#they say love can strike like a thunderbolt

[patchwork-crow-writes]

33 - Intrusion

Do you realise what you've done to me? Are you in ANY way aware of the chaos you've caused?!

Who gave you the right to barge into my kingdom, upend my entire world, and lay siege to the castle of my soul? You, who brought blinding, lawless light into the darkness of my order? You, who incited my... my traitorous heart to mutiny against my cautious nature?

I was FINE before you showed up! I KNEW my place! I was CONTENT with my lot! To be a hero, to SAVE the world... that was all I lived for, and I was happy with that!

And then you... you... you...!!

Without saying a single word, you brought me to rack and ruin. The life I had created for myself couldn't possibly contain a creature so magnificent... and I saw how small and sad my ambitions had truly been.

Prophecy? Prophecy?! What warmth, what comfort could I draw from such cold abstractions? What destiny, however grand, could hope to stand up against the raging flames of emotion? For you burn me up from the inside out, my blood running volcanic through my veins! You have smitten me with a deathly fever, an affliction for which you are both the cause and the cure.

And now everything I see is suffused with softest light, as silken as the petals of a blooming rose, flush pink and heavy with dew. The sirens of longing run riot through my head, calling your name in ceaseless chorus, and all thoughts of propriety are drowned, submerged beneath the relentless tides of adoration.

This - this! - is what you have so thoughtlessly wrought upon me. And should I thank you, or curse your radiant visage? For you have forcibly wrenched open the doors to my heart, foisting upon me the burden of love which I am now condemned to bear forevermore, in the face of your cruel and beautiful indifference.

______________________________

The Dark Menagerie No. 33

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[ladamedusoif]

Coup de Foudre

Lucien Flores x F!Reader

Pairing: Lucien Flores x F!Reader

Summary: Storms come down unexpectedly in the heat of the Parisian summer. The only thing you and Lucien can do is make a run for it.

Warnings: Explicit, MDNI - smut central; established relationship; unprotected but safe PiV sex; fingering; no physical description of reader other than her gingham summer dress; alcohol; a soaking wet Lucien Flores is his own warning

A/N: I loved the prompts and inspiration for @undercoverpena’s “April Showers” event and this is the result. Thank you for organising this, Jo! ‘Coup de foudre’ literally means a thunderbolt/lightning strike in French, but has entered idiomatic language (including in English) as a term for an unexpected event - particularly associated with love at first sight.

With thanks to @paulmescal-s for beta-ing ❤️

Word Count: 1192

Follow my writing blog, @ladameecrit and turn on notifications to keep up with my work!

Sheet lightning illuminates the nocturnal city, thunder rumbling almost immediately as the rain intensifies and comes down hard and heavy on your warm skin. In ordinary circumstances, anywhere else, you’d hate being caught in a storm like this. But here, in the hot, humid summer night, Lucien’s big hand gripping yours as you race along glistening streets in the direction of the hotel? There’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

Lucien leaps over a puddle, his infectious laughter echoing through the narrow streets as he guides you home. His silk summer shirt is soaked through, the brightly-coloured fabric clinging sinfully to his body in a reminder of the temptation underneath. Your favourite gingham summer dress, meanwhile, has been rendered translucent in the downpour.

Everything will need to come off as soon as you get inside.

***

The water drips from your soaking clothes onto the hotel bedroom carpet as Lucien swiftly retrieves the fluffy, white bathrobes from the closet and hands one to you. His thumb catches a droplet wending its way from your hairline down your cheek, and you lean pleasurably into the caress of his hand against your face before shivering abruptly.

”Out of these wet things, gorgeous, before you catch cold.”

You kiss the greying hair on his handsome jaw and head to the bathroom to change, not wanting to create a puddle on the plush carpet. The gingham pools in a sopping pile on the tiled floor, the thin satin slip you wore underneath now stuck to your skin. You peel it off, exposed in just your bra and panties. The impact of the soaking makes itself felt again as you start to shiver and sneeze.

With a knock on the door, Lucien pops his head into the bathroom. “You okay? Sounded like you were -”

The sight of you stops him in his tracks. Your bra and panties are as soaked as the rest of your clothes, underwear almost see-through, and your bra clinging to your breasts and showing off the firm, pebbled nipples underneath.

“Oh, I… I just got a bit cold. Looks like you’re soaked through as well, Lucien.”

You nod towards the light-coloured summer pants that are now two shades darker and clinging to the strong muscles of his legs. He’s already stripped to the waist, his silk shirt and white undershirt in one hand, the golden chains glistening on his damp chest and his unruly dark hair now slicked back in shiny, damp curls. It is impossible to avoid noticing how the wet fabric of his pants draws attention to his half-hard cock. Clearly, Lucien Flores likes what he sees. And so do you.

You guide him into the bathroom, arms around his neck, and nod your head in the direction of the shower unit in the corner of the room, large enough for two. “You know, I think a nice, hot shower is the perfect way to make sure we don’t catch cold. Don’t you agree?”

Lucien licks his lips as he moves closer to you, nodding in agreement as his eyes rove up and down your damp body. “Everything will need to come off, of course,” he says quietly. With a hum of approval you reach for the waistband of his pants, pulling him tight to you as you unbutton and unzip them. His dark eyes meet yours and he reaches both of his hands up to your face, pulling you in for a deep, warm kiss that halts you in your tracks. “Don’t stop,” he murmurs into your mouth.

The soaking fabric gathers at his ankles and he steps out of them, still not breaking the kiss. Long, thick fingers explore your body, reaching around you to remove your bra and expose the damp, soft flesh of your tits. Your hand teases at his boxer briefs as he moans into your mouth.

”These are soaked, too,” you purr, as Lucien tugs at the fabric of your panties.

“So are these, baby.” He presses a finger to the cotton covering your most intimate parts and chuckles. “And I don’t think it’s just the rain that has them wet.”

With a smirk you break away, reaching into the shower to get the water running. Leaning in to adjust the temperature, you feel Lucien’s presence behind you. Two broad hands on your hips, gently but purposefully caressing the damp flesh. He works the last bit of wet fabric off you and leaves you bare.

“Look at me, gorgeous girl.” He pulls you tight to him, strong arms holding you in place, as you quickly pull down his boxers and grin at the sight of his hard cock springing free. It throbs against your body, a delicious vibration and foretaste of what’s ahead. You run your hand over his cock as you guide him into the warm steam of the shower, taking great pleasure in the needy groans you coax from him. But Lucien can, as you’d learned from the start, give as good as he gets. With one hand on your wet breast he slips his fingers between your legs, dragging them along your dripping folds as you cry out under the shower.

“I don’t want to help you dry off here,” he murmurs into the crook of your neck as his middle finger teases your pussy. One - then two - and then three thick digits slide inside your cunt, stretching you for him even though he knows you can take it without much preparation.

You’re ready. He can tell. But he wants to hear you ask for it.

“Words, darling.”

“Please, Lucien,” you gasp, stretched out on the fingers he’s fucking in and out of you. “Need you to fuck me now. Need you inside me now.”

He withdraws his fingers and trails them over your lips, watching with wanton but affectionate pleasure as you taste yourself. Another kiss, the droplets of the rainfall shower pouring over your faces as you slip your tongue into his mouth.

“Okay. Turn round,” he instructs. He positions your body carefully: facing one tiled wall as he shifts your hips into position.

It takes almost no effort whatsoever for him to bury himself inside you. Even Lucien seems taken by surprise, exhaling sharply as he bottoms out. His right hand covers yours, fingers splayed together on the tiled wall, his other hand holding your left hip firmly as he fucks you. The little gold medallion that dangles from his chain beats a steady rhythm against your body as he takes you, hard and deep. The water rolls down his gorgeous body and drips onto yours, bringing you ever closer to your first orgasm. His magic hands already have you near the edge, two fingers rubbing firm circles over your swollen clit. The groans and exclamations he makes suggest that Lucien is not far behind you.

It’s the pretty little noises you make when he fucks you that tip him over. His rhythm changes, and the sound of your voices blends with that of the storm still hammering the windows as you come, hard, together.

***

Sated, dried off, and wrapped in warm fluffy bathrobes, Lucien orders two whiskies to the room and joins you on the bed. He kisses your damp hair, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as he clinks his cut-glass tumbler to yours.

“What are we drinking to?”

He hums happily and reclines on the stack of plump hotel pillows, closing his eyes as he listens to the rain still falling, more gently now.

“To stormy weather.”

