#i went in a whole rambling story about this the other day in some tags for more info

[dangoulains-devotion]

every time I have to wade through inane ship wars where people are willfully ignorant to the depth and facets of cloud strife's character, circumstance, and story just so I can find some cool screenshots or fanart my 'cloud is ace' agenda simply grows more potent out of spite

[wolfwarrior142]

As someone who struggles in the mornings as much as Rayla does here, this also pleased me so much. It was adorable and I feel validated.

As a morning Callum, late night Rayla truther, this also pleased me more than words can say!

[othercrossee]

would it be funny if vithara knew red

[justkending]

Mr. & Mrs. Hunt (Chapter 5/7)

Mini-Series Summary: Two of the most stubborn people in the group partnered together for an undercover mission are also the two people with the most hatred for each other, so what could go wrong? Or is it, what COULDN’T go wrong?…

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger Reader (Enemies to Lovers) (Fake Marriage Trope)

A/N: I think we are staying on track for this to wrap up within two more chapters, but again, we are both in the dark if that's the case😂 Thank you guys for the love! If you are wanting to be tagged, please send me an ask. It's a lot easier for me to keep track of who's been added and who hasn't :)

_________

Y/N’s POV:

Okay, so maybe I blew up a little more than necessary, but I tried to chill out before he started chasing me, ordering that I didn’t walk away and talk to him. Let a girl try to get a hold of her emotions for a second big guy.

I’ve been anxious all day, waiting to talk to him about some deep seeded trauma, and then he comes and screws up all of it with a simple acceptance of an invitation. I know he didn’t mean harm by it, but he’s a trained professional. That was not a trained professional response. Plus, stepping out of my normal routine of being a bitch to him to keep him at a distance wasn’t just a switch I could flip.

Again, I could have handled that better, but now my brain is in mission mode, trying to reprogram what this night has set up for us. Considering the invitation was for tonight, it gave me little to no time to prepare.

“What time did she say dinner was?” I shouted from my bedroom, where I was going through our small, hidden arsenal of gadgets Tony had made for us.

“Six,” Bucky replied from his room down the hall.

Great, that was forty-five minutes from now… “Ok, I can do this.” Deciding it was best to keep some bugs on hand in case we could plant them in the house, and we would be planting them, I needed to consider sizes and placements.

“Should we bring over some wine or something?” Bucky’s voice was now in the doorway to my room, but I kept my back to him as I sifted through our tools.

“I made a pie earlier today. We can take that,” I answered absentmindedly.

“Why’d you make a pie?”

“Felt like it,” I shrugged and walked out of the closet with three small wires/ bugs in hand. When I looked up, I saw he had changed into a nicer button-up and was tightening a tie around his collar he hadn't been wearing earlier. “Why are you wearing a tie?” I examined him.

“Same reason you’re wearing a nicer dress. I want to make a good impression,” he shrugged, straightening pieces of his outfit.

“I’m wearing this because we were going to our ‘anniversary dinner,’” I made sure to put the lie in hand quotes. “I had a story that went with it, but this can pass as casual, too,” I motioned to my dress and moved toward him, placing the wires on the bed. “This looks like you’re about to give a sales pitch.”

Without thinking, I pop his collar up and loosen the tie to get rid of it. The whole time I’m focusing on untying it, I ramble about what the plan is for the night.

“I’m going to give you a wire to put wherever you see fit, and I’ll do the other two. I’ll excuse myself to use the bathroom and sneak it where it’s needed. I feel it’s important we look for cameras already in the house in case it’s a setup. We don’t need them having hard proof that we bugged their place. We want to come off as simple yet good assets if we want them to bring us on board for their work,” I struggle with a certain spot on the tie he somehow fixed in an efficient way I’d never seen. “Jesus, were you a sailor in another life? Might as well have knotted it.”

He doesn’t respond, but I get it off in the next two seconds and look at him to see he had been studying me intently as I invaded his space. I see my slip-up, push the tie into his chest, and take a step back.

“Sorry.”

“No problem,” he answers rather calmly, and I look at his eyes, seeing patience there. Always that damn patience. How did he still have it with me even with how I’ve treated him? “Listen-”

“About last night,” I say at the same time, and he seems shocked but gives a single nod to tell me to continue. “I want to say I’m sorry for being all over the place recently. From last night to thirty minutes ago.”

He seems frozen by my apology, and I became anxious enough that I start to word vomit.

“I took some time to think after last night and spent the day stressing, thinking how I was going to talk to you about it because I do want to. I want to get what I can out on the table if you’d be ok with that,” I look up through my lashes, and I see the most subtle turn of his lip as he watches me attentively.

“Are you hinting that there’s a chance I’ll get to see the side of you others are lucky enough to see?” he retorts, grin growing and taking a step closer to me.

His use of the word ‘lucky’ shortcircuits my brain, and all I can do is nod once, slowly, as my answer. He takes another step, and I match it with one back. I feel more vulnrable than I was expecting to.

“You can understand now why having our plans for the night changed made me slightly temperamental.”

“I think slightly may be an understatement.”

“I think you still should choose your words carefully,” I say, tightening my smile. However, it doesn’t shut him down like normal. Instead, he laughs under his breath, and the doorbell rings.

Both of our heads shoot toward the noise, and solemnity takes over the room.

“You don’t think that’s,” Bucky pauses as he turns back to me.

“How often am I wrong?” I take a deep breath in and smooth my dress out as I walk over, pausing beside him. “Hide the wires. I already did a sweep of the house while you were getting ready to make sure we didn’t have anything out of place. I’ll tell them you’re getting ready.”

I don’t need to open the door to know who it is, but when I do, the urge to yell, “I told you so!” in Bucky’s face is strong.

“Bethanne!” I smile kindly and immediately notice the dish in her hand. Reggie is behind her, holding two others, looking like he just got off work and had been dragged over here. “Did Beau tell me wrong? Are we not eating at y’all’s house tonight?”

She scrunches her face in a practiced motion and lifts the ceramic bowl up as she explains.

“I hate to ask this of you, but our oven is still the old rickety one. The new one had some faulty design, and we had to ship it back. Needless to say, it decided to give out on us today of all days,” she raised her shoulders. “I know we sprung the dinner on you suddenly, but would you two be willing to host if we provide the food?”

Not on the money of what I guessed, but pretty fucking close to the money if you ask me.

“Who is it, Doll?” Bucky’s voice carries from the hallway he’s now emerging from. The first three buttons on his dress shirt are undone, and he’s messing with the cuffs on the sleeves. “Hey, Bauers,” he smiles yet still holds shock in his features by the neighbor's appearance. “Did we get the time wrong?” he asks, looking at his watch before coming to my side, where I've now moved and am letting themselves in.

“No, no, no,” Bethanne shakes her head and hands off one of the pots to me as she takes one from Reggie, who looks more bothered to be here than happy. Long day human trafficking, asshole? “We had some appliance issues thanks to some of the renovations we were doing. I was just asking your wife if we can use your house as tonight's setting and possibly use your oven while here.”

Without hesitance, Bucky takes the dish from my hands and the dish Bethanne had swapped for and nods for Reggie to follow him.

“No problem at all. Let me help you ladies with that. Char," A nickname he had never used for my character before, but it seemed to work fluently. "Would you like to get some wine for the two of you while I get this organized in the kitchen?” he asks me, placing a kiss on the side of my head while his hands are full as he walks towards the other room.

I don’t know how he’s learned to play his role so well, but it’s convincing, even to me.

“Uh, yeah,” I almost stutter in my response as I motion for Bethanne to follow me to the wine cooler out in the garage. “Red or white with tonight's dish?”

"Do you have any more husbands like that in the back I can steal? What a gentleman," she coos, shoulder-bumping me.

___________

Half an hour of baking the food and getting it plated, and our conversation continued with questions strictly about us mostly, which would have been fine if not for the reason behind such invasive intentions.

They started off simple. How’d you guys meet? Who made the first move? What did we love about the town so far? What kind of hobbies and adventures did we take on before moving here? All questions we had prepared for, and if not, could easily improvise.

So far. No slip-ups. If anything, we sold the scheme far better than I’d imagined we would, even when they became more personal. And our discussion on being the ‘prude couple’ last night seemed to affect Bucky’s actions a lot more than I was expecting.

An obvious hand on my thigh under the table and an arm thrown over my seat in a slightly possessive manner seemed to catch the eye of Reg, who mimicked some of the moves as if it were a competition.

In addition, Bucky kept making small compliments about how I looked and how smart I was when they asked about my job. Dropping little comments about things I did (not my character) that he loved and appreciated.

“She’s always doing things like that. I almost never have to worry about making coffee in the morning because she has it all set up just to hit a button and go.”

“You should ask Charlotte about that. She’s the reason our house looks like a home. I’m sure she could give some advice on the kitchen backsplash.”

“She may not know how to boil an egg correctly, but her baking skills are unmatched. I've put on a few pounds now that we have a nice kitchen to spend time in."

I did my best not to act shocked every time he dropped a compliment, but the fact he could have made shit up for my character and used those details as conversation pieces, yet he went the honest way (although more convincing, of course), shocked me.

“Speaking of baking skills,” Reginald nodded his head back to the kitchen counter behind us and smiled at me. “I spied a pie on the counter. Any chance we can have that to finish off this dinner?”

I was still staring at Bucky from his last form of appreciation when I blinked out of my distraction and returned to our neighbor.

