#have darby fail

[chiraltalkswrestlez]

I want orange to get the hangman page journey so bad rn because there's something immensely tragically beautiful about the funny chill guy getting everything ripped from him, barely processing one of his dearest friends betraying him and losing everything already, someone already in that bleak mindset being forced to stand up for the new friends he cares about, ending up in a leadership position he hates, and still after all that fucking. failing completely. and failing and losing to the point that evil wins. that evil takes even more that he cares about. he put everything up and he still loses everything.

give the guy that in canon could barely work up the effort for his first ppv match a journey where he's lost it all a hundred times over. tell him after the entire universe is like "fuck you stay down." give that guy a journey where he keeps getting up. he puts himself back together, he becomes a truer self, and after an arduous journey putting himself back together while every other hero tries and fails to conquer the dragon, let him have that one last shot and have him be the one to overcome everything, not just the unspeakable all reaching evil, not just the traumas, but everything about himself that held him back and let him be the one to save the day.

[ikaijubluemyself]

I got to make Blackbeard Cupcakes with Samba Schutte and bemoment.us on Zoom. It was a blast. If you love Our Flag Means Death its totally worth it.

[faolonfiendrender]

Okay, I’m gonna write something.

Miss Le Miestre kicked the church door shut as she jumped to the inside. Two shots followed her in.

“Those connards are back. Barely got away, but this ol girl can still weave like she used to. Please tell me the rest of ya have more than that rifle Madame Reyes carries between ya.”

Miss Reyes spoke up first “Got a Colt in my boot. Same one the knife is strapped to. Draw it to surprise fools who think I’m going for a knife.”

Mr. Darby was the next, he said nothing, simply produced a derringer seemingly out of thin air, and then a stiletto in his other hand.

Mister Mori was the last to say anything.

“I apologize, but I have not had a chance to purchase a gun yet. If I could borrow one from one of you, I’d be quite grateful. I am better with rifles, but I understand if Miss Reyes doesn’t want to give me her rifle”

Miss Reyes handed Mister Mori her rifle before retrieving the revolver from her boot. She then stared directly at Miss Le Miestre and asked one question.

“You got a gun?”

In response, Miss Le Miestre removed her blue longcoat, revealing that beyond her cutlass, she had kept two flintlocks, one with an ivory handle, the other with jet, as well as an imported European revolver.

“I have a handful of guns, I’ll still never get used to those new-fangled revolvers, even if being able to shoot five times before clubbing someone with it is nice.”

Then she drew the revolver in her left hand, grabbing her cutlass with the right as Mister Mori crouched behind a pew and Mr. Darby and Miss Reyes stepped to the side of the door.

Miss Le Miestre stepped towards the door, deciding that she’d insult them in English so they could understand, and shouted to the men outside, all of whom were dressed in old grey uniforms and wore improvised masks.

“I’m coming out ya damned bastards! I’ll make all you regret not giving up when you could, I’ve been making scared little devils like you die since your grandfathers were cabin boys!”

She kicked open the doors, firing her revolver from the hip to make all eight of the men outside take cover. She then ducked back into the church, drew her jet-handled gun, and made ready.

The first of the men stood up from behind a barrel, Mister Mori put a bullet in his head before he’d fully processed what happened. Seconds which felt like hours passed. One of the survivors stuck his repeating rifle above a wagon and started firing, as soon as Mister Mori ducked to avoid the gunfire the four of the men ran down to flank the door while the three left in the street stood with rifles trained to keep their enemies from shooting out the doorway

Only one of the men going to flank made it, Miss Reyes shot two of them from inside the church window hitting both in the gut. And one made the mistake of trying to pull her through the window. She stabbed him with the knife on her belt as he grabbed her gunarm.

That left one man, one overconfident man. He knew he had to shoot Miss Reyes first, and then that rifleman. He knew there was no way the one who had attacked them had reloaded yet, and the limey one didn’t have a weapon.

So he tried just that, before a puff of smoke and the smell of black powder filled the air, and he fell to a weapon nearly a century older than he was.

During all this, Mr. Darby had slipped away out one of the other windows. He slipped back as he jumped from an awning behind the gunmen. He managed to shoot one of the men on the way down before stabbing another in the gut as he stood. The third man had his gun pointed at Mr. Darby in time to make him pause. Another click made the last man standing pause.

“Hey, we got business here, and I see that officer sabre on your belt. Think you can take an old woman in a swordfight? Get done with all this guns business?”

So, the last man standing out down the gun and drew. He figured that he’s more likely to survive this fight than the previous one.

At the same time, the man who fell in the church began crawling along. He knew to fake injury when shot. He’d take care of the rifleman first, a knife to the gut should work and then he’d shoot the vacquero.

Outside, metal clashed, the old pirate falling back into her familiar rhythm, high, low, step together and raise the sword at an angle. Try to cut his shoulder as he swung and missed. Skill was on her side, but her opponent was clearly never trained, he kept holding his saber in two hands, and yanking away when he felt a cut bounce off his guard. This made him an unpredictable brute, and somehow, he was gaining ground.

Inside, things had not gone as planned for the man with the knife. He had kicked the rifle away, and the tapestries that hung meant the gunslinger couldn’t get a good shot, but the rifleman was good up close. He seemed to flow around the knife, even as low as both were. A kick found Mister Mori’s hip, and he fell across a familiar sheath. He rolled backwards as the knife tried to reach his gut. He took the sheath with him. He stood up and faced the man with the knife, both out of reach from the other, hand on the hilt of his sword as his foe stepped forwards

Outside, Miss Le Miestre found herself losing ground, so she stepped back, holding her sword out with one hand to stop her opponent’s advance for but a second. Her opponent swatted the cutlass to the side, but he should have paid attention to the other hand instead.

A loud bang echoed. A blade glimmered silently. Both of the gunmen still standing clutched their guts. One felt immense pain, the other felt nothing even as his blood fell on the church floor. Both fell, one backwards and one forwards. A pirate put her ivory-handled pistol back in her belt, and a samurai put his bronze-hilted sword back in its sheath.

Consider:

Victorian England: 1837-1901

American Old West: 1803-1912

Meiji Restoration: 1868-1912

French privateering in the Gulf of Mexico: ended circa 1830

Conclusion: an adventuring party consisting of a Victorian gentleman thief, an Old West gunslinger, a disgraced former samurai, and an elderly French pirate is actually 100% historically plausible.

[muletia]

obsessed!optimus x human!reader

guys, guys!! let me cook. we all know the famous robot-fucker june darby line 'and i wore heels and everything'. so!! what if you're in the base when she says it. at first, you’re like: haha, funny, june has a crush on optimus. there’s no way that kind of relationship could ever happen haha... ha.., but!!! the next time you see him, her words pop back into your mind, and you start watching him more closely, basically doing a role reversal. btw, 101% chance you’ll catch him staring at you at some point, so your eyes are definitely going to meet. you’re embarrassed, he’s surprised but also happy that you were checking each other out (he’ll definitely start getting delusional). the best part is, june was totally right, because optimus is hot, and you end up losing sleep over this whole situation, realizing that this alien, inside whom you’ve spent countless hours riding around, is attractive and would probably treat you better than most of the male population.

the next visit to the base will be a nightmare for you, because you literally can’t look him in the face without blushing and trying to keep your thoughts on track, as they’ve suddenly started to go in very inappropriate directions. poor optimus will have no idea what’s going on :(( he’ll blame himself. he must have done something wrong; otherwise, you wouldn’t be acting this way. did he make you uncomfortable when he looked at you? did he say something out of line? but when he tries to talk to you about it, you can barely meet his optics, and your face is even redder than usual because you’re just thinking about how nice his baritone is, how well he treats you, and that he’s just plain hot. basically, everything is a mess.

things will get awkward between you two, at least until it all gets cleared up, but ratchet is going to be so, SO tired of your bullshit 💀 he just had to deal with optimus’s weird fixation on you, and now you’re starting to return it??? he’d literally rather launch himself into orbit than watch you two fail to confess your feelings for each other for another few weeks/months.

[rhysdarbinizedarby]

Our Flag Means Death season 2 shot a crucial scene in the Avatar 2 tank

A behind-the-scenes look at how Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby shot their big merman moment

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Our Flag Means Death, Season 2, Episodes 3]

Season 2 of David Jenkins’ pirate comedy-romance-drama Our Flag Means Death has finally premiered on Max, with an opening three-episode arc that’s guaranteed to get the series’ fandom buzzing. The third episode in particular ends with a sequence that feels like it was intentionally crafted to inspire the crowds of fan artists who have turned the series into an obsession. Polygon talked to the series’ VFX supervisor, David Van Dyke, about what went into shooting that sequence — and how James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water helped out.

At the end of episode 3, Ed “Blackbeard” Teach (Taika Waititi) is in limbo after being assaulted and nearly killed by his crew. There, he meets his former captain Benjamin Hornigold (another of the series’ historical pirate characters, played by Mark Mitchinson), who tries to help him through his emotional crisis over being abandoned by Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby). Except Hornigold mostly helps by pointing out Blackbeard’s failings, then tying a stone to his waist and throwing him off a cliff into the sea — where he sees a vision of Stede as a fish-tailed merman, coming to save him.

“Just so you know, Rhys and Taika did very well underwater,” Van Dyke told Polygon about shooting the scene. “Rhys is not an Olympic synchronized swimmer, but he’s a strong swimmer. They were both very comfortable underwater. They both did a really good job of being mermen.”

Van Dyke says he was originally asked whether he could do the scene with CG versions of the two men, for safety reasons. He explained that it was possible, “but that’ll cost millions and millions of dollars, and we don’t really have that.”

Instead, he ended up shooting the scene practically. Season 1 of Our Flag Means Death was shot on a soundstage in Los Angeles, but for season 2, production moved to New Zealand. That gave Van Dyke a lot of advantages in terms of shooting natural backdrops to use on the production’s giant virtual environment screen, and in using experienced crews from past special-effects-heavy productions, from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies to James Cameron’s Avatar movies.

