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tenjikyu · 2 months

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𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 - 𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘬𝘪 - 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘝

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ traveller (aether) has saved fontaine from its flood by now, so we’re pretty much in present day but w a few changes , not super happy with the end product but i didn’t wanna make the people wait any longer , male!reader throughout the entire series.

౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF FONTAINES ARCHONS QUESTS. DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THEM.

PART III • PART V (unavailable) • GENSHIN M.LIST

tag list - @wanderchive @gimmealamp @lucianidealz @sleepdeprivedpotato @unemiart @camryn-ciel67 @aruaruru @danika-redgrave124 @bunbunboysworld @kaoyamamegami @aphxdea @red1sg0ne @sleepndacloud @squishyboo @ally674 @hoo-hoo @probablynoposts @junevtv @og-winnie @exrellian @f0th3rr @cb97s-laptop (i hope i got everyone 😭)

it had been about a year since your move to the nation of justice, and it had been nothing short of excitement and entertainment. you met a blonde traveller and his glutinous pixie through lyney, after the two of them had their name cleared. you found them to be quite good company, despite the floating fairy’s consistent whining.

freminet didn’t talk to you for awhile after his and his family’s identity had been exposed to fontaine, and you couldn’t blame him. you had deep rooted issues with the fatui, even if freminet didn’t know it at the time, however what he underestimated was how much you valued him over his background.

it took some pushing (forced interaction) and a lot of tears, but freminet eventually broke down into your arms. you could only hold his head against your form, sheltering him away from the rest of the world as he cried in your living room.

the two of you were the dubbed ‘the second duo of fontaine’ with lyney & lynette holding the original title. the two of you were inseparable after the fatui incident, and him going into the fortress of meropiede was pure TORTURE as he forbid you from following him. (after finding out he almost drowned you had to be practically dragged away from the gates, the twins fearful of what you might do to wriothesley.)

you had officially met the knave whilst outside the palais mermonia, a ‘wrong place wrong time’ kinda situation. you had strolled by after she had finished talking with aether, and formally introduced herself as ‘father’ to you. almost pissing yourself, you converse for awhile before she takes her leave. you’ve never been so uncomfortable in your life.

you just interacted with a fatui harbinger.

needless to say, you’ve had quite the adventure since your arrival in fontaine, and as news spread of the flood around teyvat like wildfire, it caught the attention of two certain brothers.

“have you heard about the flooding in fontaine?” the drunkards would gossip among themselves, and diluc could only hold his breath in worry. kaeya had left months ago in search of you, and he could only sit back and wait for the good news.

it was decided between the two that you’d most likely talk to kaeya before diluc, so he was the one to go on the hunt whilst diluc held the fort down in mondstadt, lying to the costumers that the captain was on “knightly duties in sumeru.”

kaeya was in a constant state of alert, searching nation after nation for your whereabouts. he tried liyue and inazuma, however both had turned over fuitless.

he had multiple run-ins with aether and paimon throughout his journey, and had to come up with lie after lie to explain why he wasn’t in mondstadt. if it got out that they were looking for you, word might spread, and you might end up hiding from him. it was better nobody but the two brothers and jean knew what they were really up to.

eventually, the arrival of lantern rite had come, and as the captain happened to be restocking in said nation at the time, he concluded that if you were nearby, he might just be able to see you.

and attending lantern rite you were.

the family of three had invited you to join them on their trip to liyue for the lantern rite, and you had graciously accepted.

you had changed over the year you had been in fontaine. your outfit had gone from a traditional mondstadt look, to something more fontainian. you learnt the art of the sword, thanks to lynette teaching you personally. your grumpiness had somewhat faded, and you were no longer as easily irritated. you were more level headed and calm, adapting lynette’s mannerisms somewhat.

fact is, you had become almost a new man. you were happier, brighter and stronger. you could now defend yourself, and had the protection of three fatui members wherever you went. you had the spina di rosula AND the former archon in your corner (knowing what it feels like to lose everything, you made it your goal to become furina’s first real friend), and you even had the infamous traveller in your favour.

life was finally starting to look better for you, and so, you decided to take the risk and venture out once more, this time, with your family by your side.

and so, off to liyue you went.

you travelled around for awhile, stopping by qiaoying village and picking up some snacks. along the way, you end up running into the traveller, as well as a new face. the boy with them is young and jumpy, as well as overwhelmingly extroverted. in a way, he almost reminds you of your frosted companion. not in personality at ALL, but in spirit, almost.

you all introduce youtselves, and lyney puts an emphasis on the fact you’re their “fourth” member of the family (unbeknownst to you and freminet, lyney and lynette’s plan to get the both of you together was already set in motion.)

freminet holds your hand the entire way back to liyue harbour, uncomfortably shifting as gaming attempted to conversate with him. noticing his hesitation, the pyro user leaves your friend to be and ends up becoming besties with lyney along the way. after making it to the harbour, you privately apologise for freminet, explaining how he’s quite shy but not at all uncomfortable with the wushou dancer, to which he was greatful for. poor gaming was under the impression freminet disliked him. :(

you walked around the harbour with the fatui trio, grasping freminet’s dainty hands in your own. you admired the lanterns that danced in the sky, almost as if they were stars.

“are you sure you don’t wanna cover up (Y/N)? what if we run into one of your brothers?” freminet asks. the three knew of your situation. after they had explained to you in detail why they were apart of the fatui, you revealed your own background. about your father, your brothers and even about your almost-death encounter. out of respect for the anemo archons anonymity , you left out the part where he saved you. instead, you said a humble bard had found you, and took you home.

“even if we do run into either of them, we’ll take good care of you (Y/N). you don’t have to worry about them.” lynette pats your shoulder comfortingly. you had made peace with what had happened to you back mondstadt, but you were unsure if you were ready to face them again. they were your first family, but if you had to choose right now which family you’d want to spend the rest of your days with…

you’d take your fontainian family in a heartbeat.

“(Y/N) will be fine with us by his side! wont you, (Y/N)?” lyney reassures excitedly, stuffing his face with the liyuen cuisine that you had oh-so-generously paid for.

“i’ll be alright, i doubt they’d come anyways. diluc is too busy with the bar and kaeya probably doesn’t give enough of a shit to bother.” you reply, ending the conversation.

as the night continued, the lanterns above continued to float around, yet never quite leave the harbour. it’s almost as if as much as they attempted to, they couldn’t detach themselves from their origins.

the days went on, and you enjoyed your well-spent time in the region of geo. you met some friendly faces, such as a horned-adeptus, the conqueror of demons, a stubborn old bird refined older adeptus, a young cook whom lynette got along quite well with and many more. you are various different foods, wore traditional liyuen hanfu’s, and even got to help the traveller in his quest to help restore the bond between gaming and his father.

the second last night of your stay in liyue began, and you’re greatful you decided to stay as long as you did. that might, you got to witness the most beautiful dance you’d ever seen.

gaming was almost one with the lanterns, and he was glowing. you were so invested in the dancing, you didn’t notice how you took freminet’s hand in your own. your companion, on the other hand, could only watch your eyes.

they gleamed with excitement, and freminet wanted nothing more then to share that joy with you.

you knew you loved freminet from the moment he broke down into your arms. you knew as you cradled his puffy cheeks in your hands, almost kissing away his gentle tears.

you knew you loved freminet as he fixed your diving gear, triple checking to make sure it was on before he took you diving with him.

freminet knew he was in love with you when you told him that you look past his line of work. and how you know that he isn’t a bad person.

freminet knew he was in love with you as you took his side in an instant when some fontainian’s were harassing him after the word had spread.

“(Y/N), can i talk to you once the dance is over?” freminet doesn’t fail to notice you snap out of your trace to fully engage yourself in what he had to say.

it was almost as if you stopped the world just for him.

the dance ended, and you took the cryo users hand in your own as you took him somewhere more secluded. you didn’t fail to see the both of the twins shooing away anybody in your vicinity to give you both some privacy.

you knew this was your chance, the chance lyney and lynette had given you.

“(Y/N), i wanted to talk to you about something.” the boy before you stutters. it’s been awhile since he’s stuttered around you. he knocked that habit with you only a few month into your friendship, however none of this phased you. you knew what he was going to tell you.

“(Y/N) I-” freminet is cut off by a gentle hand to his mouth. your face contortd into an almost annoyed yet concerned look, seemingly displeased at the interruption of freminet’s confession. confused, freminet looks in front of you, too distracted by the beating of his heart to notice what you’re staring at.

then, he then hears it.

footsteps.

“(Y/N)?”

“k-kaeya..?”

the pure look of terror struck across your face had freminet switch up almost completely. he straightens up, before he steps in front of you in an almost protective manner. he was ready for combat.

then you notice it, three more pairs of feet come charging in behind you. in a flash, freminet’s claymore in drawn, and his gaze flickers both behind you and in front. you see the twins chasing another figure, one you can’t quite make out.

and then, as if the situation couldn’t get much worse then it already was, you see a shade of red emerge from the black mystery man.

it’s almost like a scene from a movie. in front of you, you have your almost-lover threatening your (former?) brother with his claymore.

on the other hand , you had your own flesh and blood behind you, with the twins behind him, a look of apology spilling across their face.

“i’m so sorry (Y/N), we let your name slip when talking about the two of you, and we didn’t even think that these two would be listening in on us-” lynette begins, before she’s cut off by diluc.

“listening IN? you fatui SCUM have been in the steam bird left and right with your scandals! i was only making sure you wernt about to hollow up the harbour.”

“excuse you?? you have NO RIGHT to call US scum when you barge in on a PRIVATE moment”

“lyney, now is REALLY not the time for this.”

“i’ll do whatever the fuck i want if it involves MY brother.”

“YOUR brother!?”

“ENOUGH!”

you finally decide to step in. “diluc, kaeya, what the fuck are you two doing here??” you begin.

“me and our dear diluc decided to take a bit of break, and when we heard these two looney magicians mention your name, we had to know if it really was you.” kaeya’s statement is almost humeruous, but the tone in his voice is enough to tell he isn’t fucking around.

“so what if it IS me? why the fuck would you care? you two bastards haven’t seen me in a year.”

“because, (Y/N). you’re OUR family, and we’re here to take you home.”

“the FUCK did you just say?? YOUR brother?? last time i checked, lynette and i are (Y/N)’s family after you practically NEGLECTED him!” lyney spits out.

by now, the two brothers are on one side, and the fontaine twins are on your other side. only freminet, who’s grip on his claymore hasn’t faltered, stuck next to you.

