#next to that Sideswipe episode

[rescuebotsoutofcontext]

Heatwave being sick of everyone’s shit part 16

#transformers #rescue bots #tfrb heatwave #ohohoho Sideswipe’s episode is next #I FORGOT THE TITLE HAVE MERCY IT’S LIKE 1AM #screenshots

[pancake-blogging]

So the other day, I added onto a post from @too-many-blorbos and mentioned how I thought Robots in Disguise would've been improved if it were a sequel to Rescue Bots instead of Prime. Now over here, I'm gonna expand that with the other things I would change! Also, I thought it'd be fun to call this au/rewrite/whatever Rescue Bots in Disguise, or RBiD

Putting it under a read more, because it's probably gonna be... A lot.

The first change is the starting cast. As I established in the other post, we'll be replacing Bumblebee with Chase but keep Strongarm. Then, we replaced Sideswipe with Hot Rod (don't worry tho, Sideswipe will show up later with Sunstreaker in tow)

The show starts with Chase and Strongarm patrolling on Cybertron. Chase is trying to explain to Strongarm why they don't need to be concerned with one bot loitering in a public space, only for a speeding Hot Rod to rocket past them. The two pursue him, eventually catching up with him next to a Space Bridge.

Hot Rod is perplexed when told he was speeding to get here, and as Chase tries to ask if he's okay his hand brushes against the controls. The Space Bridge suddenly activates, and all three of them are pulled through to Earth.

On Earth, I've decided it would be more interesting to replace the human characters with a grown-up Raf who has a kid of his own (because I miss my boy and I want him to be there).

And while Grimlock was one of the better parts of RiD, I still feel like he isn't quite Grimlock-y enough. So, I decided to swap him out with a new Dinobot based off Spike from the movies; all you need to do is take Grimlock's Dino mode head and make his snout narrower and longer, add a sail to his back, and bam! You have a spinosaurus that's still just as intimidating as a T-Rex, while leaving the door open for a more traditional Grimlock to show up later.

One of the main plot points of the first season is that Megatronus returns with a plan to destroy both Earth and Cybertron, hence why the Primes saw fit to revive Optimus. In RBiD, however, Optimus won't be revived.

In every episode, Hot Rod will have at least one very brief encounter with a past Prime; they might be right next to/replacing his reflection in a piece of glass, he might see them standing opposite him at base only to vanish when another bot passes in front of them, or maybe he hears their voice telling him to duck in the middle of a battle.

Halfway through the season, Windblade shows up; still acting as an agent of Primus, her role in RBiD is still to help out the team, but now her primary mission is also to help Hot Rod establish a connection with the Primes. With her help, Hot Rod is finally able to have a full conversation with a still dead Optimus Prime, who reveals that he and the other past Primes have sensed an approaching darkness. He also reveals that Hot Rod was chosen to take up the mantle of Prime when the time is right – though Optimus fears they may not have the luxury of time.

As for the Decepticons... It is very strange that virtually EVERY SINGLE ONE is partially (if not mostly) animal-like, while there are (to my memory) ZERO animal-like Autobots. That's sending a weird message. So! Some of the Decepticons will have slight redesigns to be just normal humanoid robots, though exceptions can be made for ones with bestial alt-modes or when their animal-like features have a clear translation into their alt-mode, like Thunderhoof's antlers. Steeljaw is supposed to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, but since it's kinda strange that a half wolf man turns into an SUV I've decided to just make him a beastformer that turns into a wolf.

Also! Some of the prisoners aboard the ship should've been Autobots. And I don't just mean former Autobots, I mean Autobots that broke the rules but would still refuse to join the Decepticons.

At the end of the first season, when Megatronus breaks free, Optimus and the other Primes channel themselves through Hot Rod and temporarily transform him into Rodimus Prime. Shortly after Megatronus is defeated, however, he reverts back to a HEAVILY exhausted Hot Rod – another character (probably Windblade) points out that had he contained the raw power of the Primes in his body for too much longer, he might have died. The rest of the series, he's dedicated to honing himself, occasionally getting the odd power boost until the series finale, where he's finally able to become Rodimus Prime permanently.

#And that's what I've got so far! I'm sure I can come up with more if prompted though #Transformers #Transformers Rescue Bots #Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015) #Transformers: Rescue Bots in Disguise #maccadam

[spiritshaydra]

Salad

Whoever’s holding those tongs are seconds away from getting slammed into next Thursday. They also hear One Winged Angel getting louder FAST, and should probably start running.

I’m pretty sure this is the first non doodle I’ve done of Em that was fully polished 💀💀 by this point her only colored content was really blurry doodles where her details weren’t too visible (a “I’ve had her for a day and a half and if anything happened to her, I’ll kill everyone in this room and then myself” shitpost redraw. Might post that,,, 🤔) or these rough design notes I did that exhibited some of my spec. Bio headcanons on Newspark/Sparkling stuff. Oh yeah! I HC Cybertronian tears to be gold in color, kinda like that one episode of RiD2015 where Sideswipe is crying because of a movie (I think)

Tongless Em and the reference image used down below!

#spirit’s oc vault #maccadam #maccadams #tfp #transformers #Transformers Prime #tfp oc #oc #original character #shitpost #oc shitpost #tfp shitpost #meme redraw #fancharacter #procreate #procreate art #tfp megasound #megasound

[nukenai]

I was watching random TFP episodes with my friend/roommate today and lost my fucking shit when Bulkhead threw Breakdown at Knock Out and he yelled PRIDE MONTH’S OVER, BITCH!

when we watched RiD the other day he saw Sideswipe and instantly said “i love how he’s an idiot and he fucking sucks”

He’s hopefully moving in by next week so i cannot wait to watch more shit with him and get his A+ commentary

#we have been like best friends for years lol this will be great #welcome to the gay chaos robot house

[taciturnraccoon]

I know!! Rid 2015 has it’s episodes and moments, but most episodes feel like the writers just made a new con to mention again 2 seasons later, and threw in a story revolving around the life lesson for the day. I still like how they did some things, like Steeljaw’s introduction (they only had Hoofster around for like, 6/22 minuets in his own debut episode 😭), but all that potential was just thrown around but never used like some dusty rag doll 😔

Honestly! Don't get me wrong RiD is still my favorite show but...

There were some mistakes story-wise that they made, one I can think of off the top of my head is that Razorpaw showed up in one episode and was captured, but then somehow showed up again in the next season? But they never showed him getting out his stasis pod or even mentioned it so, idk how he got out. It's like they forgot, or they couldn't be bothered to recolor and rename him. Despite the fact that RiD 2015 reused a lot of designs in the show.

And they have this whole arc throughout the series that Cybertron's Council is corrupt, but they were cowards and said "Ohhh they were Decepticons all along! Because Decepticons are bad!"

It's also convenient that all the prisoners were 1. Decepticons and 2. Beastmechs.

RiD15 made racism canon and only said 'racism is wrong' when Sideswipe picked on Autobot Minicons.

I have. Opinions. About this show. Of course it's a kid show so I shouldn't expect meaningful writing but. If Earthspark can do it then what was RiD's excuse?

#anon #asks

[my-weird-news]

Tragic Ohio School Bus Crash: Student Dies, 23 Injured on First Day 😢

Oh, School Buses and Minivan Madness! So picture this: a bright morning in Ohio, kids bouncing off the walls with the excitement of their first day of school. A school bus, on a mission to wrangle these mini-munchkins, was cruising along like a seasoned captain with a cargo of 52 spirited sailors. Just your typical Tuesday, right? Wrong! 🚌 Meet the Hero of the Hour: The School Bus, aka the Kid-Mobile. It was on a roll, making its way northeast of Dayton, when out of nowhere, like a ninja in a Honda Odyssey, this minivan decided to crash the party. No RSVP, no warning, just a spectacular sideswipe move that could earn it a spot in a minivan action movie. Now, the school bus driver saw the Honda Odyssey's move and thought, "Hey, maybe they're just trying to show off their parallel parking skills." But no, it was more like a high-speed tango gone wrong. The bus swerved, the minivan swerved, and the kids inside were probably doing a mix of screaming and "wheeeee" like they were on a roller coaster. 🚦 Plot Twist: One brave kiddo decided they'd had enough of the wild ride and took an unexpected exit through a window. That's right, folks, the bus rolled, and this pint-sized daredevil was ejected from the bus, probably yelling, "I've had it with field trips!" 🚑 Emergency Extravaganza: In the aftermath of this automotive ballet, we had 23 students who suddenly found themselves signed up for the "Emergency Room Express." Some sported non-life-threatening injuries, which is code for "I survived the minivan storm," while one student went all out and scored a serious injury. Now, here's where it gets even more absurd. Imagine a school bus, a vehicle designed to transport students, without any seatbelts. It's like sending kids on a roller coaster without the safety bar—only, this time, it's on the road! The driver, bless their heart, had a seatbelt on, but the bus full of bouncing beans didn't have any. Guess those school buses were designed by the same folks who thought roller coasters were meant to be an extreme sport! 🚧 Mystery Minivan: Now, let's not forget the star of the crash, the Honda Odyssey that wanted a piece of the school bus spotlight. Driven by Hermanio Joseph (seriously, could the name be any more dramatic?), this minivan had one passenger on board, Roberto Mompremier. They both ended up on a speedy detour to Springfield Regional Medical Center, probably wondering how they ended up in the middle of a school bus showdown. 🏫 The Aftermath: With the bus casualties accounted for, the Northwestern Local Schools in Springfield decided it was time for a grand reunion. Parents, imagine this: your little angel's first day of school, and instead of cheerful stories about crayons and friends, you get the unforgettable tale of "The Great Minivan Encounter." So there you have it, folks! The bus, the minivan, the daredevil escape artist, and the drama worthy of its own Netflix series. Stay tuned for the next episode of “When Minivans Attack!” 🚗💥# Oh, School Buses and Minivan Madness! So picture this: a bright morning in Ohio, kids bouncing off the walls with the excitement of their first day of school. A school bus, on a mission to wrangle these mini-munchkins, was cruising along like a seasoned captain with a cargo of 52 spirited sailors. Just your typical Tuesday, right? Wrong! 🚌 Meet the Hero of the Hour: The School Bus, aka the Kid-Mobile. It was on a roll, making its way northeast of Dayton, when out of nowhere, like a ninja in a Honda Odyssey, this minivan decided to crash the party. No RSVP, no warning, just a spectacular sideswipe move that could earn it a spot in a minivan action movie. Now, the school bus driver saw the Honda Odyssey's move and thought, "Hey, maybe they're just trying to show off their parallel parking skills." But no, it was more like a high-speed tango gone wrong. The bus swerved, the minivan swerved, and the kids inside were probably doing a mix of screaming and "wheeeee" like they were on a roller coaster. 🚦 Plot Twist: One brave kiddo decided they'd had enough of the wild ride and took an unexpected exit through a window. That's right, folks, the bus rolled, and this pint-sized daredevil was ejected from the bus, probably yelling, "I've had it with field trips!" 🚑 Emergency Extravaganza: In the aftermath of this automotive ballet, we had 23 students who suddenly found themselves signed up for the "Emergency Room Express." Some sported non-life-threatening injuries, which is code for "I survived the minivan storm," while one student went all out and scored a serious injury. Now, here's where it gets even more absurd. Imagine a school bus, a vehicle designed to transport students, without any seatbelts. It's like sending kids on a roller coaster without the safety bar—only, this time, it's on the road! The driver, bless their heart, had a seatbelt on, but the bus full of bouncing beans didn't have any. Guess those school buses were designed by the same folks who thought roller coasters were meant to be an extreme sport! 🚧 Mystery Minivan: Now, let's not forget the star of the crash, the Honda Odyssey that wanted a piece of the school bus spotlight. Driven by Hermanio Joseph (seriously, could the name be any more dramatic?), this minivan had one passenger on board, Roberto Mompremier. They both ended up on a speedy detour to Springfield Regional Medical Center, probably wondering how they ended up in the middle of a school bus showdown. 🏫 The Aftermath: With the bus casualties accounted for, the Northwestern Local Schools in Springfield decided it was time for a grand reunion. Parents, imagine this: your little angel's first day of school, and instead of cheerful stories about crayons and friends, you get the unforgettable tale of "The Great Minivan Encounter." So there you have it, folks! The bus, the minivan, the daredevil escape artist, and the drama worthy of its own Netflix series. Stay tuned for the next episode of “When Minivans Attack!” 🚗💥 Read the full article

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Reasons I like RID2015 #566:

Now, if you guys, for some reason, don't like the ASL using autobot part of the episode, i got something else for you to enjoy. As you've noticed, I've been talking mad shit about Nightra. Allow me to exllain why.

