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sparkles-rule-4eva · 7 months

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"Sonic Frontiers - Calm After the Storm" (Happy Wholesome Sonic and Tails Wednesday!)

(yes, I am mildly obsessed with Sonic Frontiers. Cut me some slack; Final Horizons just came out and I absolutely lost my mind because of it. Writing with the DLC ending in mind.)

Naturally, SPOILER ALERT! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!

Synopsis: "Starfall Islands was a rough journey. Finding himself exhausted after the adventure, Sonic stays with Tails at one of his labs for the night. After all, brothers take care of each other."

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The sharp glare of the setting sun on the horizon shone bright and piercing in Sonic's eyes, and he blinked hard a couple times before turning his gaze elsewhere. He was kneeling atop the Tornado, with Tails in the pilot's seat, Amy behind him, and Knuckles on the other wing. Their wild adventure at Starfall Islands had finally— at long last— come to a close, and they were heading home.

Well, sort of. They were going to drop everyone off where they needed to go. Knuckles at Angel Island. Amy at her house. Tails was most likely just going to stop at whichever one of his many live-in labs was closest after the stops. Sonic was . . .

Truthfully, Sonic didn't have an actual house he lived in. He much preferred to stay on the move, to keep on exploring, seeking out the next adventure. But sometimes, after his more tiresome trials, he'd go and crash at Tails' place for a few days. It was one of the only places he was comfortable staying at for that long.

Which was good. Sonic had a nagging feeling that that's exactly what he was going to do this time around, too.

The events of Starfall Islands— everything from getting sucked into a giant portal, breaking in and out of cyber space, fighting Titan after Titan and scaling tower after tower, running errands for Koco, to trying to keep up a front the entire time he was deathly sick with the stupid cyber corruption (even though it had come in handy in the end)— had left him more exhausted than he was willing to admit. But thankfully, Tails had known him long enough to know not to question and pester him about how he was feeling. His brother just . . . tended to know. And instead of bringing it up in conversation, he'd do subtle things to help him feel better, without a word. Like bring him something to eat, repair his shoes while he was sleeping, turn off all the alarm clocks in the house so he could sleep in a bit. Things like that.

Sonic appreciated that. A lot.

The sun was out of sight by the time they'd located and arrived at Angel Island. Knuckles said his goodbyes, and even promised to let them know when he was going to leave for his own adventures. It took another half hour to get to Amy's house, where they said more goodbyes and made more promises to keep in contact about Amy's upcoming travel plans.

Tails' closest live-in lab was a ten minute flight from Amy's place, and that flight was taken in a weary but comfortable silence. Without a word, Sonic slipped down into the cockpit to sit behind his younger brother, not bothering to admit that he was feeling a little too exhausted to keep on balancing and clinging to the wing. Tails said nothing, other than shooting a warm, knowing smile over his shoulder at him.

They arrived at the lab. Tails' landing was as smooth and careful as could be. He flew out of his seat and landed on the runway beside the plane, stumbling over his feet just a little bit. Sonic scrambled out of the cockpit and all but fell out onto the pavement beside the fox kit. "You alright?"

Tails smiled through a yawn. "Uh huh. Just tired."

Sonic smiled back, but he couldn't help remembering Sage's words about his friends "not handling their cyber corruption as well as he had." And even though they were all cured of it now, Sonic could still feel the remnants of it. Echoes of pain in his arms. A flash headache that only lasted a few seconds. Occasional numbness in his feet. More scarily, moments where he needed a second to think before remembering something important. What if . . . what if Tails was feeling the same way?

"Are you feeling okay, I mean? I know you . . ."

He trailed off. Tails had picked up a lot of traits from him, one of which was covering up personal problems and pushing through everything without complaint. Sonic didn't much care to break the habit for his own good, but it was . . . concerning to see Tails do the same thing. After all, he'd raised the little guy. It wasn't wrong for him to feel responsible for Tails' wellbeing. It was just somehow jarring when Tails turned and did the same thing to him, as if their roles were reversed.

Tails shrugged. "I'm tired. Ready for a long night of sleep. I think you are, too."