“i doubt you fuckhead fatui members want anything from my brother then to extort him. you don’t give a shit about him!” diluc reprimands.

“if (Y/N) wanted anything to do with you then he would’ve left fontaine ages ago.” lynette spits out, glaring at the two brothers.

you’re about to step in again, before freminet finally decides to speak up.

“(Y/N) may have grown up with the two of you, but at the end of the day, the both of you ended up hurting him without apologising. we know everything about what happened to the three of you, and on behalf of the fatui, we apologise for the loss of your father. loosing family is hard, and us raised in the house of the hearth would know that more then anybody.”

“but when (Y/N) accepted us for who we truly are, he became apart of our family. he chose to stay with us, and to support us from anybody who had something to say. it’s not just us either, (Y/N) has many friends and companions in fontaine, whom cherish him deeply. that is a fact, and it doesn’t matter what you think.”

all of you stand and listen to what freminet says. throughout the speech, he grabs your hand once more, just like when he did during the wushou dance.

and you fall in love with him all over again.

“he talks to us about you two a lot, and it’s clear to anybody that despite all that you’ve done, (Y/N) still cherishes you two very much, but he’s not ready yet. if you truly care about your brother, perhaps.. you’ll wait?” he questions, awaiting the brothers responses.

it’s quiet for a bit, with yours and freminet’s hands still intertwined. lyney comes to stand next to freminet, and lynette comes to caress your shoulder.

diluc’s heart aches. he wants nothing more then to hold you in his arms once more, like he used to when you cried as a child. he had been so worried about you, that he had completely forgotten what you looked like smiling. diluc knew he was being too harsh, but seeing you being cradled by the very organisation he despises made him want to sob.

but now, you stand before him, a happier and brighter man. your eyebags have cleared up, and your smile now reaches your eyes. he also can’t help but notice the almost romantic tension between you and the diver.

kaeya feels proud. he’s had a lot less to say then his brother, but deep down he knows that you’re happy. kaeya never truly intended to take you home like diluc had wanted. don’t get him wrong, kaeya also wanted nothing more then to have you in mond city once more, however his only intentions were to make sure you were safe. that would be enough.

as the silence comes to an end, diluc speaks gently.

“(Y/N), when you’re ready to come back to the mansion, we’re only a door away.”

he then takes kaeyas shoulder, before heading back to where they had come from. kaeya gives you a gentle nod and a smile, before he followed your crimson brother.

and then, as they disappeared from view, you fell to your knees. years of sorrow awoken within my you, and you felt yourself crumble before the three.

in an instant, they were by your side. all weapons had been put away, and only comforting arms awaited.

you feel yourself nuzzle into freminet’s shoulder, him arms wrapped around your body. lyney and lynette held your shoulders as you sobbed.

everything freminet had said was true. you did want to forgive them, but you weren’t ready.

you knew you had more healing to do before you could officially reconcile with the two, however in your heart, you knew it was possible.

you all eventually went back to the hotel you had been residing at. it was quaint and peaceful, and it’s soothing atmosphere helped your pounding headache.

as the four of you readied yourself for bed, a knock at the door surprised you all.

lyney, being the oldest, took it upon himself to open up in case of a possible intrusion, however only a bard dressed in green garments and a lyre in hand stood before him.

“hey (Y/N)! wanna have a chat?”

did i still leave on a bit of a cliff hanger? maybe. but i was gonna leave it at the kaeya-(Y/N) part so be greatful 😔

#genshin impact #genshin #ragbros #freminet x reader #freminet x male reader #genshin x male reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x male reader #fontaine trio

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starrywooyo · 3 months

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treasure: Six

synopsis: when y/n gets whooshed into an alternate universe, an adventure: one with pirates and monsters and much, much more

pairing: ot8! pirate ateez x fem! reader

genre: pirate au!!

!!warnings(per chapter)!! - [bellow cut!] no warnings i can think of- plz lmk if there is

notes: omg- guess who's backkkkk with an update!! I'm so sorry it's taken this long to get this chapter out.. i also split this chapter into 2 since i felt its a bit much to read with it being so long.. or do you guys not mind really long parts/chapters?? maybe i also done it to keep you guys in suspense too 😏😏

word count: 4.3k

taglist: (if you want removed or added to the list please lmk)

@toxic-babexe , @sunnyhokyu , @cambriel , @lelaleleb

if if missed anyone again just let me know! i also don't know where my tag list is so please let me know if you wanted added and are not on here

series masterlist | main masterlist

previous chapter | next chapter

previously:

hongjoong stands, placing his hands in the table, slightly leaning forward.

“I have some news I want to share” he says

your breath gets stuck in your throat. He doesn't know, does he??

“i have progress of our voyage for the Cromer.” he adds

everyone now gives him their full attention.

“thanks to sedna here, we have our heading. it'll be a long, dangerous journey but I know we as a team, a crew. can manage it!! we will get the cromer before they do”

You don't know how long, it’s most likely been days that have passed. All you can see from the horizon is the ocean and then more ocean.. Water as far as the eye can see.

Crew are starting to feel as though this mission is lost, that you were all lost on the sea, some starting to get bored out of their minds.

You sigh

“What’s wrong?” a voice asks

You close your book over

“Are we ever going to reach wherever it is we’re trying to get to yeosang?” you ask

He bookmarks his own book and lets out a small laugh.

“I’d tell you to be patient but I feel we’re all getting a bit restless these days, we’ll get there all in good time y/n.. Now let's continue reading shall we?” he replies and then proceeds to open his book to continue reading.

Deciding to do the same you reopen your own book and continue reading.

…

You toss and turn in your bed, unable to get some sleep. You still can't help the thoughts that pass through your mind. Tossing off the covers you pull your boots on and make your way through the ship.

It's mostly quiet as you walk down the corridor, the only thing to be heard being the waves crashing outside the ship and the slight creak of the wooden floorboards, the rest of the crew getting some kip while they can.

Walking up the stairs you slightly shiver from the nip from the cold air, rubbing your arms you take no notice of your surroundings and make your way to your spot you like to rest on at the front of the bow.

Leaning on the wood, you look out into the dark, there's not much visibility bar the light coming from the little lantern hanging down but when you look up, you’re in awe. The stars are out and shining bright. They look so… pretty. You wish you had a camera so you could capture this moment

Still gazing at the stars above you don't catch the sound of someone walking up behind you

“D’you like stargazing?”

You flinch turning to the voice

He laughs slightly “sorry didn't mean to scare ya” he says leaning beside you

You finally take in your surroundings you notice hongjoong is at the wheel and that's pretty much everyone who’s still awake

You turn back to him, he’s just looking at you intently

He gestures to the stars with his head and asks again.

“D’you like stargazing. y/n?” he asks.

“I do.. Do you like the stars, Yunho?” you ask him.

He smiles

“I do, being a lookout i get to see ‘em pretty much every night, i know a lot of the constellations too but what ‘re you doing awake at this time.. Can’t sleep??” he asks

You shake your head

He looks away for a second, then walks away a little bit and hold out his hand for you to take.

“Follow me”

You take ahold of his hand and he and he begins to lead you up the stairs past hongjoong at the helm to where the mizzen mast stands.

“Ladies first” he gestures to the rope ladder

And you climb up till you get to the barrel-like section at the top and yunho climbs in after you.

“It’s easier to see the stars from up here” he says and blows the candle out from the little lantern that's hung up in the mast so that he or wooyoung can have a little light when they need it. And then he sits beside you on the ground and tucks his legs up to his chest just like you.

Looking up you can see all the pretty twinkling lights and you’re in awe of them all.

A light tap on your shoulder brings you back to the man sitting beside you, and you listen and watch intently as he points out various stars and constellations and explains some of them to you

…

You shiver slightly rubbing your arms as a chill wind blows through you in the mast.

“Hmm cold?” yunho asks, tilting his head to the side a little.

You nod “ a little bit.. Yeah”

He shuffles about a bit in the space and opens the basket sitting in the corner, and pulls out a worn out greyish blue blanket

“ ‘ere “ he wraps the blanket around you and you pull it tighter around yourself

“it does get pretty chilly up here so there's a blanket in every basket for the three masts just in case you need that information” he laughs a bit and he sits back into his spot beside you on the ground and he wraps one of his arms around you pulling you closer to his side

“See that one ‘ere.. thats pleiades its-” he stops seeing you are now fast asleep he breathes out a laugh and then pulls you closer to his chest and then proceeds to fall asleep not long after you

…

You’re drawn out of your slumber from people talking in hushed tones, one of which you know to be yunho but the other you can't tell, still being in a haze.. The other person leaves.

“Yunho..” you voice out.

He hums

“What's the prettiest star youve seen?” you ask randomly still in your sleepy haze while wrapping your arms around his waist snuggling into him

“Hmm well… it's not actually a star but the aurora’s the most beautiful thing i've seen in my life time”

You smile and shut your eyes again resting your head on his chest

“I'd like to see that too” you say as you slowly drift off

Yunho rubs your back as you do

“I'll take you to see it.. Don't worry”

…

Your eyes flicker open and you stretch bones clicking in the process. Scanning your surroundings you see you’re still up in the mast with yunho still wrapped up in his arms as you shuffle around he stirs in his sleep, hands coming up to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Hmm good morning” he says, his voice still laced with sleep.

You reply to him and the both of you begin to make your way to the kitchen to get something to eat before everyone else.

You grab a bread roll as does yunho as well as an apple that yunho reluctantly lets you cut up yourself with your history of knives.

“Thank you.. By the way” you say as you begin to nibble on your food “for last night.. I had a good sleep thanks to you, yunho” you smile.

“Don’t worry about it, m’glad you could get some rest”

You both sit and continue to eat your food in the peaceful silence quite content.. Until it wasn't- more of the crew came piling in to grab their own breakfast before getting to work and it's then that yunho leaves you to go do his own chores around the ship again. And you go and join yeosang again.

…

“So where is it exactly we’re going yeo??” you ask him

“Well we’re going here to this docking town to restock supplies then we’ll head east or ‘tis where captain says we need to go” he explains pointing places out to you on the map “not to worry though, we’re almost there i'd assume we’d be arriving to the dock at any minute”

And he was right, you were in fact pulling up to the dock but not 20 minutes later.