[fisheito]

non horny ask: what kinda irl snake would Yakumo be? venomous or non venomous?

my instinct says venomous purely because that opens up the fun possibility of magical side effects whenever yakumo bites someone (i want his venom to have a mild numbing property so he can bite me and i can finally get a decent night's sleep)

i'm openinmg up the search gtengine for this (HEY SNAKE FREAKS IN THE AUDIENCE!! IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS THEN SHOW THE CLASS 👉👇👈👐)

(spoiler alert: i am no closer to an answer than when i started. we're just looking at snakes together)

flashback: i once pointed at western worm snake and laughed because BABY

but let's assign yaku a larger counterpart for when he's feeling big and brave i briefly considered the nonvenomous approach but i'm gonna joke that yakumo has a bigger oral fixation>>squeezing fixation on eiden so uh, this snake is all about the mouthparts i guess

i mean.. the snakes that constrict will inevitably hoRMPH(gulp) too so it would be reasonable to make yaku a nonvenomous squeezer. but. my bias says venom time, ,today

considering his ridic Great Serpent ancestry, he's probably gonna have a potent venom so let's look up Hella Dangerous Bitey Boys *typetypetypeclickclaxke*

side thought: are some species generally more aggressive than others? or does it vary moreso by individual? hmm. let's see if we can find a danger noodle that's reeaaaallllllly not into using its fangs as a first response

..... .......... i'm overwhelmed by choice again so i'm gonna start relying on aesthetics by which i mean altho i love defaulting to boas for their :3 face

i feel like yaku would be more of a streamlined snake skull like the neck isn't distinguished very well from the head... I wANT to see him as :3 snake puppy face but i also need him to have zero structure. absolute jello. no bones. skullless. just a *USES LINE TOOL*

wait. if i rely on Looks does that mean i can only choose IRL snakes that are black or subdued colours? because yaku doesn't want to be perceived, after all........

[eyes start to glaze over] -nondescript colouring -venomous (perhaps potently so) -not aggressive?? the type to strike ONCE , or wait-- is he more of a multi-striker.. fast? no... he seems like he'd be slow..if Dark Nova/Shadow Lineage is any indication..? slow OHKO heavy hitter? no, not "slow". HESITANT heavy hitter? ... -heat sensing organs? or just drawn to the heat? THE TYPE TO ONLY PREY ON OTHER VENOMOUS SNAKES--no no that's not right yaku will eat everything uhhhhhh

[SHAKES MY HEAD VIOLENTLY LIKE A WET DOG REBOOT]

call me basic but i like the look of mambas....

(sadly the black mamba doesn't have black scales but LOOK AT THAT MOUF!!!!!!!!!!)

wait how about a snake that hangs out in east asia? MOUNTAIN KEELBACK????? lil diamonds all along the back .nice

LOOK AT THE MASSIVE ORBS on *THIS* keelback.......

would he be arboreal like those funky vine snakes? mmm.., unlikely? i don't think yaku has shown much of a desire for heights... at least not yet (flashback to Puzzling Investigation Blade's impromptu takeoff)

what about a rattlesnake??? err... nah... yaku doesn't seem like much of a defensive butt wiggler....

Now i'm rethinking my entire instinct on VENOMOUS because ...Dark Nova 2 had yaku going snake-ish and eiden was ALL UP IN HIS fangs but he didn't feel any ill effects besides, you know, the physical obstacle of yaku shoving forked tongue down his throat-- EURYJK WHAT DO I DO . look at more cool snakes

OKAY BUT WHERE ARE THOSE SNAKES WITH THE PRETTY LOWER LASHES LIKE THE EYELASH VIPER, BUt LOWER lashes???

CAN I GET A LOOK AT ONE OF THOSE? do they exist? did i hallucinate the glorious snake lower lashes? do they belong to another reptile? boo.......

WWAIT NO, RIGHT, THE EYES, I SHOULD HAVE STARTED WITH THE EYES THAT'S AN EASY WAY TO NARROW DOWN A YAKUSNAKE

ok.ok. slit eyes. but a lil squiggly. thunderbolt eyes? the creative freedom of it all. let's go with slit eyes but wibbled by tears...

HOLD UP ! HIS EYES LOOK LIKE A TOKAY GECKO'S . IS YAKUMO ACTUALLY JUST A REALLY LONG GECKO?????

DESCENDANT OF THE LEGENDARY GREAT GECKO...........

[summerpearlgirl]

Analysis of the Shared Character Traits of Colin & Penelope Bridgerton

I love how Bridgerton explores both the strengths and challenges of Colin and Penelope's character traits. Spoilers throughout.

My personal viewpoint is that all character traits have strengths and challenges. And that good storytelling explores both aspects.

I believe that if you find only the positive aspects of a person's character trait acceptable, you're likely to become frustrated over time. We all make mistakes from time to time. The challenging aspects of character traits will inevitably show up.

A key takeaway from Bridgerton S3 is that a long-term relationship is strongest when both parties appreciate and accept their partners' character traits in their entirety.

In this post I will discuss character traits Colin and Penelope share: spontaneity and romantic natures.

Sidenote: I am a romance girlie with ADHD. I empathise with their struggles and indulgently revel in their triumphs

1. Spontaneity

Strengths:

Adventurous: Both are risk-takers. Colin enjoys his travels. Penelope earns her own money, which is unusual for a noble lady during the Regency period.

Creative: Both have innovative ideas. Colin pilfers Cressida's necklace to prove Lord Featherington's rubies are fake. Penelope writes the Whistledown pamphlet to discredit Cressida in a single carriage ride S3E6.

Quick Decision-Making: Both don't faff around. Colin decides on a wife, house, and baby-making within 24 hours in S3E4-5.

Challenges:

Regret: Impulsive actions can lead to regret. Colin regrets going to see Cressida without making a better plan first with Eloise and Penelope in S3E8. Penelope regrets writing about Marina and Eloise.

Relationship Issues: Impulsive behaviour can strain relationships due to a lack of consideration and time given to others. I believe that if Penelope was aware of Colin's intent to marry her and they had had a longer courtship with more opportunities for safe communication, she would have told him about Whistledown before the engagement.

Difficulty Planning: Impulsive people may struggle with long-term planning and goal-setting. Colin often expresses his struggle to find a purpose, such as when he was feeding the ducks S2E5. Penelope did not plan for the long-term when she started writing Lady Whistledown and finds herself being hunted by the Queen.

2. Romantic Nature

Strengths:

Imagination: Both possess a vivid imagination. Colin's dream about Penelope at the start of S3E3 is epic. Penelope's writing about Cressida being a succubus is hilarious.

Resilience: Despite the Lady Whistledown conflict, both maintain their determination to marry. Colin's talk with Kate is enlightening on this aspect too S3E7.

Challenges:

Unrealistic expectations: Both have idealised visions of love, which leads to misunderstandings. Colin is blind to his love for Penelope because he expected it to feel like a thunderbolt striking him. Penelope thinks Colin has romantic intentions towards her when he says he will always look out for her and is heartbroken when she hears he does not want to court her in S2E8.

Vulnerability: Romantic individuals may be more susceptible to manipulation because of how powerfully they feel love. Colin is manipulated by Marina's exaggerations and love bombing in S1. Penelope is manipulated by Portia to give up her dreams because Portia says that ladies do not have dreams and serve their husband's dreams S3E6.

Difficulty with casual relationships: Romantic individuals may find it challenging to navigate casual or less romantic intimacy. Colin forlornly describes a casual encounter in his journal as “distant”. Penelope looks disappointed when Portia tells her that Debling will propose because Penelope desires a love match.

Loneliness: Without love, they experience feelings of loneliness. Colin exclaims at the Lord Squad, "Do you not find it lonely?" regarding their shallow relationships. Penelope looks very lonely when sitting at her bedroom window after the Lady Whistledown article about Colin tutoring her was published S3E4.

Quote of Pen appreciating Colin's spontaneity and romantic nature S1E8:

Colin: “I must apologise. I did not see it at first, but I know you were only trying to prevent me from heartache with Miss Thompson…But I was a fool.”

Penelope: “You were not a fool. You merely believed yourself in love. One should never apologise for that. If one finds themselves in such an incredible position. One should declare it: assuredly, fervently, loudly.”

It is beautiful that they understand and appreciate these aspects of each other 💛💙💚

[atamascolily]

Lily liveblogs: Thunderbolt Fantasy 4x02 "Demon Realm Banquet"

In which a member of the Dong Li imperial family is a fanboy, Lang Wu Yao is really Going Through It, and the plot thickens.

Lin puts on his Mantis shell to go visit the Big Bad. Yi Piao Miao has resting bitch face, so his sneer is probably just the usual and not, you know, Lin's disdain for Locust, but I can't help reading it in anyway.

It's very rare for Lin to outright lie, so his statement that he killed one of Shang's comrades and took his form is striking. It's necessary for the con, and I guess it's true from a certain point of view (it's 100% what Piao Miao would have said), but it still feels a little weird because I'm so used to pointed half-truths from him and this is a bit beyond his usual spin.

"He didn't even suspect my real identity" is classic Lin Xue Ya double-talk, though--Shang certainly saw through Lin's illusion but he doesn't know Lin is playing both sides at the moment in an effort to troll Locust.

