#sorry it's really abrupt

[buried-in-stardust]

Making a mechanical compass—指南车 (zhi3nan2che1; south-pointing cart), a cart with a figure on top that points south no matter how the cart is turned. Its origins are not very clear, as it has been lost and reinvented many times, but the earliest reliable historical record reports it was invented by Ma Jun (马钧) during the Three Kingdoms period.

Only detailed records of two Song dynasty carts exist, and so it is unknown if the carts of other dynasties used similar mechanisms. Both carts are completely mechanical, and based on the descriptions, seem have the figure connected to the wheels via gears, where two of the gears would lift and lower such that they would not be connected when the cart is moving in a straight line, but would move into working position when the cart was being turned, thus rotating the figure proportionally.

Since only the structure of two carts are known, there is much speculation as to how the inner mechanisms may have worked in the carts when reinvented and in other eras. One popular theory is the use of differential gears, which are what are used in modern cars. OP uses this mechanism in his recreation.

This is part one of a two-part series. Second part here.

[eng by me]

[monstrsball]

The night before Iwaizumi leaves for California, his mother gives him a gift. It's wrapped delicately in yellow wrapping paper.

Iwaizumi has a feeling he knows what it is.

"I know it's last minute," She says, sitting next to him on his bed in his childhood bedroom. "Your bags are all packed, I don't expect you to make room to take it with you or anything, of course." She watches him, hands folded in her lap. "Ah, and you'll probably think it's embarrassing any-"

"Mama," Iwaizumi interrupts, fighting back a little smile at her fretting. "Let me at least open it before you try minimizing it."

"Right, right." She laughs, waving her hand. "Of course. Go on then. Open it."

Iwaizumi doesn't take his time tearing it open.

It's a book. A scrapbook, Iwaizumi guesses. It has his name handwritten in both kanji and hiragana on the front. It's a little smaller than the other scrapbooks his mom has on her shelf. The binding is a dark forest green.

The only sound in the room is the flipping of pages. Iwaizumi takes his time to study each page, his chest feeling a little tighter the more he flips through the book.

Iwaizumi knows his mothers have always taken lots of pictures, ranging from polaroids to digital. His aunties too but he still finds himself surprised by the amount Sachiko has collected in the book. Including pictures she must have received from other people because neither of his moms were present at said event.

The pages are simple. Each one has about two to five (depending on the sizes of them) pictures on it. They're decorated with stickers and little notes written in his mom's graceful handwriting neatly squeezed where they can fit and still be legible.

Notes like "you gave your poor mother a fright the first time you came into the house with one of these" under a photo of Iwaizumi proudly showing off a jar with a beetle in it and "i'm surprised you convinced tooru to go, lol" by a photo from a fishing trip Iwaizumi took with the other third years.

"This is one of my favorite pictures," His mom says, watching as Iwaizumi flips pages over his shoulder. She points to a picture of the two of them when they first moved into the house. He was only three. They're sitting on the front steps together, neither of them are looking at the camera. He has his arms wrapped around hers and is looking up at her as she laughs.

And he breaks.

"Oh, Hajime." She says softly, pulling him into a tight hug. He tucks his face into the crook of her neck and she strokes his hair as he cries. He feels like he's five again, crying because he accidentally squashed a bug when he was trying to catch it. Ten, crying because he was sick with the flu and thought he was on the brink of death. Thirteen, crying because he and Oikawa had a fight and he thought he would never talk to him again.

Eighteen, crying because he's leaving the country tomorrow and it suddenly hit him that he doesn't know what he's going to do without his mom.

He doesn't say that though.

He doesn't tell her that he's scared, scared that he's going to crash and burn in California, scared that his friendship with Oikawa won't survive the distance, scared that everything is going to go wrong because he left.

Or that he's really going to miss her.

(Maybe he should have told her that.)

-

That night before Iwaizumi spends his last night in his childhood room, he wraps the scrapbook up in the hoodie that Oikawa gave him and tucks them both into one of his bags.

He thinks about where he's going to put it in his dorm room when he gets to California.

[mythcaels-a]

i'm gonna be so honest, i feel so overwhelmed with this blog and i have for a while with how cluttered it is so i'm gonna move blogs again :')

anyways, pls like to be followed from the new blog. i will carry over some asks & drafts there & will actually be working on ic stuff tonight because i do have high muse.

[psychangels]

I imagine when Chai gets sick, he gets SICK. Chai can’t get out of bed because he’s hot and cold, body sweating, shaking, sore, and just feeling awful. The gang now has to take care of him: Korsica is researching on how to ease his sickness (maybe working on some emails to cancel some meetings Chai had as the ambassador), Peppermint berating him on taking care of himself while shoving a spoonful of warm soup in his mouth, Macaron desperately trying not to panic at his friend’s state (he probably made the soup), CNMN is…helping in his…usual way.

the universe (fanbase) just loves making this guy suffer

Chai wakes up groggy, sweaty, cold, and with his whole body aching. His nose is stuffed up and his throat is scratchy. The beat is crazy fast. He feels like he just ran a ten mile marathon, but he's still running even though it's over.

Coughing, his body jolts. He hates the fact that each one is in-time.

His first thought is goddammit. His second is I need a nap. Which is followed up by wait, I just woke up.

A beat passes.

