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pensat-i-fet · 2 years

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A Manchester Affair (Rúben Dias): Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Masterlist

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“It’s done. We’re going to Manchester”, said her boss.

“We?”

Lucía moved to Munich 10 years ago, looking for a drastic change in her life, but she couldn’t imagine what was coming her way. While she was studying physiotherapy and nutrition, she was hired by Bayern Munich as a translator after they appointed Pep Guardiola as their coach. And that’s when her life really changed.

Once she finished her studies, she got promoted to work in the medical team. But before working with the first team, they wanted her to work with the Academy, which is when she met Erik ten Hag, her current boss. Once he moved back to the Netherlands, he knew he wanted her in his team and she’s been working for him ever since.

Now, however, he was leaving Ajax. He was leaving to sign for Manchester United, a decision that Lucía both understood and didn’t really understand. And that it also terrified her. What if he didn’t want her joining him at United? What if the team had already enough people on their medical team and refused to hire her? But her worries were pointless.

“Yes, we. Did you think I’d leave you here on your own?”, he laughed.

“Well no, not you. But maybe United didn’t want me?”

“Not happening. So start looking for apartments in Manchester. We’re moving to England!!”

Another move, another country, another language…plus a new team. But she moved to Munich running away from the life she was destined to have in her hometown. And from other things. She wanted this. So it was time to pack her belongings again and move to Manchester.

Erik had actually moved to England straight after the Dutch League ended, but Lucía decided to go on her holidays first. The holidays she had booked with her ex, the one who cheated on her. Not only did she not give him the opportunity to get his money back, but she also enjoyed the amazing double room he had booked for them in Greece.

She spent long days on the beach and long nights eating the delicious local food, drinking their fantastic drinks and…well, not flirting with their gorgeous men because every time she tried, there was something that stopped her. Something that will hopefully disappear soon, because he didn’t deserve her being affected by his actions so much.

As always, she made an excuse to not go back home and went from Greece to Amsterdam and then to Manchester.

The job paid well at Ajax, but once she saw the salary United was offering, she almost fainted. It was almost double what she got before, for the same exact job. How much money do these people have?

That, plus the fact that she was always very smart with her money, meant she didn’t have to worry much about which apartment to rent. So she ended up in quite a central area, in a 3-room apartment that was definitely too big for just one person. Funnily enough, she could see Manchester City’s stadium from one of the windows. Hello, rivals!

When a few signings were finalised, she was happy to see Lisandro and Eriksen were joining the squad. She knew them both from her time at Ajax, and it was especially nice to have Lisandro and his partner in the city with her. Lucía loved having someone she could speak Spanish with.

“Ready for the tour?”, she heard De Gea say while they were all waiting to board the plane.

“Sure?”

Her uncertainty only made him laugh. He was one of the players that had made her feel the most welcome. Since they both came from Madrid, there was a natural bond there.

“It’ll be fun! Especially Australia”.

“You’re right. I’ve always wanted to visit”, she said with a smile. “Who are you sitting with on the plane?”

“Bruno, but I can sit with you for a couple of hours if you want. It’s a long flight”, he offered.

“I’d appreciate that. I’m not a big fan of flying in general. And these super long flights make me more nervous”.

“It’ll be alright”, he said, squeezing her shoulder.

And that alright was true for the whole tour. The whole squad wasn’t there, but it was a good opportunity to get to know the new players she was going to be working with. And the results were good too. Maybe the season wouldn’t be as bad as she feared.

Despite the jet lag and how cold it was in Australia, the two weeks flew by. Time to go back to Manchester to finish getting ready for the season.

One of the things she knew she had to do now she was in Manchester was contact her old boss Pep. They had remained in touch with each other the last couple of years but definitely drifted apart a bit once he left Germany.

To so many, it’d be weird, what with them working for rival teams, but he was a good friend. Someone who made sure she was treated right at Bayern and someone who helped her build her career.

Lucía: “Hey Pep, just wanted to let you know I’m back in Manchester and it’d be lovely to meet one of these days for dinner or something. Whenever you’re free. Let me know. Looking forward to catching up. Xx”

Pep was terrible at texting back, so she just knew she'd have to wait for many days until he saw the message and answered back. She was the complete opposite, someone who had to text back the moment she saw the message but she just had to get used to other people not having the same weird quirks as her.

And seeing how they had just lost the Community Shield to Liverpool, she just knew he would take even longer. He tried not to go on his phone much after big losses. Again, the total opposite to her. Maybe that’s why they got on so well. Opposites.

At least he won the first match of the Premier League season. United, well, they didn’t. After a great pre-season under Erik, it seemed like they went back to all of their old bad habits the moment the matches were official and not friendlies.

“And what are your thoughts, Lu?”, asked her one of the assistants while they were having breakfast. Sure, Lucía was part of the medical team but they knew her well and knew how much she knew about football, so her opinion mattered to them.

“I mean, conceding again in the first 20 minutes is just ridiculous. Their lack of concentration in the first half kills their matches. It was the same last season”.

“Yeah, we need to work on that”.

“Are you having your talk with them today? About nutrition?”, asked Erik.

“Yes, before training if that’s ok”, she said and he nodded. “I can’t wait to hear them moaning about how I don’t let them eat or drink what they want to eat or drink. Babies”.

To that, the whole table laughed. She was good at her job because she took no shit from any of the players, no matter how famous they were. At least the cooks were always lovely and accepted her menu changes without complaining.

“But, I don’t see how having a beer after a match is going to be bad for me?”, came the first complaint to her no alcohol during the season rule.

“Funny, because I literally did a 20-minute presentation explaining why it’s bad for you. And I also spent 3 years in Uni learning about the effects alcohol has on athletes so…your choice. But I’ll be able to tell if you’re drinking so it’s up to you”.

Of course, she couldn’t tell if they had been drinking one silly beer before a match but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Scaring them was enough.

“Besides, after that pathetic performance you had against Brighton, there were no reasons to celebrate. So a nice glass of warm milk before bed will do the trick, right?”

She regretted her words immediately. She was too used to the players that already knew her “sense of humour” but these ones barely knew her. It was obvious they were really hurt by those words. Great, fantastic start at the new team.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that. But listen to me, ok? I’m doing this for you. All the players I’ve worked with have improved their fitness and their performances, right Licha?”, she said, looking at Lisandro, who seemed to be the only one not shooting daggers at her.

He gave her a thumbs up and a huge smile. At least he still liked her.

“How was the chat?”, asked the head of the medical department after you all left the room.

“Brilliant, I insulted them without meaning to and now their huge football ego is hurt”, she said, rolling her eyes.

“They’ll get over it”.

“Hey, there you are”.

“What is it?”, she asked, lifting her head from the papers she was reading.

“We need you outside, McTominay hurt his knee and we need your opinion”.

“Of course”.

When she got to the pitch where the first team was training, she saw McTominay already standing.

“You ok? What happened to your knee?”

“I twisted it trying to make a tackle and I stopped quickly once I noticed the pain but it seems to be alright now”.

“Let me see”, she said, ready to check for any inflammation or bruising.

“You know”, said the Scotsman, “I liked your feisty moment yesterday”.

“What do you mean?”, she asked looking up at him.

“When you called us pathetic”, he said, making her look down to hide her blush. “It’s fine, we were pathetic”.

“But I didn’t mean it like that. It was…a joke. But my humour is a bit dark for those who don’t know me, I guess. I bet Licha found it hilarious”.

“Yeah, he only has good things to say about you”.

“Good, I threatened him so he better be only talking about how beautiful and smart I am”.

“We don’t need him to tell us you’re pretty. We can all see that”.

Great, a player flirting with her…again. She was allowed to date footballers if she wanted to, but she didn’t really fancy that. So she concentrated on looking at his knee, which seemed to be absolutely fine, thankfully.

“She’s off limits, Scott”, she heard Erik say.

“What?”, said Scott, surprised by his coach’s words. “I wasn’t doing anything, I…”

“I know, and still off limits until she says otherwise. Is the knee okay?”

“Seems to be fine, yes. Maybe be careful the rest of the session and get a scan once you’re done, even if it doesn’t hurt. Just to be on the save side”.

“I will”, said Scott, clearly still bothered by the interruption and how Erik cut him off.

Going back to her office, she had that weird feeling again. The one she’s had since breaking up with her ex.

Will it ever disappear or was she destined to never be able to talk to a man again?

A couple of days before the Brentford game, she finally got a text from Pep. He told her to meet him that Sunday since she’d be back from London and they played at home.

It was such a simple thing, meeting her ex-boss, her friend. But it made her really look forward to the weekend.

However, the plans for a nice Sunday off were completely gone once United were humiliated by Brentford after conceding 4 goals in the first half. Yeah, her analysis about them not showing up during the first 45 minutes couldn’t have been more spot on.

“Training tomorrow! I want you all at Carrington at 9 am. No excuses! You’ll ran the miles you didn’t run today”.

She could hear Erik’s yelling from outside the dressing room and so could everyone else.

But when he got out and saw her, his expression softened.

“Are you up for a bit of running tomorrow?”, he asked.

“Oh…not again!”, she whined.

One of his punishments in the Netherlands was running 13k after a really bad performance. And he invited everyone in the staff team to join him since he ran the same distance as the players. Showing that he leads by example. She had joined him a couple of times, especially around the times she was training for a few half marathons. But it had been a while and her fitness levels were not as great as they used to be.

“Ok, I’ll try. But if I get tired, I’ll fake an injury”, she said, making him laugh for the first time since the match started. Well, that’s something.

The next day, after all the long faces, when they heard about their punishment, they all ran the 13k and she could feel a switch in the way the players behaved with the coaching staff. Also, many of them congratulated her on her great form, since she did finish the same distance as them.

“You’re going to embarrass us”, laughed David. “Don’t tell me you’re good at goalkeeping too. My ego won’t be able to take it”.

“Don’t worry about that”, she said, joining his laughing. “I just look at the ball coming towards my face and do nothing. You’re fine”.

“Any plans for the rest of the not really day off?", she heard Dalot ask and realized he was talking to her. Was that the first time he did it? It felt that way.

“Yeah, actually. I’m meeting an old friend for dinner”.

“Cool. Have fun”, he said with a genuine smile. “And if you ever need something, my girlfriend and I will be happy to help”.

“Thank you”, she said, feeling a bit emotional. Yeah, that was definitely progress.

Hours later, she took a taxi to take her to the restaurant Pep had made reservations at. When she got out of it, she could already see him waiting near the door.

“Hey!! It’s so good to see you!”, she said, giving him a hug.

“It really is. It’s been too long. How are you? How are you adapting to the city?”

“I’m doing pretty well. But let’s go inside and catch up properly”.

“After you”, he said, opening the door for her.

And that's exactly what they did. They caught up while eating some delicious food.

"So, that boyfriend of yours…I saw he disappeared from your social media. I guess it didn't work out".

"It was working until he cheated", she shrugged, trying not to sound too bitter or hurt.

"Bastard. Then he never deserved you. You know that, right?"

She was about to say something when she noticed Pep's eyes looking at something or, more specifically, at someone.

"What…", she started to say, turning to see what he was looking at, but was interrupted by Pep.

"Rúben, what are you doing here?"

And that's when she saw who caught Pep's attention. It was one of his players, Rúben Dias.

"Hi, coach. Nice to see you and…your friend", he said, looking at her curiously. She didn’t like the way he said the word friend. Was he trying to insinuate something?

"A friend, yes. I’m Lucía, nice to meet you. We worked together in Munich and now that I'm in Manchester working for United we are catching up".

"Oh, you work for United. Well that makes this dinner weird in a different way, I guess".

"How was it weird before?", asked Pep, oblivious to what had gone through his player's mind.

"What are you doing here? Are you meeting someone?", she asked Rúben, trying to change the subject.

"I was but she cancelled on me so, I was going to go home".

"Don't. We were about to have dessert. Sit with us", offered Pep.

"I don't want to bother you", he said, looking at her.

"You won't. Please join us".

And so he asked the waiter for a chair and sat with them.

#ruben dias #ruben dias imagine #ruben dias x reader #footballer imagine #ruben dias fluff #footballer x reader #footballer fluff #footballer fanfiction #ruben dias fanfic

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mrpenguinpants · 3 years

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Childe: First Kiss HCs

I tend to make things gender neutral by not putting in pronouns and just using “you” but you can definitely read this as female^^ But I completely agree, I love this boy so much. He’s my favourite character to play (im so sorry razor) until Xiao comes out. I literally have a genshin team named “waiting for xiao” and it’s just Childe and Zhongli haha.

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Today’s appreciation post goes to childes-starconch. Fitting that this is a Childe fic but ty for your support^^ I always notice you pop up as soon as I post a fic and I really enjoy seeing you. Hopefully you read this since tumblr won’t let me tag people, for whatever reason I don’t know anymore, but just saying hey, I see you 💕💕

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I’m just gonna piggy back off my last Childe fic. I’m sorry.

Semi Part 1: Fiance HCs [honestly, one of my favourites haha]

Xiao Ver: First Kiss HCs

Venti & Kaeya: Mistletoe HCs

Venti, Xingqiu, and Razor: Kissing HCs

[Masterlist]

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[taglist] <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover@youaskedfurret @snowy224

@youaskedfurret @diaxfeliz @wintergreen-aix @dandelily @thegayrubberducky @lovelykittycatmeow @yuunoagivesmelife @dokidokisama @simpygrimoire @minakohasmanyhusbandos @strwbrry-lia @tigerpriestess

For some reason I can’t @ certain people. I’m talking to tumblr about it.

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Childe: First Kiss HCs

Childe was never one to shy away from affection, be it holding your hand in his or wrapping an arm around you, he was always happy to be close to you. He was always a bit territorial which lead to some embarrassing situations for you but it was from a good place in his heart. But when it came to public kisses, he preferred to keep it between you two. It felt too private of a moment that he didn’t want to broadcast to the rest of the Fatui, especially to the other Harbingers. That is to say, if he actually kissed you in the first place. For all the two braincells Childe had, one was fighting and the other was protecting his loved ones, just imagining kissing you was too much for him and he needed to go find some poor recruit and beat his inner problems out. The Fatui recruitment process would always dwindled down during his inner turmoil sessions that Scaramouche himself, had to throw his goddamn hat at Tartaglia, and yell at him to hurry up and fix his problem. It was clogging up the air.

When he tried to think about it, it shouldn’t be this hard to simply lean in for a kiss. But it was his first and while Childe might run into whatever danger or prospect of a fight without a second thought, he didn’t want to ruin it. What if he accidently bonked his forehead with yours? He should remove his mask then right? Just in case? He’s only given forehead and cheek kisses to his younger siblings so it should be the same right? Yeah he could do this, this was just another battle for Tartaglia to conquer!

But whenever he would see you or you would both sit and bask in each other’s presences. He couldn’t bring himself to initiate something or heck, even looking at your face made him a bit hot under the collar in sub-zero temperatures. He can almost hear Scaramouche and Signora laughing maniacally at him behind their hands. He’s the youngest of the Harbingers, he should get a “get out of jail for free” card that all youngest children have whenever they get into trouble. But in this case it’s murder. He quickly slaps his cheeks to get his mind off fighting for one second which startles you beside him.