Sonic frowned and opened his mouth— ready to deny the obvious— but Tails just grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door. "C'mon, we're wasting time out here. It's getting cold."

So cold now, numb . . .

He swallowed, pushing the unpleasant memory away. Tails' hand felt just a little too tight on his wrist, like he was partially using the grip as support, but he decided not to say anything.

Maybe it was his turn to take care of his brother without saying anything. Or maybe they could both do it. Simultaneously, because it seemed that was what they both needed tonight.

Tails let go of him after they entered, and stumbled around to turn on a few dim lamps throughout the living room. Sonic just stood by the door for those seconds, watching his brother in a daze until said brother turned and asked, "You want the couch or my room?"

"I— oh, I'll just take the couch." Sonic blinked blearily, looking down and releasing his grip on the nearest counter that he hadn't even realized he was leaning against. He took a single step away from it towards the couch, promptly got a rush of tunnel vision, and crashed onto his knees.

He more heard than saw Tails come hurrying over to him, and saw his worried but determined blue eyes as he hauled him back to his feet and all but dragged him to the couch. "Down ya go," the fox kit mumbled, easing him into the most comfortable corner of the sofa. "Stay there. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sonic couldn't help a tired, nearly delirious grin as his younger brother left the room. It was truly a strange experience, watching Tails slowly switch roles with him over the years as the responsible caretaker. Not that he himself had become irresponsible, but he was definitely a lot more reckless than Tails. He still remembered the days when Tails was much younger, still remembered cautioning him not to play with sharp objects and not to go too far away from him in case there were Badniks or bullies nearby. Now, Tails worked with chainsaws and pointy things on a daily basis, and was more than capable of defending himself against any and all kinds of danger.

It was crazy how fast the kid had grown up on him. Even though it had been quite a few years.

Tails returned a few minutes later, carefully carrying a plate of hastily prepared food, a glass of water, and a couple pills. "Don't take the meds until after you eat," he instructed, and Sonic chuckled.

"This is a little unfair, don't you think?" he protested. "You need this, too, but you shouldn't have to do it all yourself."

"It's fine," Tails insisted. "I can eat later. I just want you to take it easy."

"I want you to take it easy, too," Sonic pointed out, his tone easy and caring. "Just let me—"

"How about this," Tails cut in. "You eat what I got you. You take your medicine. Then I'll let you make me something."

"Hm. You drive a hard bargain." Sonic sniffed dramatically, making Tails giggle. "But fine."

He obeyed his little brother's commands (that sounded weird). They talked as he ate. Shared their experiences on the islands, both the fun ones and the not-so-fun ones. Cracked a few bad puns. As he finished up, Sonic nudged Tails to the other side of the couch and grabbed another blanket to tuck around him. Tails rolled his eyes with a tiny smile as Sonic left to go return the favor.

He found and made a quick, simple meal he knew Tails liked. He got the glass of water (although he had to ask where the medicine cabinet was). He sat back down on the couch, and they resumed their quiet conversation.

Sentences and words began slurring together. Sonic dimly realized that the medicine Tails had chosen must've been both a painkiller and a depressant. That was completely fine; he hadn't properly slept in weeks, and he had a feeling Tails hadn't, either. He wondered if it was even possible for him and the others to have slept in their ghostly, digitized forms.

The stretches of silence between words grew longer and longer, until it took over the room entirely. A warm, peaceful sense overcame the mood. At some point, Tails fumbled to press some buttons on the side of the couch, and the lamps switched off. Of course Tails had installed controls like that, Sonic thought in sleepy amusement. His eyes drifted closed, though one ear twitched when he heard:

"G'night, Sonic. I love you."

He smiled without opening his eyes. "G'night, lil bro. Love you, too."

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faunrasthewinterelf · 1 year

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Calm After the Storm Pt. 3

Bio-dad Bruce Wayne

This a really short chapter, written a couple months ago now, i went through a pretty mentally taxing time and lost track of the fic itself. Ill have more up soon, so keep an eye on that! I’m also moving this fic to AO3 after this chapter, and the tag list on tumblr will be utilized to let everyone know when an update is added to the fic!