Rolling over, he pulls the blanket up over his head and tries to go back to sleep.

Something fuzzy rubbing against his face wakes Chai up. He groans. Someone says something. He can't make out the words. But the voice is familiar. Probably Peppermint. The fuzzy thing disappears after a second.

"Chai? You awake...?" Peppermint asks.

He grumbles in response, too tired to form a coherent sentence.

"...I'll take that as a maybe."

A few beats pass.

Then, she says, "You're gonna have to, y'know, get up soon. Don't you have a meeting today?"

Does he? Chai really can't remember. His brain feels like it's full of bees. Or it's made of soup. Bee soup...

"Hello? Chai?" "Whuh?" "...Are you okay?" "Meh...m'fine...don' worry 'bout it," he mumbles.

About half a beat passes before Peppermint says, "So what you're saying is you're definitely not okay."

He frowns. "No...? S'not what I said...at all."

She sighs.

The fuzzy thing is suddenly back. This time it's rubbing against his arm—and meowing.

Oh. It's just 808.

He slowly opens his eyes and is greeted by the sight of Peppermint looking down at him, her arms crossed. Shifting, he looks down towards 808. Her glowing eyes and LEDs, paired with the light creeping in through the open door, make him squint and grimace. He shuts them again.

808 mewls, nuzzling into the crook of his elbow. With a fond huff, Chai wraps his arm around her and pulls her up toward him, nestling her against his chest. She starts purring a beat later.

Something touches his forehead. It quickly pulls away.

Peppermint mutters something. Then, she says, "You're definitely sick. You really need to take better care of yourself."

Chai has no idea what that's supposed to mean. He takes great care of himself. Eats, drinks, sleeps, showers, vibes...all the things you're supposed to do. Besides, she's one to talk! Need to take better care of myself...psh...

Him being sick doesn't have anything to do with how well he takes care of himself. He probably caught something during one of his concerts. Being around a huge crowd of people does that to you. Plus, there's been, like, a bunch of new human employees that he could've gotten sick from. Hmph. Need to take better care of myself...yeah, right.

"What're you muttering about?"

...Was he saying all that out loud?

...

Doesn't matter. He takes good care of himself, which is what does.

"...Hello? Earth to Chai?" "Nothin'. Don' worry 'bout it." "Bit late for that," she dryly replies.

With a sigh, she says something about 'calling for back-up' and breakfast. Chai hums in response.

He assumes the back-up is just a work-related thing.

As for breakfast...the thought of eating right now isn't super appealing. He'll get himself something later. Right now, he mostly just wants to go back to sleep.

So, rolling over, he cuddles 808 and tries to do just that.

The feeling of something cold and damp being placed on top of his forehead jolts Chai out of his slumber. He grunts, eyes fluttering open.

They widen when he's met with the sight of Macaron. There's a familiar anxious expression on his face. But he perks up a little when he notices Chai looking at him.

"Hey, little guy. How're you feeling?"

Everything aches. His mouth feels like it's full of sand, and his throat is itchier than a flea-covered dog. The entirety of his body feels disgusting. Sweaty and greasy and just overall horrible. He's cold and too hot. His stomach and head are starting to hurt. It's hard to breathe. The beat is so fast. Whatever song is playing is both too loud and too quiet. He's too tired to even guess the genre.

But he does feel slightly better than he did...however many hours ago. Just barely.

"Like dogshit," is what part of him wants to say. The truthful, exhausted, hurting part.

Instead, he croaks out, "Eh. Could be worse."

Macaron smiles weakly. Then, he turns away as he lets out a soft, "Oh!" When he turns back around, he's holding a mug and a glass of water. Steam is rising from the mug.

"Me and CNMN made you some soup," he explains as he gingerly sets them down on Chai's night stand. "It's just chicken noodle. Hope that's alright."

A memory of being sick in bed, eating Gram's homemade chicken noodle soup suddenly hits Chai, and he's left reeling for a few beats.

Shaking himself and sniffling, he slowly sits up. The wash cloth that was on his forehead falls off, onto his lap. It makes him realize that 808 is gone. Must've gotten sick of cuddling with his sorry ass. He frowns. Then, he huffs a laugh. Hah. Sick.

"Chicken noodle's great. Thanks, Mac," he replies, offering the best grin he can muster at the moment. It's ruined by a brief coughing fit.

"Of course! It's no problem."

Picking up the mug, Chai notices some bottles of medicine are also on the nightstand. There's a sticky note attached to one that reads, "Take two of each—WITH WATER!" It's signed by Pep. He smiles.

Turning his attention back to the cup, drinks some of the soup in it. Warmth quickly spreads through him. It doesn't quite taste like home—but it's close enough. Before he knows it, it's all gone.

His stomach stops hurting almost immediately. Now he wishes he had gotten up to eat earlier. Oh well.

Macaron's staring at him with wide eyes. "Good?"

"Amazing!" he replies. After a beat, he adds on, "I feel better already! Tell your co-chef I said thanks!"

He beams. "I'm glad. And you can tell them yourself—if you're feeling up to it. They're just out in the living area."

...It's probably about time he got up. Not only to see his friends, but also because he really needs to piss. Then, he can just take another nap on the couch and sleep the rest of this stupid...whatever he has away. Easy peasy.

