#i would love to follow them to better platform options.. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thewintersoldierdisaster · 4 months

Text

a/n: my @wyattjohnston winter fic exchange fic for @senditcolton (whose writing i am OBSSESSED with - praise you like i should made me see the light on matty t) 🥰 i’ve never written for tyler seguin and my only familiarity with him was him showing his own headshot to get into the arena which immediately made me love him lol. i had fun writing this one and i hope you enjoy!!!

word count: 12.1k

tw: drinking , fingering (f receiving), oral (f receiving), dirty talk, hangovers, mild cursing

summary: new year’s eve in las vegas gets out of hand when you meet tyler, a gorgeous stranger in the club

After your divorce papers are signed, sealed, and delivered - on Christmas day no less, leave it to your jackass ex to find the only lawyer in the entire Fort Worth area willing to work on a national fucking holiday - your best friends appear at your front door with suitcases, bottles of champagne, and round trip tickets to Las Vegas, leaving on the 27th.

“No,” you tell them flatly, arms crossed over your flannel shirt, hair in a three-day old knot on top of your head. “I’m not in the mood to go anywhere, much less Vegas.”

You hadn’t even taken your parents up on the offer to pay for a plane ticket back home to New York for the holidays. It was too much to face them after your marriage had imploded and getting the third degree from your relatives wasn’t exactly something you wanted to do. Spending the holidays alone had seemed like a better option, even if the day had been a little lonely. But a spiked hot chocolate and a string of Christmas movie classics had kept you from getting too depressed.

“Honey,” Nora says, in her Christmas sweat set, the cartoon Grinch blazoned across the front giving you a nasty smirk, a patient smile on her face, “now is exactly the time to get away. You just shed a hundred seventy five pounds of jackass, you need a distraction.”

She muscles past you and nearly drags her rolling suitcase’s wheels over your bare toes. You pull your foot back and lean against the wall as Katie and Nic follow her inside, a makeshift parade to celebrate your divorce. Nic at least has the decency to shoot you an apologetic look as she passes, whispering, “I tried to get her to settle for a little trip to a spa, you know, manis, pedis, massage. But you know Nora…”

“Never Takes No for an Answer Nora,” you finish when Nic trails off, smiling a little despite yourself. Nic gives you a little smile and bumps your hip with hers.

“Seriously though,” she says as you close the door behind her, “if you really don’t want to go, Nor will understand.”

You sigh and shake your head. “No, I…it’s probably good for me to get out of town,” you admit reluctantly. It’s been a depressing few months, full of anger and tears and tense phone calls and curt emails. You’re tired of being sad, of being angry, but mostly you’re tired of being in the same city as your asshole ex-husband. Even though you moved out of the house you shared and into an apartment, the entire city holds reminders of your relationship. Now that the divorce is official, you’re starting to wonder if staying in Fort Worth is the right move. Your friends and your job are here, but the risk of running into Jason is astronomically high and maybe a change of scenery would be good. You rub at your forehead - that’s a problem for the new year.

The girls leave their suitcases in a pile in your front hall. Two pairs of Nikes and a pair of Ugg platforms join the suitcases and you’re pulled into a pile on your couch - the college tradition for a broken relationship. Back then it had been cheap wine coolers and binge watching The Bachelor. Now, Nora hands you a bottle of champagne, cheers when you pop the cork, and drops her head to your shoulder after you take a huge gulp. You drape your legs over Katie’s lap and rest your cheek on the top of Nora’s head. It’s not the way you thought you’d be spending the holidays, but you’re so grateful for your friends.

“In about an hour, we’re going to start helping you pack,” Nora says, taking the second bottle of champagne from Nic and swigging from it. “But right now, it’s time to tell us every single negative thought you’ve had about Jackass Jason and didn’t want to say before.“

“Have to cleanse the energy,” Nic says, “by putting all his negative traits into the air and I’ll light some sage.”

“Sage?” You lift an eyebrow, warm and cozy in the cocoon of your friends.

Nic digs into her giant purse and pulls out a wad of sage, tied up with white string. She beams. “Sage! It’s very cleansing.”

Katie cackles a laugh. She kicks Nic’s thigh lightly and grins, “never change those hippie ways, Nicky.”

“Pass me a lighter,” Nic holds out her free hand and wiggles her fingers. Nora drops a well used plastic Bic onto her palm and you lean in to cup your hands under the sage bundle. The last thing you want is ashy smudges on your couch.

It takes two tries, but eventually Nic manages to get the lighter to catch and she holds the flame to the top of the bundle. It immediately starts to smell of the burning herb and smoke rises to the ceiling when she blows out the small fire. You cough a little, the scent of sage stinging your nose. Nic rolls off the couch and begins to wave the stick around, explaining what she’s doing as she goes.

“So, we’re getting rid of all of Jason’s negative energy and karma,” she waves the stick and you wince when a little clump of ashes falls to the carpet and then sigh when Nic’s bare foot grinds them further into the fibers.

“Jason never lived here,” you point out reasonably, the bottle of champagne lighter in your hand as you take another drink. Your chest already feels lighter and less knotted with grief and anxiety.

Nic looks at you like you’re an idiot and you feel strangely chastened, taking another swig from the bottle. “Honey, his negative energy and toxicity was absorbed by you and all the stuff you took from the house. We have to just, like, get his energy out of here.” She cocks her head at you, squints, asks, “would you consider cutting your hair? Hair holds onto a lot of trauma.”

“No!” You yelp, hand flying up to clutch at the knotted mess on top of your head. “I thought you were the ones to talk me out of breakup bangs when he first left? Now I’m supposed to cut my hair?”

“Just a suggestion,” she says, even as the other two chime in from the couch to encourage a change in your hairstyle. Nora mentions a bob and you resist the urge to kick her.

With a roll of your eyes, you say firmly, “I’m not cutting my hair. Let’s move on from this.”

Nic nods and finishes sageing the apartment, leaving a faint haze of smoke in the air and you’re honestly very grateful when she puts the bundle in a ziploc bag and stashes it back in her purse. “Okay,” she beams, dusting off her hands, “bad energy officially cleansed. We can move onto the fun part!” She drinks from the bottle that you’ve mostly emptied on your own and before you can ask what the fun part is, you’re being pushed into your bedroom and the girls are rummaging in your closet for your suitcase.

They work in coordination, while you’re sitting stupid in the middle of your bed, to throw your skimpiest clothes into the opened suitcase. You watch as a colourful array of fabric is tossed from your drawers and wonder what, exactly, they have planned for the trip.

“This one, for sure,” Katie’s voice is muffled from deep in your closet. Her hand appears, the mirrored minidress you bought and wore for the Eras Tour swinging from its hanger. The mirrors sparkle under the hi-hats in your room and throw discs of light onto your bedroom walls.

“What are we doing in Vegas?” You ask finally, pulling your knees to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. “I mean, I love that dress, but can’t this just be a chill trip? Like what if we just got tickets to see Adele? And I can cry to her music?”

“Absolutely not,” Nora shakes her head and Katie shakes the dress at you again. “We’re going to get you to forget about the jackass and the divorce one way or another. Whether it’s drinks or dick, that’s your choice, but you deserve to let loose after taking care of him all these years.”

“Besides,” Katie pipes up, “how good do you think we are that we could get last minute Adele tickets? That shit was sold out months ago!”

Tears prickle at your eyes, your nose burning a little. Divorced at 27 isn’t exactly how you pictured your life going after meeting Jason in college, getting married at 22, and supporting him all throughout his time in law school, but you’re beyond grateful for your girls.

“No dick,” you murmur, a shaky smile on your face. “I’m not ready for that, but drinks I can do.”

The trio cheers and starts tossing more clothes into your suitcase.

——

The next day is spent nursing your mild hangover and repacking the drunken mess you’d all made of your suitcase the night before. Once you’re packed to your satisfaction - mirrored mini dress and platform heels included - you run out for a quick wax before meeting the girls for a manicure.

“I meant to say it last night,” you say watching your crusty old gel polish disappear into dust, “but let me know what I owe you, for the flight and hotel and everything. I’ll Venmo you.”

Nora waves you off, apologising quickly to the manicurist when she complains as Nora’s hand is ripped away. “Don’t even worry about that. I used miles for the flights and -“

“The guy I’ve been seeing?” Nic cuts in. “The hedge fund guy, Mark, he’s treating for the hotel suite.”

Katie’s eyebrows shoot up along with yours. Clearly she didn’t know about the hotel connect. “Whoa,” she grins, “Nicky with the high roller! Hold onto him with two hands.”

Nic blushes. “He’s really sweet too.” She continues talking about him for a few minutes until she stops herself and looks at you with wide eyes and an apologetic expression. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! Here I am rambling on and you’re going through -“

“Oh my god, don’t do that!” You cut her off. “I’m okay! I want to hear about the guys you’re dating. Just because I’m single again doesn’t mean I want death to love for everyone.” You snort a laugh that sounds a little forced even to your own ears. The girls share a look that you hate, but continue talking about the dates they’ve been on and the mediocre sex they’ve been having. Truthfully, you tune them out a little bit, cranky about the divorce, about the trip that was sprung on you, and embarrassingly enough, jealous that they’re having sex at all.

Even before Jason started the divorce proceedings six months ago, it had been nearly eight months before that the last time you had sex. You should’ve realized he was seeing someone else on the side because there was no way he had gone that long without sex. And yet. You’d been caught off guard by the cliched texts found in his phone, the lacy thong found in his car, and the divorce petition delivered to you while he was “working late.” Thinking back on it, you feel supremely stupid.

Now that the paperwork is signed and you’re officially, legally single again, you’re just glad you didn’t have kids or anything really significant to fight over. It’s almost a blessing that the process wasn’t as drawn out as it could’ve been.

You make a conscious effort to push all thoughts of Jason from your mind and try to be in the moment, a task made easier once you’re in the air en route to Vegas and then actually in the city itself. It’s both like the movies and not, colorful and loud and a little sketchy. But you immediately make twenty bucks on a slot machine in the airport, so you figure that’s a good omen for the trip.

The first four days of the trip pass in a blur - all you can eat buffets, drinking, dancing, spas, too little sleep, and too much gambling. You’re up nearly three hundred dollars after being down almost a thousand the day before, so that’s cause to celebrate with drinks. Not that you really need an excuse - you’ve had more alcohol in the last four days than in the last four months. You’re exhausted, but you’ve also laughed more than you have in a year and your face hurts from smiling. The entire city has a numbing effect on your lingering emotions and you feel yourself starting to rediscover who you were before the Jason of it all.

“Time for the mirrorball dress!” Nora singsongs, dancing around the suite in her plush robe. It’s New Year’s Eve and the city feels even sparklier than usual. The streets have been packed with people and the casinos are at capacity - apparently there’s a hockey game tonight too, so the sports bettors are having a field day. You’ve been going to different hotel bars and clubs the past few nights, but tonight is the big night out before you fly back to Texas tomorrow night.

The entire Strip is shut down to traffic for the night and you’re planning on going to TAO for dinner and dancing since it’s inside the Venitian, where you’re staying. It’s a major splurge, but fuck it, you’re about to get alimony from your corporate lawyer ex-husband. You still have Jason’s credit card, so you’re fully planning on putting dinner on his tab, before he realizes that the card is in your possession. For all the little details Jason remembers, he’s surprisingly bad about his finances.

For now though, you dig your hand into the pillowcase that had been full of the little shot sized bottles of alcohol four days ago and is now mostly empty. You groan when you pull out a little bottle of Pink Whitney, the pink lemonade vodka is your least favorite drink. You knock back the shot while the girls cheer you on, all three of them already in various states of tipsy. It honestly feels like you haven’t been completely sober since you left Texas.

Nic blasts a classic 2000s playlist while you’re getting ready and you dance around the huge suite, feeling light and floaty.

It’s complete chaos out on the Strip, even though it’s barely after 7. You could’ve gotten to the restaurant directly through the hotel, but you decide to walk outside for a bit to see what’s happening. It’s chillier than you expected, so by the time you get to the restaurant, you’re more than ready for a drink and dinner. You fill up on sushi and expensive drinks, gossiping about people you knew in college, spilling some more of the more extreme details of Jason’s cheating when you’re finished with your third TAO-tini.

“FUCK HIM!” Katie shouts in the middle of the restaurant, drawing attention to your table. You giggle and shush her drunkenly, waving a hand to get her to lower her voice. “No,” she shakes her head, only marginally quieter, “you really are so much better than that douche. When we get downstairs, we’re finding a man and you’re fucking him!”

Nic giggles and leans a little sideways in her seat, “new dick to cleanse Jackass Jason from your vagina!”

You flush with embarrassment as more people look over, but thank god the waiter comes by with the check. You toss Jason’s platinum AmEx onto the little dish and grin wickedly as you tell the girls, “dinner was on Jason.” They cheer and Nora laughs, “I should’ve ordered another drink!”

Once the bill is paid, with a generous 30% tip added, you traipse downstairs into the club part of the restaurant. The lights are low and the music is loud, plenty of people already drunkenly dancing just three hours before midnight. Nic and Nora join the fray immediately while you and Katie detour off to the bathroom quickly where you fix up your makeup and fluff up your hair, inspecting your face in the mirror. You look tired, but there’s a spark in your eyes that you hadn’t noticed was missing in the last year of your relationship with Jason.

“I’m serious,” Katie says, her solemn tone betrayed by the slight slur to her ‘s’. “Pick a guy in here and I will make sure you fuck him. You deserve a little fun.”

“I have been having fun,” you assure her, your reflection grinning at hers. The alcohol is making your brain pleasantly fuzzy, thoughts drifting away as easily as they come. “I don’t need a man right now,” you continue. “Even for the night. I just want to dance.”

“Okay!” Katie chirps, grabbing your hand and pulling you back out into the club. “Let’s dance!”

And you do. You find Nic and Nora and for a handful of songs, the four of you are jumping and screaming and having a blast.

Sweaty and thirsty, you break off from the girls and wobble towards the bar, weaving in between the throngs of people. The line for the bar is two or three people deep, so you settle in for a wait, looking around the room and people watching. The crowd seems pretty typical for New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas, but your gaze lands on a group of men and your heart skips a beat.

There’s at least four of them huddled together, maybe five, and you know you’re drunk, but you didn’t think you were drunk enough to be seeing double. You blink and they come into sharper focus - not seeing double, just two incredibly handsome, dark haired and bearded men. Another dark haired man with no beard and a curly haired blond man. They’re all in slacks and white button downs in various states of unbuttoned, like they came from the office or something. They don’t look out of place in the club though, with drinks in their hands and the way they’re grouped together.

They’re laughing and shoving at each other, like overgrown frat boys, and you can’t look away. You’re captivated by the way they hold themselves, clearly confident in their bodies. Even in the dark of the club, you can see the faint outlines of ink through the white fabric of one of the guys’ shirts.

You’re still staring like a creep when the tattooed guy turns and looks directly at you, making and holding eye contact. A little gasp slips from your lips and your stomach flips, the familiar and nearly forgotten feeling of arousal sparking to life in your stomach. His friends shove at his arms, laughing. You blink and look away, feeling shaky and not from the alcohol. A faint flutter between your legs has you pressing your thighs together. “This is stupid,” you mutter to yourself. Ten seconds of eye contact shouldn’t have had you reacting like this. Yes, it had been a while since you last had sex, but jeez.

You rub your fingers over the bridge of your nose and nearly jump out of your skin when a deep, unfamiliar voice says, “what are you drinking?” right in your ear.

“Oh!” You turn, stumbling just enough that a hand shoots out and grips your elbow to steady you. A warm, broad hand. Attached to a tanned, tattooed forearm. Attached to a broad chest barely covered by an obscenely unbuttoned white shirt - tattoos and chest hair exposed and making your body react. Attached to the dark haired man you had made eye contact with. You blink up into warm brown eyes and ignore the way your stomach clenches up. His thumb brushes against the inside of your elbow and your skin feels like it’s on fire.

His mouth, full lower lip and thinner upper lip surrounded by a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, quirks up at the corner. “In case I wasn’t clear,” he says and you can hear the laughter in his tone, “can I buy you a drink?”

A faint smile touches your own lips and you nod. “Double vodka cranberry,” you say, voice a little raspy from screaming along to the music.

Mystery Man nods, smiling, “good choice. Come with me?” Without waiting for an answer, he slides his hand down your forearm and laces his fingers with yours to pull you behind him while he uses his broad shoulders to muscle past the crowd around the bar. When you reach the bar, he does a quick maneuver, dragging you in front of him so you’re sandwiched between the bar and his chest, heat pouring off his body. He leans forward a bit, pressing against you, and catches the bartender’s attention. Your entire body feels too warm, the thin fabric of your thong growing damp from the solid mass of his chest against your back.

“Double vodka cranberry for the lady,” he orders. “And double scotch on the rocks for me.”

His forearms come to rest on the bar top, trapping you in the circle of his arms. The alcohol is lowering your inhibitions and your intrusive thoughts win out and you arch your back a little, pressing your ass into his crotch, turning your head to look back at him. He wears a shit eating grin on his face.

“I don’t usually let strangers buy me drinks,” you say, heart pounding in your chest. He doesn’t feel like a threat, doesn’t feel like someone you should be afraid of. You lean a little closer to him, something crackling in the air between your bodies.

Something flitters across his expression, but you’re just this side of drunk and can’t manage to identify it before it’s gone. “Tyler,” he introduces himself, trailing a finger over your arm and up to your shoulder where he plays with the thin silver strap holding your dress in place. “Not a stranger now.” Goosebumps lift on your arms as his fingertip twists in the skimpy strap. His gaze is searing, flickering from your eyes to your lips to the hint of cleavage exposed by the draping of your dress. Your nipples tighten under the fabric, pinching almost painfully.

You offer up your own name in return, taking the drink directly from the bartender when he returns. You sip at it and it tastes stronger than a double or maybe that’s just Tyler’s proximity that’s clouding your senses.

He takes a sip of his own drink and leads you away from the bar, giving you another opportunity to watch his back muscles move under his shirt as he works his way through the crowd. A gym rat, you think, with the way he’s all lean muscle and quiet strength. He’s muscled, but not disgustingly so.

“What are you doing in Vegas?” He asks, when you’re alone again, just off to the side of the bar. You can see the girls out of the corner of your eye, staring at you with matching ‘you go, girl!’ expressions on their faces. You giggle a little.

“Celebrating,” you reply vaguely, taking a sip of your drink and fluttering your lashes. You’re flirting, you realize. You haven’t flirted with anyone since Jason. The bubbly feeling in your chest expands and you smile up at him.

“Huh,” he laughs warmly, “what do you know, me too. And the only thing my night was missing is a pretty girl.”

Alcohol fuels your confidence, along with the hungry way Tyler’s gaze takes in your body, and you reply, “good thing you found me then.”

Your gaze lingers on the notch of his collarbone, the dusting of hair over his chest, the dark lines of his tattoos. Your cunt gives an enthusiastic throb and you swallow heavily.

Tyler leans in a little and you catch a whiff of spicy cologne mixed with the scotch on his breath. This isn’t his first drink of the night either. “Would your friends mind if I monopolized your time tonight?”

Biting your lip, you look over at the girls. Katie is moving her hand near her mouth in the universal sign for blowjob and Nic is giving you the biggest, most encouraging puppy dog eyes. Nora flashes you a double thumbs up, spilling some of her drink in the process. A laugh huffs through your nose and you look back up at Tyler, “no, I don’t think they’ll mind.”

“Good,” his smile is adorable, his hand lands on your waist, and you completely forget why you told Katie you weren’t interested in a hook up tonight. “Want to dance?”

You’re not quite sure how it happened - one minute you were dancing with Tyler, one of his arms wrapped securely around your waist while your hips gyrated against his pelvis, the hard bulge of his cock obvious every time you moved and the next minute you found yourself pressed up against a wall in the VIP section of TAO, with Tyler’s tongue deep down your throat and his hand sliding up the side of your thigh, fingertips playing at the hem of your dress. Your hands are fisted around the collar of his shirt, pulling him as close as you can while you moan into his mouth and cant your hips towards his, spreading your legs a little to encourage his hand’s exploration.

His fingertips make contact with the soaked fabric of your thong and you whimper, knees going weak. Tyler’s lips turn up in a smile against yours and he uses more pressure, finding your clit easily through the fabric until you have to pull back and gasp for air, your head thrown back while you pant.

“Jesus, baby,” he mutters, kissing a trail down your jaw and over your throat. “You’re fucking soaked.” He sucks gently at your pulse point, your heart hammering in your chest.

He slips his fingers under the fabric, rough pads of his fingers catching against your slick folds. “Oh my god,” you mutter, grinding against his fingers. “More, please, Tyler.”

He obeys, thumb catching on your clit and middle finger teasing at your entrance before sliding inside easily. A whine catches in your throat and it feels so good, too good. Between the alcohol and the lust and the months long celibacy, you’re at the edge of an orgasm in less than a minute, dripping around Tyler’s fingers before you can even process that you’ve come. White spots dance in your vision and it could be the strobe lights or the searing pleasure from having your clit rolled between Tyler’s thick fingers.

“Good girl,” he grins against your neck, beard and teeth scraping against your skin. Your face already feels rubbed raw with beard burn, but you don’t want him to stop. “Think you can do it again?”

Truthfully you think that you’re so worked up and horny you could come just from Tyler looking at you, but you nod and squeak out a yes.

Tyler bites a mark against your collarbone and drops to his knees, wedging his shoulders between your thighs and forcing them apart. He looks up at you from between your legs, dark eyes even darker with lust and a wicked grin on his face, “hold on, baby, gonna make you see fireworks for the New Year.”

You laugh at the corny line, choking off into a prolonged moan when he buries his face between your legs and presses his tongue flat against your cunt, the wet heat of his tongue pressing your damp thong into your sensitive clit.

You’re beyond thankful for the darkness of the VIP area and the loud music because you can’t contain the noises that Tyler’s drawing from your mouth. You tangle one hand in his hair - fuck, it’s so soft - and hold his face up against your cunt. The other hand reaches blindly for the magnum bottle of champagne you’d been sharing. Technically it’s the second bottle and it’s more than half gone when you tip it up to your mouth for a drink.

“I - ah! I don’t usually doooooh my god, right there - this,” you gasp, writhing over Tyler’s face. His nose is pressed against your clit and his tongue is flat against you, licking with purpose. You grind against his face, making sure the tip of his nose rubs against your clit.

“What,” he pulls back with a wicked grin that only grows when you whine and try to push him back in place with your grip on his hair, “get your pussy licked?”

The bottom half of his face is glistening in the strobe lights and you feel the blush rise on your chest knowing that your body did that to him.

“Um, yes,” you admit quietly, “and the whole, uh, stranger in a club thing too.”

His smile turns a little soft, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Happy to be your first then,” he kisses the inside of your thigh and lifts your leg so it’s draped over his shoulder and you’re spread even wider for him. You’re impossibly exposed to him and all it does is make you wetter. Tyler tilts his head back a little and opens his mouth, you instinctively pour some champagne into his mouth, the both of you laughing when it splatters onto his face and shirt, making the white fabric nearly see-through. He wipes a little at his face, fingers scraping at his beard, and he shrugs. “Was gonna get all wet and messy anyway.”

He holds his champagne covered fingers up to your face and you lick at his skin, sucking his fingertips into your mouth and letting them rest on your tongue for a moment before he pushes them a little further past your lips, until saliva is dripping down his palm.

Tyler’s head is back between your legs, a strong hang gripping at your thigh, his lips wrapped around your clit. He sucks at the swollen bud and your leg kicks out, the heel of your platform smacking against his back with an audible thunking noise. He grunts into you and you moan an apology, his fingers falling out of your mouth so you can take another gulp of champagne. The bubbles fizz on your tongue and burn going down.

He buries his wet fingers into your cunt, curling and pumping, and you bite down hard on your lower lip to keep from screaming. Not that anyone would hear you with how loud the music is in the club. You grind your hips against Tyler’s face and feel him smile, the coarse hair on his face scratching against your inner thighs when you subconsciously try to close your legs around his ears.

“Gonna kill me,” he pulls back and mutters, nipping at the junction of your thigh. You jolt when his hands squeeze at your asscheeks, the scrape of the sequins on your dress adding more overwhelming sensation. He adjusts your thigh over his shoulder, his other hand trailing down your leg and wrapping around your ankle. He pulls back a little and you whine at the loss of sensation. “I like these,” he says, his fingers tapping against the sparkle of your platforms. “When I fuck you later, I want you to keep these on.”

You laugh, about to deny that this is going any further than the club, when his mouth is back on your cunt, tongue stiff and warm as he licks at your clit. All thoughts are gone from your head, aware only of the pleasure Tyler’s giving you. His hands are all over your body, fidgeting from your thighs to your ass and back again, calloused fingertips ghosting over your skin and making you shiver.