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Marinette had been right. The walk to the restaurant had been much longer than promised. Lila had broken down in tears when questioned, explaining how she was ‘so sorry, I didn't mean to drag you all this far!’

Everyone rushed to reassure her that they don’t mind, and the class continued. After a long day of walking around the Wayne Enterprises Building and not being given time to adjust, by the time the class finally got to the restaurant, Marinette’s side was aching. Chloe had had to press the Blunette to her own side to support the girl when her side tensed up and she began limping.

Sitting and ordering had been a relief. But the break had barely lasted an hour, before another long walk back to the hotel commenced.

It was dark out now. Ms., Bustier, suddenly acting like a responsible teacher, began ushering her students to move quickly. Marinette, with her side stiffening up and her limp beginning to worsen, wouldn’t be able to keep up. Chloe, refusing to leave her friend's side, helping to support her friend, frowned at the classes back as they turned the corner, several blocks ahead of her and Marinette, and vanishing from their point of view, leaving the two girls behind. At night. Alone.

Marinette was simply breathing through the pain, blinking away tears as the dull ache spread through her waist, down her hip and up her rib cage slowly. She needed to get back to the hotel as quickly as she could, she had a Healing Balm from the Grimoire of the Guardian, several doses ready for exactly this reason. She couldn’t do much beyond limping forward, leaving heavily on the tall form of Chloe, who was snarling under her breath, in French, about their class and useless teacher.

The cracked sidewalk stretched on before the two young women, the stuttering steps of one echoing down every alley they passed, and Chloe kept a sharp eye out. In the two blocks they had to travel, Marinette was too distracted to help keep an eye on the surrounding area. As the two girls passed each alley, Chloe tensed, hauling Marinette higher up so she could move faster past the openings, eyeing the shadows she could see in the darkness further in. The Hotel was in sight, less than four buildings away, when a figure stepped out of the alley, putting themselves between the two girls and their safety.

Marinette looked up when Chloe stopped and tensed up further, and tightened her arm around Chloe’s waist as she took in the man in front of her. He was large, both tall and in width, and imposing. He had a slimy smirk on his face, eyeing up Marinette’s body as Chloe took a couple steps backwards, trying to put more distance between her and her friend, and the man.

“Well, well, well.” His voice was scratchy, catching on the ‘W’ as he leered at the two. “What have we here? A pretty blonde girl, and a little dark haired one! Aren’t you two just, … perfect”

Neither of the two girls said anything as Chloe slowly lowered Marinette to her feet, stepping in front of the smaller, injured girl. Chloe brought her hands up, lowering her body into a mock stance just to keep herself loose and ready for whatever this man was going to do.

His grin widened and he started laughing, his eyes lighting up like he was excited as he moved his hand to his back and withdrew a gun. Chloe’s eyes were trained on the man’s face, but Marinettes were narrowed, looking into the direction of the alley. She placed one of her hands on Chloe's shoulder and squeezed.

“Oh, I love it when they fight back.”

“Well” interjected a new voice, from somewhere in deeper into the alley,

“So do I.”

A gun shot rang out, and the mugger or whatever let out a yell as he was forced to drop his own gun. He brought it back close to his chest as he stumbled away from the alley way, away from the even taller figure stepping out of the darkness. His gloved hands holding a gun, pointed at the fleeing man. He had on a brown leather jacket, armored gray shirt below the jacket, emblazoned with a red bat across his chest, dark pants and plenty of pouches along his hips and thighs. The leather jacket had a red fabric hood hanging down from the collar, and a full face helmet of the same color covered his head.

As soon as the loud noise rang out and she registered the movement from beside her, Chloe whipped around and scooped up Marinette, carrying the smaller girl back a couple steps into the indented doorway of a café, hovering over Marinette as the exhausted girl leaned against the door frame.

A couple more gunshots rang out before the two girls heard the sounds of running. The heavily modulated voice from before lets out a string of curses before a dull GA-CHUNK rang out, and the man/hero was whisked off by the whirr of a grapple. There was another thud as someone else impacted onto the sidewalk by the two girls hiding spot.