Even if Lin's descriptions of Shang are not 100% accurate (is he really drinking all day??), they're accurate in spirit; Shang is depressed and isolated, and Locust seeks to take advantage of that.

Lin is bluffing when he tells Locust he could take the Index immediately, but Locust doesn't call it, saying that he wants to avoid Xie Ying Luo's mistake. This suits Lin fine.

"Be careful what you wish for"--Locust, like Lin, is acutely aware Shang is ill-suited for remaining on the sidelines and seeks to wear him down through ennui. Never mind that Shang is probably a drunken master, given his skill set. But this hesitation is Locust's mistake, even if he doesn't realize it yet--either that, or he's caught on to Lin's true identity and is deliberately sidelining him.

Locust telling "Mantis" that he knows what he was up to with Jun Po is hilarious… too bad Lin has zero interest in actually doing his "job".

Once the Zoom meeting is over, Lin transforms back into his real self, correctly identifying that Locust has something else going on.

confirmation that Lin uses his sleeves for storage!!! yes!! (I mean, I was pretty sure he did, because I would store everything in my sleeves if I had his outfit, but it's nice to see it on screen)

Lin saunters off to give Shang a pep talk… his wording suggests he's going to tease him and also brew some sort of power-up to get him back into fighting form. Damn it, these two aren't even on screen together in this episode and their dynamic gets me every time. GIVE ME SOME COMEDIC HIJINKS, please, I need this in my life.

meanwhile, Dan Fei meets with the Dong Li emperor's younger brother, who is a huge Hu Yin Shi fanboy. He's basically Chao Feng's counterpart--flightly, vain, and preoccupied with his obsession--but more benign. I wonder if those two will end up getting hitched when Dong Li and Xi You are reunited.

he tells Dan Fei he'll organize a bishounen convention so she can recruit all the pretty people to join, hahahaha

unfortunately, our fanboy royal isn't interested in helping Dan Fei by taking her request for aid seriously, and his more level-headed advisor explains after he's gone that Xi You is sending spies for an invasion so there are no troops to spare (Huo Shi Ming Huang pondered as much in the S2 post-credits scene, so it isn't a surprise he's decided to go for it). War is brewing on multiple fronts; this is the calm before the storm.

love how Juan Can Yun skips when he sees his wife; those two are so cute. also love how Bo Yang Hou has now taken up residence there as the stern uncle.

Dan Fei decides they will go on a quest to retrieve… wait for it… a super-powerful legendary magical sword personally forged by Bai Lian himself (although not named directly) 200 years earlier. This was why Shang name-dropped this guy in the first episode, huh--it was a callback so we'd be primed for this beat.

(due to a linguistic quirk, the fansubbers translated "lotus" as "rosemallow", in case you're wondering why the sword's name seems so random)

anyway, new macguffin alert! love how no matter what the problem is in this show, it always involves a sword.

between Lin and Dan Fei, Shang's retirement isn't going to last, and that's probably a good thing if he's actually day drinking as much as Lin claimed to Locust. We all joke about letting him rest, but Shang's personality and temperament are ill-suited for just hanging around doing nothing… he's gotten what he wanted (sort of) but it's making him utterly miserable. Good things he has friends to drag him kicking and screaming back into the narrative… oh, wait, they won't even have to do that, all Juan Can Yun and Dan Fei have to do is tell him they're marching off into certain danger and he'll cave instantly because he's a huge softie and these are his kids now. Works every time.

in the demon realm, Lang Wu Yao is fighting the han jiao. Interestingly, Xing Hai wants to intervene; I guess even she has standards of fair play?? Instead of her whip, though, she pulls out her fulu (paper talismans) that she uses to control/paralyze people, which tells you a lot about how dangerous she considers the han jiao. (She did the same technique with Shang in S3 rather than fight him directly.)

Azibelpher continues to be a gloating dick, as usual, but we need him to deliver the necessary exposition.

the demons really love living weapons, huh… first the demon gods, now the han jiao, and only the Shen Hui Mo Xie can consistently stop either of them. Really makes you wonder what Azibelpher has planned for Lang, since he is clearly manuevering him towards some unknown end beyond merely becoming a demon…

I didn't notice this earlier, but the han jiao don't have back legs… they're just muscular worms with bat-like membranous wings (and we know from the opening credits they can fly). They're so cute it's hard for me to take them seriously as a threat. I also really want to know how they did the puppetry for them; it's incredible work.

love how Ling Ya can talk in sword form even though he doesn't have a mouth

Ultimately, Lang is right - the only way out for him is forward into the unknown… even if it means descending into his personal hell and forsaking his humanity. His pride and his rage and his pain won't allow him to back down, especially not after everything Azibelpher has done to him. Without Shang and Tian Ming, Lang is especially vulnerable to this kind of manipulation; Ling Ya tries, but he is all too easily overruled.

the moment where the triumphant music as Lang kills the monster abruptly cuts out and we have this awkward and grotesque segment of Lang taking out decades of frustration on its corpse, intercut with Azibelpher's triumphant gloating. ... it's so painful

further confirmation that Lang's powers are fueled by his emotions and that all of the suffering he's endured in his life are fuel for him now. (In other words, he might be half-demon by blood, but he's full demon now, as his hidden heritage awakens and overwhelms his human side.) Ling Ya is able to call him back to himself, but it's too late…

Lang Wu Yao's gasp as he realizes what he's done, staring down at his bloody hands… my heart… In that moment, he believes that everything bad he's ever thought about himself is true, that he truly is a monster… and that, more than anything else, is what triggers his transformation… that final piece of self-loathing and shame and disgust.

and he literally becomes the image of his father, who represents everything he hates about himself!!

meanwhile, Spider and Wasp arrive in the demon realm, and it's clear why their boss gave them magical weapons or else they'd be toast. Wasp is so happy to just kill things, I love that for her.

even with all the squabbling, these two are getting along better than I expected, honestly. Spider gets points for clever use of his chains, and Wasp is in heaven because she can slaughter everything in her path.

oh, and we meet a new demon, Ansarto, who is part deer, part spider, 100% nightmare fuel in the best possible way and I love him. In keeping with the "eyes" motif, he's covered them. I really want to know how they did his puppet; it's fantastic work.

because Might is Right and Wasp and Spider each killed a han jiao, they get special treatment, lol. Presto, instant banquet!

they re-used the dishes and cups from Seven Sins Tower for this scene, and either Mie Tian Hai imported his tableware from he demon realm or all of the TBF villains shop at the same Evil Wuxia Target, take your pick.

Spider is trying to play it cool and negotiate, but the question is who is really manipulating whom here? meanwhile, Ba Wang Yu just wants to kill people and doesn't give a shit about the details, so it's all the same to her. I love her so much. But I think this scene really demonstrates how, despite their differences, they arrive at the same conclusions--they're really not so different after all.

(also it's so refreshing to watch a female character just chow down with gusto on screen, even if demon food is a little heavy on the eyeballs)

of course Ansarto wants them to take down Azibelpher, which puts them squarely in the line of fire as plot threads converge. Either they're gonna get killed or Azi is going to convince them to join his side instead, and I honestly don't know which.

Oh, and the Murder Princess is going after Tian Ming in the next episode, so that should be interesting. does this mean a catfight over Lang hahaha

Preview shows a new character - a female demon with purple hair and armor - stomping on a han jiao corpse, a close-up of Demon Prince Lang, Juan Can Yun wearing some kind of mask (??), Shang looking nonplussed and Tian Ming playing her guzheng at sunset as soldiers arrive. Can't wait!!!

[chirpsythismorning]

hi some twitter users are saying that the pre-production of st will start in late october :( we have to wait for so long…

Interesting...

Regardless of whether this is true or not, this is a possiblity. I'm like 50/50 rn, considering Netflix said they had 6 months of backlog at least, they’re presumably willing to hold out that far on their end at least.

Although even still, I have been cautiously hoping that the writers could reach a fair deal with the studios sometime in late July/August, but that’s still a best case scenario rn.

It’s possible the strike could end sooner than October, as nothing is set in stone obviously, beyond Twitter speculation.

The reality is, the writers have no intention of dropping all of their demands anytime soon if it means returning to work without any changes. That would make the strike thus far pointless. With how far they’ve come, it only makes sense to keep going and see it through until they get something fair out of it. And that could mean holding out for longer than any of us want.

It’s probably not sustainable for ALL writers across the board to strike for 6+ months, without pay, nor do I think the studios would be willing to have production halted for over half a year and potentially beyond that. This is why late October has always been a possibility, bc that is the 6 month mark. I think by then not only would writers be ready to make some sort of deal, but the studios would also be desperate presumably by that point, so hopefully by then they would be willing to get closer to meeting their demands so that writers can get back to work and do what they love.

If ST5 didn’t start filming until late Oct this year, that would mean filming would go until Oct 2024. This is because it was already stated by multiple sources that filming for s5 was originally going to be from June 2023-June 2024 before the strike, so a year of filming was already in the cards.