You close your eyes against the pleasure building in your body, tears pooling at your waterline. How the fuck did you go this long in life without realizing that you’ve never had a satisfying orgasm? And some random, gorgeous man in a club in Vegas is the one to satisfy you over and over? It’s a shame this is a one night thing.

—-

Sunlight streams in through the windows and you screw your eyes shut tighter, nausea rolling your stomach even though you haven’t moved. It’s like an ice pick is stabbed into your temple, the throbbing somewhere deep in your brain a harsh reminder that you’re not 21 and immune to hangovers anymore.

You press your lips together and lift your hand to rub at your temple, trying to keep your movements as slow as possible so you don’t vomit. Something hard and sharp knocks against your brow bone and you crack one eye open to see what the hell it could possibly be since you don’t remember putting any jewelry on last night. A huge twinkly diamond ring stares back at you from your finger.

The ring finger.

The left ring finger.

…fuck

Your eyes fly open and you ignore the wave of nausea and shooting headache to look around the hotel room. The unfamiliar hotel room. The sheets slide down your chest, exposing you to cold air and making you shiver. Your nipples pebble from the cold and you look down, eyes widening at the little bruises and bite marks scattered over your chest and stomach. You’re naked under the sheets save for a pair of black boxer-briefs looped around one thigh, like you tried to put them on last night and got tired halfway. The fabric is soft and worn and they’re absolutely not your underwear.

“Fuck!” You yelp, gaze landing on Tyler’s prone form in the bed next to you. He’s flat on his back, one arm thrown over his face, the other out to his side with his fingers curled in your direction. “Oh my god!”

His chest is bare, tattoos a stark contrast against the white sheets and his tan skin. He’s got purpling bruises on his chest and stomach too, marks that you must’ve left on him. Marks that make a trail from his collarbone over his pecs, down his stomach, barely hidden by the sheet that rides low over his lap.

If you’re half wearing his briefs, he’s definitely completely naked from the waist down too. Before you can comprehend the thought, you wonder if you left marks lower on his body too.

Your head is moving around like it’s on a swivel, taking in all the details of the room that you’re pretty sure is Tyler’s. There’s a black suitcase in the corner and your dress is a shiny pile on the floor. Your thong tossed over the lampshade on the bedside table. You can’t find your shoes, until you notice them at the foot of the giant bed, left in a haphazard pile and you remember, faintly, Tyler’s words from last night - “When I fuck you later, I want you to keep these on.” They look like they were discarded in a rush, one ankle strap not even fully pulled from its buckle. His clothes are everywhere, tossed in a trail from the door that speaks to how fast you were trying to get him naked.

The hangover is clouding your brain, making it feel like your head is stuffed with cotton, and you haven’t even begun to consider what the ring on your finger means. Maybe it was just a joke? It had to have been a joke.

Tyler shifts, grunting a little in his sleep, and reaches his hand out in your direction like he’s trying to find your body. His movement startles you.

“Ah, fuck!” You yelp, scrambling out of the bed, legs all tangled in the sheets. The briefs slip down your leg and tangle around your ankle. You kick your leg wildly, the black fabric going sailing across the room with the force of your kick. Frantically, you yank at one of the blankets crumpled at the foot of the bed and wrap it around yourself like a toga. Your hands shake a little.

Tyler stirs and blinks sleepily, stretching his arms over his head, giving you a show with how the black ink of his tattoos move. His gaze is unfocused when his eyes finally open, landing on your blanket-wrapped form. A slow smile graces his lips and he rasps, “hey, morning.” There’s a smudge of your dark lipstick on his cheek, partially hidden by his beard. A bruise is sucked into the underside of his bearded jaw and you notice, for the first time, the ragged red nail marks on his shoulders and biceps. He looks like he was attacked by a feral animal - and it’s a jolt to the system when you realize that feral animal had to have been you.

You can’t even find words, mouth gaping open and shut at him like a fish. Now that you’re standing, you finally stop for a second to take stock of your own body. Sticky between the thighs, sore like you’ve never been sore before - in a pleasant, well taken care of way. Your inner thighs feel raw and you know that when you look later, you’re going to find beard burn on the sensitive skin. You can already feel it on your chin and cheeks.

“What is this?” You hold your left hand out to him, the gaudy ring - because now that you’ve gotten a better look at it, it’s not a real diamond, thank god. It’s cubic zirconia or something cloudier than a real diamond and it’s a huge oval, spanning the entirety of your knuckle - glinting in the early morning sunlight.

Tyler squints at you, rolling onto his side before sitting up, either unaware or unconcerned that he’s completely naked and the sheet pools low enough in his lap that you can see the trail of dark hair leading down to his dick and the hair at the very base of him. You try to keep your eyes from looking, but he reaches a hand up and rubs at the back of his neck, making his bicep pop and the sheet move around and you’re only a woman, you can’t help yourself from looking. Your clit throbs between your legs, clearly remembering what happened last night even if most of it after getting eaten out in TAO is a little fuzzy to your brain.

“It’s a ring,” he replies simply, looking like his brain is trying to come back on-line too. He shifts his hand and his eyebrows lift. “Oh, shit. I’ve got one too.”

Your gaze lands on the band on his left ring finger. It’s yellow gold, or something cheap that looks like yellow gold, and you hate that your immediate thought is that it looks good on him. The band contrasts nicely with his skin and he spins it with his thumb, your eyes tracking the rotation.

A little chuckle slips past his lips and you blink at him. He takes in your expression and laughs outright. “Come on, you can’t possibly think we what? Got married last night?” His laugh is warm and too familiar for someone you’ve known less than twelve hours. “That’s a Vegas cliché if I’ve ever heard one.”

You shake your head. “Right, no. Yeah, I’m just being stupid. It’s just—“ you hesitate, glancing around the room again, avoiding looking at him, noticing the - oh god - four condom wrappers discarded on the floor. No wonder you’re so sore. The tenting of the sheet in his lap isn’t doing much to hide his morning wood, the shape of him obvious even with the quick little glances you’ve been sneaking. Four times. It’s a minor miracle that you’re not walking bowlegged.

Tyler stretches again and looks around for something - his clothes, his phone, who knows - while clearly not caring that the sheet is covering next to nothing. “Hey, do you see my phone?” He asks, drawing your attention back to his face. “Just wanna check the time.”

He’s remarkably chill and you’re starting to feel a little crazy for overreacting so much to silly rings bought in a drunken haze. There’s a phone on one of the little decorative tables in the corner of the room and you’re not sure if it’s yours or his, but when you pad across the room to get it, you step on a piece of paper, crumpling it under your heel. Leaning down to pick it up, you fall back on your ass in shock when your eyes land on the words at the top.

Clark County Marriage License

“You okay?” Tyler asks, sounding concerned.

“No,” you manage to squeak out the word around the block in your throat. There in black and white - your name and Tyler’s. Tyler Paul Seguin, apparently, if the document is to be believed. You feel your stomach lurch when you see the date on the license. Last night, New Year’s Eve.

How drunk had you been?

Who the hell had let you get married?

You’re so caught up in the implications of the piece of paper you’re holding that you don’t realize Tyler’s out of bed and squatting next to you, wearing his briefs, thank god.

“Whatcha got - oh,” he cuts himself off, reading the words over your shoulder. “Oh. Shit. Wow.”

He sits down on the floor next to you and you look over at him, eyes wide. “We actually got fucking married in Las Vegas,” you breathe, chest tightening in panic.

“I mean, maybe we didn’t?” He says hopefully. “That’s just a license, doesn’t mean we actually did it.” He taps his fingers absently over one well-muscled thigh, an irregular beat that you somehow sync your breathing to. With a huge effort, you drag your gaze away from his fingers - long and thick and the last you remember, stuffed up your cunt and dragging an orgasm out of your body - and steady your breathing. One hand presses against your chest, fingers digging into your skin like you could reach in and squeeze your heart back into a normal rhythm.

The phone on the tabletop starts buzzing and Tyler reaches up to grab it - “mine,” he says, glancing at the screen and jabs his finger to silence the alarm. He reaches his hand back up on the table and comes back with a handful of Polaroids. He splays them out like a deck of cards and you look at them. “Huh.”

Each picture is blurry as hell, but they’re unmistakably wedding photos. You’ve got a little fluffy veil on. Tyler’s shirt is unbuttoned past is sternum, but tucked neatly into his pants. He’s got you dipped back at the waist, kissing you dramatically. You’re on his back, holding a bouquet of flowers in the air as you kiss his cheek. He’s holding you, chest to chest, one large hand splayed over your bare back, your hand slid underneath his shirt. The Little White Wedding Chapel sign behind you and Tyler in one photo makes what happened last night unavoidable.

“I think we got married,” Tyler states the obvious and you burst into hysterical, gasping laughter. He looks at you, concerned for a beat before starting to laugh himself. It’s not funny at all, but if you don’t laugh, you think you’ll cry.

Once you catch your breath, you hiccup a little noise that sounds like a sob and carefully put the license up on the table. Tyler watches you and then glances back down at his phone, wincing at the time. “So, uh, hate to get married and run, but I have to go,” he taps his phone screen. “I’m on a flight to San Jose in an hour and I really can’t afford to miss that.”

You catch a glimpse of his lock screen and it’s a picture of him cuddling three dogs, which makes you feel marginally better because at least it’s not a woman that he’s cheating on and any man that has his dogs as his phone screen can’t be a total sociopath. A little bit of the knot in your chest unravels.

“San Jose,” you repeat, finally catching onto what he said. “Is that where you live?” You ask the question realizing you know nothing about this man that you’ve married. You didn’t even know his last name until five minutes ago. Oh god. You’re going to have to manage a time difference while filing for divorce. Your thoughts spiral out. Can you even get divorced in a state that’s not Nevada? You should know this, you’re probably the divorce expert in the room. He isn’t giving off divorced man energy, but do you give off divorced woman energy? You hadn’t thought about that and now it’s all you can focus on.

Tyler laughs a little, drawing your attention and stopping your panic attack. “No, thank god. I’m, uh, not to sound conceited,” he says sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck, “but you really didn’t recognize me?”

“Should I?” You frown, studying his face. Maybe he looks familiar? But in that way that most dark haired white men look alike. You’re almost positive that you’ve never seen him before.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “This is awkward. But I play for the Dallas Stars, the hockey team? We played Vegas last night, San Jose tomorrow.”

You cock your head at him, this new information sinking in. Dallas. Just thirty minutes from your place in Fort Worth. You’ve obviously heard of the Stars, you don’t live under a rock, but you’ve never been to a game, never cared about sports enough to learn any of the players’ names. It would be a weird thing to lie about, but - “prove it.”

“Prove it?” Tyler repeats incredulously. You nod. He frowns and looks like he’s trying to make a decision. After a second, he huffs a little laugh to himself and mutters, “well, it already worked once,” before unlocking his phone and typing away on the screen. A second later he holds it up next to his face, a Google search open on the screen. A headshot - Tyler’s headshot in a green jersey - looks back at you. He grins wryly, “proof enough?” The search bar at the bottom of the screen shows that he typed in ‘tyler seguin dallas stars headshot’ and misspelled his own name as ‘tylor’ - you don’t know why, but it makes you bite your lip to smother a laugh. The little typo is endearing.

You look back and forth between the screen and Tyler, long enough that he starts to genuinely laugh. “C’mon,” he teases, putting his phone down on his thigh, “you’re a tougher sell than security at the arena.”

“Okay,” you offer him a tiny smile, “I believe you. I’m just, um, a little overwhelmed. I don’t do this kind of thing.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever done it before either,” he replies, shoving a hand through his hair. “I’m going to be on the road for a bit, west coast swing, but if you put your number in my phone, I’ll have my lawyer start working on the paperwork.”

“Paperwork?”

He coughs a little awkwardly. “The divorce? Or annulment? Divorce though right? ‘Cause we obviously slept together,” he gestures at the condom wrappers, “so we can’t just sweep it under the rug. Like Ross and Rachel in Friends.”

“No!” The word slips out before you can stop it and Tyler frowns.

“We can annul it? My knowledge of ending Vegas weddings is pretty minimal.” He pauses and then as if to reassure you, says, “my knowledge of ending marriages in general is pretty limited too.”

“No,” you chew at your lip, “it’s still a divorce. But, fuck, this is mortifying. A second fucking divorce before I’m even 28. Good fucking job with your life.” You mutter the last bit more to yourself than to Tyler, tears welling up in your eyes. That would be the last thing you need, to tell your family and friends about this whole debacle. Literally a week after your first divorce is finalized, you go out and get married again. Drunkenly. In Las Vegas!

Tyler’s eyebrow lifts and he doesn’t ask the question he so clearly wants to ask. You scrub a hand over your face, nausea returning but you’re not sure if it’s the hangover this time or the way he’s looking at you.

“What if,” he says slowly, studying you carefully for a reaction, “what if, we just…didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” You shift, the floor uncomfortable under your sore ass. The blanket wrapped around your body isn’t the softest and you’re starting to sweat a little despite the cold air pumping into the room. Tyler’s presence next to you is becoming distracting, the movement of his chest muscles, the rasp of his voice. Your body wants more of him.

“Didn’t get divorced…” he tilts his head at you, keeps looking you in the eye, even after your jaw drops and the blanket slips a little. “We could, I don’t know, just -“

“Stay married?” You finish for him, eyebrows up in your hairline. He nods, shrugs - why not? “Oh my god.”

Tyler’s phone vibrates on his thigh and he glances down at the alarm. It reminds you that you have no idea where your own phone is and you really, really need to talk to the girls. He jabs at the alarm again and looks apologetic. “I really do have to go,” he gets to his feet and holds out a hand to pull you up. A spark shoots up your arm when his fingers clasp around yours. He doesn’t let go right away, his thumb rubbing against the backs of your fingers. “Think about it,” he looks at you more softly than you think he really should be in this moment. “You said you don’t do this kind of thing,” he continues, “but new year, new you?” The tiny smile he gives you sends your heartbeat into overdrive and this cannot be good for your health.

“Drunk married in Vegas would be a really new me,” you reply faintly. His hand finally falls away from yours and you’re mildly concerned to realize that you miss his touch. Your fingers flex at your side.

His smile doesn’t waver and he reaches out to brush a piece of hair off your cheek, fingertips lingering on your skin. “I’ll be back in Dallas in two weeks. Think about it, I’ll take you to dinner and we can just…go from there.”

He says it so simply, like it’s nothing. Strangely enough, you do feel calmer than you had a few moments ago, Tyler’s steady calm rubbing off on you.

“Okay,” you nod, repeating yourself. “Okay. I’ll…two weeks.”

Tyler grins a little wickedly. “At least we know we’re good together in bed,” he teases, kicking at a condom wrapper with his bare foot.

A laugh startles out of your chest and you find yourself nodding in agreement. “I, ah, definitely agree with that,” you murmur, your entire face flaming with heat.

——

One Year Later - New Year’s Eve. Dallas. TX

Tyler greets you at the door, suited up and bouquet of flowers in hand. “Hi, Mrs. Seguin,” he grins at you.

“Mr. Seguin,” you laugh back, leaning in to loop your arms around his neck and kiss him soundly, nipping at his lower lip. When you pull back, you’re breathless. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?”

His hands roam up and down your back, catching in the fabric of your sparkly white minidress, sliding up under the hem to knead at the flesh of your ass. He grins wickedly when his hands don’t find any fabric covering your ass. You smirk at him and wink, giggling when he pinches a cheek.

You lean into his touch with a contented purr. If it wouldn’t make you late for your own party, you’d pull him inside the house for a quickie. You’d already had sex this morning - a wedding present, according to Tyler when he’d given you back to back, mind numbing orgasms with his tongue and dick before you’d returned the favor with a blowjob that had rendered him speechless for twenty minutes - but you would never get enough of being in Tyler’s arms.

“Does it count as bad luck if none of the guests know they’re coming to a wedding?” He asks, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Or a vow renewal, technically.”

The last twelve months have been a little insane and honestly, looking back, you don’t think you’d have it any other way.

After getting dressed quickly, Tyler had found your phone wedged in the cushions of the hotel room’s armchair. The battery was nearly drained but your screen was lit up with more than a hundred texts in the group chat with the girls and nearly as many missed calls. When you had finally called back, all three had shrieked that they were twenty minutes away from reporting you missing. You’d kept the little surprise of legally binding matrimony to yourself, but had admitted to the girls that you’d spent the night with Tyler and that he lived in Dallas and that you were going to see where it went. The flight home was full of whispered shrieking and more questions than you had honestly had answers for at the time. The gaudy engagement ring was buried in the bottom of your toiletry case, acting like the tell-tale heart, blood rushing in your head every time you thought about it.

When you got home, you’d shoved the ring in your jewelry box, determined not to think about it, but found yourself absently running the pad of your thumb over the underside of your ring finger when you let your mind wander to Tyler.

After Tyler had returned to Dallas from his two week road trip - during which you’d basically internet stalked him and spiralled out quietly about not filling for a divorce right away - you’d finally decided to give it, give Tyler a chance. He’d texted nearly every day he was gone, sending stupid jokes or a picture of something he thought would amuse you. Worst case scenario, you filed for divorce and went through the process all over again. By the time Tyler took you out for dinner at a quiet dive-y taco place in Fort Worth where you could actually hear each other, both of your memories of the wedding night had returned, although yours were coloured in a hazy film that made the whole thing seem like a fever dream.

The little ceremony had been officiated by an Elvis impersonator, another Vegas cliché, a fact that you’d learned when Tyler had found another Polaroid in his wallet when he was on the plane to San Jose. You’d cracked up when he finally showed it to you in person - Elvis in the middle, clearly past his prime, with you and Tyler on either side of him doing your best air guitar? Maybe?

“I think I’m trying to do an Elvis hip swivel,” Tyler had laughed.

“Whatever it is, it looks like we’re both mid-seizure,” you’d nearly snorted your drink out of your nose. Looking at the photographs was fun now, a little warmth building in the pit of your stomach, not the tight, nauseous coil of anxiety that you’d experienced when you had first seen them.

Other wedding details were still a little hazy, like where you had picked up the rings or what exactly the ceremony had consisted of, beyond being declared man and wife and being told to kiss and cement your “burning love.”

(What you remembered and what Tyler made sure you didn’t forget was just how good you were in bed together. The four condom wrappers on the floor were not an anomaly with Tyler.)

He’d gotten you tickets for games, right up against the glass so he could skate by you during warmups and tap his glove against the glass to capture your attention. After a few games, once you’d decided to really commit to the relationship and were official within your friendship circles, he picked up the habit of blowing you a kiss, grinning when you’d blush.

He’s really good at his job and you’re only a little surprised to find that you actually love watching him play. It’s horrific watching him get hit or tossed into the boards, but when he scores a goal and celebrates in a big hug with his teammates you’re always the first one on your feet, screaming your head off.

You’d brought the girls to a game early on in your relationship and all three of them had been surprised at how comfortable you were in the arena and how quickly you’d picked up the rules of the game. It was hard to explain that you weren’t just trying to make a regular relationship work, but a whole marriage. The stakes were just a little bit higher than usual.

The league had a break for the All-Star Weekend in early February and Tyler had surprised you with a trip to Mexico, where you’d soaked up the sun and gotten to know each other better, giving him all the sordid details about your divorce and sharing stories from your childhoods over icy margaritas and more tacos than your body knew what to do with. He’d told you about his early career, his misbehavior in Boston and how much he loved being in Dallas. The long weekend was slow and lazy, leaving so much time for the two of you to really talk and get to know each other. The experimental sex in a hammock on the beach was the icing on the cake.

After that, it was like a switch flipped and all you wanted to do was be with him. Truthfully, you sometimes forgot that you were thrown into the relationship with a marriage and settled comfortably into dating Tyler, folding each other into your lives, moving in with him, telling him you love him and hearing him say it back, cheering him on when Dallas made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being bounced in seven games by, of all teams, the Vegas Golden Knights.

Summer break meant a road trip to Whitby to meet Tyler’s family. A drive that should’ve been two or three days took nearly a week because you kept making random stops to see the silliest monuments advertised on the highways. You’d nearly killed him driving through Illinois, convinced this was the end of the relationship and you’d have to pull the trigger on the divorce, and then he had surprised you by stopping at a corn maze and getting lost in it with you almost immediately. Your stomach had hurt from laughing with him and making out like teenagers.

The trip to his hometown had been beyond fun, getting Tyler to show you his childhood haunts and seeing all the baby pictures of him with his mom telling you stories too.

On the drive back to Dallas, halfway through Oklahoma and in the middle of the night, while you’re pulled over on the side of the road to look at the stars, Tyler asked you to marry him. Again.

This time you had the moment committed to memory, the way Tyler’s hands had been shaking slightly with the black velvet box popped open in his fingers. The way Tyler’s speech rambled, like he hadn’t prepared anything or had forgotten his words just as he started talking, explaining how your relationship had started in an unconventional manner, but he couldn’t picture his life without you now. The way you’d started crying almost the second he had turned to you on the hood of the car with that gorgeous ring glinting at you in the moonlight and how you hadn’t stopped until he’d slid the ring home on your finger and kissed you like he’d never kissed you before.

Over the months, the wedding plan shifts and changes, from a summer wedding so you can have a real ceremony and party, the whole nine yards, to what it actually ends up becoming - a quiet inside joke with the two of you in order to keep your anniversary date, a New Year’s Eve party for your closest family and friends to be surprised at midnight when you and Tyler recite your vows.

It’s much easier to plan a party in six months than it would’ve been to plan a wedding.

Jamie Benn, Tyler’s best friend and the dark haired man in Vegas you had initially thought was just you seeing double, is tapped as the officiant, getting ordained online and getting really into his role, not knowing it’s basically all just a front. He just loves that he’s the only one in on the secret, constantly wearing a shit eating grin any time any of your other friends discuss wedding plans for a summer wedding that’s not going to happen.

“I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces,” you admit, hooking your hand in the crook of Tyler’s elbow and letting him lead you out to the car. He does a double take when he notices your hand.

“What’s that?” He taps on the ring nestled on your ring finger. Your original wedding ring from a year ago had been replaced with a real diamond, still an oval, but smaller and more tasteful. But that’s not what you’re wearing right now.

Your lips twist up in a sly smile. The huge, gaudy cubic zirconia is back on your finger, your second engagement ring tucked safely in its box in your drawer. “It didn’t feel right to get married without it,” you admit, flexing your fingers against his arm so the fake gem will sparkle.

Tyler’s laugh is contagious. “Everyone’s going to ask about it,” he warns you.

“Let them,” you shrug. “I want to wear my original ring on my anniversary.”

Hours later, when the surprise has been pulled off and Jamie announces that Tyler may kiss his bride, you fall into your husband’s arms, kissing him with all that you’ve got.

Fireworks go off outside the venue, the countdown to midnight at less than a minute.

“Happy anniversary, wife,” Tyler grins against your lips, quiet enough that only you can hear him.

Around you, the countdown continues, seconds ticking away until it’s January first.

“Happy New Year, husband,” you whisper back, laughing when he dips you back dramatically.

The party continues well into the early hours of January first, you and Tyler having had the foresight to rent out the venue for twice as long as a normal party. You spend the night flitting between dancing with your friends and cuddling up against Tyler’s side, tucking yourself under his arm and wrapping your arm around his waist. Your cheek is pressed against Tyler’s side, the wrinkled fabric of his button down soft under your skin. Your fingers play with the buttons, slipping them from their holes one by one until his shirt is more unbuttoned than not.

Tyler smirks down at you, his hand rubbing an arc over your hip, rucking up the fabric with each upward stroke of his hand, exposing your thigh inch my inch. “Undressing me already, wife? Can’t wait for the wedding night?” He winks at you and you laugh into his chest.

“I think that ship has sailed,” you murmur, sliding your hand under the unbuttoned shirt and over the smooth skin of his stomach, ridged muscles dancing under your touch. You yawn a little, the weird combination of overtired and wide awake making your brain buzz.

Tyler holds you close and leans down a little to whisper in your ear, “want your anniversary gift?”

“Mmm,” you hum, “I thought I already got my gift this morning?”

“That was a wedding gift,” Tyler teases. “This is an anniversary gift, and no, it’s not in my pants.”

You giggle and look up at him, resting your chin on his chest. “Shame, I like what’s in your pants.”

“I’ll give you that later,” he promises, dropping a kiss to your forehead. “Come on, I stashed it in the coat closet.”

He tangles his fingers with yours and leads you off, getting stopped every few feet by someone else who wants to gush about what a great surprise the party was. “Just couldn’t wait another minute to marry her,” Tyler grins in response every time, making you laugh at his side, the inside secret of your Vegas marriage a warm fizz in your chest.

When you finally escape off to the coat closet, you try to loop your arms around Tyler’s neck and lift up on your toes to kiss him. He obliges you happily, cupping the back of your head and giving you a searing kiss before pulling away. You whine, “I thought we were sneaking off for a wedding night quickie?”