“Oh, of course! I was just about to offer,” I smiled, standing up, and Bucky quickly stood next to me, pulling my chair out. “Thank you.” I smiled at him and placed a hand on his arm as I moved around to the counter.

“How sweet. Oh, Charlotte, would you mind telling me where the bathroom is?” Bethanne asked, standing and giving her husband a look for not showing the same chivalry as Bucky.

I watched her, knowing that I would have used the same excuse to do what we planned to at their house. But I was two steps ahead of her.

“Of course! Beau, do me a favor and get some plates out for dessert. I’m going to show Beth-”

“Oh, I’m sure I can find it,” she waved off, coming around the table and moving to the hall promptly.

Yeah… Not without a chauffeur, honey.

“No problem,” I waved off, moving with her casually. “I need to grab some floss from my bathroom before dessert. I’ll show you to it.”

I can see the most subtle glaze of annoyance at my insistence, but she smiles and walks a step ahead of me.

I show her to the bathroom and make it seem I’m going into the master down the hall while she’s in there. And I do, but I keep an eye to make sure she isn’t snooping in any other room besides the one. We’ll have to survey it after they leave, but better that and the dining room than the whole house.

Once we’re back with the boys, no wandering to be done, Bucky helps me plate a slice of chocolate pie for each of us, and I offer to move the conversation to the porch. Any kind of redirection from the comfort of the inside of our home is welcome.

“I love how you’ve decorated your porch. It’s so cozy,” Bethanne notices, pointing out the colorful decorative pillows, hanging swing the size of a daybed, and loads of plants and decor that make the space more intimate. She and Reggie are sat on the two rocking chairs facing the front yard, and Bucky and I are sat close together on the swing, where he’s controlling the tempo we sway in.

“I always wanted a spot outside to escape. We didn’t really have that at our last home, and it was important for me to have this time around,” I replied.

My answer is actually very true. I loved being outside, especially when it was something as simple as sitting in the backyard or swinging on a porch. I had one requirement about this mission, one I’m not even sure Bucky knew about. But I asked Tony to supply a nice budget for the porch.

Call it cheesy, but growing up in such an unnatural and dehumanizing way, you crave a small part of that normalcy you see on the movie screens. For some reason, a porch I could escape on but still be within the comfort of my own home was a dream. And because it was, I thought I’d make this situation a little more bearable by granting that small wish I always had.

“Well, I may have to start budgeting for a new kind of renovation,” she patted Reg’s back, and he gave her a tight-lip smile. "What do you say, Reggie? Do you think we can get a swing like that one?” She smiled over at us just as Bucky pulled me into his side, his arm going around my waist and his hand resting on my hip.

“I have a feeling we might as well have built a home from scratch by the time you’re happy with the renovations we’ve taken on,” Reg answered with a nod before taking a swig from his beer. “Get that recipe for the pie from Charlotte, and I’ll consider buying you a new porch,” he winked my way and turned back to the front of our lawn.

I found Bucky’s hand tightening at the action, and his thumb started rubbing in an up-and-down pattern along my hip. When I turned to him slightly, his gaze stayed on Reg.

Before finishing cleaning up for the night, we said goodbye to our guests, and just when we thought we hadn’t made any headway in our conversation about work (mind you, we had dropped hints and notices about it all night, but neither of the two seemed to take the bait), Reg stopped on the last step to our porch and turned to Bucky.

“You mentioned working in transportation, and by the sounds of your new job up here, if you’re interested in a more innovative place, I may have some ins for you,” he shook Bucky’s hand. “I have some coworkers around the states that could use some employees like you on their route.”

“I may take you up on that offer. It all depends on how this week rolls out,” Bucky answered perfectly. The Bauers said their goodbyes, and we watched them walk home before turning to each other.

In a silent celebration, we grinned at the invitation and then sent wordless glances to tread carefully when we got in before scoping the place for bugs…

_______________

Bucky’s POV:

I’m not surprised that the blonde sole cycle instructor of a neighbor was able to get a wire in our bathroom, but neither Y/N nor I were in the mood to remove it right away and give away our knowledge of it, so we each grabbed another drink for the night and debriefed subtly on the porch where the only bugs we had to mind were the crickets chirping their music for the night.

Bethanne was right. Our porch was nicely done, and I hadn’t even noticed Y/N had hung lights out here until she plugged them in.

“I feel like this spot is more put together than the rest of the house.” I noticed the details when we were out here earlier. Now, we both have taken up spots in the rocking chairs our neighbors had vacated.

“I may have focused more of my attention on this spot than the others,” she smiled as she brought a tumbler glass up to her lips. She had drank wine while Bethanne was here, but as soon as they were gone, the whiskey I had made a glass for myself was stolen out of my hand before I could take a sip. Now, we had each of our own.

“Was what you said about the porch a real thing? I mean, we have balconies at the compound,” I looked at her as I sat my drink on the small table between us.

“Balconies and porches aren’t the same. At least in my head, they aren’t,” she nodded, taking a deep sigh and resting her glass in her lap. “Did you mean what you said when you were complimenting me all night?” She lulled her head to the side to look at me.

I had been giving quite a few compliments. It felt easier to use the ones I had picked up on than the ones I made up. Yet again, I think anyone should get the recognition they deserve when they excel in something. Y/N just tended to excel in more than I think she was aware of. And I was learning she didn’t seem to be used to people taking note of those things.

“Why lie?” I shrugged, starting to rock in a steady pattern.

“Because that’s this whole gig. A lie,” she answered, taking another pull of the hard liquor.

I considered her perspective and shook my head, looking out to the lights on the other side of the street. “I guess it gets tiring at points. Don’t really feel like doing it if the truth can be just as usable.”

She didn’t answer for a handful of seconds, and when I turned back to her, she was staring at me like she was waiting for another shoe to drop.

“How are you so patient? Seriously, is it a drug Tony made you before you had to deal with me on this mission? I don’t get it,” she laughs, but I can hear the genuine confusion in it as she sits forward and turns her body to me.

Honesty. I’m in a mood to be 100% honest.

“Want me to be real with you?” I asked, turning my own body.

“It’d be preferred,” she nods and rests both her arms on the armrest.

“I don’t know anything about your past, but I know most people have a reason for acting the way they do. It took years and a ton of patience before I felt like I was even close to who I used to be. I still struggle to come to terms with the fact I’ll never be who I was before the train incident,” I sigh and rest my head back against the chair as I look at her. “I guess I have understanding more than patience. I understand that you have a history of your own that I don’t know, and I can’t blame you for a lot of the things you do.”

“But you should. I’m an asshole to you,” she says, and the admission is kinda nice to hear, even if it is sad.

“Yeah, and I was hoping you’d be willing to share why that is,” I reply calmly.

She tenses some and sits back in her chair, pulling her legs under her to sit crisscrossed, the chair rocking with her movement and her dress overflowing past her knees.

“I guess now is as good a time as ever…” She looked at me sidelong before finding comfort in the view in front of her instead. “I didn’t really have a chance to develop a personality of my own because my time in this lifestyle,” she motions around her, “started as soon as I could walk. So I had no identity to fall back on since I had to find it after I escaped.”

I had questions, but I found it best just to listen. Clearly, what she was talking about wasn’t something she brought up lightly, and being an ear to listen was what she needed right now.

“I was left behind by whichever no-good parent gave me up, and Adonis Hummel took me as his own and decided he’d try to recreate the famous assassin, The Winter Solider, from birth practically.”

The name drop came quickly and struck home. I didn’t know her whole story, but I had enough imagination and experience to believe where she was going.

“Wait, Hummel?” I started because the name sounded familiar, but…

“He was a low-level scientist who worked for Hydra when they were still using you under Pierce. He thought he had the brains and resources to create his own version of you. A version that would be more undetectable as a woman and a version he could tweak however he wanted,” she rolled her shoulders. “Lucky for him, I didn’t have to be brainwashed since I knew nothing besides the life of abuse, experimentation, and a shit ton of conditioning... " 

"To clarify, I say that for context, not sympathy,” she straightened, and I could see her shifting back to her unbothered disposition, but the truth was shining through the cracks. She may not have wanted sympathy, but something about the vulnerability seemed to lighten the load on her shoulders.

“As for why I may have built a wall around you, an unhealthy and senile wall, I felt as though…” She gulped as if the next part was harder for her to say than the abuse of her past. “I felt as though you had been my competition my whole life, and a part of me, a young and in-need-of-therapy part of me, thought it was best to keep you as far away as possible and hold onto that anger instead of work through it. It felt easier than facing the fear that I didn’t actually equate to you in any way. So that’s another reason why I felt everything with you was to prove a point.” She lets out a short breath after using all the air in her lungs in one swift swoop.

I-

It’s a lot to take in…

She doesn’t move her head back towards me after her confession, and I can’t seem to break my stare from her.

“This is where you say something like, ‘Well, it’s your lucky day. I’m actually an asshole either way, so we can go on hating each other for completely understandable reasons!’ or I don’t know? Anything but silence would be preferred, though…”

Her hand is gripping the arm rest unconsciously like an anchor keeping her on earth.

On instinct, I reach across and pull her hand into mine, keeping my stare heavy, enticing her to look at me.

She closes her eyes at first and takes another short breath before turning.

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel unworthy of being on the team.” I feel like I personally am the reason for her suffering, even if I had no correlation with her before I joined the team. "You are more than an asset to the team and are your own kind of weapon. It's incomparable."

