s mouth. Still, Jon kissed them like he was hungry, all lips and tongue and a little teeth, though Martin never bled, a testament to how gentle Jon was being with them. When they were dizzy again, that was the moment the siren released them, steadying Martin and the boat as he slipped back down into the water next to it.

"Oh." Martin said, intelligently, trying to herd their thoughts back to coherency. "Th-That was..."

Jon licked his lips. "Enough compensation for me not being draped in your arms at this moment?" There was a satisfied purr in his voice.

"Y-Yes," Martin said, nodding. "Definitely."

On the horizon, a band of brighter sky quietly made itself known, gently pink, not red. Jon turned his head to glance towards it. "Dawn," he said, voice soft. Martin hated the resigned tone of it. "Stay with me?" they asked, no, begged, reaching out to take Jon's hand and hold it. "Until the sunrise?"

There was conflict in the beautiful siren’s eyes as he looked between the imminent break of day and back to Martin's hopeful expression. But then, Jon sighed, squeezing the human's hand. "Of course."

Martin smiled and they both turned to watch the sky get brighter, the stars slowly fading out, a beautiful blue colour overtaking the darkness, followed by pure light. Martin squinted their eyes painfully as the sun rose in all its dazzling glory, spilling liquid gold across the world, but one look at Jon stole their breath away and made them forget how much their eyes were watering.

Jon’s deep brown skin glittered, not with water droplets, but minute flecks of scales catching the sun and reflecting it back. His eyes and the pale strands in his dark brown hair shone fiercely too, and in that moment, Martin understood how humans of yore had worshipped beings like Jon as gods for eons. He was indescribably beautiful, and Martin's inelegant, poetic ramblings could never capture the emotion in their chest when they looked at the man they loved. And then the moment was over, and Jon turned his head back to Martin, eyes a little sad. "I have to go now. You understand, don't you?"

Martin did. Jon was hunted, for his crimes against the people of the city and the crime of simply being what he was. As much as they didn't want to let that hand slip from their grasp, they knew they had to.

"I'll come back," Martin promised as Jon pulled away, fingertips lingering on their palm. "And you can show me as many sharks as you'd like."

Jon paused, eyes glittering with something that Martin didn't want to yet classify as love. It wasn't their right. Nor did they think they were worthy of it, not when they were keeping so many dangerous secrets from him.

"Is that a promise?"

Martin grinned, their own blue-green eyes shining. "On my honour, I will pet all the sharks. I promise."

The skin around Jon’s eyes crinkled when he smiled, and not for the first time, Martin wished they were a visual artist instead of a wordsmith, they would have loved to capture that expression, those eyes in that face, and preserve it for eternity.

"Goodbye," Martin whispered, and then Jon disappeared beneath the water with barely a ripple and was gone.

A gull cried far above him and Martin let out a shuddering breath, blinking away sudden wetness in their eyes. After a silent moment of composure in the warm sunlight, they picked up their oars and began rowing for home.