The first time you’ve seen Childe shy was when he first confessed to you, stuttering that he liked you and just really badly wanted to hold your hand without using the frost of Sneznaya as an excuse. You flushed pink but nodded that you returned his feeling and slipped your hand in his. Whatever shyness Childe had was quickly wiped off his face and he cheered and brought you in for an eskimo kiss. Rubbing your nose with his as he laughed in joy, the tips of his ears and cheeks still coloured pink. You always hold that memory dear to your heart because not only was it the start of your relationship, it was the first time you felt you were staring at Ajax. Not Childe. Not Tartaglia. Just Ajax.

But now, you’re not to sure what to call this. Lately he seemed to be out of it, always staring off into space or frowning at some poor poor snowmen that did not deserve that much pressure. Was being a harbinger starting to take it’s toll on him? Did something terrible happen to his family or was the Tsaritsa being too hard on him? You were beginning to get concerned because you’ve never seen this much mental turmoil in him. This never really happened before and he usually bounced back pretty fast. Would it be better if you left him be and he sorted it out himself? Would it be better if you asked?

Childe is startled out of his thoughts of possible committed murder because he’s too scared to ask his own partner if kissing was something they could do, when he felt your hand slowly nudge his. No matter how many times he holds your hand, you’re always warm. It could be snow storming outside and the only heater he would need would be you. He offers a small but warm smile as he laces his fingers with yours. He remembers when you first started going out he was so scared about boundaries and what was okay. Brushing your fingers together and overall, not doing a good job at saying he wanted to hold hands that even he cringes slightly at his younger self - even though it wasn’t that long ago and he’s doing it again just with kisses - but now he borderline clings to you like some overgrown animal. Scaramouche’s words, not his.

It’s still evening in Snezhnaya and the Tsaritsa herself seems to be taking a vacation because there’s only a light snow falling down between the two of you. You’re both sitting outside his house while his family is inside, warm and having fun playing games. He breathes in, closes his eyes, and let’s the world fade away just a second. He slowly brings his other hand to cup your cheek, his hands are always numb and the tiny pin pricks are dancing on his fingers again before they fade away too, and guides you towards him so he can place a small kiss on your fore head. Then tilts your face to the side so he can kiss your cheek. Brings his nose near yours to nuzzle against. Then hesitates when his lips hover above yours.

“Ajax is there something bothering you?” you ask softly, you’re so close to each other that all you can see is him. The small puffs of breathe you both take bounce off each other’s face before evaporating into the air. You never really took the time to appreciate Ajax’s bright blue eyes. His pupil from this distance seems to be slitted too.

“Hm? Ah no, of course not. Where did you get that idea?” he tries to laugh it off and tries to move back before you quickly bring your hand to the back of his head and nudge him forward so he stays in place. It wasn’t like him to run away from something, it was really starting to bother you what could get Ajax of all people to retreat from something.

“You know if there’s anything that’s bothering you, you can talk to me right?” you asked as you brought both your hands to cup his face as you softly rubbed circles just under his ear. He closed his eyes and hmmed happily at your actions and nuzzled further into your hand before turning his head inward to kiss your palm. Before relaxing and parting his eyelids half way as he seemed to be back in concentration mode. Before awkwardly saying what was troubling him these past few days.

“So wait, you mean to tell me that this entire time I was worried about you. How out of it you were and how many fights you’ve been getting into. Was because you wanted a kiss?” you asked dumfounded as he pouted but nodded. You sighed but bonked your foreheads together softly, “You’re such an idiot....C’mere.”

“Wha-”

You grab the scarf on his harbinger uniform and tug him forward as your lips slot over his. You kiss him hard and for a few seconds as Ajax just stares at you as his brain tries to catch up, before his eyes seem to dilate and he kisses you back just as hard. All his past worries are quickly thrown out the window as slowly pushes you on your back, cushioned by the soft snow, as he basks in the feeling. It’s a bit sloppy given this is both your first kisses but that’s what adds to the charm. You both have to separate at some point for oxygen but Childe looks like he’s ready to dive in again.

“One more,” he pants as he goes in for another but you quickly place your hand in the way so he ends up kissing your palm. He whines but you chuckle at him, place a small kiss on the back of your palm of where his lips would be, and push him off you. You’re both still outside his families home and you aren’t in the mood to be caught in this kind of position. Especially not in front of his younger siblings. He rests his cheek on your shoulder and looks at you, trying to make his eyes bigger and look like a kicked puppy. You sigh as you give a small pet on his head, running your fingers through your hair. What a troublesome partner you’ve gotten.

“Alright, one more.”

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My entire taglist was just made for the “Enemies” to “Lovers” post and I still haven’t started hehe. Trust me, it’s coming. I’ve got requests for it and we’re slowly getting there. The entire time I’m writing this I’m just thinking “honey..no, that’s not how this works.” God you’re so dumb. I hate you. You’re my favourite character. Pour one out for Xiao, I was going to make this a crack fic too but ended up making it somewhat serious.

So yeah, xiao is a cat and childe is a fox. In other news, water is wet. But I did actually google fox behaviors just for this shitpost. ALRIGHT TIME TO SPIN THE WHEEL OF “WILL TUMBLR BE NICE TO ME?” OR DO I NEED TO DOUBLE REPOST AGAIN.

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ventiiology · 3 years

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— ✦ || home

title . food for the soul characters . kaeya , diluc , jean , lisa , noelle , albedo , zhongli , childe , scaramouche type . fluff , platonic , semi-modern

everyone jokes about how you’d probably end up haunted by spirits, ghosts, phantoms and whatnot because you built a small restaurant over ‘sacred grounds’.

“alright, i think it’s getting pretty late. i’ll be heading home now. bye [name]!”

“thanks for staying back to clean up with me, i really appreciate it.” you thanked lumine as she packed up her things, “also, tell aether i said hi.”

“i will.”

the bell by the door tinkled as the blonde exited the restaurant. you sighed. your day was far from over. you went to the door that separated the shop from your house, and found a certain someone rummaging through your fridge in search of food.

“ajax. don’t you dare steal my yoghurt.”

“ACK!— oH uh, hEy. i wasn’t planning on taking the yoghurt, anyway.” the ginger backed away from the fridge with an apple in hand.

“you should wait for the others to appear so i can make you all some food.” you scolded the ghost.

yes, it was a common thing for people to joke that you were going to be haunted by some ghosts that were angry about how you’ve built your restaurant in the spot you did. but, none of the ghosts you encountered seemed even remotely mad about your decision.

and yes, he was a ghost.

“good evening, [name]! if you’re going to make some food, we can help you,” a soft voice spoke up. you turned to see noelle and jean. “it’s fine you two, i can handle it tonight.” the two nodded and proceeded to walk through the wall into your dining room. ajax followed suit, but decided to use the door instead of phasing through the wall.

you started to gather the ingredients you required for the meal tonight. it was best if you started preparing the food now, so that when all of them were here, the food would already be ready and they wouldn’t have to wait for it to finish cooking.

“carrots? you know xingqiu despises those,” another person said behind your shoulder.

“he’s not coming today, so it’ll be fine. i declined noelle and jean’s offer to help me, but since you’re gonna cause trouble with ajax if i send you to the dining room, you might as well fetch me some stuff. can you get me the carrots?” you asked. kaeya groaned but complied.

“kaeya, do you know when diluc’s comi—”

“good evening, [name].”

“oh, there you are. good evening, diluc. i thought that since kaeya had just arrived, you wouldn’t get here till a few more people came.”

“usually that’d be the case, but i heard that one of the two fatui had arrived first. he and kaeya in the same room never ends up well without... supervision.”

“ouch. that hurt more than expected, dear brother.”

“i’m just speaking the truth.” diluc said as he took the carrots from kaeya’s hands then placed them next to you.

“thanks, diluc. both of you can go to the dining room now. can you please help noelle and jean set up the table?” the two nodded and left.

now that the ingredients for one of the dishes was already in the pot, you could start setting up your second dish.

“cutie~! you’re making soup with vegetables! mm, my favourite.”

“yeah, i’m using the recipe that zhongli taught me.”

“i see. well, i’ll be going to jean.” she said before leaving you to your own devices.

“hello, [name].”

“...hello.”

“zhongli! scaramouche! the two of you arriving together is the last thing i expected.”

“psh. it’s mere coincidence.”

“alright scara. now both of you, shoo.”

“good evening. i hope i’m not too late.”

“it’s fine, albedo. now, before i get too distracted and all the food burns, you all better settle down in the dining room.”

a few more minutes passed and finally, you had all the food on plates. you carried them one by one to the table, and set down the meals in the middle of the table.

“i see you’ve cooked ‘a buoyant breeze’... i haven’t had a dish like this since— hmm... and the taste... it’s almost the same as i remember.” zhongli muttered, tasting the soup you made. when he had told you about this recipe, it also came along with the story of someone he knew very well who made that dish as his specialty.

“jade parcels. it’s been a while since i’ve tasted these.” diluc said, taking some jade parcels and placing them on his plate using chopsticks. ajax used a fork to stab through one on diluc’s plate and ate it cheekily.

“you actual—”

“calm down, diluc. there’s still plenty more.” you said, cutting in, while glaring at ajax as a warning.

lisa was chatting to jean on the other end of the table while noelle sat by them, eating quietly. scaramouche sat as far away as possible from diluc and ajax. albedo listened as kaeya talked about something you weren’t bothered to fully listen in to and zhongli seemed like he was in deep thought.

you smiled slightly. your dining table used to be small and only able to accommodate probably four people, but now here you were, with a big table that was able to seat many. you didn’t regret building your restaurant here. you’ve gotten to know so many individuals. you wouldn’t prefer it any other way.

note . i might do some form of continuation of this. a little ‘get to know the ghosts’ kinda thing and some background info, basically.

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #kaeya x reader #diluc x reader #jean x reader #lisa x reader #noelle x reader #albedo x reader #zhongli x reader #childe x reader #scaramouche x reader

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ship-ambrosia · 3 years

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Chilumi Week Day 4 - The Heart of a Hero (Hearts)

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Should I have made a more romantic prompt? Maybe 😂😂

Summary: The more they fight, the more he falls. The more she reminds him of who Ajax once wanted to be.

He pulled back the string of his bow, unconsciously counting the seconds as he felt energy flowing from his body into the arrow between his fingers. Without wasting a beat, as soon as the Hydro energy at the arrowhead had burst he let his arrow fly toward his target - the golden-haired, golden-eyed girl charging toward him at a speed that would intimidate a lesser man. But Childe wasn’t one of the Fatui’s Eleven Harbingers for nothing, his stance didn’t falter one bit.

Lumine dodged, and he smirked. He knew she would.

As easy as he breathed, he’d tossed his bow into the air and watched it disappear into golden dust. More Hydro energy gathered in his palms, and he rose two watery blades in his hands to meet the arc of her sword coming down on him.

“Not bad, girlie,” he purred as he admired her, all of her, while their blades were locked. The fierceness in her eyes, the way she gritted her teeth, the sweat on her brow. There was a sense of pride in him upon seeing these things, seeing the way he made her work. Knowing that it was him, who turned her into the beautiful fighter that she was.

He realized too late what she was doing. Childe’s eyes widened when he noticed the gathering vortex in her offhanded palm. He broke the bladelock and attempted to move away from her out of range, when the Anemo blast unfurled from her hand. He was caught just at the edge of it, but caught nonetheless and was sent flying, landing on his back with his swords dematerializing in a splash of water around him. The way the wind was knocked from his lungs sent shivers through his body. She was still amazing, still constantly pushing him to his limits. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her.

“I think,” she said, walking over to him and putting her hands on his hips. “That means I win again.”

“You’re starting to fight dirty, like me,” he breathed out, grinning up at her again. “Am I corrupting the princess?”

Rolling her eyes, Lumine leaned over and offered him a hand, which Childe took and pulled himself to his feet - only to then immediately twist it around and knock her over onto her back, as a hydroblade appeared in his hand once more. He pointed the blade at her.

“That’s a win for me, actually,” he informed her.

Lumine’s shocked expression twisted into annoyance. “You’re insufferable.”

He laughed, pulling her back to her feet and ruffling her hair a bit. “Whaddya say we start a fire and cook up something to eat? I could really go for some of your cooking after my victory.”

When he looked back at her though, Lumine was staring off in the distance, intently. “Shhh, Childe,” she quieted him. “Did you hear that?”

His playfulness melted away, senses on alert for danger. Childe immediately began making for higher ground for a vantage point. There was little out in the wilderness around Liyue that truly concerned him; but he would never let Lumine get hurt while he was around.

This time he heard it; a strange sound, something between a groan and a scream. It was definitely human to him, a sound he’d heard before - from his work in the Fatui, as much as Lumine probably would be disappointed to hear the details of such an event. Childe scanned the rocky cliffs of Liyue that surrounded them.

“Help!” The sound formed into words, confirming its origin as human. At least, he sure hoped anything that called for help was human.

After the second cry, Childe spotted the source; a camp on the crest of a hill not too far from their location. He could see several figures sitting around a fire. There was a boxy shape with them, some distance away. As he watched, one of the human shapes stood up and walked to it; the box was large enough to fit a human inside of it. His blood ran cold when he pieced it together. Something unfamiliar, yet familiar all at once, stirred within him.

“Childe! What do you see?” Lumine called up to him, but her companion was already gone, pushing aside his scarf and leaping from his overlook, allowing the device attached to his back to spread its wings.

He had been surprised when Lumine gifted him the wind glider. He knew they were sacred tools to Mondstadters, the children of the wind, who placed strict gliding rules on themselves and outsiders who happened to get their hands on them. She was their Honorary Knight, so of course she had been given a glider. He was a member of the Fatui, and Mondstadt certainly had no love for them - but he’d seen the delight on her face as she danced on the wind between the rock pillars of Jueyun Karst, and secretly he’d wished he could be up there with her, experiencing a whole new kind of adrenaline rush between the clouds. It was a tool he’d kept to himself, away from the prying eyes of the other Harbingers. Who knew when it might give him an advantage over them?

Now he didn’t feel the rush, or the wind carrying him. He was moving purely on instinct, a body that knew how to fight, knew how to kill. He landed against the side of the cliff, not wasting a breath of stamina as he swung himself effortlessly up and over the edge.

The Treasure Hoarders hardly got a moment to react. Childe looked to the box, to the cage, and saw exactly what he knew he would see there. He fired three quick shots, downing two of the members in one hit before manifesting his blades into his hands and leaping into the fray.

“Who the hell is this guy?!” He heard one of them cry between his swirling blades of water.

Childe ducked out of the way as a potion crackling with Cryo energy was thrown at him, throwing his elbow into the same man’s chin. Another struck out at him with a kick, which he sidestepped before delivering his own strike to the man’s gut, who went down swiftly. The third fool to fight back swung a hammer at Childe, but he’d trained enough with his own Vanguard - who used electrified hammers too, this was just a normal one - and thus he took the ordinary man down without breaking a sweat.

By the time Lumine caught up with him, Childe had already approached the cage with the key he’d gotten off one of the Treasure Hoarders, opening the door and freeing the elderly man inside.

“Childe!” She was huffing and puffing, like it had taken her a great amount of effort in order to catch him. He supposed he had just dashed off without so much as a warning. “Why did you leave me standing there, all by myself?”

And then her eyes widened, having noticed the man in the cage, and all frustration toward the young man she was traveling with disappeared.