“Ugh,” she sniffles and rubs an eye with the heel of her free hand as if to disguise a possible tear as allergies. “This would be so much easier if you were a piece of shit misogynistic asshole, but you're part of the few good ones out there. Steve, Sam, and Clint included, not Tony,” she noted.

I smiled, thinking about how I’d make a team like that even if she had me believe otherwise for so long.

“What I’m trying to get at, B, is you’re not the one I should be blaming for my past. You’re just as much a victim as I am, but I took the easy way out of making it more manageable for me, and I only made it harder for us both in the end. And for that,” she turned and stared into my eyes fully, the hand she held squeezing my own. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve an ounce of the kind of cruelness I tried to bury you in. You are the opposite of what they tried to make you, and you’re genuine in proving that to anyone who meets you. I've been envious of the strength you have, and I can say confidently that I deeply regret ever blaming you for that.”

I once again have to process yet another collection of words I’d never thought I hear. From her. Ever. A part of me believed this was a dream, but the part that Y/N had a grip on was practically pinching me into reality.

Without hesitating, I stood up, pulled her arm up with me, and yanked her into my body in a crushing hug.

She froze at first… The motion was quick and surprising, but slowly, she unhooked our hands, brought both of hers tightly around my waist, and laid into me. I rested my head on top of hers and pulled her shoulders in with my arms, wrapping both of my own tightly around her.

I wasn’t going to let go until she did, and by the looks of it… She wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @death-unbecomes-you @mythos-writes​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​  @srrymydood​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @xa-dia​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @redhairedfeistynerd​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @morganclaire4​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @connie326​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @captain-asguard​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @mollygetssherlockcoffee​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @livstilinski @basicallylool​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ @starryeyeseunbyul​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

My Lovelies Forever:

@natura1phenomenon​ @lauravicente​ @kakakatey​ @traceyaudette​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​ @sandlee44​ @thorne93​ @thefaithfulwriter1​ @essie1876​ @greyeyedsmile14​ @capsiclehan​  @xostephanie​ @averyrogers83​ @awesomenursingstudent​ @gh0stgurl​ @cs-please​ @jjlevin​ @rainbowkisses31​ @deannotmoose​ @their-bibliophile​ @kitkatd7​ @willowbleedsonpaper​ @mariaenchanted​ @snffbeebee​ @couldabeenamermaid​ @rebekahdawkins​​ @alyispunk​​ @billyseye @hallecarey1​​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​ @charmedbysarge​ @jbarness​ @bellamy-barnes​ @katiaw2​ @aikeia​ @stopjustlovethemcu​ @enchantedbarnes

Mr. & Mrs. Hunt Series:

@jackiehollanderr @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @theroyalmanatee @wintrsoldrluvr @alexakeyloveloki @learisa @bxckybxrnes24 @lillianacristina @selella @heletsmelovehim @lovelybaka @heletsmelovehim @bubblegumbeautyqueen @mostlymarvelgirl @that-d-bitch @rabbitrabbit12321

[al-the-remix]

BuckTommy Whump Week Day 1: Canon typical injury // Wound neglect

Thank you to the @bucktommywhumpweek mods for putting this together (and sorry it's a day late!) uhh...I have no idea how to tag this one, so just enjoy! Again, please excuse any grammar/spelling errors, they'll be all fixed by the time these make is to Ao3.

It was a pretty house, with arched windows and the pristine white walls of a Spanish revival that had recently had some love and attention given to it. Evan had told him some meandering tale that Tommy had had a difficult time following about ghost phone calls and haunted desolate suburban homes. It was one Tommy couldn’t quite believe, but enabled nevertheless; he’d overheard stories about the Loz Feliz murder house, scuttlebutt around the water cooler and during lulls between calls. He’d never given the stories any real consideration, and gave them even less now that he was faced with what looked like a totally innocuous family home. 

Maddie had settled herself at the end of the dining room table, her whole body angled towards him, hands folded around her coffee mug, radiating warmth as she waited patiently for him to spit out what exactly it was that had brought Tommy to her home on her day off.

Tommy hadn’t really known what to expect when he had called her. They’d never had the chance to spend much time one-on-one, whether it was Evan or Howie, there always seemed to be someone else hanging around, dividing his attention. Now he wishes he’d reached out sooner and under more pleasant circumstances. 

“So, what is it you wanted my advice on?”

Tommy drew his own mug closer to his chest, lacing his fingers around it to keep himself from fidgeting. The steam from the tea felt warm on the underside of his chin and he had to bite down on the skin of his inner cheek to quell the sudden swell of emotions that rose inside him. 

“Evan wont let me look after him.”

The corner of Maddie’s mouth twitched up in a moment of brief amusement, then tugged down in a sympathetic half-smile. “Welcome to the club.”

Tommy found himself laughing despite himself, the noise thick and a little wet in the back of his throat. He hoped that part was quite enough to slip beneath her radar.

If Maddie noticed she didn’t acknowledge it, much to Tommy's relief. He already felt foolish showing up here to needle his boyfriend’s sister for relationship advice, even if he had been invited, he didn’t need to get all emotional about it too.

“Have you talked with Evan recently?”

“I have, but I can’t say that he was exactly forthcoming. Not that he ever is when he’s injured.”

“Right,” Tommy looked down at his hands. “Which I understand, I’ve had strains before, they’re a drag and it’s annoying having to be on the bench for three weeks, but they’re worse if you don’t let them rest.” She was watching him with clear understanding as he rambled. 

“What happened,” Maddie asked gently.

Tommy rubbed at the side of his nose, feeling a little sheepish. “You’re a nurse so you know. Anyway, it sounds silly now, but he wanted to go to the gym the other day–which it’s way too early for–and we got into an argument about it. I wanted to give him space, but now he hasn't texted me in three days and I don’t know what to do. I tried to call him earlier, but he didn’t pick up. I just don’t know how much to push.”

In Tommy’s experience, the line between caring and overbearing was a thin one. 

Evan had never seemed to shy away from going after Tommy’s attention when he had wanted it, whether that meant asking for tours he didn’t really need, or playing sports he didn’t actually like, or organizing a coffee date to apologize when he hadn’t needed to. Maybe it had been presumptuous of him, but Tommy really had expected Evan to reach out sooner rather than later; and the longer the silence went on the more deliberate it felt, like maybe he’d overstepped some invisible boundary Tommy hadn’t even considered looking out for. 

Maddie watched him with a kind, sympathetic expression. Maybe at first glance most would say she and Evan didn’t look much alike, but to Tommy it was clear in their eyes, and their smiles, and their big hearts. 

“I don’t know how much he’s told you yet about our parents or our family situation.” She spoke carefully, as if weighing each word with her consideration. “But I think you might find that he does want someone to look after him, he’s just worried that once you see it, all the raw, messy bits he likes to hide, you won’t want to stay.”

Tommy was all too familiar with raw and messy, not that Evan knew that yet. And maybe that was part of the issue, he’d been so preoccupied with letting Evan set the speed and seeing where it took them, that he’d allowed his own role in this dance to fall to the wayside. He’d told Evan that he was interested, but did Evan know to what degree? Maybe he’d been too concerned with scaring Evan off to really open up the way he should have by now.

“Has that happened before?” Tommy asked when he’d worked the words past the frog in his throat.

She tilted one shoulder up. “He thinks it has, and that’s enough.”

Tommy considered that, staring down into his milky reflection in his untouched tea. 

“Here, have a biscuit,” Maddie offered, pushing the plate of neatly arranged shortbreads across the table at him. 

Tommy gladly took one. In spite of what Evan had suffered through with his parents growing up, he was lucky to have her. 

///

For once the afternoon L.A. traffic didn’t get under Tommy’s skin. He gladly welcomed the prolonged drive home to turn Maddie’s words over in his head. 

In many ways Evan’s body was sort of like a haunted house: possessed by a ghost that wasn’t his, neglected because of it. 

In Tommy’s pocket there was an extra key on his keyring, freshly cut and matching his own. It had sat there for a week, fucking with his head while he’d waited for the perfect opportunity to offer it to Evan. Sure, it was fast, but there was just something about the way Evan had weaved so snugly into Tommy’s life that had made him want to forgo all of his usual hesitancies and firmly erected walls in favour of having Evan be able to come and go from his house as he pleased. And Tommy liked the idea of finding Evan already in his home at the end of the day. He’d hoped that Evan might take it as the signal it was: that Tommy wanted him around permanently, taking up space and leaving his dirty socks all over Tommy’s house. 

Most of all, Evan made him want to be brave. Now Tommy wasn’t so sure. 

Evan had navigated their first few months of dating with his foot pressed firmly on the gas and very little inhibition, leaving Tommy reeling in his wake. He wasn’t accustomed to being pursued with that much earnest persistence, especially by men who up until very recently considered themselves straight.

///

Maybe he’d overlooked the very real possibility that all that inertia may be overcompensation for something lurking below. That when all that confidence melted away and all the forward momentum Evan had built up hit its peak, Evan wasn’t fully prepared to handle the descent that lived on the other side, not on his own.

That was okay, Tommy was a pro at handling those. If only Evan would let him. 

Tommy tossed his keys in his hand as he made his way to the front door,  thumbing the rough edges of the newly cut key. He wasn’t sure how many things Evan truly had of his own; he’d heard about the bicycle and the brother, and he knew that what Evan did have he fiercely guarded, his own space and his bodily autonomy were at the top of that list. 