"Gimme like...5 minutes." "Alright! See you in a few."

Showered, changed, bladder emptied, and medicine taken, Chai limps over to the couch where Peppermint, 808, Macaron, CNMN, and Korsica are all gathered.

When he'd first left his room and hurried into the bathroom, he hadn't even noticed Korsica. He's surprised to see her here. It's not the weekend, so she should definitely be at work. Actually...Macaron and CNMN should be, too. And probably Peppermint, but she works from home sometimes so her being here isn't that weird.

Wincing from his sore body, Chai plops down next to Peppermint. 808 immediately hops from her lap to his. He pats her on the head.

Then, he looks at Korsica and asks, "Shouldn't you be at work?" "...Hello to you, too, Chai," she says with a frown. "What? It's Tuesday! So it's a valid question!"

"It's actually Wednesday, Mr. Chai," CNMN pipes up. "And hello!" Oh. "Hey, CNMN. Thanks for the soup." "It's no problem, Mr. Chai! I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"As CNMN said, it's Wednesday," Korsica states after a beat, bringing his attention back to her, "but that's besides the point. I'm here because of you."

"...Why?" She blinks. "Because...you're my friend. And you're sick." "...So...?"

"...So I came to check up on you. Oh, and...I handled your meeting today for you. Same with some others you had this week. Just in case."

His eyes widen. "Oh. Thanks. You didn't have to do that." "I know. It's no trouble, really."

He looks toward the others after a beat.

"So, wait—you...all took the day off for me...?" "Sure did, little guy." "Yeah," Peppermint replies.

Chai's not really sure how to feel about that. There's a fuzzy feeling in his chest.

"...Thanks." "Of course!" "Sure."

Another beat passes.

His brow furrows. "Wait. How'd you guys even find out I'm sick?" "I told them," Peppermint states. "...So that's what the 'calling for back-up' thing was about!"

"Huh. I'm surprised you remember that—and that you even heard. I thought you had already passed out."

"Nah. I passed out right after." Peppermint huffs and smiles. "Of course."

[thisantithesis]

wolfstar drabble, 1509 words, fake dating (??)

Remus Lupin is nothing if not a man of his word.

So, when he tells Sirius that he could easily make people believe that he’s dating someone without actually being together, he knows he’s going to make damn sure that he and whoever he decides to enact this bet with makes their time together as believable as possible.

They’re sitting at a table in the Great Hall discussing this topic when James plops himself down with a certain lack of finesse only he could pull off. “Moony, Pads, what’re we up to today?”

He immediately starts piling his plate with whatever food is in front of him, likely hungry from quidditch practice this morning, and Remus turns to Sirius with a raised brow.

Sirius pulls a smile with a scheming edge to it, and suddenly Remus wishes he had kept his mouth shut and not let Sirius goad him into this stupid bet. “Well, Moony over here thinks he’s able to get a girl to agree to be his fake girlfriend and convince everyone in the school that they’re actually dating.”

“Hey, I didn’t say the whole school, just our year. Stop lying, you git,” Remus cuts in, if only to prevent James from getting sucked into one of his and Sirius’ plotting rabbit holes.

“Oh, same difference,” Sirius drawls and rolls his eyes in that elegant manner of his.

James’ interest is clearly piqued at their bet, the food on his plate all but abandoned in favor of getting more information out of his two friends. “Oh? Honestly Moony, I would expect something like this from Sirius, not from you. This is bound to be interesting.”

It’s Remus’ turn now to roll his eyes despite slowly starting to realize that maybe giving Sirius his word about being able to do this might have been a mistake.

“Well I think it’s bloody brilliant,” Sirius says with a wide grin plastered on his face and his eyes gleaming from the chance at causing chaos. “I mean, girls have been lining up all year to get a chance at going on a date with our dear Moony here. This just gives a chance to one of the lucky ladies to experience what it’s like to date him.”

James scratches his head, tilting it in confusion. “If they’re expecting a real date out of him, wouldn’t it be a dick move to do this without telling them about the bet? It seems kind of mean.”

“Oh, you’re right…” Sirius taps a finger to his lips in concentration, and Remus has to make himself look away from his friend when he feels that tell tale blush creeping up his neck.

He doesn’t understand why he’s been so drawn to Sirius recently. Well, okay, he does know, he just doesn’t want to admit it. Having a serious crush on your best friend when he doesn’t even know you like blokes is not a very smart thing to do.

But then again, when has Remus ever done anything smart?

Sirius suddenly claps his hands in triumph, clearly having found a solution to their dilemma. “I’ve got it! Just date one of us.”

James and Remus both promptly choke on their food, the proposal clearly unexpected.

“I beg your pardon?” Remus chokes out.

James looks at Sirius with his eyes unnaturally wide. “You mean one of us four? Like you, me or Peter?”

“What? No. I meant one of us, like one of the girls in our friend group. None of them like Remus as far as we know, and we’re all already friends, so it’s the easiest solution,” Sirius says matter-of-factly.

“What’s the best solution?” Peter says out of nowhere, dropping down beside Remus at the table.

“Hey Wormy, we’re just trying to figure out who the best option is for Remus to fake date.”

Peter stops his process of piling the small sandwiches on his plate, looking at their friends like they’ve all lost their minds. “Is this for a bet or something? Remus, why on earth would you want to do that? You’ve rejected almost every girl that’s asked you out.”