It was sunset by the time they saw the gates of Liyue Harbor in the distance, having helped the old man back to the city. From what they could gather, he was a rich nobleman living in Yujing Terrace, who had been out searching for stashes of Noctilucous Jade. Lumine didn’t have the heart to tell the man he was in entirely the wrong place for it, to the west of Liyue when the jades were found to the west, toward Dragonspine Mountain, and she especially didn’t want to encourage the elder to make the trek out there on his own. Once they’d helped him past the Millelith standing guard, they parted ways. Both Childe and Lumine drifted near each other, around each other, like two celestial bodies that couldn’t pull away. They were silent though; up until the moment that their stomachs started growling.

“I can’t believe we forgot about lunch,” Lumine spoke first, sheepishly.

“Yeah,” he replied. “I’ll treat you. How’s that sound? Dinner on me?”

With little reason to decline Childe’s offer, they both made their way to Wanmin Restaurant, together. As they waited for Xiangling to serve them her nightly special, Lumine couldn’t help herself anymore. “Childe?”

He looked up from practicing with his chopsticks - wrestling with them, was more accurate - and frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I mean... not really...” she swallowed hard under his expectant gaze. “I was just surprised you bothered to save that old man.”

She could tell he was searching her face, trying to read her reaction. “Why?”

“Fighting the Treasure Hoarders I get, I know you do it a lot because it’s basically a free fight for you,” she explained. “But you didn’t jump in because they were Treasure Hoarders. There’s no way you could tell from that distance. So you jumped in to save him.”

“I’m not following. You seem to have a pretty good understanding of what happened.”

“You do things only if they are of some benefit to you,” she pointed out. “You saved me from the Millelith, and kept paying for everything for me because you wanted to gain my trust. You introduced me to Zhongli because you knew he’d end up telling me where the Exuvia was. I know you accompany me on expeditions just so you can get the chance to let loose and fight.”

“I didn’t know you thought so highly of me,” she didn’t miss the sarcasm in his voice. Childe was hurt by her words? Or maybe it was more lies. She enjoyed his company, but it was hard to tell when he was being entirely truthful.

“But you didn’t get anything out of saving that old man,” she pointed out. She watched as Childe’s eyes widened in response, as though he hadn’t realized it until now - there was no advantage. Just an old man safe at home now.

“You don’t know that,” he spoke shortly, trying and failing to hide how much she’d rattled him.

“Childe, why did you save him?”

“I don’t know,” his reply was soft, but not soft enough to conceal it. That was a bold-faced lie. He knew exactly why.

The words of his father danced around in his head, stories of heroes all across Teyvat, battling evil and saving people. Young Ajax would listen with starry eyes, his father always scolding him for being distracted from their fishing rods but continuing to do it anyway. There was nothing he had wanted to be but a hero then. Nothing he had wanted to be but a traveler.

He was jolted out of his memories when Lumine moved closer, placing her hand on his. “Yes you do,” she said defiantly, and he knew she had seen right through him. He smiled to himself.

“Maybe I’m just tricking you,” he purred, all honey returning to his voice. “Maybe I’m trying to gain your trust again so I can tear it all down.”

Lumine narrowed her eyes. “Then you’ve already succeeded, because you have my trust. I’d like to think you can rely on me, too.”

“Never tell someone from the Fatui they have your trust, girlie. They’ll use it for their own ends. They’ll use it to break you. They’ll use any means to get an advantage over you.”

“But you don’t. Not anymore,” she gently ran her fingers over his knuckles, and Childe was very irritated by the way she made electricity dance over his skin, the way she made his heart start to pound. “You don’t actually fight dirty. You always like to fight on equal ground. You’re just creative.”

He was supposed to be the one playing with her feelings. Instead he felt like Lumine had reached into his chest and was playing music with his heartstrings.

He sighed.

“My real name is Ajax,” he could hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth, and he watched Lumine stiffen as she comprehended them. He saw her eyes flitter around his face, the way it does when she tries to detect his lies. Even though he knew her tell, he’s still never been able to successfully hide a full lie from her ever since they began to spend time together. When he doesn’t want her to find out something, he usually just redirects now. “Ajax is the name my parents gave me. Childe, and Tartaglia, those were gifts from the Tsaritsa. And to be honest I hardly feel like Ajax is part of me anymore.”

Lumine was silent.

“My father used to tell me stories of heroes, all the time. Not just heroes from Snezhnaya, but from all across the continent. I wanted to be just like them. I wanted to save people. I wanted people to tell stories about me. Now I’m Childe, and I’m kind of a bad guy,” he chuckled. “Ajax’s dreams are long gone.”

She gave him a serious look, eyes burning. He’s only seen her with that intensity once before, when they fought in the Golden House. “No they aren’t. If they were, you wouldn’t have saved that old man today.”

He felt her hands cup his face, and he froze between them, unsure if Lumine was about to make a big mistake. His eyes flickered down to her lips, and he thought about all the times he’d imagined making it too.

But she stayed right where she was, staring into his eyes. “I’d like to see them one day. Ajax’s dreams. I’d like to travel with him. And I’d like to try and make them come true. You have the instincts of a hero. You could still be one.”

No, he thought. Not anymore. But somewhere deep inside his mind told him that was a lie, too. Staring into her eyes, he thought that he kind of believed her words. With her around, Ajax could become a hero.

She was changing something in him. Each moment he spent with her left him with dreams of running free, untethered, as an adventurer, a traveler himself, back to the wide open skies and heroic deeds that used to decorate his dreams. Of course he was drawn to her - she reminded him of who he used to want to be. Before the day in the Abyss, before it all had come crashing down. But she was changing him, slowly bringing Ajax back out of him. He’d never be entirely the same again, but it still scared him to think how much of an effect on him she had.

“I told you, girlie,” that familiar smile crept onto his face. “I want you to see me conquer the world. That’s not something a hero wants.”

Maybe one day, Ajax spoke very softly, in the corner of his mind, in response. I’ll be enough to be considered her hero.

#bree writes #genshin impact fanfiction #chilumi week 2021 #day 4 #hearts #genshin impact spoilers #childe spoilers #idk i think using his real name is technically a spoiler for some people??? lol #bree ships things #childe x lumine #chilumi #original post by bree

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adiabolikpastel · 3 years

Text

Title: Lunar Eclipse Masquerade

Karlheinz pt. 3

Rating: NSFW | PG-18

Word Count: 1,947

Pairing: Karlheinz x Skye (m/m)

ღ As the part unwinds, Skye is finally able to take a breath. Though maybe there is something else on Karl's mind, as the moons affects finally seem to reach him. ღ

Mun Yu: We did it! These are the last pieces of the LEM story. The end to our Lunar Eclipse. I hope that you have enjoyed the ride, and gotten to know the stories on this blog better! Tune in at the end of it all for Authors Notes!

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ﾟ｡. +ﾟ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

Despite what most people think, demonic beings are very social creatures. The elites hold countless balls and parties, celebrating their immortality together, and entertaining one another with stories. Typically, they are done in celebration for something – though this is not always the case. All types of beings from across the Demon Realm will come if the host is of high enough prestige.

There would be no such host if it was not for Karlheinz. Seated as the head of the Bat Clan (vampires), Karl’s reach spans far. Being the widow for the former Demon King’s daughter, and having children of the first blood, an invitation from the Vampire King is not one to refuse. Though why would you? In his immaculate castle within the Demon Realm, Eden Castle, it is always quite the spectacle. While the celebrations held in his Human World mansion are nice, nothing compares to a true night of pleasure within the true home of the King.

On this night, there was to be a Masquerade in honor of the first Lunar Eclipsed Moon in over two years. While this night may serve each species differently, the idea to celebrate its return was simply too tempting. For this reason, Karlheinz took it upon himself – or rather – his house, to host the event. This extended to his offspring as well, regardless of their personal agenda. Members of every social elite race accepted the offer, and gathered for a truly unforgettable evening

While he was sure others had a marvelous time at the event, Skye was exhausted. It was one thing to organize and watch something happen from afar. Being one of the hosts was completely different. There was never a moment of peace. At any time someone would come up to speak with Karl, and he would have to smile and pretend to be interested.

It was enough to just be seen and not heard. How did his wives ever deal with this? Then again, they were probably all bread for this kind of thing. After departing from Shu and his new bride, Karl had insisted on taking Ajax and his wife with him on a tour. But not before getting Burai – what were these three frat brothers?

To see Karlheinz in this light was rather amusing. Not that he was very different, but one could tell that the three men had a special bond about them. Perhaps that wasn’t something Skye could understand. He wasn’t too keen on the history here in the Demon Realm, but he did know that there used to be battles constantly. These three must have been allies through all of that. Or perhaps they were enemies which Karl subdued? Skye wasn’t sure which.

“And then, wouldn’t you know it, Meteo surprised us with a visit! It was glorious to see him! Xyander and Xylon met him for the first time. Hard to think they are already three and never met their brother. My son has been so busy – but Stevi and Helios were excited to see him. Little Onan was sleeping, but I am sure they are having a great time while we are away.” Ajax prattled on and on while they walked through the castle. Skye couldn’t help but roll his eyes, just how many kids did this guy have?!

“Dear, you speak of our children much too much. Your castle is beautiful as always, Karlheinz. Thank you again for allowing us the honor of visiting. Even if it was just to swoop away with our daughter.” His wife chimes, wearing a smile, but her words drip with venom.

Karl laughed slightly at her, Skye could tell that it was mostly in triumph. “Now Catalina, we both know that Ajax would never simply give away something so precious. Callista will be well taken care of, of that I assure you.” Karl offered her comfort, but it was more so in an attempt to get the matter dropped. He had won, there was no sense in her dwelling on the past.

“Honestly, the fuss you all make over children.” Burai finally speaks. “That is why you have them one at a time. Devote what you can, then move on.”

“That is an interesting stance, though, given your record my friend – I wouldn’t lead with it.” Karl states, in reference to Burai being not only his friend, but his ex-father-in-law.

“I would choose one child every century- millennia even - over the amount you both have.” The Demon shivered, disgusted by the idea it seemed. “They are simply a means to an end. We must produce them to preserve the line and power, but nothing more.”

“That is not true! My children bring me such joy! You cannot say that you feel nothing when you look at your son now!”

“I won’t comment on that.” Burai simply answers, as Ajax berates him with further justifications of his unending love for his offspring.

Skye walks quietly next to Karl while the demons talk amongst themselves. He was ready to retire for the evening, and as they came back into the ballroom, he was glad to see most of the guests had gone. Especially at least half of Karl’s sons – all that remained were Kanato, Shu and Reiji… wait! Was Reiji seriously trying to take Shu’s dance!?

“Well isn’t that quite the problem.” Karl muses beside him. “Seems those two just cannot get along.” Skye knew that this had to be part of a larger plan. Karl doesn’t simply do anything. There is always a motive.

“Callista my dear!” Ajax’s voice boomed from behind them, the large demon B-lining straight to his daughter. He did not seem upset by her daughter being in the arms of someone other than the man he had just left her with.

“It is still a mystery how that man became a Demon Lord.” Burai comments stepping up to Karlheinz. “He is a fool.”

“Some just have other reasons for fighting. He is plenty powerful to make up for the fool. Not to mention his wife does a fairly decent job keeping things in check.” He shrugs it off, watching the ever doting father collect his daughter. “What of you? Any plans I should know about for a future love affair?”

Burai scoffs, “My last child is still alive, so do not count on it.” He says, gesturing to someone. Skye looked in the direction, hoping it would be Alrick. To his surprise, a woman seemed to respond to the signal. She was dressed in a floor length gown, but not something fancy, something closer to a maid’s outfit really. Was this a familiar? Her appearance was almost human; very bland everything. There wasn’t even a demonic presence about her.

“You have summoned me, Lord Burai?” Whoever this was, they were most certainly a servant. Not looking up even slightly, that was some quality training.

“We are leaving.” Burai dictates, the young maid bowing and excuses herself. “You celebrations are nice, however, please do keep me off any intimidate affairs. I have little time to deal with such things.” Almost as quickly as he finished his sentence the strange woman was back, and helping him put on his coat. Perhaps she was a familiar.

“You are the last person I would want to have anything intimate with, my friend.” Karl waves off the demon lord, and escorts Skye to the head of the room. Skye looked back at the Snake demon to see if Alrick was going to show up.

Instead, he saw this supposed happy bachelor prude, actually link arms with the servant! What a hypocritical- oh god was that a kiss!? Skye couldn’t believe it. Even if it was on the hand, that ass hole. Giving everyone the ‘oh look at me – I’m all business. Big bad demon lord’. He couldn’t wait to tell Alrick about it later.

“You are quite distracted. I think that’s enough sharing you for one day.” Karl’s voice brings Skye out of his train of thought. “Come, we shall retire for the evening.” His voice was soft, as if he was purposely only allowing Skye to hear.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to imply something, my king.” Skye knew that there was no way this night was not going to end without the two of them becoming intimate. Honestly he was pretty tired. Not to mention, it was his impression that the Bloody Moon was supposed to affect the bat clan. Here the night is over and Karl’s been the same. Rip off.

Karl laughed a little at Skye’s comment, “Haha, you know me too well.” He moves a hand around Skye’s waist, holding him close. Within moments the two of them were moved out of the ballroom and into their room. Well, this was the room they typically fooled around in. Skye knew this wasn’t Karl’s room – he actually doubted that the man slept at all.

Skye smiles up at Karl and moves over to the bed, sitting on the edge, crossing his legs. “I must say, that was fun being your little arm candy ~ I don’t think there was a single person who missed it.” That thought sent shivers up his spine. What a thrill it was to be seen. Not to mention seen by all those stuck up demons who would normally look down on him.

Karl watches Skye bask in the afterglow of their appearance. What a strange creature he was, actually wanting to be the center of the universe. Yet at this moment, Karl felt like that role suited Skye more than any other. “Yes, you were magnificent, my siren.” His praise seemed to affect him, as their eyes were soon looking over one another.

With a smirk on his face, Karl summoned his magic to disrobe the cape which was draped over his shoulder. Whilst he undid the buttons on his vest, and loosened the tie around his neck. “So well in fact,” He stepped out of his shoes, and allowed magic to take his discarded clothing off to be hung up. “I believe you deserve a reward.”

Skye was entranced by Karl’s mystical display. God it was always so hot to watch him strip. Way better than doing all that work himself. Just as Skye was about to do the same, Karl suddenly dipped down and knelt before him. “My King…?” Skye’s eyes widened. This man was not about to do something stupid, right?!

With a small laugh, Karl slowly started to take off Skye’s heels. “Your expression dictates you were thinking something absurd.” He softly kisses the top of Skye’s foot. “I am rewarding you for all the hard work you did for this night, not punishing you.” There was a hint of melancholy to his words.

Karl had no interest in submitting another to the role of his ‘wife’ again. The title was nothing but a front anyway. He had not loved anyone. Still loved no one. These ‘feelings’ for Skye - if they were love, Karl would have no idea. Their time together was an end to boredom alone. The means to a release. Though if that were completely true, Skye wouldn’t be as involved as he was with Karl’s professional life.

The boy was more than just his assistant here. In the Human World, he was even Tougo Sakamaki’s new face. People saw him more than they did the politician. Once Skye had finished school, he came onto the alias’ line of work, and began working as the personal secretary for the famed politician. Karl was sure that Skye would even be a nurse for Reinhert if he had asked.