Nightra and Strongarm go way back to their academy days. What ENDED their solid relationship (Strongarm actually goes into a lot of detail about how much Nightra meant to her, and how she pushed her to do better) was that Nightra was caught with essentially a cheat sheet for a very important academy test. Nightra wanted Strongarm to say SHE was the one who owned it, not her.

She was even brought before a council. Suffice to say,

Nightra didn't get what she wanted, and was kicked out. Fast forward to now. Nightra is on earth,

And is now a bounty hunter, "Thanks to Strongarm". She's not there just to catch up,

But is also there to have Strongarm and her team help her with a particularly dangerous criminal, Blastwave. The twist?

BITCH IS A THIEF, BLASTWAVE IS THE BOUNTY HUNTER, SHE STOLE HIS BADGE AND IMPERSONATED HER, AND WENT TO EARTH TO FUCK EVERYONE OVER. SHE'S THE BITCH WHO BULLIED YOU IN HIGHSCHOOL AND IS NOW CALLING YOU FAT TO SELL YOU HER SLIMWRAPS. AND WHAT FUCKS ME UP

IS THAT STRONGARM WAS SERIOUSLY DEFENDING HER THIS ENTIRE TIME. STRONGARM IS RIDE OR DIE, BUT NOT FOR BITCHES WHO DON'T DESERVE HER.

THIS is an episode.

THIS is a twist.

THIS is a character arc.

THIS is a cool bad guy.

THIS is what RID should focus on. THIS.

#s4 ep11 #Guilty as Charged #Nightra #Strongarm #i #will not be silenced. #in saying this episode is top tier #tbh might be my favorite #next to that Sideswipe episode #Reasons i like RID2015

[adjectivemage]

This whole Chris Rock gets smacked by Will Smith for insulting his wife really does seem like the start of a Bojack Horseman episode.

Whale who does the news: This just in, celebrities are now just beating the shit out of each other. We're getting reports that Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth have hurled Chris Pratt into traffic, and Chris Evans ran him over.

Princess Carolyn would spearhead the efforts to start organizing celebrity fights, and Diane would be extremely skeptical but help, at first. Bojack would be meh about it until he finds out he might get to punch Matt LeBlanc in the face There is then a subplot where Chris Pine teams up with Mr. Peanut Butter and Todd because Chris Evans has started murdering the other Chris' in Hollywoo because 'there can only be one.'

Mr. Peanut Butter: I don't know if we should interfere Todd. This seems like the natural order. Plus I am doing a buddy comedy movie with Chris Evans next year. It's called Man's Best Friend, and its about a man and his best friend- Todd: But Mr. Peanut Butter! We can't let Chris Pine die!!! Look at his eyes! They're so sparkly!!! Chris Pine: moans in the backseat of their car, clutching a bloody arm. His eyes twinkle. Mr. Peanut Butter: They're like tiny galaxies.... Dammit Todd, you're right. This is one star whose light we cannot let be extinguished. Chris Evans murderous rampage must be stopped. Mr. Peanut Butter than floors a car, sideswipes a nearby car through an intersection while weaving through traffic as Chris Evans is chasing after them like a terminator. His eyebrows are massive. The subplot ends after an insane fight scene where Character Actress Margo Martindale catches a manhole cover that Chris Evans throws like a shield. Chris Hemsworth deals the final blow to Chris Evans and is then betrayed by Chris Pine who reveals that he was using them to be the only Chris left in Hollywoo. He is killed when the bridge above him collapses under the overpass Mr. Peanut Butter, through tears: Goodnight, sweet Chris.

#not to post about celebrities on main but friends were meme'n on it and I had to #bojack horseman #chris pratt #chris pine #chris rock #chris evans #will smith #chris hemsworth #oscars 2022 #is that enough tags #celebrities

[decepticonfetti]

TRANSFORMERS FANDOM METRICS 2021 - ADDITIONAL SHIP DATA

Continuing on with this year’s data analysis, also known as I was bored and had some free time to stare at numbers. The initial Transformers Top Ten Ships doubles as the Transformers M/M Top 10, so let’s look at a few other categories.

First up, the Top Ten M/F Ships for 2020:

Elita/Optimus has held strong as the majority M/F ship since time immemorial (or at least that one G1 episode).

Ironhide/Chromia is second place and has a similar origins to Elita/Optimus. I don’t really expect either of them to be bumped from the top spots any time soon.

Starscream/Windblade is a relatively new ship to the fandom and has been popular enough approximately half the attention of the number two spot.

Arcee/Cliffjumper has a surprisingly strong showing despite half said pairing having died in the first episode of TFP.

Arcee/Ratchet is surprising to even be anywhere near the top ten, let alone on it.

Sideswipe/Strongarm is also surprising to me.

Lugnut/Strika deserves more love.

Blackarachnia/Silverbolt is alive and well.

Arcee/Knockout is a pairing I never thought of or considered, but it exists.

Brainstorm/Nautica should be higher.

Let’s see how the 2021 data compares:

There is no change in position whatsoever for the Top 9. The 10th slot is now occupied by Arcee/Prowl, with Brainstorm/Nautica falling off the list completely.

Now let’s look at the Top 10 F/F ships!

Here is 2020′s chart:

Chromia/Windblade stems from the IDW Comics and is therefore a relatively new ship (although Chromia does originate from G1).

Anode/Lug is also from IDW Comics, with both characters introduced in the Lost Light comics I believe.

Nautica/Velocity is again an IDW Comic ship, with them both being introduced in the More Than Meets the Eye comics run.

Aileron/Arcee is a mystery to me.

Firestar/Nautica is once more an IDW Comic ship (though like Chromia, Firestar does originate from G1).

Slipstream/Windblade is a Cyberverse Ship, I believe.

Arcee/Windblade is also an IDW Comic Ship with one half of the pairing originating from G1.

Nautica/Roadrage is also an IDW Comic Ship.

Dustup/Jumpstream is also an IDW Comic Ship.

Flamewar/Shadowstriker is the tiny unlabeled sliver.

Chromia/Windblade remains in the top slot.

Anode/Lug still holds second place.

Chromia/Elita One is new to the top ten, which I am attributing to renewed appearances in the War for Cybertron Netflix Show and the new IDW run.

Nautica/Velocity got bumped to fourth.

Aileron/Arcee in turn got bumped to fifth, knocking Firestar/Nautica from the spot.

Slipstream/Windblade remains in sixth.

Flamewar/Shadowstriker is no longer an unlabeled sliver, jumping to kick Arcee/Windblade from seventh place.

Firestar/Nautica fell to eighth.

Arcee/Greenlight debuts on the list in ninth place.

Arcee/Windblade falls all the way to tenth.

Next up, we’re looking at OT3 numbers. Here is the chart for 2020:

Skywarp/Thundercracker/Starscream holds number one to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Ratchet/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker remains as evidence that at one point a good chunk of this fandom shipped the Lambo Twins with anyone and everyone.

Bluestreak/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker, exhibit b in the evidence that at one point a good chunk of this fandom shipped the Lambo Twins with anyone and everyone.

Cyclonus/Tailgate/Whirl is one of only two IDW Comic OT3s to make it on to the list.

Prowl/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker exhibit c in the evidence that at one point a good chunk of this fandom shipped the Lambo Twins with anyone and everyone.

Drift/Ratchet/Rodimus is the second IDW Comic OT3 to be on the list.

Megatron/Optimus/Starscream is surprisingly low on the list and should definitely be higher.

Sideswipe/Sunstreaker/Wheeljack exhibit d in the evidence that at one point a good chunk of this fandom shipped the Lambo Twins with anyone and everyone.

Sideswipe/Skyfire/Sunstreaker exhibit e in the evidence that at one point a good chunk of this fandom shipped the Lambo Twins with anyone and everyone.

Mikaela/Bumblebee/Sam is the only human involved pairing to make it onto a top ten list without filtering for humans specifically.

And the 2021 numbers for the OT3 Top 10, for comparison:

Skywarp/Thundercracker/Starscream remains strong in first place and will most likely never be dislodged due to this fandom’s incessant horniness for seekers.

Cyclonus/Tailgate/Whirl moves into second place through force of will.

Ratchet/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker falls to third, perhaps as evidence that the power of the party ambulance is fading.

Bluestreak/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker gets bumped back to fourth.

Drift/Ratchet/Rodimus jumps up to fifth.

Chromedome/Rewind/Brainstorm debuts on the list in sixth place this year.

Prowl/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker drops to seventh place.

Megatron/Optimus/Starscream falls to eighth place which truly is a travesty.

Sideswipe/Sunstreaker/Wheeljack drops to ninth place.

Megatron/Soundwave/Starscream should have been on here before, but appears now in tenth place.

And there you have it. If you want in depth data on specific characters, let me know and I’ll to a TOP 5 pairing chart for you.

#transformers #maccadams #fandom metrics

[loreweaver-universe]

And that’s the episode split.

Hrm.

I have to say, so far this isn’t really my jam?  It’s cutesy and saccharine, which isn’t a bad thing by itself, but there isn’t any immediate substance to it.  So far it’s just girls being cutesy.  I’m fully prepared to eat those words in the second half if these kids get sideswiped by a Plot, but I’m not really liking it so far.

That’s it for School Live for the moment.  Up next is the second half of episode 2 of Kino’s Journey, which we’ll be starting in a couple minutes!

Thank you all for tuning in, and thank you to my 57 patrons for making it so I can do this for a living!  See you in a few!