“I literally told you that your gift wasn’t in my pants,” Tyler laughs, kissing your cheek. “Why would you think I wasn’t being serious?”

Your hands find their way underneath his shirt again, fingertips digging into the muscles of his back, and drawing yourself closer to him. “Because I wanted you to be kidding,” you reply. “A little coat closet quickie would be a fun way to start the year.”

“And normally, I’d agree, baby. But I think you’re gonna like this gift,” he leans forward and reaches behind you, giving you the opportunity to press your nose against his collarbone. When he pulls back, he has a fairly large, flat wrapped package in his hand.

“What’s that?” You ask, taking the gift from Tyler as he leans back a little, shoulders resting against the wall, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. The package is lighter than you thought it would be.

He nudges your foot with his, “open it.”

“I didn’t get you anything,” you chew at your lower lip. Neither of you had really discussed the fact that it’s your anniversary or gift giving and now you’re a little embarrassed that you hadn’t thought about it. You sway a little on your feet, fingers ripping a little at the corners of the paper until it crumples under your touch and the corner of the gift pokes through.

Tyler shakes his head. “Don’t care. It’s kind of something for both of us anyway,” he says and you wait for the little joke, the tease that you can let him unwrap you later, but it never comes and that’s how you know your husband is about to make you cry with whatever this gift is.

You can feel Tyler watching you as you pull back the paper - leftover Christmas wrapping that’s so clearly been wrapped by a man, too much tape and messy folds. God, you love him - and expose a frame. It takes you a second to process what’s behind the glass, but when you do, you hiccup a little gasp and tears well at your lash line.

Behind the glass is your marriage license with last year’s date and your pair of wobbly signatures. The Polaroids you’d taken that night surround the license and you trace trembling fingertips over the image of you kissing Tyler on the cheek.

“Tyler…” your voice cracks on his name and he gives you a soft little smile.

“This year his been batshit insane, baby,” he leans into your personal space and cups your cheek, rubbing his thumb over your cheekbone. “But I’m really glad you’re the one I drunk Vegas married.”

Tears are sliding down your cheeks and you nod, “I’m really glad you’re the one I drunk Vegas married, too.”

His laugh is muffled by all the coats surrounding you, but it’s warm and it feels like home. He pulls you into a hug, the frame smushed between your bodies and digging into your stomach, but you don’t care. Tyler’s hand curls around the back of your neck and you wipe at your eyes with the back of your wrist, black mascara smudges streaking across your skin. You giggle a little wetly, “I’m such a mess, oh my god.”

“Everyone will just think you dragged me off so you could have your wicked way with me,” Tyler teases, smirking at you.

“Coat closet quickie for the newlyweds,” you reply, grinning. You settle the frame on the floor, the back of it leaning against your leg, and really wrap your arms around Tyler’s neck, pressing a kiss against the hollow of his throat. The spice of his cologne invades your nostrils and you press your nose harder against his throat, enveloped in his warmth.

Tyler rests his chin on the top of your head and hums, rolling his hips against yours lazily so you can feel the bulge behind his fly. “I could give you a real quick one, just to make sure you don’t have to lie,” he ducks his head to whisper in your ear, kissing at the hinge of your jaw. His hand slides down to graze your ass and you’re nearly ready to say yes, suddenly desperate for him, when a loud bang on the door has you jumping back, heart pounding from the shock, nearly cracking Tyler’s chin with your head. The frame bounces off your leg with your movement, falling to the floor with a little clatter that you hope isn’t broken glass.

“Fuck!” He yelps and you clap your hands over your heart, gasping. “Jesus, who is it?”

Jamie’s voice is choked with laughter as it comes through the door. There’s a slight slur to his words too, as he shouts, “stop fucking on everyone’s coats, we’re doing body shots.”

Your jaw drops open and Tyler rolls his eyes at the interruption. He bangs on the door with a hand and shouts back, “fuck off! I’m trying to spend some time with my wife.”

“Actually,” you say slowly, a little smirk forming on your face, “body shots could be fun…”

“Yeah?” Tyler lifts an eyebrow at you, palm flat on the door.

“Yeah,” you confirm with a wicked grin, “you know I like the way champagne tastes on your skin.”

Tyler’s eyes shut like he’s in pain and your gaze slides down to see the bulge in his pants grow. “You’re a fucking menace and I’m so fucking glad you’re my wife,” he mutters, grabbing you around the waist and hauling you out of the coat closet, nearly knocking Jamie over in his hurry, your shrieked giggles drowned out by the music from the party.

The next morning, afternoon really by the time you finally open your eyes, you wake up with half of your body draped over Tyler’s completely naked one. His hip and thigh is securely wedged between your legs, his morning wood hot against the outside of your thigh. One of your arms is in the sleeve of Tyler’s button down, the rest of the fabric draped over your back like a blanket. The hangover pounds at your temples and the sunlight blinds you and it’s such a deja vu moment you almost think you’re back in Vegas, right until the moment Tyler’s hand twitches against your lower back and he rubs his bearded chin against the top of your head. You melt against him, sighing happily.

“Anniversary party slash vow renewal every New Year’s Eve?” Tyler rasps against your hair, sliding his hand up your spine.

You hum into his skin, “as long as you get me electrolytes and a greasy breakfast on January first, I’m in.”

“How about a headache relieving orgasm first?” Tyler rolls you gently onto your back, already kissing a path down your body. You shiver with each brush of his lips and your legs fall open for him to slot himself between them. He rests his chin on your hip bone and looks up at you with a soft look in his eyes that doesn’t match the hungry smirk that curves his lips.

“What?” You ask, angling your neck to look at him, raking a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already was. There’s a little streak of glitter against his temple and you brush your thumb over it, wiping the smudge away.

He shakes his head a little. “Just thinking about this past year,” he lifts one shoulder in an awkward shrug. “How fun it’s been, how glad I am that we did the surprise last night.”

“Getting soft on me, Seguin?” you tease, poking at his side with your foot. He wiggles away a little from your touch, ticklish even though he won’t admit it.

“You know I’m anything but soft for you,” he laughs, nipping at your skin. “Let me prove it.” He presses a kiss against your hip bone and then lower and then there’s no more thoughts, just you and Tyler and the rest of forever stretching out in front of you.

#tyler seguin #tyler seguin x reader #the winter fic exchange 2k24 #tyler seguin x you #nhl fic

101 notes · View notes

cyle · 2 years

Text

for the followers i have who love the technical insides of tumblr...

i've been living on tumblr every day with the gifs-as-mp4 change for over a month now and honestly, i didn't even know that change had been made until i stumbled upon it in an internal changelog about it. it's really that good: we only serve GIFs as MP4 when it makes sense. we do, literally, have many thousands of samples of the conversion process to look at (probably a lot more now). even at tumblr's scale, that's tiny, but the experience feels pretty good with the tuning we've done so far.

more specific examples of where it goes wrong will make it even better, so please send them in.

the really hard part about working on something like tumblr is its scale. we serve millions (tens of millions? hundreds?) of GIFs every single day to the internet at large. think about that: how many things in the world get served tens of millions of times? maybe mcdonalds hamburgers?

the effort of making that thing more performant, smaller, faster, "better", is worth it, to a point. finding that balance point is the really, really hard part. because the money doesn't come from nowhere. we've been serving GIFs as WebP for many years now, with nobody noticing (ok, a few people noticed), to huge benefit. you're already not seeing "real" GIFs!!!!! you didn't even notice!!!!!!

the vast majority of GIFs on tumblr (based on our random sampling) are TV- and film-like stuff, like this:

.... which is almost totally imperceptibly different when served as an H264 MP4 versus a literal GIF. by the way, that example is already actually an WebP image, not a GIF. that change literally saves us a lot of money and CPU time and whatnot trying to serve that as an MP4 instead of a 1987 GIF. in fact, if we let you upload that as an h264 mp4 instead of a GIF, it'd probably look better, since Netflix serves that to you as an h264 mp4 originally.

know your formats! the GIFs you're seeing on tumblr probably started as h264 mp4 files!!!!!!

but there are still tons of tumblr artists who use GIFs to their maximum potential (i follow a few), and i haven't seen any change to how we serve their GIFs. usually they exceed our criteria of when we'd try to serve an mp4, so i see their GIF (or webp) instead. i have some hope that we'll create some kind of Tumblr setting to "prefer GIFs" or something, but still, that'll be for the tiny minority of picky tumblr consumers. audiophiles? more on that thought in a second.

it's interesting, though, how we (Tumblr) introduced "data saving" options, which were universally loved, but basically do this same thing: serve images and videos in formats that are better for your bandwidth and CPU, at the likely cost of quality. there's a very large (silent majority) of Tumblr users who actually want this as a default all the time. they prefer a fast, efficient tumblr, over a perfect fidelity tumblr. i would too if i was living in a place with slow internet, which is a lot of the world today.

i don't blame them; i used to spend a week every year at a house that only had 1mbps internet, and the "data saving" options we've added to tumblr really helped me. i literally could not have used tumblr without it. that's a lot of peoples' experience every day.

there's a debate here about creator versus consumer quality, which is wonderful, that's a lot like what audiophiles and film enthusiasts debate about (i'm an active participant in these debates), but ultimately this gets trumped by an argument about what level of quality is discernably acceptable to the consumer. there's a 0.001% bleeding edge of people who can really know quality, definitely. but can you make decisions for a whole platform based on that? maybe. probably not? how is Tidal doing?

anyway, these are the fun thought exercises of someone like me trying to wrap their heads around how Tumblr can improve for the literal millions of people using it every day.

290 notes · View notes

slightly-smarter-nat · 2 years

Note

And YOU have just earned yourself another follower by how kick ass your Nat fics are!

May I request a Natasha x Military!Female reader? Maybe something like Tony and Rhodey, who have been friends with her way back because Rhodey was like a mentor to her in the military while Tony is like a best friend/brother figure, introduce Reader to the team when she comes back from deployment and Natasha immediately catches feelings for her. Then throughout her time at the compound, both women bond and start falling in love with each other and eventually start dating but then Reader gets called for her next deployment and Natasha is just devastated and worried for her and it’s a really sad goodbye. But then after months of deployment, Reader comes back and announces that she talked to Fury to have the chance to become an Avenger and was accepted on the condition that the team agreed as well, which they do. And so then it’s a tearful heartfelt reunion between Natasha and Reader!

If there is a chance it could be a slow burn fic, that’d be awesome, but if it’s a regular fic, THAT IS STILL AWESOME TOO! Im sorry if this is a long request I apologize!! 😅

Forest Stars || Natasha Romanoff

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Military Fem!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol consumption; hurt/comfort; slight angst; sad Natasha, mention of Parental death. If I have missed any warnings, please let me know.

Word count: 9162 words (sorry, oops).

A/N: Thank you so much for your request and kind words anon! I really appreciate all of my followers so thank you <3. I hope you all enjoy it. Yes, I know it’s June and this is a Christmas fic but I couldn’t resist the opportunity for all the fluffy moments. I apologise for the multiple breaks in the fic, I just wanted to highlight the time passing as the Reader and Natasha bond, etc.

Please do not repost (on here or any social media platform), copy, translate or take ownership of my work. Reblogs, likes and comments are always appreciated <3.

Masterlist

GIF not mine

Forest Stars: Natasha Romanoff-

“Tony, are you sure it’s okay for Laura and the kids to stay here over the Holidays?” Clint asks as he follows Tony through to the living area with a box marked ‘Christmas Decorations’.

Tony places his box down in front of the bare Christmas Tree- waiting to be decorated by the team, “Of course I am Legolas. The compound is big enough and it gives us all the chance to spend Christmas together.”

Clint refrains from rolling his eyes at the nickname Tony insists on calling him, “Thanks man, I appreciate it.”

“No problem Barton. Little Witch, how are you getting on?” Tony asks as he looks over to Wanda.

Wanda internally groans, “I would be getting along much better if I didn’t keep on getting distracted, Stark.” Wanda returns her gaze to the ceiling, slowly using her powers to string red and gold tinsel along the edge.

Tony puts his hands up in mock surrender, leaving Wanda to complete her task to perfection.

“Now, Rhodey will be heading up this way soon. Then we can get the rest of the decorations done later. In the meantime, I need you and Romanoff to source the food for the big day.”

Clint shoots his gaze from the box he was searching through, “What? Since when has that been our job?”

Tony taps on his glasses to activate his A.I. system, “Since I need you two crazy kids out of here when your presents arrive, which according to F.R.I.D.A.Y, is any minute now. Go find Widow and then I’ll ask Pepper to send you what we need.”

Tony glances around the room, using F.R.I.D.A.Y to show him the possible decoration arrangement options for the living area.

At that moment, Natasha walks into the room, “Ah Nat, come on we have to go on a food run.” Clint says as he tosses her a pair of car keys from the glass coffee table in front of him.

Natasha catches them with ease, “Since when-“

“Don’t even bother, Stark is in ‘Holiday mode’, it’s better to just go with the flow.”

Natasha shakes her head, moving towards the exit with Clint.

“Romanoff, make sure you’re back in time for the party tonight.” Tony shouts as he swipes through the options in which the large Christmas Tree can be decorated.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world Tony. See you later Wanda.” Natasha waves goodbye to Wanda.

Wanda quickly glances behind her and sends Natasha a smile, “See you soon, Nat.”

“Sure, you don’t bite her head off when she distracts you.” Tony says as he dismisses the A.I. system.

“Do you want me to finish this or not?” Wanda asks, referring to the tinsel hanging.

Before Tony can respond, F.R.I.D.A.Y announces, “Boss, Colonel James Rhodes has arrived.”

“Perfect, send him up.”

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

You readjust the duffle bag on your shoulder as you travel up in the elevator with Rhodey.

“Are you sure Tony is okay with this, because I can find somewhere else to stay-“

Rhodey cuts you off, “Y/l/n, for the millionth time, yes. You know Tony, he’ll be over the moon to see you.” He clears his throat awkwardly.

You stare at him as he leans back on the railing, “You haven’t even asked him yet have you?”

“Okay, I’m going to level with you and say… no.” You release a sigh at that.

“Trust me, he’ll say yes, you’re like his little sister, he won’t turn you away.”

The elevator reaches the floor Rhodey inputted, you slowly walk out allowing him to set the pace, which is needed after the accident in Germany.

“I just don’t want to be a burden, this is a special time for everyone and I don’t want to make things awkward.” You say.

Rhodey places a hand on your shoulder, “Look, you’re not a burden, you’re part of this family okay. Yeah, it’s a special time but this is your opportunity to get to know everyone. Everyone will love you, I know it.”

You take in Rhodey’s words and give him an appreciative smile, “Thank you.”

“Now hurry up and move your ass in there before Christmas is over.” Rhodey says as you both move forward into the living quarter.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

“Do my eyes deceive me or is that my favourite Air Force member right there?” Tony says as he moves to bring you into a hug.

“Nice Tony, I’m here too by the way, you know your best friend.” Rhodey says sarcastically.

Tony laughs as he releases you from the hug, “Hmm, last time I checked you were down as ‘acquaintance’ in my contacts- you still owe me an apology.” He says as he ushers you in.

“What? For what?” Rhodey asks as he follows.

“A little birdie told me that you called me ‘Tony Stank’ in a press conference, so of course the Press are having a field day with that one.”

Rhodey smiles at that revelation, “Yeah, that was a good one. I told you I wouldn’t let you live that one down.”

“You know it has a better ring to it than Tony Stark.” You say as you take a seat on the couch.

Tony gasps, “My favourite has turned against me!”

You smirk, “It was only a matter of time.”

Rhodey takes a seat on a chair opposite you, “Anyway, Tony I wanted to ask you if it was cool if y/n stays here over the next few days?”

“You mean for Christmas?” Tony asks as he moves towards the mini bar area to gather drinks for everyone.

“If that’s okay Tony, I don’t want to overstep.” You say.

“Of course you can, you’re family. What brings you here anyway?” Tony asks as he selects a multitude of drink options to pour.

“Oh you know, I finished my Deployment. I have nowhere to go for the Holidays. All that fun stuff.” You say.

Tony walks over with a couple of mystery drinks for you to sample, “Well you’re welcome anytime. Plus we’re having a party tonight so it will be a great way for you to get to know the team. Most of them are out gathering supplies.”

You pick up one of the drinks and take a sip; wincing furiously at the taste. Luckily for you, Tony is distracted by his A.I. system announcing the arrival of several packages.

“Ahh, I’ll be right back, make yourselves comfortable.” Tony leaves the room and heads to the elevator.

Out of the corner of your eye you notice someone enter the room, “Hello Rhodes, long time no see.” She says as she places a heap of string lights on the table in front of you.

“Hey Wanda, so he’s got you helping out has he?” Rhodey asks.

The woman rolls her eyes, “He’s a nightmare, he’s worse than Morgan at this time of year.”

“Don’t worry, he has always been like that, you’ll get used to it. Oh, Wanda, I’d like you to meet a very good friend of Tony’s and I, y/n.” Rhodey gestures to you as he leans forward for a drink.

You stand up and stretch your hand out in greeting, “It’s lovely to meet you Wanda.”

“I’m glad you could make it. I can’t wait to get to know you over the next few days.” You frown in confusion as you’re convinced you saw a flash of red pass through Wanda’s eyes.

“Oh yeah, she reads minds.” Rhodey announces as he spots the confusion in your face.

You give a nod in understanding.

“Well, since you’re staying I can show you to a room if you would like?” Wanda suggests.

“Oh yeah, thanks, that would be great. Only if you don’t mind of course.” You say as you gather your bag filled with your personal items.

Wanda gives you a wave of her hand, “Please, anything to get me out of decorating duty. Come on, I’ll show you around the Compound afterwards too.”

You look towards Rhodey, “Go, I want to catch up with Tony anyway.” He says as he slowly guides himself up, ready to locate your mutual friend.

You turn to follow Wanda, excited to see where you’ll be staying for your time in the Compound.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

*Three hours later*

Natasha places the last of the bags on the Kitchen counter, “I swear, I’m never talking to Tony again after this.”

Clint follows her by releasing a sigh, as he drops off his contributions, “You say that all the time.”

“Yeah, well now I mean it. Where is everyone anyway?” Natasha asks as she notices the living area being mostly decorated, compared to when they left.

“Ahh, Romanoff, you have returned.” Tony says as he walks through with Rhodey.

Natasha scowls at him, “What?”

“Don’t ‘What’ me Stark. You know it’s chaos out there. Clint nearly lost his life over some cranberry sauce.” Natasha says as she sends a quick nod to Rhodey, acknowledging his presence.

“Okay, that’s a little dramatic.” Clint says as he moves some of the food items out of the bag.

Just as Natasha was about to speak, she instantly notices Wanda entering the area from one of the staircases leading from the lower floor.

She manoeuvres herself to see who Wanda is talking to and that’s when she sees you- possibly the most beautiful girl she’s ever laid eyes on.

She’s snapped out of her trance when she hears your laughter- instantly becoming her new favourite sound.

Rhodey waves a hand in front of her face, “Hey, stop drooling over our friend and go say hello.”

Natasha glances between Tony, Clint and Rhodey; instantly going red when she realises they noticed her admiration for you.

Tony smirks in amusement, “Shut up, Stark.” Natasha says as she moves past them.

“I didn’t say anything Romanoff!” Tony lets out dramatically.

Wanda spots Natasha and waves her over, “Natasha! This is y/n, she will be staying with us over Christmas.”

Natasha shakily offers her hand out to you, “Um, it’s nice to meet you.”

You give her a warm smile and shake her hand gladly. The contact sends a wave of happiness through Natasha.

“The pleasure is all mine, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Natasha widens her eyes slightly, dreading to think what you might have heard.

“Oh, you, you have? That’s cool.” Natasha mentally scolds herself for being so awkward.

Wanda smiles to herself, hearing the conflict going on in Natasha’s mind.

“Y/n, why don’t you go introduce yourself to Clint?” Wanda suggests.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll speak to you later Natasha.” You say with a smile.

Once you leave Natasha puts her face in her hands and groans, causing Wanda to laugh.

“Relax Nat.”

“Relax? I just made myself look like a complete idiot in front of her.” Natasha says as she places her hands on her hips and releases a heavy breath.

“For what it’s worth, you’ve peaked her interest.” Wanda says with a mischievous smile.

Natasha tilts her head, “Wait, what do you mean?”

Wanda slowly starts to walk towards the exit, heading to her room.

Natasha starts to follow her, “Wait, Wanda, tell me what you mean!”

“Natasha, go and get ready for the party otherwise you’re uninvited!” Tony shouts from across the room.

Natasha admits defeat and goes towards her room, she’ll have to question Wanda at the party.

ⴵ ⴵ/./.

As Natasha walks towards the main bar area she’s confused when she doesn’t see the usual crowd of people Tony acquires for his parties.

Just as she’s about to look around she feels her phone vibrate in her dress pocket.

‘Meet us in the movie room :)’ Wanda messages.

Natasha makes her way over, nearing closer to the sounds of laughter.

When she stands by the doorway Tony calls over to her, “Widow, there you are! Come take a seat, the movie is almost starting.”

Natasha looks around at everyone, noticing it’s just the team and close friends present- in all honesty she’s relieved, she never has been one for Tony’s extravagant parties.

Her heart sinks slightly when she notices the space next to you is being occupied. Natasha makes her way over to Wanda, sitting close by.

“I tried to save you enough room to sit with her but Carol wasn’t having it.” Wanda whispers to Natasha.

Natasha looks over at the two of you. Part of her hates the way Carol is making you laugh. When really she wishes she was the one doing so.

“What are they even talking about?” Natasha mumbles, hints of jealousy taking over her system.

Wanda brings her legs up onto the couch, tucking them under herself to get comfortable, “Well, mostly about their shared experiences in the Air Force. I think they’re bonding over it.”

Natasha briefly raises her eyebrows, not knowing you were part of a Military branch.

The movie starts to play on the screen, causing the lights to be switched off.

Natasha can’t keep her eyes off of you; she desperately wants to talk to you but part of her thinks that you’d only entertain her conversation out of politeness.

Wanda gives Natasha a gentle nudge, “‘Nat, she’s been here less than a day. You’ve got plenty of time to get to know her. She’s very easy to talk to.”

Natasha leans her head on her hand as she looks at Wanda, “What did you mean before in the kitchen?”

The light being cast from the movie highlights Wanda’s happy features, “Oh, just that y/n thinks you’re beautiful. Nothing major.”

Natasha nudges Wanda, “You’re lying.”

“Nat, I’m not, that’s the first thing that popped into her head when she saw you. Plus, when you walked over to me, she couldn’t take her eyes off of you, just like you with her right now.” Wanda gives Natasha a reassuring pat on her arm.

“As your friend, I’m telling you to go for it. Don’t worry about anyone else, just be yourself.”

Natasha absorbs Wanda’s words. Throughout the movie she plans different ways in which she can get to know you. Hopefully you’ll like her for who she is, because she knows for a fact she’s falling for you.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

Natasha walks into the kitchen area, ready to grab some food after her morning training session.

She could barely sleep last night, thoughts of you and Carol plagued her mind. As the movie went on she’s convinced you shuffled closer to her.

As soon as the movie finished, she went straight to her room. She knows she shouldn’t be so jealous, you have every right to talk to whoever you want. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt any less.

Wanda uses her powers to send a red tendril to flick Natasha on her head, causing her to glare at the Witch.

“You do realise y/n was looking for you after the movie right?” Wanda says as she reaches into the drinkware cupboard.

“Wait, what? Why is she okay?” Natasha asks as she takes a break from cutting up her fruit.

“She wanted to talk to you, honestly Nat you need to talk to her. Try and organise something for the two of you to do.” Wanda moves to search for her herbal tea bags.

“I can’t just ask her out Wands, that would be so awkward.” Natasha says as she leans against the counter.

“More awkward than you running off because she sat too close to another person?” Wanda says with a hint of amusement.

Natasha rolls her eyes, “Okay, what do you suggest I do?”

“Well, Clint is picking up Laura and the kids this afternoon. When they come back, invite everyone to your annual Ice Skating thing. You’re already going with them, plus it will give you an opportunity to hang out with y/n.” Wanda uses her powers to turn on the stove, heating up the kettle.

“Wanda, you’re a genius!” Natasha says as she brings Wanda into a hug.

At that moment, you and Steve enter the room.

“Wow y/l/n, you really gave me a run for my money out there. Good job.” Steve says as he moves to the fridge to get a couple of bottles of water.

“Thanks Steve, all part of the Military training and all.” You say as you grab the water from him, exhausted after your morning jog with the Captain himself.

“Steve, y/n what are you two doing this afternoon?” Wanda asks, attempting to put the plan into motion.

“I’m not doing anything, probably just hanging out here with the team.” Steve says as he takes a seat.

“Same, why do you ask?” You direct your gaze to Natasha, sending her a smile.

Natasha blushes uncontrollably, causing her to turn and resume cutting up her fruit.