Skye let out a soft mew in response to Karl’s gentle touches and kisses. This was new, he was never this gentle. It felt nice, especially since his feet were killing him from the heels. Beauty was so painful. He was happy that things were like this, how silly to think that Karlheinz would even consider a marriage. Well, it wasn’t like he honestly thought about it - it was more just the shock of him actually kneeling.

Though now that he got a good look - the sight of the Karlheinz was worshiping his feet. “Heh, my king~ I have to admit, mhmm, the sight of you down there… is really turning me on~” He says, moving his other foot to locate Karl’s groin.

Karl simply focuses on his task at hand. Slowly. Sweetly. Moving his lips up from Skye’s foot, up his leg. “Mm! My King… if you tease me so much I - ah!” Karl moves to just behind Skye’s knee - one of his biggest weak spots. Skye bites back another moan.

“Now that wont do.” Karl suddenly speaks and looks up at Skye. His eyes are full of desire. Hunger. Lust. “I want to hear you. Every sigh. Gasp. Moan. You will not hold anything back. In return, I shall spoil you. Every. Inch.” He smirks, wetting his lips, and picking up Skye’s other foot. “So. Be the beautiful siren you are meant to be. And submit yourself to my will.”

☆+ ﾟ .+ .ﾟ.ﾟ｡ﾟ｡. +ﾟ｡ﾟ.ﾟ｡ ROUTE END☆*｡｡ . ｡ o .｡ﾟ｡.o｡* ｡ .｡

#writing #Lunar Eclipse Masquerade #LEM

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luca-moreno · 3 years

Text

So nonna Nico wanted a family dinner before Ethan leaves the Berlin

aka ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Luca doesn’t really know why he gets pulled in along with Marie for the odd little family dinner Zeus insisted on. Marie mutters something about an insurance policy when he asks and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to him but it means another one of Zeus’s home cooked meals and he won’t say no to that.

Plus, Ben will be there.

There’s tension in the room and around the table where they all sit. Tension and long silences while they wait for Zeus to dish out the food. There’s a semi circle of phoenix and the commander reigns at the head of the table like a sharp eyed Queen watching over her army.

Luca happily finds himself sandwiched between Ben on one side and Ajax, glowering and clearly unhappy with life on the other. Then there’s Mason and the final phoenix, Luca can’t remember the name of but vaguely recalls from the Commander’s party in the club. Pike maybe? Lance? Some kind of ancient earth weapon he might have read about in a history book somewhere.

He nudges Ben under the table, willing his face not to get all pink when his knee brushes against him.

(Which one is he again?) Luca signs, trying to be subtle and knowing he’s failed when the man in question’s gaze falls to him.

“Ethan,” Ben says easily. “Sabre. Big brother,” he adds proudly.

Luca’s gaze shifts between them then he kinda squints. He vaguely remembers that from their scamper in the hall trying to spy. “Wait. You don’t look alike.”

“Adopted,” Ethan cuts in smoothly, making Luca jump. He detects something in the phoenix’s tone. Humor maybe? Not hostility, which was a nice change for once. He decides then that he likes Sabre with his pretty hair and a jawline that could cut glass – and whew! He really has no business being that attractive but then phoenix, so Luca figures he’ll allow it.

Plus he’s really good at making Ben laugh.

“Huh,” he shrugs. “Okay.”

Silence falls over the table again. Luca twitches, drums his fingers on the edge of the table lightly until Mason narrows his eyes at him and he quickly snatches them back. He’s hungry and bored and jittery with too many freakishly still apex predators in the room when he feels like squishy prey and he sinks back in his chair and huffs with enough force to blow his curls off his face.

He scoops up his spoon and tries to balance it on his nose and wonders again why he’s there.

“Why me?” He had asked Marie on the walk to the little room she had secured for them. She paused on the other side of the sealed door and gave him an amused glance.

“Because with you there, they’re less likely to tear each other apart and for some obscure reason I can’t even begin to understand, it’s really important to Nic.”

“I thought you said they were family. Why would they tear each other apart?”

Marie’s face falls and she looks sort of sad. “Brothers by circumstances, not choice.”

Luca shrugged. “Aren’t all families like that?”

“Not all. Besides,” Marie continues with a small hum. “I think you’re probably the only other person on this boat who isn’t scared of them.”

It’s not true, not by a long shot but it had made Luca laugh anyway. “Yeah, because they know they have to go through to you get to me. And you’re scarier than all of them.”

Marie cuffed him lightly on the shoulder as she laughs – definitely not a very commandery thing to do – which is just reason nine million and twenty six thousand why Luca adored her so much. “I’m going to take that as a compliment, Ensign.”

“One of the highest order, ma’am,” Luca tells her seriously, adjusting the strap on his guitar just as the door opens.

Another quiet moment ticks by. Luca is almost cross eyed by the time his spoon drops into his lap. “Do you ever think about how spoons are just tiny bowls with sticks attached to them?”

There’s silence and it stretches. Luca glances around the table and finds a multitude of pinched faces. Ajax looks mad, Ben looks delighted, the Commander looks like she’s praying to the gods for deliverance as she breathes deeply through her nose, Sabre’s expression are calculating but surprisingly, it’s Mason that loses it first.

He turns his face into Sabre’s side, shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Sabre’s lips twitch once then twice before he joins in. Then Ben, then Marie, and then Zeus even rumbles something. Ajax is the only one who doesn’t laugh, glaring around the table like he wants to murder them all as slowly and as painfully as possible. Luca shuffles ever so slightly closer to Ben. Marie was wrong, he thinks. He was a little scared of Ajax. Just a tiny bit, but he’s pretty sure Ben could take him if it came to that.

“Va bene,” Zeus booms. “Time to eat. Mangia!”

It’s easier when the food is in front of them. Luca helps Ben scoop out something red and cheesy, adding an extra dollop to his plate with a grin. “I know what you guys are like,” he whispers then does the same to Ajax just to stay on his good side.

The food seems to make them all relax, but only just.

“This is so fucking weird,” Ajax mutters around a mouthful of pasta.

Luca looks at the twirly shapes on his plate, drenched in quite possibly the tastiest sauce he’s ever come across. Even Mar’vera, the Asari that manned the roadside kiosk near his father’s place on the wards didn’t have stuff that tasted as good as this.

“Isn’t this pasta stuff a big thing back on Earth?”

“Not the food, idiot,” Ajax says it without any heat. He shovels in another mouthful as he gestures around the table.

Luca looks around curiously at the phoenix assembled there. “Oh. Why? Didn’t you do this all the time back in… phoenix land?”

“That’s not actually a thing, Luca,” Mason says with a snort. “Neither is phoenix school.”

“He means Phoenix One,” Marie cuts in, shooting Mason a look.

“Yeah,” Luca nods and waves his fork. A glob of sauce goes flying, narrowly missing Sabre. Luca’s pretty sure he would have to sleep with one eye open if that glob had ended up on a his very expensive looking outfit and he gulps nervously. “That.” He chews. “Wait, what’s Phoenix One?”

There’s an uncomfortable glance around the table when suddenly they all find their plates very interesting. Luca looks at Marie but she offers a small little shrug and keeps eating.

“Um…”

“It’s… complicated, Luc,” Mason says, not meeting his eye.

“Is it?” Luca wants to turn to Ben but he’s not oblivious to the way the vanguard beside him hunches over so he shrugs and stabs his pasta and chews enthusiastically instead. These phoenix guys were weird.

There’s a little stilted conversation around the table that Luca and Marie try to carry, but it’s still awkward. Mason and Sabre share too many sidelong looks and small smiles and Luca almost wonders if everyone should clear out and give them the room. He tries not to stare and leans in towards Ben, whispering out the corner of his mouth.

“I guess the divorce is off?”

Ben blinks in confusion before Luca jerks his head then realization dawns. Ben nods his head happily. He leans in close and Luca has to concentrate hard on what he says instead of getting distracted by how warm he is and how he smells far too earthy for being surrounded by the vacuum of space. “Archer,” he whispers. “Other brother. Talked sense and cooked brain food.”

Luca has no idea what that means but he’s utterly enthralled regardless. “Oh,” he says, like it’s the most amazing thing he’s ever heard but only because it is because Ben and he really likes the way Ben’s eyes kind of crinkle at the corners when he smiles and the way his canines seem a little sharper than the average human and the way his skin-

There’s a nudge against his boot that snaps him out of it and he looks up to see Sabre eying him with amusement.

“You were drooling,” he says, then flicks a napkin at Luca’s direction courtesy of a blue haze.

“What?” Luca squeaks as the napkin smacks him fair in the face.

“Are we going to have to give this kid the shovel talk?” Sabre asks no one in particular. Luca doesn’t know what a talking shovel is but it can’t be good and he shoots a panicked look in Marie’s direction.

“No,” she says firmly, fingers white around the stem of her wine glass. “We do not.”

“No shovel,” Ben says sternly, glaring at Sabre and Luca shoots him a grateful look.

“Um, thank… thank you?”

Ben knocks his shoulder and goes back to eating. Like almost everyone else at the table, he’s well onto his second serve.

“Marie, what’s this kid’s qualifications. Is he up to the job?”

“I’m going to be polite and pretend you didn’t just ask me that, Sinclair.”

“He’s one of Marie’s,” Mason reminds him. “So we know he’s solid.”

“Uh, hello? I’m right here,” Luca snaps irritably. What the hell? He’s about to open his mouth to complain some more but Ben leans over and he’s immediately distracted by the heat radiating off him.

“You get used to it. They do this a lot.”

Sabre looks momentarily offended by that. “Ben.”

Ben shrugs and licks the sauce off his fingers. “It’s true. Because youngest.”

“Because we’re supposed to look out for you.”

Mason chuckles and reaches for his glass. “Remember that time we took Ben to that strip club for his birthday?”

“That was definitely one of our more brilliant idea,” Sabre says mildly. Mason gives him an incredulous look.

“Okay, you and I remember that night very differently, Eth.”

Sabre’s slow smile has a distinctly predatory edge to it. “Do we?”

“Wait, you took him to a strip club?” Marie blinks and Mason bristles slightly.

“It was his birthday.”

“Oh my god,” she laughs behind her hand, like she knows something the rest of them don’t. Mason grins then.

“Oh, you’ve heard this one before, huh?”

“No, but I can only imagine with you involved.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” Marie waves her hand. “Continue.”

“I’m not sure I should now,” Mason mutters and Luca isn’t sure if he should be alarmed or not that the supposed leader of the fiercest human biotics in the galaxy pouts. Actually pouts, with the bottom lip and everything.

“Mason let him get drunk and then he ended up on stage with the dancers,” Zeus suddenly rumbles, cutting in to the conversation. Marie lets out a peel of laughter and Mason curses. “It was a riot. Had to pay for damages before they would let us leave.”

Ben looks confused. “Did I break something?”

“Only a lot of hearts, Benji,” Ethan chuckles indulgently and Mason snickers.

Luca tries very hard not to picture what the phoenix beside him would look like on a stage in colorful strobing lights and very little clothing in case his brain short circuits.

It does anyway.

“Uh,” he manages faintly. His voice suddenly feels like it’s coming from very far away.

“He ate the foliage on P1 too, once.”

Mason exhales heavily. “Phew, yeah. Now that was a rough night.”

That seems to snap Luca’s attention back and he eyes Ben and wonders if he needs to reconsider his crush. “You’re not gonna try to eat Meli, are you?”

There’s a little chirp in the corner from the drone when it hears its name. Ben cackles. “No, too spiky.”

“So was this your plan?” Sabre looks up from his glass as he addresses Zeus. “Get us all together to reminisce about old times?” His tone is faintly mocking but Zeus doesn’t react other than to pause his eating.

Ajax lets out a bark of brittle laughter. “Just hope that Huntsman doesn’t try to make another one of his fucking speeches.”

“Get fucked, Ajax,” Mason tells him cheerfully.

“We’re all hoping for that, Huntsman.”

Mason opens his mouth only for Marie to wave her knife threateningly in his direction. “Don’t fucking say it, Mase.”

Mason throws his hands up. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he says but Luca hardly knows Mason from a bar of soap and even he recognizes that’s a lie.

“You’ll have to tell me the story behind that one later,” Luca hears Sabre whisper before pulling Mason in for a kiss.

“And there goes my fucking appetite,“ Ajax mutters, shooting daggers across the table.

Mason looks like he’s about to snap something else but Sabre’s hand lands on his knee. There’s a lowly uttered, babe and then just like that, Mason’s bristle fades. Luca was starting to understand why Marie had been concerned. Insurance policy, she had said but he’s not so sure a nobody like him would be able to do much if this lot decided to go to war.

RIP the SSV Berlin, Luca thinks. The captain will be pissed.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done this,” Zeus rumbles suddenly. His voice isn’t overly loud but it seems to carry across the room and make them all sink into their seats. Zeus scans his golden eyes around the table, skimming over each face until he stops and settles on Ben. “All of us.”

Ajax scoffs into the silence. “Fucking sentimental bullsh-“

“Maddy,” Marie hisses and Luca realizes with a start she looks like she’s on the verge of tearing up. Evidently Ajax realizes it too because he curses under his breath and sits back, arms folded tight across his chest and blue eyes simmering with ire he’s only just keeping in check.

Mason pushes aside his plate and gives up all semblance of good humor. He leans against Sabre. “The last time, at this rate.”

“So dramatic, Huntsman,” Ajax can’t resist a final dig.

Mason makes a visible effort to swallow his retort. Luca wonders curiously what would have happened if Sabre hadn’t been there. He shivers with the crackle of energy in the air, the latent biotics making his teeth ache again. It was going to fuck with his aids, he’s sure of it.

“We’re the only ones left,” Zeus continues. “Like it or not. There’s only us.”

“We’re not some fucking brady bunch, Zeus,” Ajax snaps. “Fuck this. I’ll go, then it really will be like old times-“

“No!” Ben jumps up, grips Ajax’s arm tight. “No, stay.”

“Aw, fuck, Scoots. This isn’t… It’s not you, okay.”

“Stay,” Ben sits Ajax down roughly and Luca has enough sense to shove the last of the pasta in his direction. He almost smiles as he takes it. At least Luca likes to think it’s a smile. It’s barely even a grimace, just a tight stretch of his lips over sharp teeth but there’s a collective easing of tension around the table.

“Hey,” Luca says brightly into the silence. “Wanna hear a song?”

#I don’t know but it is but this is what happens when I’m left unattended in another time zone apparently #¯\_(ツ)_/¯#scooter roosevelt #marie miller #ethan sinclair #maddox gibbons #mason knight #luca moreno #ssv berlin #you know luca went ahead and played heathens too #smh

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un-beel-ievable · 3 years

Note

(There is a crimson letter within your ask box, want to take a peek?)

(The handwriting inside the letter is neat and stylish, yet the words seem to come from a more blunt tone.)

(There is also a small drawing of a sunflower, messily sketched upon a ripped-off piece of paper.)

"Hey there, kitten.

Finally found a way to talk with you more, though it surprises me that it took this long. Guess my commissions from the guild were stretching me thin. That, and I've been busy raid-diving Domains for the perfect rings for us. Only the prettiest jewels for my precious treasures, but their worth in Mora is nothing compared to you and the pretty boy. (Don't tell him that I wrote that, he'll bother me about it the next time he visit Mond.)

But enough about me and my job, how are you? Are you eating well? Did you tried to blow up the camp kitchen again in an attempt to cook some noodles? Oh wait, I know that you definitely did. Pretty boy rambled all about it to me in his previous letter.