IN OTHER NEWS:

I recently completed my blind playthrough of Metroid Dread!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

I’m currently in the middle of my blind playthrough of Persona 5 Royal!  You can see the full playlist of those streams by clicking here!

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It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

I may have been one of the earlier Steven Universe liveblogs, but a whole community of livebloggers has sprung up over the last six years!   I linked to a bunch individually for a few wrap-ups, but honestly, this end-slate is already eight billion miles long, so I’m just gonna link to my links page.  Click here if you want recommendations of other livebloggers, or other neat people, or webcomics and podcasts that I recommend.

#school live #schoolbloggin #bloggin #school live episode 1 #school01 #episode wrap up

[paversandplatters]

||𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚙|| (5/20)

Apocalypse! Au (TW! Minor gore and cussing)

Reader x multiple

Chapter 5: A Flock Found

They pack a wheel barrow to the brim with the newly acquired supplies they find not botheringing to leave behind much of anything, making sure to cop the twenty five gallon container of gasoline from the tool shed out back behind the building... Lord knows they'll need for the grand task ahead of them. By the time the light in the south western sky began to fade from a light gray to pink over the backwaters of the panhandle they're ready. They slip outside through the rectory's side door and creep single file along the edge of the property. Y/n takes the lead, periodically glancing over her shoulder for any sign of the herd that had crossed the highway or any sign of the group that occupied this space all too recently. She carries a glock with a full magazine just in case. The dusky air gets clammy and cool on the back of the stranger's neck as he follows them to the car. They climb in hurriedly, stowing their provisions in the rear cargo bay. Y/n kicks the engine on as the newcomer clambers into the passenger seat next to her- much to the dismay of the other two- unfolding an old dogeared map.

"They usually stick pretty close to the ocean." He says almost to himself, silently calculating the mileage between them and the gulf. "Probably should start down by Perry or Carwfordville." He senses movement ahead of them through the windshield and glances up in time to see a couple of jagged shadows emerging from the woods about a hundred yards away, drawn to the sound of their engine. Garbled growls can be heard over the drone of crickets. The trace smell of garbage on the breeze, the light and space of the outdoors is almost overwhelming to him. He feels like he's been asleep for a hundred years, locked away in that dank and dirty church- he starts to feel dizzy.

Y/n gooses the accelerator and the SUV lurches away. He sinks into his seat as they roar down the road, swerving to avoid the half dozen or so biters now skulking out of the woods blocking their path. They sideswipe one the creatures, ripping a chunk of its shoulder, splattering fresh gore across the glass of his side window.

"You get used to it." she states after he flinches in disgust. He just stares at the splatter, flecks of bone chips, and a long trail of black bile.

"I don't think anyone can get used to that ..." Nick mutters from the back seat.

Night falls and the darkness deepens behind the trees on either side of the road. Most of the streetlights in this part of the country have gone the same way as the internet or cable TV, so the road only gets darker and darker as they head south towards the steaming thickets and festering swamps of the coastal lowlands. The going is slow, most of the two lanes are crowded with rusted out wreckages ,the carcasses of cars and trucks so old now that the weeds and switchgrass have begun to grow up from their metal endoskeletons. The two young men in the rear breathe heavily, thickly, half asleep while Y/n drives and softly hums some forgotten tune. They had passed the jerky and water around a few minutes ago- their standard fare of supper- and now their bellies growl and their eyelids droop with exhaustion.

"You never gave your name..." His hushed voices rings out from the shotgun seat.

"Hadn't crossed my mind at the time, sorry about that... It's Y/n" She chuckles softly. "The one with the headband is Nick but goes by Sapnap, don't ask i don't know- the other one with the accent is George." he just simply hums in reply.

"What about you big guy? What do they call you?"

He takes a moment to regard the woman seated next to him; his head still trying to wrap itself around this complete stranger who's shown him nothing but kindness. On the one hand, she seems trustworthy enough, friendly, a good listener, courteous and capable of single handedly taking out an entire chapel full of reanimated corpses... On the other hand she seems like a walking time bomb. He'd seen her type before- they type that's too kind until something or someone breaks that trust. A hairline trigger. The sad fact is he doesn't have a large array of options. Staying in that hellhole of a church with those enslavers, listening to the groans of the dead, waiting for whatever those bastards would do next quickly loses its charm... Seeing the aftermath of her cleaning house with that knife had given him an odd charge- a cathartic release. He's also aware that he'd never be able to find the caravan on his own given the sorry state he's in. He really has no choice but to go along with her and her scruffy ass men and hope for the best.

"I don't have a name.. that is, one that I can remember.."

She desperately wants to pry, how could he not remember his own name? But the thousand yard stare and glassy gaze is enough to stop her from inquiring any further. "Well we've gotta call you something big guy." She's met with silence in response. "Alright, I guess Big Guy it is then." He offers only a meek hum in response. In an attempt to silence his own raging thoughts his eyes landed on the red bandanna tied to the rearview mirror for what was probably the hundredth time since he started on this way too long car ride.

"... What's that about?" He points to the red scarf.

"It belonged to a friend of mine a long while back, before Sapnap and George were a thing." Her hands tighten their hold on the wheel. "I was caught by 'traders' and he was stuck in the same hole as me... Couldn't have been any older than fourteen at the time. One night the compound was under attack, their front gate was breached- luckily we were kept at the very back end, so when the opportunity came we managed to escape our holding cell and I hoisted him over the wall. Told him to keep running, to not look back. He got away but I was caught again," She takes in a deep breath before resuming her story.

"I was quickly sold off to some asshole who had these two chained up for breaking into their stores... one thing led to another and we snuck out and snagged this ride... we've been moving around since." It was obvious by her tone there was a lot she was leaving out and probably for a good reason. Notably the two in the back seat were dead silent, so much so that it made the air feel heavy and dense enough to cut with a sharp enough knife. Suddenly he was wishing he hadn't bothered to ask in the first place

"That sign back there," He manages, desprate to break the heavy air "Said 'Cross city 12 miles" He glances up from the map in his lap, gazing out the side window at the stewing darkness of Dixie County Florida. "Got a feeling we're getting close."

The vast patchwork of wetlands passes in a blur on either side of them. The land oozing a low blanket of methane as gray as mold, clinging to the shadows of pine thickets and gullies like dirty lace. The air smells briny and rotten with dead fish. Every few minutes they pass the ruins of a small town or wreckage strewn trailer parks. No sign of survivors in these parts, though only the occasional silhouette of an upright corpse shambling by, it's eyes like twin yellow reflectors in the darkness.

"We can't just keep burning gas all night." Sapnap says from his place in the rear, his voice all cranked up with pain and panic "and we can't just go off of what you overheard those traders talking about- Much less go off of feelings.." Big guy just keeps a neural face.

"We're in the ballpark" He persists "Believe me they'll be hard to miss." Y/n grips the steering wheel, her jaw working overtime on a piece of gum, snapping and chewing complusively as she drives.

"How many vehicles do they have in this convoy?" George questions between wheezy breaths.

"No idea... but it's quite a few ."

"That's pretty general."

"They'll be easy to spot." He replies once more, gazing back out at the darkness. "Our best bet is to follow the coast, they like to keep close to the water.."

"Why's that?"

He shrugs. "According to those 'traders' they keep their eyes peeled for ships or any possible way they might get their asses the hell out of here. Most of the bigger boats around here have been destroyed by the hurricane that hit a couple years ago, so it's a long shot that they'll find anything..."

They're about to give up the search when they start to climb the gentle slope- at first so gradual it's almost unnoticeable - up the side of a vast malodorous landfill- the barren trash-strewn scrubland to their left reaches across miles of sandy berms, all the way down to the deserted ghostly boardwalks that wind their way along the beaches. The sky has begun to bruise pink with predawn light and Y/n has just started to say something when the Big Guy sees the first faint streaks of red dots in the distant haze.

"LOOK!" He points his large gnarled hand down at the far dunes of ashen white sand winding along the coast. The surface is so pocked and windswept it resembles the dark side of the moon.

"Where?" She cranes her neck, slowing the vehicle down to a crawl.

"I don't see anything."

"About Half a mile up there... Look at the tail lights!"

She takes a deep cleansing breath as she finally sees the caravan chugging along the coastal road in the predawn light, it looks like embers throwing up puffs of smoke in their wake.

"Holy shit, I see it." A big smile washes over her face, Glad she decided to follow through with this insane plan.

"What do you think of those boys?" The two young men in the rear lean forward, transfixed by the sight, each of them rapt and silent as they gaze at the convoy.

"What are you doing?! Blaster your horn at them," George stutters anxiously. "Don't let them get away !"

Y/n smiles to herself, in her former life she used to be fascinated by the wildlife shows, often catching them in the late night showings after work before she turning in for the night. She remembers one episode in particular, on the behavior of sheep vs the behavior of wolves. She remembers the flock mentality; the sheep moving almost as one, easily managed by a single sheepdog. She remembers the instinct of the Wolf, stealthy, patient as it and its pack creep up on the flock. She shoots a glance across the dark interior at the larger man sat next to her before turning her head to face the two sat behind them.

"I have a better idea."

Taglist

@the-wandering-pan-ace @hvrcruxes

#dsmp x reader #dream x y/n #dsmp tubbo #ranboo #sapnap x y/n #techno x reader #tommyinnit #dream smp x reader #dsmp #dsmp techno #georgenotfound #georgenotfound x y/n #philza x reader #the behavior of sheep

[kaiyonohime]

Both sleeves now attached!  Took about ninety minutes, most of the episode of ‘MST3K: Screaming Skull’, but the sleeves are attached (though not done.  I have to do the bottoms and sides, but I’m going to do those last).  I’ve now laid out the first side panel and I hope to have at least one full side panel stitched on tomorrow.  Second side panel on Wednesday, one sleeve completely on Thursday, final sleeve on Friday, and Saturday for weaving in ends.

Hopefully.  A bit ambitious, and there are two national holidays next week so I have some days off so I may not rush finishing.  Especially with the weather forecast of us getting some of the typhoon sideswipe and me worried about flooding.

But yay, both sleeves attached, the side panels are much more straight forward and easier to attach than the sleeves, no worrying about making sure they’re centered or anything.

#knitting #lace knitting #cobweb lace knitting #lace haori #Screaming Skull is such a stupid movie but I love it so #mostly the jokes about the skull knocking on the door

[definitely-not-karen]

My unnecessary and irrelevant reviews about the transformers media I have consumed.

Please let me have this. I was doom scrolling and transformers is my comfort fandom.

G1: I have not watched all of it, I do plan on doing so but I did watch it when I was younger and does invoke nostolgia. I watched it on Teletoon Retro (does that even exist anymore?) ((just googled it, rip teletoon retro)). For some reason I really like the episode The Ultimate Weapon. I am a huge fan of First Aid and it was because of this episode and I have no idea why. Rodimus is the main character of that episode with First Aid just having a very prominent role in the side story of that episode. I really liked the Aerialbots and their storyline with the time traveling and the not knowing if they’re on the right side was really cool. Honestly the animation errors and weird inconsistent story are part of the charm I guess.