Most of the crew started flowing out the ship, stretching. Their feet finally on firm solid ground. Standing on the dock you watch in silence as members of the crew converse with the workers on the dock, seonghwa wagering with the man how many pieces of gold would grant the amount of time the ship could stay docked

In the distance you see hongjoong talking with sedna about what.. You don't know but it looks to be a serious conversation. The conversation stops and he seems to make his way back over to you all and he speaks.

“I want everyone to stock up on supplies they may need and rations for the ship as for seonghwa, mingi, jongho, yunho, wooyoung and san you all come with me.. y/n you stay with yeosang” he says then he claps his hands together.

“Okay. everyone get to work” he says and he and his little team head off.

…

And so you walk through the streets of the town with yeosang carrying some of the things he buys to help him carry them back. You’re bored out of your mind, it’s been a good few hours since hongjoong and the crew left to god knows where. And you wont lie, you’re curious so… you pester yeosang about it. To which he replies something about a mini mission for the actual mission..just boring stuff

“Hey y/n.. I'm gonna nip into this last shop real quick. Can you wait out here for a second?” yeosang asks you, you nod watching him through the window of the store after he enters.

Bored you end up zoning out looking in the opposite direction, lost in your own thoughts.

Something catches your attention, as you stare your features contort in confusion

What.. is.. that..!?

You must've been staring for a long time as you’re brought out from your trance from yeosang calling you

“y/n… you good?” he asks, looking worried.

You hum

“Hmm.. yeah.. I thought I saw..” you look back, the thing is no longer there “nothing.. nevermind ..”

And then the both of you head back to the ship.

…

The others didn't get back to the ship until a long while after you, some covered in cuts and other bruises.. Just what was the ‘mission’

San ushers those with cuts to his study to clean the wounds up the rest follow hongjoong to his cabin and you’re left in the dark.. Not included. So you just help the other crew carry the stock onto the ship

…

With the ship now stocked and ready for the vast journey on the water you can finally start the main voyage.

The main 8 currently gathered in the captains cabin, map sprawled out on the table as hongjoong points to the locations on the map and explains in detail the route to be taken for this quest.

They all end up piling out of the foom after a few hours

You sit in your cabin seemingly lost in deep thought

“A penny for yer thoughts y/n.. What's got yer mind so busy” there's a knock from the doorframe.

Being drawn from your thoughts your head snaps to the doorway.

Hongjoong leans on the frame, sleeves of his white button shirt rolled up and his jacket discarded, being held in his hands.

You frown.. Thinking about it some more

“It’s nothing” you brush it off

He sighs

“May i?” he asks, gesturing to your room, you nod and he enters placing his jacket on your bed and taking a seat next to you.

“It cant be nothin if its got you frowning like that.. Did somethin happen??” he asks slight worry on his face

“No.. nothing happened per say.. I just.. I don't know.. I saw something but i don't know if my brain was playing tricks on me”

“Whatd ye see? Maybe I can help if I know what it was?” he pries some more..

You turn to face him

“I thought i.. When you and the others went on that little mission.. When i was shopping with yeosang.. i .. i thought i saw you.. Only it wasn't you?? I don't know.. you had different clothes on and.. All black and a black hat too” you laugh “i’m going crazy right?” you ask him

Only a sinking feeling comes to your chest as you see his face, its pale as if the colours been drained out

“y/n.” he begins “if you see that person again or someone similar. I need you to tell me or one of the others.. Can you do that for me?” he asks

You nod.

He shakes his head “no. i need you to say you’ll do it. Promise me you will”

You tilt your head in confusion

“I will” you say

“Good” he starts to grab his jacket and stands to leave the room

“But hongjoong,who or what was that?” you ask

“You don’t need to know that right now” and with that he leaves the room.

…

The ship comes to a stop with a sudden jerk, an island in the close distance.

Hongjoong stands giving commands as the crew rushes about the ship preparing to leave the ship and get to the piece of land on the longboats.

Chucking equipment onto the small boats crew piling in and getting lowered to the ocean.

Most of you make it to land, some crew having to stay back and watch the ship.

This is it. The main island.. Whatever it is you're searching for. It's here.. Somewhere.

Making camp on the beach tents get set up in all different sizes as well as some crates as makeshift tables, a fire being planned to get set up in the middle of camp.

“Yunho, wooyoung go scout the surroundings and make sure its safe” hongjoong orders. And the two do as told with woo whining a tad.

“And y/n, mingi, jongho come with me.. Lets split up and get some firewood for that fire later”

And the four of you make your way up the sandy dunes to the entrance of the woods. And slowly you all creep in.

You walk a good few minutes in far enough in that there's branches and leaves

“Just take as much as you can carry, we won't be camped on the beach long, take just enough to keep the fire going overnight and to cook a dinner” hongjoong says and begins to pick up the sticks on the ground and the other three of you follow suit.

With arms now filled with branches and dry leaves for kindling you make your way back to camp on the beach and dump the wood on the ground where the fire will be set up. And seonghwa comes along and gets started on the fire and you watch him intently; he starts by taking stones from the beach to which you help and places them in a circle for the boundary of the fire, then taking the twigs and branches you all collected and places them neatly in the stone circle, lastly he takes the dried leaves and skaters them throughout the logs.

He pulls from his pocket a rock of flint and holds it securely on one of the big stones surrounding the unlit fire close to some of the kindling and he whips out a small steel dagger. He pauses-

And briefly looks up to you.

“You good?” he asks

You let out a hum

“It's just, you’ve been watching me for a while.. Is it really that interesting?” he asks

You nod

“Hmm! I always used to watch my da- i mean i just think its cool to watch” you tell him

He kind of looks at you with your first choice of words but he decides to not comment on it. And just nods along.

“Y’wanna try then?” he taps the sand beside him

You slightly laugh

“I don't know if i can do it but i'll certainly give it a shot” and you get on your knees beside him.

Seonghwa briefly shows you how to hold the flint and the angle to strike the dagger against it, once you're sure you’ve got the hang of it, you take the items from him and strike the blade against the rock.. Nothing happens the first few times but then all of a sudden a few sparks fly off and land on the leaves slightly letting some smoke travel in the air. Seonghwa gets closer to the leaves and gently blows on them and at last the fire is going!! It works its way through the other twigs and leaves until finally a big blazing fire lights up the camp.

“Why don't you go see what the others are doing and if they need any help while I get started on dinner” seonghwa tells you. And with a nod of your head you're off through the camp.

Walking around the camp you find jongho sitting cleaning out his gun, all the pieces laid out..

You sit in front of him and he looks up from cleaning and gives you an awkward smile

“y/n… hi” he says

“Hi Jongho”

The awkward smile still there he doesn't pay you any mind and goes back to cleaning

Damn this is awkward..

“So.. jongho..” you begin-

“Look y/n. With all due respect just leave me alone” he sort of snaps as he puts the cleaned gun back together “im not interested” he gets up and walks away.

Oh…

Disappointed you sit and look out to the waves.. The sun is starting to set, it hangs low in the sky

Someone takes the place of jongho..

“y/n?” they speak

“Captain.” you reply.

Hongjoong sits across from you.

“I.. um.. I have somethin’ for you.. Will you come with me a minute..?” he asks, his eyes darting everywhere bar into your own.. His cheeks slightly flushed

You let out a small yeah and get up to follow him, he leads you towards his tent and holds open the fabric for you to enter. Which you do.

Hongjoong enters after you and you take a look around the large tent.

There's a make-shift table to the right with a chair and to the left his bed, some clothes folded on top with his hat neatly placed against them and a rucksack laying on the floor at the foot of the bed and some oil lanterns hang in random spots

“y/n.. Come in. don’t just stand there..” he says now standing at the table so you walk closer to the table.

He clears his throat and places a medium-ish flat box on the table in front of you.

“I.. haha um.. It might be weird but.. I got you this.. I know you were lookin at one a while back..” as he rambles on you peel the lid of the box off and your eyes go wide

“A-and you don't have to like it. I know it's not the same one you saw.. And its probably weird that i bought you it-” he continues

“I love it” you whisper out

“That's okay.. Wait- you do?” he asks

You nod and take it out of the box. Inside was a pretty black lace up corset with little white and red flowers embroidered on going up the left side with green vines and on the right side in the same red as the flowers which looks to be an ‘A’ in a red circle.

Hongjoong watches as you look at the corset with pure happiness in your eyes and a smile goes onto his own face

You look to him

“This is probably one of the nicest gifts anyone has given me..thank you. Hongjoong.”

“Of course, I'm just glad you like it.. Now. let's go get something to eat shall we?” and you both go out to join everyone else around the fire to eat.

…

The next day you all wake up bright and early ready to make your journey into the dense forest. Getting ready, you pack your little bag first and change into your clothes: trousers and a nice white flowy shirt.. The corset catches your eye in the corner so you decide to put it on. undoing the laces you slip it over your torso and go to pull the laces shut.. Only you realise something. You can't do it by yourself.

You make your way to the entrance of your tent and slightly poke your head out..

You see hongjoong giving out orders and overseeing them as most people are packing up their things and tents, majority of the crew are busy though someone catches you sticking your head out, with a cheeky grin on his face he saunters over towards your tent, you quickly pull your head back in and hold the opening shut

“y/n~~ are you ready?? We’re about to head off” he says..

“i - nearly, i'm just getting ready but i-” you weigh up all the options in your mind. Cursing at yourself you pop your head back out again and look at the blonde who's still smiling, his arms crossed over his chest.

You bite your lip slightly “wooyoung” you sigh out “can you come in here and help me?” you ask

He frowns slightly and tilts his head

“Help? Hmm sure, but with what?” he asks

You pop back in the tent

Wooyoung follows in after you, brushing a hand through his blonde hair and when he finally looks at you he sucks in a breath.

“Y-you need help lacing that up..” he asks a faint yet prominent blush creeps its way onto his cheeks

You nod slowly.. “if .. you wouldn't mind” you add.

He quickly shakes his head.

“I don't mind” he says and he walks over to you.

You turn around for him and he takes hold of the laces with shaky hands

“Let me know if it's too tight.. Okay..? i don't wanna hurt you” he says and begins to fix the strings before pulling on them. You feel yourself being sucked in oh god you don’t know how those women in towns do this, He pulls them tight a few times before he's asking you if it's okay you tell him it's fine before he’s pulling some more more and then he ties the bow in the back. His hands rest on your waist for a moment.

“There” he whispers out.

“Thank you”

He smiles though you can't see it.