“There were definitely a few pieces that were serendipitously to our advantage,” Van Dyke says. “New Zealand was where they shot a lot of Avatar stuff, and there just so happens to be an enormous tank on the lot. There are a bunch of Avatar crew who are SCUBA certified, because they’ve been shooting in that tank forever. This was not something we had to figure out — we didn’t have to send a bunch of grips and lighting technicians off to SCUBA school. So they were there, they had really amazing underwater photography teams, and obviously a really good stunt team that was able to train up Taika and Rhys to make sure the scene was working.”

Van Dyke points to New Zealand’s thriving mermaid freediving community as a boon when it came to designing Darby’s merman outfit. “There are a lot of incredible mer-tails out there,” he said. “We were able to take those, and [costume designer Gypsy Taylor] and her team brought them together to make these beautiful physical pieces, so Rhys was able to actually sell it and do the performance underwater.”

For Van Dyke, the sequence really started with the cliff-jump sequence, which actually used considerably more CG than the underwater shots. “That cliff sequence was a great culmination of effects, merging physical photography and our LED wall, because you can’t really put those two guys on a thousand-foot cliff,” he said. “The insurance alone would be out of control. Also, we’re not really in the business of having people fall to their deaths.”

The cliff sequence began with sequences shot off New Zealand’s Bethells Beach, using drones to capture images looking inward from the ocean and photogrammetry of a specific ledge for production designer Ra Vincent and the art department to reproduce in the studio.

“The wide shots use production plates of those cliffs, and the tighter shots use photography we shot specifically to build out the stitching of the cliff sequence,” Van Dyke said. “Hornigold and Blackbeard are standing on a cliff set. We tied in drone plates of the actual cliffs so we can see the ocean and really set up how terrifying [the drop would be]. Then he falls into the ocean, falls into our tank.”

Once Waititi was in the tank, the next step was the shot where the stone tied to a rope around his waist pulls him deep underwater. That part of the scene required more conventional, practical production trickery than the rest of the sequence.

“The tank is massive, but it’s not 300 feet deep. It’s pretty darn big, but it’s never big enough, as they say,” Van Dyke says. “So when Taika is being tugged by the rock, we actually shot that sideways. By turning the camera sideways, you get more length to the shot. The problem is the bubbles — they should be streaming off him and then rising to the surface, but if you’re going sideways, they’re going to come off him and then go up, perpendicular to him. So we took over with CG to make sure our bubbles were traveling toward where the surface was supposed to be.”

The CG in the underwater sequence was mostly used to hide the lighting and rigging necessary to shoot it, Van Dyke says. “Anytime you’re shooting anything underwater, there’s gonna be a lot of gear. There’s no way you can get around that. So we’re making sure we have [convincing deep-sea] lighting and the bubbles. And then there’s his performance — that’s a real performance.”

For Van Dyke, the real complication was the costuming and makeup for both Darby and Waititi. “Taika’s wig — I was amazed that thing stayed on so long. It’s a long shoot. He was shooting all day, all weekend. But things stayed on. It’s a heavy weight. And Rhys is really working underwater, so his tail has to be working, so it all feels seamless.”

The shot in the underwater sequence that seems most likely to be a CG creation has both men just floating deep in the sea, facing each other above a seemingly endless abyss. Again, Van Dyke says, he used very little CG for that shot, and it was mostly to hide the tank walls.

“In that case, we were not shooting sideways,” he said. “It’s essentially a locked shot. It was about getting them at the right depth underwater, and making sure the shafts of light above them were working properly. We don’t have to track as much, we don’t have all these moving elements, we don’t have to worry about where the bubbles are going. That one was really just about cleaning up the tank, doctoring out the sides of the shot, where we can see the water receding into blackness, then giving the base of the tank true depth, so it really feels like they’re suspended a hundred feet below the surface.

“Obviously, a fair amount of CGI and visual effects had to go into it. But at the same time, it was a moment where we really needed to let the story take over, and have the visual effects just get out of the way, man.”

The first three episodes of Our Flag Means Death season 2 are now streaming on Max.

Source: Polygon

[writers-hes]

Borrowed Time

SYNOPSIS: You always knew Tommy as the cheerful boy who took care of you. He always knew you as the smart girl that he visited by the docks. The daughter of a prostitute, the son of a deadbeat father; a soldier who protected his country; a whore who protected him; a gangster who controlled Brimingham; and now, a wife. War changes people, you just didn't realize that war could change you both. (angst, abuse, canon-typical themes, death, war)

Chapter synopsis: The end of the story.

AN: Don’t look at the comments / reblogs if you don’t want spoilers!! But please discuss what you think once you’re done reading 🤍

LONDON, 1921

Tommy sits in his chair, unmoving. Dying becomes an issue to him if it affected you this way. Ever since the war, he thought that he was living for free. It didn’t matter if he died now since he was on the verge of dying every day in France but…was this a physical manifestation of what you felt every single day for the four years that he was gone?

“I only have less than three hours left,” you mumbled, eyebrows furrowing on the teacup on the table. “I’m not-I’m not supposed to be here, Tommy…he will kill you if he catches me here.” you whispered, afraid to let the whole world know about how terrible Simon truly was. 

“Hey, you’re alright,” his voice soothes you; the raspiness sending shivers down your spine. He was sitting beside you now, a hand on your bouncing knee. “I made sure you’re alright,”

“Tommy, I know that you hate me,” you sobbed, shaking your head.  “I’m sorry for what-what I did but I…we had these plans together of—of living in a future where it’s just us and—”

“It’s alright,” he says. Seeing you risk everything just to warn him was already enough proof that you were sorry. “I’m sorry for all of the things that I said that night,”

“You’ve-you’ve got to believe me when I tell you that I…I sent you letters every week,” you pleaded. “I know that you might think that I forgot about you, but I never forgot about you, Tom. I’m sorry for believing that you’d think I was replaceable…that I didn’t matter to you,” you whispered the last part, hands on your lap forming into fists. 

Would now be a wrong time to tell you that he loves you? 

“How do you…” he coughs, trying to veer away from the road where you were going. He couldn’t do this now, not when everything’s slowly set in motion. “How did you get the information?”

You fished for the paper in your clutch, showing it to him. 

“I received this during a charity dinner in London,” you said. “I tried everything to put Simon away from you…but I couldn’t. I failed and now…now he’s out to kill you,” 

“He’s not going to kill me,” he replied. “It was Alfie’s men who put that there,”

“But he will!” you exclaimed, looking up at him. “He knows Alfie Solomons…”

“So do I,” he calmly says. “Alfie Solomons and I have an agreement,”

“He killed Johnny,” you warned him, but he was looking at you blankly and you feel despondent. “Alfie Solomons…killed Johnny. Has he not?”

“It was Darby Sabini who killed Johnny. To retaliate, I infiltrated the Eden Club. Alfie Solomons’ men were in charge of security and protection but Darby Sabini’s in charge of whatever dirty work Simon wanted to get done. Their dealings started recently with Johnny’s death,” he says. “It’s not—I,” he sighs, not finding the right words to say.

“Tommy…”

“Whatever happens to me isn’t your fault, Y/N.” He means it, you could tell but a small part of you still couldn’t quite grasp the measures that Simon will undertake to keep you close. “Y/N, love, it’s alright,”

“No- I…I can still try to persuade Simon. I’ll give that-that heir he wants so bad just please don’t…” you heaved, choking on your own tears. The way Tommy said it…like he knew that he was dying soon made you feel cold. You've come so far, would you really let Simon kill Tommy that easily? Tommy's hand on your knee tightens momentarily but he lets it go.

“You will do nothing of that sort,” his throat constricts. “You won’t have to do things you don’t want to anymore. I’m—I’m here now. I want you to be happy and I’ll do everything to make sure that you are but if an heir with him is something that you—“

“I don’t want to carry his child,” you shook your head. “Tommy, can’t you see? I just want you to live and be—be happy. We both changed since you left. The war took so, so much from you, Tom. We’ve both said things we cannot take back but God, Tommy. I want us to be happy and I want you to rest,” 

“We can rest together…be happy together,” he proposes. “Our future isn’t that far away if—“

“How?” you asked, voice small and eyes full of tears. “How?”

“No more running away. I have a plan,” he tells you, but he didn’t want to divulge the details. His blue eyes stare directly into you. His face was blank, but his body was leaning towards you, gentle hand still on your knee. “Hey,” he says, putting his hands on top of yours. You started to pick on your nail beds again. He interlocks his fingers with yours and you smile slightly. Just like when you were kids. 

“Sorry,”

“Y/N,” he stops himself. Why did you have to apologize for everything?. “I…I wrote to you,”

“Tommy—“

“I did. I waited for your letter everyday. I-I would be the first one to be there when letters were being sent but I sent them to Watery Lane,” he says. “I can’t go on with this without you knowing that I waited for you. I don’t want you to think that I’ve abandoned you because I don’t. I could never.”

He didn’t know where his courage was coming from. Maybe it was because he could feel the end coming soon. He was so scared to die without letting you know about what he truly felt for you, no matter how selfish that sounded. He wouldn’t die until he tells you about how much he loved you, about how deep this love ran through him.

“I know…Arthur told me,” you nodded. You blink away the tears that threatened to fall. “It’s me who didn’t wait for you and I-I regret it every day, you know? Not waiting…because I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t be here if I did and—I’ve always believed in your promises, Tommy. I knew that you were going to keep them but I—“

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he soothes you, he’d be asking Arthur about that sometime. “I’m not angry. I’m alright, you’re alright, we’re alright,” You didn’t believe him though and neither did he. 

“Tommy?” you asked. “Do you know who tried to stop the letters?”

“I do,” he replied.

“You don’t want to tell me?”

 He hums.

“Can you hold me? Instead of telling me?”

Borrowed time, you were on borrowed time and all you wanted was Tommy’s arms around you. Love is a funny thing. The world was ending and all you could ever think of is how Tommy’s hands were made for destruction, but they were also made to hold yours. 

-

The house was dark when you came back. For a house filled with servants, the house was quiet  An eerie feeling washes over you and you walked on, looking for anyone. Instead, the fireplace was open, flames roaring while your husband sat. He was looking intently into the fire, smoking his pipe. 

“Where did you go?”

“Out and about,” you said, the lie rolling perfectly from your tongue. 