RID 2001: another show I’ve only seen tidbits of. I watched this one via random episodes illegally uploaded to YouTube in the early to mid 2010s and now all those videos are taken down. As a lover of camp, this is camp. I love it. Transformers as a concept is pretty camp (which is why I adore it) and I definitely will watch all of this one day. Though Sideburn is cool and all, I do wish he didn’t chase a red sports car every episode. Otherwise he’s one of my favourites cause himbo rights I guess.

Transformers IDW 2005: So... I read the entirety of the idw comics purely because I found out Thundercracker was a screenplay writer and I wanted to read the entire story so I got the complete context of his development from scary fighter jet to an Oscar winner. I was not disappointed, I was met with queer and trans representation of all sorts, a diverse storyline with action filled parts, comedy elements, slice of life, political drama, adventure, horror, and the best road trip through space. Honestly I was not expecting transformers of all things to have queerness represented so casually and quite well in my opinion (though technically they are guilty of bury your gays, I don’t count it cause there was a clear reason for that death) Thundercracker was marked as one of my favourites cause of this series. I did experience a wonderful story because I wanted to see how he got his happy ending. My biggest criticism of idw transformers is that I love their interpretations of characters and sadly I know I’ll probably never get to seen them like that again. But if I want to experience those characters like that, I’ll just re read it I guess.

Transformers Animated: I have watched the entirety of this great show twice and it still love it. Funny characters, a human character that has a purpose, and a fun change to the formula, Transformers Animated has one of my favourite Optimus and made a Bumblebee so lovably loud they had to take away his voice so he wouldn’t become too powerful. Loved all of the characters except the human villains, Headmaster did not age well and I wasn’t in love with Ratchet’s design but his personality more than made up for it. If you want more animated, I love Transformers ReAnimated the void is filled by that series and channel. While I wish it got another season, it’s ending was satisfying enough I guess.

Transformers Prime: Smokescreen is great and was underutilizes -100/10. Just kidding, kind of I really enjoyed Prime. I’ve only watched through it completely once cause when I was a child I did not like the designs since apparently as a child I was a G1 loyalist I guess. Though now Prime has one of my favourite styles that still holds up today. Dramatic story with actual character development, I can over look that the plots a tad slow. I wish Breakdown was utilized more and it also could have benefited from an extra season but the movie wrapped it up much better than animated’s ending. Knockout is an amazing character and I was spoiled while I was watching it that he turns Autobot though I didn’t realize that wasn’t until the literal end of the series. Would’ve like a completely fleshed out Breakdown and Knockout or at least Knockout redemption arc but there’s always fanfiction I guess.

Robots in Disguise 2015: I didn’t hate it? It definitely helped that I watched this before Prime for some reason. I liked the designs, Sideswipe... himbo rights. Biggest flaw is the lack of character growth. I just want nice things for Sideswipe, Strongarm and Fixit. Grimlock was fun, I like Bumblebee trying to be a good leader and Optimus should have stayed dead. The crossover and referenced to Rescue Bots was fun and Blurr and Sideswipe was the rivalry I didn’t know I needed. But the one I really needed was Smokescreen in there too. The ending arc was interesting though not executed the best and Steeljaw did a lot of the heavy lifting for the villain side to a point where they over utilized him and his character suffered as a result. Windblade was not as bad as people online said she was, splitting the group up into two was stupid cause I’m bitter and still don’t want Optimus there. Also long list of underutilization: Denny and Russel Clay, Jazz, all the characters from prime except Optimus and Bee, Jetfire and Jetstorm, More Rescue bots, and many more! Like that girl that’s Russel’s friend that I literally don’t remember because I’m pretty sure the writers forgot about her! Anyways, in retrospect the show probably wasn’t great but I liked it I guess.

Rescue Bots: This show is way better than it needed to be. I actually love the no Decelticons and war. I’m a sucker for slice of life and especially slice of life with a twist. Human villains that were actually interesting, actual character development, continuity (somewhat), great human characters all while being target for children. I’m so happy I watched this show while I was kind of the target age and rewatching it for the third time was great cause some of the science jargon actually made sense to me. Satisfying ending too and honestly it can just appeal to everyone. Love all four of the main rescue bots and constantly wish they made evergreen designs and toys for them so they could at least make cameos in other transformers media. Sometimes it’s nice to have transformers being wholesome I guess.

Rescue Bots Academy: ... I was not the age democratic for this show and I somehow still liked it? Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been gravitating to more wholesome content due to current events but it was actually good? Love all the students, I do miss the old crew and characters like Doc Green and Frankie are under utilized and the Burns family is almost nowhere to be found :(. Once again there’s some actual character development and Hot Shot’s mentor relationship with Heatwave is super sweet. Also actually having positive post war Decepticon and Autobot relationships in this children’s show? Woah. Biggest issue is like RID 2015; the lack of continuity and characters completely disappearing. Perceptor was fun and I was not expecting him to appear. And I love me some microscope dude. It was a good send off for the aligned continuity I guess.

Cyberverse: ending too soon. I was about to be upset that bumblebee didn’t have his voice but he had his voice in his head which was great. Episodes like the velocitron one was really good and it definitely got better with each season and peaked in the Quintesson arc and then rolled to the cancellation date. Thundercracker shouldn’t have been killed off but I’m very biased. Seeing the rebuilding of Cybertron was cool. Windblade and Bumblebee had a fun relationship. I really liked this iteration of Grimlock. Perceptor was super interesting but then they did nothing with him after the Quintesson arc which was a shame and I would have liked to see better relationships between the Autobots and Decepticons after the team up. Also wholesome Whirl was fun. Honestly this needed one more season so bad. I just think it could have been great if it got one. But it’s still good I guess.

War for Cybertron: ...let’s see how I feel after Kingdom comes out but right now, meh. For me my favourite transformers characters usually end up being side characters due to me wishing they had more screen time so in this case, Red Alert is great please show me more of Red Alert. I get what all the people are saying about the voice acting and whatever but I can look past it (though please give us Peter Cullen or let the current VC make his own Optimus voice). But one thing is that all the YouTube reviewers be saying that I completely agree with is that it’s dark. Like lighting wise. I occasionally had trouble making out what was happening because it was dark. Honestly my biggest issue isn’t a fault of the show. I like development of multiple characters to be shown so I can fall in love with a multitude of characters but due to short seasons, it makes sense to focus in completely on one character at a time. Siege in my opinion at least let me see more of the background characters rather than Earthrise but I’d probably like Earthwise more if I was a bigger fan of Optimus. I’m going to watch Kingdom but I’m not expecting to be wowed I guess.

In conclusion, I should watch Beast Wars, I’m going to re read the ending of Lost Light again and revel in the melancholic ending I adore and I really like Thundercracker and First Aid. One great thing about transformers and other franchises that have been around for awhile, if you don’t like the current thing, there’s plenty of last media and you probably won’t need to wait too long for the next piece of media you’ll hopefully like.

Please be good idw 2019, I’ve read a bit of you and I have a scrap of hope. Oh please please please be good. Give some characters the Thundercracker treatment.

#idw transformers #transformers #transformers idw #transformers rid2015 #transformers rescue bots #transformers prime #transformers cyberverse

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch5: Doggy Style Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Everyone at the resort feels the aftermath of the blow up from the night before…and they welcome a new member to the team.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Tiny bit of smut via flashback- like blink and you miss it (NSFW no under18s)

 Episode Pairings:  Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz 

  Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 4

 When Hannah woke up the following morning her eyes were swollen and sore from crying. She winced at the rays of sun that hit her mercilessly and shut her eyes again as she stretched and sat up on her bed. Her head was pounding and she didn't feel like seeing anyone that morning, she was pissed at everyone. Well not everyone. Rachel and Jake hadn't wronged her in any way since they had met. On the contrary, Rachel had been the sister she had never had, her only girl friend in a place brimming with testosterone in a country hostile to women. She’d sat with Hannah, comforting her for a while the previous night, rubbing her back and calming her down till she had stopped sobbing. And Jake had been nothing but friendly and kind with her, he had made her laugh and had showed her the wonders of Red Sea bottom

 The revelation of what Andy had done had sideswiped her greatly. Maybe that out of everything was what had hurt her more and what was worse, there was nothing she could do about it no matter how angry she felt, no face to punch either. She knew she had to move forwards and that there was no point dwelling in the past because as her mama always said, You can't change the past, but you can make your future. And she was determined to follow her mother's wise words but, that said, she still was ready to kill someone along the way. Starting with Sammy and she would probably have killed Andy too if he was there. She certainly wanted to rip Max's tongue off and feed it to the fish. And then there was Ari. Ari ... well, where to even start with that?

She pushed her evil thoughts aside as she got up and pulled a pair of shorts and a top. She brushed her teeth and headed out, deciding to go for a walk before taking a shower. She strolled in the kitchen and grabbed herself a coffee, greeting Rachel good morning and blatantly ignoring Max, who was eating toast. 

"Don't you forget I need you to help me with the aerobics class, Han." Rachel reminded Hannah, looking between her and Max.

"Sure. I'll be back on time." Hannah said as she took her mug and headed off down the shore.

She walked mindlessly for five minutes, enjoying the early morning sea breeze and the calming feeling of the beach sand under her feet and between her toes. The walk took her to her favourite spot just where the shore curved round the bay. It was a huge crop of rocks which were ideal for sitting in between and hiding. It was almost like a little cave, her cave, with two large rocks either side and a flat one which formed a sort of roof. It reminded her of a dolmen, ideal for sitting under and cleansing one's mind and spirit.

She was lost in her thoughts, dwelling on how she was determined to take the reins of her own life from that moment on and fuck the world, as her eyes scanned the ocean in front of her. Then, suddenly, something cold, then warm and wet nudged her hand. She gave a little yell and jumped as she thought it had been a jellyfish. But she didn't feel any itching or irritation, so she then thought it must have been some sort of fish or eel, something that was washed up.

Not that it was a more comforting thought.

Hannah looked around and saw a small, hairless dog cowering in the inner corner of the cave. Or at least it looked like a dog. She approached the animal cautiously to verify it was indeed a dog and not some other random form of life and was pleased to see her initial identification was correct. 

"Hey puppy." she said gently, holding her hand out.

The dog was tentative. He looked at her hand but didn't move a muscle so she stayed still allowing him time to move and sniff her and then his tail gave a small wag and she reached out to scratch his ear. The dog then wagged his tail a little stronger.

"I like you too, buddy." Hannah said softly, smiling at him. 

At the sound of her voice the dog came nearer and put his paws on her legs, wagging his tail before he sat down close next to her, his head resting against her legs. She noticed then the dog needed a bit of patching up as he had a few wounds over its back. He must have been a stray dog living in the cave, she thought, and she had intruded his safe place.

She drank her coffee in silence with the dog beside her. Then she got up and headed to the resort in order to take a shower and help Rachel with the damned aerobics class, but when she looked down she realised the dog had followed her instead of staying behind his home. Her mind travelled then to Cocoa, the dog they had as a kid. A chocolate Labrador who used to growl at Sammy whenever he was teasing her or messed with her dolls. Cocoa used to follow her all over, he was like her shadow and had never let her down. Of course he hadn't because dogs are better than people. They're loyal, which is not something many people at the resort could claim.