Turning around you grab your bag to head out. It's wooyoung's turn to look over you, he bites his lower lip looking away slightly before looking back to you.

“You look good.. It suits you, pretty” he says and you both leave the tent. He helps you pack the rest of your things and roll your tent up and attach it to your bag.

Walking over to the rest of the group by the forest entrance, the fact you're wearing his corset doesn't go unnoticed by hongjoong. A blush of his own coating his cheeks as well. He clears his throat and continues his ‘speech’ and not long after you're all off into the forest..

…

hongjoong leads the line from the front, map and compass in his hands. You don't know how long you walked for.. All you know is this island is bigger than it seems to be and all you've been seeing is trees, trees and even more trees. And you’re losing daylight again.. Wherever it is that map leads.. We’re not getting there as quickly as hongjoong hoped we would.

You come to a small clearing in the woods.. Still covered with trees but space enough to make a small camp for your team of 15..

Hongjoong stops turning to face everyone.

“We’ll camp here for now” he sighs out shaking his head frustrated. He seems to have a silent conversation with seonghwa before he's speaking again “Mingi.. Jongho you both take night watch.” he says to the two men before he begins to walk off seonghwa close behind him.. Yeosang too before he adds

“We don’t know what or who lurks in this forest..”

…

The camp set up everyone seems to get settled seemingly staying in their own tents exception of jongho and mingi who pace around a makeshift border of what you call ‘camp’

Sitting watching the flames of the fire at the side of the camp.. It's quiet.. Peaceful.

“y/n..” yunho stands in front of you with a smile on his face. He outstretches his hand for you to take.

“Come with me.” he says and you look at him suspiciously.

He sighs out.. “Just come on.. Or we’ll miss it” he grabs your hand and begins to pull you away. Away from camp.. Down the path. You walk hand in hand with yunho for around 10 to 20 minutes. Until you come to another opening. This time a cliff opening. He lets go of your hand and goes and sits on the edge of the cliff sighing dejectedly

“Missed it.. It was right there my star.. I'm sorry” he says to you.

You sit next to him

“What was it?” You ask

“The lights..” he sighs

You smile

“Thank you for coming to get me because you saw them.. Don’t worry though Yun.. the stars are still very pretty to watch” you tell him. He nods still upset that he failed to get you on time.. You sit in silence for a few moments and then he turns to you.

“I'll be back quickly star.. I'll go get a blanket and my telescope and we can watch them better” he says to you and you agree and he gets up and walks back in the direction you both came from.

You sit yourself in the quiet and peaceful for a bit looking up at the stars.. Occasionally looking at the darkness of the ocean below from your viewpoint.

You hear the crunching of the ground in the distance

“Sorry I kept you y/n.. I’m back” he says and sits beside you again.

#starrywooyo #starrywooyo fics #starrywooyo treasure series #starrywooyo treasure #treasure #ateez x reader #ateez au #ateez pirate au #hongjoong x reader #seonghwa x reader #yunho x reader #yeosang x reader #san x reader #mingi x reader #wooyoung oneshot #jongho x reader #ateez series

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trulybetty · 6 months

Text

oct' 26 x jack-o-lanterns

Prompt: jack-o-lanterns (something sweet this way comes p.II) Pairing: marcus pike x f!Reader Word Count: 3,305 Warnings: barely beta'd is the name of the game, all mistakes are my own. mentions of baking, a tiny dash of spice, no spoilers here 💕 Summary: maplewood, a small town nestled in northern bc where people flock to see the changing blossom trees and celebrate the fall season. after losing your job you find yourself a part of the community which includes the towns baker who left a less than stellar impression on you. AO3: linked

x. masterlist | something sweet this way comes part I

Something Sweet, This Way Comes Part II | Jack-o-Lanterns

The preparations for the Trick or Treat Parade were well underway, it was an annual celebration in the town’s main square, outside the town hall. Maplewood, while a small community, serviced a great deal of people outside the town. Many of its inhabitants lived rurally, meaning trick-or-treating wasn't feasible for many of the children.

However, before that could happen the mid month tradition of the Jack-O-Lantern Hunt took place. Businesses and landmark buildings alike all decorated or carved their own pumpkins and people would follow the trail visiting each location on their maps. It was a way to encourage business and bolster the festivities after Thanksgiving had passed.

Black Cat Books was no exception, Libby had been putting the final touches to the store's pumpkin when the bell rang above the door signalling a customer.

“Marcus!” she called out, “what do we owe this please?”

You rolled your eyes as the enthused cheeriness of your friend, you were currently engrossed in the latest shipment of fall mystery novels and the scanning of them into the POS system.

“Evening,” he greeted, looking a little out of his element in the quiet bookstore. “Actually, I was looking for a gift.”

“I can help you with that,” Libby remarked standing from her stool, “who is it for?”

“Sarah actually.”

“What’s the occasion? Her birthday isn’t until the summer isn’t it?” Libby asked, making her way around the counter.

You watched Marcus out of the corner of your eye as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Not her birthday no, she broke her arm on the weekend at her soccer match down in Fort Nelson.”

“No!” Libby exclaimed, “poor girl, she lives and breathes soccer.”

“I know, so I thought I’d get her something to cheer her up. She’s always talking about her visits here. I was hoping you’d be able to recommend a book maybe?”

Libby looked thoughtful for a moment, “Hm, I’m not entirely sure.”

Before you could catch yourself you cleared your throat and grabbed a book off of the shelf behind you, “This one,” you said as you tried to be as nonchalant as you could handing it to Marcus, “Sarah was debating on this one the last time she was in here but said she was going to wait until she got paid.”

Marcus accepted the book, a soft smile on his face as he looked at the cover, “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” you said, your eyes meeting his for a fleeting second before you turned your attention back to your work.

“So how are you managing at the bakery with Sarah out of commission? Isn’t Maria on vacation too?” Libby asked, referring to the bakeries' part-time weekday employee.

Marcus let out a sigh. “It's been a bit chaotic, to be honest. She was going to be right hand for front-of-house operations this week, and with the Jack-O-Lantern Hunt coming up, it's been really hectic trying to juggle everything.”

Libby took the book and got started on wrapping it, “What are you going to do? The hunt is this weekend.”

Marcus sighed, “I honestly don't know. We're already falling behind on orders, and there's so much to prepare for the parade at the end of the month on top of the pumpkin hunt.”

It was at that point that Libby, forever the matchmaker and opportunist, seized the moment. “You know, my friend here is pretty nifty with her customer service skills. Maybe she could lend a hand?" she said nonchalantly as she tied the final knot on the gift ribbon.

You choked on your own breath almost dropping the stack of books in your hands, “What? Me? Bu- but you need me here, Libby.”

Libby waved you off with a grin, “Nonsense. It's been pretty manageable here. And besides,” she gave you a pointed look, “it's a good opportunity for you to get to know the town better.” she finished with a not so discreet nod in the direction of Marcus.

You and Marcus exchanged an awkward glance, the tension palpable but it was vastly different than it has been in the past.

“Think about it,” Libby nudged as Marcus paid and took his wrapped book, thanking her.

He looked at you, a question in his eyes, “Would you consider it? I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really need the help.”

You really wanted to decline, find some excuse, any excuse. But as Marcus stood there, looking genuinely in need and a bit vulnerable, you felt something shift.

“I'll think about it,” you said, realizing even as you spoke that your curiosity was already tipping the scales. Marcus nodded, a hint of relief crossing his features.

“Thank you, either way,” he said, exiting the bookstore with a small wave to the both of you.

As the door closed behind him, you looked at Libby, who was practically beaming.

“What are you up to Libby?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why are you volunteering to help him?”

“I think you might have more in common with him than you think.”

“Well, aren't you the little cupid,” you said, a bit sarcastically but not without warmth.

Libby shrugged, “When the universe gives you a nudge, sometimes you have to nudge back.”

“You really need to let up on those horoscopes.”

Libby gave you a weary eye roll, “Plus is it such a terrible thing? Baked goods and coffee on tap?”

The next morning guilt had you dragging your feet across to the bakery, with a good shove from Libby, to tell Marcus you’d help him with the front of house operations for the remainder of the week while he looked at finding someone else to fill Sarah’s position a little more permanently.

As he’d walked you through the point of sale system he used you realised it was the exact same setup Libby had and soon were able to catch on pretty fast.

“Seems like you're a natural at this,” Marcus said with a grin as you smoothly rang up a customer's order. “If you ever get tired of helping Libby out, you're welcome here anytime.”

As the days progressed it turned out Marcus mostly worked in the back, managing the oven, mixers, and other kitchen duties, which left you mainly responsible for front-of-house operations. This was a relief in some ways, reducing the awkward tension that had started building up between the two of you.

Marcus had said you could read between customers if you wanted to, but the bakery was so busy you barely had a chance to open the book you'd brought along. People were in a constant stream, some coming in to pick up pre-orders, others dropping by for their daily fix of coffee and pastries, and still, others had come out of curiosity, intrigued by the upcoming festivities.

Despite the business, you couldn't help but notice how different each customer interaction was compared to the bookstore. Whereas Black Cat Books was a haven for the introverted, the bakery was a social hub. Children would come in giggling, pulling their parents behind them as they pointed to the cookies and cupcakes in the display case. Old friends would bump into each other in line and strike up conversations as if no time had passed.

And everyone, it seemed, knew Marcus.

As each customer came and went, most had something kind to say about Marcus.

“Tell Marcus that the apple tarts were divine, would you?”

“Marcus helped fix my flat tire last week. Can you make sure he gets this thank you card?”

“Ah, Marcus makes the best chocolate cake. Did I tell you he was a lifesaver during the snowstorm last year? Cleared both my driveway and sidewalk.”

The anecdotes were small, simple moments that seemed to paint a portrait of Marcus you hadn't considered. Your previous reservations, based largely on a whole lot of stubborn pride, started to seem trivial in the face of what you were hearing.

While you had been busy contemplating whether he was too good to be true, he was, in fact, doing good in the community you were both a part of. Your wariness was beginning to wane, being replaced by a blossoming curiosity and a tiny little bit of a newfound respect for the man you'd initially written off.

Around mid-afternoon a couple of days later, Marcus finally emerged from the back, carrying a tray of freshly baked pumpkin bread. The smell wafted through the shop, and you inhaled deeply, feeling a sense of comfort that only a bakery could provide.

“How's it going out here?” he asked, placing the tray on a display counter.

“Busy,” you replied, “I haven't even had a chance to crack open my book.”