Remus winces a little at that, fully aware of his romantic track record. The girls were all nice, don’t get him wrong, he’s just not interested at the moment. Or emotionally available to date someone who isn’t Sirius. So.

He knows there’s more of a chance for him to find a cure to being a werewolf than Sirius ever considering Remus as someone to date, so he’s left to pine and yearn from afar. Which is fine, truly, but sometimes it just hurts.

He’s sure he could find someone else if he really wanted to, but part of him doesn’t want to lose the dynamic he and Sirius currently have. Even if said dynamic is the cause of multiple 3 a.m. breakdowns behind the safety of his bed curtains when he’s sure no one else is awake.

So, yes. He’s completely fine with everything, and he’ll continue to be fine with everything, so long as it all stays as it is right now.

Sirius speaks up when Remus doesn’t, completely oblivious to his little bout of heavy introspection. “Moony made a bet with me and we all know that he never goes back on his word. So, yes Wormtail, he’s going to find a girl to fake date and try to convince everyone they’re dating.”

“You know what would make this even more interesting?” Peter says as he goes back to filling up his plate, “If you found a bloke to fake date. Now that would be one hell of a thing to convince people about. Might also give all those girls you rejected some closure on why you didn’t want to go out with them.”

All three boys are silent at that, staring at Peter with slack expressions. The boy in question stops when they don’t say anything, looking at them with a raised brow. “What? If this really is a bet between the two of you, why not make it more interesting?”

Sirius and James turn to look at Remus, who once again feels his neck flush with fervor. “I—” he tries to speak, but no words come out of his mouth.

A huge smile grows on Sirius’ face, and Remus knows he’s doomed. “Oh Wormy, you brilliant idiot of a man! That’s it,” he exclaims, “This makes it so much more interesting.”

“Shouldn’t we let Remus decide on if he’s comfortable doing that or not?” James cuts in before Sirius has a chance to start on his rambles, and suddenly all three pairs of eyes are on him.

Remus looks to his friends, his stare lingering on Sirius a little longer before looking away. He rubs his hand on the nape of his neck, suddenly feeling way out of his depth, but pushes on with what he wants to say anyways. “Given that I’m already into blokes, I don’t think I’ll have much trouble with it.”

What.

His mouth snaps shut as soon as he realizes what he just said, wide eyes trying to gauge his friends’ reactions. They’re all looking at him in different levels of shock, but Sirius has a different look to his eyes, almost assessing him in a way.

“Well,” Remus clears his throat, “that was unexpected.”

“You think?” James exclaims, clearly snapped out of his shock.

“Surprise?”

Sirius starts laughing at that, so hard that he bends in half and slumps himself over the table. James and Peter start laughing too, albeit more subdued, and eventually Remus joins too.

Sirius is the first to calm down, James and Peter’s giggles dwindling down as well. “Oh Moony,” he says while wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Yes?” Remus says a bit more wearily now, still unsure about his friends’ reactions to his sudden revelation.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re surprised but not grossed out or anything. Right guys?” James asks and looks to Peter and Sirius, both of who nod sincerely.

“Definitely not. You’re still our Moony! It’s just an added part of who you are.” Peter pipes up and suddenly Remus feels a bit emotionally overwhelmed.

He looks back down to his plate, a little smile forming on his lips. “Thanks, means a lot.”

A hand closes over his forearm from across the table, and Remus looks up to find Sirius staring at him intently. “My proposal still stands, you know?”

Remus blushes violently at that, not fully believing what Sirius is trying to say. “Wh—What do you mean?”

“That you can do it with one of our friend group? I mean, the girls are out but we still have the boys to choose from,” Sirius explains, and Remus can feel his heartbeat slowing down drastically.

“Oh,” he breathes out, slightly disappointed that his friend didn’t mean what Remus was thinking.

“Or one of us three,” James pipes up, and damn it all, there goes Remus’ heart again. “It might be harder to convince people since we’ve been friends for so long, but I’m sure it’s doable.”

[royalarchivist]

I pulled up the award show VOD because I wanted to watch at least a little bit of it before I went to sleep, and I was curious to see just how bad the audio was since I saw Retro make a tweet about it being scuffed, and Oh Boy. She Was Not Kidding.

[silvermun]

was told to yap so i'll do it a little bit so ok like one of my favourite things about satbk sonic specifically is the fact that he's given this leadership role at the end which is like so interesting to me because yeah sonic has leader-like qualities in him and he knows others depend on him and he can step up to that kind of thing but the conventional acting role of a governing king is not suited for him (i.e sitting inside the castle with deskwork, diplomatic meetings, they go out in battle too but only for very specific occasions, etc) and is kinda opposite of what he does; adventuring, very free spirited, doing what he wants ("have no master except the wind that blows free" and all that jazz)

sonic isn't really one to be 'giving people orders'/an enforcer but rather help people figure it out and they step up themselves, alot of his actions do create positive effects and changes amongst the people he's around and you realize he's more of a leader/king based on principle than governance (i.e satbk's whole moral story) and it's part of why him being put in this silly universe is so intriguing to me, especially with in terms of thinking about his relationships with the different characters around him since they're in a monarchal society and how the contrast of his type of ideology challenges the kind of "norms" of what they have

[lomlhotchner]

❛ faking it! ❜ … aaron hotchner

↠ the heart wants what it wants masterlist

previous || next

༘♡ ⋆｡˚ SUMMARY : the mission is on, act like a rich loving couple, dig some information, catch the unsub. seem easy enough right?