And that was that, she was keeping the dog. She made up her mind there and then. This dog had appeared when she most needed something to rely on and maybe he needed her too.

 When Hannah entered the resort, followed by the dog, everyone was sat on a table at the patio, before the guests awoke fully and the busy hours of the day began.

 "Oh my God! Whose dog is this? Hi fella?" Rachel said, immediately spotting the dog.

 "Suppose he’s mine now." Hannah shrugged as she took a seat next to Jake and left the coffee mug on the table.  "Found him on the beach...or he found me."

"We're not keeping a dog...are you keeping him? Seriously?" Sammy asked, raising her voice with every question.

Hannah merely glared at him, she didn't say a word. She turned to Rachel instead before saying "I think I might keep him.”

Simon then pottered over to Max, sitting down beside him, his ears forward, looking at his food.

"The dog wants my food." Max deadpanned.

"Give him some then." Hannah said, rolling her eyes.

Max hesitated before grabbing some beef bacon from Ari's plate and gave it to the dog.

"The dog wanted your food not mine." Ari protested, before taking a sip from his coffee.

He looked at the dog as he wolfed it down and then jumped up, paws on Max's leg, tail wagging so hard his butt was moving.

 "Hey!  He likes me." Max chimed.

"He is kinda cute..hey buddy..." Jake said as he gave a sharp whistle and fed him a slice of toast.

"There's some leftover chicken in the fridge..." Rachel offered, seeing as the dog would guzzle all their breakfast if they let him.

 "Oh, cool, he's hungry...poor thing..." Hannah said standing up.

She slapped her leg and the dog followed her unconditionally.

Once she was gone Sammy started his usual campaign against anything new.

"She can't keep him." he groaned.

"She's so keeping it." Jake snorted.

Ari who was now smoking a cigarette, his left arm leaning on the chair's back, asked "Why can't he stay?"

 "He reminds me of Ethan...no hair" Max joked, with his signature grin. Rachel slapped him on the back of his head and everyone bar Sammy snorted.

"Seriously, Ari, she can't keep it. We're on a mission." Sammy tried again.

"You fucking tell her then..." Ari growled, not bothering to look at him.

"Chill out, it's only a dog. And what's wrong with you two?" Jake asked, looking between Sammy and Ari.  "You're throwing daggers at each other."  He then turned to Max "And you, you're being weird too."

Ari decided then he had had enough and stubbed out his cigarette on the ashtray. He too was pissed at Sammy and Max and wasn't in the mood to answer any of Jake's questions whatsoever.  "I'm going for a run." he said as he got up.

"Yeah. Get the fuck out of here..." Sammy snarled.

Ari stopped on his tracks and glared at him "I'm going now before I punch YOU in the jaw...and you wanna upset your sister again, be my guest, because I can't and I won't."

"Yeah, you've never been able to say no to her have you, Ari?" Sammy raised his voice again.  

“Ok, what have I missed?" Jake asked, his eyes darting between Sammy, Max and Rachel.

Ari just shot Sammy another glare, more like a death stare, thinking how he would love to drag him over the table and smash his face in.  But he simply left, his hands turning into fists.

 "Just leave it" Max whispered, leaning over Jake.

The first guests started appearing in the dining room just as Rachel switched seamlessly into Angela, welcoming them. Max, Jake and Sammy stood up and cleared the table they had been having breakfast at. Hannah came back, the dog on her tail after having been fed and patched up, and greeted the guests in a perfect Spanish accent. 

 "Buenos días" she said to the woman she had spoken Spanish to the day before, and then ignored everyone and headed to her hut. 

Just as she was about to reach her door she bumped into Ari as he emerged from his in his running gear complete with Walkman.

"Sorry firefly didn't see you..." Ari apologised.

"It's ok, I was distracted..." she said softly, taking him in but not daring to look him in the eyes.

Ari was in no better position and ran his hand through his hair struggling for words while she checked him out. And suddenly the dog jumped up at him.

"Hey pal..." Ari kneeled down to gently pat the puppy's head and scratch him behind his ears.

"Think he likes you." Hannah said, giving him a small smile.

Ari looked up, and saw Hannah was smiling, and he'd be damned if it wasn't a genuine smile. His eyes locked on hers for a second before he looked back at the dog who was now licking his face. 

"Where did you find him?" he asked softly.

"My rocks." she said, pointing to the curve of the bay. Ari squinted his eyes and then he spotted the place she was pointing out. "I think I might call him Simon."

Ari laughed at the random name. "Simon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Hannah shrugged and just then he let out a snort as he realised "Still hoping Simon Le Bon is gonna come rescue you?"

"Well if you can't have Simon Le Bon, Simon Le Bone will do. What do you think, buddy?" Hannah cooed, bending to give him scratches.

"A substitute for the real thing?" Ari quipped. He sensed Hannah was in good spirits and decided it was worth giving a shot.

"Well, we don't always get what we want." she replied, looking up back at him.

Ari swallowed, remembering the dream he had had the other night and her saying those exact words to him on her 21st. His face then fell and though he tried to collect himself quickly Hannah noticed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, studying him.

"Nothing Firefly, just....I'm sorry." he answered quietly.

"Yeah, you said." she shrugged as she looked down at the dog who was now rolling on the sand. She looked back at Ari and could see the pain was still in his eyes even though he had rearranged his face. She swallowed before admitting "I'm sorry too, Lobo."

"What for?" he frowned. Now, that was a surprise.

"Being so angry at you...I know you're hurting too." she looked into his eyes, just to check they were still in turmoil.

Ari couldn't find the words, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness. He knew he didn't. The only thing he could come up with was looking at her shrugging before stepping forward and in an automatic response, hugging her. He didn't even think about the possibility of her rejecting his touch, even his nearness. But, surprisingly, she rested her head against his chest as his hands gently rubbed at her back and he decided in a bold movement to kiss her head and whisper into her hair "I'm so sorry, Han."

"I know." she whispered back.

They stood there until a moment later she pulled back and wiped her eyes "Look I have to help Rachel with the tourists. Can you keep an eye on Simon?"

 "So we're actually calling him that?" Ari snorted.

"We?" Hannah asked, arching her eyebrow.

Ari simply smiled "I've got you on this, I like him."

"Let me guess, the others want him to go." Hannah asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, just Sammy." Ari confessed. But just as the words left her mouth he internally face palmed himself realising he may have just made it worse between the siblings.

"Well Sammy can jump. I'm done letting him take things from me." she said, her eyes burning with determination.

Ari saw her open her mouth to say something, but she shut it almost instantly as she apparently had changed her mind and after a few seconds she spoke again "I don't think there's anything on this afternoon, do you wanna take me into Port Sudan? Simon's gonna need some stuff if he is staying, I was gonna go diving but..."

Ari's mind went directly to Jake and his diving experience the previous day and blurted out  "No!" and noticed Hannah's surprised expression before correcting himself "I mean, yeah, I'll take you...sure."

"Thanks, so you're ok watching him whilst I help Rachel?" she checked.

Ari looked at the dog who glanced up at him, tongue lolling out before replying "Sure Firefly."

****

Ari was in the dining area, reading the American paper they got once a week if they were lucky, with Simon led by his feet when Sammy walked in. 

"Oh fuck me..." he said, stopping when he spotted the dog.

Ari looked at him, deciding if it was worth trying to speak to him or if he was actually in the mood to do so when Simon sat up and growled at Sammy.

"Oh look at that..." Ari grinned "He doesn't like you either."

"Fuck you Ari..." Sammy rolled his eyes "She convinced you, didn't she?"

"The dog stays, Sammy." Ari said sternly, his eyes on the newspaper.

"She did." Sammy said, shaking his head as he scoffed.

"Like I said, the dog stays." Ari looked at him again. "End of discussion."

"You're an idiot." Sammy spat.

"It's just a dog Sammy." Ari sighed "What's the issue?"

"You really can't say no to her can you?" Sammy asked as a response to Ari's question.

"Again Sammy?" Ari groaned as Sammy glared at him.

"Don't even think of getting near her again Ari." Sammy threatened him.

"Fuck off Sammy." Ari bit back feeling his temper fray as he stood up and stormed out of the dining area, pushing past Sammy and headed towards the beach, Simon following him. 

He nearly missed Max who was about to walk in the door and moved out of the way of Ari and looked at Sammy puzzled before saying "Wow, everyone loves you today, don't they?"

"Oh shut up Max." Sammy rolled his eyes and walked into the resort.

"Yeah, that's what I should have done." he muttered. He looked at Ari who was now walking down towards the ocean and turned to follow him.

"Ari..." he called, "Wait up buddy."

Ari stopped and turned and saw Simon ran towards Max as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for the man to reach his side.

"Yeah, I ain't got no food now pal...you ate it all.”

Ari called Simon by his name to stop bothering Max and Max looked at him "Simon? Let me guess, Duran Duran..."

"You know Hannah." Ari snorted "Simon Le Bone, meet Max...or Irving...he's Maltese..."

"Le Bone?" Max laughed "Good call..."

"Yeah I thought so too." Ari smiled.

"Look, Ari.I want to apologise. I swear when I told Andy well, I didn't think he would go and do that..." Max spoke, looking at him shyly.

"Well, he did." Ari shrugged.  "But it doesn't matter anymore."

"Doesn't it?" Max asked. Not believing for a moment his leader was going to let him get away with it. But Ari just sighed. "I know you Ari, and I know Hannah too." Max insisted.

"Well, in that case why don't you tell me if it matters or not then Max?" Ari asked, a little tetchy.

"You know it does Ari." Max shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry man."  he added before leaving.

Ari breathed out and looked down at Simon before muttering "Everyone's fuckin' sorry... Well, except Sammy that is."

Simon just looked at him. The dog hadn't got a clue of what was going on so he happily headed down to the ocean, sticking his paws in the water. 

*****

Ari drove the truck down the main road heading towards Port Sudan. Neither of them were talking much, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Both of them were glad to get away from the atmosphere that had descended on the Red Sea Diving resort, even if they were partially responsible for it despite that not being totally their fault.

Hannah was simply looking out of the window, every so often taking something in, an interesting landmark, an animal, whatever it was they passed by. Her passenger side window was opening, causing the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her bun to blow around her face. Ari stole a glance at her, taking in her profile, smiling softly to himself thinking it was probably a good job her eyes were covered by her shades because he really should be focussed on the road…

“Why are you looking at me Ari?” Hannah questioned as she turned to face him. He hastily averted his attention to the road as he gave her a sheepish smile.

"Was just thinking, it’s been a while since we've been alone in a car." he said, his elbow leaning on the door frame.

"Yeah well this ain’t gonna end the same way as the last time that happened." she said taking a deep breath as she looked back out of the window.

"What do you mean?" Ari frowned.

She turned to look at him "You forgotten that night after the McDonalds drive through?"