I know most fans hear one year of filming and freak out, without understanding what warrants that much time for filming in this case. This does not mean one full year of nonstop filming for every actor. It means that the massive cast will have to plan a schedule that allows their availability to align with the other actors, so that they can accommodate and make production go a lot smoother, throughout a whole 12 month period.

For example, while the Duffer’s did say Amybeth (Vickie) would play a major role in events to come, and so she will presumably have more scenes in s5 than she did in s4, that doesn’t mean she’ll have anywhere close to as much screen-time as someone like Millie. This means that Amybeth won’t need to be on set near as much as the main cast. All it means is that she needs to be available when the other top billed cast is available, specifically whoever she is slated to have scenes with. It costs money to house an actor for days, weeks, months at a time so that they can be near the production location(s). Someone like Amybeth who is based in London, is obviously not going to be in Atlanta the entire run of filming. From what I recall, when filming for s4 Amybeth was only in Georgia for like 2 weeks, and I’m guessing that she was only filming for half of that time.

It makes sense that the top billed cast, who needs to film the most, gets first priority, and as it goes down the line, the actors with less screentime are going to be working around that, also assuming they have much more open schedules because they're also not as high in demand as the top billed cast.

In a perfect world, if everyone in the cast was available at a moments notice, maybe they could film s5 in about 8 months. But adding another 4 months to sort of make up for holidays and other contractual obligations, like cons or any other filming/work priorities, makes up for all of those short and maybe even large breaks in between for certain cast members for various reasons. There's people like David, who has said he was going to have to film Thunderbolts simultaneously while filming ST5. So there we have the second top billed actor needing to make his schedule align in that regard. Then there's Noah who attends Penn during the school year, and while I think it's likely he was probably planning on taking classes online this next upcoming year, it's also possible they were making a point to rush him to start filming s5 as soon as possible so that maybe he could have more time off set later on (hence why he might have been one of the few to start in May).

All of those schedules need to overlap based on who has screentime together basically.

So while I'm not a Finn and Noah were 100% going to start filming in May truther, I don't think the arguments against it were all necessarily based in the reality of the magic of film.

The beauty of film, is that it makes its own rules. You you could literally have actors who are in the same scenes, not filming on the same day, in the case they’re not in the frame at the same time.

One example of this from Stranger Things is the reunion for Mike and El at the end of s2. The Duffers made a joke that they 'ran out of Finn time', meaning that he was unavailable to do those scenes when the time came, which meant they had to wait. But then Millie insisted they do it anyways because she was available.

Not to mention, again, you don’t need every actor available 24/7 to film, which is why Finn and Noah in particular filming in May, as they both said multiple times they would have started then, was entirely possible. They could have scenes together or on their own with no other actors, and it could have taken like 2 weeks to complete them, right in time for June when some of the other actors availability opened so they could then join the mix.

I just remember Redditors specifically getting all up and arms like it wasn’t possible for Finn and Noah to start in May bc certain other actors weren’t available, but that’s not how it works always. I mean, even with filming starting in June, Sadie was always going to be unavailable to film ST during that time bc she was going to be out of the country filming for a different project until July. That doesn’t mean the actors that are available couldn’t film some scenes that they have together and that don’t include her.

I think those fans just got upset bc the possibility of Finn and Noah filming on their own for a week or two, might mean they have multiple scenes alone with no one else, and that terrified them. It’s funny though, bc I’m certain that if Millie and Finn were said to start in May before the others, it would have been quite easy for them to consider the reality of what that meant, being that they presumably had multiple scenes alone together. But in this case, they weren’t willing to even consider it.

Basically filming is complex and to think that it should be done all at once with everyone present is not realistic.

So while I know the 1 year timeframe is daunting to many, know that it's for good reason. Actors don't need to be overworked, nor do those invovled BTL making it happen. The production value from s1-s5 is just not even in the same wheelhouse, so using past metrics from past seasons as to why s5 will be faster to film is not based in what is actually most likely to occur because of so many different factors that are out of anyones control rn (some factors however are...Netflix... PAY YOUR WRITERS!).

There is a light at the end of the tunnel with this news though, believe it or not.

With the strike going on, many fans have accepted that Summer 2025 is the most likely scenario right now. This means that even if filming takes a year after Oct, that puts us at filming ending and post-production officially starting in Oct 2024, which is the same time roughly that s4 filming ended (Sept 2021). And in that case they managed to have s4 premiere the following year with Vol 1 in May and Vol 2 in July.

So even with filming not starting until late October, we're still likely looking at ST5 premiering in summer 2025, maybe with a June/August release if it's two volumes. Or maybe just July/August with one season on it's own.

Right now, I think it would be wise of fans to think about what they want to be doing long-term. In the case that filming doesn't start until October, what do you want to be doing in the meantime while you wait?

You do not have to be here if you don't want to be. Fandom shouldn’t be an obligation. Take a break.! I know I should... But I don't want to, so... yeah.

ALSO I think that realistically, with the strike going on, there could be some stuff we as fans could focus on highlighting in that regard. I know we're not very united or anything, but I've seen fandoms like LOTR and OFMD and even more recently Julie and the Phantoms coming together to fundraise and support the strike. For those that don't know, Julie and the Phantoms literally got cancelled after like one season... So the fact that they're out here supporting writers while the ST fandom, with one of the biggest audiences in the world, is mostly silent beyond acknowledging the strike happening, is sort of embarrassing...

Now this is NOT me saying that each of us as individuals is bad or anything, we're all just existing and I do think that accepting whats going on as this sort of reality has been our way of coping with something we feel like we can't impact at all. And again, we're not very united, which I think is important if you want to see an impact at the scale we are capable of, but are not able to achieve for obvious reasons.

Still I at least wanted to throw this out there, that if we know we're going to be here for a while, might as well make the best of it and support the writers, so that when they do come back it will be a feeling of like relief and excitement to return to writing these characters and their endings, as opposed to like just disappointment from the literal biggest fandom in the world being mostly silent about it.

To be fair, the writers themselves have been very cryptic about it compared to other writers from other series. Of the two pictures we've got from them, they did not show their faces. We have not seen any of them at the picket lines, which is something that I think if they did do it would actually get fans hyped up enough to do something more substantial. I know it's complex, but it is sort of a confusing situation right now, with how they're handling it and how they presumably would like for us to handle it.

In the mean time, I'm just going to go with the flow and accept everything as it comes to us.

[gatormeister]

Gundam SEED Freedom!

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie.

Some spoilers for the film ahead

Let’s get this part out of the way fast. The villains suck. The Accords come outta nowhere, rehash both Le Creuset’s and Chairman Zala’s “kill all naturals” and Durandal’s “we’ll make everything eugenics” plots. They just exist for Cosmic Era to say “eugenics is bad,” “war is bad,” “peace and love good,” all over again. There is nothing complex to this plot outside of figuring out how to make Kira and Compass the bad guys to the rest of the world.

We don’t get the character drama back- well we sorta do, but it’s mind control weirdness and does not last long, but you do get to see a lot of nice small interactions and moments between the main cast, something that the first show did great and was less present in Destiny. Kira just sort of goes and does his character arc from SEED over again. Athrun shows off why he’s a better mc. Shinn decides to spec harder into being a human puppy with how he acts. It’s all great stuff. Lacus I’d even say is at her best in this movie, having a full character arc of her own. Agnes is a new character, she’s a very jealous traitor, who really just feels like she exists just so that Lunamaria can fight someone at the end. I wasn’t a huge fan.

The action is mostly done in 3D, and I’d say it looks great the whole way through. The new designs were fantastic. The Mighty Strike Freedom feels like a massive improvement of the original Strike Freedom’s. Athrun’s Z’gok is great alongside the Infinite Justice hidden inside it. The Rising Freedom is also a very good design. The Impulse is mostly the same as Destiny which is to say fantastic. The Gelgoog Menace is yet another incredible SEED variation of an OG suit like the Z’gok. The Gyan Storm is okay, wasn’t super big on its original, and this is about the same. The Knights’ suits are cool enough, but I don’t think I’d jump to build one.

Great movie overall. Not as good as the two Thunderbolt movies or Endless Waltz, but it is absolutely no slouch either. Well worth watching.

I suppose Hathaway’s going to the next Gundam thing I watch. It’s the last of the early UC stuff for now, so might as well knock it out. I’ve heard great things.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 28- Part 10

The volcano, you say? Oh yeah, that's gotta be Cal.

…Okay, I thought she was just saying flavor dialogue, but when she's like “come again and you will be rewarded”, it makes me think that's some kinda sidequest thing? I have to literally achieve zen somehow and talk to her? I dunno, the only thing I can think of is Zen Mode Darmanitan, but who the heck knows-

Oh, this must lead to the Gym arena. I see the kiosk down there, but the screen’s not blinking at all- it must be turned off. Ah well, I'm sure we'll get some advice from Ame soon enough.