༘♡ ⋆｡˚ WARNINGS : high tensions 😫 mutual pining, cursing, they’re shy okay, the plot doesn’t really make sense (i tried), english isn’t my first language!

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ HANA’S NOTES : here we goooo!!!!! thank you so much for yalls patience 😭😭 this is part two to for zipper but you don’t need to read the it to understand this! i am so sorry from the bottom of my heart if this doesnt make sense lmao i dont know what i was going for. hope yall enjoy 💗

“Remember the plan?”

You took a deep breath and nodded your head, “Yeah, go in there, bond with the rich, find the unsub, piss him off so that he’ll take the bait, and then lure him outside so that he can get his ass kicked.” you stated confidently.

Hotch raised his eyebrows at you, amused “When does the ass kicking happen?”

You shrugged your shoulders, a smirk playing on your lips, “Whenever I get the chance.”

He scoffed out a laugh, making you grin at the sound. You arrived at the elevator, sending the elevator operator a warm smile in greeting before stepping inside. He was an old man with grey hair, he had wrinkles and the most comforting smile on his face.

“Where are you two lovebirds headed?” he cheekily asked while looking at the both of you with a knowing look.

If only he knew.

Hotch smiled at Stan—the nametag says, “Dinner.”

Stan nodded his head and press the respected level before sending you a warm smile, "May I say you look stunning in that dress.”

You shyly laughed and lowered your head, but before you could thank him, Hotch’s deep voice cut you off, “Doesn’t she?” he spoke with the softest tone you have ever heard and when you look up at him, he was already looking down at you with the certain look in his eyes that anyone can decipher as fondness.

No, he’s just being in character. Don’t be delusional.

Hotch has been acting different with you since the undercover task began. Although the whole point of it was to make everything up and act, you can’t help but think that he was just showing a part of himself where no one has the privilege to know. In easier words, you think he wasn’t really acting.

So does that mean the almost kiss…. ?

Do you really want to go there?

You weren't sure.

You guys continue to stare at each other not noticing the operator’s grin. He has seen a handful of couples in this part of the job and he knows when he sees fools in love.

The elevator dinged, indicating you arrived at the respected floor. You guys broke from the little staring contest, your cheeks heating up. Sending Stan a smile before walking out of the elevator.

The venue was enchanting, to say the least. Bright elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Beautiful flower arrangements placed on the table. People in gorgeous dresses and suits and suddenly you felt underdressed compared to them. Because this isn’t actually your real lifestyle, but for them, this is just a normal Tuesday.

Hotch interrupted your thoughts by bend down so he was level with your ear, “I didn’t get the chance to say this earlier, but you look absolutely gorgeous.” he whispered before standing up to his full height.

You couldn’t even count how many times you were flustered tonight. Your body was all tingly with excitement as you looked up at him, “Thank you, honey. You don’t look too bad yourself.” you teased.

A smirk formed on his lips. You could see his Adams apple bob at how hard he swallowed and maybe it’s the lights, but you can vividly make out his rosy cheeks after your comment.

He subtly tries to hide his face in the crook of your neck, giving it a soft kiss for the extra effect. “Did you turn on your coms?” he mumbled.

Your eyes widen a little. right, you’re undercover. You move to your ear and click the device resulting in it turning on with a beep.

The audio cracks for a moment before JJ’s voice appeared, “Y/N? Hotch? Can you guys hear us?”

“Yeah, we can hear you JJ.”

“Okay, good. Any signs of the unsub?” she asked.

“No, not yet.” you answered, giving the place a once over for any suspicious acts.

“Nope.” Emily sounded through the coms. Followed by the other’s negative response of the unsub’s whereabouts.

“Alright, everyone be cautious. We know the unsub is unstable, keep an eye out for any weird behaviors.” Hotch ordered as he led you to the ballroom.

He took two champagne glasses and handed you one of them. You sent him a small as gratitude. Your hand was shaking slightly when you bought the glass to your lips.

Hotch took notice of that and rub his hand at the small of your back, “Relax.” he smiled.

You shyly nodded your head as you both moved to one of the tables. Taking a seat that Hotch has gracefully pulled out for you.

"You okay?" Hotch asked, sitting beside you.

"Yeah, kinda excited."

"Excited to catch a murderer?" he raised his eyebrows.

"That, but also this." you gestured to the ballroom you guys are in, "Everything is just so fancy, and pretty! I can't even remember the last time I actually got ready and wear a dress." you chuckled, not realizing that your hand has gravitated to the tip of Hotch's fingers, softly playing with it.

Hotch felt like he was going to melt at how adorable you are, plus the feeling of your hands on his skin? He's a goner. He has always known that you were a touchy person, having to see you hug or link your arms with the rest of the squad except him was not entirely unnoticeable. So when he gets the chance to have this pleasure, he isn’t sure what to do.

As you continued to talk about … —okay, he isn’t entirely paying attention— he has a small smile played on his lips. He just can't tear his eyes away from you. His eye move to your cheeks, your eyes, the flutter of your eyelashes. Have you always been this pretty?