Tommy had witnessed the way wounded and sick animals could go from gentle to aggressive in a blink of an eye out of fear and pain. He wanted Evan to know how invensted he was in this relationship, but also didn’t want to be the one to corner Evan, to make him feel trapped and like he needed to lash out to be understood. 

It was a fine balance. 

The house was dark and quiet, he hadn’t expected anything else, but still he tried not to let his disappointment settle in the pit of his stomach and make a home there. That wouldn’t help anything. 

 He made his way to his room, not expecting to find a big formless lump on his bed or that it would groan when he flicked on the lights. 

Tommy just about jumped out of his skin, swearing black and blue. Evan was lying on top of the bed covers, his sneakers still on his feet. It looked like he had half-heartedly attempted to undo the laces on one before giving up. 

Evan lowered the arm he’d flung over his eyes against the light, squinting at him where Tommy still hovered in the doorway. 

“Hi,” Tommy said, at a loss for anything else. As far as Evan’s expressions went, the one he was wearing was fairly unreadable.  

“Hey–So, you’re going to be mad at me.” Evan let the words out in one big sigh, like they had been pressed up tight against the starting gate of his teeth. 

Tommy risked taking a step closer to the bed. “I promise you I’m not.” 

Evan let his head thunk back against the mattress, eyes locked on the ceiling, and muttered: “I think I strained my strain.”

Caught off guard, Tommy had to press his lips together tight to suppress the laugh that bubbled up in his throat. This wasn’t exactly the moment for it. 

Evan was still staring at the ceiling, looking miserable, even after everything Tommy couldn’t help but feel fond. “Stay still, I'll go get the ice pack.”

“That won’t be hard.” He heard Evan mumble as he went to dig the gel pack out from the back of his freezer, grabbing a bottle of Advil and one of the water bottles Evan had left in his dishwasher for good measure. 

When Tommy returned Evan had indeed not moved. He settled himself on the foot of the bed, pulling Evan’s skinny ankles into his lap as he began working away at the laces. “How did you get into my house?” Tommy asked as he worked. That really should have been his first question, he could feel the heavy presence of his eyes in his pocket. Well received or not, he probably should have offered it to Evan a week ago.   

“You’re a firefighter, you should know those little fake rocks are a dead giveaway to anyone trying to break in,” Evan huffed, sounding more like himself. “At least invest in a garden gnome or something to throw them off.”

Tommy chuckled, catching Evan’s eye. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time my boyfriend decides to break into my house.”

Evan’s gaze dipped down to where Tommy was working the first shoe off his foot, quiet for a few moments before he said, softly: “Thanks.”

Tommy just grunted as he started working on the laces of the other high top. Evan really needed to invest in some proper weightlifting shoes, but Tommy wasn’t exactly raring to get into another gym centered argument so soon. 

When he’d finally wrestled both shoes off, Tommy got Evan sitting up against the headboard, and situated himself on the edge of the mattress at his knee so he could slip the ice pack under the meat of his calf and hold it there.  

“I can do that if you want.”

“It’s fine. I’m happy to,” Tommy said simply, giving Evan’s ankle a squeeze where his other hand rested. He wasn’t expecting Evan’s eyes to dart off to the side, a rush of air leaving his lungs with a hitch that snagged Tommy’s attention. 

“Fuck, I didn’t want to do this,” Evan said, his hand coming up to rub at his eyes. 

“Be a mess, you know, a nuisance.”

“Do what? Evan–”

“Evan, I don’t think you’re a nuisance,” Tommy said, trying to catch his eye. 

Evan shot him a flat, red rimmed look. “I broke into your house. I was stubborn when you were just trying to look out for me, and then too much of a chicken to call you back when you were worried about me.”

Tommy stroked his thumb over the exposed bulb of Evan’s ankle bone. “I shouldn’t have pushed,” he said softly.

Evan shook his head. “I want you to push–you weren't even pushing–not really. I just, I really like you.” 

Tommy felt a sappy smile spread across his face. He let go of Evan's ankle to take his hand instead, giving it a squeeze. “I really like you too.”

Evan let out a wet sound somewhere between a cough and a laugh, his face a startling red. “I really like being your boyfriend.” 

“Good,” Tommy said, “because as your boyfriend I want to ice your leg for you, even when you’re being stubborn about it, even when you don’t call me back.” Evan’s eyes dipped away to the side like he was preparing to sidestep Tommy’s sentiment again and he figured this was his moment to lay it all out there. “This isn’t too much. You’re not too much for me, but if it’s too much for you, too soon, you need to tell me, because I’m serious about this Evan. I want you to be around even when things are messy.”

Tommy reached into his pocket, pulling out his keychain and began to work the new key off the ring. “Maybe this isn't the right moment, but I had this cut a few weeks ago, and so if you'd like, you can just let yourself in next time instead of having to hunt through my garden for fake rocks.”

Evan stared at the key Tommy held out to him, a dumb founded expression on his face. “You got that made for me?”

“Yeah–”

“You don't plan on going to Ireland any time soon do you?”

His eyes were like big wet saucers, infinitely vulnerable and Tommy frowned. “What?”

Evan's face crumpled, one big hand snapping up to cover it as he muffled a sob. 

“Okay, okay,” Tommy soothed as he climbed gingerly over Evan's legs to sit properly on the bed beside him. “Come here.” 

He was relieved when Evan let himself be pulled against his chest, wrapping his arms snugly around Tommy's neck.

“I'm sorry I was a dick and for the crying, my leg just really fucking hurts,” Evan mumbled into Tommy's now soggy shirt collar.

Tommy rubbed his back in calming circles. “It's okay, I don't mind, and I forgave you pretty quickly. Just next time please call me back so I know you're alright. I want you to.”  

Evan moved just far enough away so he could get a good look at Tommy's face. “Me too–all that stuff you said–it's not too much for me either,” he said and pulled Tommy into a wet, kind of snotty kiss. 

Tommy cradled Evan's face in his hands, it was short and sweet, Evan's sinuses too blocked up for anything more than that, but at least he was smiling when he broke away from the kiss, out of breath.

“I was kind of worried you were going to break things off with me, that's why I didn't call you back," he admitted.

“Evan–” Tommy tried, but was cut off.

“Look, maybe I have a penchant for self-sabotage, but I'll, uh, try to be better with that.” He laced their fingers back together, resting them against Tommy's knee. "I haven't wanted something this badly in a long time. It's kind of scares me."

"Me too," Tommy admitted, "I meant it when I said I was serious about you."

Evan's smile did something that made Tommy's heart jump in his throat. "Good, because I think I'm going to need a ride to the doctor's tomorrow."

"I think I can manage that," Tommy said and reached for the ice pack where it had been left forgotten on the mattress. And maybe after that Evan would want to come back to his house and stay a while.

[crystallizsch]

it’s almost 3am help. i have to be awake in like. 4 hours. anyways i shall share with the class this filipino fairy tale au before i conk out (<- do not expect more from me this is all i could think of 😭)

i also legit cannot draw this because it’s too much effort that i cant do rn 😔 so my thoughts on this will just be a ramble below-

FIRST OF ALL. SETTING. OLD-TIMEY SEASIDE VILLAGE.

we also have a village chieftain and all that jazz— just a hierarchy with nobles too and “peasants” and fishermen and farmers and all that stuff.

jamil and his family are “helpers/servants” for one of the more richer/influential families (kalim’s family) in the village.

yuusha is the chief’s oldest child, next-in-line to be chief. because of course she is.

gonna bring in some sort-of aladdin plot points too and say that young yuusha got curious and went undercover and explored the village (the village is fairly big so not everyone knows each other).

she met a boy her age (jamil) and they became fast friends. because of this yuusha snuck out more to meet him and hang out.

one day yuusha finally got caught and she was never permitted to stray far from her home ever again.

years later when they’re older and of age, they see each other again in one of kalim’s family’s gatherings.

yuusha asked jamil for a dance not realizing/caring he was just a servant.

okay so HARD pivot (because idk where to go from there and how their love story and pining starts and the added conflict of jamil cant be with her bc of his social status).

so mr jade leech. he’s an outsider/newcomer (dare i say a “sirena”—or siren—who literally came washed up on the shore). he charmed the whole village + the chieftain.

(not sure if he should come as a package deal with the rest of the octatrio but ALAS- i only care about jade’s involvement rn)

MAYBE their job is to lure the chieftain’s daughter into the sea.

but for some reason jade’s charm did not affect yuusha (or jamil for that matter) so he has to try it the traditional way :)

and uh oh jade’s feelings started to turn real too :))))

then cue love triangle shenanigans.

who’ll be the winner? that’s tbd. (it’s jamil. i WILL find a way to make it jamil somehow even if it’s the last thing i do. i can’t let that slippery eel win)

@cheerleaderman @viperbunnies pspspspsps hi sorry for the tags but since you guys were curious ����????

[enixamyram]

Basically I saw people arguing whether or not Charlie would accept any of the Vees (especially Valentino) into the hotel. And it gave me ideas that I know I'm never gonna write so I'll just share it instead! XD

Random Story Idea I Got Based On Seeing Others Discuss:

What If The Vees Checked Into The Hazbin Hotel

Since the big fight with the angels, it has been proven once and for all that demons can be redeemed via Sir Pentious visiting with Emily to confirm Charlie's dream for her. The Hotel's all happy and celebrating but not everyone in hell is.