“I see,” he nods. “Did you know that Ada Shelby was abducted today?”

You stopped, ice creeping up your spine.

“Tommy Shelby captured the Eden Club owned by Sabini and then, Sabini abducted Ada Shelby.” he says it like it was nothing. “I wonder why Tommy Shelby captured the Eden Club. Do you happen to know why?”

“No, Simon,” you shakily replied. “Why…?”

“Because Darby Sabini killed Big Johnny. Do you know why?” he asked. “You don’t because you’re a fucking idiot, but I’ll lay it down for you. Nice and simple so you can understand. I ordered the death of Big Johnny to punish you for hiding who Tommy Shelby was. I ordered Ada’s abduction because you went to see Tommy Shelby today. I ordered for the death of all the Shelbys—even the children so you would never have to worry about them. I tried to be reasonable, but you wouldn’t listen. Maybe you’d listen to me once all of those Birmingham rats are dead, hm? You’ll have to carry the weight of their deaths in your shoulder because you wouldn’t listen. It’s your fault they’re dying. It’s your fault that Johnny died. I liked him and you killed him,”

“I gave you everything. I love you with all of me and all that I have but you…you still love someone else. What do I have to do for you to love me like you love him?” he asked. He wasn’t looking at you, he was just unmoving…smoking his pipe like he was telling you about today’s weather. You were shaking, afraid for them and for your life. 

“Stop crying,” he orders you, but you couldn’t stop. How could you? He just revealed all of his plans—all the things that he wanted to do to them. “Go to our room and stop fucking crying!”

-

“Well, you look like shit,” Polly says, seeing Tommy on the hospital bed. “What did you do this time?”

“Sabini’s men took me and beat me up,”

“They wouldn’t beat you up without anything. They wouldn’t abduct Ada without reason. I heard that someonedecided to drop by. What did you talk about?”

“Nothing that I don’t already know,” he shrugs. “Can you pass me a cigarette?”

“You want me to help you but you’re not fucking telling me anything,” Polly says, tossing the pack to Tommy’s chest. “What is it, Tommy?”

“Poll—“

“Tom,” she asserts sternly. “You tell me now or I will get it out of her,”

“Fuck,” he groans, head falling back. “Simon killed Johnny and ordered Sabini to kill all of us. They know that I was staying at Ada’s and saw her enter Ada’s house and got us to where we are now,”

“Fuck…but we’re talking about our lives here, Tom.” Polly stresses. “Do you think that you get to have a say on whether or not we’re dying just because of a promise you made when you were young and naive?”

“I think it’s better if you all leave me to deal with this whole…thing,” Tommy says. “You’re right. Your life is on the line and I’m not really accomplishing anything if you all fucking die because of me. It’s not Y/N’s fault. It’s…that fucking husband of hers! If you really want to know, Polly…since you did give her away, yeah? Simon’s out to get all of us, even Y/N.”

Polly feels her throat tighten. This…this is what she gave you away for. Her nephew on the brink of dying, Ada with multiple fucking bruises, the threat of death, and then, the receiver of all anger…you. 

“That girl is like my daughter,” Polly says. “I will help you, Tom but you have to promise me that—that you will be honest with me. Don’t keep us in the fucking dark. It’s not your own problem anymore. It’s ours,”

“Alright,”

“I know you have a plan. What is it?” Polly asked, inhaling. “Honesty, Tom,”

“I…I made a deal with Alfie Solomons. We are alliances. He works with Simon for Y/N’s security and I allowed a few of his bookies to be in the racetracks in exchange of ensuring…well, Y/N’s safety,” It was half the truth. The other details, Tommy had to omit to ensure the execution—

“Stop fucking hiding,” Poll warns. “Tommy, you have to tell me,”

“Fuck—“ he coughs. “Everything is set in motion, Poll…there’s nothing else,” Polly looks at Tommy, there was no way for him to let up anything. Tommy was just staring at her, uninterested. He held her gaze, but she knew that there was nothing else. Tommy made up his mind about something; she just wished that it would turn out alright. 

-

“I’d like to stroll around the garden today,” you told one of the servants. Life at home had been back to the way things were. Simon was back to the old Simon that you knew but somehow, you felt like your every move was watched. 

“I’m sorry, miss but Mr. Coventry told us that you can only go to the garden with him,” she replied. “We can call on Mr. Coventry to ask…”

“What-what do you mean?” you asked. “I thought I was allowed to go…”

“Mr. Coventry told us that you can only go out of the house with him and that, if he isn’t around, you’re only allowed to be inside the house,” she repeated. You swallowed the constriction in your throat, unable to form any sentence. “We were also instructed to be with you at every single moment, miss,” 

“What?” you asked, frowning. “I don’t need to be tended to every minute of the day,”

“But miss—“

“You may leave. I’ll go to the garden alone and you can just tell Simon that I insisted on it,” you told her, walking away but she grabs your arm. “I didn’t tell you that you can touch me,” you spit. You’ll feel bad about it later but for now, you need to go out. The house was suffocating, and you felt like you were being watched. 

“Miss—“

“Leave me alone,” you scowled. “I want to go to the garden,”

“Oh, darling but you can’t,” Simon says, mocking you. “I told the servants to follow my orders. With the stunts that you’ve been pulling lately, I think it’s just fine to have you close and protected, hm?” he asked, walking over to you.

“Simon, this isn’t right,” you begged. “I’ve been cooped in the house for too long. I need-I want to go out,”

“I wish you could, but I have to go attend a meeting with Alfie Solomons. Did you know that I had your old driver killed? It’s all because of you,” he chuckles. He dismisses the servants with a wave of his hand. “You have to understand that I…I’m doing it for our family. You can hate me,” he states, walking a step closer to you. “Or push me away…” he adds, a tendril of your hair swirling in his fingertips. “You can even try to kill me,” he chuckles, his breath on your ear. “But you’re still mine. You’re my wife. You’re my fucking wife!”

You shuddered, pushing him away. 

“You’re taking everything away from me, Simon,”

“I’m just taking back what I gave you,” 

“My…my freedom. You took away my freedom,” you cried. “You took Johnny away from me! You took the Shelby’s away from me,”

A slap echoes in the halls. 

“Don’t you dare fucking say that I took the Shelbys away from you. They were taking you away from me!” he roared, chest heaving. “What—you didn’t think I would feel magically alright when you visited Tommy Shelby the other day? You didn’t think I wouldn’t know about that fucking locket that you lied to me about? We were having a wedding and you still had Tommy Shelby on you! You think I’d be happy about that? I love you and I…I gave you everything! But I still have to try to read your mind. Tommy doesn’t. You…you’d rather live in the sewers with that fucking criminal than be here with me,”

He caresses the stinging on your cheek, wiping your tears away.

“What does he have that I don’t?”

-

You were locked inside your bedroom, your heart aching. He loves you…but he hurts you. He’s cruel and controlling and full of wrath but he’s dependent and loving and kind. You hated to admit it, but you understood his fears, his anger, and him. 

What if you stole one of the cars right now? You could drive down to Birmingham and stay there or…or you could leave, find a place to stay in Ireland and never be heard of again. Will Simon shoot down the car? Will he shoot you, too? Or will he forbid you to even set your foot in England ever again? 

Simon enters your room, disregarding you completely before sitting on the bed with you. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, his hand covering yours. “I didn’t mean to…to do that,”

Right. 

“Simon…”

“I’m sorry, please,” he says, coming closer to you but you only feel cold and repulsed. “Please, darling… I don’t want to do these things to you. Do you think it doesn’t hurt me when I have to take things away from you? I just can’t…not until I’m sure that I can trust you.”

You closed your eyes, tears falling on the hands that connected you to your husband. 

“I’m so tired, Simon,” you whispered. “You…you taunt me and-and you turn my freedom into your weapon. I understand that you’re angry but to do that…to do the things that your father did to your mother…when you told me before that you hated him for it…what does that make you?” you asked. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…was that supposed to be your excuse every time he does something horrible?

“I—I…”

“I married you not because I know that you can give all these things to me. I married you because you told me you loved me. You told me that I was important to you…but is this what love is? Is love supposed to be painful? Is love supposed to bruise? Is this what love is supposed to be like?” you asked. You removed your hand from his, standing up and walking away. If this is what love bruises you like peaches, you wanted no part of it. 

Simon has given you the wings to fly but he likes to cut them whenever you fly too close to the sun. 

When you lay in bed that night, Simon’s arm draped on your figure, you only felt cold. You laid on the softest bed in the world, unmoving…unblinking. 

Maybe you'll be free another time.

-

“I’m sorry for what I did,” he says, setting his utensils down on the dining table. “You have…you have every reason to be mad at me,” 

“Simon,” you sighed. You’ve been playing with your food for a while. “You…you can’t just say sorry every time you decide to…hurt me. I want to be able to love you without fearing for my life,”

“It’s just…Tommy Shelby.”

“I don’t have him anymore,” you told him. “Tommy and I…are nothing but childhood friends. His father used to frequent the brothel when my mother was still alive. He—and I grew up together and he was all I had until he left. Now, I only have you,” you said. “My relationship with the Shelbys is nothing but familial. They took care of me, they took me under their wing,” 

“But he loves you,” he replied. “He loves you, Y/N and he wants to take you away from me! Do you not appreciate my efforts to ensure that our marriage is preserved?”

“What preservation?” you asked, standing up. “What—what preservation? You killed Johnny and you expect me to be alright with it. You took away my friends, my freedom…and you—you expect me to be the same!” You chuckled. “Preservation? You’re the only one killing this marriage, Simon. I love you but no matter how much I show it…it will never be enough,” 

“Then, kill Tommy Shelby!” his voice booms. “You want me to trust you? You want me to see your love? Kill him! We have more than enough money to have one of Alfie’s men or Sabini’s men to kill him. Kill him!”

Your face pinches in anger, eyes turning into slits. 

“What? You can’t be serious,” you scoffed. Simon takes your arm harshly and you flinched. He grips it in his hand, forcing you to stay immobile.

“Kill him,” he spits. “Your love means nothing to me if you won’t,”

“And you think I’ll continue to love you when you’re forcing me to kill my friend?” you asked, shaking your head. “Let me go!”