"Hotch? Did you hear what I said?" you tap the inside of his palm, trying to get his attention back to whatever daydream he went.

Hotch could feel his cheeks at getting caught red handed, "Yeah, yeah, sorry just got distracted."

You almost laughed at the absurdity, "By what? Me? You play this part too good Hotch, cause I can almost believe you're in love with me." you eyes widen slightly at your word vomit, you instantly regretted what you said but Hotch surprised you by laughing along.

"Oh honey, you have no idea." he softly chuckled.

God, I hate how he can act so good.

Your eyes move to surveillance the room as a distraction and noticed something, "Okay, don't look right now but the table on our left have been staring at us for the past 5 minutes."

Hotch subtly nodded his head and glanced at the table. It was a group of men in suits staring at you guys.

You. Specifically.

Oh.

He clenched his jaw and protectively wrapped his arms around your waist. Your stomach fluttered at the sudden contact. "We should split up and dig more information. I'm going to those gentlemen, and you can scout out the ladies over there."

You cleared your throat, brushing off your bashfulness, "Yeah, that's- that's a good idea." you stood up and brush the wrinkles of your dress. "See you later, handsome." you boldly left a kiss on his cheek, softly patting his shoulder.

Hotch felt like he was in a daze as he stared at you walking away. His tongue poke his cheek, trying to fight back a smile from forming when you sneak a peek around your shoulder, send him a cheeky smile and a wink.

He composed himself before he trudged to the table, “Evening, gentleman.” he greeted, noticing how they all pretend that they weren’t staring at his date. Fake date. “How are you guys enjoying the event?”

Enjoy drooling at my date? he wanted to add.

On the other side of the room, you have to control yourself from getting overly sheepish at the compliments the girls are giving you guys.

Both of you guys.

You and Hotch. Together.

“How long have you guys been with each other?”

“You guys look so good together."

"The ring is beautiful."

"He's so fine, girl. You are so lucky,"

"Are you joking? He's lucky one. Look at her, she's gorgeous."

The compliments are making you blush, "Thank you, ladies." you smiled, glancing at Hotch absentmindedly.

They were right, he is fine.

You shook your head, remembering the real reason you are here. "So. do you guys know the host personally?"

The girl on your right, —Barbara you think, "Oh no, I just work for them. But this one," she nudged the girl beside her, "works as a personal assistant for the host's mom."

Your eyebrows rose at the new information, "Oh? The pay's probably good huh?"

She chuckled, "I don't want to say much but it is definitely better than working as an accountant. If you exclude the constant bickering between her and her son in law."

That peeked your interest, but before you can dig up more information, Barbara spoke, "Oh my god. Your husband is literally head over heels for you. He won't stop ogling you!"

All of you subconsciously turned your head at the direction she was looking at.

Your eyes meet Hotch's and low and behold, he was already looking at you. And at the sudden addition of eyes his own widened as he shy away from the attention.

The sight made you grin.

The girls giggled and moved their conversation to a different topic. But you can’t help yourself from taking a peak at Hotch again. You both made eye contact, sharing a flustered smile.

Okay. What the fuck’s that about.

Countless of thoughts running through your head. The interaction have caught Emily’s attention as you make eye contact with her. What was that? Her face wearing a shocked, questionable look, as she teasingly smirked.

You subtly shrugged your shoulders. I have no fucking clue.

If this is going on for the whole night, you dont know how much your heart can take.

reblog / tell me what you think for a smooch <3 check out my other works!

[halohalona]

BTW I finally watched the re-animated series last night with my friend. And I love how they address a lot of stuff about boundaries but come on. That one episode with Dae, are they just allergic to addressing Addison's flaws? Her being pushy I agree is a flaw of hers but she still brought up the whole "I'm an outsider because I have white hair" thing. I was, not gonna lie, fully expecting Dae to be like: Well it's different with me. I do love the fact that bucky was right in the episode. I just feel like addison needs more growth to her character.

[brightwoods]

Does anyone else feel like almost all of the conflicts that had to do with the various character dynamics in Chain of Thorns didn’t actually get resolved, they just unexplainably ceased to exist after two books of building them up because CC didn’t feel like writing them anymore and she didn’t know how to resolve it naturally after how she’d built the issues up so much?

Like how none of the characters but Cordelia and Thomas had any clue about the Alastair and Charles situation and then suddenly in CoT it was like who doesn’t know? Of course Matthew knew and didn’t say anything before and then randomly brought it up to Cordelia in Paris while assuming she knew too

Or how Alastair and Thomas went from how things were at the end of CoI with Alastair thinking it could never work because Thomas’s friends hate him to oh look everyone suddenly is friends with Alastair with no grudge with no development of that in this book at all, just an abrupt shift

Especially the Alastair and Matthew dynamic where Matthew hated Alastair and wanted him to have nothing to do with any of their friends and he spent CoI ranting about him to Cordelia. And then suddenly in CoT it’s like of course Matthew is supportive of Thomas and Alastair and oh look Matthew and Alastair are suddenly not just tolerating each other for Thomas’s sake but friends despite barely interacting and no development actually showing and never getting any mention of the other in their own POVs, just having Cordelia be like Alastair stop being dumb, you’re literally friends with him now