Ah yes, just like Apophyll Academy is beloved by so many, it's just as clear that Kiki herself is loved and admired by the students and passerbys too. It sure would suck if some highly powerful pseudo-Legendary were to come along and strike her down, but surely that would never happen, right?

(No seriously, there's gotta be a way to prevent the fate Shade showed Xera, right? Is that why he played all those screens for her? So she could avoid repeating what happened with Corey? Maybe? I don't even know anymore, I hate being cursed with knowledge-)

You can do better too, lady!

Now, this girl here- she's probably just gonna tell Xera that Kiki’s not here right now, right?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Still not heading that way yet though, there's still the center area of the Academy to explore.

Oh! I found the Trainers!

Okay, this works out, actually. If I start with Charge Beam, hopefully get a Sp. Attack boost, but even if not, Thunderbolt should still be able to finish it.

Previous

Next

[anthrofreshtodeath]

Crossover Angst

Find previous rizzles/bones crossover work here.

—

When Booth hops out of the Sequioia and opens Brennan’s door, it’s already kinda late. He’s an in-bed-early, wake-up-even-earlier sort of guy, and this Boston team… They burn the candle at both ends. All ends. Hell, they even strike a match under the middle. He’s tired, and he’s hungry, and he needs a couple hours away from the mania to talk things over with his partner. 

Who just so happens to be the woman he’s madly in love with. Christ.

“What is this place?” Brennan asks, rousing him out of his exhausted musing. They amble toward a little storefront on Prince Street, which has seen its tourists exit for the day, leaving locals to patronize the restaurants, the butcher shops, the bakeries, during their last few hours of operation. Angelina’s. 

“Little Italian joint, Bones,” says Booth, pulling open the door. The heavy, wooden frame squeals as it swings out, and he licks his lips in some relief. “Hear that? Means the food’s gonna be good.”

Brennan is only inches ahead of him, and she turns with a little disbelief. “The squeaky door?” she chuckles, “how could that possibly relate to the quality of food?”

“Don’t know how to explain it; don’t need to,” he tells her. “There’s mostly Sicilian fare but apparently they’ve got a puttanesca that rivals your own.”

“Your favorite,” Brennan chides. “The whore sauce.”

“The whore sauce,” Booth affirms. “But it comes from my neck of the woods, from Rome. So hey, can’t go wrong, right? Anyway, Rizzoli said they had some good vegetarian options.”

“Ah, Jane recommended it,” Brennan draws out. She takes off her trench coat and hangs it over the back of an old wooden chair when the waiter pointed them toward a table toward the windowfront. “That’s why we’re here.”

Booth knots his eyebrows together. He’s good at reading Brennan, probably better than anyone else, but he’s stumped here. That jumble of words usually signals jealousy, especially in girls - women - but Bones looks pleased. Humored. “That a problem?” he asks, searching for more. He needs more.

“Not at all,” Brennan answers. She does this thing where she shrugs and scoots her chair in at the same time, but the movements are fluid. There is no waste, no excess in the motion of her body. This enthralls him; it always had, though he hadn’t realized it until his love for her crashed down on him in a particularly painful, sweet revelation. Smitten had felt like an apt descriptor, but when Jane told him about the Sicilian thunderbolt, that punch of lightning, that felt perfect. And painful. It’s painful to watch her move, but also exhilarating, like he’s just stuck a fork in a socket. “You respect her.”

“Yeah, I guess I do. She’s good people,” Booth says. He takes the menu given to him by the waiter, and nods toward the middle of the page, where all the red wines are named. “Give us a bottle of the Sangiovese, huh? You’re gonna love this one,” he tells Brennan when the waiter nods and turns their wine glasses right side up before going back for the wine. “It’s bold. Real hearty, velvety Italian flavor.”

“Sounds like we’re still talking about Jane,” Brennan teases. Her eyes sparkle when she looks at him, and she offers him one of her signature, garish winks. 

Booth turns dour. He crosses his arms, his crisp white shirt rolled up just under his elbows on either side. “What?” he demands.

Brennan registers the change in mood, and he thinks about lightening up because he can tell she doesn’t know what she’s said, what she’s done, but dammit if he isn’t tired of the games. “Well, I… I wasn’t being very serious, Booth.”

“You weren’t, huh?” He prods.

“No, but, what would be the issue if I were? She’s attractive, you’re attractive, and you’re both single. You seem to suit each other. At least, superficially,” Brennan reasons aloud. She leans forward, puts her elbows on the tablecloth. She believes she’s making sense.

And maybe, in any other world, she would be. Maybe, in another world where she and Booth are just partners, just coworkers who collaborate to bring murderers to justice, just colleagues who sometimes grab after-work drinks, this argument would make sense. Rizzoli is… well, Rizzoli looks like a supermodel and she drinks some of his old army buddies under the table. She’s loud and to the point and kind of grumpy, but he can be, too. He thinks back to that early morning last week, when they’d held hands in mass while the priest ushered them through Eucharistic prayer. After all night at the scene of the first fresh crime they’d encountered in their time together, blood and brain matter and torn flesh seared in their consciousness, they’d agreed together that only the blood of Christ would wash it all away. So they’d dropped their scientists at their respective abodes and trudged into St. Joseph’s just after sunrise. And they’d touched because they needed the intimacy, the spirituality, without all the goddamn battle. 

Rizzoli’s perfect on paper. 

There’s just, y’know, the problem of both of them being in love with someone else. That thought, of yet another opportunity crushed under the weight of Bones’ magnetism, under the way she expands so as to push anything else out of the room, leaving nothing but the two of them and his annoying heart, angers Booth. He turns his eyes toward the flow of wine out of the bottle and into their glasses. He concentrates only on that so that he can speak without raising his voice. “Why you gotta do that? Why- why you gotta try to hook me up with people?”

“Booth, I was just-”

“No! No,” He shudders when he hears his volume the first time, like he’s gunshy of himself. He quiets down, a fist going into his hand when he props his elbows up on the table like she had. “You… I laid my heart out for ya, Bones. I told you I was in love with you. And god help me, I think you feel the same way. But for whatever reason, you didn’t… you can’t go there with me. And I’m tryin’ to be respectful of that. But this? Tryin’ to get me to go out with other people when you know I’m not even thinkin’ about anyone else right now is…”

“Alright, alright,” Brennan puts up her hand just so he’ll stop. “I… I won’t. I won’t anymore. I just… I care about you, Booth,” she confesses, her blue eyes screwed up and watery like she’s in pain, like she has any right to be in pain when she’s done all the pushing. “You deserve to be happy.”

“That doesn’t sound like you stoppin’,” he grumbles.

“I can’t give you what you want. I… don’t know how to be what you need,” Brennan whispers. She cries openly now, and Booth waves the waiter away as a kindness. 

But he still seethes. “Easy, Bones. Just be you,” he says, low and full of spite. 

“But it’s not that easy. Of course it’s not that easy. I’ve been me with you for years now and I still… I’m still…”

“Afraid?” He mocks, and when she nods because it doesn’t register with her, because she doesn't see the way he has intended to hurt her. “I just… I don’t get it. Help me understand, here, Bones, because you don’t seem to have trouble bein’ what other guys need. Jerks like Stires, Wexler, oh and god, Mark. Remember Mark?”

“I don’t appreciate-” Brennan’s face drops, she sniffles, and her brow furrows, but Booth pushes right through.

“So it’s me, right? Because you have no problem giving them the time of day, and I’m right here. I’m right here and I’m better. So it must just be that I don’t do it for you. I’m not enough of an asshole,” He is quiet and severe, leaning in to make his point.

She looks toward her glass of wine, thinks about throwing it in his face. And Booth knows he’d deserve it. But the bell over the door rings, and whatever, whoever Brennan sees, makes her put her hand down. “I’m leaving. This isn’t the time, or the place. If you want to have a discussion about this like an adult, give me a call.” She rises, snatches her coat from her chair, and glares at him for good measure.

“Oh? And where’re you goin’, huh?” Booth demands.

She aims to hurt him because she puts her face in his. She only does that when she spits fire. “I’m going to Jane’s. She invited me over to watch the game.”

“Oh yeah? Do you even know which game?!” Booth calls when she starts to walk away. He guesses that Jane’s invite was probably for the C’s game, which is currently just underway, and he guesses that Bones had originally turned it down. 

“Doesn’t matter!” She shouts back. She’s right. Really doesn’t matter.

___

“Hmm,” Maura holds Jane’s face as they kiss, soft and sweet in the low candlelight illuminating Jane’s small bedroom. Jane is on top of her, they’re under the covers naked, and god it feels good. Like eating cake with your hands or pouring a second glass of rosé when you said you’d just have one. “Hey.”

Jane groans because talking breaks the kiss open. She writhes closer, deepens the post-coital, sweaty embrace between them in hopes that she can erase all language. 