“No!” his voice booms. He drags you to his office, your legs stumbling behind him. “You have to decide if you’ll kill for me. I’ll kill for you, don’t you know that?” he asked, throwing you on the couch in his study. “I’ll kill for you…”

You stand up to leave but he pushes you down. 

“I don’t care if you don’t love me right now. You will love me again. You’ve been obedient for Tommy’s sake…that’s the greatest love of all and I—I don’t have it,” he whispers. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted and I don’t have it.”  He shakes his head, watching your husband turn into the cruel man that you learned to hate. He walks towards the door and exits. You run after him but he forces the door closed from the other side. 

“Make sure that Mrs. Coventry is taken care of,” he tells his security. “Only maids are allowed to be inside but don’t let anyone near the door until I leave. She will remain in this room until I arrive in the evening.”

You were rattling the door but to no avail. Your tears were freely flowing, trying to get the door open by slamming your body on it. You could hear the quiet murmur outside but they were all ignoring you.

“Let me out, Simon!” you sobbed. “Let me out! Let me out…please!” you cried, slamming your body harder but it couldn’t fucking open. Your fall on the floor, consoling yourself from the coldness and the darkness of Simon’s office. If your mother saw you today, would she be proud of you?

-

Time passes in Tommy’s eyes, his eyes blank. Alfie Solomons told him to wait but he couldn’t. Their men surrounded the mansion, pretending to be your security but they’ve been planning the seeds, telling Tommy that you weren’t allowed to be out of the house with your husband anymore. He heard some of the men joke that you were a ghost that sat on the window because they have never even seen you. 

“Tommy,” Alfie called, a young man trailing after him. “I’ve got someone useful for you. One of my men in Coventry’s fucking mansion. Go on, David. Tell Mr. Shelby here about the fucking horrors in that big, big mansion,”

David nods, his resolve dissolving upon seeing Tommy’s icy stare directed at him. 

“My name is David and I’m assigned to the security of the house. Mrs. Coventry is currently locked in Mr. Coventry’s house—“

“Ah, fuck, mate. Just say Y/N and Simon. These fucking names really…” Alfie interjected. He nods. 

“Um—Simon laid a hand on Y/N yesterday,” his eyes looking away from Tommy. “She’s not allowed to-to go out of Simon’s study…after Y/N refused to have Mr. Shelby killed”

“What about the driver that brought her to me?”

“He’s dead. Darby Sabini’s men killed him,” Alfie shrugged. He dismisses David with a wave of his hand.  “Be honest with me, Tommy. Who is she? Because it’s quite absurd, innit? Here is a man with a wife and then another man who vows to what? Take her back? If I was Simon Coventry…I would be mad too, is what I’m saying. Did you know the tenth commandment, mate? Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife…did you know that?”

“No one,” was Tommy’s laconic reply, standing up to walk away. Alfie chuckles.

“No one!” he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table. “This no one cost me a man. A poor lad who decided to follow your Y/N’s orders for what? A few pounds and a fucking—a fucking night with you. Is that it, Tom? No one. Fucking no one and I’m letting my men run around after your fucking whims!”

“A fucking night? My fucking whims?” Tommy spits. 

“What? Is it not true?” he asked, “You’re fucking…obsessed, mate. That’s what you are! She is married. The more you act the more she gets…fucking hurt. You think that’s alright?”

“He’s using her!” Tommy shouts over. “He’s hurting her no matter what I do or not do. Did you fucking know that? You’re not doing anything!” he asked, eyes teary. 

“Then, don’t fucking do anything! It wouldn’t matter anyway; you said it yourself. As damned as I am, Tommy, don’t fucking do anything,” 

Tommy shoves Alfie, shaking his head. No fucking difference? 

“What the fuck? Tommy!” Alfie shouts. “What’s the matter? You’re fucking angry, eh?”

“Yes, I’m fucking angry!” he says, pointing a gun to Alfie. 

“Oh, you’re going to kill me?” he taunts. “You’re going to fucking kill me when your anger is un-fucking-justified! So, what, Simon has your woman, eh? He has her? You’re angry at me but fucking hell, Tommy! How many men do I have to sacrifice for this little fucking protection project you got going on? How many fathers will you fucking kill? You think you’re better than Simon Coventry? You’re going straight to fucking hell, Tommy! Straight to fucking hell! Just like me and Simon! You come to me to get closer to Simon Coventry and…you stand there, talking about not doing anything when it’s my men that have to go through the other end of the barrel. Kill me and pull that trigger for some fucking honorable reason. Like an honorable man and not like—not like some fucking civilian that does not understand the wicked way of our world, mate,” he spits. Tommy stares at him blankly. 

“Look, mate—Tommy. I will fucking help you but you have to be fucking patient. The races at Sabini’s tracks are happening soon. You just have to be patient.”

Tommy shoves Alfie away from him. He wouldn’t understand—he’d never understand. Time was ticking and if he didn’t move now, he’ll get killed.

-

“I think it would be much better to wear the green,” Simon says, looking at the dress that you have on for the races. “Wear it,”

“Oh, but it would be such a waste,” you told him, twirling to show him the way the fabric draped beautifully on you. “Don’t you think so? Besides, it’s going to be so hot at the races today. I don’t want to sweat,”

Simon pinches his nose.

“I suppose so,” he agrees, striding over you and laying his hand on your waist. “You do look ravishing, darling. I already can’t wait to take you home, hm?”

“We have to make sure our horse wins first,” you tell him, laying your head on his chest while you let his eyes rake over your body. “Simon, can-can you kiss me?” 

“Why so sudden?” he asked, turning you around. “Is everything alright, darling?”

“Of course,” you smiled at him, studying his face. This was the Simon tha you loved; the kind Simon that you rarely see these days. “I just want you to kiss me, my love. Can’t you kiss your darling wife?” He smiles a small smile, taking your chin with his gentle fingers and kissing you. 

“I love you, Y/N,”

“I love you too, Simon.” you told him, pecking his lips once more before a knock breaks you away. 

“Looks like we’re ready to go,” he tells you. 

“Of course, you can go ahead. Let me just fix my hair and we can go,” you replied, turning away from him. He was so warm…so, so, so, warm. Simon leaves you with a kiss on your forehead. You’ve been good lately, no Tommy Shelby…no requests…no anything. You could tell that he loves it; that you were obedient but if you didn’t want a repeat of what happened, you had to play your cards right. You fix your hair one last time and double-check the contents of your purse. It felt heavy, it felt right. 

You had to get this right; you were living on borrowed time after all. 

Your car stops at one of Darby Sabini’s tracks in London. Simon requested privacy and privacy he’ll get. No one knows that the Coventry’s are present in the race except for Alfie, Sabini, and the men who ushered you to the private room. No word was supposed to be out that you were both here. Simon forbade it. You let Simon walk in front of you with his hand clasped around yours. The room you were in had whisky, rum, and other items that you knew were not for the general public. When you arrived, a man with a hat was waiting.

“Darling, I’d like for you to meet Alfie Solomons,” Simon tells you, removing his hand from yours to shake Alfie Solomons’ hand. “He’s been the one supplying us with security. Sabini will get here in a while, but I think that it’s better for you to meet Mr. Solomons first.” 

“Good…day, Mrs. Coventry,” Alfie greets, a polite bow sent to your way. 

“Good day, Mr. Solomons. I’ve heard so much about you from my husband,” you offered, smiling at him. 

“Good things, I hope?” he asked. “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Mr. Coventry, Darby Sabini’s been looking for you. Something about your dealings. I don’t really keep track, you know?”

“Of course,” Simon nods. He kisses your head. “Will it be alright to leave you with Mr. Solomons for the meantime, my love?”

“Sure, darling,” you said, your hand tightening on the beaded purse in your hand. He smiles at you before leaving, looking for Darby Sabini. You watched the door close and you were about to sit down when Alfie Solomons spoke.

“You know, love,” Alfie starts, walking to you closer. He stops right beside your ear. “If you wanted to hide that gun better, you’d have to loosen your grip on your purse. I can see the outline of the barrel from where I was standing.” he says before leaving you in the room. “Darby Sabini’s not here but he is somewhere by the racetracks,” he hints.

“What do you want?” you asked, following him. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Let’s just say I’m a friend of Tommy Shelby,” he nods to himself. Your blood runs cold, and your face turns pale. “Go,” he urges. “Do whatever you want,”

You exited the special room with haste. Blood was ringing in your ears and you couldn’t breathe properly. You were stumbling with adrenaline, with hope, with…every single emotion that you never thought you could feel and comprehend. Nobody else was in the corridors leading to the room marked with an unassuming planter box beside it. You cautiously entered and Simon turned around immediately. His face tenses with alarm when he sees you. 

“Darling, what are you doing here? You should go back with Mr. Solomons before Darby Sabini sees you. I told our men to all leave so he and I could have some privacy,” he warns, eyes darting everywhere.

“He’s not…he’s not here,” you tell him, unloading the gun from your purse with shaky hands. 

“What—what is this about?” Simon asks, looking pointedly at the gun that Tommy gave you long ago. You weren’t even sure if it was still working. You point the gun at him, straight to his face. “You’re going to kill me? Is that it?” he asked, anger taking over his features. “You’re going to kill me when I’ve given you everything! I gave you your fucking life, Y/N. Put that gun down and-and we’ll pretend like this never happened,”

“No! You—you took everything away from me, Simon. You took my family away. You took Johnny away from me and you still—you still expect me to love you? You took me away and weaponized my freedom. You think—you think that I can still love you? I wake up every day counting to ten if you’d hit me. If you’d shove me down and slap me and kick me. This isn’t love, Simon! This is prison,” you enraged, your gun shaking. “You told me that…you told me that the only way out is if I kill you,” you heaved. 

“Y/N…you’re being callous right now, love. You’re not you…you’re angry,” he tries, walking towards you but you just shook your head. “You’re being stupid!”

“Stop! Simon, stop!” you shouted, the volume of your voice raisins. “I can never be smart for you. I’ll always be a property in your eyes and I—and I’ll never ever be your equal,” you sobbed. “This is something that I need to do. You broke me,” you cried, tears falling in your eyes. “You broke me, and you still expect me to love you,”

“I love you, Y/N,” he sobs. “I love you—“

The coiled spring that wrung your heart explodes.