Oh…

Ari tossed the scrunched up cheeseburger wrapper into the paper bag as Hannah did the same, before he turned and dropped the trash into the rear foot well of his chevvy behind his seat. Hannah reached over for her coke, taking a large drink as she glanced out of the window.

“So tell me, mi Lobo…did you park this far away from everyone else for a reason?” she asked, turning to him.

“Firefly, I resent that accusation…” he said, shifting slightly so he was side on in his seat, facing her, one arm sneaking round the back of her headrest.

“You’re so full of shit…” she looked at him, and he arched an eyebrow.

“Ok, you got me…” he said, his other hand falling to her thigh just above where her long, over-knee socks finished “I just wanted to make sure no one dented the car…” She let out a laugh and he grinned, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers, his hand sliding up over her skin and under the hem of her tartan mini skirt.

“Been driving me crazy sat in the theatre next to you, wearing this…” he muttered into her mouth, as his fingers reached the top of her thighs. She let out a soft moan as she shifted slightly, his hand gently skating over her panty clad core. “I wasn’t concentrating much on the movie.”

“Kinda the point…” she whispered, his eyes locking onto hers.

“You know you give off this sweet, little innocent girl vibe when really you’re nothing but fucking minx…” he mumbled, his lips crashing onto hers as his fingers moved her underwear to one side and he found her hot and wet and so fucking ready. It hadn’t taken him long, as his fingers coaxed her gently he nipped at her neck, lavishing her with the praise and soft dirty talk she loved and just as she’d let out a soft cry of his name and arched her back as she came, wrapping her hand around his wrist, there was a sharp banging on the window which startled them both enough for Ari to jerk upwards, cracking his head on the roof of his car.

“Fuck!”  he said, massaging his head before he moved as Hannah straightened her clothing and he wound his window down.  

“Officer…” he greeted the Cop who looked at him, then to Hannah, then to the back of the car and Ari glanced around, spotting for the first time that the windows had misted up. “We were errr…” “I know exactly what you were doing…” The officer looked at him “Take it home kids.”

“Kids…” Ari scoffed, watching him go. “I’m twenty-fucking-eight!”

Hannah laughed, “Must be your boyish good looks Lobo…”

“I’m not a boy, as well you know Firefly…” he shot her a look as he readjusted his pants and turned on the ignition to the car.

“Awww, would it make you feel better if I stroked your ego and told you that you were all man?” “You can stroke somethin’…” he quipped, shooting her a dirty grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and she laughed, and turned those blue eyes on him as they flashed in the dim street lighting.

“Well take me home and I will.” Yeah, he remembered that very well. And thanks to that memory, his not so little problem from yesterday morning was well on it’s way to reappearing.

"Well, I imagine with the sand and the dust around the place, getting the windows as steamy as we did then would be a challenge." he said, clearing his throat.

Hannah gave a laugh "We nearly got arrested.”

“Why break the habit of a lifetime, sweetheart?” he laughed and Hannah shook her head as her chuckles subsided and she once more fell silent.

Ari glanced at her again before he turned his eyes back to the road. It wasn’t long after that, 2 nights in fact, that following the Surgery Inauguration Party Sammy had turned up on his doorstep and punched him in the jaw, warning him off. Lost in his own thought, he nearly missed the almost whisper from Hannah a little while later when she spoke again.

"Thank you."

Ari frowned "What for firefly?"

"For backing me up with Simon." she turned to look at him.

“Like, shall I count the amount of times you backed me up since we came here?" 

"I backed you up those times Lobo because you were right." she shrugged.

"Yeah, well and so were you about Simon." he said simply, his eyes back on the road.

"Well thanks anyway..."

"You're welcome Han. Besides, I kinda like him." he said, smiling at her.

At that she gave a snort "Sammy doesn't."

Ari rubbed at his eye, “Sammy doesn't like anyone, well not at the moment."

She let out a cheeky laugh, before she grinned and Ari looked at her again "That's part of the reason I wanted to keep him." she said, drawing a loud laugh from him.

****

Jake entered the reception area in his diving gear and was about to say something but shut it closed when he realised only Rachel and Jake were there sorting some schedule for the following day.

"Where the hell is Hannah?" he asked them, his hands on his hips.

"She went with Ari to Port Sudan." Rachel deadpanned without taking her eyes from the folder.

"What the fuck?” Jake cursed, making both Rachel and Max lift their eyes to look at him. "I was gonna take her diving..."

Not missing the whiney tone to his voice, Max vaulted over the reception counter and put an arm round Jake "Come on man, I'll tell you a story..."

They walked towards the seafront part of the resort, the dog behind them. Hannah had instructed Max to babysit Simon while she was away. In fact her exact words had been to take care of her puppy and keep it as far away from Sammy as possible. As long as he didn't turn his whiney bitch mode on, in which case Max was fully allowed to unleash the dog on Sammy having been told by Ari about his little growling incident before. 

Max explained to Jake everything he needed to know about the big fuck up that had taken place nearly nine years before and which was still altering their lives. Jake listened carefully, slack-jawed as he ran a hand over his face from time to time.

"Whoaa, talk about a fucked up story." was all Jake could muster as realisation of what had been happening in front of his own eyes hit him. "So, Ari and Hanna..." he trailed and Max nodded in reply.

Then they abruptly stopped talking realizing Simon was gone. They looked around, turning and walking frantically, searching for the dog but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Cracker is so gonna kill us…” Max groaned as they ran back to the resort. "Have any of you seen the dog? We can't find him." he asked, bending over his body and panting as they emerged into the reception area.

"What?" Rachel shrieked.

"We got distracted for a minute and bam, he gone. We lost him." Jake explained as he tried to steady his breathing.

"What the fuck do you mean you lost him?" Rachel asked fuming. "Find him.  Now!"

"Yeah, you better do it fast before mama bear comes back and rips your head off." Sammy snorted. He would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the show Dumb and Dumber were putting on.

"Yeah mama bear and wolf daddy." Max laughed.

Both Sammy and Jake glared at Max.

"Let's have a look around the buildings." Jake said, still pissed at Max's comment. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Hannah had bailed on him. That said, he was still quite fond of his head so didn’t want to give her any excuse to be pissed at him, so together they headed out looking for the dog at the front side of the resort but there wasn't any trace of him there either.

 "You know it's a stray..." Jake sighed "He could have just fucked off home..."

"Yeah, I think he did...look" Max said, pointing to Simon who was stood outside Hannah's hut just like he was chilling. He looked at them, his ears pricking up, almost in a greeting. Yo guys. 

 "Fucking dog." Jake hissed.

They tried calling him to them, both relieved, but the dog showed no intention of moving from his spot. He just observed the two sweaty men looking at him with squinting eyes and their hands on their hips.

"If he's waiting for Hannah, he won't move." Jake said. "Unless..." and he turned to look at Max with a hopeful grin.

So Max rushed to the kitchen to fetch some food for the dog and quickly came back, showing it to him. Simon then got up and headed over to Max wagging his tail.

"Like, if this is Hannah and Ari's kid..." Jake snorted "Does this make Sammy his uncle?" he asked as Max fed the dog.

 "Grumpy uncle..." Max snorted, looking at Jake.

"Then you must be food uncle..." Jake offered and Max grinned satisfied with his title. “What am I?”

“Shit shirt uncle?” Max quipped, as Jake shot him a look before the three of them headed back to the main building.

****

Ari had to hand it to Hannah, she hadn’t lost a shred of that tenacity she’d possessed years ago. She was currently stood in a little pet shop on the high street describing Simon to the man behind the counter. The guy spoke really bad English, but had given a yell to someone who had wandered through from the back, who was now attempting to translate.

“No, no hair…” Hannah was saying “Grey, with pink patches…big ears.” “Ahhh…nem, nem!” The man said, and he hurried out from behind the counter and gestured for Hannah to follow him. Ari watched as she did, and he pulled a book from one of the shelves and thumbed through until he found the page.

“Yeah!” Hannah grinned, giving him a thumbs up “Sukran…” The man beamed and nodded, leaving her with the book whilst he went to ring up the total for the dog bowls, the basket bed, food, collar and leash Hannah had picked out.

“You find him?” Ari asked.

“Yup.” she said, as he looked over her shoulder at the page. “He’s an Abyssinian Sand Terrier, also known as an African Hairless dog…” “Sand Terrier is much better.” Ari said, “Makes him sound much more mysterious…” “Says here they are fearless, loyal and willing to please…” Hannah mused.

“Sounds like someone I know.” Ari quipped and Hannah looked at him, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face as she closed the book on Dog Breeds and placed it back on the shelf. She moved to the counter and pulled out her purse but Ari gently placed his hand on hers and shook his head.

“I’ll get it…” “Ari, no,it’s…” “I’m gonna ring it through on expenses.” Ari grinned “He’s a guest after all…” She looked at him before she shrugged “Good luck explaining that to Ethan.” “I think Ethan would like him, like Max said, they both have the same amount of hair.” Hannah laughed and Ari grinned and he paid the man, giving him a tip as a thanks for his help before they gathered the things and headed back to the car. They placed the stuff in the back and Hannah went to the passenger side to climb in, but Ari stopped her when he spoke.

“Whilst we’re here, why don’t we head to the Souk and then the market? I’m not in any particular rush to get back…that is unless you want to?” “No, a walk sounds good.” She smiled, her hands shifting to the scarf that was round her head, making sure it was adjusted properly.

Together they made their way through the relatively busy dusty street and found themselves in a large market place, which led in turn to smaller alleys off which the found the various Souks and Bazars. Ari allowed Hannah to direct, as they spent a bit of time looking at the clothing and the jewellery, a particular piece caught Ari’s attention due to the shape but before he could say anything Hannah’s focus was on a perfume stall which seemed like you could basically mix your own. After smelling a few components, some nice, some really not, they wandered back to the market place and there they spent a little more time at the food stalls. It was fun, they walked around, taking the free samples of the local breads, cheeses, meats and fruits they were offered along with pastries and sauces and dips…and once they’d decided what they liked at Ari’s suggestion they picked up a selection as a treat for the team later when they settled down for their usual end of day chat and drinks. Ari felt encouraged when Hannah agreed, that she was amenable to actually being round a table with Max and Sammy gain gave him hope that she was feeling a little less hostile towards the pair of them.

On their way back they passed a local café and Hannah stopped and asked Ari if they could grab a drink. Given that they’d been in the heat and sun most of the afternoon he conceded it was probably a good idea and they settled at a table, Ari lighting up a cigarette as they drank some form of sweet, iced tea. Hannah made some joke about how Max would be pissed about missing out on free food samples and Ari grinned, agreeing. For the most part, however, he was silent, simply letter her talk as he was happy she was relaxing and the Firefly he knew was coming back to him. It wasn’t just that though, his mind was clouding a little as she was stirring deep feelings, emotions he had been trying to ignore since she admitted the other night that she had loved him.

It had shocked him, it truly had. As it was something that neither of them had ever said to one another, they’d never admitted to the feelings being that strong.

And now he was kicking himself for not doing so when he had the chance.

Mind you, to do so he would have had to have admitted it to himself and at the time he hadn’t. The old adage of not knowing what you had till it was gone had never been more apt.