“Hey, it’s alright you two, you’re safe now! The Red Hood is pursuing your attacker.” It was a cheery voice compared to the one of their attacker. Chloe leaned around the corner to get a look at him. Only slightly taller than her, roughly 6’ compared to her 5’9. He had darker skin, his hair cut short and black domino around his eyes, white lenses blocking out his actual eyes. He had on a tight, lightly armored suit with blue highlights and a blue bird insignia across his chest, two batons strapped to his thigh, and a slim belt with small pouches along his hips.

She narrowed her eyes at him before moving forward. With all the walking done today, and the stairs and the sudden move that they had to do to get away, Marinette was exhausted and her scar hypersensitive. Chloe kneeled down in front of Marinette and hoisted her up into a piggyback before turning and facing the hero who stopped to help them.

“Are you two alright? Is she hurt?” his hand was moving up and towards them and his brow furrowed in concern as the hero began moving towards them. Chloe raised her chin, eyes narrowed.

“She has an old wound. It scarred badly and she has difficulty moving. We were trying to get back to our hotel after dinner with our class, but she was moving too slow to keep up, and I refused to leave her behind- I’m sorry, who are you?” Chloe took one step back, angling herself so she was between the hero and her friend.

The man in front of them had a dark look on his face for a second as Chloe spoke, before clearing his face of emotions and taking a deep breath.

“My name is Nightwing, I’m a local vigilante working under Batman, that man was a smuggler we were tracking, and we stepped in when we saw him holding you two at gunpoint,” the newly introduced Nightwing held his hands up in front of him, “ I’m going to escort you back to your hotel, alright?”

Chloe eyed Nightwing suspiciously before turning her head, looking at the top of Marinette’s head as the smaller girl rested her head in the crook of her neck, before looking back at the vigilante.

“Our hotel is just right down there,” the blonde girl gestured with her chin, before walking towards Nightwing, warily passing him as the man grinned, turning as Chloe walked past and keeping some distance between himself and the girls.

“So,” he began, glancing at Marinette as they walked. “You mentioned you were walking with a class? I can’t imagine you’re from Gotham, what with your lovely accents!” He gave a joking wink as he said it, bouncing slightly.

“We’re not.” Marinette lifted her head, giving the vigilante a look, “we’re here on a class trip, for a month.” The Bluenette gives a pained smile as she speaks. The small group reaches the steps for the girls hotel, but before Chloe could carry Marinette up the stairs Nightwing placed a hand on Chloe’s arm.

“Just, one last thing. Please, keep in mind that Gotham is not Paris, it's much more dangerous.

He shakes his head before giving one last smile, turning to start running away and pulling a Grapple on his belt, looking back one last time he waves a goodbye before swinging off, into the night.

Due to Lila getting the class to go out for dinner, dinner itself going long, and the walk back to the hotel, by the time the two girls got back into their hotel rooms, all the rest of the class was settled in. Madame Bustier hadn’t even responded to the message Chloe sent to let her know that the two girls had returned safely.

Before Chloe and Marinette could go to bed, they had to call Luka and Kagami. That discussion lasted an hour, and another 45 minutes was spent massaging the excess healing balm into Marinette’s scars and doing short pain reduction spells. By the time the two girls fell asleep, they barely had four hours left to rest.

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@too0bsessedformyowngood @thecc11andme @ramos123 @eyeballing-stuff @atramentias @dorkus-minimus @wegetitethan @liawinchester67 @alyssadeliv @thewitchwhowaited @superbwhispersconnoisseur @kitsunebell @aestheticnpoetic @officiallydarkgeek @night-fallz @literaryhiraeth @poodapup @iamablinkmarvelarmy @spider-person95 @roseisred

I’ve learned that only the first 20 tags actually work, if any of you aren't interested in being tagged anymore let me know and ill swap you out with other people! so currently, Tag List is closed for Calm After the Storm

#calm after the storm #maribat #bio dad bruce wayne #marinette dupain cheng #blink and you miss it red hood #nightwing #miraculous ladybug

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colorcorasworld · 9 months

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Todo tiene una razón de ser...