Here I thought that you knew better, kitten. We placed down the rules for a reason, you know? Don't even think to complain too, missy. I know you too much. I'll send a care package with your favorite dishes next time, including some cakes that you like. Also, don't eat the cakes before dinner, I will ask pretty boy to guard them if it's necessary.

.. Love you, kitten. Been a bit lonely since you and pretty boy left for some Fatui business in Inazuma. Wish that I'd would tag along too, heard that Inazuma is pretty similar to Japan. Make sure to send over some photos for me, yeah? (And if pretty boy is being a little shit again, just bribe him with kisses from me. I'll allow just this once.)

Stay safe for me, or else I'll chase you 'til the ends of this world and beyond just to make you behave.

Forever yours and forever mine,

Akamiya Ren."

[The envelope that the original sender receives in response is a pale pastel pink and edged with a pattern of sakura blossoms in a gorgeous rose gold hue. Its contents include a note written in neat print and a series of photographs: one of an Inazuman style shrine surrounded by cats, one of a certain Fatui Harbinger falling head first off a dock, and another of said Harbinger (on solid ground this time) with his arms around a petite girl.]

𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓐𝓴𝓪𝓶𝓲𝔂𝓪,

I must admit that when I first skimmed through the contents of your letter, I was shocked by the revelation that Ajax is actually literate. Even on a good day, his handwriting is so illegible that he could have convinced me otherwise.

But I digress. I refuse to speak of Ajax for longer than absolutely necessary —you and I both know that he doesn't deserve the honor. (Don't argue my point, Akamiya. You know that if we give an inch he'll take a mile; even as I write this, he's reading over my shoulder and whining.) Your letter finds me well enough. While there may have been...some truth to the incident which occurred in the camp's kitchen, I assure you that for the most part, I got away unharmed. The burn on my forearm will heal quickly enough. I appreciate your offer of a care package, but you needn't trouble yourself, you know (even though I know that's not going to stop you from sending me a parcel anyway) —you do too much for me and Ajax as is.

As per your request, I've attached a couple of polaroids. There's one of Ajax falling off the docks of Inazuma, and one of the Asase Shrine on Seirai Island. The head priestess is a cat, Akamiya! Can you believe it? The whole shrine is overrun with cats! It's so amazing here. Don't tell Ajax, I know I'll never hear the end of it if you do...but I wish you were here with us. It's not the same without you.

A-Anyway! If you have the gall to be telling me to behave, then you better be taking care of yourself! When Ajax and I return to Mondstadt, you better be in one piece; I know you. Don't go challenging any Ruin Guards, or I'll ruin you when I get back. I don't want to see a single scratch on you! And don't push yourself too hard! I'm not going to nurse you back to health if you start sickening for something.

Oh....and Akamiya? I love you too. Yours always,

𝓡𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓮

#raine talks #raine rps #This Is An Askbox Not A Housewarming Party So Why Are All These Men In My Living Room By Fall Out Boy

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mason-knight · 3 years

Text

concurrent to x (mase wanted attention)

Hidden away in his quarters with Ethan, Mason was starting to lose track of the hours.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Ethan rasps into the quiet. He sounds hoarse, from too many moans or a lack of sleep, Mason isn’t quite sure. The other man is sprawled naked on his stomach beside Mason but he raises his head and props his chin up on one hand as he speaks.

Mason starts guiltily. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I’m sure I was, but I can hear you brooding even in my dreams apparently.”

Ethan slides a wide palm across the sheets and claims a place on Mason’s hip. His voice drops. “Second thoughts?”

Mason huffs gently and readjusts his frame against the pillow leaning against the bulkhead. He had been watching Ethan sleep, admiring the new gold band on his finger and the way the patterns etched into it caught the light as his thoughts wandered.

“No. Never.” He leans down to press a kiss to his husband’s mouth to drive the point home.

“Then what is it?”

“Don’t laugh, but… Well, I was just wondering if maybe we’re wrong to cheat everyone out of a party. We found the time to celebrate Marie’s promotion, us getting hitched feels like something that should be worth celebrating too… even if everyone does already think we’re married.”

“Hmm,” Ethan muses. “I did ask Ben to be my best man.”

“Oh, did you now? Damn, I didn’t even think of that. Who would I even ask?” But no sooner has he said the words, the answer is already forming in his mind.

Ethan’s hand wanders distractingly south under the sheets. “I’m sure Ajax would love to step up for you.”

Mason snorts at the ludicrous idea. He might have managed to declare a ceasefire with the other adept but that’s probably as far as it’s going to get with Maddox. “Not funny, Sinclair.”

Ethan’s low laugh vibrates through the bed and Mason finds himself pulled down into a kiss. Ethan’s mouth greets his, a warm, perfect fit as his tongue delves into Mason’s mouth in a familiar dance. No matter how many times they kiss, the effect is always the same - a low curl of heat, that sense of inexplicable rightness. Once he might have wondered how much of it was their weird biotic bond, but now he doesn’t care so long as it exists.

“I really do need to go see Marie though,” Mason says regretfully when they finally draw apart for air. “I need to check in.”

Ethan hums and makes a show of stretching against the sheets. His muscles ripple with the movement and Mason wants to drool at the sight. He can’t help but lean close and drift his palm over the curve of his husband’s backside. The band around his finger looks good against Ethan’s skin and Mason spends a heartbeat admiring it as he strokes his hand along Ethan’s body. He keeps his gaze locked with Ethan’s, watching the way his eyes go dark as Mason’s finger slips south.

He leans down to kiss Ethan’s shoulder when Ethan pushes back subtly against this hand.

“I thought you had to go,” Ethan whispers roughly as his hips flex and his back arches in invitation. It’s all Mason needs to nudge his husband’s thighs apart and settle into the space between instead.

“Not yet,” he kisses a new moan out of his husband’s mouth. “Not yet…”

He finds Marie in the CIC, bathed in the familiar orange glow from the galaxy map. Ajax hovers nearby like a silent sentinel.

“Mason,” she greets him with surprise then motions for him to follow her to the ready room.

“Commander.” Mason slides a glance at the other phoenix as he passes. “Maddox.”

If Mason’s greeting caught him by surprise, Maddox doesn’t show it.

“Knight.”

Then he unfolds his arms stalks off without a backwards glance.

“Well,” Mason says after a moment’s hesitation when he catches Marie’s eye. “At least we didn’t bite each other’s heads off this time. That’s progress, right?”

Marie tosses the datapad she had been holding carelessly to the captain’s desk. “I’m proud of you for going to talk to him, Mase. And tearing yourself away from Ethan to do it too.”

“I doubt Ajax and I will ever be friendly but the ceasefire is enough. Thank you, by the way. I know I sent you a message earlier, but a few lines of text isn’t enough to tell you how grateful I am for letting Ethan onto the ship.”

“I almost didn’t let him come,” Marie shakes her head and gives him a sheepish smile. “I hated seeing you like that. But he begged. I didn’t even know he could. That’s when I realized he was serious. But I mean it, Mase. If he hurts you again, I’m coming for his hair and then the rest of him, phoenix or not.”

Mason’s eyebrows climb. “You won’t have to worry about that. But his hair? Really?”

Marie waves him away tiredly. “Anyway, what brings you out of your cocoon so early? You still have a few hours left and… well, I’m surprised you can even walk, to be honest.”

“Phoenix stamina and recovery remember,” he smirks and she rolls her eyes. “What’s with all the weird vibes through the ship though? What did I miss?”

Marie’s face immediately shifts. Tension rolls over her frame and her eyes glint. “Something happened while you were… occupied elsewhere.”

Mason’s hair pricks at the back of his neck as he straightens. His voice drops low. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Ensign Moreno… Luca… he was attacked. While heading back to his quarters-”

“Wait, what,” Mason doesn’t bother to let her finish. “Luca? Ben’s little engineer friend?”

“My Luca. My engineer.”

Something about the way Marie says it makes Mason’s spine stiffen even further, as though an invisible line has just been drawn. It’s a reminder that they’re on the same ship but they’re not always on the same side.

“Is he alright?”

“Yes, he’s... Well, he’s as well as can be expected. Recovering now”

“Who attacked him? Alliance?” It has to be, there’s no way it was a phoenix and who else was there?

“Yes,” Marie sighs and Mason can see the guilt and sadness on her face. “By one of the Berlin’s crew. Don’t even think about it, Mase-“ Marie holds up her hand to halt whatever he’s about to say in his tracks. ��You’re late to the party on this one. We’re handling it the alliance way… for now.”

Mason’s eyes narrow. “For now? I assume Nico and Maddox are on it? Not Ben, I hope.”

“Not Ben,” Marie confirms. “But Nico is keeping watch over the brig. Aside from that, the Captain will decide what he wants to do with the... offender.”

"Well, if the Captain needs anything handled-”

“What is that?” Marie suddenly snatches his hand and his unfinished offer goes ignored. Gold catches the light. “Is this… Mase, that looks like a wedding band.”

“Yeah,” he exhales it with a small flutter in his stomach, wary of her reaction. “We, uh... we’re skipping the formalities of an actual wedding for now. But I still want to make sure it’s official. Was hoping to talk to the Captain about that.”

“He’s not here. He’s planet side right now.”

“What the.. wait, where are we?”

“You’ve really been out of the loop,” Marie says it with little heat and a shake of her head. “In Asteria’s orbit. We won’t be here long, just a pick up. He’s down there with Ben, Eva and Luca.”

“Ben’s down there too? Alone?” Mason’s brows snap together and ice creeping into his stomach. Ben separated from them again. It didn’t feel right. He wouldn’t have agreed to it. “Why the fuck is this the first I’m hearing about it?

Marie glares at him. “You’ve been a little preoccupied lately, remember? So don’t be an asshole and come in here now, guns blazing. Besides, he’s not alone. He’s with Eva.”

There’s not much Mason can say to that but he seethes anyway. “Was that Nico’s idea?”

“Luca’s actually.” There’s no mistaking Marie’s icy tone. “And Ben didn’t seem to mind. It’s just a few hours, Mase. They’ll be back before we know it.”

#and then they weren't #dun dun dunnnn #marie miller #ethan sinclair #mason knight #this is literally pointless idky he wanted it but whatevs #operation asteria #i thought i would enjoy co-leaders Marie and Mase but im not so sure anymore #they seem to fight a lot #maddox gibbons #scooter roosevelt

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fraink5-writes · 3 years

Text

From Darkness Into the Lantern Light - Chapter 9

We’ve finally reached Liyue Harbor--woooo!!

Thanks to @leio13 for helping Zhongli and Childe’s journey get this far!

Summary: Once upon a time, there was a cold-hearted queen. Although the Tsaritsa, as she was called, possessed her own divinity, she coveted the powers of the other Archons. Aiming to steal the Geo Archon’s gnosis, she sent her strongest warriors to Liyue Harbor. But just when Rex Lapis was almost defeated, he escaped to another vessel, that of a powerless baby, and was swept away to a hidden tower for his protection.

Many years after the great fight, the young and ambitious Harbinger, Childe, arrives in Liyue to grant the Tsaritsa’s desire, but, on his search for the Geo Archon’s gnosis, he ends up tangled in a mysterious man’s dreams to see Liyue Harbor’s Lantern Rite.

This chapter can also be found on Ao3 here. Without further ado, please enjoy!

The sun peeked over the horizon, glazing over Ajax’s features in warm, golden light. Zhongli lightly poked his cheek. “Good morning, Ajax. It’s time to get up.”

Ajax groaned, rolled onto his back and finally opened his eyes. “G’morning.” Then he sprung up. “You’re right! We have to get going! We should have gotten through more of the plains yesterday…” He gritted his teeth.

“It’s all right. I enjoyed yesterday’s conversation.”

“No, it’s not! I absolutely won’t let you miss this—this is your dream, isn’t it?”

Zhongli smiled just a little. Seeing the lantern rite had always been his dream, but, now that he was close, his feet were heavy. If only he had a few more days…

Ajax, however, would not wait. “Come on, let’s go!” He waved, beckoning Zhongli as he started southward.

Zhongli hurried after Ajax. Any extra time would be wasted alone. If he could not buy time, he had to be sure to use it wisely.

Ajax and Zhongli ducked through a large complex of ruins, avoiding any nefarious groups or monsters. After they had definitively steered clear of the millelith towers, they joined up with the main road again at the base of giant stairs. The two columns of stairs had such grandeur that Zhongli would have assumed they led directly to Liyue Harbor had Ajax not suggested otherwise.

After three flights of stairs, there was a flat stretch with a couple of buildings and a prominent statue. The statue depicted a powerful but thoughtful figure. Although the man exuded the energy of a king, his features were obscured by a draping hood. As Zhongli studied the statue, his heart ached. He stared at his own empty palm as though he held his own cube. Perhaps the man in the statue was also looking for the answers to an unknown question.

“Zhongli?” Ajax’s fingers coiled gently around Zhongli’s left hand.

“Whose statue is that?”

For a moment, Ajax’s face was pensive in the silence. “That must be the god of this land.”

The god of this land?

Before Zhongli could ask another question, Ajax tugged his hand. “Come on! There’s an even better view right up ahead!” Zhongli cast one more nostalgic glance at the statue before letting Ajax drag him up more flights of stairs.

At the top of a cliff, Ajax gestured widely. “I present you… Liyue Harbor!”

Zhongli gasped. In front of him, the city of Liyue rose up like a stone staircase from the sea to the mountains. Its curved green and orange roofs glistened under the morning sun. In front stretched long wooden docks where dozens of boats with impressive sails bustled. The animated cries of people and birds drifted in the wind right to Zhongli’s heart. As he stood before the city’s grandeur, his earlier hesitation made way for the warm comfort and inexplicable pride which swelled in his chest.

A light squeeze on his hand pulled Zhongli from his feelings. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Ajax said. “But it’s even better up close!” He led Zhongli down the hill, but when they approached the bridge, he changed directions, going right into the hills. “Sorry, we can’t go through the main entrance. Not two suspicious figures like us.”

The city was almost tangible, kept out-of-reach only by Ajax’s gentle hand. Nevertheless, Zhongli followed him without objection on their improvised path around the city’s natural moat. Eventually, they came upon some ruins, at which point, Ajax led him down a stone path and across a wooden bridge.

"There—a perfect good-for-nothing!" Ajax exclaimed with a smirk. He pointed at a nearby millelith sitting atop a rock with a vacant stare. "Let's hurry!" With that, he and Zhongli darted past the millelith and a few other absentminded guards.

When they stepped into a stone plaza, Zhongli halted. Between a curved colonnade and a bouldered wall, a tiled path snaked across a pond of lily pads. Tall stairways stretched in either direction by the entrance.

Ajax made another large gesture. “Welcome to Liyue Harbor.”

But Zhongli’s excitement was quickly interrupted by a yank of his hair. He whipped around to see a mother consoling her crying child. “You have to be careful, honey.” She scooped up her child before stepping dramatically over Zhongli’s ponytail. A subtle frown surfaced on Zhongli’s face as he reeled in his hair.

“Don’t mind her, Zhongli.” Ajax nudged Zhongli softly. “Hold on, I have an idea. Let’s move somewhere less crowded first.” Taking Zhongli’s hand again, he pulled him up the staircase on the right.