Maura must deny her. She offers Jane one last kiss, but then she tilts her head so Jane’s lips shift to her chin, across her jaw, down her neck. “Hey, hey…” she tries again. “I saw you stuffing down that Powerbar on the way back from Amherst this morning. Was that the last thing you ate?”

At the mention of the Powerbar, Jane’s stomach grumbles on Maura’s own. “What’s it to you?” Jane snarks. There is no bite in it, or rather, no power, because Jane currently bites on the mark she’s already left on Maura’s collarbone. 

Maura hates that she doesn’t hate it. That she won’t hate walking in public with it on, she won’t hate people seeing it and wondering. Or knowing that it was Jane. “That was almost twelve hours ago. Let me feed you.”

“You already did,” Jane snarks, teeth still out and nipping.

“Jane,” Maura warns. “I’ll go to Angelina’s. Pick something up and bring it back. Eat with me?”

“Angelina’s, huh?” asks Jane, rolling over onto her back so that her shoulder touches Maura’s. Maura kisses it. “Sounds good. I told Booth about it a few days ago. Thought it might be a good place for him to take Doctor B.”

Maura stops mid-smooch, lips pursed and frozen against Jane’s still-warm skin. “And how are things between you and Doctor Brennan?” she finally asks when she regains her thoughts. 

“Uh, normal? Things have been a lot less heated,” Jane says. “Uh, well, maybe that’s not the right word. Things are a lot less acrimonious.”

“But still heated?” Maura prods.

Jane chuckles. “Hey, don’t put words in my mouth when I specifically took ‘em out. But I mean, I’m tryin’, honey. I really am. I invited her over to watch the Celtics and Lakers tonight. Teach her the rules of basketball so she, I dunno, can make it a whole game without embarrassing Booth.”

“And she said no?” Maura turns her head at the exact moment Jane turns hers, and they gaze into each other’s eyes. Jane won’t be able to turn away. 

“She said no,” Jane affirmed. “But at least she knows I am attempting friendliness after last week.”

Maura pauses for a long time. Then she inches forward to kiss Jane. She injects it with lust, with luscious and wet intent as she rows their swollen, dusky lips together. “Jane?”

“Yeah?” Jane sighs.

“Don’t fuck that woman,” Maura threatens.

Jane smirks, and immediately Maura knows she’s shown Jane a weakness. But there’s no way she can take it back. She hardly cares about her exposed desperation. “Which one?” asks Jane. “Abby in payroll? She’s been wanting me to ask her out for years,” she teases. And god, she’s right. Abby wants Jane, pines for Jane even now. Even if Jane is full of shit. Maura frowns. Jane laughs, then quiets. “Or the Chief Medical Examiner? I heard she’s a real ice queen but I think she likes me.”

Maura softens at that, and shakes her head. This time, it’s her teeth that sink into Jane. Both soft and hard, and into Jane’s shoulder. “Don’t. Fuck. Her.” she reiterates.

There is no room for discussion.

“You got it,” Jane kisses Maura’s forehead with kindness when Maura latches onto her with possession. “You really gonna go get food? Because I could go for that Brasat’.”

“Beef, hmm? You’re quite hungry,” Maura muses, but she does sit up and look for the jeans she put on to come here.

“I just burned an NBA game’s worth of calories!” Jane answers back, But she blushes when Maura looks back from over her shoulder and smirks. They lock eyes, and certainly, the same scene, where Jane grips the corner of the bed while she drives into Maura from on top, crying out when Maura scratches long red lines down her back, runs through both their minds. “But I don’t have to tell you that.”

“I am going to get food, yes. I’ll even get an appetizer for us to share. But you have to get up now,” Maura orders. She stands, her pants on, and she shuffles around until she finds her bra. After that’s on, she shrugs her blouse over her shoulders. Jane continues to lay, and her eyes flutter shut. “I mean it, Jane. I’m not ordering all that food just for you to be too sleepy to eat. Get up. Get dressed. Turn on the game - find a way to stay awake.” Maura says. Then she throws a decorative pillow in Jane’s face.

“Ouch, fuck! Alright, alright, I’m gettin’ up,” grouses Jane.

She does indeed sit, and Maura rewards her with a kiss to the lips. “Good. I’ll be back. Set the table.”

“Yup,” says Jane.

Maura slips on her sandals, and lingers in the bedroom doorway. She doesn’t say anything, but catches Jane’s eye one more time and nods. Then she leaves.

Her car is close; Jane had given up her parking spot for Maura and put the unmarked around the corner. Maura had hidden the giddy, bubbly smile the gesture inspired and opened her legs instead. 

She really, really needs to stop doing that. At least, long enough to give her some time to think. Cases like this were always hard, and up until now, Maura had medicated by sliding Jane into place on top of her and blanching her brain. Well, now appears to be more of the same, but then, they’d been married, and it had been… allowed.

She trots down the stairs and out the side exit of the building, straight into the parking area. She gets in her car, turns on the engine, and sighs. They’re grown adults. They can sleep with whomever they please, including each other. But something about all of this feels forbidden, and Maura wonders if that’s why she likes it. That’s the part that she needs to slow down on. The part she needs to figure out. The part that feels like using, as she’d confessed to Jane some nights ago. 

Angelina’s is not far from Jane’s place, maybe a ten, fifteen minute drive, so Maura calls in her order before she pulls out of her spot. Maura also contemplates all these things as she maneuvers there, and mourns the Maura who had put down some of the best boundaries of her life at the start of her divorce. Where is that Maura? When she pulls up to the neighborhood, Jane’s old neighborhood, she finds a spot on Hanover Street and makes the short trek over to the storefront, resolving to worry about boundaries after she gets food into Jane’s belly. 

When she pulls open the old wooden door and steps inside the entryway, her sandals scrape against the mosaic-style tile until she stops where she stands. “D… Doctor Brennan?” she sputters when the woman herself stands up from her table. Brennan says something to Booth, Maura can tell him by his shoulders, hulking and sad. And then, Brennan makes her way to the door. Toward Maura. 

She’s angry. Maura reads the microexpressions and stands aside, while offering a half-smile and a look in that direction. No eye contact, that would make the both of them too uncomfortable. “Doctor Isles,” Brennan says, just before she pushes toward the door. “Have a great night.”

“Are you-? Where-?” Maura is still shocked to see the both of them here, she feels as though she should say more, that they should have a perfunctory conversation at least; her Brahmin upbringing vibrates within her. But Brennan is already gone. 

The door swings and rattles in its frame and there are a few head turns from other patrons, but that settles quickly enough as Brennan’s form retreats into the North End evening. Maura walks up to the counter, hands over her card, and in less than a minute or two, both it and her boxes of food are brought out to her, tied up nicely in a plastic bag. 

She is about to leave, to abandon the awkward situation she just messily dove into, until she turns and sees Booth’s face - well, she should revise. She doesn’t see his face, because it’s in his large hands, the heels of which press into his cheeks. She shakes her head, and then she crosses the few short feet to get to him. “Sangiovese is one of my favorites,” Maura tells him. He jolts, just a bit, and squints when he looks at her. 

“Doctor Isles, hey, how are ya,” He says. There is no conviction in it. 

“I’m just fine,” she starts. Then, she puts her bag of food on the table. “I’m picking up dinner for my ex-wife when I know I should not be. I’m very confused. All the time.”

He chuckles once, bitterly. “Yeah? Me too. Join the party,” he says. Then, he shrugs, like the assholishness is something he can remove like a coat. “I’m sorry, y’know. That you and Rizzoli are such a mess.”

“I’m sorry you’re going through your own mess,” Maura nods toward the door. “Is she alright?”

Booth sighs, and leans back into his chair, his glossy eyes toward the ceiling. “I don’t think so. I think I made the mess. And right now she’s, agh. Well, apparently she’s over to your guys’ place to catch…” he slides his watch around, “well, I’m assuming Celtics/Lakers.”

“She’s… she’s going to Jane’s?” Maura asks. Her head pounds, and she squeezes her hands together. She sucks her teeth.

And Booth, of course he reads that. He quirks a brow. “You didn’t know?”

“I thought she said no,” Maura’s acrimony leaks through the veneer, but she pulls it back as soon as it trickles forward. “You didn’t even get to eat?”

Booth chuckles. “No, no we didn’t.”

Maura pats the top of her bag. “Well, let’s eat this, shall we? It’s warm. We shouldn’t let it go to waste.”

Booth leans forward, rubs his hands together. “What about Jane?”

“She ate,” Maura snaps, pink suffusing her cheeks. Vengeance is a dish best not served at all. Her own words ring hollow and mocking in her head - do not fuck that woman. “And if she gets hungry enough she can have some cereal. We’re here, we should enjoy the cuisine while it’s fresh.”

“You know what I really wanna do?” says Booth. He downs the rest of the glass of wine in front of him. “I wanna go over to that bar next door. Screw the food.”