Marcus glanced at the book lying beside the cash register, “Well, I hope that's a good thing.”

“It is,” you found yourself smiling, “it's nice to be busy. Keeps the time flying.”

Marcus looked pleased, “I'm glad to hear that. I was worried you might find it overwhelming. Between the start of fall, Thanksgiving, Harvest, the Jack-O-Lantern hunt, then Halloween - it’s almost as busy as the Holidays around here.”

“You know, I’ve never heard of so many celebrations stuffed into one month.”

Marcus laughed softly while he continued to work on the display, “I know how you feel; I felt that way when I first got here. But it's a great way to bring people together and share some happiness. Who doesn't need more of that?”

“Speaking of community, they’ve all got something to say about you it seems Mr. Pike.”

“Oh?” Marcus raised an eyebrow, “Good things I hope?”

You hesitated for a moment, choosing your words carefully, “Let's just say I'm learning that you're very well-liked around here. People appreciate what you do, both in and out of this bakery.”

Marcus looked genuinely surprised, and then his face broke into a warm, appreciative smile. “Well, that's kind of them to say. I just try to do my part, you know? Small town, tight-knit community—it's what makes Maplewood special.”

Friday soon came around and Marcus had let you know that morning that the weekend was taken care of. Maria was back in town and had said she’d work Sarah’s shift that weekend, meaning it was your last day helping out at the bakery.

Despite your reservations at the start of the week, you had felt a little pang of disappointment when he’d made the announcement after you’d arrived that morning.

You were wiping down the counters when Marcus came out from the back again, looking a little flour-dusted but otherwise no worse for wear.

“How'd it go?” he asked, washing his hands in the sink.

“Busy,” you replied, “but good busy. I think I successfully managed to not ruin your business.”

He took the cloth from you, “It’s okay, I’ve got this, you can head out.”

You shook your head and took it back, “It’s okay, Libby has book club tonight, the less time I have to be there for the better.”

Marcus laughed as he crossed the floor to the shop's door, locking it, “In that case, knock yourself out.”

Marcus flipped the sign to close and you paused, realizing Marcus was watching you, “What?” You ask with a grin, unsure why he was giving you such attention.

He laughed to himself and shook his head, “If you’re not wanting to head out any time soon, how do you feel about lending a hand with a bit of baking?”

“You trust me?”

“I think you can handle it, I’ll do the heavy lifting.” he finished with a wink and before you knew it you were following him to the back of the shop.

Once you were both in the back kitchen, Marcus started gathering ingredients from various shelves and corners of the room. “We're making cinnamon rolls, a seasonal special.” he said, placing butter, flour, sugar, and a variety of spices on the counter. You also noticed a small bottle of orange food colouring and a bag of pecans.

“Cinnamon rolls? Not sure what's so seasonal about them,” you said, intrigued by the setup.

Marcus chuckled, “Ah, but these aren't just any cinnamon rolls. They're pumpkin spice rolls with pecans and an orange-coloured spiced glaze. Trust me; these are special.”

“Wow, sounds delicious,” you replied, starting to feel excited about the baking adventure.

Marcus handed you an apron, and you couldn't help but notice how his eyes lingered on you as you tied it around your waist. “You look good in that,” he remarked as he passed by to pull down a mixing bowl.

“Thanks,” you replied, unable to keep a smile from spreading across your face.

Marcus began weighing flour and pouring it into a large mixing bowl and explained the steps as he went along. “First, we make the dough, then we let it rise. After that, we roll it out, sprinkle the filling, roll it up, and then cut it into pieces. Easy as pie, or in this case, rolls.”

After you'd mixed the dough ingredients, Marcus instructed you on the proper way to knead it. To your surprise, he positioned himself behind you, placed his hands over yours, and began guiding your movements on the dough.

“Use the heel of your hand to push and fold the dough back on itself,” he said, his voice soft and close to your ear. “It's all in the wrist.”

You felt a wave of heat rise to your cheeks, your heart racing as Marcus's hands continued to guide yours in perfect harmony. You had been so wary of him just a few days ago, but now, the intimacy of this simple act was breaking down any remaining barriers. You were becoming acutely aware of the magnetic pull towards him you’d been trying so hard to ignore.

Finally, Marcus pulled away, and you took a moment to catch your breath.

“You're a quick learner,” Marcus finally said, pulling a baking sheet from one of the cabinets.

“Good teacher,” you mumbled, unable to meet his eye, feeling your face grow hot.

After rolling the dough, sprinkling the filling, and neatly lining the rolls on the baking sheet, Marcus popped them into the oven. While they baked, he mixed the orange-coloured spiced glaze, occasionally stealing glances at you and smiling.

“Want to try a taste?” he asked, offering out a spoon he’d practically made appear out of nowhere, or you’d been that focused on his hands as he stirred the ingredients.

Nodding, you leaned in to taste the glaze from the spoon Marcus was holding. As you did, a drop of the orange-coloured icing escaped, landing on your lower lip. Marcus looked at you, his gaze dropping to your lips. Time seemed to slow down.

“Hold on, you’ve got a little…” His voice trailed off as he gently reached up and brushed away the drop of glaze with his thumb.

Your heart pounded in your chest as Marcus took a step closer to you as he licked off the icing from his thumb. His eyes met yours, asking for permission, before flicking down to your lips. You felt the air grow thick with tension, a magnetic pull drawing you closer together.

“Is this okay?” he asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Before you could answer, a sudden knock on the front door of the bakery shattered the moment. You both jumped, startled out of the intimate bubble you’d been in.

Marcus looked as confused as you felt, but then you took it as an opportunity to try and shake some sense into yourself. “I should go,” you said, quickly removing your apron and folding it on the counter.

Before Marcus could respond, another impatient knock echoed from the front. “Hold on!” he called out towards the door, his eyes meeting yours one more time as if to say 'don't go.'

But you were already moving, grabbing your purse and jacket. The spell was broken, but the lingering feelings remained as you felt the ghost of Marcus’ touch on your lips.

As pulled on your jacket you heard Marcus greet the knocker. “Bill, you know it’s past closing, right?”

“It’s an emergency, Marcus, I swear! I need a pie, I saw the lights on out the back and you’re the only one in town who can save me.”

You heard Marcus laugh, his attention now fully on Bill, who was from the art store down the street. Feeling like an intruder on the scene, you took your chance to slip out of the bakery with a quick wave to the two men, the bell jingling softly as you opened and then closed the door behind you.

You didn’t look back as you pulled your jacket tighter against the cold wind that swept down the highstreet, if you had you would have seen Marcus watching you as you looked both ways before you scurried across the street to the bookshop.

Once inside, you took a moment to catch your breath, leaning against the door. What was that all about? You had a swirl of emotions rushing through your head, none of which made any sense when applied to Marcus. You were still pondering it as you locked up the shop and made your way upstairs to the apartment you shared with Libby.

When you walked in, you found Libby sitting on the sofa, flipping through a magazine with a cup of tea by her side. “You're late,” she noted, her eyes still fixed on the glossy pages before her. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just lost track of time helping Marcus close,” you said, trying to keep your voice casual as you hung your jacket and kicked off your shoes.

“What were you doing, making out with Marcus in the back of the bakery?" Libby quipped, laughing to herself as she flipped another page.

You nearly jumped out of your skin at the suggestion, but managed to roll your eyes and offer a sarcastic laugh. “Please, I still don't see the appeal.”

“That's funny,” Libby said, raising an eyebrow as she set her magazine aside. “Because I haven't heard you say one bad thing about Marcus since you started helping out at the bakery.”

Caught off guard, you felt a quiet panic settle in your chest. You were usually so transparent to Libby, it made you uncomfortable how easily she could read you. “Well, I've been busy. No time for chit-chat when you're up to your elbows in doughnuts and the gossip of the neighbourhood watch.”

Libby eyed you suspiciously but said nothing more. “If you say so.”

“I do say so,” you affirmed, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Anyway, I'm going to take a shower.”

As you stepped into the warm stream of water, you let it wash over you, hoping it would also rinse away the tangled web of emotions that had sprung up so unexpectedly. Your mind replayed the almost-kiss, Marcus' eyes looking into yours, the touch of his hands over yours as you kneaded dough, and you felt a pang of something you couldn't quite place. Was it regret? Longing? It was too confusing to sort out, so you shut off the water, wrapping yourself in a towel in hope of pushing it all out of your mind.

As you looked at your reflection in the steamed-up bathroom mirror, you felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. Whatever it was that had happened at the bakery, it was over now. Tomorrow was a new day, and you would go back to your normal routine, back to your safe, familiar life you’d made for yourself in Maplewood.

But as you crawled into bed that night, the nagging feeling refused to leave you and you resolved to resume your long discarded search for job vacancies in Toronto in the morning.

Maplewood suddenly felt stiflingly small.

#october x 500 #autumnal offerings #something sweet this way comes #marcus pike #marcus pike fanfic #marcus pike fanfiction #marcus pike x you #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x f!reader

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graciereyy · 4 months

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The Siren And The Samurai Chapter: 1

Happens after events of last episode! POSSIBLE SPOILERS.

*warning! This will have alot of possibly triggering stuff just like the actual show so be advised.*

Mizu awoke from the yell of the boaters.

“WE’RE CLOSE! GO GET THEM!”

She moaned in complaint from the loss of comfort in her sleep. “Sir, we are close to London and getting closer by the second. Im sorry to wake you, but you need to be up here.”She deeply exhaled.

“Oh alright.” She gathered her things and went outside, the cool breeze made her calm. They were right, London was close-by. A rush of excitement filled her, she could just imagine killing those men already . “are you guys going to stay here? Because i need that irish fuck here, so i can go to him when i need him.” One of the boaters grinned.

“Yeah, we’re going to stay a while. We have quite some business to do here, you dont need to worry about a thing.” She hummed in confirmation then fixed her bangs. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Business.” She looked behind her and sighed in relief. “Oh look we’re here.” She was happy to get off this damn boat after so long, it felt like she was stuck in a hole forever, but not anymore, more subtle excitement rushed into her body, She was so ready to leave and get off the water and go back on her way. “Hm, its still dark out..” she mumbled to herself. She turned back to the men “so can i just explore? I need some direction.”

“Hell yeah, have at it boy.” One of them said as the other ran to tie the boat to the port. “Just make sure your able to get back.”