Or like everyone other than Christopher and Grace where it was like oh we don’t like her for how she’s treated us and her friends straight to anyway she’s one of us. Like yes Grace was useful and yes Tatiana manipulated her whole life, but none of that was why anyone changed their minds or opinions? It was just suddenly the flip of a switch when it was convenient for CC

Or Anna and Ariadne where it didn’t so much develop as Anna just acted mean to Ariadne on and off throughout the series and at the end of CoI she wanted nothing to do with a relationship and then in CoT she was just suddenly like sure I guess I do. Also, slightly different note, but I did not like that Anna barely interacted with anyone else for the entire book and she was just off in the corner being an irrelevant romantic subplot for almost all of the book except when she showed up to barely even be shown in the background being sad about her brother being dead

(Although Anna still got more of a reaction than everyone else and his death was poorly executed all around in the sense of how did you write this so predictably and poorly that no one even knows when he died and it’s so background and 99% of the characters don’t care at all and we don’t see his parents finding out or much of Thomas’s reaction or anything and it’s just as if he wasn’t a character anymore 2 seconds later which is a different genre of issue with CoT but similar problem in the sense that both issues made the book feel a lot more emotionless to read)

And how the issues of Thomas and Alastair being together as two men and Anna and Ariadne being together as two women in this time and the issues of what would happen if the fact that Charles and Alastair were gay got out to the entire Clave just disappeared and never got addressed at all. We know how the ClVe reacted to Alec Lightwood YEARS later. We know society was homophobic at the time TLH is set and that it seems like shadowhunter society was a lot less open-minded than mundanes a century later

I understand that Charles being blackmailed and making shitty decisions was annoying but it was like suddenly everyone finding out wouldn’t have consequences and all the other queer men characters were like how could you possibly be worried about this :/ as if they haven’t spent the whole series knowing they have to be careful about who they tell. And then suddenly it was just of course it’s totally fine and safe to have everyone find out and why wouldn’t you be fine with that. And it was really written in a way that had other queer characters like oh Charles is such a coward for not being ready to publicly tell a bunch of homophobic people his sexuality and it just wasn’t it??? And super weird after Thomas was terrified of telling even Anna and Matthew for years. And also, I did not care for the fact that when Charles did go risk getting outed to finally do the right thing, we didn’t even get to see it through any character’s perspective or how that important meeting went, we just got one line of dialogue from somebody else saying that it happened with no details at all. And I can’t think of other examples right now but there were quite a few moments like that where we got one line saying that something had happened that was important to the plot and to characters’ development that seemed like it would have been more interesting than some of what we did get to see where it was just totally breezed over and way too easy and totally background to less important stuff

And then there was the whole no one reacting to Ariadne and Anna dancing together publicly thing was like yeah that’s nice I guess but not realistic and it doesn’t go with the way things have been presented up to that point, it also just feels like a situation where CC was like well this would be easier for me so there just won’t be consequences and then they can easily end up happily together

And then there was the whole Thomas and Alastair thinking they couldn’t realistically be together thing and knowing they couldn’t get married or be known to be together by anyone they’re not close to and then at the end it’s still not really addressed how they’re going to be together? Like there was the laziest write off of the family tree being wrong and then we still are just left to assume that eventually they move in together and suddenly it’s not a problem and everyone’s fine with it? And then I also feel like we don’t actually know if everyone found out about Alastair and Charles’ sexualities after the blackmail or if people are going to assume about Thomas and Alastair or if that’ll cause issues or if no one knows outside of who they’ve told and they have to be careful or what. Which like wouldn’t necessarily need to be addressed if it wasn’t for the logistics of being together as two men in that time being part of the obstacle that they were struggling with being in their way and then it felt like it was totally forgotten to even be one at the end by CC

Idk like I’d love to think they just lived in a world where homophobia didn’t exist but it felt like homophobia was a plot point when CC wanted it to be an inconvenience and then suddenly disappeared just to make her writing easier the moment she didn’t want it there anymore instead of actually addressing the plots she raised with it if that makes sense?

And sorry, I really did not mean to go on a rant this long. And maybe everyone else had a very different reading experience than I did and other people don’t agree with some or all of this. I personally am just very confused about how the book was almost 800 pages long and it felt like so much of the development in it was us abruptly being told that development had happened rather than actually getting to see it and how so many of the issues were abruptly solved in an I don’t want to write this issue anymore kind of way rather than anything actually needing to be worked at outside of the Belial situation

Edit: You know what, I mentioned it in my tags but I feel like it’s annoying enough to put in the body of the post and make it even longer. What the fuck was with everyone outing or potentially outing everyone else just so that characters could openly talk about the queer characters and tell them to do what they want them to? Why did Matthew out his brother multiple times? Like yes, the people he said it to coincidentally already knew, but he didn’t know that. And why was Thomas outing Alastair? The straights got to keep their secrets as long as they wanted and fix their problems more naturally. Why did I have to sit through queer characters constantly having their sexualities and romantic histories to everyone else when they clearly had not okayed it? Why were the queer characters doing so much of the outing? Why were people who cared about them and knew what it felt like to be afraid of the wrong person finding out just broadcasting their sexualities to make it easier for CC to breeze past development to have their things get resolved fast? Why did no character have an issue with it at all?