Wanda rolls her eyes at Natasha’s reaction, “We just wanted to let you know that most of us will be going Ice Skating, do you guys want to come?”

Steve nods his head.

You stand there, playing with the label of your water bottle, not really being a fan of skating, “Um, sure, yeah that sounds fun.”

Natasha turns to see your reaction, silently motioning to Wanda about your change in persona.

Wanda mentally replies to Natasha, ‘She said yes, didn’t she?’

Natasha keeps her eyes on you, hoping that this plan might actually work in getting to know you better.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

“Auntie Nat!” Nathaniel shouts as he runs over to Natasha.

Natasha turns around and grabs him into a hug, “Hey buddy, how are you?”

“Good! Look, I lost another tooth!” He says as he shows Natasha another gap in his line of teeth.

Natasha smiles as she puts him down, “You’re growing up too quick, stop it.” She says playfully.

Laura rushes towards Natasha and Nathaniel, “I swear he only listens to Clint, what part of ‘stay close to me’ did you not understand bud?” Laura says as she rubs through Nathaniel’s hair, causing him to squirm away.

Natasha looks through the crowd, behind Laura, “Where are the others?”

“Oh, Clint is parking up the car and Coop and Lila wanted to make sure they got in line for the best ice skate boots. Thanks for getting everyone to meet us here, it’s a big help.” Laura says as she zips up Nathaniel’s coat.

“No problem, the team are waiting by the ice rink. We’re ready to go when you are.” Natasha looks over to see Tony waiting with Morgan, Pepper and Rhodey as the other team members return with their ice skates.

“Who’s that? She’s new.” Laura asks, referring to you as you tie up the laces on your skates.

“That’s y/n, she’s Tony and Rhodey’s best friend, she’s staying for the holidays.” Natasha casually remarks.

Laura puts on a knowing smirk, “Ahh, she’s the one you’re crushing on.”

Natasha scoffs, “Clint is so annoying, what did he say?”

Nathaniel takes this opportunity to mimic kissing noises, causing Laura to put her hand over his mouth, “Okay, he’s not far off. Clint did in fact do that.”

Natasha shakes her head, “Come on, I’ll introduce you properly.”

ⴵ ⴵ/./.

After the introductions were made and everyone was ready; it was time to skate.

Natasha loved skating, having such similarities to ballet, she is always in her element on the ice.

“Then Daisy tried to get me kicked off the Archery team, so I showed her how it’s done and shot my arrow straight through hers.” Lila tells Natasha as they skate around the rink.

“She does know Hawkeye is your Dad right?” Natasha says, enjoying having the time to catch up with the young Barton.

“Yeah, she’s just jealous I guess.”

Natasha looks over to the edge of the rink, noticing you clutching on to the side whilst everyone else skates.

As if sensing her gaze, Wanda skates up next to Natasha, linking her arm through Natasha’s for support, “Her thoughts are loud Nat, she doesn’t know how to skate.”

Natasha looks at Wanda in surprise,”Wait, so why didn’t she say anything? We could have arranged something else to do.”

Wanda shakes her head, “I have to do everything around here; from what I could tell she thought you wanted to skate. She’s only on this ice for you Nat, now go and help her.” Wanda gently pushes Natasha towards your location, momentarily losing her balance until Lila steadies her.

Natasha easily manoeuvres her way through the crowd of people to join you on the edge of the rink.

“Hey, mind if I join you?” Natasha says with a newfound confidence.

“Sure.” You say, gripping tightly to the barrier, refusing to move even an inch with the risk of falling.

“You know, we can just come off the ice and-“

You shake your head, “No, I don’t want to spoil the fun, I’ll be okay.” You say in a shaky voice, trying your hardest to hide your nerves.

“It’s not fair if you’re putting yourself through this. I’m sure everyone else will understand.” Natasha says as she places a hand on your arm.

The sudden action causes you to move, sending your legs flying. Luckily Natasha uses her quick reflexes to catch you, gripping her hands onto your forearms.

You release heavy breaths of anxiety as you look at your feet, hoping the gaze will stop you from falling.

“Hey, you’re okay, I’ve got you. Let’s get you off the ice.” Natasha slowly uses her feet to push against the ice, pulling you along with her to the exit.

“Wait, I don’t want to be annoying but can we just skate like this for a bit. I promised Morgan I’d skate if she did to try and make her brave enough to join in. I don’t want her to see me get off the ice; she might think it’s something to be frightened of.” You look up at Natasha hopeful, ready to put your fear aside with Natasha’s support.

Natasha gives you a gentle smile, “For starters, you could never be annoying. Plus, of course I’ll help you, just grip on to me and I’ll guide us around okay?”

You give Natasha a nod. Natasha slowly moves you so you can link your arm around her waist. In turn she threads her arm around yours, keeping tight hold.

“Okay, back straight; look forward and bend your knees slightly.” You follow Natasha’s instructions as she begins to move her feet, expertly pushing from her right foot to her left.

As you move your grip tightens, sending a surge of giddinesses through Natasha.

She looks over at Wanda who gives her a thumbs up, proud that Natasha finally had the courage to talk to you for longer than a minute.

Natasha’s gaze quickly makes its way back to you once she hears you laughing, “Woah, this is actually amazing.” You say excitedly, never having stayed on the ice longer than required.

Natasha beams at your reaction; earlier apprehensions clearly no longer present.

Soon enough Natasha guides the two of you to skate up alongside Tony, Pepper and Morgan, “Auntie y/n! We’re skating!”

“We are! Good job Morgan!” You praise the young Stark.

Tony lets go of one of Morgan’s hands, allowing Pepper to reclaim it. He twists around to skate alongside Natasha’s other side that’s free.

“Thank you, I really appreciate you making the effort to make y/n feel included. You know, I’ve known her for years and no one has been special enough to encourage her to skate. She’s lucky to have you Romanoff.”

Natasha looks towards Tony in surprise, not expecting such kind words to come from him. She smiles at him before he takes his leave to find the others on the ice.

Once he’s gone, she looks over at you, being in conversation with Pepper.

Natasha feels a special warmth inside her, the fact you trust her enough to guide you on the ice brings a wave of happy tears to her eyes. She quickly blinks them away, hoping that this is a sign for good things to come.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

It’s Christmas Eve morning, Natasha has just woken up with the biggest smile on her face.

As she stretches in her bed, she happily thinks about the previous events that have occurred. With the skating and everything she feels as though she’s made real progress with you. Especially after when everyone was returning to the car and you couldn’t take your hands off of Natasha, walking arm in arm with her as you thanked her for helping you out on the ice.

Natasha quickly gets ready and makes her way into the living area, deciding to skip her morning training- just this once.

She walks in to see you, Rhodey, Pepper, Clint and Laura sat on the couches.

“Good Morning everyone.” Natasha says to make her presence known.

You instantly put your mug of coffee down on the table to the side of the couch you’re sitting on, “Nat, come sit with us. We’re just going over the plans for today.” You pat on the space beside you, signalling for Natasha to fill it.

She instantly rushes over, causing Clint and Laura to give each other knowing looks, amused at their friends' antics.

“So Carol is going to the Rambeau’s house for Christmas; Sam is staying with Sarah and his nephews; Thor is off-world so we have no idea if he’s joining us.” Rhodey rhymes off.

“I thought he was staying with that Jane chick?” Clint says as he scratches his knee, causing Laura to flick his chest at his choice of words.

“I don’t know, he doesn’t tell me anything. Anyway, Banner might be coming tomorrow morning, uhh as for everyone else, they haven’t confirmed.” Rhodey finishes.

“Yeah, that’s the part that’s sending Tony crazy. He hates not knowing if and when people are showing up.” Pepper says as she balances her mug on her knee.

You release a laugh, “He is the worst one for showing up either unannounced or late!”

Pepper shares your laugh, “I know right, but this is a ‘Stark Christmas’, nothing can go wrong.”

The next thing that follows is a large bang on one of the windows of the compound, causing everyone to look over.

Tony’s voice fills the room via his A.I. system, “Sorry folks, that was a rogue snowball, it won’t happen again. Resume your discussion on what awesome presents you’re going to get me for the big day.”

You smirk as you watch the ice melt down the glass. Tony insisted on taking the kids outside to play in the snow. However, no snowball fight is complete without some Iron Man prototypes; a Super Soldier and the Scarlet Witch making trick shots to score the most points in the ultimate snowball battle.

“Hey, so are we all still up for the Markets tonight?” Laura redirects the conversation back onto the schedule.

Everyone nods, except you, “Markets?”

“Every year we visit the Christmas Markets down the street. They’re great for last minute gifts and just general festive fun.” Pepper explains to you.

“Oh, that sounds awesome, I can’t wait.” You say.

“Right, I’d better call the kids in. We need this Christmas Tree decorating before we set off to the Markets.” Clint says as he stands up and stretches, releasing dramatic groans in the process. Before abruptly sitting down again, causing Laura to look at him in amusement.

“Okay, I’ll probably go and change. Hey, when we set off to the Markets, can I sit with you in the car?” You ask Natasha before you get up off the couch.

Natasha instantly nods, “Yeah, sure. I’d love that.”

“Great, see you in a bit.”

Once you leave Natasha looks over at Clint and Laura, instantly regretting it when she sees them pouting at the cuteness between you and Natasha.

She grabs a couple of pillows and sends them flying towards the two, causing them to laugh at their best friend’s expense.

ⴵ ⴵ/./.

Once the Christmas tree was expertly decorated, the team made their way to the Christmas Markets.

You haven’t left Natasha’s side, causing the red head to walk around in complete awe of you- especially with your reactions to all the beautifully decorated stalls.

“Ooh, Nat come look at this one!” You drag Natasha over to one of the food stalls.

Natasha’s eyes light up at the arrangement of colourful fruits waiting to be dipped in a multitude of melted chocolate.

“Wow, they look delicious. Do you want some?” Natasha asks.

“Sure, what are you thinking of getting?” You ask Natasha as you study the menu board.

Natasha can’t take her eyes off of you, causing herself to become distracted. You turn to look at her, awaiting her answer, “Oh uh, I’ll probably go for the dark chocolate covered Strawberries.” Natasha says quickly, trying to take away the attention of her new forming blush of embarrassment.

You bite your lip at her state, opting to not make her feel any worse about it, “I’ll probably go for the same but with milk chocolate.”

You move forward and place the orders in, reaching for your money to pay.

“Oh no, I’ll buy them.” Natasha says as she tries to beat you to the bill.

You grab Natasha’s hand and thread your fingers through hers, “I insist.” You say as you give her hand a squeeze.

Natasha mentally thanks you for turning back to the stall owner, allowing her cheer to herself at the fact you’re holding her hand.

Once the food is ready, you let go of her hand to pass over her Strawberries, “For the pretty Lady.” You say casually, still enough to make Natasha’s stomach flutter in fondness.

She takes them from your hands as you move to grab your own order; thanking the stall owner and bidding them a good bye.

You instantly bite into one of your chocolate covered strawberries, allowing your eyes to flutter at the taste, “Wow, you can never go wrong with these.”

Natasha takes a bite of her own, exhibiting a similar reaction, “They taste really good.” She says as she places the strawberry back down into her thick, paper box.

You bring your hand up to your lips, doing a little head dance as you finish chewing- which Natasha finds adorable.

Once you’ve swallowed your mouth full you address Natasha, “You’ve got a little chocolate on the corner of your mouth.”

Natasha uses her free hand to wipe her mouth, completely missing the mark.

You laugh, “Come here.” You gently rub away at the chocolate, removing it from her face. In that moment, you and Natasha stare into each other’s eyes, completely oblivious to your surroundings.

A few seconds pass before you clear your throat, “There, all better.”

Natasha thanks you before you resume your walk; eating your sweet treat and talking to Natasha about anything and everything.

About half an hour later, you’re near the end of the Market stalls.

Soon you’ll have to head to the local Diner to meet up with the team who are currently scattered across the Market.

You and Natasha have managed to get everyone a present for tomorrow, thankfully most of the stalls offered you a complimentary gift wrapping option, taking away at least one stress for tomorrow.

As you’re walking you notice Natasha shivering.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit cold.” Natasha avoids your eye contact, not wanting to admit the shivers are from her nerves of being with you and not wanting to mess up her opportunity of hanging out with you opposed to the cold.

“Uh, yes. Just a bit I guess.” Natasha clings to her leather jacket, hoping it was enough to convince you.

You place your gift bags on the floor, removing your Aviator jacket, “Here, take my jacket. I’m getting too warm anyway.”

Natasha gratefully accepts your Air Force jacket, admiring every patch that decorates the material.

She instantly puts it on as you pick up the bags once again.

“How come your jacket has so many patches on it?” Natasha asks as she studies each one.

“Oh, they’re like my accomplishments from within the Air Force. I’ve earned them as I’ve gone along.” You explain.

“Wow, you have a lot.’ Natasha compliments.

“I’m very good at my job.” You playfully remark, causing Natasha to laugh. Now it’s your turn to hide your blush.

Natasha feels a surge of confidence, having your jacket on makes her feel more secure. She takes your hand that’s closest to her and grips onto it, refusing to look anywhere but straight ahead.

You briefly look down to make sure you have a good grip on her hand, liking the contact.

As you look at the passing stalls, you notice a quiet one, “Let’s look at this one, the others seem quite busy.”

You gently pull Natasha towards the stall containing handmade candle holders.

Each candle holder is unique, some emit lights in the form of patterns, which reflect on the structure surrounding the stall.

Natasha has her eyes trained on one tea light holder in particular, emitting circular, glowing lights that slowly drift around.

“Forest stars.” Natasha whispers.

“Did you say something?” You ask.

Natasha is snapped out of her daze, “Sorry, it was nothing. Well, the lights they remind me of, um Fireflies. My sister, when we were kids, she would call them ‘Forest stars’. I just thought it was very fitting.”

You take another look at the lights, letting out a small breath of understanding, “Oh yeah, they do look a bit like ‘Forest stars’.”

Natasha smiles sadly, causing you to gently use her chin to guide her gaze at you, “Hey, are you alright?”

Natasha wipes at her eyes, trying to remove the tears that threaten to fall, “Of course, why wouldn’t I be, let’s go and see if we can find the others.”

Natasha breaks the contact between you, walking up towards the track that leads to the Diner.

You take another look at the lights, wondering what could have caused her to become so upset all of a sudden.

ⴵ ⴵ/./.

When you all arrived back at the Compound it was extremely late. Meaning everyone went straight to bed.

Tony looked absolutely exhausted, causing you to volunteer to put the presents out under the Christmas tree before heading up.

With a grateful hug, Tony headed upstairs to tuck Morgan in and make sure she went to sleep instead of hunting for Santa.

You carefully stack the presents under the gaps surrounding the tree. You admire every present, smiling at the ones the kids clearly wrapped; most of them being covered in excess tape and unlimited amounts of glitter.

As you’re placing the last of the presents down, you hear a noise behind you.

You instantly turn around, ready to take cover if it’s one of the kids, trying not to spoil the whole idea of Santa leaving their presents under the tree.

When you spot it’s Natasha, you release a relieved sigh, “Good job it was you, I’d hate to ruin Christmas for the little ones.” You whisper.

Natasha tugs down on the sleeves of her pyjamas, “Sorry, I didn’t realise you were up. I would have helped you if I'd known you were on present duty.” Natasha says as she points to the mountain of gifts.

“It’s okay, I thought I’d give Santa the night off, you know since he has a lot of stops to make tonight.” Natasha laughs at your answer.

“How thoughtful of you. Look, I’m sorry about before-“ You put your hand up to signal Natasha to stop talking.

“Please don’t apologise. You didn’t do anything wrong, I just hoped I didn’t upset you.” You say as you move to sit on a couch; Natasha joins you.

“No, not in the slightest. Being with you has made me the happiest I’ve been in a very long time.” You nod your head at her words.

“You know, I’m glad I came here. At first I wasn’t so sure about staying. I didn’t really have anywhere else to go since my Deployment finished not that long ago. Rhodey was kind enough to invite me here, where I met you, which I’m extremely grateful for.”

Natasha turns to you, not quite believing your statement, “Can I ask how you know Rhodey and Tony?”

“Yeah. Rhodey was my Mentor in the Air Force. He taught me near enough everything I know. He pushed me to achieve my goals and was there for me when no one else was. My folks, you see they um, they died when I was 17. After that I signed up for the Military. Been there ever since.”

Natasha opens up an arm to allow you to lean into, which you do, trying to hide your sadness over your Parent’s death.

“When Rhodey retired, he introduced me to Tony, since he was the one helping him through his recovery after Germany.” Natasha shifts briefly, thankful that the events in concern with the Sokovian Accords are resolved.

“We instantly clicked, he’s been like the big brother I never had. He started introducing me to his life as Iron Man. I started hanging out with his family. They both really gave me something to live for and for that I’ll appreciate them forever.”

Natasha takes this moment to tell you about her life, “My Sister, the one I mentioned at the Market. She couldn’t join us for Christmas, she’s out there saving the World from the bad guys.” Natasha says lightly.

“No but my family is back in Russia, I don’t get to see them as much as I would like. We got split up for a long time, around the time I joined the Avengers actually. Luckily we found each other again. I really miss them.” As Natasha finishes explaining, you come to understand why the memory of her Sister caused her to become upset.

You grab Natasha’s hands and start to play with them, “You know, I’m really glad I met you Natasha, you’re truly amazing. I’m so lucky to have you here with me right now.”

Natasha is about to respond when she spots something above the two of you, “Oh, look.” She says as she points at the plant hanging from the ceiling.

“Wait, is that Mistletoe? Trust Tony to be so cliche” You say jokingly.

Natasha looks at you, “Well you know what they say about Mistletoe, it would be a shame to break the tradition.”

You slowly bring your hand to cup Natasha’s face, “I guess it would.”

You both slowly lean in towards each other, allowing your lips to touch in a tender kiss.

You can both barely contain your excitement, using your hands to pull each other closer, craving each other’s touch after so much longing.

Natasha breaks away from the kiss, resting her forehead against yours as you both try to reclaim your breaths, “Natasha, can I ask you something?”

Natasha nods.

“Do you want to go out with me sometime, you know like a date?”

Natasha pushes you away by your shoulders, “You mean like a couple?”

“Well yeah, a couple of people who like each other very much and, well I’m speaking mostly for myself here but would really like to make this thing between us official.”

Natasha grabs you into another kiss, choosing to leave quick kisses along your face, causing you to laugh and hug her close, “Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is.” She says as pulls you up from the couch, ready to go to bed.

“Come on, let's get you to bed otherwise Santa won’t come.” Natasha says.

“Oh well, I’ve got everything I need right here. You’re the best gift I could ask for.” You say as you wrap your arm around Natasha.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

“Really Tony, a joke book?” Rhodey holds up his unwrapped present from Tony.

“You see, that right there, is the gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas Rhodey.” Tony says from the tree- being the chief present distributor.

“Okay, who’s next?” Tony searches through the pile of presents to select the next one ready to be given out.

Rhodey gets your attention, “Y/l/n, my jokes are funny right?”

You wince, “Yeah, they’re awesome. They get me every time.”

Rhodey seems satisfied with your answer, motioning to Tony that he doesn’t need the book.

Natasha puts her arm around you as she leans in to whisper in your ear, “Remind me to train you to work on your lying skills.”

You playfully smack her arm, “Oh come on, you saw his face, I couldn’t tell him the truth.”

“Ahhh, y/l/n, this one's for you.” Tony throws an envelope your way.

Natasha sends him a glare for his carelessness.

You look at the tag to realise it’s from Natasha, causing you to rip it open instantly. You remove a sewn patch with an ice skate boot embroidered on it. You look at Natasha with your mouth open in surprise, “Wow Nat, I love it.”

Natasha smiles, “It’s to represent your accomplishment in facing one of your fears.”

You give her a kiss on the cheek, “Thank you, it’s going straight on my jacket, so I always have a piece of you with me.”

Natasha pouts her lips at your words, finding your excitement especially sweet.

“Okay, Maximoff go get your gift for Natasha whilst I try to grab these presents from the back.” Tony leans down on the floor to reach further under the tree.

As the others wait for Wanda, they take the time to open their presents and thank the ones who graced them with such lovely gifts.

“Are you excited for your present from me?” You ask Natasha.

Natasha raises an eyebrow at you, “I thought you were my present?”

You smack your hand to your chest, “Stop that right now, it’s too early for me to be blushing like this.” Natasha laughs as she leaves a kiss on the top of your head.

Wanda re-enters the room, “Natasha, close your eyes.”

Natasha looks over at Wanda in hesitation, “Why?”

Wanda rolls her eyes, “Just do it.”

Natasha closes her eyes as Wanda ushers for someone to enter the room.

The occupants of the room send silent greetings to the blonde, young woman.

She makes her way over to the two of you, causing you to shift away slightly. Natasha whines at the loss of contact.

“Okay Natasha, open your eyes.”

Natasha opens her eyes to see Yelena stood in front of her.

“Oh my god! Yelena! What are you doing here?!” Natasha shouts as she rushes up to give Yelena a hug.

You can’t help but smile at Natasha’s reaction, knowing how much this means to her.

“Well Sestra, I am taking a break from work and your team asked me to come over as a surprise for you and I thought ‘what an amazing idea, since I am obviously your favourite ever’, so here I am.” Natasha hugs Yelena tighter.

Yelena makes eye contact with you over Natasha’s shoulder, “Hi, I would come over but I have a ‘Natasha’ attached to me, they’re very hard to remove once they latch on.”

Natasha playfully pushes Yelena away, “Sestra, meet y/n-“

“Yes, yes, the one that stole your heart; that you are madly in love with. Wanda filled me in.”

Natasha sends an unimpressed look Wanda’s way, causing her to move over to see what Steve was unwrapping to avoid Natasha’s gaze.

“All jokes aside, it is very nice to meet you y/n. I can’t wait to get to know you.” Yelena takes a seat on the floor near the couch you’re sitting on.

“Likewise, I’m glad you’re here Yelena.”

Tony interrupts as he releases a cheer from being able to find another present.

“Oh, it’s just for Romanoff.” He says as he holds it out to her.

“I hate you.” She takes the present from him and reclaims her seat next to you.

She flips over the tag and notices the present is from you, “Aww, you really shouldn’t have.” She says as she carefully tears open the wrapping paper.

Natasha releases a gasp when she realises what it is, she carefully picks up the candle holder from the Market.

“Woah, what’s that Auntie Nat?” Cooper calls from the other side of the room.

Natasha turns it to admire every inch of it, “It’s a holder for tea lights and things. The light from the flame shines through the gaps and makes patterns on the walls.”

“What kind of patterns?” Lila asks.

Natasha looks over at Yelena, “Forest stars.”

“No way, that’s so cool. Show me!” She says eagerly.

Natasha places it back in its wrappings, “Maybe later. When did you buy that?” She directs her question at you.

“When you left I bought it just in case you wanted it. Then when you told me the story about Yelena I made sure to sneak it under the tree this Morning.”

Natasha gives you a grateful kiss, “Thank you love, it’s perfect.”

She leans her head on your shoulder, hugging her present. Your heart flutters at the nickname Natasha has chosen to give you.

You go back to watching everyone else interact with their gifts; wondering how you became so lucky to be surrounded by loved ones: new and old.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

The days that followed went by very quickly- too quickly for your liking.

You decided to extend your stay, wanting to spend as much time with Natasha and everyone as you could.

Most of your time was spent hanging out with Natasha, whether it be training with each other or laying on her bed cuddling whilst you watch some random movie recommended by F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Every day you’ve grown closer to Natasha, and you wouldn’t change that for the world.

That’s what brings you to this moment- New Year’s Eve.

Tony decided to throw one of his spectacular parties to welcome the New Year in.

The kids have fallen asleep in the movie room; meanwhile the adults drink the night away whilst waiting for the countdown to midnight.

You’re just finishing up your conversation with some Ex-Military members who worked closely with Rhodey, when Natasha drags you over to the corner of the room.

“I had to make sure no one tried to steal my midnight kiss.” She says with a shrug.

“Oh is that so, well I am honoured Miss Romanoff.”

The countdown begins, “5…4…3…2…1… Happy New Year!” Everyone exclaims.

You bring Natasha into a kiss, breaking away to whisper “Happy New Year Nat.”

If only you knew what the following morning would bring.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

“No, no you’re not going. You can’t go.” Natasha paces around her bedroom. Not taking the news well of your next Deployment being announced.

“Nat, you know I have to, it’s my job. We both knew this day was coming.” You say as you walk over to her, stopping her movements.

Natasha refuses to meet your eyes, shielding her tear filled ones away.

“Sweetheart, they only last around 179 days. It will fly by, I promise. I’ll be back before you know it. Why don’t you go to Russia and stay with your family for a while, that might help.”