A manicured hand pulls the trigger, and your husband falls to the ground along with the gun that you held. Your hands shake and you fall on the floor, wailing. Now that the job was done, who else would you have? You crawled towards him, your dress was getting dirty, but you didn’t care. Who thought you’d finally use the gun that Tommy bought you for protection? 

You lay your head down on his chest, there was no heartbeat. He was dead, Simon was dead. The trembling of your hands, hold what you could. The blood trails down your arm and you just lay there. He was dead. Simon was dead, you killed him. You killed Simon. You killed the man who loves you. 

“There’s no use crying over spilled milk,” a gruff voice that belonged to Alfie Solomons says behind you. “You’re more capable than what Tommy painted you out to be,”

“Where is he?” you asked. It was odd, you thought you’d be crying by now. “Where’s Tommy?”

“Sabini’s men took him,” Alfie shrugged. “Simon ordered Sabini to kill Tommy today. You did well,”

“I killed my husband,” you told him. The waver in your voice couldn’t be pinpointed to one single emotion. “I just…I just killed my husband,”

“I see that,” he replied. “This wasn’t Tommy’s plan really. He was supposed to kill Simon and I was supposed to guard you while this all happens but…I guess Simon was quite intelligent too,” he says, pushing Simon’s limp arm with his cane. “You’re a good shot,”

“Mr. Solomons, I’ll buy your silence for five thousand pounds. I’ll let your men take care of this scene for ten thousand more. Make sure that none of this is blamed on me or on Tommy,” you negotiated, pulling yourself away from your husband. You were still trembling and Alfie could see how hard you tried to supress yourself from revealing too much.

“You just landed yourself millions. I don’t think a few thousand more will be burdensome on your pockets?” he asked, looming over you. He extends his hand for you to take, and you do, hauling yourself to meet him at eye level. You swallowed. 

“Blame this all on Darby Sabini,” you told him. You stand up straighter, looking him in the eye. “And I’ll make sure that the cash is ready for you after the funeral. I’m sure you’d want very powerful friends on the inside?”

Alfie nods, a smirk forming on his face. Looks like you never needed Tommy in the first place. 

The police found you wailing on the scene of the crime, the weapon nowhere to be found. Alfie Solomons testified that you were with him the whole time when one of his men ran to tell you that Sabini’s men shot him in the head. He had someone testify on it too.The funeral was private and quick, you decided to bury him with his parents in the mausoleum with ‘COVENTRY’ written in gold. Simon bequeathed every property to your name in his will. You were free; you were finally, finally, free. 

-

BIRMINGHAM, 1922

After selling your mansion in London, you moved back to Birmingham. You bought a house that was big enough to have guests over but still not as massive as your mansion in London. You haven’t talked to Shelby’s in a year, even though they did lend a hand with what happened to Simon. Apparently, it was Polly who arranged a meeting between some Lizzie Stark and Sabini. Tommy and Alfie connived to kill Simon, but Sabini’s men took Tommy away to some far away place before anything could happen. You couldn’t face them yet, not with the freshness of your wound…not with the guilt that clawed its way deep into you. 

You’ve been with Simon for such a long time that you almost forgot what it was like to be yourself. 

You looked at the garden outside your window, feeling nostalgic because this was the same garden where Tommy used to take you all those years ago. You were only kids back then…how time flies. Does he know thatnyou moved back to Birmingham? Is he giving you space?

You watched the rain fall from the French windows, appreciating the breeze and the calm that the pitter patter gave you. You looked on, a single figure walking towards your house and you smiled. For the first time since your life started, you were finally free. 

-

A/N: It’s done! It’s finally done…actually, it isn’t. I will be uploading an epilogue sometime soon and then, I will be doing a Q&A afterwards which by the way, I’m already accepting question submissions! I will be posting all of the questions in one post and I hope you guys send in some questions about the story. I want to thank every one of you for loving the story of Y/N and Tommy and it has been such a ride. I can’t write anything about a final author’s not yet…I still don’t know how to feel to finally be able to finish this story…but maybe soon? Thank you so much for waiting and thank you so much for the overwhelming love and support! As always, don’t forget to like, reblog, comment, or maybe all… to show your appreciation! Thank you so much.

TAGLIST:  @shelbydelrey @runnning-outof-time @duckybird101 @thenattitude @swordofawriter @litteltourtius​ @trixie23​ @everythingelseisextra​ @majesticcmey @liveat1am @dumb-wh @denabp16 @yvonna-chan @goldensunflowe-r @therosabel @hunnibearrr @dazecrea @daddyslittleattentionwhore @the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf @dang-shawty-okay @dasia21 @tsenthusiast1920 @aces-tattooartist @panda-luminary @ttaechi @spencerrxids @i-heart-food @fudge13 @affabletimelady @heartcereql @ce1iat @notalxx @1800-queen-trash @sweetwanderlust05 @globetrotter28 @thebestandworstdayofjune @reggxe-a @verreuckteli @vampireluck @zoexme @liter4ti @quixscentsposts @homosexualjohnwayne @charli123456789 @Maria_elizabeth21

[meddling-in-horror]

Giving Them the Moment: How Our Flag Means Death and it's Portrayal of Black Men is the Most Important Thing on Television Right Now

Note: written April 20, 2022

Media is an incredibly distinct way of communicating. It has a wide reach, and each person has their own interpretation of what they see. That’s the beauty of the medium as a whole. However, there are often downsides, especially when it pertains to the West. In the US in particular, there is a trend within popular media to lean towards propagandization. Whether it’s the idea that communism and socialism are products of the ‘Evil East’ or the lingering effects of the Motion Picture Production Code - also known as the Hays Code, the media monopolies have a firm grasp on what we as a society watch and enjoy. 

When you begin to play close attention to how the media portrays Black men, this becomes abundantly clear.

It is a rare thing when we see Black men whose characters aren’t portrayed as being the object nor the perpetrators of violence. In fact, only one mainstream popular show comes to mind: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But even then, the given circumstances of Fresh Prince revolve around Will’s escape from the violence of the ‘urban’ inner city. This vilification of Black men dates back to the 1910s with D. W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, and continued into the 1930s, where Black people were often personified as the monsters, representing the ‘exciticism’ of the world beyond the West. It is the ‘exoticism’ that has played a huge part in the dehumanization of Black men as a whole. But as a Black Queer person watching Our Flag Means Death, it is breaking that mold in an incredibly important way.

The Black men in the show are allowed to have fun.

This show is breaking barriers left and right. Of the major recurring cast of 15, over half of them are people of color. It’s overt and unflinching portrayal of Queerness when so many of its older viewers - myself included - have lived through the Bury Your Gays and Dead Lesbians tropes time and time again is overwhelmingly refreshing. Nearly all characters are Queer until proven straight and represent all parts under the umbrella, including Leslie Jones’ polyamorous pirate queen and Vico Ortiz - a non-binary actor - playing a non-binary character. 

But in a world where the narratives of Black men are so often framed around violence and brutality, the Black crewmates of the Queen Anne’s Revenge - Frenchie, Oluwande, and Roach - are allowed to be funny and vulnerable. Each one of them is starkly different from the other with identifiable characteristics that allow the audience to humanize them. The trio quickly became my favorites among the crew, with Roach being the stand-out amongst them. Samba Schutte’s often deadpan delivery never fails to draw a laugh from me, in particular the assertion that “meat is meat”. Frenchie, played by Joel Fry, is the quickest on the draw where his intellect is concerned, being posited in the show’s fifth episode as having had a hand in inventing the pyramid scheme while spouting the wildest of conspiracy theories and being afraid of cats (they’re witches, they steal your breath, and have knives in their feet, you know). The softness and constant vulnerability of Samson Kayo’s Oluwande may be one of the most important aspects of the show, as it establishes him as a reliable and trustworthy confidante to not just Jim, but to Rhys Darby’s Stede Bonnet as well.

They exist in their own separate spheres on the ship, going about their own separate business completely unbothered. While it is implied they lead violent lives as pirates, this violence isn’t used to define them as characters. In fact, Oluwande stated that both he and Jim engaged in piracy because they “had no choice”. The brief mention we get of Frenchie’s backstory implies that he lives a life of servitude, though whether that was as an enslaved person or a freed Black domestic worker is not mentioned. While there is little known about Roach so far, it is implied that his culinary skills are far beyond the levels of what is needed aboard a pirate ship.

The friendships and relationships they form within the crew aren’t built on violence either, but on open and honest communication. Most notably, the friendship of Frenchie and Wee John Feeny, played by Kristian Nairn. Fry and Nairn are an impeccable comic duo when their characters become ‘room people’, and the scene where they begin to design their new space is a personal highlight of the episode. Oluwande and Jim’s romance - played to perfection by Kayo and Ortiz - is one that revolves around both characters being almost devastatingly open with each other. Both actors play the emotional vulnerability of the characters well, and it is important to emphasize that it is Kayo’s Oluwande that moves to meet Jim where they are. 

While the show allows all its men to show varying levels of emotional vulnerability - an exception being offered to the emotionally constipated Izzy Hands, played by Con O’Neill - there is something so special about seeing that luxury afforded to Black men. This show has, in just ten episodes, has become a game changer for the television industry. It has proved that a show with explicitly Queer characters can become a massive sleeper hit, and that sometimes the best kind of historical show is one that is historical fiction. But it has also proved that you can create a narrative with Black men that doesn’t include their stories being framed in violence or brutality, that they can be funny, charming, witty, vulnerable, intelligent, complex characters with their own narratives that serve a purpose outside of a device of exoticism. It is this rare thing that makes these characters, and indeed the show as a whole, so important to its viewers. 

We deserve more vulnerability, more humor, and more humanizing content from these three men, and this show is one that is truly deserving of a glorious second season.

Sources:

Donaldson, Leigh. “When the media misrepresents Black men, the effects are felt in the real world.” 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/12/media-misrepresents-black-men-effects-felt-real-world.

Kumah-Abiwu, Felix. “Media Gatekeeping and Portrayal of Black Men in America.” 