The Vees as some such people because if Charlie starts redeeming sinners then that will be less souls they can get contracts with. But they have no way to stop them since Sir Pentious and Emily made a pretty grand display and if they fight too hard then it could backfire on them. So, they come up with their plan. They decide to pretend they also want to be redeemed. All three of them ask to join the hotel with the secret purpose of spying on them and sabotaging it from the inside out.

Charlie knows they are full of shit. Everyone knows it. But if Charlie refuses them without any proof, it would cost the hotel since Charlie's whole point is that everyone and anyone should get the chance if they ask for it. In the end, she knows that if they say no, they would essentially be sabotaging the hotel's good reputation and lose other sinners who genuinely want to redeem but are too afraid to come forward for fear of being judged for past sins.

So, Charlie is forced to say yes and let them in. But then immediately gets Vaggie, Husk and Alastor to work spying on the Vees spying on them. The goal is to catch them breaking any of the main hotels rules so that Charlie has a legit reason to kick them out.

On the very first night, Val tries to go to Angel's room since he avoided him all day only to find Nifty dutifully cleaning the hallway just outside. It turns out Charlie assigned her the job of keeping the Vees (specifically Val) from distubring other guests (specifically Angel). Cue some humor as Val is freaked out by Nifty because, well, it's Nifty and she tore a chunk out of him and then went on to kill the first man.

So, Husk is trying to get dirt on Val and the two have confrontations about Angel - which leads to Huskerdust! Alastor is riling up Vox to get him to do something stupid and the two just repeatedly try to one up each other and get on each others nerves. And Vaggie is assigned Velvette who isn't giving anything away and even mocks the fact that she knows Vaggie is spying on her (like taking a selfie with Vaggie obviously hiding in the background and tagging her in posts on her socials).

There'd be a bit of humor but also some dramatic angst with the Vees using the spying/riling/confrontations to show the Hotel is picking on them and whatever other techniques they can to turn people against the Hotel.

So yeah. That's my rambles of an idea!

[metropolitankei]

Time to ramble a bit about ICAT bc the tag from @the-nintendo-dsi is making me think HARD on this. (Tag below)

Now for the ramble part. Big wall of text incoming!

Vanilla Bean (Siffrin) and Pitaya Panna Cotta (the King) being from the Vanilla Kingdom makes a whole lot of sense.

If you've not watched the story cutscenes for episodes 9 and 10 of Crispia in Cookie Run Kingdom, I'll explain what happens for you. The story takes place in the Vanilla Kingdom, which had been abandoned due to the war between the Ancients and Dark Enchantress Cookie and overrun by cake creatures that follow under her rule.

Because of the kingdom being destroyed in the process, pretty much most of the cookies that lived there had evacuated the place to go to other locations for safety, and those who weren't able to make it out in time had perished. We especially notice this with a lot of the cookies in the upper region of the Creme Republic, especially with one of the elders being from the Vanilla Kingdom (plus it's mentioned that those who evacuated had found home in the Republic thanks to the sea cookies).

Now, onto Vanilla Bean and Pitaya Panna Cotta. Vanilla Bean is the most obvious (due to the name/flavor and the vanilla bean pods being their safety pins on their cloak), but Pitaya Panna Cotta is not as obvious. Before becoming who he is today, he used to just be Panna Cotta. When he arrived in Dragon's Valley after recovering from the evacuation, he went to Pitaya Dragon Cookie to strike a deal: at the cost of gaining the power to freeze time, they infused some Pitaya flavoring into his dough, causing him to go from a regular-sized cookie to a cookie the size of a Dragon without the ability to transform.

Wish Craft does, however, still exist in this AU, as Panna Cotta used Wish Craft to keep control of his time freeze powers, and Vanilla Bean unknowingly uses the same Craft to loop between the same 2 days. It also causes that burning sugar smell that can be noted when Siffrin in the base game is about to loop back when talking to Euphrasie.

Plus, with the whole thing with the Vanilla Kingdom being in the sky, it makes it easier for the Vanillian denizens to do so many things related to the stars, planets, and even the galaxy. This makes it easier for them to position the stars on a star map since they're closer, but transporting the goods are difficult, since they're have to rely on different transportation methods than the Kingdoms on ground level to get the goods around.

Now, for the part relating to the Wish that made color disappear. Instead of making colors disappear, the Wish was for all cookies to forget what the Vanilla Kingdom was like. Was this a trauma response from one of the cookies that evacuated due to the war? Maybe, but that's how nobody remembers the Vanilla Kingdom, just like how nobody in the ISAT world remembers the Forgotten Island.

There's so much more that I could potentially go on about, but this wall of text is already enough.

[mecachrome]

get to know me tag game

tagged by @liamlawsonlesbian 🥺 lub u

last song i listened to: lmfao so my friends and i went to a sebeuntin concert together recently and while we were hanging out got kiof stickayy stuck in our heads and would randomly burst out singing HOW LONG BEFORE WE FALL IN LOVE in public so i listened to that last night while playing with my cats... unnecessary story time. also re: apateu we did that and many other clerb classics at karaoke which was a blast

favorite colors: lilac <3 as everyone knows. and then mint/teal and sunshine yellow are up there

currently watching: new abbott season and arcane s2! this was my twitter header for like 3 months when the first season came out like das my morally ambiguous babeyyy... i'm also watching current gbbo season but i'm somewhat behind and got spoiled about my fav being eliminated so now i'm like :/ also the redditors were pissing me off about her voice / attitude / etc. like OKAY WE GET IT U HATE WOMENNNN be quiet. anyway recently finished the english teacher s1 + only murders s4 which was my fav season of the entire show so far :3c good stuff

last movie i watched: i've fallen off so hard with movies these days someone needs to hit me over the head and tell me to get my brain into gear... but i did watch Look Back (2024) which i came into with very limited knowledge and was appropriately emotionally destroyed by. need to watch anora soon!

currently reading: gorl... don't worry about it. let's just say i need to stop reading fanfiction for a fandom that hit its peak in 2013 😔

sweet/savory/spicy: exactly as jo said i'm sweet > spicy > savory all da way!!! i have the biggest sweet tooth in the world it's dangerous i literally Don't Play Around about dessert. and half my family is from sichuan so u know i love my mala :saluting_face: even if it makes my tummy hurt after...

last thing i googled: nice try FBI!!!!

current obsessions: my kitties... T__T honestly they are my whole entire world every day i am filled with so much affection over how perfect and cutieful and lovely they are :( and obvious op81/f1isms aside recent gaming obsession is playing fields of mistria is anyone else into that!!! also k-pop adjacent but i've gone full eyekon lately i need them to release a new ep + tour asap because why are they kind of the perfect group LOL... but i'll stop talking k-pop on da f1 blog soz.

currently working on: omg i really want to crochet a bib thing for my kitties i think it would be cute TT and i still have the 814 girldad comics i sketched out that i need to finish incl. some suggestions people gave me as well... and i really want to work on potential stuff for aus25 but i'm like ??? idk we'll see... i was thinking of drawing my Own f1 snoopy merch without the huge lvgp logo taking 40% of the real estate lolol but it's all very ambiguous atm. also crazy how march 2025 is much closer than it seems!!! why does time pass so fast

i think everyone has done this tbh... apologies for belated rambling 😪

[avatarrecom]

Day 5: Daddy/Mommy kink

Pairing: Poly!recoms x Recom!reader (can be read as character x reader)

Word count: 800

A/N: First time writing smut, so it probably sucks lol. I'm using the tag #Kinktober Avatar_Recom for my kinktober stories.

And I'm starting to use the tag #Avatar_Recom writing for all my other writing, so be sure to follow those tags!

I know this is a short one, but since I only decided to participate in kinktober a couple days ago, I didn't have time to prepare. So I'm not sure if I can get out a prompt every day, I'll try of course, but with school and my shitty mental health, I'm not sure I can. I'm sorry and I hope you guys understand.

Also, you might have seen that I put a note in my masterlist that I'm changing the prompts of day 10, knife kink and day 27, anal. I did this because I'm not comfortable with those prompts. I've already chosen 2 other prompts, which will be a surprise. Hope you guys don't mind! I'm sure that if you're waiting for those prompts, there are dozens of other fantastic writers out there!

Now enough rambling from me lol, enjoy this prompt!

Kinktober masterlist

🌍 Recom Miles Quaritch Definitely has a daddy kink. I mean even tho he’s in a 20 year old Recom body, he was still like 52 when he died… and of course an actual daddy lol. He honestly wants you to call him daddy all the time. But especially during sex. He’d refer to himself as daddy while he’s fucking you into oblivion. He totally went feral the first time you called him daddy and has told you to call him that ever since. He’d tilt your chin up so you’re looking at him when he wants to give you a kiss, “can daddy have a kiss, darlin?”

😈 Recom Lyle Wainfleet Every time you call him daddy, he has an instant hardon. The whole time he’s pounding into your pussy, he asks you if daddy is making you feel good. He won’t respond to any other name when you’re having sex. I’m pretty sure that he was about the same age as Quaritch when he died (even if he’s not, just imagine he is), so the fact that he could basically be your father, plays a role too.

🍬 Recom Z-dog After the first time you call her mommy, she refuses to respond to any other name. Both during sex and in public (except when you’re working or in the same room as a CO). Loves the name and loves how obedient you look while you call her that. She goes almost feral hearing you whine mommy while her fingers are buried deep in your pussy or while he’s eating you out like her life depends on it.