Natasha looks at you in disbelief, pushing your hands away, “Only 179 days? Wow, right so I’m supposed to be grateful that you’re going for near enough five months, being in constant danger. Don’t you realise, I could lose you. I could actually lose the main person I care about, the person I love. Do you really think this will be easy for me, sending you away to be thrown straight into the danger zone. Every day I’m not with you will be like torture; not knowing if you’re okay. I-I can’t lose you detka, I can’t-“

Natasha places a hand over her face as she begins to sob.

You instantly move over to her, embracing her in a hug, “Natasha, I’m so sorry. I wish I didn’t have to go but I have to. You won’t lose me okay, do you know why? It’s because I have something worth fighting for. I need to stay alive to come home to you, to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re not going to lose me, do you understand?” You attempt to keep your voice steady, not wanting to cry.

Natasha lifts her tear soaked face up to look at you, “They haven’t even given you any notice. They want you right now, that’s not right. I can’t even say a proper goodbye to you.”

Natasha’s words break your heart, “I know, and it only happens when it’s an emergency. I’m not leaving for another hour or so, you have me now okay. Let’s make the most of it.”

“I just want to hug you.” Natasha sobs out.

You feel your tears fall, “Of course my darling, come here.” You guide Natasha over to the bed, pulling her on you to cuddle her tightly.

You both lay on the bed crying, giving each other the occasional kiss and whispered ‘I love you’s’.

You haven’t known Natasha long, but that doesn’t mean this doesn’t hurt any less. You feel as though you’re losing part of you by returning to a Deployment.

“Promise me you’ll come back.” Natasha whispers.

You close your eyes as your lip trembles, “Nat, you know I can’t-“

“Please, I know you can’t, but just please say it so I know you’ll try.”

You release a heavy breath, “I promise.”

“I swear to god y/n if you don’t I’ll find you and kick your ass.” Natasha mumbles.

You let out a sad laugh, “Oh I don’t doubt that love.”

You spend the rest of your time with Natasha cuddled up, dreading the moment you have to leave her.

ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ/./. ⴵ ⴵ

It has been nearly six months since you left for your Deployment.

Every single day for Natasha has been heartbreaking.

For the first week she had Yelena staying in her room; holding her as she cried herself to sleep, worrying over the fact you might not return home.

However, Yelena had to go back to Russia for her next Assignment. She told Natasha she could stay with her but Natasha refused, not wanting to hold her sister back.

The team did everything they could to help cheer Natasha up.

They were extremely worried about her, she wasn’t sleeping, she wasn’t eating, she wasn’t Natasha. She became a shell of herself.

Tony has been a big help for her, giving her a listening ear when needed. She knows he’ll understand better than anyone since you are his best friend.

On the hardest days, Tony made sure to come equipped with the best stories he has about you in the days when you were still training and had Rhodey as your mentor.

Natasha couldn’t believe it when Tony brought her one of your old Air Force trainee hoodies that you left at his house when you used to visit all the time.

She refuses to take it off, wanting to have you close by at all times.

Natasha walks into the compound, her face looks miserable, matching her life currently.

Wanda notices her come in, walking over to bring her into a hug. Natasha gladly accepts.

“How are you feeling?”

Natasha looks at Wanda with a disappointed look, “Yeah, stupid question. Any news?”

“No, I’ve called Rhodey every day but he claims to have no idea of when she’s coming back.” Natasha wraps her arms around herself for comfort.

Wanda gives her a sympathetic smile, completely devastated that Natasha has changed so much without your presence.

“I think I'm going to go shower. I’ve just come back from a jog.” Natasha makes up an excuse to go to her room alone.

Wanda nods in understanding, “Okay, I’ll speak to you later.”

Natasha pats Wanda on the arm as a silent thank you as she makes her way to her room.

Once Natasha enters she releases a sigh, looking around at all of her belongings… until she spots something that isn’t hers.

She rushes over to the duffle bag on her bed, looking in it to find all of your clothes.

Natasha runs out her room shouting your name, needing to see you to confirm she isn’t imagining anything.

She runs into the living area, searching frantically.

Steve looks over at her, “Nat, are you-“

“Where’s y/n?” She interrupts.

“She’s on Deployment, isn’t she?”

Natasha shakes her head, “No, her bag is on my bed, which means she has come home.”

Suddenly she hears Fury coming into the room, “I knew you’d cave in sooner or later y/l/n, do you know how many times I had to ask Stark to get you on board. Too many times, I don’t like asking more than once, learn that very quickly y/l/n.”

“Yes, Sir. Thank you for the opportunity.”

“Don’t thank me yet y/l/n, you still have to pass the hardest test of all- winning the team vote.”

Before you can reply you are tackled to the ground.

You release a pained groan, not expecting anyone to jump on you.

“I hope you have better reflexes on the field.” Fury says mockingly.

Natasha sits up from you, “You’re here, you’re really here! You’re safe, why didn’t you come and find me?”

You bring Natasha into a more controlled hug as you pull her up from the ground, “I wanted to surprise you, plus I needed to speak to Fury about some things. Wait, I haven’t seen that hoodie in ages, it suits you.”

“Good, because it’s mine now. What things, what’s going on?” Natasha asks you, hugging you tightly- finally being able to do so after so long.

“Well Romanoff, it seems that y/l/n doesn’t like the Military lifestyle anymore and wants to be an Avenger.”

Natasha looks at you, “Really?”

You nod, “Really, Fury has been asking me for years and Tony has always said there’s a spot open for me if the team agrees. With my high rankings I should be able to make the swap. The only two people I need to ask now are you and Steve, what do you say, can I be on the team?”

Natasha pulls you in for a kiss, “Yes! Yes, a thousand times yes!”

You look at Steve, “Yes, but I’m not kissing you.”

You put on a fake pout causing Steve to smile.

Natasha’s eyes fill with tears, “Hey, what’s wrong?” You ask as you cup her face.

“You kept your promise, you came home.”

“I’ll always come home to you Natasha, no matter what. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Welcome to the team, Avenger. This is your new home” Fury says as he makes his way out of the room.

Maybe this year won’t be so bad after all.

384 notes · View notes

magicalqueennightmare · 1 year

Text

Sins & Amends Chapter 45

(Not Adi considering the Reader is non descriptive but this baby is cute af)

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary: As Adi's first birthday draws near a new deal is presented from Homeland but no one will sign off on it unless you do

Every day that passed with Adi brought what family you still had closer. Once your maternity leave was over the days that you and Karen both had to work Sarah was more than glad to babysit.

When Frank had time off him and Karen would practically beg you to let her stay over with them. Curtis was always on hand when you needed someone too considering he lived closer to your place than anyone else and even Matt and Foggy would stop by more often.

Whenever she would look up at you with those dark brown eyes of Billy's that you had fell in love with so long before you knew she was twisting you around her little finger even more. She was the best thing that had ever happened to you no matter how she'd come about.

You still got together with Frank, Karen, Curtis, Foggy and Matt but it was now once a week. Sometimes Candance or Marci would come but one thing remained the same, every aunt and uncle would fight for the chance to hold little miss Adi while all of you caught up from the week.

Frank would relent most times considering him, Karen and Curtis saw her the most but sometimes if he'd had a rough day or things were just bugging him he'd keep her tucked tight against him and only give her up when you had to feed her or change her although sometimes he'd grab a bottle or clean diaper before you had a chance.

To you it seemed as if Frank was combining the love he'd once felt for her father into the love he had for her.

As for Karen she was the best aunt you could ever imagine for Adi. She'd had your back throughout the pregnancy and would still do anything for you or Adi. She'd crossed the line somewhere along the way from best friend to more of a sister. It felt almost like it had with you and Maria. You more than understood what had originally drawn Frank to her back when he was still neck deep in being the Punisher. She was amazing.

You still missed Billy every day. Every day you saw Adi growing and knew it was something so precious and so important and that he was missing out on so much. He had barred you from visiting him or calling and a child wasn't something you told someone about in a letter so you'd sworn everyone who still had contact with him to secrecy about her. You just didn't see a point in adding that pain onto him. It was just better he never know.

Adi was almost six months old when Curtis stopped by one evening after his weekly visit to see Billy. You hadn't been expecting him so when he knocked on the door you answered with her half asleep on your hip. "Look baby it's uncle Curt!" You handed her to him with a smile "Perfect timing. I need to fix a bottle so I can put her down"

She nuzzled into his chest sleepily as he asked her about her day like he was talking to an adult and expecting a response.

You glanced over your shoulder at the two of them walking around the living room while you made her bottle in the kitchen and smiled "Not that I'm complaining Curt because you know you're always welcome but to what do I owe this visit?" You asked walking back into the living room to hand Adi's bottle to him.

He settled into the recliner Foggy had bought you when you were pregnant and offered the bottle to her then glanced up at you "I need to talk to you and Frank said he needed your answer before he agreed to anything" "Ok gotta point out that doesn't sound good" you half joked watching Adi's head dip twice before the bottle fell down beside Curtis.

He nodded at her "Get her settled and I'll start coffee" you stood to pick her up off him but not before saying "Coffee and needing to talk..are we having a meeting Curt?" He shrugged "in a way yeah I guess so" you scooped Adi up onto your shoulder and tilted your head back at the kitchen "Well you know how I take my coffee. I'll be back as soon as she's down good"

------------------

After you got her settled in her crib and grabbed the baby monitor you walked back into the kitchen where Curtis was carrying two cups of coffee to the table. He sat yours down in front of a chair then sat across from you.

"Well you said we needed to talk but um what about?" You asked taking a tentative sip of the coffee while he made himself busy adding sugar and creamer to his own cup. "Well you know Frank's went with me a couple times to see Billy now"

You did in fact know that. It had almost bothered you that it seemed you were the only one Billy didn't want to see. It had been a little over eighteen months since he turned himself into Mahoney. "Are you coming to tell me they tried to kill each other on one of the visits because I'm really not sure what to say to that considering Matt and Foggy are both of their lawyers"

Curtis cracked a smile at that and shook his head "No actually what I came to talk to you about is that apparently our little team is proving handy to Homeland. Me, Frank and David are working well with Madani, Stein and their team so she offered the prospect of another deal possibly being put on the table but I um well honestly I drew the short straw because everyone is in agreement we want to make sure you're ok with it"

"Another deal? What, do they need a medic? I'm happy where I am" you couldn't help letting a joke slide to cover up the knot that had formed in the pit of your stomach the moment you put together the pieces he'd laid out.

"They want to offer Billy a deal. He gets time served when it hits the two year mark then he comes to work for Homeland. He'll be under certain requirements for the first year same as Frank was along with being under the care of a psychiatrist which Kenzie has already been approached about but after that he'll be free and clear and officially an agent"

You sat your cup down hard to keep from dropping it and glanced down the hall towards Adi's room. "So what the SAC of Homeland wants my permission to offer a deal? Seems like everyone has already been told about this but me. Hell I'm just his baby mama. He hasn't spoken a word to me or tried to write me besides that one letter since he went in. Why should I have any say so?" You realized you were going on the defense hard but hell you had the right to be. So much had happened since Billy went to prison.

Curtis looked down at his cup then glanced up "The doctors are confident in his recovery. Y/N he's healed up a lot. He remembers a lot more. Stuff he's glad he remembers and stuff he wishes he could forget again. He remembers making the deal with Rawlins for Frank to be in the cross hairs instead of you. He remembers the smuggling, Anvil. Every person he cared about that he hurt he remembers most of it. There's still some blanks spots but they're willing to sign off on the condition he keeps with his treatment plan"

"Once again Curtis what the hell does that have to do with me?" You asked hearing the edge to your voice when you spoke. He shrugged and that smile he wore in meetings slipped into place "Y/N he loves you. He's always loved you. I think, no I know he'll want to see you. If that's too much it's ok I'll handle it but know not a visit has went by that he hasn't asked about you. We've all avoided that certain subject but if he gets out he's going to want to at least talk to you and there's no way to hide a child when you'll be face to face. Frank won't sign off unless you're ok on it. Neither will I or Stein and Dinah has already said if you're not ok with it she'll squash the deal as if it never happened"

You took a deep breath and stood up abruptly. Yesterday if someone had asked you'd resigned yourself to the fact that Adi would probably never meet Billy. You had pictures of him throughout the apartment. She carried his last name and if you were being honest you wanted nothing more than for her to have some sort of relationship with him. Him being in prison for the two year mark was still eight months away. Could you prepare yourself in that amount of time?

You hadn't realized you'd been pacing until Curtis stepped in front of you and grabbed your arms "I don't need an answer tonight. I just wanted to lay the newly played cards down" you nodded slowly then said "If Frank's ok with the deal so am I. My only condition is I tell him about Adi" he smiled then motioned back to the table "No one else has the right to tell him about her. Now let's finish our coffee then come tomorrow I'll let everyone know the ball can start rolling"

You never knew that time could move so incredibly slow yet so incredibly fast at the same time. The next few months crept by at an iceberg pace. Your nerves were getting worse the closer it came to Billy getting out.

A small reprieve came in the form of Adi choosing to start walking on the day she turned ten months old. You were sitting in the middle of Frank and Karen's living room with her on your lap. You'd been talking to Karen but the moment Frank walked in Adi had stood up which she'd been doing for a couple weeks but then she took a few wobbly steps. All of you held your breath so Frank walked closer. She made it to him before she started to fall but he caught her before she could. "You wanted uncle Frank huh kiddo?" He asked her with a broad smile.

Karen grinned at you "Oh he's gonna talk about this for months" Frank winked at her "Why wouldn't I? Out of everyone she walked for her uncle Frank"

Of course the next few days after that involved Frank and Curtis baby proofing every household Adi spent any time whatsoever at.

The day of Adi's first birthday Karen was over bright and early to help you despite her party not being until that afternoon.

Sarah and David were out of town visiting family and had came the week before to bring her presents. Dinah had to be in meetings so did Sam so it would be you,Frank, Karen, Curtis, Alice, Kenzie and Matt at your place. Foggy and Marci were working late on a case.

Adi had went down for her nap so Karen was decorating while you put the icing on both cakes."So how are you doing?" Karen asked as you put the finishing touches on Adi's smash cake. You shrugged "I'm good. Nervous that the date is ticking closer but I'm not thinking about it today. Today is about Adi" she grinned and went back to decorating.

---------------------

By the time you and Karen were finished Adi was waking up. You walked into her room and found her laying in the bed talking to her stuffed wolf Frank had bought her. She had named him Coco the moment Frank handed him to her. "Hey babygirl you ready to get dressed?" You asked and she sat up.

"I pick?" You laughed and pointed to where you'd already laid three outfits out "Yeah baby, you pick"

You picked her up out the crib then made sure her legs were under her before letting her go. She waddled over and looked between them before pointing to her purple and pink dress. "Good choice! Let's get ready. Aunt Karen even bought you a birthday bow to put in your hair!" Her eyes widened at the mention of a bow.

-----------------------

While you were finishing Adi's hair you heard a knock at the door. "Wonder who that is?" You asked and she grinned "Unkie Frank?" You tilted your head and sure enough heard Frank's deep voice "It is uncle Frank! Let's go show him how pretty you are"

She walked over and grabbed your hand then pulled you towards the door so you opened it and let her waddle out. "Unkie Frank!"

He of course gushed over how pretty she looked. "Are you ready for some cake babygirl?" She nodded. So he looked back at you "Everyone else is downstairs finding places to park"

-------------------------

You were standing between the kitchen and living room watching with a smile while Karen took photos of Adi demolishing the smash cake.

She held out one hand towards Frank and called "Unkie Frank" and you knew he was had. He dropped his head with a sheepish grin and walked to her "Yeah babygirl?" Her response was to smear hot pink icing across his face. You couldn't remember the last time you laughed so hard.

You heard the camera clicked and realized Karen had caught a candid of you and she grinned "Sorry mama. You looked too happy not to catch it" then she turned her attention back to Adi and Frank who was now being offered pieces of cake from Adi. Matt walked up next to you and bumped your shoulder "how's Frank look wearing icing?" You laughed and leaned towards him "I don't think I can accurately describe it" he grinned in response "Your voice tells enough of a story"

You glanced towards his face and saw he was facing towards where Adi was sitting giggling as Curtis came close enough for an icing attack on him as well. "So are you excited for Billy to meet her?" He asked after a moment and you went silent knowing he could tell if you lied.

"Honestly? I'm nervous Matt" one eyebrow raised before he said "Why? I've talked to him Y/N. He's even asked me about you. I don't know how much he remembers where you and I are concerned but I don't think he's exactly gonna get out and run when he finds out you have a daughter"

"I've hid her from him" you clarified and he shrugged "All of us in this room have hid things from each other at one time or another. Doesn't mean we don't care. It'll work out but for today just enjoy Adi. You're an amazing mom and have busted your back to make sure she's had a good life up until now. Whatever comes next you have her back and we all have yours"

That was something you had always liked about Matt, he always seemed to be able to talk people into believing in themselves. Even when he didn't believe in himself after Elektra was killed. There had been a while you had worried about him but you had in his own words been too stubborn to let him go through it alone.

"Thanks Matt" you said and reached out to hug him but he'd turned into it before you had a chance which shouldn't have surprised you "Any time. Remember no matter what's in the past we're friends. You said it yourself back when Adi was first born. It's a motley crew but we're all family by now" "Even Billy?" You asked quietly and he nodded "Even him"

The next two months seemed to come and go in the blink of an eye.

Curtis had ended up as a go between of sorts to plan Billy wanting to see you when he got out. After some thought you'd decided it was better to rip the bandaid off so the working plan was that Karen would come pick up Adi about an hour before Billy was supposed to be at your place giving the two of you enough time to talk.

It was a simple enough plan but just like everything in your life when did anything ever go as planned?

@intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

#au billy russo #billy russo x y/n #billy russo au #billy russo x you #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x reader #sins and amends masterlist

34 notes · View notes

arrthurpendragon · 1 year

Text

OC Ficmas 2022

This year we'll be doing things a little differently. I'm going to release the masterlist of all the OC fanfics that have been submitted at the beginning. On December 1st, I will release the masterlist.

Before starting: You must be following me on one of the following platforms to participate: tumblr (arrthurpendragon) or wattpad (arrthurpendragon, obiiwankenobii, or hermiionegrangers)

Challenge: Try to read a bit and leave a kind review on 25 different stories by New Years! (Key word being try. But this is optional. More fun though)

Rules to submit:

Please reblog this post if you’re interested in submitting (So, I know to message you if you’ve “forgotten” to submit)

Fic needs to be published somewhere

You are allowed to submit 2 of your own OC fanfics. (Please send one response per fic. It makes things SO much easier for me)

You are also allowed to submit 2 fics that do not belong to you - but for people you think could use a little holiday cheer!

ll put a cap on the number of stories per author. I'm leaning toward 3 or 4. But I will solidify that number while creating the masterlist.

This form will remain open throughout December. I will do my best to add them to the masterlist throughout the month- please know that those submitted earlier will have more time on the masterlist and a better chance of getting read.

I’m still debating if I’ll make individual posts on my blog. It’s something I would LOVE to do, I’m just not sure what my schedule is going to look like. Crazy for sure, but how crazy I do not know.

That being said, I'm not going to police who has read & reviewed each fic. I will create comments on the Google Doc - so you can say if you read or reviewed and I hope that people would choose fics that haven't received much love. That being said, I will not be policing to make sure each fic gets reviews. Anons sent complaining about this will be deleted and will not be considered in any fashion. Go complain elsewhere. I’m trying to do something to help others - you’re not.

Love,

Kass

GOOGLE FORM HERE (remember submit one per fic)

The Google Form has more specific information about what I need you to submit.

#ocficmas #ocficmas2022 #ocappreciation #allaboutocs #oc fanfiction #please reblog if you're interested

97 notes · View notes

saturnalorbit · 7 months

Text

sonic frontiers: the final horizon is the most awesome fucking absolute mess i've ever played

and i need to talk about it. minor spoilers to start, and there'll be another marker when i get to major spoilers

okay. this update is perhaps the most mixed bag of all mixed bags ever. i want to love it, but i can't. i want to hate it, but i can't. there's so much in here that is absolutely infuriating and so much that is phenomenal. it's just so hard to put into words. but i'm going to try! just to set expectations, i have much, much more to say about Sonic's portion of this update than the other characters.

starting off with the framing, it's servicable. Sonic jumps through a giant ring to an alternate timeline where instead of doing the whole of Ouranos by himself, his friends are brought back and sage stabilises his cyber corruption until he can find a way to circumvent the corruption.

i mean, i can't think of a much better way to do it. the ending of the base game was very clearly unfinished, so they had to find a way to revert things so they could take place in the intended way. the only thing is that i hope this ending isn't treated as non-canon because it was an alternate timeline, i think this is undoubtedly the more complete ending and should be where the story continues on from.

(also i'm not the biggest fan of edgy multiverse theories but i really can't see any way Sonic didn't screw over the original timeline. like, imagine being his friends and watching your only hope to save the world jump into a giant ring portal never to be seen again. fucked up stuff)

moving onto how Sonic's friends play, i really like them. Amy specialises in more vertical sections and precise platforming that can be made easier using her float. Knuckles is all about his wall climbing sections and gliding sections. and Tails can completely skip most of his platforming sections by just flying around them. as he should.

their progressions follow a sort of minimal version of Sonic's, where they can get lots of skill points from koco around the island to progress their skill trees, and they mostly obtain seeds of power and ring/speed capacity from koco by starfall. makes sense, as most people just grind stats from big's fishing getting coins from starfall, so it's essentially just taking out the middleman and fast-tracking the level-up process, which is fine considering you're levelling up three characters across one island. also, you can't take them to other islands. unfortunate, but it would have involved a lot more playtesting of how they interact with other bosses and stuff, so i'll let it slide.

and then we get to Sonic.

i'm not going to sugarcoat it. Sonic's difficulty curve in this update is broken. it's just broken. there's no better way to put it. it's all over the fucking place.

to be perfectly honest i can't comment on the Cyber Space levels, because i only played one. the one that i did play had a lot of problems, with ramps that would seemingly just launch you away from the actual course in some random direction, but also everyone online says the Cyber Space levels are really good, so probably take their word over mine.

i'm going to say it now, because it only becomes more relevant from this point on. there is a critical lack of communication from the developers that makes a lot of this content significantly harder than it needs to be. this is my main problem with the update. a lot of this content is made significantly easier if you know about certain options that you can use to your advantage, but these aren't options that are taught or suggested to the player. i'll get into them as they come.

Sonic's gameplay revolves around climbing towers that are a decent bit harder than the towers on rhea, and completing trials at the top. now, i know i'm in the minority when i say i love climbing these. maybe it's the Celeste brain, but i honestly like mastering the climb over several attempts and finally making it to the top.

however.

my experience alone should not define the way the game is made. the criticisms of these towers are completely valid. most people hate falling all the way down and losing all of their progress, with the checkpoints from rhea's towers being absent. this criticism is very fucking fair.

now, these climbs can be made easier by parry stalling and mid-air sidestepping, which means when you fall, you can parry to halt your fall, and figure out the safest place to land, and sidestep over to it. this would be all well and good if this was taught to the player at all. but it's not, so it's understandable that players won't know to do it, will fall all the way to the bottom, and get frustrated. i've seen people saying it's a skill issue, but i can't in good faith blame anyone for getting mad because they didn't know this was an option.

once you reach the top, you partake in a combat trial, and these have also sparked a lot of criticism, for pretty good reason. these are mostly what i'm referring to when i say the difficulty curve of this update is completely broken, so i'm going to go through each of them and talk about my problems.

the first trial is, in my opinion, actually okay. it's difficult for sure, with a tight time limit and a group of enemies that don't let up, but it's certainly doable with enough skill. it took me a few tries, but after conquering it i felt like i had earned a hard-fought victory.

the second trial is actually not okay, and is where a lot of the criticism begins to make sense. to provide context, you have two minutes to defeat 4 enemies with high hp that can only be attacked for about a second at a time with your basic attack after cylooping them. so, you have less than 30 seconds to take out each of them. if you try it, you will understand that that is a ludicrous ask considering the ridiculously tight time limit. this is not a fun challenge, it is an act of extreme precision that is not fun by any means.

now, there is a workaround. by getting them to throw their shield, running up to them and constantly parrying as the shield comes back, you can attack between parries and take them down much quicker. this is a smart solution and feels good to pull off! the problem is that again, this solution is not suggested to the player in any way. worse still, the game seems to trick you, as before the fight, the restrictions prompt states that "cyloop will be the only skill available", planting it in the player's head that cylooping is the solution, and discouraging them from attempting other means. this is just shocking game design to be honest, and i can't believe this got past play-testing.

the third and fourth trials, then, coming after that, must be the hardest challenges the game has to offer, right?

no.

after the second trial completely screws you over, the next two defy expectations by being completely fucking trivial. you just had two minutes to take out four enemies you can barely damage, and now you have five minutes to take out five or six enemies that are pretty easy to parry and go down in just a few hits. after that, you have ten minutes to defeat one enemy that granted, is super-buffed, but given the extremely lenient time limit, is entirely trivial. this is what i mean when i say the difficulty curve is broken. the trials went [difficult -> next to impossible -> trivial -> easy]. who play-tested this and thought it was okay.

finally, we have trial five. it's on the extremely difficult end of the curve, and again, not in a good way. it's a boss rush speed trial of the three Super Sonic fights up to this point, with the caveats of only having 6 minutes and 40 seconds to defeat all of them, and your parry timing having to be perfect this time.

now okay. look. i get it. you need to teach the player the perfect parry so they aren't completely thrown in the deep end when they need to use it later. i get it. but that doesn't excuse the everything else! yes, the Super Sonic fights are awesome. no, that doesn't mean it's good game design to make you fight all of them in a row with minimal changes on an absurdly strict time limit and dying means you go back to the very first fight! and of course, you have to do the non-super lead-ups to the fights as well, so if you get hit there, you're basically screwed!

the biggest offense, though, in my opinion, is that the game doesn't tell you at all that the parry window is much more generous on easy mode than it is on normal or hard. clearly a lot of people find the nearly frame-perfect timing on the parry to be pretty annoying, so some transparency about the fact that it can be increased would go a long way. this goes back to my point about the developers just not communicating with the player about what their options are. i shouldn't have to go to a youtube video guide to find out that the parry window is easier on easy mode!

final boss spoilers incoming now

okay, we've made it past all that and it's finally time for the final boss. does it make up for it?

not really but kind of-ish!

again it's complicated! nothing is ever fucking simple with this update i swear to god, and this is easily the thing i have the most to say about, so strap the fuck in.

first of all, Supreme is still here, and approximately 0 improvements have been made to the fight, which is really unfortunate because this fight is just evidently not finished. there were unfinished QTEs found in the game files for this fight, so at least some improvement would have been nice. but whatever, we can just call it a fake-out before the real main course.

so, what is the main course?

let me just say.