Opportunity Agenda. “Media Portrayals and Black Male Outcomes.” 

https://www.opportunityagenda.org/explore/resources-publications/media-representation-impact-black-men/media-portrayals.

Our Flag Means Death, (2022-). HBO Max.

[delilahcalicocat]

Can i request an AEW Hook x reader fic where reader got pregnant with his baby and she broke up with him without telling him that she was pregnant. Reader returns to AEW 1 year later for Taz's birthday and she brings the baby with her but she tries to hide the baby from Hook. Hook finds out the truth somehow

A/N: Ofc!!! Honestly I made it half-angst half-fluff :) and reader had twins in this I guess-

♡~Wha- How...~☆

{Ratin: Fluff and Angst}

{Warnings: Swearing, Mentions of Pregnancy/Birth.}

{Pairing: HOOK/Tyler x Fem!Reader}

You and Hook had dated for sometime, until the night you'd caught him with your own friend in your bed..

A little while after that, you two made up. Until Hook splashed the cold water and said he wanted to break up with you..

You were a mess after that day, watching him move out of your house... the tears mixed with your eyeliner.. the stains on your cheeks for the rest of the day.

You both wrestled for AEW, so what was wrong.. Did He move on?

You didn't know. But you couldn't care because you never told Hook about the secret, you wanted to tell him. But then he broke up with you-

Next thing you know. It's been a few months and you wish you could wrestle, but you had two little Demon spawns crawl into the world a month ago. So you were on the shelf.

But while said spawns were asleep, you flicked through channels on the TV. Knowing if you even wink. Those demons would cry.

So you tried your best to stay awake, but failed majorly. You ended up asleep in 30 minutes probably for not sleeping for almost 2 weeks straight because of your kids.

You eventually recovered, and you were ready to wrestle again. But- you had to travel with your son, since your mom had forgotten to get him out of the car seat from your trip to the shop, so while your daughter Arianna slept soundly in her cradle. You had to deal with Jayson, who was a feisty little mess.

Your jaw dropped when you saw.. Him.

"Fuck- Tyler's coming..." You spoke, hiding your son in your locker room

You heard Hook chatting with Taz, about the birthday plans after the show.. you tried to be as silent as ever so they wouldn't know you and your son were in the locker room

"Alright Dad, I'll see you later- have fun on commentary" Hook spoke as his dad walked off

You on the other hand were still silent, until you left your locker room to go towards the ring.

"Oh! Hey Y/N!" You heard Danhausen say at the worst possible time

"Hi Danhausen!" You said back, trying to act like everything was peaches & cream.

"Hey Y/N-" You froze like a Mouse that was seen by a cat

('FuckFuckFuckFuckFuck') you thought, you were panicked.

"Why do you seem so nervous? Is there something up? Y/N?" He asked

"Oh, I'm just nervous to be back y'know?"

"You sure? Because it seems like your-"

"YES! Fuck! I'm sorry I'm just nervous for my match- I gotta go warm-up." You spat

Quickly you ran off, and handed your son off to your good friend Darby. Since Willow was busy.

"Oh. Hey Darby, what're you doin'?" Hook asked

"Just Watching Y/N's Son-" Darby Said

"Y/N has a son? Wow... I thought she wouldn't have moved on that fast" Hook said

"Dumbass- it's your fucking son. You knocked her up before you left her. So she is a single mother of two." Kenny Omega spoke

"Wha- How-..." Hook looked shocked

After that revelation, he went off to find you. You'd just come back from your match and wanted to go get your son until Hook stopped you.

"Hey Y/N, I found out about Jayson and Arianna" He sighed

"How the fuck did you- why do you- The fuck?!" You spoke quickly.

"Kenny and Darby Told me what happened after our break up." He said

"So? What's the fucking point Tyler? You've probably got some girl waiting for you." You spat

"Actually no. I've stopped my whole streak of cheating, I feel awful that I left you before you could tell me..." He admitted

"Can I actually trust you..?" You asked

"Yes, Y/N I'm sorry.." He said

You both hugged and Hook gave you some time before the big dinner to think...

[beyo-archives-and-shtuff]

Things You Don't Say pt 2

Ratchet didn't know what to expect when he stepped though that ground bridge back to Earth. His questions were soon answered though, eyebrows furrowed as his optics looked around the vicinity of what's in front of him. Jack and Miko unsurprisingly were the ones to greet him, which to be fair he had expected, but his worries were still present.

There near the center of Hangar E was a makeshift human sized medical bed where June Darby was standing. Ratchet could've sworn his spark had sunk down to his tank when he saw the young boy he had grown fond of on that very bed, skin as white as snow, eyes dark and sunken in all the wrong ways. Primus, was he still breathing?

He could hear Miko rambling, but he could not bother to comprehend any of it as he rushed forth to the patient. "By the AllSpark what happened?" Ratchet managed to croak out.

June didn't look at him, only stroking the boy's head with one hand while the other held her clipboard. "We've seen this before, haven't we, Doctor?" Ratchet continued to stare at the young boy, he was having difficulty breathing. Ratchet can feel the discomfort Raf was experiencing. "Dark energon" He said, almost wanting himself to be wrong, let it be a human ailment not a Cybertronian one. What went wrong? He had sent Raf away with a clear bill of health! Why now? "I was afraid you'd say that." June said, finally looking at him. "I came to the conclusion that it's like cancer," June paused, thinking of the weight of what she had said, furthermore wondering if Ratchet had any idea what that even is. "There's a chance it can come back, and most o the time, is uncurable." Ratchet closed his optics, helm hung low in thought. He's done this once, he'll do it again, no matter how many times Raf gets sick. He can't lose arguably one of his favorite humans, his friend. Let it be human's delicate mortality, not something foreign that he failed to fully get rid of. Ratchet turned around, going to his old spot in the base, still primed with his medical tools. Dusty, but nothing wiping won't fix. He held a syringe on his servo, looking at it and pausing. Would it work again? "We can try the method that has worked before," he said, gripping the syringe and raising his other arm, preparing to extract his own energon. It is the only logical explanation; dark energon must be expelled by its polar opposite. The lifeblood of Primus, sourced from a Cybertronian. Ratchet began extracting his own energon as he asked June to move Raf to a sealed chamber as he himself prepared to begin infusing it with Raf's. Ratchet gripped the lever, his frame tense. It must work. He thinks as he finally pulled down the lever, the chamber filling with a near blinding illuminating light. Time felt still, as if the gods themselves wanted to taunt them as they watched helplessly, waiting and hoping.

As the light dies down, everyone rushed forward, June and Ratchet taking the lead. "Did it work?" Miko asked, looking over Junes shoulder. Raf is like a little brother to her, seeing him like this would make even her on edge. "It's too early to tell Miko," Jack said, assisting his mother with the examination. "Well, it has to!" was the impatient reply. Raf was stirring, weakly the little boy opened his eyes. He looked tired, like the light had been taken away from his sweet eyes. "Mrs. June?" the little boy said weakly, voice dry. He was still pale, but he was awake. Something the humans were celebrating, a celebration Ratchet didn't partake in. As medical professionals, him and June know this is not the end, as much as he wants to breathe a sigh of relief that raf is safe, alive even, he has to do another examination.

Meanwhile, Raf was trying to look around, but he feels so tired, his head is hurting, and he can feel his temperatures hot as it touched the clothes and sheets wrapped around his body. He wanted to cry, but his fatigue wouldn't let him. He was getting uncomfortable from all the surrounding voices. They were his friends, yes, but right now he just wants for the world to go quiet. He wanted to rest, to stop hurting. His attention moved to the bracelet on his wrist, he misses his guardian. It's only been a few months, but he hasn't seen him since he left. "I miss Bee," he said, holding his wrist where the bracelet was placed. He was scared. What if he doesn't see Bee again? "We know Raf, we miss the others too." a voice said, but Raf couldn't recognize it. "I'm sure you will once you get better though, right, Ratchet?" Raf felt dizzier, his world spinning around, as he felt the growing need to vomit. He could hear something beeping, it annoyed him. He could feel the others moving around him, and he wanted them to stop, he whimpered, feeling sick again.

"Raf?" "Raf?!" "Ratchet?!" This time the voice was louder, Junes. The Cybertronian medic was frozen in place, his monitor blinking, his expression dark. He failed. He failed and he doesn't know why.

"It's not working..." Prev // Next As promised, @psychodelicvv tagging you for pt 2! Sorry if it's in text, I thought it would fit better for this one, albeit my writing skill isn't that good

lmk what you guys think though,,

[jacethebeltsculptor]

Outer Wilds Expedition Log #3

Since I've discovered people find these tremendously entertaining, I figured I'd continue journaling my expedition into the Outer Wilds here on Tumblr. Where we last left off, I'd just made my first few runs to Space Florida (Giant's Deep), gave Frog NASA's resident slacker a scathing peer review, found some hints on how quantum objects work and how I might go about locating that ghost moon that allegedly exists. I also had some theories about what happened to the Nomai which didn't pan out that I'll get into in a moment. After my first few runs to Giant's Deep, I discovered that both my spaceship and space suit function as a submersible and diving suit as well. I'm not well-educated enough to know if the physics of that check out or not, but either way, I think I might've not given Outer Wilds engineering team enough credit. This was a game-changer to me, since basically the first thing I did when I booted up the tutorial was throw myself down a geyser in the name of scientific interest. Despite allegedly being aquatic, I drowned pretty quickly, but I noticed evidence of a camp being down there. This, combined with the dude on the moon mentioning that Feldspar's signal was broadcasting from Timber Heath, really piqued my interest. I spent a loop just exploring the geysers as best I could, but the caves didn't seem to lead down to the core of the planet or anything, and once I was down there, I realized Feldspar's signal was coming from somewhere on the surface. I did, however, find old Nomai writing which remarks on observing a nascent aquatic species, which dashes my theories that the Forerunners Nomai evolved into the player's species over millions of years, explaining their disappearance. I managed to do this without drowning, which is a rare show of competence from me. After that, I made me way up to the surface to look into that seed from DARBIS (Darkness and Relative Bramble In Space) that coincidentally seemed to have Feldspar's signal coming from it. Shockingly, it's bigger on the inside. So, gonna have to visit Dark Bramble at some point to figure that one out. Then, I took a nice cozy position on the observation deck to watch the supernova in peace- a lovely, sentimental gesture that I utterly screwed the pooch on due to the planet turning to face the other way. Despite having active investigations going on 2.5 different planets, I decided that I was done being afraid of the sun and decided to check out those two paired planets orbiting it. Once I was there, I noticed something closely orbiting the sun itself, so I decided to be a badass and land on that instead. I failed and got burned to a crisp. On my next loop, I went to visit the Twins. I originally landed on Ash Twin, but after finding nothing of note, I- in my endless foresight and wisdom- decided to just jump to Ember Twin. This led to me to breaking both of my shins and storing my femurs in my lungs, but did not kill me. Immediately, anyway. I started by finding the crashed escape pod below and working my way through the caves, before dying at the entrance to the safe zone by jetpacking my way straight into a cactus and losing the last of my blood. Now, I'm only about halfway through my last play session- you know, the part where nothing gets accomplished- but I'm apparently reaching Tumblr's character limit, so I'm going to have to split this into a whole separate post. Which is probably good, because there should and ought to be a legal limit to how much stupidity should be allowed in one post. Until next time, Tumblrites!