The stairs opened to another plaza, this one surrounded by towering buildings. Ajax pointed to an old woman by an unassuming table. She was watching over a cluster of pink and blue flowers. Ajax approached the table first. “Excuse me, madame, are you, by any chance, selling these flowers?”

“Oh, no.” The woman frowned. “I am just watching over them. But, if you would like, I can sell one to you.” She examined Ajax up and down. “Hmm… for you, I can give you a glaze lily for 5,000,000 mora.”

“What?!” Ajax jumped back. “No way! That’s ridiculous!”

“It’s not unreasonable at all.” Zhongli chimed in. “Glaze lilies are extremely rare in the wild. Nowadays they grow almost exclusively in Liyue Harbor.”

Ajax stared, his mouth agape.

“My, my.” The old woman smiled. “You are quite knowledgeable—oh.” She paused and looked at Zhongli pensively.

“Is something wrong, madame?” Zhongli asked.

“Oh, nothing.” She chuckled. “I was just noticing what remarkable amber eyes you have. They remind me of a friend of mine.” Her gaze was expectant.

“I’m sorry, but this is actually my first visit to Liyue Harbor.”

“Of course.” The tiny frown was quickly wiped off her face. “You see, I am a very old lady. My friend has actually been dead for years now.” She tended wistfully to a glaze lily.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, don’t be. I’m happy to be reminded of the memory, and happy that such cultured people are coming to this old city. I suspect the glaze lilies will be blooming happily in the near future.” She picked the glaze lily from the grass and offered it to Zhongli. “Here, why don’t you take this as a gift? In honor of my friend.”

“Thank you.” Zhongli tentatively took the flower, a spell of dizziness washing over him.

“Hold on.” Ajax plucked the flower from Zhongli’s hand. “Wear it like this.” With light fingers, he tucked the glaze lily in Zhongli’s hair by his ear.

Zhongli clutched his now throbbing head. His vision faded in and out as he squinted at the floor. “I’m sorry, but… I think… I need to sit down… for a bit…”

“Of course.” Ajax wrapped his arm around Zhongli’s waist and guided him to a nearby ledge to sit. “Take as much time as you need. I’m going to finish up some business with that old lady, but I’ll be back shortly. Holler if you need me.”

Ajax left to go talk to the old woman. Despite the short distance, Zhongli couldn’t make out their conversation, which sounded vaguely like an argument.

Zhongli’s focus was rapidly disappearing as though his thoughts were being dragged from reality. Invasive images crawled all over his brain, threatening to explode.

“Zhongli?” Ajax’s voice pulled Zhongli from the scenes which nearly consumed him. Countless flowers were practically erupting from Ajax’s arms. “Are you feeling any better?”

“I’m sorry. I do not know what has come over me.”

“It’s alright.” Ajax sat down on the ledge next to Zhongli. “It’s your first time in such a populated area. It’s only natural to feel overwhelmed.” He unfastened the clip and tie in Zhongli’s hair. “Let’s just sit for a while.”

Zhongli nodded, but he feared what would happen to his mind if he continued to do nothing, yet, at the same time, he felt too weak to move. Sure enough, the moment he let his guard down, his headache flared up. He contorted.

“Shh… it’ll be okay.” Ajax whispered from somewhere behind Zhongli. “Just try to calm down.” His fingers began dancing lightly across Zhongli’s scalp. Then they pressed deeper into a tender massage. Their patterned movements eased the stress from Zhongli's skull. As Ajax’s hands gradually combed through the length of his hair, Zhongli closed his eyes, letting himself slip into an artificial bliss. He made a selfish wish: that for the rest of the day—their last day—he could forget what his body was trying so desperately to remember, that he could spend the rest of the day like this, with Ajax and without another care in the world.

“Done!” Ajax danced in front of Zhongli with a huge grin on his face. Zhongli cautiously reached back with one hand to examine Ajax’s handiwork. From the feeling of it, he had done up all of Zhongli’s hair into a giant braid with interspersed flowers. “That should deal with the length problem. If only you could see yourself right now!”

“Thank you.”

“Ah—sorry.” A deep blush had covered Ajax’s face. “I got carried away. Are you feeling any better now?”

“I’m feeling fine. Thank you.” Zhongli stood up with a little twirl, trying to catch a glimpse of the silk flowers and glaze lilies in his hair. "How did you get all these flowers, anyway?"

"That old lady turned out to be not so unreasonable after all! After a bit of bargaining, she gave them all away for free!"

"Perhaps we should return some of them."

"She said it was okay! More grow all around Yujing Terrace, anyway," Ajax grumbled.

"Liyue Harbor is one of the only places glaze lilies grow. I would love to see one."

"Let's find one of these rare flowers then!"

Zhongli and Ajax strolled along the grassy borders of the terrace until they spotted a blue flower.

"It's not even in bloom now…" Ajax looked apologetically at Zhongli.

"How surprising—glaze lilies are supposed to thrive in joyful and peaceful environments." Zhongli pursed his lips.

"The old lady implied something like that too... Hers looked fine. Maybe this one is just a dud."

"There is another way to make it bloom—singing."

Ajax's jaw dropped slightly. "Huh?"

"A pleasant tune should encourage it to open its petals." Zhongli lightly cupped the drooping flower in his hand and softly began a small tune he remembered from somewhere.

"Flower gleam and glow

Let your power shine"

The stem perked up. Rings of beryl and azure petals danced concentrically around a sunlike core. Warm traces of hazy memories wafted in its fragrance. Although it swayed happily in the reminiscent breeze, one dissonant wind would be enough to knock it over.

“Would you like to try? I’m certain we could find another closed blossom.”

“Ahaha… no thank you.” Ajax scratched behind his ear. “How about we have lunch? Unfortunately, the best eateries are on the other side of town at Chihu rock.”

“That shouldn’t pose a problem. ...Unless you are already hungry?”

“Nah, let’s take our time!” Ajax offered his hand, which Zhongli accepted. “When we get to the main street, keep your eyes open for any place you want to visit.”

The main street was a wide, stone boulevard ornamented with a canopy of colors: red bridges, orange leaves, yellow lanterns, green tiled roofs and the blue sky. Casual laughter and the calls of rickshaw drivers echoed up and down its length. To the left, a giant golden fan plastered above the doorway and a humble waitress beckoned guests.

“Which restaurant is this?” Zhongli asked.

"Oh that's Liuli Pavilion."

"Then that must be Xinyue Kiosk." Zhongli pointed to the building across with an equally ostentatious carp sign above its door.

"Yeah—how did you know that?"

"After you indicated this was Liuli Pavilion, it was a simple deduction. The two restaurants are well known as the flagships of Liyue's culinary traditions: the Li and Yue styles. The primary differences between the two styles are the approaches to flavor and the sources of the ingredients. The Li-style cuisine values rich flavors, and its ingredients come primarily from the mountains. On the contrary, the Yue-style cuisine prefers light flavors. The central ingredient to Yue-style dishes is seafood. The two traditions have been competing for centuries without a clear winner. In fact, the owner of the Liuli Pavilion purportedly established his restaurant across from the Xinyue Kiosk in order to compete directly."

Ajax nodded haltingly.

"Given this opportunity, I would greatly enjoy tasting both styles from the finest chefs in the nation."

"No can do—sorry! In order to even think about eating at one of these restaurants, you need a lot of money and a reservation half a year in advance."

"That is quite a shame. To think that the ordinary citizen cannot taste the peak of its culinary tradition."

Suddenly, Ajax’s face lit up with a grin. “Never mind those places.” He yanked Zhongli’s arm and began dragging him in the direction from which they came. “Come with me.” He pulled Zhongli up a flight of tucked away red stairs. “I would be a terrible guide if you only saw Liyue from the street level—” then another flight—”aaaand…” When they finally reached the top of the stairs, he gestured grandly at the store in front of them. “TADA!”

Zhongli’s breath stopped momentarily. Before him were tables and shelves stacked with innumerable books and scrolls.

“You like reading, don’t you?” Ajax nudged Zhongli’s side. “This is Wanwen Bookhouse. Why don’t you take a look around?”

Zhongli couldn’t pass up the opportunity, but he didn’t know where to begin: the highlighted selection of the Lantern Rite, the selection of books on Liyue Harbor, the books on other regions Zhongli might have passed through on his journey with Ajax or even the tiny self devoted to books on Snezhnaya, Ajax’s homeland? Zhongli decided to skim through the shelves in that order. Although he was an avid book reader, many of the titles in the store were unfamiliar. He made note of their titles with the hope of returning to them at a later time. By the time he reached the Snezhnayan section, whose books all had ominous titles, Zhongli’s list had racked up at least 100 titles. He figured it would be better to ask Ajax about Snezhnaya, however.

When Zhongli found Ajax, hiding in a corner out of the shopkeeper’s view, his nose was deep in a book: Rex Incognito. Zhongli immediately added the book tothe list of unknown titles to investigate. “What are you reading, Ajax?” Zhongli whispered, hesitant to interrupt Ajax’s concentration.

“Oh, this?” Ajax glanced up. “It’s about an antiques shop owner trying to sell a jade plaque to a skeptical customer.”

“I was under the impression you aren’t interested in such stories.”

“You’re right; I’m not.” Ajax snapped the book closed. “What about you? Did you find anything you want to buy?”

“Yes, in fact, there are so many books here that I have yet to read—” Zhongli sighed—”But it would be impossible to buy even one of them.”

“I can buy them.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the offer; however, I can’t bring such evidence back home with me.”

“Ah…” Ajax frowned briefly. “Shall we get going then?”

Zhongli and Ajax crossed a bridge into another system of elevated walkways. Other couples dotted the path, just chatting and appreciating the view. Zhongli lightly tugged the sleeve of the fast-paced Ajax. “Look.” Zhongli gestured at the sea which stretched out below them.

“It’s a great view, isn’t it?” Ajax leaned against the railing next to Zhongli. “So many colors. The view in Snezhnaya is nothing like this. It’s all white. It’s a great backdrop though.” He grinned.

“Do you miss it, your home?” Zhongli thoughtlessly wrapped his arm around Ajax’s waist.

“Yeah… Of course. There isn’t a moment where I’m not thinking of it. But it isn’t so bad. I’m used to travelling a lot. And I love the adventure! And, you know, my siblings also like it when I send them back souvenirs.” Ajax laughed to himself. “What about you, Zhongli?”

Zhongli stared silently out at the scene before him: the rhythmic maritime traffic, the steady ripple of the sea, the light blanket of grass atop the rocky hills, and the endless cobalt sky. The caress of the ocean breeze, the calls of merchants, and the scents of imported spices embraced Zhongli. But it was impossible for him to disregard the chains of his obligations. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “No, actually, I—” Although he was so far away, he felt the stifled air of his tower in his throat, choking him. “I should head back soon.”

“What are you saying?” Ajax laughed. “We only just got here.” His hand slid around to Zhongli’s waist and held him in place.

Zhongli let himself smile just a bit. Even if the sounds, scenery and even time faded to white noise, at that moment, Zhongli felt extremely present. He was at home.

Ajax entertained Zhongli with stories of the many landscapes he had seen on his adventures until he was interrupted by the grumble of his own stomach. “Ahaha, we should find a restaurant, shouldn’t we?”

Taking each other’s hands, Zhongli and Ajax raced across the stairs and elevated platforms, dipping and ducking out of the eyesight of guards. Even when they reached the street again, they didn’t stop, not until they had made it across a wooden bridge. “Welcome to the heart of Liyue Harbor: Chihu Rock.”

Chihu Rock did not possess the same grandeur as the other parts of the city Zhongli had seen. The streets were narrower, and the buildings, with their wooden frames and blue tiles, were more compact. But in place of opulence, it was overflowing with energy. Potted flowers and fiery leaves danced as the wind glided from one storefront to another, picking up delicious fragrances as it went. Water bubbled in fountains and skipped through street-side canals. People filled every empty spot, chatting at restaurants and bargaining with vendors.

Upon arriving in Chihu Rock, it was not difficult to find the restaurant they were seeking, Third-Round Knockout, situated right by the fountain plaza. They sat at a table by the story-teller and ordered the legendary fermented rice balls.

“And now, let us hear the story of the Yaksha, whose flute you might hear tonight during the Lantern Rite,” the storyteller began. The ensuing story was extremely disturbing, and it lured out Zhongli’s earlier headache. As a result, he decided early on to tune it out.

Conversely, Ajax, his chin resting in his hands, was completely enthralled in the action story. His lips wore a permanent grin, except for the occasional muted gasp. His focused eyes sparkled as if the sun of a distant story world shone within them.

So engaged was Ajax that he didn’t even notice lunch’s arrival until Zhongli gasped. How closely they resembled Xu Liushi’s description: compact rice-ball islands in a sea of wine.

“Woah.” Ajax blurted when he finally looked down. “I think that’s pushing the definition of ‘fermented.’”

“It’s little surprise this tavern has built up a reputation.” To Zhongli, that could only be a good thing. A restaurant with a poor image would not survive, especially not without an official name. He dipped his chopsticks into the bowl without hesitation. The sweetness of the rice balls perfectly balanced the bitterness of the wine. Of course, the wine itself possessed a subtle mix of flavors that it would be pleasant to drink alone.

As Zhongli savored the piquant interplay of tastes on his tongue, Ajax stared reluctantly at the bowl before him. His right hand twitched.

“Ajax?”

Ajax laughed softly. “Busted again, huh? I wonder if they have spoons here...”

“Let me help you.” Zhongli stood up with the same determination from the morning before. He stepped behind Ajax and, leaning over slightly, steadied the chopsticks in his hand. “Hold it like this instead.” Each word fell warmly on Ajax’s neck as Zhongli urged his fingers into the right positions. “The trick is to only lift the top chopstick.” He opened and closed the chopsticks with a squeeze.

“Okay, I get it,” Ajax said hastily, but when he attempted to pick up some rice, his grip slipped with the top chopstick dipping into the wine and the bottom falling from position. He scrambled to right them. “It’s fine, okay? That was just bad luck.” Despite his confident claims, he fumbled through his second effort. And his third.

“Your grip—”

“‘Needs to be firmer’—I know! I just can’t focus.”

Zhongli had been so concentrated on Ajax’s hand that he had failed to notice the vermillion glow of his face. “I’m sorry.” With a faint burning sensation tingling on his own cheeks, Zhongli retreated to his own seat. “Shall I ask the waitress to bring a spoon?”

“No way!” Ajax pouted, his gaze fixated on his chopsticks. “As with any weapon, I’m going to master this.”

“A hero who wields chopsticks? That would, indeed, give your name much renown.”

Ajax’s laugh rang out. “Just watch.”

Sure enough, as he ate, Ajax’s grip improved, and gradually the amount of rice that fell back into the bowl decreased as did the intensity of his focus. By the end of the meal, they had resumed a pleasant conversation.

After they enjoyed their meal at Third-Round Knockout, Zhongli and Ajax hurried to meet Suling’s cousin, Master Zhang, at Hanfeng’s Ironmongers (“If we get there too late, he won’t be able forge you a quality polearm,” according to Ajax), then they meandered around Chihu Rock, stopping by a toy seller, and finally, they ended up at the docks. Zhongli had promised Ajax that he would handle all the dealings with the Millelith. So, while Zhongli, dragon kite in hand, talked to the soldier named Yong’an, Ajax hid inconspicuously amongst the crowd. But no amount of hiding could keep the three cats from finding him.