Maura hangs her head and she laughs. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” says Booth. Now that he thinks about it, he’s sure of it. He drops enough cash on the table to cover the bottle of wine and then some, and then he stands up and shrugs his blazer on. “They’re havin’ their fun, why don’t we?”

“Ok,” replies Maura. She stands, too, and smirks when she sees her package on the table. “Screw the food. They have a scrumptious Amarone that I think you’ll like.”

“I will, huh?” asks Booth, holding open the door as they step into the cool spring air. He holds out his elbow and she takes it, even though the walk isn’t long.

“If you’re like me and the Sangiovese is also one of your favorites, yes,” Maura tells him. She gets the door of the next establishment, and she ushers him in with a hand to the small of his back, like Jane is moving through her. 

He is surprised by it, but his smile is warm. Not bitter like it had been when she first saw him in Angelina’s. “Well you got me there, it is.”

They take their place at the bar, just a few other drinkers along its edge, and Booth insists that Maura order for them. She does, and he compliments her taste in reds. The dance floor is old, the lights swooping over it reminiscent of a high school dance, but he wags his brows when the music shifts. “Ole Blue Eyes,” he says when Frank Sinatra begins to croon. “My favorite.”

Maura sips the exceptional drink in her glass before setting it down. She pulls her lips back and stares at the napkin under her fingers. “Jane is partial to Dean Martin.”

“Well, can’t go wrong with the Rat Pack,” Booth says. “Hey, did you uh, did you tell her where you were? Tell her you weren’t comin’ back with her food?”

Maura’s face crumples when she shakes her head. She hides from him, and then she lifts her face up so that her tears don’t ruin what little makeup she has on.

Booth shuffles on his feet. Shit. “Uh, hey, Maura, hey. C’mon. You, you wanna go dance? No talkin’. We can just move a little.”

She looks up, and he looks down, and she can tell he has surprised the both of them with his offer. But, what the hell. She takes her drink, then he takes his, and she leads them over to the floor. They are by far the youngest couple currently dancing, the rest of the people their age at various tables, and they aren’t even a couple. They shouldn’t dance.

But Booth stands there, wide angles, gallant masculinity, open arms, and Maura folds into him. She puts her head on his shoulder and the hand he’s not using to hold his wine at his side goes between her own shoulder blades. Nice. Easy. Safe. He sways her, and she is content to be swayed by him - no expectations or rules.

It is the most comfortable she’s felt with a man wrapped around her - when he is devastated by his love for someone else. When her love for someone else keeps her heart far away from his. “I’m sorry,” she tells him. 

“Hey no,” he assures her. “Tell me what you’re thinkin’.” Frankie sings and he holds her close, and fuck. This may be the saddest he’s ever been. He prays she doesn’t ask him the same question.

“I’m thinking that I’m here with the wrong Italian, Seeley,” Maura whispers, turning so that it bounces on the cavern of his chest. “You are so unbelievably kind. But wrong. But I can’t stop hurting her.”

“You know, I was just thinkin’ the same thing,” he says. She’s unburdened him with that confession. So hell, maybe, even though it feels like digging a hot poker into his belly, he should just confess, too. “I was thinkin’ that I’m here with the wrong scientist. But she, oh god,” he inhales without exhaling, a ragged breath that cuts into the air around them. He catches her tears like a virus, but his don’t fall. “She can’t stop hurting me. What a pair, huh?”

Maura wraps her arms around his waist despite her drink, as though she’s forgotten it and knows only the shape of the glass in her hand. She squeezes him because he is warm and if she closes her eyes he feels like Jane. “I don’t know what I’m doing, and I feel like I’m looking at myself from the outside, unable to get her to stop.”

Maura doesn’t feel like Bones at all. But Maura needs him. Needs him to lie, needs him to hold her, needs him to ride out this slow dance and maybe a few more glasses of wine. “Things are… things are gonna be just fine, Maura. They’re gonna be just fine.”

She doesn’t say it back to him.

[akewolf]

ok sorry guys but I need to repost this one ‘cause you all need to know.

so… I saw this one and something clicked inside my mind so I want to give you an insight of what this really means from a native speaker pov.

and it’s actually kinda funny ‘cause in Italian we have the same expression. We say "colpo di fulmine" an idiomatic phrase meaning love at first sight but literally "lightning strike".

It’s a saying for when love strikes you fast and hard, leaving you bare and wanting for more. It’s being so taken by someone that your world is turned upside down, leaving you hanging. It’s a powerful, instantaneous connection between two people that can feel like being knocked off your feet with lightning.

and there’s this quote that I’d like to paste here:

"Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed."

so now tell me… how are you feeling boys, girls and non binary folks? cause I’m UNWELL.

there’s no going back from here.

[beardedmrbean]

I remember reading somewhere that the real reason that the Air Force keeps the A-10 around is that they're worried that if they stop using them, then the Army will take them. The Army loves the A-10; it's essentially a flying tank. And if the Army takes the A-10, then they can say to the DoD, "Well, now that both the Navy and the Army both have helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, do we even really need a separate Air Force anymore? They can just be folded back into the Army again." And of course, the Air Force likes being it's own branch, so no fixed-wing aircraft for the Army.

That could be it too, I can't remember the actual reasoning behind it and that sounds very reasonable, though I can't actually see the DOD shuttering a entire branch.

And I decided to look, because why not. Before reading it again, since this the same article I read before, I'm going to guess they don't want to scrap planes that still work and have to buy new ones.

Let's find out

The Air Force told Congress it wanted to retire 113 aircraft from its worldwide inventory.

The 138 aircraft included A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft, bombers, spy drones, and tankers.

Congress mostly said no, and refused to retire any A-10s at all.

The Air Force tried several times over the last three decades to retire the ugly, slow-moving, close air support jet. The service wanted to replace the A-10 Warthog with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but has run into both significant resistance from backers of the A-10 and claims the F-35 can’t do the close air support mission as effectively.

The Warthog has become one of the Air Force’s most popular planes, in part due to its enormous GAU-8/A Gatling gun, and a lobby of veterans and members of Congress have kept the airplane flying.

OK My initial crack about it being too popular to retire was right then, at least in part.

Still capable of carrying out it's mission so it's not a national security issue to keep the old dump trucks flying and shootin.

I also take offense as the use of the word "ugly" ain't the prettiest thing that's for sure but, take it away Quora

How much damage can the A-10 Thunderbolt endure before being shot down?

KWEEN

The Bathtub

Cockpit armor is a good thing, especially since that is where your stick actuator resides. Knowing that the A-10 would be the target of lots of ground fire, the Hawg designers went to great lengths to extend the life expectancy of its pilots.

For some in-depth pontification on this item, swing by this question: Does an A-10 really have a "titanium tub" for the pilot to sit in? What kind of hit can it actually take? Can it take a 50 cal explosive or armor piercing round?

Pretty ain't gonna get you home in one piece if it ain't sturdy too

This went in a alternate direction from the one I started on, hope that's OK.

Let's end with a couple step doors

And a link to another Popular Mechanics article about this bad boy

The A-10 Warthog Will Fly Into the 2040s

Gonna go ahead and tag @the-davest-of-uncles because I just know he's got a story or 5 about these guys too, and will also just get a kick out of this whole thing anyhow.

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Hi, how are you? This is kind of a random question but I was looking for a sweet romcom to watch and I was like, hey, maybe I ask you what YOUR favourite romantic comedy is?

What an AWESOME question, Nonny! Thank you so much for asking. And as it's my usual style to be shamelessly extra, I'm gonna list my top five and hope that my enthusiasm will be effective enough to sway anyone reading this to give some of them a viewing.

Moonstruck - Romance & immediate attraction that strike like a thunderbolt out of the blue, set in an Italian-American community in NYC. Flavored by the backdrop of the opera La Traviata and a full December moon, this tale of finding a second great love moves like a whirlwind.

And each time I watch it, I'm transported back to my grandparents' home by the same sights, textures, and indelibly Italian traditions I experienced in my childhood.

10 Things I Hate About You - A brilliant, witty retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, set in a high school in the grunge era '90's. Young Heath Ledger, whose charisma is off the charts. An excellent soundtrack of contemporary music--with the addition of Cruel To Be Kind, which incorporates a key line from the play itself.

Roxanne - A modernized version of Cyrano de Bergerac, with Steve Martin (who also wrote the screenplay) as the dashing but bulbously-nosed Fire Chief of a small Colorado resort town, who falls hard for Daryl Hannah's visiting astronomer. It's a glory of words, words, words, with poetry that inspires passion. Proof that love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.

And speaking of Daryl Hannah, I must give an honorable mention to the delightful Splash, a rom-com retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Bridget Jones's Diary - A modern woman's quest to find love despite a lifetime of disappointments. Bridget is 1,000% relatable (at least to this Hopeless Romantic😁). Patterned after Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, it has one of the greatest they-finally-kiss scenes of all time, with a closing line by Bridget's Darcy that is so frickin' sexy, you just have to melt (while wishing your partner would say that same to you).