🥽 Recom Walker The first time you called her mommy, she paused in shock. After she comes back to her senses, she has the most shit eating grin on her face. She’d say something along the lines of “Yeah? do you need your mommy to fuck you?” She will start referring to you as her good girl. Every time you walk sheepishly into her room asking for mommy to fuck you, she’s dripping within seconds.

😎 Recom Mansk Though he’s very dominant, he doesn't like being called ‘daddy’. He much prefers ‘sir’ when he’s pounding your pretty pussy. It gives him a sense of control over you, especially if you’re a soldier like him.

🧯 Recom Prager Initially he's a bit unsure about how to deal with or how to respond. However, he can't deny that it really turned him on for some reason. You both have a deep conversation about it, where he genuinely wants to understand your needs, expectations, and why it's important to you. You answer each of his questions in great detail. It takes some time for him to find his footing, as he wants to make sure he doesn't say or do anything that might make you uncomfortable. But he eventually gets the hang of it. You unintentionally turned him into a daddy god in bed.

⚕️ Recom Ja He's totally cool with being called daddy. However, he's not the type to call you daddy's girl in response to you calling him daddy, he thinks that’s weird and frankly disgusting. He thinks it sounds like you’re actually his child. But he does enjoy the idea of control or domination he has over you. While he can definitely live without being called daddy, if it's something you're into, he's willing to give it a shot at least once.

🧢 Recom Brown The first time you called him daddy, it flipped some switch in him. Now it’s all he wants to hear. He loves it when you get needy and you beg for your daddy. He adores it when he can discretely slip his hand in your pants in public and he whispers to stay still for daddy and he CERTAINLY LOVES when it slips off your tongue in babbles as he fucks you into the next life. 

📿 Recom Lopez This guy definitely has a thing for being called daddy/papi, I would honestly be shocked if he didn't. I mean, the moment you whispered "daddy/papi please fuck me," during a passionate make-out session, he practically tore your clothes off and pulled you on top of him. He was thrusting into you with such intensity that you had to hold onto his shoulders tightly to avoid being thrown off.

⛓️ Recom Fike The first time it happened, he was the one who unintentionally said it. You had just knelt down and gently placed your lips on the tip of his cock. "Show me what you've got, mama." As soon as the words slipped out, you glanced up at him with curiosity, noticing a slight blush on his cheeks. You smirked, but didn't mention it. Instead, you waited until he let out a particularly loud groan, and then playfully smiled up at him. "Do you enjoy that, daddy?" You asked innocently. You could feel his cock twitch in your hands, confirming what you suspected.

[mushroomwoods]

by the shore…

A calming vacation in Wind's timeline, seashell picking, storytelling, braiding and the navigation the sailor waited for so long. The downside? A vacation never last forever. 

character — Wind, platonic.

cw — mild angst (Wind recalls ww journey), fluff, reader is called young'un once (doesn't mean they're young if we consider who is talking), just Wind + Reader + Aryll moments.

reader is like the big sibling who Aryll and Link want to impress, i think it's a really wholesome setting so i vibed with it and threw the angst i planned for out the window. a plus: i believe in lineback personality development and that he visits wind from time to time.

It was a rare peaceful day. The group had landed on Wind's Hyrule after so long and he was excited to introduce everyone to his family and friends, and they were more than accepting to the whole group, even giving you all a true place to rest, a little cramped over some of their houses, but welcoming nonetheless.

You stayed in Wind's house, his grandma and sister telling stories of his even younger days, stories you had already heard from the boy himself, but were entertaining to hear over and over again.

The older woman offered you a bowl of soup, one the sailor relentlessly ranted on and on about how it was the best in the world, and honestly, you'd have to agree with him, it just had this taste that screamed home, unlikely anything you had eaten during the journey and reminded yourself of your own place. Not that Wild cooking was bad, of course not, it just didn't have the same feeling that made you feel like crying.

And when it was time to rest for the next day, you insisted on sleeping on the floor, which only ended with the three of you — yes, three, as his little sister glued to your side as soon as she locked eyes with you — sleeping sprawled to the floor, both of the kids pressed to your sides as they rambled about the games you could play together or even urging you to tell more stories about your own land. Of course Wind already knew them all, but the way his sisters eyes lit made him excited enough to hear them all over again.

And most importantly, the promises Wind made to show you all of the islands around, it'd be hard on his own, but Tetra and Lineback were... reluctantly convinced to allow them in their ship should the need arise, and of course he'd take this as a chance to show off his homeland.

It was a peaceful night, full of cheerful laughs and unfinished stories, and mostly, hopes for the next sunrise.

What you didn't expect however, was to have Aryll shaking you awake in full strength — and what an amazing strength she had for a kid —, not even caring for your bleary eyed state as she pushed you through the door and outside the house, a basket full of food in hand, as she happily screamed her brother's name, which in turn took the attention of all the other eight heroes, who were all idly by the shore.

You nodded to the heroes who greeted you back, then turning your attention back to the pair of siblings as they almost hung off your arms, fighting about what you should see first, going with the final decision of visiting the watchtower.

Warriors went along with the three of you, mostly to “keep the kids safe” he said, but you knew he was as curious as you about the whole place, and when Wind didn't offer more than a “I'm not a kid” as a protest he knew it meant he was partially allowed to tag along.

The group of four, with the newly acquired addition, took off, not taking long to arrive in your destination as you ran behind the youngest hero, barefooted and gleeful.

“Were here!” The sailor giggled, not minding as Aryll started climbing the stairs first, barely looking back at the group. “Now you'll see just how beautiful my Hyrule is.” His chest puffed up proudly and you laughed, following as he urged you to climb too.

You could hear the captain and the sailor discussing right below you, the older man giving the whole ordeal a whole pass when he noticed just how much he had to climb, carrying along his weighty armor, to reach the topmost part, listening as the younger one snickered a “lazy”, quickly going up the stairs, before the man could get him.

When you finally reached the top, you could feel your legs would definitely be sore later. You laid on the floor, barely caring as they fought over who would use the telescope first, not minding when a pouty Link came over to you, a triumphant Aryll holding the object she had successfully stolen from her brother in hands.

You patted the blonde hair of the boy, but when Aryll noticed it a huge whine left her lips.

“It's not fair! You spent all this time with [Name] and you still get their attention now?” She pouted, running to your side, clutching to the sides of your shirt.

You could only laugh at their antics, extending your arm so the girl could curl up to your other side, which she promptly did, the item still tightly clutched in her arms.

With a quick glance to the side, something caught your attention, a huge tower rising from the depths of the ocean, completely unlikely any other construction around.

“What's that?” You asked, propping yourself in your elbows as both of the kids followed your line of sight.

“The tower of the gods.” The sailor answered indifferently, as he leaned closer to the watchtower edge to have a better look.

Aryll beamed, puffing proudly as she retold the tale she heard many times from her brother.

“It's were he got the Master Sword capable of defeating the evil. He wiped the monsters around and the gods recognized he had the spirit of a true hero!” She said as the boy ruffled her hair, shushing her.

“It's nothing special, the sword lost it's power as soon as I defeated the big bird, so what use was it? A whole month just for that.” He sighed, eyes looking distant as he stared into the the tower as if remembering something, someone, far beyond his reach, eyes then shifting to another isle.

Aryll turned eerily quiet after that, mouth pressed to a thin line, her expression made you sure of something.

It was way more than a month.

The boy had spent so long in that hellish place, he probably wasn't even able to keep track of time, besides, who knew what else could've happened for him to look so distant when just the sound of another adventure would make him bounce back to his feet.

“Then... Is there any island your particularly like over the others?” You tried, gauging the younger one reaction.

He stared over for a moment, seemingly thinking, before he brightened back up.

“A few actually!” He looked around as if looking for something. “There are the Fairy Islands—” He pointed to four directions, to which you could barely see a tiny island holding what looked like a giant seashell. “The Pawprint Island—” Then at another one, close enough for you to distinguish the funny shape that was just like it's name. “And then my Oasis!” Now he directed to a far bigger island, not that far out of reach.

You were going to ask him about the islands, when he suddenly jumped to his feet, hands clasping together.

“Right! My oasis! Follow me! ” He didn't look back before sliding down the stairs, running back to the village, looking for someone.

You and Aryll didn't have much choice but to follow him, barely catching with the little pirate as he stopped right in front of a black haired man, who looked eerily like a scammer, the boy ranting something about a SS Lineback as the man seemed just about ready to keel over and cry.

“I can lend it to you, but please, please, don't try any of that funny business of yours again. I see a scratch on it and I'm gonna fine you, boy.” The man, Lineback as he introduced himself, lectured the blonde, tired face enough to tell you he knew those words would go in one ear and out the other the moment he turned back.

“C'mon, I already said I'll take care of it! I didn't even damage it too much last time.” Link pouted and Lineback looked ready to throw hands, sighing as he ran his hands through his face.

“Alright, alright, do what you do, boy, I know you're not gonna listen anyway. You know how to start the thing, so go on your way before I regret it.” He waved the boy off, turning back when the young hero started to run back to the beach.

“You're not gonna come with us... Mr. Lineback?”You asked unsure and he looked back at you, scoffing without much ill intention.

“Just Lineback is fine, young'un, and I'm never getting into the same boat as him again, he gave me enough troubles back in the time.” He smiled, and only now you could notice his laid back nature, somehow reminding you of a true sailor, the ones from old fashioned tales.