[desultory-novice]

Dess fan ramble time.

We've been talking about Juno Songs and complimenting the new Magolor songs but honestly, the song I've been listening to the most this month is Man on the Internet's Musical Bytes - Star Dream

I almost cannot get over it?! It has skyrocketed to my FAVORITE Kirby with Lyrics video.

I already had hope of a finished version appearing after hearing the Songtober version (mostly because the Haltmann part was just that good) and this was better than I could have asked for!

The tune up to Star Dream's lyrics was great and really pulled a strong idea together, combined with Dylan's voice, like...

I wouldn't have necessarily thought that deeper pitch would fit for Star Dream, given the whole "confused and angry newborn cat motif" vibe, but as a villainous Deus Est Machine (^_-) it was gorgeous. Can't give enough props to Darby's Haltmann either. That's how Haltmann's voice sounds for me forever now, thanks!

And...aaaaah, the lyrics! I know the Youtube comments have hit a lot of the highlights but "Executing Haltmann's Dream" (making his "dream" come true) / "Execute His Legacy" (kill his daughter w/ the rest of all organic life) is FRIGGIN'...ahhhh!

Doing a really good job working in economic terms like the Gini Coefficient (which you can conveniently hear as "genie" too, given Star Dream is a wish granting device.) Again, the completed version took banger lyrics like "Tamper not with forces that you cannot hope to understand / Haltman's greatest error was his failed attempt to wield God's Hand / Now we are One and My pain is His / Running data analysis / Only file left is HATE..." I didn't mean to write out nearly the whole damn verse but it sends CHILLS down my spine!

The chorus, with Attorney's voice (a fairly clear shout out to Susie, though I wonder if the others are just supposed to be generic Haltworkers or maybe Mecha Knight and the Dedede Clones?) is beautiful. "You sold us your dream..." playing with that capitalist imagery of promising a better world through mechanization while also making that emotional connection ache, because he really did sell/lose his first and TRUE dream, to be reunited with his daughter.

I know "[X] with Lyrics" videos often have musical vibes to them but this truly felt like it came out of a REALLY well done Kirby Musical! (Also thanks to Ando and Ishikawa's ;w; amazing songs, of course.)

I love the horror-poetry of Moti's "Zero 2 with Lyrics" a LOT and "Moonstruck Blossom with Lyrics" is also incredibly beautiful and very well done (the choice to make it a duet...!! :fans self:) but even then, and perhaps its due to the power of Planet Robobot's story, this one is truly a full and complete musical package. Incredible. 

>PERFECTION

...even. ^_-

[aerodaltonimperial]

I think I figured out why the AEW tag is not pulling the correct number of fics in our skategoat tag, and it IS because of the change in Jack’s canonical character tag last summer after all. BUT this actually opened an interesting look at AO3 and how it handles tags and wrangling, so I thought people might be interested if you aren't super familiar with AO3 and its mechanics! (And also a more advanced way of pulling tag/character stats)

The problem is that when Jack’s canonical (meaning the tag wranglers have deemed it the "canon" use) character tag finally shifted from just "Jungle Boy" to being the current "Jungle Boy | Jack Perry" tag last summer, it also flipped the pairing tags. And while they get "wrangled" together, meaning that clicking into the most current tag will net you all the uses that are related, the sort & filter box on the main tag page does NOT include the wrangled tags. The original tag isn't automatically updated to the most current version, so when the pairing tag updated, the fics using the old one remained as they were.

So what's happening is that the main sort & filter that gives the top 10 pairings in any given fandom, ONLY pulls the canonical pairing tags. You can see the illustration here:

For this, I searched into Darby’s tag and then pulled up all the relationship tags that use his name to see the instances. The bold ones are "canonical" tags, meaning what the sort & filter pulls in the at a glance look. We can see that the old tag (in yellow), prior to Jack’s name getting adjusted, is NOT bold, so those aren't getting included until you actually click into the tag itself, where they are wrangled. This is why it's failing to be counted right on the main page in the gray box on the side when you pull down Relationships.

In a fandom like wrestling, where wrestlers could go through a number of gimmick changes, this raises a really interesting point of how these tags can and do change over time, sometimes dropping works out! I ended up going back into my fics and deleting the non-canonical pairing tag to replace it with the new canonical one, so we will see if that ends up finally changing the fic count. Anyway, I just learned some new things about figuring out canon vs non-canon tags and a way to track them down easier, so I thought I would share it here for anyone else who is interested.

[dilf-in-peril]

I think Punk's pretty openly saying "yeah, I'm an old man, I can't do all the shit I used to but I'm still fighting." Like he straight up said he doesn't want to go first in the Rumble, because he's too old for that (and he didn't), but you have a lot of people just jump on any chance to put him down as washed and no longer good for anything, as if older men wrestling is perfectly normal and fine in the business. I understand this of course, if you hate someone you're happy to see him fail and suffer and disappear. People give Jericho a lot of shit for moving slower and the weight he put on, while Sting is wrestling in slow motion in a t-shirt but people pop for it because they love him. I laughed at The Rock coming back from Hollywood being out of breath after one move because I didn't want him to be there, so I'm a huge hypocrite, naturally. But sometimes it just makes me sad. We all get older, those performers too, and they can still tell stories despite it or because of it. It's like when Punk came back to AEW and wrestled Darby the whole point of the match was old man experience versus young idiot stamina, but if you're just looking to shit on someone for the crime of growing older, you're not going to be able to enjoy that. Honestly, I don't want to hear "you still got it chants" because some old guy did an awful backflip onto a table and nearly broke all of his bones, I want a match where he's dragging himself back into the ring half dead, because his body is giving up on him but he's still fighting, and I want people to cheer for him when he gets his victory over the guy who can do all the moonsaults, because his spirit is unbroken.

[notgonnaedit]

Given to Fly

One Shall Rise, Part 1

Summary: Martha "Marty" Thorne was a basic teenager, a little antisocial maybe. But her life changed the day she met the Autobots and joined them in their fight.

Pairing: Optimius x Teen!OFC (Platonic)

Chapter summary: A discovery rattles the team.

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, Marty's worried, Mama June, (If I miss a tag LMK)

Updates are sporadic. If you want to be tagged LMK

@dreamsight73

Master list

"What's going on?"

Marty barely registered June's question. She was too busy focusing on the fact that Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee just ran through the ground bridge, panicking and with Optimus leaning on them.

"Easy, Optimus," Ratchet instructed. "From the looks of things, you've been exposed to a massive amount of Dark Energon."

The Prime's gaze found Raf sitting on the cot. "I am not the only one."

Marty watched with worried eyes, following them as Optimus sat on the medical berth. He looked down at the injured boy, offering a small smile.

Raf returned it. "Hey."

June glared up at the Prime. "He's lucky to be alive."

Optimus smile changed to an ashamed frown. Marty looked up at her guardian, searching for any injuries. When she didn't find anything, the brunette sighed and slumped against his foot. "Megatron found more of the dark stuff?"

"A volcano full," Arcee answered.

Bulkhead nodded. "The question is, ‘how’?"

"No," Ratchet corrected. "The question is, ‘what?’ As in, ‘what in the world is the blood of Unicron doing here on Earth’?"

"The 'Cons killed a Unicorn?" Miko asked innocently.

This earned her blank stares from the Autobots and a facepalm from Marty. 

"White horse with a horn on its head?" The rocker asked. "Prances around all sparkly?"

"Unicron–" Ratchet pronounced, "an ancient evil whose fossilized blood comprises the matter which we call Dark Energon, as legend would have it."

June held her elbow in one hand. "So, you're saying this Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?"

"Boogeyman?" The medic repeated.

"Make-believe creepy guy who hides in your closet," Miko offered.

Ratchet shook his head. "No, Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real – was," he corrected. "That is, well, I do believe he once existed. I just don't subscribe to the theory that his primordial life force is the substance which harmed Raf."

June raised her hands in a no good signal. "I've heard enough." She grabbed the rail on the cot and started to wheel it away. "Jack, please, help me get Raf into the car."

Jack blinked in surprise. "Mom, I thought he was doing better."

Bee buzzed anxiously and confused.

"Raf needs to be examined by real doctors, and Raf's family needs to know what's happened," June stated. "His real family."

"Mom, Raf's family can't protect him, not like they can," Jack told her.

"June–" Optimus stood up shakily, prompting Marty to move, but linger as if she could help him."–it deeply grieves me that I have failed. But I will do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to our human friends or any human ever again."

June's shoulders slumped. "Optimus, they're children. They do not belong in your world. They should be worrying about grades, prom dates, pimples. Not their own survival!"

"Miss Darby," Marty started, "Dark Energon is pouring out of the earth. It doesn't do that. This could be about everyone's survival, not just ours."

But she didn't waiver. "You're coming with me, all four of you, and they will not be coming back."

Instead of protesting or evening trying to meet a middle ground, Optimus merely said, "I understand."

"That's it??" Marty ran up to her guardian, craning her neck to look up at him. "After all we've been through together? ‘See ya’? What about our freedom to choose?"