#paz mental #crecer #spotify #right to choose #frozen #calm after the storm #memories

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w-armansky-blog · 6 months

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#seascape #seafront #seashore #seaside #sea #sky #autumn #october #calm after the storm #harbour #serenity #calmness #tranquility #atmosphere #reflection #peace

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gentleoverdrive · 5 months

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Once the last bastion has been conquered, the Deliverance prepare to march towards the Rigelian Capital. The Deliverance's field commander and one of his most stalwart allies allow themselves to take it easy before that happens, however.

(Previous oneshot/chapter is here. If you don't want to read it in AO3, see below!)

“Well met, and salutations, Alm.” Hearing those first two words from someone out of his eyesight would often leave the young leader bereft of any energy and force him to grin and bear with what was needed of him; and while he had grown to adapt to his position atop the Deliverance fairly well, part of him simply wanted to avoid the etiquette of it all when it came to people calling him ‘Sir’ or something to the effect. “Well met, and salutations to you too, Clair!” But he was easily able to make that melodious voice out among the crowd, and luckily for him, neither his ears nor the tap on his left shoulder managed to deceive him, for it was none other than the spirited lady who had become his confidante among said upper echelons of the Deliverance, the cheerfulness that populated his reply all the more apparent now because of that. Following her older brother publicly decreeing that this fortress had been successfully conquered was just as good a time as any to find her emerald-haired friend since, for Clair, having these one-on-one talks with the leader of the Zofian effort was one of the few boons she could still count among, what with almost everything else in her day-to-day life having become mostly stripped away to make way for actual necessities. “May we speak once more?” “As always, I would most certainly love to.” The jovial back and forth allowed Alm to hand his quasi-personal blacksmith the remnant parts of his armor so that it could get a lookup and, perhaps, some proper restoration work done ahead of the march to Rigel Castle the army was preparing towards. “Milord.” Clair deigned to offer her hand for Alm to take… “Milady.” …an offer which the boy quickly took her up on. And before long, they were walking away–respectively letting out a hearty chuckle and dignified titter as they did–from the makeshift tents the Deliverance had set next to the front gate for miscellaneous tasks. --------------------------

As they made their way into the main hall, Alm noticed that his walking companion was barely able to suppress a wince. “Wha–-hey! Clair, are you OK?” “I… well, I deign most unsuitable to lie to you, but I did not want you to worry over such a minor affair.” “This goes beyond my being your commander. Answer me: Are you okay?” For a brief moment, with Alm’s face occupying part of what she considered her personal space, the celebrated falcon knight briefly felt that same funny pang in her chest from back when she was still getting acquainted with the Ram Village boy she now called both her friend and commanding officer. “I…” Clair felt the need to find her verbal footing once more. “...I may have flown afoul of a small deployment of archers as I directed my partner into your general direction. Perhaps I should count my blessings, for all but one arrow was the one that managed to graze my right greave.” “I see… will you be able to hold on until we arrive at the mess hall?” “My my! Could it be, perhaps, that there is something you have in store for me?” Seizing upon the opportunity to lighten up both of their burdens, she teasingly poked at his cheek to dispel that frown that currently inhabited his visage. Along with turning the tables and having his cheeks turn a flush red, Alm’s frown quickly gave way to an awkward smile as he offered his arm for her to hold on to. “Heh, I just might!” -------------------------- “So, you saw my scrap against Slayde.”

After finding appropriate seating arrangements upon a relatively isolated table, the young man from Ram Village and the girl from the Zofian Capital had exchanged pleasantries for some time, before the touchy subject resurfaced.

“I most certainly did.”

At that confirmation, Alm guided his eyes away as he took in a deep breath and his clasped hands became ever so slightly shakier as he remembered his violent act of unfettered retribution against the now slain turncoat.

“You do not have to pretend when around me, Alm.” Just in the moment she felt her friend pulling back, Clair placed her right hand upon both of his. “Slayde visited some sort of heinous act upon you or, perhaps, a loved one, did he not?”