“I will.” She mumbled. She took a deep breath then turned around to leave the boat for a while. When her foot touched the port she felt a release in herself. She slowly made her way into the smaller downtown part of the city, it wasn’t like japan at all and she wasn’t used everything being so different, especially when it came to clothes. The women wore these restrictive looking things on their torsos, elegant looking but also looked kind of uncomfortable; With long layered skirts.

While the men wore vests and ugly looking pants. She felt kind of judged just wearing her kimono, the townspeople probably never seen clothes like hers just like she hasn’t seen clothes like theirs but she didn’t really care about that, as long as she wasn’t being looked to as inferior unlike a certain almost bald samurai she was fine.

While she did think about him she didn’t really know how to feel about him. She doesn’t have the time to find out right now, not like he ever actually liked her anyway. She sighed as she made her way to what the townspeople call “The Plaza” its a circular part of town with a stage in the middle, the golden lanterns lit it up beautifully. it looked like the main place a festival would be, which piqued her interest only by a little. Well not until the guy on stage announced one of the singers.

“ Unfortunately theres someone going to be performing in the morning that isn’t very expected or wanted, tomorrow morning THE SIREN is going to perform..” most of the crowd booed while some didn’t even know how to react themselves. Mizu was one of them, she was so confused by it. Why were they called the siren and why weren’t they liked? She just decided to go back to the port.

When she was pretty close to port she saw a strange looking girl with long brown hair, even longer than her own with it getting lighter at the very ends, but also short; reminding her of a tiny mouse. But something else caught her eye about the girl, her clothes looked promiscuous compared to both hers and the the townspeople, her skirt was layered but shorter, a few inches above her knees. her corset had a floral pattern with transparent puffy sleeves. She noticed her staring and their eyes locked, her brown eyes just engraved into Mizus head.

She just ran away and back into the boat. She cleared her throat and deepened her voice “im going to check on, Abijah.” One of the boaters nodded in response. She made her way to the cell while tapping on the wood of the boat, trying to annoy him. Out came a sinister chuckle as she was noticed.

“Ah, little miss Mizu. Ive been waiting for you…” he cooed.

“Ah huh. Okay.”

He grabbed the metal of the cell and twirled his hair sarcastically, as he said “ I’ve been so very lonely down here by myself Mizu.. cant you let me out now?.” He cooed in the tone of an innocent girl.

“Yeah no, you can stay down here for now. You’re going to be here as long as i need you then im going to kill you.”

he growled quietly. “Just gonna use me like im a common whore? Okay fine have your own way then.”

#Mizu #blue eye samurai #bes #mizu x reader #mizuxoc #taigen #abijah fowler #akemi #oc x canon #canon x oc

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triangle-strategy-notes · 4 months

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Whiteholm Castle's Gardens Concept Art

Concept art for Whiteholm Castle's gardens! This has been something I wanted to translate for a while, purely because it's just really pretty :)

Translation notes and image ids under the cut.

Translation Notes:

"Resting place" might have meant something more like "shrine," but given the appearance I leaned toward "resting place."

"Unreal splendor" was lit. the Japanese phonetic spelling of English's "unreal" + the Japanese word for splendor. I'm not really 100% sure why that English word was used there, but I think it's just meant to be a little extra fancy/emphasized.

There were a lot of little words on here that I was a little iffy about, in part because the handwriting was kind of small and I had trouble making out the characters. Longer sentences are usually actually easier to translate because you can use grammar and sentence structure context clues to figure out what the word is supposed to be. When it's a one-off little label, it becomes a lot more important that you know exactly what each character is. The image of the lantern hanging on the lanternpost is one in particular that I still feel sort of unsure about (it definitely mentioned hanging the lantern, but I couldn't 100% figure out what exactly the rest of it meant).

Image Id:

[id: A set of 4 images. The first is the original Japanese version of the page of concept art for Whiteholm Castle's gardens.

The second is the top third of the page, with English translations. It has the heading, "CountryA_Garden/SacredTreeVersion." There is a small shot of Whiteholm Castle with a red box outlining the section with the gardens, which has the label, "here is a wide shot of the area," as well as another label pointing to some trees outside the gardens that reads, "a forest grows around the castle." There is then a much larger and detailed illustration of the gardens, which has a large tree centered to the far right side. There is a label that has a text box with the heading, "Sacred Tree." The text in the text box reads, "A large tree that has been growing here since before the kingdom's founding, and keeps watch as the land develops. The tree is old, so its leaves have long withered away. But at night (maybe once every few cycles?), fireflies gather and form glowing leaves, returning it to its former glory." There is another nearby note that reads, "White gradient from the base to the trunk and brown gradient from the trunk to the branches." Another small label is put on the smaller, less distinct foliage nearby, reading, "forest." There is a small image of the tree at night, labeled "Sacred Tree (Night)" with the caption, "Countless fireflies are drawn by the tree's special sap and form a tree of light."

The third image is the middle section of the page, and is labeled "Country A Garden." It has a small diagram of the streetlamp with the label "Streetlamp (The idea is that it's illuminated by a lantern candle rather than a gas lamp.)" Another nearby note reads, "Lantern hands from pole." There are several additional simple labels pointing to the lotus flowers that grow in the large rectangular fountain, as well as the small semi-circle fountain that serves as a source for the rectangular one, a gazebo that is called "resting place," some large stone flower vases, some benches, some flowering plants and ivy that hang from the balustrades around the garden, and the reflections on the water, which reads, "The sky is reflected on the surface of the water." Off to the side there are some more detailed close-ups of the stone vases (which contain yellow roses), a stone bench, and a "general purpose balustrade."

The last image is of the garden at night, labeled "Country A Garden/Firefly Version." It is the same as the previous image, but with different coloring, and devoid of many of the labels. It has the same note about the streetlamps. At the bottom, there is an illustrator's note that reads, "In an effort to avoid making the garden look gaudy, we paid special attention to not overdoing it with flowers. But at night, we send out fireflies with the deliberate intention of giving it an "unreal splendor." (Tatsuaki Urushibara) /end id]

#triangle strategy #triangle strategy artbook #whiteholm castle #whiteholm #whiteholm gardens

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paradoxcase · 1 month

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@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

A couple things: Pash and Cam/Pal eliminated all the Merv Wing folks, so this is We Suffers branch. The security measures they put in place I think assumed ‘Sweet Simple Nona’ and not ‘Eldritch Monster Nona.’

I mean, I feel like they were expecting her to be an eldritch monster since they were still shooting her? Well, someone at some point said to disengage, but that was after they all lined up outside the room to shoot at her

There is definite debate over who is saying ‘Fool. You’re killing her.’ In this instance, I personally think the ‘her’ is Harrow (her body) and I think it’s said by some piece of Gideon still in there to the overarching Nona. But I am probably massively wrong.

Well, it makes me feel better that that question is never actually answered in the book, since I don't have any better idea, either

I think you are spot on about Nona’s tantrum reminds Pyrrha of. And if the body horror of the opening part of this chapter is any indication…oh my.

Yeah, back in Harrow the Ninth I wasn't sure what the Lyctors meant about Alecto being monstrous since by all accounts she seemed to have a regular human body and they seemed to think she was a regular human. But if she sometimes treated her body the way Nona treats her body here, I can see them saying that

‘Remembering her teeth’ simply means she’s about to start tearing flesh with them pretty soon, I think!

Oh, like since she's feeling like her body is foreign to her right now, she's only sometimes remembering what body parts she has that she can use to express her anger?

At its core, most folks think the cause of this third tantrum was Nona being chained/tied/zipped/locked up. And there are definitely a couple of characters who might reasonably be enraged about waking up tied to a chair or bed in a locked room. Interesting too that Nona holding the chair leg is described as holding it as if it were a broadsword if I recall correctly.

Hmm, it says she brandished it "like a sword", but I don't know if that's enough to indicate Gideon? I think Nona has said that she's familiar with Camilla's swords, right?

And yeah, I mean, I would probably freak out too, if someone ziptied me to some chairs. I can see why BOE maybe thought that was a smart idea since they tie them up when bringing them to the facility, too, but still.

@eye-lantern:

For the strength thing, to me it's like neural adaptation and hysteric strength. Our mind muscle connexion has a set strain that it can inflict on muscles and tendons to avoid us injuring ourselves. Powerlifters and athletes train to add muscle mass but also to make this limit adapt closer to their max strength, but it mostly stays below permanent damage. Some lifters clean break their tendons, tear muscle fibers by going to hard. After Eddy Hall lifted 500 p he fainted and had to be hospitalized. During that one biggest effort they deploy strength way beyond what a non lifter can exert per kg of muscle. Nona can go further, and absolutely destroy her body to create impossible proportional strength. Hitting a door with all you strength would do little because you hit under the strength you will shatter your bones at, but Nona's hits would render her unable to move. Because she has no instinct of preserving her own body.

Thanks, that's interesting! And Nona destroying her body this way still doesn't stop her because she has the Lyctor healing ability, so as long as she doesn't damage herself faster than her body can heal she can just keep going

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

yeah, I feel like we are really seeing a sort of mental breakdown of John here, at least a bit. Cassieopia was so right. You can save the world, or you can have revenge. You can't do both. John says he wants both, but I personally think he was so so so angry about the trillionaires that he couldn't think straight.

Yeah, it's making more and more sense that John is Gen Z - I feel like so many younger online spaces are sort of focused on people being angry and less on like, what can we do to help. Maybe that's just how it is when you're younger, but I don't remember being that angry when I was a teenager? And like, we had stuff to be angry about, that was back when Dubya was in office and doing the "War on Terror" because of the "WMDs" that turned out not to actually exist and so forth. But I feel like I see more irrational anger like this in some places now

#the locked tomb #wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess #eye-lantern

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captaincryolicious · 2 years

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Spark

➳ Xiao x gn!reader

➳ Oneshot ; 2.4k

➳ Fluff ; No warnings

The vigilant yaksha of Liyue deserves the world, so you set up a little date for him. [22.08.2022]

Zep's Note ; As you can probably tell I gave up towards the end because I was really struggling help.

content under the cut | masterlist

"And that brings it all together nicely," Verr Goldet stated, taking a step back to admire her work with a satisfied smile.

Her call made you halt your own activities, since you were also about finished with your task. You cast a quick glance at the string of light she had laid out over the wooden balustrade before your gaze strayed away to look around, to see the transformation the rooftop balcony of the Wangshu Inn had undergone.