The End is is one of the most poorly-constructed but also absolute coolest fucking bosses ever.at the same time.

i've got a hell of a lot to say about this fight, both positive and negative, and i'll try to bring up possible improvements where i can. so let's do it to it!

first of all, ORCHESTRAL I'M HERE. what a fucking blessing. we haven't had a good "orchestral version of the main theme" moment since colours. so glad it's back. imo it doesn't quite reach the peak of Super Sonic vs Perfect Dark Gaia from unleashed or his world from 06, but it's a far cry from say, the forces final boss that isn't really remixing anything or, god forbid, the fucking time eater theme from generations. wish we got this in the base game but i'm glad we're getting it now.

corrupted Super Sonic (or Super Sonic 2 as a lot of fans call him) is fucking awesome. i don't care that it's pretty much just an extra aura and differently coloured eyes. he's so fucking cool. it's mostly down to the attitude change and the cutscenes tbh. the cutscenes in this fight are sonic at the coolest he's ever been and that's not an exaggeration.

but okay, let's get to the gameplay. corrupted Super Sonic can only perfect parry, which makes the final trial make sense from a gameplay perspective - it's training you to use perfect parry in Super Sonic situations. which makes some sense, but there had to be a better way to go about it.

the perfect parry window is very precise. i'm not going to bitch about it because it is understandable that it should be precise on at least hard difficulty. my issue again is that the changing in the parry window isn't communicated to the player. if a player is frustrated with the precise window, they should know that they can change it by changing the difficulty. but this is never stated in the game as far as i know.

next, the trees. the trees have got to be a contender for the most annoying part about this fight. when you've got shots flying at you that you need to parry with near frame-perfect timing, the last thing you need is a goddamn tree in your face obscuring the shot. this just sucks. i can't believe this got past playtesting without at least adding a filter to make the trees transparent when they're in front of the camera.

now. we get to the fucking cable. okay, look. everyone knows you're supposed to attack the cable. not knowing what to do was never the issue. the issue is figuring out how you're supposed to do it. again, there's no communication from the devs as to how you're supposed to do this. you're supposed to attack it, then dodge to the side, and then the cable will be open to attack. fine, the mechanic makes sense. the problem is that there's no reason to try dodging to the side. unless you're trying to wild rush and just mess up the input, there's no reason to assume that the act of dodging will allow you to target something you couldn't target before.

but wait - there is actually precedent for this! in the Knight battle, when it begins shielding, you can dodge around the shield to attack its head! so clearly anyone who doesn't try it is just suffering from a skill issue! okay, no. there's a few problems with this. firstly, dodging in the Knight fight is optional. you can get through the whole fight just waiting for it to throw the shield, riding it in and then attacking. so it's perfectly reasonable for someone to get to The End without realising that you can dodge to change target. secondly, you don't get the same "attack blocking" feedback from striking The End as you do from striking Knight's shield. The End's head isn't a shield, so why would you bother trying dodging around it?

but okay, we have a good base now for improving this! first of all, considering it's possible for the player to not realise dodging can even help, i think it should be optional here as well. i still don't think you should be able to attack the cable for free, but maybe after you land a few perfect parries on the orbs and stun The End, the cable should become the selected attack target. then, instead of just healing, i think the cable should also give The End a small forcefield that blocks attacks to its head. this would help the players that know the tech in the Knight fight to realise they can pull off the same maneuver here. so, the more experienced players get to attack it easier, but the less knowledgeable players will still be able to attack it with some skill. same principle as the Knight fight, really.

okay, moving on from that. the next thing to address is cylooping the cannon. this is also pretty unintuitive, but i do think a quick cyloop is something that most players will try after seeing that they can target it but their attacks are ineffective. i'm sure there's a better way to indicate you can cyloop it, maybe give a blue glow around it, but otherwise this is mostly okay.

then, we have a glimpse of actually good design! when the rifle shoots out and gets stuck in the ground, i think it's very reasonable to think back to the sword from Knight and how that got stuck in the ground while the titan was downed. it's the exact same situation - the titan is down and their weapon is stuck, the only thing is that it's not a cutscene this time so you have to do the cyloop yourself. i think this is a very logical conclusion to come to personally, especially considering how much of an impact the sword moment leaves on the player, and it's really cool that this time you get to do it yourself.

half-way point now, and we get I'm Here - Revisited, sung by Kellin Quinn. what a fucking treat. i don't know for sure which version of I'm Here i prefer, but this one goes so fucking hard. it definitely serves as the perfect companion piece to the original I'm Here, being much more intense, more similar to the past titan themes. god damn.

not going to lie, the cutscene is a bit silly. i love the teamwork between Super Sonic and Eggman, but Amy, Knuckles and Tails just flying in seems... really weird. i would have much rather seen them floating, gliding and flying in respectively from different directions so it would actually make sense, it would be a bit harder to frame but them just flying in really does take me out of it. i would have also liked sections where you play as them for a short time in order to weaken The End, but look, i'm just looking at minor changes that would improve the fight at the moment, so whatever.

back into the fight, now we've got a really terrible camera angle problem! i don't know why the hell the camera comes directly behind Super Sonic when The End does its back pincer attack thing but this really shouldn't be a thing.

but we do again have a faint glimmer of good design here! the player is going to try dodging again here to attack the cable again, and will then successfully find out that dodging is how you interact with the new pincer attack. it's the fact that it's actually something that you're going to try this time, and then realise that the interaction is different this time, rather than just mindlessly attacking and not knowing what's going on.

but then it's soured by bad design again. truly a goddamn rollercoaster. it is horrifically unclear what the pincer attack actually is. Super Sonic just kind of... floats there. as the pincers move. and you're watching from a terrible camera angle. then eventually, The End attacks the barrier. you're supposed to parry the pincers, but why would you try parrying when the pincers aren't clearly attacking Sonic? this time, i think we can show the pincers from afar for a second or two, then cut to Sonic close-up, getting pinched by the pincers over and over again, while the little bolts of lightning signifying an upcoming attack constantly shooting through him. this would clue the player in that this is actually an attack, and is parriable.

okay, now we get to one of the most... interesting parts of the fight. there's a ring check here - you need at least 100 rings or you'll be dead on the spot. i have... mixed feelings on this, to say the least. i failed this ring check the first time, and the thing is, i had no idea what happened. i thought that maybe there was an attack or a QTE that was an instant kill if it hit, and i just missed it? it does partially clue you in with the visual of sonic losing his rings after he loses his super form, but it's not totally clear. i was kinda pissed tbh.

then the second time i got to this point, the same cutscene played, and i was even more pissed. as Super Sonic once again de-transformed i was like, somehow i failed to see this attack coming twice in a row, and i was about to be instantly killed again. what a fucking terrible game.

but this time, the cutscene continued.

the music was still playing, the Chaos Emeralds were still surrounding the injured Sonic, zoom in, and he's somewhat weakly raising his hand as he reabsorbs the Chaos Emeralds like, "bitch, you thought i was dead?" safe to say, i was fucking floored.

okay, look. the first time around, i had no idea why i died. i consider that bad design. but the fact is, that bad design somehow made it so my second shot was so much fucking cooler. i don't even know how i can analyse this properly to be honest. i've never had bad game design actually make my experience with the game better. how the hell did they do this? i can't analyse this part objectively because this moment was just insane for me. just the idea of Sonic de-transforming, and then re-transforming is such a fucking cool idea.

from this point, you're brought down to 100 rings and it's a simple race to take The End down before you run out of rings. i think that's fine. The End has shown all of its tricks, and Sonic has shown all of his. there's enough mechanics in this fight to make it stand out from the other titans at this point, so now it's just time to do it to it.

after depleting The End's health, you get a kick-ass cutscene of Sonic kicking ass, and then just straight-up punching Supreme's body straight up towards The End. then, he loads himself into Eggman's cannon and "goes all-out".

so, Cyber Super Sonic. yeah, it probably would have been sick to play as sonic in this form. it also probably would have taken a lot of development resources to create a ton of new animations for his gameplay style that would have taken away from other key areas that desperately needed that development. i don't think you could just tack the Cyber model onto normal Super Sonic and just have it work. Cyber Super Sonic seems much more erratic and unstable, and he'd need animations that relay that. that said, it would have been cool to maybe see glimpses of Cyber Super Sonic in QTEs throughout The End fight, perhaps seeing the corruption manifesting on his body like it does with normal Sonic throughout the game, with slight glitches in his animations (i think Sonic Team could pull off glitchy animations pretty well)

but i do think that this is a decent solution to the power scaling problem that they've been worrying about. they don't like introducing forms "beyond" Super Sonic because they don't want it to become a DBZ situation where shit just becomes impossible to scale and there's no reason for characters to not just use their best forms. that's why they don't want to bring Hyper Sonic back. this way at least, Cyber Super Sonic can only exist in Frontiers because the Starfall Islands are the only place that Cyber Space exists. that said, i'd love to see this kind of concept explored more in the future.

okay, so Sonic has this sick animation of dashing straight through Supreme's body and then through The End, absolutely eviscerating them and getting extremely injured himself, floating through space unconscious. after falling all the way back down to earth, the Chaos Emeralds leave him before he can even land sending him face-planting straight back into earth at terminal velocity, before immediately getting up and smiling at his friends.

okay yeah this is what i'm gonna nitpick. it's small but it really took me out of it. Sonic should not have just been able to just get up from that. it's just too unbelievable after the injuries he sustained, even in his Super form. he should have taken a lot longer to recover from this. if they wanted him to get up immediately, at least show the Emeralds healing his wounds before leaving. that would be believable enough. but whatever it pretty much re-rails back into the original ending at this point, other than Eggman now having Sage to go home with.

okay so. that was a mess. but i can't help it man i fucking love it. i know it's extremely flawed from a gameplay perspective. it has so many goddamn problems. i hated the final boss the first time i played through it. but on subsequent playthroughs and watching other people play it, i just can't help but love it. as much as the gameplay suffers, the presentation and music just carry it through for me, at least when i know what i'm doing in the fight.

plus, i think The End fight had some really good ideas that were just executed poorly. i think the idea of having some problem solving to do is really important to prevent the formula from getting stale. god knows Supreme didn't have that. The End just has so many mechanics that make it unique from the other Titans, and while they're poorly telegraphed, they are good mechanics at their core. having to parry the energy balls, detaching the tether, cylooping the cannon and then the rifle, and then parrying on its back - there's a lot going on here, and had they telegraphed some of this stuff better, i think it would have been really really good.

so in conclusion. i don't know what the hell to think about this update. it's extremely flawed, that's for sure. there's a lot that could have been done to polish this experience. a lot of it could have been solved by better communication about gameplay mechanics. but i really can't help but love it anyways. i love playing as Sonic's friends and i think The End is genuinely an awesome fight at least if you know what you're doing. i love climbing the towers even though that's a bit weird. i still hate the trials but three for four isn't bad.

but yeah i still really really like it even though i know it has a lot of flaws. so pretty much like any other sonic game. bye

#sonic frontiers #sonic the hedgehog #final horizon #sonic frontiers final horizon #sth #sonic

13 notes · View notes

firjii · 6 months

Note

I just saw the Spotify might change their royalties model and that it would hit indie artists hardest. Are you posting your music elsewhere? I follow you on Spotify but now I'm looking into other places for music and want to continue supporting your awesome music!!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I love you and thanks for asking.

Except for a few covers that are limited by licensing restrictions, my stuff is on all major and some minor platforms (I do sometimes lag in putting things on Bandcamp because lazy). I'm not monetized on Soundcloud because that system is somewhat different and IIRC not as welcoming of truly small artists, so any of my tracks that you find there are either on my "just for fun" accounts or are someone's illegal reupload.

Reminder to the new folks: I'm Firjii everywhere but also started another artist pseudonym as Kathy Warnecke (which should also be on all the same platforms by now).

Tidal and Apple usually have the best royalty payout rates and Spotify is among the worst (but no platform has a guaranteed fixed rate). Youtube is all over the place but usually on the low end. Downloads always pay better than streams, but I know some people can't do this or prefer to continually support with streams over time instead of paying once.

I'm also gonna take a minute to FUCKING RANT explain things to the uninitiated since virtually all my listeners on tungles are freemium Spotify users. From what I understand, this change has been finalized and it's not speculation at this point.

The deal is they'll withhold royalties from a song in a given calendar year unless it's streamed at least 1,000 times ANNUALLY (not lifetime).

Although the change will only consider per-track stats (not social media-like numbers such as followers/listeners or a measurement of how established the artist's presence is), in practice, this will specifically demonetize small/niche artists and have little or no impact on medium and big names. It will also affect the payouts small artists get from distributors because many of those have their own minimum payout thresholds.

I need people to understand just how shitty this is.

Say you're a prolific creator or recorded some live shows from a tour and you released 150 tracks in a year. If each track only got streamed on Spotify 999 times that year, they're pretty much saying you'd get paid for.......yup, exactly zero Spotify streams, not the 149,850 you're otherwise owed. I have no idea if this will impact PRO (performance rights organization) payouts, but I refuse to believe it would be legal to also withhold that share of royalties.

In the Spotify world, 1k streams is a tiny achievement (and still translates to a very small payout, so the concern is: what's to stop them from raising that minimum even more in the future?). But especially when the hurdle is per song per year, this can be a tough goal for indie or specialty genre artists to reach or maintain, including me.

I have a long history of disliking Spotify in particular for many reasons, but I upload there because it's the only way some people will listen. I strongly encourage anyone who is able to use other platforms to explore their options.

I know a lot of folks are too broke to pay for music and Spotify is a notable example of a freemium option, but this change is so, so, SO bad for SO many artists.

#hey maybe I need to start a tag for my music industry rants lol #how about #music industry tomfuckery #yes good let's go with that #nerkierants

10 notes · View notes

mr-geargrinder · 1 year

Text

Last few days have been a whirlwind of stuff happening with all this WotC OGL 1.1 business. The leaks were real. The document is now out there. We’ve got confirmations and insider rumors saying that WotC totally knows everyone is pissed, they still think this plan will make them more money, the cancellation of D&D Beyond subs is making them panic, and worst of all, they still think they can push forward with their plans, but they’re going to wait for things to cool down first.

And then Paizo comes out and says they not even going to fuck around with the OGL, though they will fight WotC in court if it comes to that. Until then, they’re hard at work making a new Open RPG Creative License (ORC) for everyone to use, perpetually, irrevocably, forever, because fuck you WotC, that’s why.

That’s a lot to process on its own and that’s not even everything that’s happened in the last 12 or so hours.

I think the unsubbing idea is really good, but I’ve also seen a few people who are treating it like it’s a temporary thing. They’re waiting for WotC to back down, rescind the OGL 1.1 entirely, apologize, and then expect everyone to go back to giving them money and buying any product they put out. I think that would be a terrible outcome and I hope that everyone following this developing story understands why.

The OGL changes are just the start. There’s stuff in there about VTTs and other forms of media. WotC has the D&D movie coming out this year and a D&D series in the works, too. They wanted their VTT to be the biggest, most used one on the market, partially by strangling their competition. There’s also very clear plans to pursue further monetization and microtransactions. The OGL wasn’t just about gutting the competition, it was about making sure there was only one platform, under their control, where D&D would live, and where as much of the money as possible would go into WotC’s pockets.

You can go on D&D Beyond right now and buy individual stat blocks or single magic item descriptions from their official modules. There’s no reason for that to even be an option, but you know that once they finally get their VTT and their new app and the new not-a-new Edition of D&D running, there will be many more things available in microtransaction form. Just a few taps, like Fortnite does, to get some new minis or some fancy effects for your character sheet, or whatever stupid little bullshit they can cram in there to milk people for more money...

It’s THE WORLD’S GREATEST ROLEPLAYING GAME™ after all. No way they wouldn’t tap as many creators and influencers and possible, eagerly showing you how cool it is to be immersed in D&D, the lifestyle brand, spending money on the integrated D&D Beyond App.

All this to say I don’t think anyone should be going back to WotC and D&D unless there’s some massive course corrections that likely aren’t coming after they spent 150 million to purchase D&D beyond. In my opinion, I think WotC has been a very awful company for longer than it’s been good, anyways. The people they’ve got in charge now are the worst they’ve ever had.

The chances of WotC getting their shit together and not being a scummy company who tries to scam their customers are very low. In my opinion, it’s in everyone’s best interest to just be done with WotC. There are better publishers and independent game designers out there who would greatly appreciate a little bit of love, and I guarantee you that there’s nothing D&D has that you can’t get somewhere else or can’t bring with you.

#D&D #DND #OGL #WOTC #Hasbro #ogl 1.1 #paizo #ORC

81 notes · View notes

anxiety-banana · 7 months

Text

so i love star wars the old republic, right? so what that to most gamers it's mediocre at best, i'm a don't starve/minecraft/plants vs zombies girly i'm not that bothered

anyway here are my thoughts on this game after playing it for a few months

-the fact that my happy little droid friend who follows me around and heals me and fights better than i do sometimes is labeled <your companion> under his name. are you trying to make me attached. what if T7 dies?? what then?? will i just smash my desktop??? probably!

-the graphics aren't bad, they're actually pretty okay, but i really need to know why no one put more effort into making the details actually... detailed. like. everything is this weird, smoothed out, monochrome kinda color and it weirds me out for some reason it's like they designed armor thumbnails for the inventory and instead of redesigning them for on-character use they just sized up the image and stuck it on

-if you fight a combat training dummy (or sometimes if you exit a fight that you just won), you won't exit combat mode?? i hate this so much?? you can't do certain actions while you're in it and i kid you not i have jumped off platforms in the coruscant senate district to k!ll myself so i would exit combat mode

-BRO if you don't quick travel everywhere you have to run MILES every mission. jedi better have required and least two years of cross country in your padawan years because your glutes gotta be amazing to survive this

-this is actually my largest pet peeve of them all THERE ARE LIKE FIVE BODY TYPE OPTIONS FOR FEMANINE CHARACTER DESIGN AND THEY HAVE THE ABSOLUTE STUPIDEST GIANT BOOBS AND TINY WAIST I HAVE QUITE LITERALLY NEVER SEEN IT THIS BAD BEFORE

-also not to be a fashionista but all the armor options suck and i think they're pretty much all ugly THERE I SAID IT

-in the first storyline you're working with a twi-lek village and i'm not saying there's definitely a romance between you and the matriarch but there definitely is

-also the padawan you work with later on

-and that jedi master i can't remember her name you go to meet her before the council after your first mission and she just has this flirty way of talking to you it's so funny to me

-this game is tryna get my character laid with every person of power

-i know he isn't but orgus din just gives off sith vibes. he always has "other matters" to attend to. that man is either a sith or has a secret relationship despite explicitly talking about the dangers of attachment (*cough cough* anakin *cough cough*)

-i see people always walking by defeated characters you can loot and that is SUCH a mistake i racked up thousands of credits really fast by just stealing them off corpses' persons, not to mention all the random crap you can collect and sell to vendors i have yet to buy a single piece of armor i just keep upgrading from loot i collect

-i know i already said it but GUYS T7 is such a cute lil droid, when you make light side dialogue choices it says "T7 approves" and it fills me with delight

-it's so funny to me to just yeet yourself straight between two groups of hostiles perfectly centered so you never have to fight any of them

-oh and that time you rescue a flesh raider baby??? that thing's gonna grow up like "mom, am i adopted?" "yes, son, you are. you're a flesh eating beast." "ohhhh that's why i keep having the sudden urge to bite your face off i thought it was just puberty"

also just know that posts about this game will not cease. it amuses me and i love it

#star wars the old republic #star wars #the old republic #star wars games #it's free on steam!#come #join me on the dark side

13 notes · View notes

prototypelq · 6 months

Note

video game ask let's gooooo

5. Game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to

12. A character you particularly like in the game you’re currently playing (or any other game really)

13. Quick, name the first song from a game that comes to mind

20. A boss you think is really cool

22. A game ending that’s really stuck with you

26. Realism or stylized?

Thank you for the gaming ask my beloved mutual! )))

5. That's a really tough one. While I do follow gaming news, I am not so attentive to actual game releases. Mostly because I have never really played on a 'current' platform. I have been using consoles for gaming most of my life, I played on x360 up to 2017, then I got a ps4, which was/is my most go-to platform till this year. This year was a change for me, because I finally surrendered to pirating at the beginning of the year, and played through a number of awesome low-spec indies that way. Though, I have been very lucky to get a new pc recently, and oh boy is this a big change for me. It's still crazy to think this machine can run something more than pixelart now xD (no disrespect to low-spec games in this house allowed, the more accessible the game the better, weak hardware optimisation my beloved)

I have also found a way to get past the payment blocks and have bought all those games I pirated, that was a big weight off my shoulders) So, uh, yeah. I don't follow releases. I would have said Alan Wake 2 is you asked earlier this year tho, CONTROL had me transform into a Sam Lake devoted follower xD I'll gladly watch a letsplay of it sometime soon, before I catch any spoilers. All the other game series I'm interested in are either on hiatus (Darksiders when), or the latest entry made me lose interest (Horizon 2. I love the world, so I'll follow the series anyway, but the story of the sequel is a mess I didn't like at all, and it doubled down on this new direction too). That was a long and roundabout way of saying I don't really look up to any new games currently, lol.

12. Currently - Lohse from the DOS2. This game has an extensive player character creator, however, you could play as basically one of the companions of the game, with full custom story and questline. And Lohse is a Very special case, as my dear bard woman is currently posessed)

The game has some amazing moments, where it will throw you a persuasion check to 'prevent you from throttling a character because the demon inside you didn't like them' for example. Funnily enough, in this moment in particular, if you succeed on the first check (which is hard to do early-game), if will throw you Another one with other stats to use. And Another. There's three persuasion checks in succession here, which is normally literally impossible to do, unless you mod the game to hell and leave the balance there as I did, and STILL this is the only option the dialogue will leave for you. Lohse becomes uncontrollable after this, and your other party members have to subdue her.

It's incredible, amazing time, 10/10. Other origin characters are great too, but I think this fourth-wall-meddling makes Lohse simply the best origin character to play as.

I also greatly enjoyed playing as Delsin Rowe in Infamous Second Son, I love that game, it's super fun and has great style, plus Delsin is adorable. He's a bit punk, he is witty, he is a geek, an artist and his grafitti-drawing mechanic is adorable.

Also Death from Darksiders 2. His parkour is superb, his abilities are super cool, he has an amazing horse, and he is Literally Death Rider Of The Apocalypse.

13. First song that comes to mind would be Bound Together, since I mentioned it a lot the last few asks...excluding that one, Subhuman + BTL, and Black Dog for the fun of it, All Is Soft Inside which was featured for a virtual concert of AURORA in Sky: Children of the Light (adorable game, which will hopefully come out sometime on pc, mutuals I would hold your hands in that game so. much.)

20. A really cool boss. Sorry King Cerberus and Vergil, you are cool by definition. The first that comes to mind is the Guardian fight from the Darksiders 2, which is honestly the most badass fight in the series. THAT MUSIC HITS SO HARD. And that finish animation, oh my, pure epic.