Then, once Ajax had seemingly adjusted to the playful scratching of the cats, he was surrounded by three children.

"Mister." a bespectacled boy pointed at Ajax. "Are you a pirate?"

Ajax blinked. "A pirate?"

Zhongli, who had been holding the attention of the millelith with a fascinating discussion of trade at the docks, quickly said goodbye and maneuvered closer to Ajax as discreetly as possible.

Another boy, this one in a hat, chimed in, "Lulu said that she saw your portrait being carried by a soldier who was talking about Captain Beidou!"

"Mm, mmm." The girl, Lulu, nodded eagerly.

Zhongli tensed up. He inched towards Ajax in case they needed to escape. Before resorting to such a desperate reaction, he fielded a question of his own, "You know Captain Beidou?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Captain Beidou is the coolest pirate ever!"

"Whenever she comes to Liyue Harbor, she always plays with us."

"She was here just earlier."

"But she said she was busy…"

"Will you play with us, Mister Pirate?"

The three children stared at Ajax with wide eyes. Ajax threw on a toothy grin. “Arr, I’ll play wit ye! But, ye should know, I’m not a part of Captain Beidou’s crew.”

“You’re not…?”

“No, mateys! Me sails with the Cygnus Fleet!”

The children passed glances amongst each other before Lulu announced, “We’ve never heard of it.”

“Arr, not yet! But ye will! One day the Cygnus Fleet will surpass even Captain Beidou’s Crux Fleet!”

The children gasped with varying degrees of acceptance.

“Are you the captain, Mister Pirate?”

“Me? No. The Captain’s sent me to spread his name far and wide while he searches the seas for recruits.”

“But you’ll play with us?”

“Arr, a pirate always keeps his word. But, ye best be careful—ye ne’er know what a pirate may take!”

The boy with glasses pouted. “Are you one of the bad pirates?”

“Captain Beidou would never take from us kids,” the other boy added on.

“Avast! What should ya have me do, mateys?”

“Hmm…” Lulu conferred with her friends before answering, “How about, cleaning?”

“Aye aye! But, be careful what ye wish for.” Ajax’s voice dropped to a serious tone. “By the time this ship is finished, it’ll be so clean it’ll look like me plundered the whole thing!”

“Yay!” All the children cheered. They led Ajax to their ship and handed him a broom, which quickly came to serve many other jobs besides a simple sweeper, including a makeshift peg leg and a polearm for fending off imaginary, bad pirates.

Ajax moved about the ship so gracefully and so playfully that Zhongli found it near impossible to imagine that he had a malicious bone in his body. Despite his affected pirate accent, each laugh chimed naturally like a bell in a gentle breeze. Rays of sun illuminated his smiling face and cast away the darkness that had lingered in the depths of his eyes. Although neither a pirate nor a Liyuean, Ajax appeared right at home.

“Avast! Look at the time!” Ajax called out when the sun was low on the horizon. “Shouldn’t ye be headin’ home, mateys?”

The kids nodded their heads with reluctance. “Will you be back soon to play more?” Lulu asked. All three children peered up at him with fragile hope glimmering in their large eyes.

“I don’t know.” Ajax frowned. “A pirate’s heart belongs to the sea. He knows not where the tides may take him.”

Although the children also frowned, they seemed to accept Ajax’s reason as they soon left, calling out their bye-byes.

“Zhongli!” Ajax scrambled over to where Zhongli had been waiting and squeezed his hands. “I’m sorry to have left you alone for so long—but I still have a few more things to do. Do you—”

“Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

“I’ll be really quick.” Ajax flashed a smile, but his eyes betrayed his regrets. His hands lingered in place.

“You should have more than enough time before the lanterns if you actually start now.”

“Right.” Ajax squeezed Zhongli’s hands again before taking off. “I’ll be right back!”

Time… The sun was a similar height in the sky as when Zhongli and Ajax set out that morning. They had had a quite full day, but was their time spent wisely? What would happen after nightfall? The next morning? Zhongli watched mournfully as the sun slowly descended towards that uncertain horizon.

#Genshin Impact #Chili #Zhongli #Childe

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grgdoorfix · 3 years

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Steel Commercial Roll-up Sheet Doors

New Post has been published on https://fixitmag.com/steel-commercial-roll-up-sheet-doors/

Steel Commercial Roll-up Sheet Doors

Guys Fix It Mag 👍 Repairs & DIY Magazine

This post was originally published on this site

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Steel Commercial Roll-up Sheet Doors

Steel commercial roll-up sheet doors are becoming quite the popular choice for those who are looking into the market for their commercial needs.

And this comes for a number of reasons.

The most obvious would be its affordability and versatility. They are better more durable than doors made out of other materials.

Not only that, they are even more convenient and use up less space.

If you plan to have your garage doors used in an area where protection should be considered a high priority, then roll-up garage doors would be a perfect choice for you.

But what exactly are roll-up doors and what makes them a whole lot more preferable to those in need of a commercial garage door?

Well, let’s find out.

What are commercial roll-up doors?

A commercial roll-up door is a type of garage door that functions by having its sheets flattened near the ceiling or actually coiled up on the topmost section of your warehouse.

They are also considered as a great improvement in comparison to the conventional sectional doors we have nowadays.

They still function the same way as your usual garage door but with the increased durability and security it offers.

Now, there are two types of roll-up doors available in the market nowadays – the sectional roll-up door and the rolling sheet door also known as the true roll-up door.

To give you an idea of what each of these doors has to offer, let us explain how each functions and how they differ from one another.

Sectional roll-up doors are what you can consider as the household or residential version of true roll-up doors.

Basically, they are made from thicker sheets known as sections which kind of flatten out on the top of your garage when it opens.

While rolling sheet doors or commonly known as true roll-up doors are made up of thinner sheets and materials made to be flexible so that they can fit into the small coil area located on the top of your garage door as they roll-up.

What are roll-up doors made up of?

The common garage door would probably be made up of lightweight materials such as wood, fabricated steel, etc.

Those materials are good enough to protect the vicinity from unwanted entry, theft, or to conceal the goods being stored inside.

I am not saying this is bad, however, if you one a business, you wouldn’t like to leave your garage doors as vulnerable as this right?

For better protection and other requirements aside from property use, roll-up doors should be a great option to choose from.

True roll-up doors are made from strong steel strips which ride on the inside of your vertical tracks.

When the door is lifted, these strips roll up into the coiling area located on the top of your garage door.

Its layout is also much sturdier compared to other garage doors, making sure that your goods are not only protected but also in safe hands.

What are the benefits you can get from choosing roll-up doors?

There are a lot of advantages you can get from choosing steel commercial roll-up doors.

This is because these doors are not just sturdy, they offer a whole lot more.

One of these advantages is the fact that true roll-up doors take up less space than other types of garage doors.

This gives you more room for storage purposes.

Other garage doors will probably need more space either on the top or near it making the storage area much lesser than it could be.

Another would be that it is easy to operate and use. Roll-up garage doors are by no way difficult to operate.

Anyone can easily learn how to operate it without any trouble at all.

Steel roll-up doors also provide additional security and safety compared to its competition.

As steel garage doors are usually well insulated, you are confident and assured that your goods will not be damaged due to extreme changes in temperatures outside your warehouse.

Plus, the components of roll-up doors are confined making them a much safer option especially if your components suddenly break down on you.

With this, you are sure to be able to create an even safer workspace for your employees.

And last but not least, its affordability. Well, generally speaking, roll-up doors are more expensive to set-up compared to the other options available in the market.

However, since they have a sturdier and better design layout, repairs and maintenance costs are kept at a minimum.

You will not have to keep worrying about the different recurring costs you can possibly encounter on most other types of garage doors.

Conclusion

Even with the many different options available, steel commercial roll-up sheet doors still come up on top as the most chosen type of door for warehouses and the like.

They offer a variety of features that you will surely appreciate having in the long run.

If you live in Calgary and are looking for a garage door repair company near you that can assist you with your commercial garage door installation, then we will be more than happy to help you.

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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I'VE BEEN PONDERING CAPS

It could be because you're living in the future. It's obvious why investors delay.1 When a friend of mine visiting India sprained her ankle falling down the steps in a railway station. I've learned a lot from things I've read on HN. An Operational Definition. Will your blackberry get a bigger screen? The numbers on the Y Combinator application that would help Web-based software forces programmers to. Don't wait before climbing that mountain or writing that book or visiting your mother.2

The conversations you overhear tell you what to do anymore. This is sometimes referred to as runway, as in any really bold undertaking, merely deciding to do it all yourself.3 4%? Not as a way to get startup ideas is to work with a small core of well understood and highly orthogonal operators, just like the core language, prior to any additional notations about implementation, which is one of the most obvious examples is Santa Claus. Venture funding works like gears. After ten weeks' work the three friends have an idea. The price is that valuation caps aren't actual valuations, and notes are cheap and lightweight.4 Otherwise you won't bother learning much more.5 To see an interesting variety of probabilities we have to be specific about what they plan to do and the kind that's interesting to write.6

What problems? It gives us an excuse for being lazy, the others would be more fun. But should you start a startup than just start it. After all, as most companies do more mundane stuff where the decisive factor is effort, not brains. Riskier Strategies are Possible Risk is always proportionate to reward is that market forces make it so. By similar comparisons you can make yourself nearly immune to tricks. Is an inbox the optimal tool for that? Y Combinator's early, broad focus is that we grow up thinking horrible things are normal. The big dogs don't have to be called Ajax.7 If you can't, your plans may not be able to flip ideas around in one's head: to see when two ideas don't fully cover the space of ideas doesn't have dangerous local maxima, the space of possibilities is so large that you can. And this turns out to be. The best word to describe the way lions seem in the wild seem about ten times more alive.8

They don't even get a shot at being really big. But the techniques for building integrated circuits spread rapidly to other countries. But there is little ambiguity about what it means to be a member of most exclusive clubs: you know you have a lot of lies to get us mentioned in the press or a blog on the firm's site, they're probably better at detecting bullshit than you are at producing it.9 The VC funds that don't adapt won't be violently displaced. Depends on what you want.10 A rounds. Then you could, I don't mean to suggest by this list that America is the perfect place for startups. Detox A sprinter in a race almost immediately enters a state called oxygen debt. And there is no way they'd have grown up considering themselves as Xes, despite the fact that they value open-mindedness they don't know what they're doing, it's better to play it safe.

Make Web sites for galleries—that's the ticket!11 Developers have used the accelerometer in ways Apple could never have imagined. Everyone makes up their own deal terms. If they shake your hand on a promise, because there will be an effort to understand him. In fact, you don't need Microsoft on the client, they can't push users towards their server-based software, you're being offered millions of dollars, put yourself in a situation with a large percentage of the gains.12 Html 15. Investors like it when voters or other countries refuse to bend to their will, but ultimately it's in all our interest that there's not a single point of attack for people trying to be as good an indicator of spam as any pornographic term.13 Instead of treating them as virtual words. If you're not omniscient, you just stop working on it till you've launched.

Really, it's Apple's fault.14 If you feel exhausted, it's not uncommon for investors and acquirers. Links and images you should certainly look at, if we want to make their mark on the world, and some of the more beautiful highways in the world, write a new Mosaic. Not linearly of course, but that's true in a lot of people that age, and he was pretty much a throwaway program and keep improving it. A lot of the same words as my real mail. Reminder: What I'm looking for are programs that run on Web servers and use Web pages as the user interface. Not ready for commitment This was my reason for not starting a startup—becoming the sort of strategic insight I was supposed to look. I learned something valuable from that. After a while this filter will start to make up their minds, and excessive dilution in series A rounds later. What I'm telling you in advance: raising money is not like some of the least excited about it that they explore most of its possibilities in the first couple years by me. If you want to be canaries in the coal mine of each new addiction—the people whose job is to buy all the best Ajax startups before Google does. Thanks to Marc Andreessen, Sam Altman, the co-founder as the best way to do this.

If they even say no. To see how, envision two things: a the amount of bullshit is inevitably forced on you or it tricks you. Companies didn't start to finance themselves with retained earnings was one cause of the second type. But it could be shipped to Europe. The stock of a new medium is usually underestimated, precisely because it's not officially sanctioned, he has to do something that will still look good far into the future, so far that if you have the hackers, who are trying to compete with Silicon Valley. But they work as if they got the answer to this question. Most startups that raise money do it more. And I've met a lot of servers and a lot of money to us. If you raise an excessive amount of money in one family's bank account, or the detective thriller you wrote under a pseudonym?15 Football players like to win by making great products.

Notes

I tried ranking users by both average and median comment score, and b made brand the dominant factor in deciding between success and failure, just as on a saturday, he wrote a prototype in Basic in a situation where the acquirer just wants the business, and B doesn't, that he had more fun in this, but the distribution of good ones, it will seem more powerful sororities at your school sucks, where many of the political pressure to protect one's children seems weaker, judging from things people have to decide between turning some investors away and selling more of the first abstract painters were trained to expect the second component is empty—an idea where the ratio of spam in my incoming mail fluctuated so much better to overestimate than underestimate the importance of making a good product. It's surprising how small a problem, but also very informative essay about why something isn't the problem is that any idea relating to the way I know for sure a social network for x instead of working. And starting an organic farm, though. Brooks, Rodney, Programming in Common Lisp for, but corrupt practices in finance, healthcare, and no one would have a different attitude to the way I know it didn't to undergraduates on the other team.

I'm thinking of Oresme c. If by cutting the founders' advantage if it were.

Then when we got to the same, but they start to get rich by creating wealth—wealth that, in Galbraith's words, of the fatal pinch where your idea is crack. The Old Way. Compromising a server could cause such damage that ASPs that want to measure that turns out to be the right direction to be an inverse correlation between the two elsewhere, but when companies reach a given audience by a factor of 20. Mueller, Friedrich M.

And if they want impressive growth numbers. In high school. There are also the 11% most susceptible to charisma. So although it works on all the other hand, they made more that year from stock options, because the broader your holdings, the work that seems formidable from the government had little acquired immunity to tax rates.

A from a company's culture. It's hard to mentally deal with them.

Stone, op. 03%. In the beginning. I wrote this on an IBM laptop.

But it is very common, but also like an undervalued stock in that. Did you just get kicked out for doing badly and is doomed anyway. And that is actually from the CIA.

Steve hadn't come back. For example, I was just having lunch. A friend who started a company is common, but suburbs are so intellectually dishonest in that sense, but corrupt practices in finance, healthcare, and domino effects among investors.

Founders rightly dislike the sort of wealth for society. But a couple predecessors. Some of the most accurate way to tell VCs early on.

Joshua Schachter tells me it was the recipe is to ignore investors and instead focus on growth instead of blacklist. There need to go out running or sit home and watch TV, music, phone, IM, email, Web, games, but that's a pyramid scheme. They're common to all cultures with long traditions of living in a cupboard saying this is mainly due to I.

Articles of this essay, I advised avoiding Javascript. This is an acceptable excuse, but Google proved them wrong. Nor do we draw the line?

Financing a startup.

One YC founder who read this essay wrote: After the war, tax rates. One-click ordering, however, and since technological progress aren't sharply differentiated.

Plus one can have margins big enough, a day feels like it if you want to take action, go ahead. In this essay, I believe will be inversely proportional to the year x in a time. Philadelphia.

A from a mediocre VC. This approach has not worked well, so if you're not sure.