You nodded in agreement, turning back when you heard the siblings shouting your name for you to go over to them, waving to the man and running back to them.

The party of ten was ready, only waiting for you, the last member to join them. Warriors and Twilight chatted away with the pair of elderly brothers, Sturgeon and Orca, who for once seemed to be agreeing on something. Wild seemed to be teaching Hyrule and a few kids how to catch fishes barehanded, Four seemed to be rambling about the quality of the boat husk to Wind who just nodded along while setting the sail so they could depart.

You couldn't spot Time, Sky and Legend, so you could only assume they were at the lower deck preparing things.

Aryll hurried you into the steamboat, the sailor soon whistling so everyone would get on board.

It didn't take long for you to take off, the young hero using the Wind Waker to guide the boat along the way.

The vehicle moved much faster than you could imagine, and the air around the group was light, except for the few that seemed down with seasickness, it was a good journey, the sound of the waves crashed against the wood and metal plates, almost licking into your face when you leaned a little too close to the rails keeping you inside the boat, the pair of siblings starting a chant only the two of them knew, but seemed familiar enough so the rest could follow along in the noise.

The travel was filled with laughter and jokes, barely three days turning when you finally reached the oasis, much sooner than you had expected at first.

Aryll happened to be feeding you some fruits she had taken along the food supplies, as you ran your hand through Wind's hair, the sleeping boy sprawled across your lap while you stayed at the deck, along with a few resting heroes.

Time walked down the stairs, announcing the arrival, wasn't the rumbling of the docking enough of a tell to all of the others.

As much as everyone wanted to jump right into action and explore the whole island, the navigation had left them much worse for wear than they expected at first, so it was mostly a relaxing day, holed up into the fancy, little — it wasn't little, really, it was actually far bigger than any vacation home you had ever seen— cabin, getting to know the grumpy, yet dextrous butler and about the last few owners of that place.

That night everyone had plenty of rest, resting finally each into a real bed, tranquil and unbothered by the evil that they would have to battle sometime soon, only relaxing for now, allowing themselves to forget about their destiny.

The next morning had the same air of serenity, Wild helped the butler as they cooked and shared recipes, a group of few feeding some seagulls who Aryll seemed to have attracted near the house, others sunbathing near the lake.

You made part of the latter, stretched out in the grassy field as Wind and Twilight made it a game to throw themselves into the water, splashing water everywhere, including in you.

Just as you were about to cuss at them, the Twili hero pulled you to the water, brute, unfiltered strength sending you toppling into the water, far too disoriented to even react as the water entered your lungs. Fortunately you were quick enough to grab at the man before fully submerging, evicting him to the same fate as yours, his arms snatching around you before pulling out of the water with a clear pout from his failed stunt.

You tried to frown at his antic, however when you saw the strange shape his hair stood in, covering almost all of his face as some of its strands stood up like crooked ears, you could only laugh, comparing the man to a wet dog, his pout only getting bigger.

The sailor didn't wait before joining in making fun of the rancher, even blowing some wind so his hair got even messier.

At noon you were already out of the water, belly full with the hearty fish meal Wild had learned how to cook with the butler, you sat leaning against the old leather sofa, little Aryll sitting in between your legs as you tried to braid her hair, Wind lazily dictating how you should twist her hair so the braid would turn out pretty enough, as he laid on the sofa right behind you.

It could be only a few days you had spent lazing around, soon having to depart to chase after the evil yet again, but it was a much needed vacation nonetheless, one that certainly would stay in your mind for the many years to come.

[simstationdance]

gonna take a moment to ramble about the ""story"" of my custom neighborhood - The Cauldron - that idk how much i will actually post about, but i felt like talking about it anyway.

tldr it's where i'm dumping all of the ocs sims i've been posting about lately but there's an actual backstory that i whipped up in like 20 seconds.

it all starts with Vermy, the first sim made in the neighborhood, and for a little while, the Only one.

so Vermy - short for Vermillia Winnimere Tourmaline Poppyseed IV because i was going out of my way to give her the dumbest "extravagant" and vaguely touhou-adjacent name possible - is an extremely powerful magic user. she's also extremely old if not literally immortal (despite looking youthful, because she's got anime girl powers), extremely mean, extremely vain, and extremely greedy, which i would put up to a. having so much power that she doesn't know what to do with it, b. having so much free time that she doesn't know what to do with it, and c. having so much money that she doesn't know what to do with it other than hoard it and/or try to make more i guess.

so. she's basically a cartoon villain. incredibly powerful, deeply hostile to human life, very bastardous, but also incredibly hard to take seriously 95% of the time because of how big her ego his paired with her cute appearance, short stature, and skinny little 'could snap in half like a twig' body.

she has a history of "interdimensional travel" and shapechanging to fit into each world she has been in. the form she takes in ts2 is what i imagine to be her true form. she's been to many places and after a certain point she decided that all she really wanted was to be alone with her wealth and power, sitting atop a well-earned throne of blood and bones.

so she decided she'd just make her own pocket dimension to live in forever and call it a day. but ummm tldr it went Terribly Wrong and now her pocket dimension has chunks of other worlds in it, including handfuls of the people who lived there, all poured in there like a soup - hence the name "the cauldron".

the pocket dimension is comprised of four small islands, each derived from a chunk of some other world that vermy may or may not have been to at some point. vermy's own island, where her cottage is located, is the smallest, and it is covered by trees.

vermy's ideal world would have just had her in it. but then she sees there's a bunch of other areas with a whole city and suburbs in the distance.

so she's like "what the hell" and goes to visit and finds, among other things, a cat cafe run by two goth lesbians who used to be superheroes. (one of them is midnight queen and the other is her wifey, my friend's character named amebyss hee hee)

but also the cats are cute so she lets them all live... for now.......

anyway so, pretty much every sim posted in this tag - and some of the cc models i've been using recently - is currently living or is going to live in this neighborhood.

i may or may not post about it here but idk for sure because the tumblr post editor makes me want to sink into the earth. im more likely to post about it on dreamwidth.

[somethingclevermahogony]

AITA Tag

Rules: Make an Am I The Asshole? post (look at r/amita or r/AITA for examples if you haven’t seen them) for an OC. The community will then vote to see who is the asshole in the given scenario.

Thank you for the tags @willtheweaver and @mundanemoongirl!

AITA for killing my tyrannical uncle (and indirectly his entire family)?

So long story, my father used to be king of Labisa. I'll admit he wasn't the best king, anyway, my uncle lead a coup and tried to kill my father. My father escaped but my half-brother (an eight year-old btw) was killed and my (ex)step-mother ended up marrying my uncle :/

My father lived as a guest at the court of the Fapacha in Apuna. That's where I was born. My father constantly told me stories about Labisa when I was growing up and about how one day we would return. Unfortunately our family illness got him before that could ever happen. So I decided to return and reclaim the throne myself. I spoke with people from Labisa and the surrounding cities and they all agreed that my uncle was a tyrant and a wasteful ruler. I went there myself and saw how many beggars were on the street and how unkempt the temples were. It was terrible. And yet my uncle was covered in gold and silk.

I killed him. I killed my uncle, and my eldest cousin. I took his crown and I am king now. If it had just been a matter of killing my uncle I wouldn't be making this post, he was a greedy monster who needed to be killed. But it was the other people that got hurt. I only killed my uncle and eldest cousin (older than me) directly, but one of my collaborators went behind my back and killed all of my other cousins and aunts, including the children. Additionally some of the Makurians I hired went a bit crazy and killed a couple people. I skinned the rogue Makurians in retribution for what they did to the innocent people (something that I never ordered them to do.) But the person who ordered the murder of the royal family was a Kishite and a Nobleman, someone that was integral to this plan working at all. He is the king of a vassal city, who is essential to the stability of Labisa. I can't punish him without there being serious repercussions.

Am I the asshole for starting this whole endeavour in the first place and am I the asshole for not punishing the nobleman, even though doing so would cause more problems?

Update: I just found out that one of my cousins escaped. Part of me is relieved, but a larger part of me is horrified. I know what I would do in their place. I'll have to get rid of her, unfortunately.

Tagging @illarian-rambling, @kaylinalexanderbooks , @elsie-writes, @mk-writes-stuff, @roach-pizza

[ninjagirlstar5]

Dude did you know/read -2+2 before i started interacting with your posts here or did you heard of it from seing me ramble about it? Also PLEASE get your work done first! This chapter is enormous and i wouldn't want it to ruin someone's schedule.