[sophieswundergarten]

So. Everyone who yelled at me yesterday for making a ramble on Reynie going blank and then not resolving it, this is for you: (@lemondropletters, you have been tagged)

Also, it's in a Google Doc because it was definitely too long for a Tumblr post, and ~~I don't know how AO3 works~~

The (vague) premise is that, instead of Constance seeing Curtain's broadcast, they all get to the compound mentally sound, but once there, they split up to look for Mr. Benedict, and instead Reynie finds Curtain. This is the wrap up of what would have happened in the last episode.

[mudstoneabyss]

also <3 here's a comparison of Kevin's voice during Strex (in Triptych) next to his voice post Strex (in The Mudstone Abyss) because it makes me insane

[goat-shoe]

Dugout solo civvie angst, 620 words.

i wanted to explore a world where duggy and mari dont have each other as civilians >_< this is pretty self-indulgent exploration of his loneliness.... still trying to get back into the groove of writing.

The door shuts heavily behind him. He drops his backpack on the lone wooden chair that waits for him.

Then he enters, his empty home alone. The silence weighs heavy against the walls of his home. His own footsteps echo in the cavernous emptiness of his little apartment, as he makes his way to the kitchen.

Nobody waits for him there. He opens his fridge, which is empty in spirit, but only half-full in reality. He pulls out a carton of milk, half-empty.

His fingers nimbly unfold the opening of the milk. Then his fingers wrap the carton’s body, arm flexing to lift it to his lips. Leisurely, he takes a long drag of milk.

From the floor above, he can hear quiet chatter, and a bursting of giggles bubbles out. It’s bittersweet... not the milk, the sounds. The neighbors upstairs, he thinks, are a mother and daughter.

He puts down the jug of milk.

They’re nice, he thinks. He’s spoken briefly with the mother... Just about how he likes the city, the trash pickup schedule... Their laughter and chatter leaks through the ceiling, though, what little he can make out of their words is in Spanish, and he doesn’t speak Spanish.

Dugout sighs, putting the jug of milk back into the fridge. He shuts the giant machine, and it hums to him, his only company.

Dugout then goes to the living room. He flops to the couch, sighs, and then falls over onto his left side. There he lays. For a long time, quiet. Nothing else for him to do, nothing else that would be worth the time, that would make a difference. The world passes him by the same.

About two hours later, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. He forgets about the thing half the time. Dugout grunts as he reaches to pull it out of his pocket, the movement awakening achey muscles from their uncomfortable positioins.

He pulls up his phone, bringing it to his eyes. Doug blinks blearily, squinting. He realizes only now that he never turned on the lights- that the setting sun has made its journey to bed... much like he should. So the light of his phone hurts his eyes.

But when the phone screen comes into focus, he’s only met with heartache.

“Anonymous asked you: You seriously dont care? Why dont you ki...”

Dougout drops his phone.

He’s been receiving these “anons” since he made the mistake of answering that first ask. Saying terrible things to him, about him.

..Is this what people think of him? Is this his public perception? Tolerated for his heroism, hated for his flaws?

Dugout covers his eyes with his hands. He hasn’t even changed his clothes, still covered in the dirt of the baseball field, of sweat and running laps. He supposes he should...

Getting up is hard, though. His muscles hurt to begin with, and his tummy hurts from drinking only milk today.

But he’s distracted from the misery by a howl of laughter from above. It scares him at first, nearly springing him out of his seat- his mind racing, he’s already thankful that he’s still in his outfit....

But then it’s just laughter. Of Mrs. Q and her daughter. He can just barely make out the fumble of sound effects and chatter from a TV, but not really as the women laugh together.

.... His heart begins to settle. And he sighs quietly. He’s proud, to protect citizens like this. And though that's what matters, the real man behind the hero sits alone in his cold apartment, and hurts.

If he died, would anybody know? Ironically, yes, everyone would.

.. But all the same, nobody would notice, or care, or remember his name.

[livestosave]

I see you posted about reviewing volume 7 and was wondering where it can be streamed now that Roosterteeth was dumped by WB. I would love to buy the series on DVD but that's not an option. I searched and it gave me some streaming services but it was not there.

Howdy!

I own most of the volumes I care about on DVD, but mine are currently packed away in preparation for a move. Amazon Prime Video has digital copies of most of the volumes I believe, and Volume 7 is among them.

Other than that, now that RT is shut down, I don't know where one would stream them for free, unfortunately. I used to watch them directly on RTs website for iconning and the like. Now I gotta use my DVD/BluRay copies.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Played "Slay the Princess" a bit with my little cousins today (after clearing it with their Mama ofc) and was confident I could steer them away from anything too graphic (older one of the pair loves horror movie and isn't phased by much, but I still like to be cautions) but then they somehow managed to trigger the very graphic ending and I was like FRICK

[bunnyb34r]

Idk why but sudden sounds (not even loud sounds just like someone coughing or something having been dropped by accident) are like the most aggravating thing to me lately

Like the phone rings at least 2x a day bc of that weird telemarketer, maybe 4x on a busy day. And that sound fills me with rage bc it's interrupting my sound space??

Or like someone abruptly coughing (happens a lot here, not covid just other issues) makes me so mad?

It's so fucking stupid like is this misophonia? Is it the autism?? The adhd?? Can I fucking fix this??