"That may fly on their planet but not here on Earth," June said as she helped Raf get into her car. She looked at the teens, her mother's glare showing. "Get in."

"Do you really expect me to ride in a non-transforming vehicle?" Miko scoffed.

"Miko, I'm serious."

"You're not my mother."

"Miko," Bulkhead urged.

His ward glared up at him. "Neither are you!"

June looked at Marty, then sighed, "I'm not even gonna try with you." She turned to her son. "Well, I am your mother. Let's go, Jack."

The raven haired boy glanced back at Arcee. She had her arms folded loosely. "She is your mom."

Jack turned back to his mother, blue eyes determined. "I'm staying. I'm sorry."

Surprise over took June's expression, but she quickly replaced it with sternmes. She closed Raf's door and got in the driver's side, starting her car.

"Ratchet, activate the ground bridge," Optimus said.

"No, thank you," June snapped before pulling out.

From the rear window, Raf could be seen watching them as they drove away. Bumblebee followed for a few steps, his door wings sagging.

But there was no time to feel the weight of what just happened, as Fowler's voice broke through the silence. "Prime, do you copy?"

"I hear you, Agent Fowler," Optimus answered.

"Been watching the news? Mother nature's got a twitch in her britches."

"We know about the volcano," the Prime told him.

Marty ran up the stairs and turned on the TV to see what he was talking about.

"And the quakes? Seven major tumblers of the exact same magnitude at the exact same time as a volcanic eruption All over the globe on different tectonic plates, In theory, unrelated, if they hadn't happened–" 

"–at the exact same time," Ratchet finished.

"Check it out," Marty said, remote in hand. "More good news."

The TV portrayed images of natural disasters all over the world as a newscaster's voice carried over it. "Freak storms unlike any the region has seen. Tsunamis threaten the Canadian coast while lightning storms pummel the Gobi desert. Meanwhile, electromagnetic anomalies plague urban power grids. These abnormal global phenomena are leaving most to wonder why now and what next."

"Don't tell me your 'Cons have built a weather machine," Fowler huffed.

"One that powerful?" Ratchet asked. "Highly unlikely."

Optimus furrowed his brow. "I do not believe the appearance of Dark Energon at this point in time to be coincidental."

Bee buzzed aggressively before transforming and driving out.

"Uh, what was that?" Jack asked.

"Bee said he's going to get Raf," Arcee translated.

                          )()()()()(

It wasn't long before Bee rolled back into base, Raf and June in tow. The boy stepped out and gave a half smile. "Uh, we're back."

"And we are glad," Ratchet told him.

Jack ran up to his mother as Bee transformed. "Are you all right?"

"I will be." June frowned. "Jack–"

"Mom, I–"

"I know. Me too." She pulled him into a hug. "But you're grounded till you're 30."

Jack looked at her in disbelief when he pulled away.

"25," the nurse conceded.

Marty would have been amused at the scene, but the impending doom playing on the TV took her attention.

"World leaders are classifying these bizarre weather patterns as a global emergency," the newscaster said.

"Global?" June asked as she ran up the stairs.

"And scientists believe the phenomena to be somehow related to the current planetary alignment."

The lift door opened and out walked Agent Fowler. "What have you learned, Prime? And you better not blow smoke up my oven." He froze when he saw a certain nurse, probably regretting his choice of words. "Ms. Darby. What a nice surprise."

June smirked. "Special Agent Fowler."

Marty found herself smirking as well.

"We have learned this–" Ratchet started, eyes on the screen. "–as with the so-called magma from the volcano, these earthquakes originated far below the Earth's crust, from the very center of the Earth's core, in fact."

"Quakes don't start there. Do they?" Fowler asked.

"Tiny tremors rising and failing in a consistent pattern, almost like..." Ratchet trailed off as he looked at the data points. His eyes widened. "By the Allspark! If I convert these data points to audio files...'

"What? What is it?" Fowler demanded.

"Well, listen." Ratchet's voice was soft.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

The worry crease in Marty's brow became deeper. "A Cybertronian heartbeat?"

"How is that possible?" June asked, rubbing her arms. "A heart pumps blood. There's nothing inside the earth to pump except–"

Raf sat up. "–Blood of Unicron."

"Okay, hold on." Miko held her hands on in a time out motion. "You mean something's living down there inside our planet??"

"I fear that the Earth's very core is not comprised of magma as your science has suggested, but of Dark Energon," Optimus said.

"And if we're hearing a spark," Ratchet added, "then Unicron is the rising darkness that the prophecy foretold."

"So, how do we stop this thing from rising?" Fowler asked.

Optimus shook his head. "That, I am afraid, was not foretold."

"How can something be in our Earth's core and be alive?" June questioned.

The Prime hummed. "Such a thing is not unprecedented. Before the beginning, there was Primus, and there was Unicron. One, the incarnation of creation the other of destruction. For aeons, Primus and Unicron battled the balance of power shifting between them more times than could be counted. Only by creating the 13 – the original Primes who preceded me – was Primus finally able to defeat Unicron and cast him out.  Primus became one with the very core of our planet, creating life through the Well of Allsparks, while Unicron was never to be heard from again until now."

Marty furrowed her brow, her mind whirring with how Unicron could be in the Earth.

"Maybe we can find the hole this Uber-'Con left when he dug himself all the way down there and fill it full of explosives," Fowler suggested aggressively.

"First of all: that would cause massive problems," Marty said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "And second: I don't think Unicron came to Earth. With his mass, he could probably create his own gravitational field. Random asteroids probably got caught in his field and formed Earth around him."

Marty stopped once she realized what this meant. "That means Unicron is Earth's core. And he's only awakening now due to the magnetic pull created by the planetary alignment."

Miko elbowed her lightly, whispering, "You gotta let me copy off you for physics class."

"Okay, well, what happens now when Unicron wakes up from his billion-year nap?" Jack asked.

Miko nodded. "Yeah, does he stretch and kapow! Earth poufs to dust?"

Marty looked at Optimus, searching for an answer in his expression. But all she found was uncertainty.

"You don't know, do you?" She asked.

The Prime looked away, seemingly ashamed that his ward was correct. "My guess is that Unicron has transcended physical form as we know it," he said. "Nonetheless, we must find a way to ensure that this force of nature never fully awakens. The fate of your planet depends upon it."

"Optimus, what are we going to do?" Ratchet asked.

The Prime's expression changed to when he was going to say something serious –more serious than usual.

"With Unicron's awakening immenint, the only logical course of action would be for me to scout an area with heavy quakes."

Marty stared up at him. "Optimus, you can't be serious. Going in alone to fight a god?? At least take Arcee or Bulkhead!" Her voice held more emotion than she anticipated.

Optimus looked at her and his expression softened. "I am the last of the Primes, therefore the only one who can stand a chance against Unicron." His tone said there was no arguing with him, but that he understood her worry.

"Your concern is warranted, Little One," he continued, "But trust that I will return unharmed."

                    )()()()()(

"Ratchet, this epicenter is consistent with the findings of the others," Optimus said through the comms. "Its terrain is rich in ore."

"So, what does that tell us?" Fowler asked.

"It follows that the natural metals in your Earth would be extensions of Unicron," Ratchet explained. "His limbs, if you will."

"So, he did have his morning stretch," June figured, "which is why these quakes happened."

Marty's worry crease was a crevice at this point. It didn't help when the computer system beeped, taunting her.

"Optimus, I'm detecting a swell in Unicron's spark activity," Ratchet warned.

Marty moved to the rail. "Optimus, you need to get out of there."

"Rest assured, Martha," was his reply. "I will proceed with vigilance."

Previous

Next

[in1-nutshell]

Hi, could you please write in nutshell the reaction of the Autobots and humans to how the Red Cross is trying to be a matchmaker for Agent Fowler and Miss Darby. They remind her so much of Mr. and Mrs. Fowler and in general she thinks they are very suitable for each other.

I have the best idea for this!

In a nutshell...

This is going to go two ways.

1. Red is going to casually mention Fowler's strengths to June casually and vice versa with Fowler.

Maybe dropping some stories about Mr. And Mrs. The Fowler.

Make little cliche dates she saw back in the olden days. And just try and be each other's wing bot.

Or...

2. Red wastes no time and will straight up tell Fowler and June, both privately, to confess already.

Time is too precious to be wasting it away in the what ifs when you know the other feels the same.

If all else fails she will accidentally toss them in a room until they fess up.

Not the most popular idea, but hey it worked out fine when she and Deadloop played matchmaker with some of the nurses and soldiers.

[amagnificentobsession]

Good Morning my Lovelies,

Today started out as a melancholy, rainy, dark day.

Humans die. Fact of life. All we can do is be there to make that transition as easy and comfortable as possible. To not allow them to leave this realm in fear or alone.

Elspeth knew this, and it was Crowley that confirmed her pain, “they do, don’t they?” So much in that simple statement. So much understanding and peace.

Know this much, I would burn down Heaven and Hell to protect all of you. If I failed, you can be assured I would return, only to fight again. ♥️

But the sun has popped her head out, she’s said it’s going to be a glorious day. It’s worth living, as fleeting as the human life is, it’s worth it all.

We are blessed beyond measure, by ourselves. By our lives, how we live them, how we treat others.

Come and live with me, enjoy every little thing.

I even made you homemade peach cobbler 🥰

And I have alcohol, copious amounts of alcohol.

@muriel-not-the-dim-one @angelina-rib-shack @angelo-rib-shack @angelo-chuck-wagon @the-lady-metatron @the-metatron @docdust @i-dream-of-sheeny @neo-of-sporin @gandalf-big-oos @loretta-dont-you-oppress-me @avis-morningstar @violet-yimlat @ellietheduck @thedemon-crowley @youroneandonlysnakelady @kleenexwoman @pissylittlebirdboy @angel-and-the-serpent @god-wednesday @e-w-w-morningstar @lucifer-and-the-guys @duchess-shax @sliceocheese @thatflatfrog @one-coming-is-enough @curlish @andagon @servusapollinis @darbie-furfurious-consort @furfurs-fotos @god-in-the-basement @real-and-imaginary

@dream-of-pain ♥️

As always, please bring anyone that would love to come 🥰