Also I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, not necessarily just the trial it could be of the story in general, if you feel like rambling that is ^^'

Don't worry, I spent my entire morning finishing my textbook chapter and completing a video question that I could finish in like, five minutes tops. I even shut off Discord to focus. It took four hours of my day to complete cause that's college for ya, haha. :']

Yeah, I read -2+2 before we ever interacted on Tumblr! Ngl, I didn't realize the author was you until I scrolled through your Kizuna tag on your blog and went, "hey, wait a minute, I read this fic-!" As for my thoughts on it so far, I loooove it! I love how Kizuna is forced to face the consequences of her actions while Ayame is grappling with the fact that she was this close to choosing to kill someone to save another and that her motivations weren't as pure and good that everyone makes it out to be for saving Kizuna. I love seeing how different the group dynamics have become thanks to how everyone is split up: the majority of the students sticking together, Yuki being forced out of that group due to his secret note but ultimately forming a little trio with Akane and Ayame (and I think Kizuna and Kanata, too, but they're more focused on each other atm when it comes to her recovery), and the lone wolves of Rei, Tsurugi, and Kinji. It really shows how fractured the group has become and that everyone's opinions are pretty complex and different from each other's, even when they stick to one side. I have yet to read the trial as of writing this, but Kanata's death hurts to witness, especially with how...simple it was. I believe she didn't even struggle, she was just sleeping and now, she can never wake up because someone (Kinji) took advantage of that vulnerability and killed her. I'm thinking that Kakeru, at some point, seemed to have walked in and saw what happened, whether it's his attack on Kizuna or Kanata, and tried to attack Kinji or stop him or something but I'm not sure. But her death definitely hits harder due to how simple it is and we can focus on the tragedy that Kizuna will never be able to fulfill the promises she gave to Kanata, her first friend. And how her grief quickly transforms into anger...ooooough, that's so good and in character for her, especially with how hard she's trying to improve herself now. Also, can I just say, I love how socially smart Kizuna is with her words and how she was able to bypass the third motive just by being clever with how she says things. There are many different ways for being intelligence, so seeing that play out with a character that is trying to redeem themselves is great. Ayame is also just...doing her best while grappling with herself and the thought of almost actually murdering someone, but is trying to be supportive of the others. At least being able to confide in Akane allows her to keep going, and she gets to befriend Yuki! It's so sweet...until you remember the twists with these two, haha, gotta love that dramatic irony. Oh, if (or when) we actually get there, that angst is going to huuurt. </3

Anyways, I do love rambling. And I love this fic! (Totally off-topic, but I hope my boy Teruya is gonna be okay from the whole near death experience of guns and stuff. He's gonna be okay, right? Right? I hope he's okay. I don't want anything bad to happen to him even though I know that's gonna be impossible in a killing game genre although I know his survival is pretty much guaranteed since you mentioned that you don't plan to change the death order. Doesn't mean I don't worry for his mental health though.)

[louiesselfshipramblings]

Assorted Selfship Lore!!

Normally, I post the "main" selfship lore in posts of their own with a commissioned work, but since that well is a lil slow atm, I just gonna ramble on some lore nuggets I have for current f/os I have. Nothin in depth, but the general ideas.

Purah, as kinda my secondary main f/o, has a good bit. We actually knew each other before the events of BotW, though our relationship was a lot different back then. I was a doctor who worked under the crown, so we met up quite frequently. We were going strong for a few years, with plans to marry, until the Calamity happened. I was studying cryogenic preservation up in Hebra when it happened, and the ensuing chaos led to myself being frozen in suspended animation for nearly a century! Purah has bigger fish to fry and kinda lost her memory a bit when she went baby mode, so I wouldn't be found til about a year after Link defeated Ganon and search parties began to be sent out, when I was found frozen in the ice. Purah kinda laser focused on me for a good while, staying by me day in and day out til I fully thawed, and of course oversaw my rehabilitation. She felt a bit awful for the whole thing, but I assured her it was not her fault, and she did the best she could. What mattered most was that were were together again ❤️

I actually have a story with Odessa that takes place after her episode of the show. For backing, I was a elastic powered thief who traveled the world stealing what I wanted. I found out about Odessa during my time in New York, and fell for her. She initially just humored my advances, but she soon fell to my villainess charms and returned the feelings. After I broke her out, she became committed to joining me in robbing the world of whatever we wanted. I even helped rehabilitate her public image, so we could be out in public together yet again eheheh >:]

With Perona, I feel we met up during the two-year time skip. Probably one time when she left the island Zoro and Mihawk were at and explored the surrounding area. She found me alone, silently working on clothes of several varieties thanks to my Cloth-Cloth Fruit abilities. We had a rocky meeting, but things went on an upswing when I made her some new outfits. We got talking, bonding over our similar styles, and then one thing led to another, and we ended up dating :] I visited her and the others frequently, though neither Zoro nor Mihawk were the most...welcoming. I did at least supply Zoro with his new garb before he went off to Sabaody, and did tag along with Perona when she made sure he got there. We stick pretty close to one another, mainly cause, ya know, we're that kinda couple, heh 🩷

For Sombra, we met as Talon agents. Similar vibes, though I was more focused on "physical" hacking, so to speak. Started as a bit of a flirty rivalry that turned to actual flirting that turned to actual dating. We never stop being bad, but we do lay low several years down the line cause, wuh-o, she ended up pregnant with my kid! No idea how that happened...👀

D. Va is a similar case! Freelance agent who encountered her on a few missions. Rivalry started cause I called into question her skills, and that rivalry eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship. We're very open about it too, bothers everyone on the team lol.

Roz I'm kinda here and there about. It's def a kinda AU from the main film, with like anthro versions of the animal cast, cause ya know I def want Brightbill and Fink there. Question is do I wanna be anthro? Or just human? Prolly be a raccoon, cause that's my Mobian-sona. Then again, Roz has a history with raccoons, heh. Regardless, I am very much a robot kisser and I love being co-parents with her :]

Sybil is fun cause, I'm casting myself as a similar "dream warrior", known as The Oni. Cowl, Blue Spirit-esque mask, large ogre-like mace. Tanuki-Possum kinda creature. We're both busy people, but when we meet up, we make it count. We haven't committed to anything, but we are life partners, so there's that!

These next three, I think I made a post earlier about em, or at least the general idea. So, with Toy Chica, I'm introduced as like the new addition to the Fazbear cast, specifically as Chica's partner. She's a bit unsure about the whole deal, but when I turn out to be a lovable guy, genuinely kind, and a good cook, we form a genuine bond which slowly grows to be romantic. Might AU this a bit where like, they're still animatronics but doing that is there "job"? I dunno, sorting the deets.

Roxy is similar. Same fictional in-universe character, now reintroduced in the Pizza-plex era as Roxy's race partner for the double go-kart track. We hit it off incredibly well, and kinda just go with dating from the get go. Helps I'm super supportive of her being the best :]

Rambley is, again, much the same. My character was introduced to be his close friend—if Rambley is Mickey, think me as Goofy, but designed to be as Minnie. Our relationship is very close, so close that over time, when it came time to introduce a proper love interest for Rambley, they just decided to use me because people already assumed we were meant to be a couple. And so we became canon :]

Other bits!:

I was with Mariah when she worked with DIO, and helped fished her out after her battle with Joseph and Avdol. We retired after that.

I was probably some misc god or being in Viridi's pantheon when I met Phosphora.

As the Ultimate Butler, I was placed to work alongside Kirumi. Our relationship started as a tense bout of one-ups-man-ship that eventually boiled over to romantic desire.

[residentdormouse]

Can I ask you to ramble about your current hyperfixation?

I am always up for some rambling! Thank you for the ask!!

Unfortunately for my non-fandom followers, my hyperfixation has not changed for the past two and a half years. (All mutuals now groaning, ‘Shut up about the Stand, Mouse.’) I still cannot explain my extended fix; usually I'm a year tops. Hook onto a character, appease the yearning rats, move on. Not this time…

This may have to do with the fact that the Fandom is smaller. Other fixations, I could casually scroll Tumblr for fan art, find stories to scratch the itch on AO3, and passively ride the wave until something pulled me in another direction. Couldn't do that here. There were like 11 stories for ‘the Stand’ that even tagged Glen Bateman as a character. Some of them were prior to the version of Glen that took up residence in my brain (2020 miniseries), and none of them had him as a primary focus. What's a girl to do, right? Write also turned out to be the answer. So this was the first time I was writing and posting fanfic to AO3. About 290k words later, and almost a year of digging into their characters, here I am, stuck on the same damn guys. The rats are still yearning, and I have no further way to appease them. (Although, I'm sure they will thank you for indulging them now.)

But yeah, still 100% hooked on Stephen King's ‘the Stand’, and specifically the newest 2020 miniseries version. I blame Kinnear's version of Glen. He's a great character in the other versions, but the stars aligned with his take. Witty. Intelligent, but with a cheek and lightheartedness. Logical, yet open to the new world of the unknown. Questioning, but true to himself and loyal to those around him. Speaking his mind, and saying what he believes, regardless of the danger it poses. (And this is not even touching the vaping, which is a fantastic touch, and definitely a way to my heart as well.) Plus, I've always loved Kinnear as an actor, just never saw him in a role where I connected to his character like this. I truly was doomed from the start.

And that's pretty much how it went too. The first damn scene he’s in, and I'm instantly hit with the ‘holy fuck, I love this character’ K.O. punch. Cause that's what I really need for a hyperfix to stick, love for a character.

Then the end of that same episode. This look…

I could go on for days about this look. A ‘Man of Science’ facing the reality of the previously unbelievable. His world view shaken, and now left to piece the puzzle back together. Tear down what he ‘knew’, and start looking at things from a new perspective. This single moment where the world changed for him. It's just… 🤌

I love this fictional man. He has hijacked my brain, and honestly, not really seeing a problem. He can stay as long as he wants. I'll give him some paints, and he can chill up there making fun commentary about life. Maybe give some helpful insight.

But yeah, the Stand still top hyperfixation for me. I have a love of the story as a whole too, don't get me wrong. Read the book, have the ‘94 series, picked up the comics… And other characters have worked their way into my heart too (Lloyd Henreid, I'm talking about you), but Glen was, and still is, the reason I'm here so long after.

Was that rambling enough? Too much? I have no gauge. But I will always elaborate if asked. Do not be afraid to ask, this is why I'm here!!