Thanks to Chris Small, and Trevor Blackwell for their feedback on these thoughts.

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the-dark-omochao · 7 years

Text

Kuro looks back to the waterfall.

▪▪▪▪ has to stop herself quick to not hit the wall, tucking her wings and landing hard. As he surfaces, Sol takes in a huge breath of air. That took a lot out of him... Wait-- what was that crash!? "▪▪▪▪!? You okay?"

She stands up slowly, lashing her tail a bit and quietly hissing. The pain was minor, however, and she finds herself taking a look around. "Fine. Was this always here?"

Sol exhales deeply at her response. He pulls himself out of the water, joining her. As he shakes off the drops of water, he takes a minute to look around. "...Whoa... It's like a secret base!!"

"If you can even get back to it..." Geez, she's going to be sore later. "It's huge..."

He can't hold back a laugh at how excited he is. "Just look at it! I don't think any of the others know 'bout it."

She inspects the rocks and the shape of the room. There's a small hole in the ceiling of the cave, and a single beam of sunlight shines through and scatters through the cavern. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

He turns to her with a grin, taking her claw in his flipper. "Let's go!"

“Heeeeey!!" He calls into the cave, having fun with the echoes... "Hahaha! This is awesome!" Looking up, the ray of light falls on the two of them, his eyes sparkling with amazement and delight. Even ▪▪▪▪ is a bit wide-eyed at all of it. It really was pretty, even if she wasn't going to say so out loud. Sol comes to a stop, where a small patch of grass on loose silt rested, with a few, small pink flowers grew from the light and the moisture... Letting go of her claw, he plops down, poking at one of the blooms. ▪▪▪▪ looks down at the flowers with a small headtilt. "Hm. There's light, but you'd think there wouldn't be enough for flowers?" Sol smiles. "Guess these must be some strong fellas, huh?"

"I guess..." She's admittedly embarrassed to be observing flowers right now. Sol picks one, and wraps it around one of her horns. "Hmmm. Yep, it suits ya perfectly."

She glances up at it for a second before picking one herself and tying it around the base of his headfins like a bow, Sol flipping his headfins like a beautiful hairstyle. ▪▪▪▪ has enough time to crack a smile before an apologetic voice calls from the mouth of the cave. "Hello...?"

▪▪▪▪ jumps as three long head-prongs flop in from the side of the cave as a pair of sad-ish eyes look in. "Oh...! ▪▪▪▪, Sol. It is you." Ajax enters full-view with a small, worn watering can. "Whatever are you two doing here?"

Sol, although surprised, waves at the entering Hero Chao. "Heya, Ajax!"

▪▪▪▪ exhales. "Jeez. We’re here cause I was chasing this one." She pokes Sol with her tail for emphasis. Ajax bows, and enters the area. "My apologies for interrupting, then. I was not aware that others knew of this place." He pours water on the remaining flowers.

"Whoa, you've been holdin' out on us, Jax! This place is pretty." Though, Sol DOES wince, seeing him water them. Did he ruin his hard work...? ▪▪▪▪ crosses her arms a bit. "It's not like anyone else knows of it. I won't be saying anything."

Satisfied with his work, Ajax places down the watering can and stands facing the other two. "I do not mind in particular. This place is not my own to claim, so I would say you are welcome to return, should you desire it." He nods at the remaining flowers. "This is just a place I come to meditate."

Sol grins. "Heheh! Then I guess this'll be just our little secret, huh, Jax, ▪▪▪▪ ?" He's already made a flower tiara for Ajax. Sol wraps it around his three tall prongs. ▪▪▪▪ allows a small smile. "You got it. Not like I'd want to share anyway." Ajax nods sagely, taking a seat. " ▪▪▪▪, I take it that you will take today off from training, then?"

▪▪▪▪ tenses, but gives Ajax a determined expression. "I'll make up for it! Double the training if I have to."

The smallest smidgen of a smile appears on Ajax’s face. "Then I look forward to it."

Meanwhile, Sol has already leaned back, ready to relax. Weights and power were never his thing, but boy was it cool watching the two of them work. "Then I guess I get some pool-time~"

Ajax looks to the other hero chao. "Perhaps, but not in the way you may expect, friend. I will have you take part in our next exercise, seeing as you are the reason why she cannot do it today."

"Whaaaaaaaat?"

The dark chao snickers quietly. "Hope you like getting up early, Sol."

Ajax nods. "But of course. You will be central in our training. You must first act as a balance for her as you swim. Sort of a raft. Then she is to practice throws on a new student, which is you. Of course, you will be joining us for our warm-ups as well."

Sol’s grin doesn’t waver. "Oh shoot."

▪▪▪▪ takes a mental note to prepare for being able to actually land a hit on Sol as he lays down. He's already tired, and it's not even training time yet. Jokingly, ▪▪▪▪ gives Sol a pat on the head, his flippers clamping onto her claw.

"Ahh... I suppose I should take my leave, then. I was to check in with Quartz by this time. Farewell." Ajax nods at the two, reading the atmosphere, and starts to walk out of the area.

A bit surprised at his sudden exit, ▪▪▪▪ responds. "Oh. Uh, see you in the morning?" She'd wave but she's trapped, looking down at Sol as Ajax exits.

"There is no escape..."

Another laugh from ▪▪▪▪. "Scared?"

"I mean, come on! That guy keeps breakin' trees like twigs. So, since there's no escape for me, there's no escape for you right now."

"Hmph! Lucky for you, I'm the one throwing punches."

"Uuuugh... Well, that's assuming you get me, ▪▪▪▪." Sol offers a wink.

"I'll take that as a challenge, then. Better ready some ice."

"Egh..." Sol stands up, though there's still a flipper on her claw. Looking around, he finds a particular type of rock, picks it up, and starts writing... 'S&▪ were here.' He gives her the rock. "Here, you wanna write something?"

She takes the rock and writes the word 'nerd', as well as an arrow pointing to the S.

"Heheh!" He grabs another, and writes 'shy,' with an arrow pointing to the ▪. She crosses out the shy, though it's written again in the same breath. Underneath, Sol draws his own head and ▪▪▪▪'s. For good measure, ▪▪▪▪ draws a small Ajax off to the side...

#error:500 #flashback #⊗Inverted Advice|(Kuro IC)⊗

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waqasblog2 · 5 years

Text

Managing Dynamic Content SEO for Organic Search Results

Last Updated - 2019-04-17

Recently I was privileged to attend a Google Webmaster Hangout in person. It was a very enlightening experience.

There was a great question, scenario posed by one of the online attendees concerning a JavaScript rendered page.

Unlike the common scenario where a fast food JavaScript framework is used to rendered all content in the browser his scenario was more legitimate. It was a travel booking site

The site's primary feature is showing current hotel rates for a location and date.

As you know search engine spiders don't make much effort to render content using JavaScript, at least in the first pass. They get around to it as they have capacity.

This is why it is important to have search consumable content rendered and ready to go on demand.

The scenario is a great case study for both web development and search engine optimization!

From an SEO perspective how can a site that leans heavily on real-time data attempt to rank for keywords?

For developers how can you develop a site that offers dynamic data like current hotel rates where the data supplied is rather slow?

I have answers for both concerns that should help sites like this one improve their overall user experience and ability to rank for their target keywords.

How a Dynamic-Client Rendered Page Works

Sites like this travel site lean on data supplied by a fluctuating data source. They cannot reasonably cache the data because it changes too often.

If this were a site listing movie times at local theaters it could cache the data for a day or more because the data is relatively static.

Each time a hotel books a room the availability and even the price may change. It could affect not only that hotel, but others in the area. So the data is rather unstable.

A specific page's life span is also limited. Would anyone want to reach a page for last week hotel rates?

To avoid the perception of a terrible delay websites migrated from a 100% server rendered web page to pages leveraging an app shell and JavaScript to make asynchronous network calls to APIs for data.

Now they can display something so the user does not 'feel' the delay so much.

Once the data is fetched it is then merged with a markup template in the browser and then added to the page (DOM if you want to be completely technical).

Travel data is notoriously slow, so the pages for this site take a long time to render. If you have ever used an online travel site, and I bet you have, you know what I mean.

The app shell approach allows the site to provide an experience that hopefully reduces customer anxiety.

Unfortunately, for good reason, Google and other search engines are not as patient as most consumers for this sort of content.

This means the search spider only sees the app shell content and not the real-time hotel data.

To the search engine the 10,000 locations you want to rank for now look like the same page 10,000 times.

Do you smell duplicate content? I do.

A question I asked myself as I listened to the hangout attendee is why would Google index data that would certainly be stale by the time it was evaluated?

It won’t. It would be not be a good experience for both Google and the site to offer.

Think about it. When a consumer searches for 'Cheap New York City Hotel' and they see you have a $75/night rate in the search result, but when they visit the page it is $125 they are not happy.

They may blame Google, you or both.

And don't forget how long that data may be valid, until midnight the day of booking.

How can the travel site give Google and customers something they could consume and index?

The answer is right there in the current results 😛

Provide Consistent, Indexable Content for Google

When a page depends on real-time data that changes like hotel room rates and availability it is impossible for you to attempt to rank.

The problem is you want a search engine spider to:

Neither scenario is good for you. There has to be a better way.

I think there are two ways you can work on creating content that may help a site rank in these scenarios.

Render Rank Worthy Content Ahead of Dynamic Content

Instead of the page being 100% about the dynamic data, find information that provides value around the run-time data.

In the case of local hotel rooms, they could attempt to create real localized content about the area. For example, parks, local attractions, transportation and types of hotels. Even a list of possible hotels.

Don't just copy Wikipedia for this information, you will need to do the legwork, sorry.

They might even consider highlighting user generated content and reviews about the area and hotels.

As part of this layout you can include your hotel search form, pre-filled with the location information. All the customer will need to do is supply a check in and checkout date.

After this unique content you can provide an area to render the current hotel availability and rates.

I can think of several user interface approaches for this sort of thing. You will want the user to know when the hotel rates they requested are available, so make sure there is something that will alert them to the rendered data.

Just don't disrupt their engagement with a giant full screen pop-over! Everyone hates those things.

I think this approach is good because you are offering value to the customer and content Google can index.

As I listened to the scenario being described I reflected at my own experiences with hotel and flight booking sites over the years. Many times I wanted to know more about the area while I deciding where to book a room or flight.

In the case of flights, airport layovers are important for me. How often are different locations affected by weather? What is the dining and restroom situation? Can I plug my laptop in and get free WIFI?

For hotels, what sort of dining is close by. Are the neighborhoods sketchy?

Do you see where I am going?

SEO Targeted Landing Pages

If you don't want to reserve some pixels at the top of a data page like these then consider making dedicated pages for different locations with the type of information I outlined above.

You should still feature the rate search form at the top of the page. It is the main call to action after all.

I am borrowing this concept from e-commerce strategies I have been studying. Because the hotel booking data is real-time it is not indexable, so don't worry about that page ranking.

Instead create a dedicated page for a specific location. You could even create specific pages for actual hotels. In this case you might even be able to get their staff to help populate the content.

Hey that sounds awesome, let someone else do the work for you.

As I began research for this article, I noticed these are the type of pages ranking for local hotel room search phrases.

Good SEO professionals know copying the type of content currently ranking because search engines have collected data on what content type matches search intent.

In the case of local hotel rates you can see pages offering the 'Top' hotels are doing well. The landing pages feature the rate search form at the top and then a list of possible hotels. No rate information.

The key here is the site has the general hotel information, it is static. The booking site can create static landing pages based on this information.

It meets all my technical criteria as well as Googles. This makes it a proven, repeatable strategy for a travel site to rank in Google.

Now you have a truly static page that should have quality, useful information travelers would like. Because the content is static, and good quality (right!), Google should love it.

The content should also be good enough it can attract links, which will also help you rank.

The organic problem here is the business owners want to lean too heavily on content and data they do not need to manually create. Unfortunately, that is not what customers are interested in finding.

This is a big reason why most travel sites rely heavily on paid search for traffic. I bet if they invested a portion of that budget on real, quality content they could earn as much if not more free traffic.

Solving Technical Problems

Because these pages are populated with real-time, dynamic data they use asynchronous fetch (AJAX for your old schoolers) calls to an API.

Travel services, like Sabre, are notoriously slow and you don't have any control over their latencies. You just have to deal with it.

You could attempt to continuously query the API for updated data and pre-render your pages, but this can create all sorts of problems. Plus, it may violate your terms of service etc.

Not to mention you will run up your server costs and overhead.

The other catch here is often these APIs require you to connect using secret keys. This means you cannot connect directly to these services from the browser.

There are many legal, technical and security reasons why this is the case. I won't get into them, just assume you must connect to the API from your server.

This creates an extra layer of latency. The browser must make the API call to your server, which then relays the request to the third-party service to get the data.

I will be generic and say the hotel booking API call takes 30 seconds to resolve.

This is a long time in terms of how patient real people and Googlebot are.

Googlebot just moves on after a period of time, let's say 10 seconds (FWIW it varies). Now Google just sees the app shell, and not the room rate data.

Actual customers will wait a little longer, at least for travel sites because we have come to expect these delays.

Above I described two scenarios, one where you have a page with static content and a search form that loads a search result page. The other is where you have content and add search results.

I like the latter as a more realistic solution, so I will use that in this example.

Most sites at least attempt to provide some sort of interactive animation when a search is submitted to keep the customer engaged. Smart sites will display messages to help inform visitors about the service and other travel tidbits.

So how can you create an experience that is engaging without sacrificing customer conversion?

Ultimately, I think the search content can replace the static content supplied when the page initially rendered. This means you will also add filtering and sorting functionality.

You can render the data manipulation interface either when the search is submitted or when the data is available.

There are all sorts of layout possibilities I can think of you can offer to allow them to sort and filter the results. I will assume you are using some sort of left-hand column faceted filter and a list header for sorting since that is the most common travel layout.

If you render these fixtures when the search is initiated, you should do so in some sort of 'disabled' state.

My first approach would be to overlay these elements with some sort of opaque layer so they are visible but 'blurred' out. Personally, I like the acrylic look, but you can go with a foggy overlay or whatever floats your boat.

When the data returns and you render the content and suppress the overlay. This is where having a basic knowledge of CSS transitions can be your friend.

Rendering the hotel data is pretty simple. Once the fetch call resolves you can then merge the data with an HTML template, I like Mustache.

The rendered HTML can then be added to the page by selecting a wrapping element and setting the innerHTML property.

You can make it just 'pop' into the page, but an easing transition might be a nice touch.

Another, advanced technique I would be tempted to pull off is leveraging the static hotel items on the page to add room rates as they are available.

Just a thought, but nail the initial suggestions first 😉

Wrapping It Up

This was a great scenario to be brought up in the Webmaster Hangout. It touched on two areas I love, web development and SEO. It also raised the important question of how search engines handle JavaScript and dynamically rendered content.

As you can see a good solution is to provide good value to both the customer and search spider. Without good, reliable content neither have context to 'trust' the page.

In this scenario customers realize the hotel room data is going to be a bit delay, but Googlebot does not have the same patience.

By giving Google what it needs you can improve your ability to earn free search traffic as well as raising the bar in your industry.

The dynamic data also gives you a nice opportunity to flex your web design chops and create a pleasant user experience. Use the dynamic content to enhance, not frustrate the connection to your brand and service.

Get these elements right and I think you will reap the rewards.

This content was originally published here.

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