22. A game ending that’s really stuck with you. ooops already did a too-long and roudabout post about that one xD

26. Realism or stylized? Stylized anytime. Realism is honestly kind of boring, though I admit sometimes seeing your fave very detailed is cool. For example, dmc5 Dante design is my favourite out of them all, because it is finally (kind-of) down-to-earth. The game is about fighting demons and being cool about it, but the story is of human struggle and issues, and the character design finally reflects that. And I do enjoy the Impressive hair physics in Horizon games, but that's it for realism. Stylized is literally better in every possible way: it makes the design more flexible - it can be expressive or constrained, depending on your direction; it is cheaper to produce and easier to optimize and easier to run. Plus 'realism' is a forever-outdated style. Games that were considered 'realistic' in 90s, 00s and 10s don't look so realistic to us now. Even Delsin Rowe I mentioned above - he looks great, the motion capture and animation for the game looks awesome, but his face is kind of baby-smooth and the pupils of every character in the game are just a bit too-wide, it makes them all look like they all collectively had some hallucinogens xD. Meanwhile, stylised games can never go out of style, as they are the ones dictating it. Beyond Good and Evil still looks good, Fables look good, Psychonauts does too, etc. These games always exist in the state they were meant to be viewed in, while realistic games are always reaching for the not-really-but-sort-of unattainable standards, which change with time and available technology.

Stylized is Always. Better. In. Every. Way. Also make games optimized again and lower the hardware reqs. I swear, it's like every new title requires you to buy an entire basement full of rocket-science multi-computers, each with a videocard which name will make the math-lovers cry.

#this was fun to answer thank you)#mutuals my beloved #gaming #surprisingly a lot of darksiders snuck into this one xD #darksiders #infamous second son #dos2 #dos2 lohse #delsin rowe #darksiders death #sky cotl #that sky game

9 notes · View notes

waywardstation · 2 years

Text

Let’s Get You Back to Her

Ingo comes across a lost child in Gear Station’s Battle Subway during a very busy event, and makes sure she makes it back safely to her worried mother. He was not aware he would be doing the same thing again for the same girl, years later.

Surprise fic! I saved this to post after I reached a certain point in my multi-chapter fic WIP, to give some content in between. This was written using one of the first fic prompts I got, about subway bands. I used an additive prompt for Ingo meeting Dawn and her mother before Hisui, and the aftermath of after Hisui too. Thank you to these requesters for being patient, if you’re reading this, I hope you enjoy it!!

Or, read on AO3 here!

Enjoy!

————

Few things ever successfully got people to stand still amongst the bustling crowd that filled Gear Station, hurrying from place to place to get to various platforms and lines for the Battle Subway.

Subway bands were one of them.

Currently set up against one of the walls near the platforms, the group that was playing had already drawn a sizable crowd, having strategically started playing during Gear Station’s lunch hour. With all the employees taking a scheduled break for the next hour, large groups of challengers were exiting the subway lines just to be greeted with a rather loud and exciting display of music.

Naturally, people came around with curiosity, only to stop and listen.

“Hey, what’s over there?” Elesa asked, interest in her voice as she stepped out of the double line’s subway doors and onto the platform, Emmet and Ingo following behind. She had come to take the subway bosses out for a quick lunch to hang out and catch up before they returned to another shift of battles, but the sizable congestion and loud mixture of music and cheering caught her attention. “Is that one of those subway bands you two are always talking about?”

It only took a moment of listening for Emmet to voice excitement of his own, clapping his hands together with recognition.

“It is!” He stepped around Elesa and Ingo on the platform, to try and get a better look over the crowd. “A subway band got past the depot agents!”

The Battle Subway had a list of rules the public were meant to follow in order to keep the station running at its best, and one of them was ‘no subway bands’. Not because the music was found to be disruptive (all the employees quite liked it!) but because it always caused a crowd to form, and congest the walkways, which of course could lead to multiple problems.

Gear Station’s Battle Subway had not been built with live musical entertainment in mind.

Ingo and Emmet personally loved when musicians would set up and play (and this was semi-public knowledge, known mostly by employees, but some thought their personal reluctance to do anything encouraged musicians to keep coming), but some of the more attentive Depot Agents would usually come around and request they pack up, or at least play outside Gear Station’s Battle Subway, where they wouldn’t cause such a buildup of people.

Both options meant Ingo and Emmet could not hear the music from their stations, however, so they counted both alternatives as a loss.

“Let’s go see before one of the agents kicks them out!” Emmet was already making his way down the platform to join in with the rest of the crowd. “They’ve never come around when we’ve been on breaks!”

Elesa followed excitedly, but Ingo trailed behind with a bit of hesitance; he loved when the subway bands came around just as much as Emmet did, but today, he was looking for a quieter atmosphere.

A dull but persistent headache had been throbbing in the back of his skull for most of the day. It was not terribly painful, but it was persistent and distracting - only the most astute observers could see how Ingo was slightly slower to react in his subway battles today. Ingo had been looking forward to the lunch break, if only in order to escape to a quieter place with Emmet and Elesa, and perhaps purchase some pain reliever to soothe it, if they had time.

A crowd of loud people cheering and surrounding an even louder subway band was the opposite of what he wanted right now.

From the familiar tune, Ingo could make out that they were playing a version of one of Gym Leader Roxie’s most popular rock songs.

Wonderful. Blaring rock music was perfect for a headache.

“Subway boss coming through!” the younger twin made himself known to the crowd as he reached the outskirts, and began to move between in an effort to see the band. Elesa kept close to him as the people parted around them, like a school of minnows around a pair of sharks.

The third shark, Ingo, was much less intimidating as he instead moved around others, apologizing as he kept his own pace, apart from Emmet and Elesa’s momentum.

It was apparent why such a crowd had formed; the band was good.

Consisting of four members (all teens, most likely a group of friends), they all played perfectly in sync, skillfully and energetically. Putting on a show with theatrics that were just as good as their music, pulling dynamic poses and dramatic moves, it was clear they were in their element.

…until Emmet emerged at the front of the crowd as it parted, Elesa and Ingo behind him. His smile was bright with delight, but it seemed to have been misread as intimidating - as if he was looking to fulfill his job of maintaining the subway’s rules.

The musical momentum died down at the sight of an authority figure, especially one as prominent as the Subway Bosses, and the band stopped playing.

“…we know,” the girl in front muttered, clutching her bass guitar as the others held their instruments still; it was apparent this was not their first time down here, and therefore, not the first time a depot agent had kicked them out. But this was the first time one of the Subway Bosses themselves had approached. “We’ll uh, go outside.”

Another moment of silence as Emmet held his response, the crowd waiting with baited breath for him to send the musicians out, break up the crowd, and have everyone disperse.

“I am Emmet,” he said, his smile still bright as he took an authoritative pose, folding his hands behind his back.

“And that was one of my favorites! You play Roxie’s music verrry well! Why’d you stop? Keep playing!”

Another moment of silence as everyone took in what he said.

Keep playing?

The Subway Boss wasn’t going to stop them?

He was instead encouraging them?

The joy returned to the young musicians’ features as they understood the situation, and went back to playing their instruments with fervor, as the rest of the crowd cheered along with Emmet.

And with the return of the music and the cheering, Ingo’s headache once again intensified, having lessened with the temporary quiet of the misunderstanding.

They were quite good indeed, Ingo would give them that, but each riff of the guitar, bang of the drums, and chord of the keyboard reverberated in his ribcage, and encouraged the thrumming of his headache. Mixed together with the sea of voices and the loud ambience of the station, the pain flared up.

Ingo closed his eyes, wincing as he pressed a hand against his scalp.

It was too loud here for someone with a headache.

“Emmet,” Ingo reached across the crowd to grasp his brother’s shoulder. Even with his naturally loud speaking voice that carried well, it was barely audible over the crowd and the music - he had to speak up. “Emmet!”

Emmet momentarily paused his cheering with Elesa and the rest of the crowd, to see who had touched him. He quickly met Ingo’s strained expression with a more quizzical look.

“Yes, Ingo? Are you ok?”

“I’m…going to the vending machine; you may meet me at the turnstiles when you and Elesa are ready to depart.”

The older subway boss was already turning to leave and make his way back out of the crowd, not having made sure Emmet caught all of that.

“What? Bathroom? Alright Ingo! We’ll wait here!”

Elesa, having caught none of the conversation over the loud atmosphere, was unaware one of the twins had even left.

————

Ingo moved out of the way as a few more groups of people steadily wandered towards the sound of the band, curious.

It was still loud, but moving a bit further away from the music and the crowd had already eased the pain of his headache slightly.

He made his way to the line of vending machines that were set against the wall in the corner of the station room, searching absentmindedly for some loose change in his coat pocket.

Ingo was normally not one to drink soda - that was Emmet’s preference. However, he often made exceptions when he had headaches, as he found the caffeine usually found in certain sugary drinks was a good secondary solution to pain relievers.

Glancing back at the crowd further down the subway momentarily, Ingo pulled back his sleeve to check the time.

12:18 pm.

They definitely wouldn’t have time to pick up some pain relievers for his headache at this rate, if Elesa wanted to take them to that new and popular food truck.

Ingo sighed as he fished out a handful of pocket change. He counted the coins to make sure he had enough, before pushing the money into the machine’s slot.

The panel on the side lit up as it registered the payment, and Ingo browsed the selection of drinks available in the rows behind the glass.

Cherub-juici, Fruit-zel, Vanillyte, Ener-joltik…

That last one had been added to the stock at Emmet’s insistence. It was an energy drink that Ingo thought tasted (appropriately) like electrified tv static, but among all of the fruit juices, it was one of the only drinks that had any caffeine.

Rubbing his aching scalp under his hat, Ingo sighed and input the drink’s number into the machine. With a ding, the drink was dropped into the pickup slot, and unused change was deposited for return.

Ingo pocketed the extra change and slipped his hand into the slot to retrieve the drink. Looking over the can’s design in his hands momentarily, Ingo took note of all the joltiks and thunderbolt design that decorated the drink.

No wonder Emmet wanted to add this to the Battle Subway’s stock.

Ingo cracked the can open and took a few quick drinks, trying to get it to bypass his tastebuds entirely so that he didn’t have to taste it, but…yup, just as staticky as the last time he remembered.

Swallowing with a slight grimace, Ingo looked through the groups of people standing around, back at the crowd further down the subway. The music was still going strong, and he could spot Emmet’s white cap and Elesa’s designer jacket amongst the crowd.

Did they forget they only had an hour for lunch?

Ingo glanced down the other way; he was surprised no depot agents in charge of this section of the station had come yet to break up the crowd…perhaps they were all at lunch already.

The group of musicians had probably strategically planned the time they came to start playing, which meant they were most likely consciously trying to get around the rules. But Ingo didn’t entirely mind that.

He understood it could be a problem causing such a blockage near the platforms when the single and double lines were running, but they weren’t right now. What public traffic could it hold up, if no one over here had any trains to catch at the moment?

And from a safer distance where his headache didn’t react quite as strongly, he did quite admire the band’s musical skills. It was a nice change of pace from the same few tracks the Battle Subway repeated over their systems every single day.

Ingo took another rushed sip of his drink, but jolted with an unexpected hiccup.

He pressed his hand against his chest in surprise, hoping no one heard that over the ambience of the subway. Perhaps he should stop trying to force a carbonated drink down quickly, even if it meant he’d have to taste the awful static.

Then he heard a barely audible sniff.

Becoming acutely aware that someone was watching him, most likely having heard him hiccup, the subway boss looked over the side of his uniform’s collar, at the end of the line of vending machines.

Someone was hiding behind the large appliances, peeking out and staring at him with a look of caution in their eyes.

A child?

It wasn’t unheard of to see kids in the Battle Subway section of Gear Station, but this one seemed exceptionally young to be here.

And they seemed very unsure of their surroundings.

…were they lost?

The two stared at each other for a moment, unmoving. Ingo was still, but his mind was already shifting out of a relaxed mode into a more attentive one, despite the bothersome headache.

A lost child in a busy place such as a subway was a matter of upmost importance!

“Ah,” Ingo cleared his throat, hoping he wouldn’t hiccup again, as he turned to the child. “…hello. Are you…lost?”

The child did not respond, but instead pulled a little further behind the side of the vending machine.

“…are your parents around?” Ingo tried again. He glanced around at the people standing nearby, trying to see if anyone seemed like a worried parent looking for their child, but he saw nothing of the sort. Everyone was either on their phones, walking somewhere they clearly had to be, drawing closer to the subway band, or talking with groups of others.

Another sniff.

Ingo pulled a look of concern as he fumbled with the half-empty energy drink in his hands. Dropping the can into a nearby trash bin, he took curious steps closer, until he reached the end of the line of vending machines. Stepping around to face the child, he tried to get a better understanding of what he was dealing with, but still gave her some space.

He could see they were a little girl about six, seven years old at the most. Yellow clips decorated her blue hair, matching her skirt barely seen under her oversized sweater. A buneary plush was held tightly in her arms, and a backpack was on the ground beside her. It was clear she had been crying, from the way she wiped at her eyes.

“Do you require assistance?” Ingo asked again as he adjusted his hat by the brim, trying to extend a more general offer in case he was being too specific; he was unaware the sentence might be too formal for a child of her age.

Instead of silence, he received a stifled sob this time, as the girl backed up against the wall.

Ingo adjusted the tie around his neck nervously. He already felt awkward with kids…how do you converse with a child? And this one wouldn’t even respond to him! He knew she couldn’t entirely help it, but she wasn’t making things any easier; he couldn’t help if he didn’t know what was wrong! And this bothersome headache was slowing things further, scrambling his thoughts.

Honestly, Emmet always seemed better with the children who came through the station; he was usually the one they came up to most, asking for those complimentary lollipops and battle subway conductors badges that Gear Station liked to hand out to kids.

It had always been a bit of a secret sore spot for Ingo seeing his pockets were always much more full of these things than Emmet’s at the end of the day. The kids always seemed so sweet; why did they seem so apprehensive to approach him, as opposed to his brother? Was it Emmet’s smile that put them more at ease? Maybe kids didn’t like his frown. Or his rather tall posture. Maybe he was scaring this little girl-

“…Momma said not to talk to strangers. And to tell her if someone did.”

The small voice interrupted Ingo from his thoughts, so quiet, he almost missed it amongst the crowded bustle of the subway.

She talked!

And she had a mother! One that taught her well in the ways of safety, it seemed. He didn’t cross it out entirely, but now it seemed unlikely that this was a case of abandonment.

“Ah! Well,” Ingo started talking before he knew what he was going to say, just relieved she was now opening up. “I’m…a worker here. I’m Ingo, one of the Subway Bosses who runs this station, the Battle Subway.”

The girl’s distressed expression remained unchanged, clearly having no understanding of what his name, or the title of “Subway Boss” meant. A fresh tear ran down her face, and she wiped at it, not comforted at all.

Ingo lost the short burst of confidence he had.

“So, your mother should be alright with you talking to me.” Ingo kept going, the beginnings of a listless ramble. He glanced around again, in case he missed an obvious sign of a searching parent the first time. “Is your mother here? Do you see her anywhere, or know where she is?”

The girl hugged her buneary plush tighter, shaking her head as a silent no.

Even if she was shy about it, he finally had confirmation on what he suspected was wrong.

But the situation didn’t seem to be getting any easier for the girl; she still held her buneary plush tight in her arms, pressed up against the corner between the wall and the vending machine in an attempt to seem smaller. Like she was still wary of him.

It dawned on Ingo that perhaps him standing over her while she was backed against a wall, with how tall he was, wasn’t doing any favors. And his frown-

Ingo crouched down to stoop more to her level, and did his best to give her a smile. It barely tugged at the corners of his mouth, pathetically underwhelming compared to his brother’s famous grins, but it already made him seem severely less intimidating.

“Well, I can help you find your mother.” He offered, extending a hand out to her. “A passenger’s safety is of upmost importance, but their needs must also be attended to! Let’s get your back to her.”

Maybe it was the promises and words of consolation, showing he was someone she could trust in this loud, scary, and foreign place. Maybe it was the less intimidating posture and reassuring smile he gave her. Or maybe it was even mistaking the meaning of his outstretched arm. But whatever it was, the girl opened up to Ingo; she got up, buneary plush still clutched tightly in one arm, and hugged him as a few more fresh tears spilled down her face.

Ingo did not know what to do with this, and let her dry her tears onto him as he held still for a moment.

“It is so big and loud here!” The small girl confessed to him, her eyes wet. “I lost Momma, she might have left on the trains already!”

Ingo’s aching skull readily agreed with the loud part.

But…left already?

It sounded like she was a commuter then, using the subway for Unovan travel, not battles.

She was in the wrong half of the station then! What was she doing over here, in the battle subway?

And was she a tourist here in Nimbasa? That would explain why nothing seemed familiar to her!

“I’m sure she’s still here, looking for you,” Ingo reassured her. If she was in the wrong section of the station, perhaps it would be best to take her to Gear Station’s services. Taking a glance at his watch, he noticed he didn’t have a lot of time to go searching with her anyways - 12:26 pm. “I can take you to a service center and make a call for your mother. Do you remember her name? What she looks like?”

The girl pulled away to express a face resembling deep thought for a few moments.

“She’s got hair the same color as mine!”

Ingo waited for more information, but none came.

Was that all she could remember?

“Ah, I see,” Ingo rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he should take a different approach to this. “Well then, what’s your name?”

“Dawn,” the girl responded with some hesitance, as she tugged at the bottom of her skirt. She seemed hesitant to share this information, most likely from her mother instructing her not to, but she seemed to trust Ingo at this point. He appreciated the eventual cooperation with answering his questions, but he wasn’t entirely relieved to see how quickly she opened up to him.

Ingo glanced around again. How long had she been hiding here? He was glad he was seemingly the first person to approach her, if this was all it took to get her to trust a stranger.

“Alright then, Miss Dawn,” Ingo stood up again, once again overshadowing her at his full height. But this time, she didn’t shrink away. “Can you retrieve your backpack? I will escort you to a services center.”

The girl sniffed again, her eyes finally dry as she turned behind her to pick up her backpack. As she did so, Ingo quickly threw a glance back at the crowd.

Still loud, still playing music, still including Emmet and Elesa, right where he left them. They’d probably still be there by the time he finished this, as well.

He shook his head, doubting any of them would be leaving for lunch at this point. He’d have to see if Gear Station’s gift shop carried pain relievers.

As Dawn pulled her backpack straps up onto her shoulders, Ingo held a hand out to her.

“The Battle Subway might slow down around lunch, but the rest of Gear Station is very crowded this time of day. We can easily get separated. Take care not to come uncoupled from me.”

Dawn’s tiny hand grasped his own, her plush in the other.

With his passenger ready, Ingo pointed to the Battle Subway’s exit, that opened up into the rest of Gear Station. “Ready? Onward we roll!”

————

Leading the small girl through the crowd of people had been quite a challenge. Ingo had never taken into account how slow children moved, though with such short legs, he felt he should have expected it.

He was constantly slowing down for her, probably one of the only people in the station moving at a leisurely pace, with everyone else hurrying to catch various trains, too busy talking on phones or with friends to pay much attention to anything else.

But Dawn’s hand never let go of his, which he was grateful for. It would be hard to find her again in this crowd, he felt.

The drone of people, and station announcements, and general subway ambience dully irritated his headache, but the caffeine from earlier seemed to be helping, as he found himself with a clearer head than earlier.

Subtly keeping an eye out for any women with blue hair as he made his way closer to Gear Station’s service desk, he never saw what he was looking for. But he quickly explained the situation to one of the employees, and after getting a few more details out of Dawn, (Ingo discovered that indeed, she was six years old, and no father was present) they prepared an announcement to play over the subway’s PA system.

“Attention Gear Station, we have a lost girl named Dawn, who was found in the Battle Subway, and she’s looking for her mom,” one of the service center attendants announced, working with the limited information they had. “She’s six years old, has a stuffed buneary, and is wearing yellow hair clips with a pink sweater. You can find her at Gear Station’s service center near the front exit. Thank you.”

Ingo and Dawn listened to the announcement play through the station, watching people’s heads momentarily glance up from their devices and conversations upon listening.

“Thank you,” Ingo thanked the service attendant, as he then led Dawn over to a few chairs nearby to sit down. All they could do now was wait.

The girl seemed considerably more comfortable with Ingo now, seeing that he was helping her, and that there was nothing to be scared of, despite his intimidating appearance. She didn’t shy away from him, kicking her feet on the chair as she still insisted to hold his hand.

Ingo’s eyes still scanned the crowd for a possible mother, but was yet to see anyone with blue hair like Dawn’s. Amongst the scanning, his eyes fell upon the station’s clock.

12:46 pm.

His shift was starting up again soon, with a single battle scheduled right at 1pm. But the thought of leaving this girl alone before her mother came to pick her up did not sit right with him.

Ingo was a stickler for keeping a tight schedule, but this was more important, he decided. Surely, the challengers would understand.

“What’s that?”

Ingo turned his head down to Dawn, who was now pointing at something inside his coat.

His eyes followed her finger to see she was pointing at one of his inside pockets; a brightly-colored wrapper was sticking out of it, which must have been what got her attention.

“Ah!” Ingo pulled it out, to reveal a lollipop to her. “It’s candy. I hand them out to children, to promote Gear Station’s family friendly atmosphere.”

The verbose explanation sailed right over Dawn’s head, only understanding that he had a lollipop. The Subway Boss used his other hand to reach into an opposite pocket, pulling out a little pin badge, bearing the same logo that was on his hat.

“It comes with a free conductor’s badge as well. Would you like them?”

Ingo held the candy and the badge out to the girl, who took both carefully, but excitedly. She tore the wrapper off and stuck the lollipop in her mouth with a big grin, and stars in her eyes.

“Thanks, Mister Ingo!”

That seemed to be the first time Ingo recalled a child at gear station say a sentence like that with such happiness. Usually, if by some chance he did hand a badge and candy to a child, the parent usually had to coax a very scripted ‘thanks’ out of them with the famous “now, what do we say to the nice conductor?”

Again, maybe it was the frown-

“You’re welcome, Miss Dawn,” Ingo addressed the child. His frown only seemed slightly less so, but clear happiness of his own was apparent in his voice.

“Dawn!”

A voice cut through the crowd that Ingo immediately snapped his head to. With the emotion held in the single word, it unmistakably belonged to an overwhelmingly relieved mother.

A moment later; a blue-haired woman emerged from the parted crowd, tears in her eyes as she held her arms out.

“Momma!” Dawn cried as she leapt from her chair, running to her mother’s arms. Ingo simply stood from his chair to finally talk with her, but not making a move to disturb the moment.

“Where did you go?” The mother swooped Dawn up in her arms, protectively holding her close against her shoulder. “I was looking everywhere for you!”

“I heard fun music,” the child confessed, wrapping her arms around her mother’s neck. “And wanted to listen. But then a lot of people came, and I got lost!”

Ingo stiffened at this new bit of information.

Did she wander off to listen to the Subway band, only for the influx of curious people to confuse her?

Perhaps Ingo could now see another reason as to why bands should not be allowed to play in the Battle Subway. It subtly, but immediately, changed his view on letting bands sneak around the rules.

“But Mister Ingo helped me find you! He told me he’d get me back to you!”

Attention turned to Ingo as the mother’s gaze fixed on him, her daughter pointing back at him.

“Ah,” Ingo readjusted his cap by the brim. “Hello Ma’am, I presume you are the mother; I am Subway Boss Ingo, co-head of Gear Station’s Battle Subway. I found your daughter quite lost, and escorted her here to the service center.”

an arm wrapped around Ingo in a hug as Dawn’s mother stepped forward, still holding her child in the other arm. Ingo stiffened at the surprise contact - a challenger, much less a commuter, had never hugged him before.

“Thank you, sir,” the mother choked up, her voice wet with emotion again. “I was so worried!”

She pulled away from him, to make eye contact as she continued speaking.

“But yes, I am Johanna, Dawn’s mother. Honestly, I didn’t even know where to start looking! Dawn and I are from Sinnoh, but we came here for Nimbasa’s Pokémon musicals, as I participate in Pokémon contests.”

From Sinnoh! Ingo did a mental double take; he had suspected Dawn and her mother were tourists, from how unfamiliar Dawn seemed to be with the environment, but…from a different region all together? They certainly were far from home!

“Today was our last day sightseeing before heading back home, but when I went to step onto the train, Dawn was no longer by my side! And I don’t know this station at all…I didn’t even know it had a section for battling! I would have been searching and stressing for hours, if you didn’t bring her back! And who knows what could have happened in that time I was-“

For the third time, emotions seemed to creep up in her voice. Ingo could not relate to the scenario of a parent losing a child in a busy place at all (or even having a parental relationship with a child), but he was entirely empathetic.

“Well, I am glad to be of service, Ma’am!” Ingo expressed to Johanna, in an attempt to derail her current, incredibly stressful train of thought. “Happy I could help. And aside from this mishap, I do hope you found your time in Nimbasa City enjoyable!”