“We should probably go if we want to get back to help with Dinner Service” Hannah said softly, glancing at her watch “Damned it…is that the right time?”

She held her wrist out and Ari then glanced at his and shook his head “No, it’s short by 30 minutes…”

She groaned “I only set it again this morning. Think it’s on its way out. Mind you, what do you expect when it only costs you 5 bucks huh?” “So it’s not a real Tag?” Ari raised an eyebrow, teasing and she gave him a look of mock indignance.

“That is a genuine fake I’ll have you know, Lobo.” she snorted before she sighed “I’ll get one, one day.”

Ari tossed down some money, thanked the guy who had served them and they headed back to the truck. As they made their way back, the sun was starting to dip, and with it Hannah’s mood as the closer they got to the Resort, the more withdrawn she started to get again.

"Do you regret it?" she suddenly blurted out.

"What?" he frowned.

"Regret being with me all those years ago?"

“Hannah…” he sighed “Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Raking over it all…” “Because I don’t understand Ari.” She looked at him, “Before on the beach, when you said you were sorry…I just wonder sometimes if...” she trailed off, “It doesn’t matter, forget it.” “It clearly does matter.” Ari said, his voice carrying a level of frustration. “Spit it out.” “If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Ari took a deep breath. "Han I hate the way we ended, I really do...and it tears me apart thinking about why it happened and there's a part of me that will never forgive Sammy for what he did, but he did it because he thought he was protecting you, and I know that doesn’t make it ok..." He cut her protests off before she could launch into another rant about her brother, continuing as he attempted to get his point across. “But I knew he was right. I wasn’t good for you. I was a selfish asshole, still am according to you remember?”

“I shouldn’t’ have said that…” she dropped her gaze to her hands which were clasped in her lap.

“But you’re right.” he shrugged “So I didn’t fight because I believed what Sammy was saying, I still do in some ways but do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

His words hit Hannah like a lightning bolt as she turned everything over in her mind. Over the course of less than 3 days she’d gone from believing that Ari had left because things were getting too serious for him and that he had gotten what he wanted and so cast her aside, to then believing that he had in fact been warned off by her brother and didn't fight because he didn't care enough but now she truly understood. He actually believed everything that Sammy had said. He genuinely thought he wasn’t good enough for her. So had done what in his mind was right, broken her heart to save it in the long term.

“I suppose it worked out for you in the end.” she said gently “You found Sarah, had Maya.”

Ari sighed “Yeah, and I wouldn’t change any of that in the world…but you know, you got Andy…”

He instantly knew he had said the wrong thing as her face darkened again and she looked out of the window.

"Han, don't be too angry at him..." he pressed.

"Angry? I'm fucking furious Ari.” she turned to him, tears in her eyes “I feel betrayed...like...well, my entire relationship happened because he broke us up. It’s like the whole thing was a fucking sham." 

"Don't say that." Ari shook his head "You loved him Hannah, and he did what he did for a reason. He loved you."

"Well I loved someone else back then." she wiped at her face "And he hardly knew me either at that point so he didn't have a right to do anything. It's like he saw me as some prize to be won in some fucked up competition"

“Hey, come on…” he reached out for her left hand which had fallen to her knee and he gave it a quick squeeze “I know it hurts, and I know you’re angry but everyone did what they did because they thought it was right.” “It should have been my choice though Ari.” she looked at him, shaking her head “And you all took that choice away from me whether you meant to or not.” “I know, and I’m sorry…” “I know, I know.” she said softly “And I believe you, I do…” she took a deep breath and she shook her head “Suppose you’re right…not like we can change any of it anyway, unless you’re hiding a TARDIS somewhere...” “Sorry Firefly, you’re The Doctor not me.” She looked at him, before her face creased up and she let out a huge howl of laughter.

Thankfully, the conversation took a lighter turn, Ari getting the impression that Hannah was as tired of being angry and bitter about things as he was and he hoped that she was ready to stop torturing herself over the past. He hated seeing her so upset and withdrawn.

Eventually they got to the resort and once the car had stopped, Hannah climbed out and grinned as Simon came trotting over to greet them, his tail wagging furiously. As Hannah stooped to greet him, Ari was pondering at how the dog seemed to actually be that bonded with her already considering she had found him only that morning, when his attention went to Sammy and Rachel who were emerging from the side entrance.

“Where the hell have you been? You've been gone for hours.”

"Hello to you too Sammy..." Ari rolled his eyes

"I didn't realise we were being timed" Hannah stood up and folded her arms. "Did I miss my curfew?" she asked sarcastically. "Ignore him." Rachel shot Sammy a look before she walked towards the truck where Hannah was now reaching into the back for the bags.

"Gladly" Hannah mumbled. Rachel took one of the bags from her, looking inside and immediately started cooing over the stuff they had bought, informing them that it looked great. Hannah started to tell her all about the fabrics and the perfumes at the souks as they walked inside, Simon mooching behind them.

Ari watched them go, ignoring Sammy and then smiling at Jake who had also emerged to help.

“Need a hand?”

“Yeah…thanks.” Ari said as Jake grabbed the bag of dog biscuits. Ari tossed the smaller pet items into the basket before he removed it from the truck, shutting the door with his hip. He nodded at Max who was leaning in the doorway eating a sandwich as he entered the resort.

“Where do you want this Firefly?” he asked. She turned to face him and placed the bag she was carrying down, fishing in her pocket.

“Can you take them to my hut?” “Sure.” She crossed towards him, placed the key in the basket he was carrying and he gave her a smile as he headed back outside and down to the hut that was 2 along from his. Unlocking the door he walked inside, placed the basket on her bed and stood up, taking a quick look around. The familiar vanilla notes he associated with her surrounded him and he simply took a deep breath before he turned to go, which was when he noticed that there was frame on her bed side table which was face down. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t help himself and he gently picked it up. It was a photo of her and Andy in her Mama’s garden. Hannah was sat on his knee, smiling at the camera as Andy gently kissed her cheek. Fuck, she’d really, really taken what the man had done badly.

Captain fucking obvious, Levinson….

He understood where she was coming from, he really did, but she’d been happy with Andy. He had been a good guy, what he had done was selfish but he wasn’t a selfish man, not by nature…hell, he’d given his own life to save Ari’s…but as he stood there, Ari suddenly started to wonder whether there had been more to that. Had Andy felt some sort of guilt?

No, no. It had been a split, in the moment decision, one any agent would do for another. That was all.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, he replaced the photo so that it wouldn’t appear to have been moved and left, locking the door behind him and heading back to the dining area.

As usual everyone chipped in to help serve dinner to the guests, and then that was it. Their duties over for the day and they were free to do what they wanted. As the Guests started to thin out, either heading to the beach or to their huts the staff-slash-agents retreated to a table outside with a bottle of wine and the stuff Ari and Hannah had brought back. The chat was easy and it was comfortable, which Ari was thankful for. Rachel, in her full Angela role informed them they were booked now until the start of April, at which point Ari, or Guy, nodded and suggested that might be a good time to go scouting again for more diving locations…in other words, their next mission. They all nodded, and he agreed he would clear it upon his trip back to the US (Israel) to chat to their sponsors (Ethan).

“Well, before we go scouting anywhere…” Max spoke, in his Irving voice “It’s Rosa’s 30th…” There were subdued cheers around the table, and Hannah groaned.

“Don’t remind me…” she said, her accent impeccable as always.

“You know we should throw a party…” Sammy said “A proper beach one, like they do back home, in Aus…” Hannah looked at him, and then shook her head. Rachel looked at her “Oh come on!” “A party could be fun, Red.” Jake grinned at her and she sighed.

“Fine, but I am not going naked diving.” she pointed at him “Regardless of whether it’s a birthday tradition in the diving world…” “Isn’t that a 100th Dive Tradition?” Ari looked at Jake, raising an eyebrow. Jake shrugged, mischievously.

“You lying bastard!” Hannah scoffed, slapping his arm. Jake grinned and she shook her head.

“And on that note, I’m calling it a night.” he yawned “I have a double diving tour tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, I should really sort some paper work too, ready for the check out tomorrow.” Rachel said, as they both stood up. Jake bid them all goodnight and Rachel headed into the resort, presumably to the office just behind the reception desk. Hannah watched as Sammy’s eyes trailed after her for a second before he too sighed and said he was heading to bed leaving Max, Hannah and Ari at the table. Hannah glanced down at Simon who sat up at the commotion, cocking his head to the side, his blue collar settled on his neck.

“Think I’ll take Simon for a little walk before bed” she rose from her seat. “Night boys.” “Good night Cracker.” Max smiled.

“Night.” Ari nodded and with that she left.

Ari watched her walk off down the sand. Simon trotting at her heels. The loose, pale yellow top she was wearing blew slightly in the breeze as she walked, barefoot and bare legged thanks to those navy blue shorts…

He turned to Max, the two of them striking up a conversation about Port Sudan, until Ari suddenly interrupted, unable to get the thought that had sprung up as Hannah walked off out of his mind.

“Think she’ll be ok?” Ari turned to Max. Max simply looked at him. “Hannah, you know, with the military being around…” Max considered Ari for a moment before he leaned forward “Why don’t you go keep an eye on her?”

“No, I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Ari shook his head.

“She might.” Max shrugged.

Ari looked at him again, before he gave a nod and headed out. He couldn’t see Hannah, but he had a good idea where she would be, he remembered her talking about the cave she had found Simon in, just at the curve of the cove. He made his way over, exhaling cigarette smoke and smiled as he realised he was right when Simon came bounding out from behind a rock to greet him.

 "Hey pal..." he said softly before he stopped at the entrance to the cave.

Hannah looked up at him, giving him a small smile as the dim light sparkled in her eyes.

"This isn't walking Firefly." Ari smiled, leaning against the rocky wall of the cave by the entrance as he looked down at her. 

"I walked here didn't I?" she raised an eyebrow. 

"Want me to leave you alone?" he asked, fully aware she had hidden in there for a reason. He’d got what he wanted, to know she was safe, so he was perfectly happy to let her be.

"You can sit if you want." she shrugged "But you can put that out before you step into my secret den…” He smiled and stubbed his cigarette out before he ducked into the rock cluster, sitting beside her.

“So, what you up to? Actually, no let me guess thinking..." he said and she gave a soft huff, shrugging “You know I meant what I said before, don't you ever wanna switch off your brain and just stop for a while?"

"Yup." she nodded “But it’s never that simple though is it?"

"Nothing is Simple." Ari sighed "I wish it was.

"I managed it for a bit today." Hannah looked at him. "Switching off I mean. When we were in the market and stuff...it was nice."

"Yeah, yeah it was Firefly." he agreed

She looked at him and smiled "I like that."

"You like what?”

"When you call me Firefly, not Hannah or Han."

"You'll always be Firefly to me." he shrugs "Although Hannah is your actual name, so..."

"Sorry, you mean Rosa Maria, Guy.”

Ari chuckled as did she. "I think we needed that" he smiled.

"Needed what?”

"A smile, and a laugh...chance to be away from it all for a little while." he looked at her.