Honorable mention to the sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Mamma Mia!/Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again! - How can I not make this a two-fer, with all the amazing opportunities to sing out loud, so so many ABBA hits? Plus, Colin Firth in a white dress shirt. And then a wet Colin Firth😁. But seriously, these films & their soundtracks have provided me inspiration for chapters of multiple fics. Most recently (relatively speaking) Andante, Andante--which proved pivitol for setting the mood for the lovemaking in Chapter 17 of Of Magic, Miracles, and Moonlight.

I actually cried when I saw it sung in the movie the first time (oh heck, every time now) because it so captured the feelings I wanted to evoke that first time that my OFC, Teyla, and Stephen made love.

Thank you again, dear Nonny, for this chance to share some of my favorite romantic flicks! In fact, I have about fifeteen others I could easily add to the list, but perhaps I can elaborate upon them another day.

[makeshiftdraco]

20 Question Writer Ask Game

Thanks for the tag @coraleethroughthelookingglass and @pursuitseternal!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

5 (soon to be 6)

Definitely have more fics out there on other fanfiction sites from back in the pre-AO3 era however...

2. What's your total A03 words count?

355,827

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars and Lord of the Rings/Rings of Power

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Not too surprising since I only have 5 fics published, but here they are in order or most to least kudos:

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to respond to all comments, but I'm sure I miss some. I feel honored that readers care enough to share their reactions, so it's the least I can do to thank them and interact.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I wouldn't consider any of my endings angsty. I'd say I specialize in happily ever after or happy for now with sinister undertones?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like I said above, all my endings are happy with sinister undertones... I want the characters to be together and madly in love, but they're usually heading down a dark path hand in hand. So if you're into that vibe, you'll enjoy all my fics.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully no, especially considering my primary ships.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

That's all I write these days! 😈 Mostly F/M with various kinks, dabbling in a little reverse harem lately.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No, just AUs.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope but I'd be open to it.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Back when I was in highschool I used to cowrite with some friends, but nothing since then and nothing I've posted.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

That's a tough one. Reylo has probably been my most consistent hyperfixation over the years.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Sometimes it feels like I'll never finish The Thunderbolt, but I am so close I can taste it! Been working on it for over 3 years...

16. What are your writing strengths?

Striking the right balance with morally gray/villainous characters. I want to make it clear they are not good people, but I want the readers to root for them anyway.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Not great at keeping things succinct. Sentences can get way too long and elaborate...and my one shot fics always seem to turn into multi-chapter monsters.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I might use words or short phrases occasionally, but I'm not fluent enough to use full sentences. Most of my foreign language knowledge comes from opera which isn't super applicable.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Embarrassingly enough...the musical Cats, but I never posted those middle school fics anywhere thank god.

First fandom I posted fics for, however, was Harry Potter. (I was a big Drarry fan back in the day...which is probably obvious given my pen name.)

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child... I'll pick one from each fandom that I always enjoy rereading.

For Reylo, my shorter Mafia AU fic for those with a Kylo Ren voice kink:

For Haladriel/Saurondriel, the infamous fic where Galadriel tops the Dark Lord and he really likes it:

I feel like most of my mutuals have already participated, so opening this up to anyone else that wants to join the fun!

[stocky2016]

"The Poetry of Words"

(Inspired by this quote shared with me by Marina Faur, to whom I am once again eternally grateful)

In the power of our words so strong and true

engraved upon the world for all to view

Like thunderbolt they sometimes strike our minds

the vibrations and impact felt so hard, and defined

Our words can raise us up, or bring us down

manipulate and change what in fact surrounds

Weaving ideas and painting clouds in the sky

choosing our actions so carefully.

The touch of our words, is a blissful embrace

that shows what we mean, or maybe need to erase

Let the power of language calm and delight

communicating with us all, through day and night

Nobody knows the power of words

we use them to express ourselves and always be heard

They can soothe or cause so much emotional strife

when to speak, or be silent , becomes the challenge of life

Unspoken, as our ruling is sometimes wise

when unleashed emotions we "bottle-up" inside

Maturity however allows choice to be made

Knowing when to wait, is the perfect time to decide.

Underneath and behind the words there's more to understand

beyond choice of words lies knowledge we've found

Reaching further depths than just what we say

this is the power of real truth today

Speak only truth no matter what may be

for through it we can all finally see

A brighter tomorrow for us all to live

with honesty to give, and love to receive.

Choose the words you speak with clarity

transforming purpose, set in destiny

Our voices echo through both night and day

let us choose carefully what in fact, we say.

Characterised as we eccentric poetic often are

Leave it to us, to develop sensitivity and of course care...

but follow with courage, our hearts at a pace

spreading some goodness, beauty and grace.

G.P.S. 18th July 2023

(Picture courtesy of poetic muse Marina Faur)

[akewolf]

ok, but it’s actually kinda funny ‘cause in Italian we have the same expression. We say "colpo di fulmine" an idiomatic phrase meaning love at first sight but literally "lightning strike".

It’s a saying for when love strikes you fast and hard, leaving you bare and wanting for more. It’s being so taken by someone that your world is turned upside down, leaving you hanging. It’s a powerful, instantaneous connection between two people that can feel like being knocked off your feet with lightning.

and there’s this quote that I’d like to paste here:

"Colpo di fulmine. The thunderbolt, as Italians call it. When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed."

so now tell me… how are you feeling boys, girls and non binary folks? cause I’m UNWELL.

just gonna stick this here for my 911 girlies (gn)

[petrichara]

My favourite quotes from Circe by Madeline Miller

However gold he shines, do not forget his fire.

When we are young, we think ourselves the first to have each feeling in the world.

But when he turned to me, I felt the shock of that old love between us.

(..) Aeëtes’ face was calm, as if my father’s anger were only another thing in the room, a table, a stool.

I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, too dull to fly even when the door stands open.

For a hundred generations, I had walked the world drowsy and dull, idle and at my case. I left no prints, I did no deeds. Even those who loved me a little did not care to stay. Then I learned that I could bend the word to my will, as a bow is bent for an arrow. I would have done that toil a thousand times to keep such power in my hands. I thought: this is how Zeus felt when he first lifted the thunderbolt.

If my childhood had given me anything, it was endurance.

Yet because I knew nothing, nothing was beneath me.

Well? What do you have to say to me? You threw me to the crows, but it turns out I prefer them to you.

But gods are born of ichor and nectar, their excellences already bursting from their fingertips. So they find their fame by proving what they can mar: destroying cities, starting wars, breeding plagues and monsters. All that smoke and savour rising so delicately from our altars. It leaves only ash behind. (..) I wanted to seize her by the shoulders. Whatever you do, I wanted to say, do not be too happy. It will bring down fire on your head. I said nothing, and let her dance.

A golden cage is still a cage.

None shrank and simpered as you did, and yet great Helios stepped on you all the faster, because you were already crouched at his feet.

‘They are not like us.’ / ‘I am not like you.’

But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me.

It was not desire, not even its barest scrapings. It was a sort of rage, a knife I used upon myself. I did it to prove my skin was still my own.

Like a snake, the poets might say, but I knew snakes better by then. Give me the honest asp, who strikes me if I trouble him and not before.

When he was gone, would I be like Achilles, wailing over his lost lover Patroclus? I tried to picture myself running up and down the beaches, tearing at my hair, cradling some scrap of old tunic he had left behind. Crying out for the loss of half my soul. I could not see it. That knowledge brought its own sort of pain. But perhaps that is how it was meant to be.

Two children he had had, and he could not see either clearly. But perhaps no parent can truly see their child. When we look we see only the mirror of our own faults.

All the things he had done in life must now stand as they were.

The anger stood out plain and clean on his face. There was a sort of innocence to him, I thought. I do not mean this as the poets mean it: a virtue to be broken by the story’s end, or else upheld at greatest cost. Nor do I mean he was foolish or guileless. I mean that he was made of only himself, without the dregs that clog the rest of us. He thought and felt and acted, and all these things made a straight line. No wonder his father had been so baffled by him. He would have been always looking for the hidden meaning, the knife in the dark. But Telemachus carried his blade in the open.

Amusement flashed in his eyes. I had fed off that look once, when I was starving and thought such crumbs a feast.

He took my hand. The gesture was like a bard’s. But were we not in a sort of song? This was the refrain we had practiced so often.

I had been old and stern for so long, filled with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it.

Circe, he says, it will be alright. It is not the saying of an oracle or a prophet. They are words you might speak to a child. (..) I listen to his breath, warm upon the night air, and somehow I am comforted. He does not mean that it does not hurt. He does not mean that we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.

Overhead the constellations dip and wheel. My divinity shines like the last days of the sun before they drown in the sea. I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.

All my life, I have been moving forward, and now I am here. I have a mortal’s voice, let me have the rest. I lift the brimming bowl to my lips and drink.