The gratitude was apparent in Johanna’s eyes as she smiled at him, readjusting Dawn in her arms (who was still enjoying her lollipop)

“It was,” Johanna answered him. “Nimbasa has proven its everything it’s advertised itself to be! Lots of entertaining events to participate in, a good, safe atmosphere…and you’ve done a good job advocating for the good service Nimbasa prides itself in! I would love to return and participate in another contest here sometime.”

A light flush crept up on Ingo’s face as he readjusted his coat, soaking in her casual but striking compliment. “Like I said ma’am, just happy to be of service.”

The station’s clock chimed, indicating it had reached the end of the hour, 1:00 pm.

Ingo’s shift would be starting again.

“Well, we should get going”, Johanna sighed as she turned back to Ingo from the clock. “I missed our scheduled train, so it seems I should go buy two more tickets before the last one possibly leaves for the day. Im unfamiliar with the station’s schedule…”

“Ah!” Ingo interjected, seeing another moment to be helpful. “No need Ma’am, you can simply update your tickets. Here, I’ll escort you to the proper booth…”

The Subway boss led Johanna and her daughter through the crowd of people, taking them to a booth to update their scheduled trip times on their tickets.

He could stand to be a few minutes late.

————

Johanna sat in her chair, the telephone out of focus from the corner of her eye, but almost always present in her vision.

She didn’t do much else these days, she found. Not since Dawn disappeared.

The clock on the wall ticked repetitively, methodically in the background. The day was winding down with the setting sun, another day where absolutely nothing had happened.

Her glameow paced silently but incessantly, as it did most days, leeching off of her trainer’s stress.

It had been several months since the teen disappeared, and it was a perplexing case.

Johanna had bid goodnight to her daughter as she returned to her room for the night, going to sleep. The next morning, when it had reached half-passed noon and she still had not emerged, Johanna hesitantly entered Dawn’s bedroom to check on her.

The room had been empty.

No one could figure out what happened. Where did she go? The windows were shut and locked, and with only inside locks, it showed she couldn’t have left through a window.

The front door had been locked as well, and had never been opened. She didn’t leave that way.

No signs of a forced entry were present as well, and all of Dawn’s important belongings were still in her room, including her very own Pokémon.

Frantic calls to all of Dawn’s friends confirmed she was not with them, and hadn’t been at any point in the last 24 hours.

It became crystal clear very quickly, that something very not-normal had happened. It was as alarming of a case as it was bizarre, and a surge of social media attention swarmed on it like a flock of fearow.

But Johanna didn’t want the attention, more focused on spreading the information than actually helping. In fact, she hated it. They didn’t care about her or her daughter, they just wanted a story. She wanted answers, and sometimes it felt like she was the only person actually looking for them.

Eventually, the attention died down some. Her phone stopped ringing with reporters asking for interviews, and people stopped bringing it up with her during trips to town.

All the questions had been asked, time and time again, and finally that time had passed. But when would she get answers? None of the research she was doing ever helped any.

Then people started consoling her. Expressing their condolences, and asking how she would deal with it.

The very thought mortified her, wondering how people could give up like that! Her daughter was not gone. Dawn was not dead. She knew it.

She was just lost.

And so she would spend most days waiting by the phone as she researched, hoping someone with some information would call and offer help. Hoping someone would say they found her daughter.

Hoping even Dawn herself would call, and say she was alright, and coming back home.

So when a knock came at the door, firm but hesitant, her heart leapt with hope before she mentally scolded herself.

Of course not. How could you get your hopes up?

“Yes?” Johanna cracked opened the door, to see a surprisingly familiar man. His face looked older and weathered, weary but not absent of compassion. The coat he wore, and the hat on his head; both were tattered and shredded, but they were familiar all the same. However, a foreign article of clothing, a loose tunic, replaced his dress shirt and tie she remembered.

But the Battle Subway emblem on his hat is what explicitly sparked her memory. It was the same emblem Dawn had on that pin she had received,back when they left Nimbasa city.

Dawn had loved that pin.

Almost a decade ago. He was the man who helped find Dawn in the bustling Nimbasa subway.

What was this man doing all the way here, in Sinnoh? And why was he so disheveled?

“Ah, hello Ma’am,” The man started, before being cut off.

“Mom?”

Johanna’s heart skipped several beats at that sweet, sweet voice. The voice she would not let fade from her head, and held onto. The hope she had locked away so tightly a second ago leapt from its cage, overwhelming the previous confusion she felt at seeing Ingo.

Surely-

Johanna quickly opened the door to see her daughter standing next to the man. She was pressed into his side, holding his hand tightly. She was dressed strangely, in clothes she had never seen before - a handkerchief around her head and a red scarf were the first things she noticed, before taking note of the blue uniform and strange shoes. She looked just as disheveled as the Subway Boss, a tiredness in her features. Tears were already beginning to spill from her eyes.

Johanna barely had time to register that what she was seeing was reality, and not a cruel trick of the mind, or a vivid dream, when her daughter rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Johanna heaved a sob and returned the hug, holding her daughter close.

She was tangible, and she was here.

Dawn openly sobbed into her mother’s embrace, standing in the doorway of her home. She had returned back home.

Johanna looked up at Ingo through tear-obscured vision. The man who had made sure her daughter was safely returned to her all those years ago, at Gear Station.

He made sure she was safely brought home, back to her once again, didn’t he?

He helped Dawn get back to her when she was lost, when he himself had been even more lost.

He had felt like he brought her back terribly late, the moment he saw how much accumulated worry had sunken into her features when she initially cracked the door open.

But all of that washed away when she laid eyes on her daughter beside him, the girl he had not initially remembered, but come to care for all the same.

“Thank you,” the weeping mother choked out as she pulled Ingo close to join in on the hug, holding her daughter tightly in her other arm. “Thank you.”

————

Check out this amazing fanart for the fic by @justawipp !

352 notes · View notes

alice-chan-chan · 24 days

Text

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

tagged by @endless-season /havent't been tagged since forever, it's time to write a wall of hardly comprehencible text, let's gooo!/

3 ships you like: I still love soukoku (BSD) and dabihawks (BNHA), and my most recent fav ship is frimmel (Sousou no Frieren). It's impossible not to love them! \(-o-)/

first ship ever: I don't remember. But the first ship I was really invested in was Mukuro/Byakuran (KHR). I still think of them sometimes. ^///^

last song you heard: I've had my computer upgraded recently, so I had copied all my files on the new hard drive. I've found so many music after I examined my belongings. XD So it must be one of those songs I guess. It's very likely that it was Rise Again by Ronski Speed feat. Lucy Saunders, it's one of my favourites once again lately. I had to dig up my playlist on vk to find its proper name btw. XD

favourite childhood book: Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, I almost knew it by heart. Well, technically it's a teenage favourite book, but I don't think I remember childhood books now. =/ They didnt have as much impact on me as this one.

currently reading: nothing, my work consumes too much time and energy, I can't concentrate on books. =/

currently watching: I've finished watching Sousou no Frieren a few days ago, and I am already thinking about rewatching the exam arc. I should have paid more attention to Wirbel. ^///^ Well, maybe rewatching the whole anime wont hurt too. I really loved it!

currently consuming: I've just had a cup of tea moments ago.

currently craving: it's 3 am now. I can't think of anything to crave for at the moment. =/ Well, I'll go with the easiest option and say this: I'm craving for money bcos it gives so many resources and opportunites. I've seen an interesting course on 3d design on an online platform like 15 mins ago, and I am kinda interested. it's rather pricey... And I don't really have much free time... And on top of that, I doubt that I could use this course to earn money. =/ I guess I wont buy it anyway.

tagging: everyone who would like to play this tag game, you don't need to be a mutual, you don't even have to follow me. ^_^

#tag game #tagged #I couldn't find a way to include K project somewhere #MunaSuoh is still my brotp though #I'm not sure if that counts as ship =/#come to think of it #most of my fav relationships are platonic ones #absolutely not soukoku tho #they can't be platonic even for an ace person like me XD

4 notes · View notes

paperw0rmz · 6 months

Text

Complete guide to Flickr and why you should use it

bc I got some things wrong but it’s still a very good website that we should all use instead of Instagram

1: Flickr isn’t tied to Meta or any of that Facebook bullshit, from my knowledge it doesn’t share your contacts so no one will get a notification that you joined, it’s safer that way and more private than Instagram.

2: It’s built for photos. Instagram kills quality of photos, if you’re an artist, especially a digital one, uploading to Flickr would be way better for people to actually see detail and the color.

Going on with this because it’s built for photos, while it can host video, it doesn’t have TikTok/Reels and lives which is soooo nice. Like I don’t hate that stuff, but I like that Flickr isn’t trying to catch on the latest trends.

3: There isn’t likes. Flickr is mainly for sharing and LOOKING at photos. The most interaction you can get one on one is commenting, following, and favoriting. Favoriting is basically the public saves, no one really faves things on there unless it’s a recipe or for a reference or something.

4: Groups. Flickr does have an option for communities to make groups in where you can share similar interests MOST OF THESE ARE DEAD BUT WE CAN BRING THEM BACK!!! (IM BEGGING)

5: The bios are unlimited ( I think ), I copy and pasted the entire Bee Movie script three times along with my own bio that was already in there. I’m always pissed when I have to trim my bio, so bitches who like to put everything in their bio this website is for YOU

6: It’s in chronological order. Everything. You can even look up when certain posts where made by year, month, even fucking day. The archives of Flickr are so fucking fun.

7: Its not a contest. The main reason as to why I fucking hate Instagram (other than they took away chronological order and being able to see the recents under a tag) is that it focuses too much on “#aesthetic” even on the casual Instagram side people are still posing and trying to make an aesthetic of it. Flickr is just for photos you like, which yes can be aesthetic, but it’s mainly for daily life. You will see older people just posting what they are working on, maybe a cat they saw at the store, nothing planned. Just a quick unprompted click.

8: Organization, Flickr let’s you have Albums which is where you can organize all your photos in much like Pinterest. Most do it by year but others do it by topic too.

9: You can upload photos in bulk. You don’t have to upload them one by one, or at a limit of ten, you can upload a FUCK ton of photos at once.

10: if you don’t like ads and want more storage space, the pro version is extremely cheap compared to Netflix. Netflix without ads is fucking $15.49 and Flickr is $8.25 a month. There are also two other payment plans if that’s still too much for you.

11: It allowed adult content. In like. Every form. Enough said

CONS

1: You can’t DM (this is not a con to me and I hate when people complain about this just fucking use a email it is so fun to email people please for the love of god)

2: You can only upload 1,000 images before you run out of space. (You can always delete images later, I personally like to delete images at new years for a fresh start and archive them somewhere else)

3: it’s dead. No one really uses it.

4: to upload your bio you have to use a desktop version of the app.

THANK YOU FOR READING PLEASE SWITCH TO FLICKR AND SHARE THIS SO WE CAN START TO REVIVE OLD PLATFORMS TO SAVE THEM TO REBEL AGAINST META AND THIS NEW AGE OF CREATING SOCIAL MEDIA APPS AND SHIT

#Flickr #instagram #YouTube #tiktok #threads #social media #early web #early Web 2.0 #nostalgia

9 notes · View notes

olderthannetfic · 1 year

Note

I’m a gif maker (occasionally I post text for fandom-related memes and stuff but 90% of my content is media only) and I’m wondering what your (and followers) opinion is on:

1. People reblogging media posts and commenting on them, as analysis and about the content itself or as praise/“oh I love him so much” (I know some gif makers who hate it and some who don’t mind, wondering the perspective of people who comment and don’t make edits themselves)

2. Getting tags you really, really disagree with and what to do about that, i.e. bad faith takes, “oh I hate him”, etc. (I’ve gotten some real bs before)

3. Is it better to post your meta about the content: within your edits as tags on the post, as a separate post entirely, or as a reblog, so it’s optional for people to rb it?

I prefer reblogs with content to hiding things in the tags for the most part.

People should usually respond to posts in the same vein as the post itself. If you're posting a squee-ful gifset that's just like "look how hot he is!" or "remember this episode?", downer tags are just rude. Some level of "I love him" is inevitable. (People who don't want interaction should choose a different platform than Tumblr.) I would save whole meta essays for my own post though if it seems like the gifset is just there to look pretty.

If you're posting a meta gifset that poses a question, adding actual commentary about what the reblogger thinks of your thesis makes sense. As long as they're having a good faith discussion, they don't need to be 100% positive or to agree with you.

If they're just a hater pointlessly interacting with your posts, I'd block them.

As for meta... Why should rebloggers be able to have your gifset without your commentary? If you want to do a big post on the process of gif-making or something, sure, you might want to keep it separate. If it's part of the point of the gifset, though, I'd put it in the original post.

27 notes · View notes

magicalqueennightmare · 1 year

Text

Sins & Amends Chapter 6

Billy Russo x Female Reader (60 part story)

This follows pre- the punisher into the storyline of daredevil, punisher season 1 and beyond

This is NOT Canon Billy. This is decent human being Billy left with bad options over worse decisions

This was also posted to A03 under: WaywardGaPeach. That account and this one is the only place you'll see me post this. If you see it on any other platform/account know it's not me.

Chapter Summary: You and Billy babysit the kids so Frank and Maria can have a date night

When did it go from you watching the kids for date nights or taking them to museums and movies to you and Billy doing those things?

He had volunteered before to tag along on museum excursions or movie outings and any weekend all of you ended up at the cabin you and him would entertain the kids so Maria and Frank could carve out couple time but this was the first time he had volunteered for an overnighter with only you and the kids.

When he'd first offered you'd nearly choked on the wine you'd just taken a sip of and arched an eyebrow at Frank who laughed around his beer "You good there Y/N?" You nodded "Yea I just think my hearing is a little off. Billy did you just offer to hang out with me, Frank Jr and Lisa on a Friday night?"

He shrugged and ran a hand across the back of his neck "Look I know you're used to having the kids but you said you work solidly through Friday so that way if you need to crash early I'm still there with them and Frankie and Maria still get a date night" you opened your mouth to tell him that you could handle it, that he didn't need to give up a Friday but before you could say anything Maria cut in "that's sweet Billy. I'm sure Y/N won't mind the extra help" you cut your eyes at her but she simply smiled and went back to her conversation with Frank.

You turned back to Billy with a smile "sounds good. Ria and Frank will drop the kids off around five so feel free to drop by any time after that" he grinned and said "Yes ma'am" then Frank got his attention about something so you turned your eyes back to Maria who sent you a wink then held up the wine bottle as an offer so you tilted your glass towards her for a refill.

It was a quarter till five on friday when you heard a knock on your door followed by Frank peeking in "Y/N?" "C'mon in Frank! I'm finishing putting away laundry!" You called from the bedroom and heard the Castles all shuffle into your living room.

When you walked back in you caught Lisa and Frank Jr's backs disappearing into your spare bedroom to deposit their over night bags in there. "Well they just make themselves at home don't they?" Frank asked with a raised eyebrow and you grinned "Oh Frankie you may be baby daddy but I'm baby auntie. They love me too"

"Billy told Frank to let you know he was bringing pizza when he came over so you wouldn't order and end up with twice as much" Maria offered and you turned to look at her for a second before tilting your head towards your bedroom "Ria! I need to show you something"

Frank looked between the two of you then pointed towards the spare bedroom "I'm gonna go make sure they aren't killing each other in there while you two talk" you nodded then turned towards your bedroom hearing Maria's heels clicking on the floor as she followed you.

You spun around once both of you were in the room and stood there with your arms crossed waiting for an explanation as to why she'd accepted Billy's offer with no say so from you. She smiled a mischievous look you knew anywhere before saying "If Billy wants to spend a Friday night with you and the kids instead of some of those bed hopping little bunnies he usually frequents I say all the better for him"

"Ria! I don't want Billy staying here! It's gonna be awkward" you nearly whined "Why because you've had a crush on him damn near since you met him?" She interrupted and the noise you made was pathetic even to your own ears "I had a crush on him. I mean he's good looking yea so that was an initial thing but now we're friends like next to you Billy is probably one of my closest friends, one of the people I spend the most time with when he's stateside and I'd never dream of messing up how well our little unit works by letting my feelings whatever they may be come out in the open"

She scoffed waving a hand as if to shoo your words away "You two have slept under the same roof how many times at the cabin or just crashing at our house? How is this different?" You opened your mouth to try to think of a comeback but Frank popped his head in the door about that time and met your eyes "Y/N sweetheart Bill wants to know where to put the pizzas?"

Maria's grin deepened when you said "Tell him any where is fine" he nodded then shut the door back behind him so Maria turned towards you "Now me and Frank have reservations. Are you and Billy good?" You nodded and followed her into the living room where from the looks of it Lisa and Frank Jr were already making themselves comfortable on your couch with a pizza between them.

"Be good for aunt Y/N and uncle Billy!" Frank reminded once more before shutting the door behind him. You turned around and realized Billy was looking at you so you plastered a smile on "Russo gonna offer me a slice or just stand there?" He smiled and waved a hand towards the boxes that were still in your kitchen "take your pick ma'am"

Billy walked in the kitchen to grab another drink and leaned against the counter watching as Frank Jr tried and failed to teach you how to play the handheld video game he had. "Can't we just watch a movie? You can pick first" you offered so then the two of you were going through the guide to see what movie he may want and discussing in length each choice.

"You're smiling uncle Billy" Lisa said walking up next to him. "I'm content kid" he tried to offer but she shook her head "No you only smile like that when aunt Y/N is around. Do you like her?"

He couldn't hide the shock on his face. Was he really that damn transparent any more? "Yea Lis i mean we've been friends for a couple years now. Of course I like her" "that's not what i meant" she giggled before grabbing her drink off the counter and heading back in the living room to rejoin you and Frank Jr on the couch. "You joining us Mr Russo or gonna chill in the kitchen?" You asked looking at him with that smile that always seemed to lift his mood. "Yea I'm coming" maybe he was that transparent or maybe whatever he felt for you was simply something he hadn't allowed himself to ever feel for someone before.

By the time Lisa and Frank Jr started yawning you already had the guest bedroom ready for them. "Cmon guys let's get teeth brushed then I think it's time we all call it a night" they stood to follow you into your bathroom.

"It's a lot of fun getting to spend time with you and uncle Billy" Lisa said as you tucked her in. You smiled "I'm glad you had fun babygirl"

When you got to the door her and Frank Jr both said "Night aunt Y/N. We love you" "Love you more squirts" you replied with a grin that turned into a laugh when Billy who you hadn't realized had walked up behind you said "What about me? Am I chopped liver?" Only for Lisa to say "We love you too uncle Billy. We just love aunt Y/N more"

He looked offended for a moment then shrugged "Yea can't blame ya there" you shook your head and gave him a light shove "Go on now. The kids must sleep" he headed into the living room so you turned the nightlight on then pulled the door shut behind you.

--------------------

When you walked in the living room Billy was putting the remaining pizza into your fridge and had picked up what trash was on the counter from the kids having juice pouches and ice cream sundaes you and Billy had both swore them to secrecy over.

"You didn't have to clean up" you said taking the beer he held out now that the kids were down. "Figured I could make myself useful" he said with a shrug.

You motioned towards the couch "Wanna watch a movie or want me to head to bed so you can stretch out?" "Movie" he replied before you got the question out good.

--------------------

Something about being curled up on one end on your couch while Billy sat on the other end barefooted wearing jogging pants and t-shirt seemed more intimate than anything you'd felt with actual ex boyfriends.

"Stretch your legs out. This is your home" he spoke not taking his eyes off the tv but patted his lap. When you realized what he meant you gladly took him up on the offer turning so you could lay your feet in his lap. "See sweetheart? A lot more comfortable" he said with a smile after he'd fixed the blanket you had over you to be draped across your legs.

You'd felt comfortable being close like this with Billy for a while now. Hell movie nights was a usual occurrence for the two of you though normally reserved for a weekday. Maybe Maria was just getting in your head with her teasing?

"Remember the first time we all went to the cabin together?" He asked after a moment and you laughed "Yea. I remember me and you fussing with Frank over which of us got the room with the bigger bed and two nights in a row we ended up falling asleep in the hammocks on the porch"

He half smiled then said "You know when you asked about the scars on my shoulder...you are probably one of the only people aside from Frank or Curt that didn't look at me with pity in your eyes. That meant a lot to me" that made you give him your full attention "It's like I told you. Scars are simply proof we're stronger than whatever tried to hurt us"

He patted your legs gently and that small smile crept slowly across his face "Y/N I'm glad I met you. I'd like to think I'm a better man for having you in my life" your heart felt like it may beat out your chest and a part of you was praying your face wouldn't betray the emotions running through you at his words. "Thanks Billy. I'm glad you're in my life too"

He turned his eyes back towards the tv and you tried to concentrate on the movie but found your gaze slipping back to his face. What had he meant? Maria couldn't possibly be right..no you and Billy were friends. You had been for a while now. You were simply letting her get into your head. You were lucky to have this bond with him and you'd be damned before a stupid crush ruined an amazing friendship. If that's all you'd ever have with Billy you were glad to hold onto it.

-------------------

Billy noticed about halfway into the second movie your legs relaxed even more and your breathing had evened out. When he glanced in your direction his suspicions were confirmed. Your head was laid over on the couch cushion and you were fast asleep. He told himself he'd wait until this movie was over then he'd wake you up.

You were comfortable enough around him to let your guard down and that meant a lot to him. That night at the cabin after Maria and Frank had went to bed the two of you had sat up around a fire.

You were sitting next to him on a lounge chair with a blanket wrapped around you staring at the flames. "Billy?" The moment you spoke his name he turned to look at you "yea?" "Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me about your scars"

He reached over and grabbed your hand something that he found himself being more and more comfortable doing especially after the few times you'd initiated such contact. "Y/N besides Frankie and Curt you're quickly becoming one of my best friends. If felt wrong not to tell you the truth"

You smiled almost sadly compared to the usual bright smile that would light up your eyes "I'm glad I found Maria when we were kids. I don't know what would've happened to me" you finally told him about the way your mom had ran off with a boyfriend only to be found overdosed six weeks later then your dad and brother used you as a servant then verbal and at times physical punching bag. He hadn't been able to keep from saying "They fucking deserved that and worse" when you told him how shocked they seemed when you took enough after meeting Maria's family and started standing your ground with them.

"God I'm sorry Billy. I'm fucking horrible complaining about my childhood with what you had to deal with" he shook his head and used the hand that was still holding yours to pull you out your chair and into his scooting over to make room for you both. "Can't compare two different hells Y/N just cause I dealt with some shit don't mean your parents and brother weren't pieces of shit and you know what? I'm glad you found Maria too or else I wouldn't have ever met you"

The two of you had ended up staying by the fire until dawn curled up in a chair and sharing the blanket you had. You talked about everything from the moment you knew you wanted to be a paramedic to his plans for after he left the marines. By the time the sun started peeking over the horizon Billy knew he was in trouble where it came to you.

A loud crack of thunder rumbled through the sky and before Billy could blink you were up and on your feet moving towards the spare bedroom where the kids were. He didn't get a chance to ask why before the door was opening and Lisa came flying out nearly jumping into your arms followed by a tired looking Frank Jr.

--------------------

You knew the moment the thunder was loud enough to wake you that Lisa would be up. Billy looked confused when you jumped up but that confusion gave way to understanding when Lisa came flying out the spare bedroom like her ass was on fire.

You turned towards him with her wrapped firmly around you "Um she normally wants to bunk with me during a storm" another rumble of thunder made her shrink further into you "Can we make a blanket fort in here?" She asked in a small voice so you looked at Billy who nodded "Frankie wanna help me? Uncle Billy is a bit rusty on blanket forts"

You gave him a grateful smile and watched while him and Frank Jr quickly went to work gathering materials and even snatching the cushions off the couch.

Once the blanket fort was all set up you untangled Lisa from you long enough for you both to crawl in it followed by Frank Jr. "Uncle Billy are you coming in too?" He asked and Billy glanced at you but before you could tell him it was ok if he didn't want to Lisa added in a small "Please uncle Billy" and you knew he'd be folding up those long legs to crawl in after you.

It took some maneuvering to fit the four of you comfortably but you ended up with Lisa laying halfway on your stomach while Frank Jr laid with his feet meeting yours. Billy who had been at the entrance of the fort watching you change positions with the kids a thousand times smirked "Um Y/N where am I gonna fit?" You leaned up as far as you could without disturbing either child "You can lay beside me or take my bed. I'll tell em I kicked you out so I'll take the heat"

He grinned "Naw I won't make you face the firing squad" before climbing in. He finally made it next to you and laid on his back, hand brushing your neck lightly as he got comfortable. "Night Billy" "Night Y/N"

Tags: @intothesoul

@weallhaveadestiny

#au billy russo #billy russo au #billy russo x y/n #billy russo x you #billy russo fanfic #billy russo x reader #sins and amends masterlist

30 notes · View notes