“He did.” His reply came swift and almost as though it were instinct, his eyes still casting their sights elsewhere.

“Then say no more.” Clair’s own response came along with her left index flicking the green-haired young man on his forehead. After wincing from the slight sting, Alm directed his attention towards his confidante once more, her bid to regain his attention a success.

“I have known for quite some time how much of a right craven that man was. Some of said experience came first-hand too, no less. You did Valentia as a whole a favor by besting him the way you did.”

Upon hearing those words, a sense of relief flowed through the leader of the Deliverance, both obvious due to his neutral expression soon switching to a sober but genuine smile and the easygoing sigh after he allowed himself a deep breath.

“...a cutting remark from the Queen of High Society herself? Alas for his reputation!” At his sudden retort, both quickly embraced the levity their back-and-forth allowed them, with his open chuckle and her serene titter.

“I thank you, Clair.”

“Perish the thought. You ought to be in as high spirits as possible if we are to have you properly lead us to victory.”

Her refined manner of speech might have made a good show of hiding it, but seeing as though they were all but knocking at the doors of Rigel’s imperial capital, Alm understood her friend’s burning vigor all too well.

“Right you are, as usual.” Alm quickly cleared his throat after those words. “Apropos of what we briefly talked about earlier and if it’s not too terribly imposing, may I see your right shin?”

“Mm? Is this pertaining to my injury?” The falcon knight suddenly felt put on the spot by such a request. At seeing her friend and fellow in arms reply with a quick nod and brief non-verbal grunt, Clair decided that she might as well allow him this ease of mind.

With a slight bit of difficulty, she put her right leg atop her seat to start undoing the armor covering her leg. Fortunately, her armor was relatively light and well cared for, so it came off without much problem, with Clair’s bare leg now in full display as Alm stood up from his seat and walked to her side.

All of a sudden, Clair felt a slight tinge of embarrassment at her current position, even as she knew the boy would not have any untoward intentions.

“Right.” Upon inspecting her injury, the aforementioned boy quickly closed both his eyes and took in a deep breath; a few words which Clair herself did not recognize started coming out of his mouth, and before she was able to put in two and two…

“And… there!” Alm placed both his hands near her injury, with a faint glow appearing soon after, fading before long.

Caught completely unaware, Clair did not even eke out any sort of reaction… not until she noticed that her injury and the fatigue that came with it both were gone.

“W–wait! W–”

The boy probably did not mean to cut her off, but when he exhaled a breath of relief, Clair’s thoughts were unable to be properly put all in one place.

“Would you kindly keep this a secret?”

The combination of her being unable to suppress her surprise at what just transpired and his plea of secrecy to this soon allowed a small bit of frustration to seep through as he walked back to his seat.

“And what, pray tell, was the meaning of that?” She was careful to not raise her voice, lest she were to bring the attention of the rest of the hall down upon their table, but the Zofian noble still felt like an explanation was needed.

At her line of inquiry, Alm realized he needed to come clean.

“You are absolutely right.” Once he seated himself once more, Alm placed the Royal Sword in front of them both.

“At some point after toppling Desaix and recovering this sword, I started hearing… well, not quite sure what it was, but I think something started to change within me as we journeyed further north. To make a somewhat long story short, thanks to sister Silque, Luthier and Kliff, I have been making strides in an attempt to learn healing magic.”

At that confession, Clair’s eyes widened.

“This is still very much a path I am just starting and to properly walk forth, I’m sure. So, as I previously begged of you, if we can keep this a secret for the time being at least, I would very much appreciate it.”

As he finished, Alm winked at her while bringing his left index finger to his mouth.

Clair was never much for mincing words or enjoying sweet nothings. However, she could not help but to admire as the man she had grown strangely close to throughout these hostilities showed her a side of himself he was still trying to prove worthy of.

At that, she revealed an open-hearted smile…

“Ow!” Before ‘chastising’ him for his transgression with yet another light flick to his forehead. Same as the previous flicker, too.

“Such an underhanded, cheeky friend I must have.”

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