"Maybe, like I said today was nice. Tonight was nice too...things have gone a bit overboard since we came back from the mission."

"You're telling me." He agreed.

They sat in silence for a while, watching the moonlight on the water as a slight gust of wind blew in from the Ocean, ruffling Ari’s hair slightly. He felt Hannah give a little shiver besides him and he looked at her as she tucked her knees into her chest. He hesitated for a second before he passed his arm over her shoulder.

"If I was wearing a jacket I'd offer it to you..." he nodded to the goose-bumps on her arm as explanation for his display of affection, fully expecting her to push him away but she didn’t.

"This is fine." she shrugged "Thanks”

"You're saying that a lot today Firefly." he looked at her before his attention went to Simon who was digging in the sand at the mouth of the cave, his tail wagging furiously.

"Well, you know, mama always told me to give thanks when it’s due so..."

"Good advice" he nodded.

“Seriously though, thank you Ari…” she looked at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing his cheek. 

He turned his head to look at her and her face was so close to his. “You’re welcome” he whispered, swallowing slightly and her eyes flickered down to his lips. It was quick, and had he blinked he would have missed it. But he didn't...and once more he was catapulted back to the night of her 21st outside the club.

The internal conflict that had been raging inside him back then reared once more with vengeance only this time it wasn’t just about Sammy. There was Andy and everything else that had happened over the past few days, and her question from before rang around his head, silencing the voices... 

“If I’d have told you I loved you, back then, would it have made a difference? Would you have fought harder?”

Whilst he couldn’t answer that, because he honestly didn’t know, he did know one thing. He didn’t regret them being together, at all.

“…do I regret anything that happened between us? No, not a damned second I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.”

And he would, one and a million fucking times over regardless of how it worked out, because he'd rather have had her for those few months than never at all.

He was aware she still hadn’t moved, her eyes were bouncing across his, like she was waiting for him to decide what he wanted, what he was going to do…so he did. His lips brushed hers, in a soft, gentle kiss, their noses bumping together slightly. And she didn't pull away. His arm tightened around her and he pulled her closer, his lips gliding over hers, the kiss deepening slightly. She was mimicking his movements, reciprocating, her tongue sliding against his and fuck he was in heaven, his stomach full of those familiar knots, until she pulled away, dropping her head slightly, her hand on his chest.

"Ari..I..." her voice was raspy, her chest rising and falling deeply as was his. And he shook his head before he pressed it to hers.

“I know.” he sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s not your fault” she said softly.

He looked at her before he moved his arm from round her, running his hand through his hair as he sat back, shaking his head, looking down at his hands. There was a moment or two of silence, Ari mentally cursing himself again for being an idiot before Hannah spoke.

“I need to go…it’s late and I didn’t sleep much last night." she looked at him “Wanna walk me back?” He looked at her, noticing that she was smiling and he gave a soft laugh.

“Sure…come on.”

He stood up, ducking again as the cave wasn’t tall enough to accommodate his full height and held his hand out to help her up. She took it, and once she was stood, she didn’t let go.

**** “Have you seen Hannah?” Rachel asked, walking back out onto the patio “I need to ask her something about the Spanish guests.”

“She left for a walk.” Max said, looking up from the piece of drift wood he had been whittling into shape. As Rachel made to go find her, he suddenly realised he had sent Ari before and hastily stood up. “I’ll go, see if I can find her.” he offered.

Rachel smiled “Thanks.”

Max walked over the sand, down in the direction Hannah had headed in and then paused as he saw them in the distance, slowly making their way back towards the resort, hand in hand. Smiling to himself, Max turned to head back, giving one last glance over his shoulder at which point he saw them both stop at Hannah’s hut. Hannah looked up at Ari who wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She pulled back, smiled and headed into her room with Simon. Ari paused as the door closed, his head dropping a little as his hand ran through his hair before he headed towards his own accommodation.

Max made his way back to the dining area and wanderd inside to the bar, pouring himself a scotch.

“Did you find her?”

He spun to look at Rachel and shook his head “Nah, no sign. Must have gone to bed”

She looked at him before nodding “Ok, it can wait until tomorrow. I’m turning in myself now then. You ok to shut up here when you’re done?” Max nodded and watched Rachel go before he resumed his previous position at the table, picking up his carving, a soft smile playing on his face.

This time, he wasn’t saying shit about what he’d seen.

**** Chapter 6

#leave no one behind #Ari Levinson #ari levinson x ofc #ari levinson x original female character #red sea diving resort #chris evans #chris evans characters

[fanofmanyatonce]

TRANSFORMERS REVIEW SPOILERS INCLUDED

Transformers Netflix Series!!!:

Episode 1:

Interesting take on Bumblebee

Interesting view on people who stay neutral in war

Wheeljack

JETFIRE AND STARSCREAMS DYNAMIC PLHJTPLTH

Love the take on Prime

Prime and Megs have history

RIP Alpha Trion

Elita 1 is once again a badass

Red Alert as a medic

Ultra Magnus and Optimus

ANGRY PRIME

Sideswipe and Chromia cameos!!!

"Love" LOVE? PRIME LOVES SOMEONE??? AND IT SHOWED MAGNUS UMMM YES OR IS IT ELITA

Episode 2:

Prime and Magnus solidarity

No Cliffjumper yet? Sad

SHOCKWAVE

THE PLAN WTF WHAT

Magnus the spy

It's obvious Megatron is still thinking about Optimus when talking about the plan

Jetfire development?

PRIME KEEPS HOLDING ELITA

Cog shut up

SOUNDWAVE

"I know you" WHAT

FOR US WHAT

PRIME HELD HER AGAIN

IMPACTOR OML

Magnus the pacifist

ELITA HAS SUCH A BIG GUN

Oh no uh oh oh crap

WHY DOES ELITAS HIPS SWAY WHEN SHE WALKS

THERE ARE LIKE 3 VERSIONS OF COG RIGHT NOW LOL

NO COG, I DISLIKE YOU, BUT NO

Hound x Sideswipe solidarity

Refraktor copies

WEAPONIZERS IN ACTION EPIC

Hound x Chromia solidarity

Transforming noises

COG IS STILL ALIVE

I love how they challenge Prime's ideas

Bumblebee lol, but wheres Cliffjumper? I want to see him

Magnus and Megatron are bros

HoNoR omg I didn't know Zuko wrote this series

Episode 3:

Ratchet!!!!

Impactor!!!

Prowl!!!

Starscream really out here

I literally dont understand why Starscream talks back to Jetfire, hes literally twice your size

Megatron is about to snap

Mirage

MIRAGES ABILITIES

Transformer acting and art

Caminus Cameo!!!

Ratchet takes care of everyone

No Magnus!!!

Yes Magnus!!!

Oh Magnus

Impactor helping an autobot!!!

Impactor development???

Megatron cant look at Magnus!?

Oh shit

No Ciffjumper yet? I love him, and have his toy where is heeeee!!!!

Jetfire about to have a crisis

Megatron propaganda

ARE THEY REALLY GONNA LET SKYWARP DIE AFTER GIVING HIM HIS OWN TRANSFORMER TOY 3 PACK UMM

Episode 4:

Magnus roasts

Trion Memorial!!!

RIP Magnus, I really liked you

WAIT WHATS GOING ON

WOAH BEE

It's raining because it's sad

Elita mad

Impactor and Mirage solidarity

Omega Supreme????

Till all are one have so many different meanings here

IMPACTOR SAVING RATCHET

Starscream promotion!!!

BUMBLE TRION

JETFIRE

Episode 5:

Shockwave really out here

Autobot virus???

MAGNUS IS STILL SMILING THAT SCARES ME

Jetfire truths

COG IS OK

SEA OF RUST

DREADWING OMG

ELITAS FACE

Wheres sideswipe

Oh there he is

Magnus omg

The Cybertronian police really did that

MOONRACER

SOUNDBLASTER WHAT

ARCEEE

MY GEEK SENSES HAVE BEEN GOING OFF SO MUCH THIS ENTIRE TIME

HOW DID COG PASS THE WEAPONS CHECK, HE IS ONE

MOONRACERS VOICE I LOVE IT

CLIFFJUMPER YESSS

I personally think he is still alive, he has an Earthrise figure

OH SOUNDBLASTERS ORIGINS

Mirage NOOOO

SECTOR SEVEN UMM

I think Cliffjumper is still alive bc Megs is going to get every decepticon on the Arks ass, so cliff wont get killed

ARCEE AND COG DAMN

OH SHIT RUSTED TRANSFORMERS

OH SHIT MOONRACER

Episode 6:

OH SHIT BEE

DAMN ARCEE DRIVE THAT CAR

RIP MOONRACER

OH SHIT CHROMIA

IMPACTOR DEVELOPMENT

RIP alpha trion protocols

JETFIRE DEVELOPMENT

SIDESWIPE and CHROMIA NO

ASTROTRAIN

JETFIRE YES

JETFIRE NO

TELETRANN 1

YEE HA

IMPACTOR NO

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

CHROMIA NO

BUMBLEBEE YES

OMEGA SUPREME

RED ALERT NO

Elita is making me cry more

The ark has left

OMG THE SUN IS UP

Red Alert is ALIVE

JETFIRE IS ALIVE

Ok ok TECHNICALLY we did not see Cliffjumper die, there was no body, so that means he is technically still alive. Since he did not go into the Ark, that means he could help Elita and her team protect cybertron.

O THE ARK ISNT DEAD

Review:

I really liked this mature, darker take on transformers. Recent media on the transformers were light-hearted and kid-friendly, so this was a refreshing take on them. Lots of nice cameos, I hope we can see more of the cameos as characters with important roles, such as Cliffjumper. The story was easy to follow, but it constantly jumps into new side-stories. The fight scenes were amazing, but there were only a few amount of fights in the series. Theres alot of talking in this. It's fine, but theres like ALOT of talking. The excessive talking may be seen as a flaw to people, but it is not for me.

Onto flaws, several side stories took place at once, it was executed well, and I like how they all ended with each other, but it was alot to pay attention with in a short amount of time. That's just me, personally. Another flaw is the stiffness in the characters. It is great animation, but like in previous series, the characters seem stiff because of the blockiness some of them have. Personally, I dont find the voice acting too bad, I think the actors did well.

I have questions on what happens next. How is it going to take place on earth if some of the main cast are on cybertron? The decepticons are on cybertron, who's going to be the enemy? Is Earthrise not going to happen for another season?

#transformers #transformers wfc #transformers war for cybertron #transformers wheeljack #transformers wallpaper #transformers bumblebee #bumblebee #optimus prime

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Reasons I like RID2015 #409:

Look at this idiots

Collectove IQ of a fucking candy wrapper

#s3 ep1 #sorry for not posting yesterday #mom keeps having appointments for her surgeries and ive got so much shit to do #from asks and commissions and episodes and work #lots to juggle #also this was so confusing because looking up this episode says 'king of the hill' is next to watch #when in reality its this mini series of events??? #History Lessons #Strongarm #Sideswipe #and thats how i like it #Reasons i like RID2015