The place was already beautiful on its own, with its pretty yet cozy decor against the magnificent backdrop of the wildlands of Dihua Marsh that surrounded the accommodation. But with the help of the inn's owner, it now looked like a castle garden from a fairy tale book you used to read when you were young. Although the decorations were kept very simple, not a corner of the balcony had remained untouched and the results were astounding. You couldn't help but gaze around in awe.

Strings of fairy lights traveled across the balcony, from the roof down to the balustrade and across the wooden barrier, wrapping the place in a light warm and gentle. There were a myriad of flowers, from pretty glaze lilies to frail qingxins and everything in between. Some were bound together in small bouquets in vases, sitting there daintily. Handmade flower garlands adorned the place as well – you and Verr Goldet had spent a lot of time on them and to your relief they turned out great – and together you put them up so they complimented the decor of the inn perfectly. They brought along a sweet scent to the air, and you breathed in with a smile. In the middle stood a bamboo table with a red lantern perched on top of it, and two chairs were waiting to be occupied.

The canopy of the large tree that harbored the inn casted long shadows over the wooden balcony, and it was getting quite dark now that the sun was about to set. The fairy lights and lanterns brought forth their glow with more intensity as the daylight faded, and the scenery looked just like how you had pictured it.

"Thank you for helping me out," you smiled at the owner of Wangshu Inn. "It's beautiful. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Don't mention it," Verr Goldet dismissed kindly. "Our adeptus does so much for our nation, if I can do anything to help ease his troubled mind I gladly do it."

The woman had instantly agreed to help you as soon as you told her you wanted to set up a little date for you and the adeptus. Though she didn't know much about the troubled male who often lingered on the rooftop balcony of her inn, she was aware of his pain and his struggles and took every opportunity to do something in return for the vigilant yaksha, to repay him for his loyal duty towards the land of Liyue.

"It turned out really pretty," you commented, taking one last admiring look around. "I hope he likes it."

"I'm sure he will," Verr Goldet reassured you. "I may not know him all that well, but even for an outsider it's not hard to recognize the joy in his eyes when he is with you."

Her words made you smile. You knew you brought a speck of happiness to Xiao's life that was filled to the brim with gloom and misery. It was so obvious, from the way he kept coming back to you, from how he sought your company when the darkness was about to devour him, from the serenity that fell upon his face when he was with you. The black fog mauling at him didn't follow the yaksha when you were around. His life was full of sadness, pain, and despair. Tonight was supposed to distract him a little, to step out of his role of the conqueror of demons for a moment.

"Xiao usually appears right when the sun sets," the woman told you. "I'll let Yanxiao know that he can start cooking soon."

You nodded, and she left. Now you were alone, and you gazed around to admire the decorated place once more. It really was beautiful. You hoped Xiao would find it in him to relax for a bit, under the peaceful glow from the lanterns and fairy lights. You prayed that he would be able to let his burdens glide off his shoulders and enjoy a night of peace.

You moved towards the edge of the balcony, resting your arms on the balustrade and allowing your gaze to wander over the wildlands of Dihua Marsh. The sun was gradually moving closer to the horizon, nearly disappearing behind the mountains that stood tall in the distance. The twilight sky was painted beautifully, with vivid shades of pink and orange dusting the clouds that drifted by in the darkening atmosphere. A pleasant breeze rustled your hair and you closed your eyes for a brief moment. You felt at ease, but you were brimming with anticipation at the same time – along with a faint touch of nervousness.

Xiao never let you know beforehand whether or not he would come to meet you at the inn. You knew he couldn't, for he never knew what burdens his duty would bring him that day. There were times where he wouldn't show up for days straight, sometimes even weeks. It had been a few days since he last showed his face. Surely he had to come today right?

You had prepared everything, despite his arrival not being guaranteed at all – and that was what made you nervous. What if he didn't show up? What if you did all of it for nothing? The mere thought saddened you, but you knew it was the risk you took.

In utter silence, you watched how the sun slowly set. You felt a bit restless, continuously checking your surroundings as if Xiao would magically appear out of nowhere – which he, ironically, often did. But for what felt like so long, he did not show up. Over time your surroundings grew darker, the canvas of the evening sky shifting from orange to purple to sapphire. In the forthcoming darkness, the strings of light brought a gentle glow over the balcony, and you were starting to fear that the beautiful atmosphere you had created would go to waste. The night slowly fell, and you still waited.

But an icy gust of wind tousled your hair, and you spun around just in time to see the remnants of black fog dissipating. There he was, your dashing adeptus, his amber eyes flitting around in mild confusion as he regarded his surroundings. A wave of relief washed over you – he was there! – and your heart leaped in your chest when he looked at you.

"Y/N?" Xiao asked, his voice tired. "What is this?"

His gaze was quick to wander off again, taking in all that you and Verr Goldet had decorated so daintily. He breathed in and you did too, relishing in the sweet and delicate scent of flowers carried by the gentle breeze. Xiao's golden eyes were wide, sparkling vividly as they caught and reflected the fairy lights around you. You couldn't help the smile that fell on your lips; it didn't matter how stunning your surroundings were, Xiao carried a beauty with him that surpassed everything.

"Do you like it?" you asked, observing the yaksha closely.

He looked worn-out, his arms and torso full of cuts and scratches, and you could only guess that his day had been filled with bitterness and pain. But the look on his face was awestruck as he gazed around, which gave you the answer you were looking for.

"The entire rooftop is decorated," Xiao concluded, his voice a little rough yet astounded. "Did you do this? Why?"

With tentative steps he walked around the decorated rooftop, as if he was afraid to break the spell were he not careful enough. He reached out to caress a garland made of Qingxins, the frail white petals bending under his gentle touch. The wooden floorboards creaked as he made his way around, and you watched the yaksha with a smile.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you," you replied. "Verr Goldet also helped."

Xiao nodded, ending his exploration and taking gentle strides towards you, coming to a halt in front of you. His amber eyes sought yours and his hands went up to cup your cheeks hesitantly. Your heart jumped, and you were certain that the male could hear the drum beat rhythm in your chest, now that he was so close.

His hands were cool against your skin, and you loved having him so close to you. The adeptus wasn't exactly the best with words, and he remained utterly silent, but you learned to communicate on a deeper level. You knew his inner thoughts from the way he gently held your face, how he looked at you with his amber eyes brimming with the gratitude he couldn't manage to voice out loud.

"It's all for you," you beamed at him. "For you, my dashing adeptus."

Xiao's eyes widened a little upon your words, and he had to avert his gaze in order to hide the blush that crept up his cheeks – but you saw it, despite his efforts. It was adorable, and your smile grew.

You brought up your hand and carefully peeled Xiao's hand away from your cheek, folding your fingers over his knuckles. The male let it happen, looking at you silently as you softly tugged on his arm to lead him towards the table in the middle of the rooftop. He sat down onto the chair you pulled back for him and you took a seat opposite of him. The tiny lantern that sat in the center of the table illuminated the two of you softly, and the yaksha looked ethereal when the soft breeze rustled his raven hair. He still looked a tad bit flustered, but he allowed his gaze to meet yours.

"Y/N?" the dashing adeptus spoke up, reaching out across the table to rest his hand atop yours. "It's… You made it look beautiful."

He seemed unsure, hesitant to speak up. But he did so more and more often, when he was with you he really did his best to bring a voice to the silent mirth he felt.

Though it had been obvious, you felt relieved now that he quite literally told you that he liked it. Your efforts weren't for nothing, and you had succeeded in bringing some joy to the vigilant yaksha. You felt warm on the inside, giddy even. All you wanted was to make the troubled male happy, to bring a tiny spark to his eternal darkness.

"And that's not all," you told the male when you heard a pair of footsteps approaching over the wooden floorboards.

Smiley Yanxiao stepped onto the rooftop, balancing two plates in his hands. He looked as grumpy as ever, but he did his best to offer you a smile when he lowered to set the two plates on the bamboo surface of the table.

"Two servings of almond tofu," the male announced, bowing slightly before stepping back. "It's on the house, as per request from the boss."

Xiao's hand shyly flew away from yours, his eyes solely on the plate that was set in front of him. Only when the cook of the Wangshu Inn walked off and left the rooftop did he look up at you again.

"You even–" he began, but never finished.

"Of course," you replied, smiling at the disbelief on his face – though it also saddened you, since the male obviously wasn't used to good things coming his way. "Only the best for you, Xiao. You deserve it."

He pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes and balling his hands into fists as he seemed to overthink something. Then he pushed his chair back, the harsh and sudden motion taking you by surprise, as he rose to his feet.

"Get up, please," he ordered, and still a bit dazed by the shock you obliged.

Before you could fully comprehend what was going on, he closed the distance and threw his arms around you. He buried his face in the crook of your neck and you couldn't help the gasp that slipped past your lips before you too wrapped your arms around his lean torso and reciprocated the yaksha's sudden hug.

It was fully dark now, with only auburn remnants of the glorious sunset painting the sky. It was a pleasant night, and even now it wasn't the slightest bit cold. In the darkness, the glow from the fairy lights was faint and gentle, as was the mellow breeze that caught your hair and caressed your skin. You closed your eyes, breathing in Xiao's comforting scent that mixed with the sweet scent of flowers.

He held you tight, maybe more so than ever before. It brought you so much joy, to be held by your dashing adeptus. Rarely did it ever happen, for your beloved yaksha to reach out to you like that. You relished in the moment, making sure to enjoy it to the fullest. From the warmth of his body flush against yours, to the strands of his raven hair that brushed your cheek, to his breaths that tickled your neck as he nuzzled even closer. He was so close, it was so soft and precious and your heart swelled with happiness.

"Thank you, Y/N," Xiao spoke, barely a murmur against your skin. It tickled, and it made you smile.

You would do everything for him. You wanted to be a spark of light that ignited within the shadows of his misery. Xiao deserved the world, but the world didn't deserve him. You promised yourself to take every opportunity to make him happy.

Neither of you felt like letting go so you simply didn't. The almond tofu remained untouched, until long after it was served. And when you finally let go and gazed at his face, your heart skipped a beat.

Because you saw it.

The ghost of a smile, solely meant for you.

#genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact xiao #genshin impact xiao imagine #genshin impact xiao imagines #genshin impact xiao x reader #xiao #xiao x reader #xiao imagines #xiao imagine #xiao fluff #genshin xiao #xiao x y/n #xiao x you

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stranger-marauders · 8 months

Text

i could never let you go

chapter four: voulez-vous mamma mia! au

chapter summary: You, Robin, and Nancy come together and perform for your daughter's bachelorette party. Lena's potential fathers all make a realization.

chapter warnings: language probably, daddy issues ig, use of y/n probably, single mom things, alcohol consumption

word count: 3.1k

series masterlist | masterlist

You had worked your ass off to make the bar look as good as it did, and it had certainly paid off.

Because the bar was outside, you had made a great effort in making sure that the area was fully lit and decorated. There were lantern lights around the place, and you’d even had your boys make a makeshift dancefloor before they left. You’d also secretly had Leo make sure the stage was functional, just because it had been forever since you’d had live music.

Robin and Nancy also helped you decorate the bar area, even though you had told them that you didn’t need any help. Of course, since that conversation took place after your mental breakdown in your room about Steve, Eddie, and Jonathan, they didn’t want to leave you decorating alone. While you appreciated the help, you still wanted them to feel like guests.

That was part of the reason why you were surprised whenever they’d talked you into becoming the entertainment of the night.

“Ladies! Are there any here tonight?” Robin asked, speaking into her mic offstage.

The cheers of Lena’s bachelorette party attendants screamed in response.

“Well, for one night, and for one night only, the Pinestead Inn is proud to present the one, the only, the world’s first Girl Power band in all its grown-up wrinkly glory—”

“Speak for yourself, Rob,” Nancy muttered.

“One night! One number! ‘Cause that’s all we’ve got the breath for. Give it up for Y/N & the Dynamos!”

The girls in the audience screamed as you, Robin, and Nancy walked out in outrageous 70s outfits in honor of the selection that night. You were surprised that your outfits still fit all of you. While Nancy and Robin had hardly changed in terms of physique, you thought that having a baby twenty years ago would’ve made a difference for you.

As the curtains rose and the lights hit the three of you, you began to sing.

You, Nancy, and Robin had decided to pull out one of your strongest hits from back in the day: “Super Trouper.” It had always been one of your most popular hits, mostly because there probably wasn’t a person alive that disliked ABBA. While you three had many, many songs to choose from, especially if you pulled from your solo catalog, “Super Trouper” was without a doubt the best pick.

Now that you were singing again, you thought that it was odd that Steve wasn’t out in the crowd. The last time you had been that happy singing was whenever you could sing specifically to him, acting as if every other person wasn’t there. You remembered that part of your life almost like it had happened yesterday.

Back in those days, Steve would watch your set the entire night, then he would take you home, wine and dine you before he took you to bed. He would tell you how pretty you were up there, singing for him like he was the only man in the room. He would touch you like he would never touch a woman again, touch you again. Steve would love you like it was the last time he’d ever get the opportunity to do such a thing and he wanted you to know that no matter what, that love would never go away.

Even after everything he’d done to you, you really did miss him. Something about him was so simply irresistible, even all these years later. You hated to admit that he still had a place in your heart. Just seeing him earlier that day made your heart hurt, just as it had whenever you’d sent him away all those years ago.

Whenever you’d seen Steve standing at the very opposite end of the bar, out of the line of sight with Jonathan and Eddie, your heart nearly skipped a beat.

While Steve knew that it was a bachelorette party for your daughter that he was technically crashing, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop whenever he heard you were going to be singing that night. Being back on the island made him think back to the summer of 1990, the best summer of his life. Even after all those years, he still couldn’t get your voice out of his head, nor could he forget the smell of your perfume or the feel of your body under his. You had never been able to leave him, even after his marriage with Amy.

Steve had married the girl back home that he’d said he would whenever he left you on Pinestead Island. If he could do it all over again, he wouldn’t have married her, no matter what happened with you. That decision was something he regretted even after all this time. He should’ve thought about a way to get you back rather than just settle and marry Amy.

He’d been stupid to waste his life the way he had. While he had money, more money than he could ever want, he wasn’t happy. Not really.

Unsurprisingly, Amy had served him with divorce papers almost ten years ago now, telling him that now that the boys were old enough for them to co-parent from separate homes, it was time for their relationship to end. In Steve’s eyes, their relationship had ended the day that he met you.

His sons were sixteen and eighteen now, but at the time, they had been much too young to understand why their parents didn’t love each other anymore. Steve had always told them that he would them what he’d done to their mother whenever they got older. Whenever they turned thirteen and fifteen, respectively, Steve told his sons about you and about that summer (of course, the less explicit version). He’d also told them that if they ever cheated on their partners the way that he’d done that he would disown them, but they promised that they wouldn’t.

Even so, Steve didn’t regret all of what he’d done. While he regretted not going home after he’d met you to tell Amy that it was over, he didn’t regret a single thing he did with you. That single month with you had been the most right his life had ever been, and he would do anything to have one night with you again.

That was the real reason why Steve had accepted what he’d thought was your invitation back to the island.

Steve had thought about coming back to Pinestead to see you for years. He’d dreamed of seeing you again since the moment he’d left the island to get married. He had your website for the villa tabbed on his computer back home, checking on it every once in a while to make sure that the place didn’t close before he got to see it in person. He had never gone to see you because part of him was scared that you would throw him back off the island the second you saw him. He didn’t want to risk seeing you so angry and upset with him again—he couldn’t take it. His heart broke at the thought of making you feel like that ever again.

Because of that, he knew that he loved you. He still loved you, really. He knew that he’d said it to you in passing maybe once or twice whenever you’d been sleeping together, but if he ever got to say it to you now, he would make sure you knew he meant it because, even now, he still felt that way about you. You were still beautiful, even after all these years. You were bold, sharp even if he had still been, deservedly, at the other end of that anger you had. You had even built the villa you two had designed that summer, making your and his dreams a reality.

Steve knew, however, knew that he would never get so lucky to have you again and that he would have to live with the decision he’d made to leave you behind all those years ago for the rest of his life. For that, he would always live in regret.

Whenever the song was done, you, as well as Nancy and Robin, had immediately walked over to the three men across the bar. While you talked, music blared through the area, leaving the young girls to fill the dance floor.

“What are you doing here?” you asked them, somewhat irritated.

“This is a bachelorette party,” Nancy said.

“Meaning no boys allowed,” Robin added, making sure that she was really selling the point home.

“Well, you know, we thought that we would wander around the property, enjoy the hotel as guests, you know?” Steve said, trying to act calm. Internally, however, his heart was beating rapidly. He thought you were going to tear him to shreds.

“Hm. Too bad this area’s being rented out for a private party. Emphasis on private.”

“Yeah, well—”

“They can stay if they want to!” Lena shouted, smiling as she danced with Sarah and Jenny.

Steve shrugged, giving a tightlipped smile. “I don’t know if you know, but, uh… we have permission from the bride.”

He, as well as Jonathan and Eddie, disappeared into the crowd as you rolled your eyes.

It was almost like he hadn’t aged. Even though he was forty-something years old, he still blended in with these young twenty-something young girls. There was something youthful about him, something so spontaneously interesting and simultaneously fun that it started to make your heart melt for him.

“You okay?” Robin asked, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Me?” you responded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”

Without asking you, Nancy walked up to the bar, not even looking at the drink menu. “Three shots, please. Vodka.”

“Oh my God, Nance, are you trying to kill us?”

“No. No, this is good,” you said. “I need to start drinking, like, right now.”

All of this was too much for you. Why had Lena told them it was okay to stay? Your daughter couldn’t have known what she had just done. With Lena, Steve, Eddie, and Jonathan all in the same place, it wouldn’t be long until they realized that your daughter very well could have been one of theirs, too, and you wanted to be far from sober if you could to handle that conversation.

Once you and Robin had gotten so drunk that you were hardly able to stand, Nancy decided to bring you two up to your room for the night.

Of course, the bachelorette party still went on without you and the Dynamos.

After you had been forced to go to bed, Lena had decided it was as good a time as any to finally try to investigate who her father truly was. Her current plan was to talk to each of them individually to see if she could figure out the father that way.

The first person she could find was Steve.

Whenever Lena dragged Steve to the edge of the bar, which was away from most of the party, he didn’t mind. He knew he had to go with her, even if it was just to talk.

Lena truly did look just like you. She was such a beautiful girl, just like her mother. He couldn’t help but to love your daughter too.

“I’m sorry to drag you away from the party,” she said somewhat sheepishly.

“No, I’m glad you did,” Steve replied. “It’s, uh… It’s crazy seeing the island the way that it is now. It used to be so quiet, you know? Now it’s so different.”

Lena nodded. “So do you regret staying away for so long, then?”

“No,” Steve said. “I regret that I didn’t know what was here.”

“What?”

“This place. The Inn,” he replied. “Your mom and I talked about building this place here a long time ago, but, uh… you know, she obviously beat me to it.”

She hesitated to respond to him. “Tell me something about my mom.”

“Your mom?”

Steve didn’t know what to say to her. What could he tell this girl about her own mother that she didn’t already know? He had only spent a month with you twenty-one years ago, but this girl had her whole life with you. There probably wasn’t a thing she didn’t know about you after all the time that your daughter had spent with you.

“Okay, I think I got something. I was, uh… I was actually the one that brought her here.”

“And that wasn’t the only thing you did, was it?”

Steve’s eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “What’d she tell you?”

“Nothing!” Lena answered quickly. “She–She’s never mentioned you before.”

Something about that answer didn’t sit right with him. “No, no, no. You told me earlier that your mom never stops talking about her friends from the old days, okay? Something’s not adding up.” He paused whenever he saw the look of worry on her face. “What’s going on, Lena? Why am I here/”

Instead of answering him, however, Lena reentered the dance floor.

“Wait, Lena!” Steve shouted, trying to follow her. Of course, he was pulled right back into dancing with the young girls at the party.

The next person Lena spotted was Eddie. She pulled him to the very edge of the dance party, talking to him as she’d just talked to Steve.

“It’s crazy that Y/N has a grown-up daughter,” he said.

“Have you got any children, Eddie?” Lena asked.

“No, I’ve chosen to not put myself into the path of paternity.”

“It’s never too late.”

“Oh, I don’t think my other half would agree,” Eddie said, almost laughing.

“Do you not want children?” Lena asked, somewhat worried.

“Nah, it’s not that. We’re just old. Too old for a baby, anyway. Besides, it would’ve been hard to have kids on the road,” he said. “You know, I would’ve loved to have a daughter.”

With that, Lena’s heart skipped a beat. “Really?”

“I don’t know, something about it. I would’ve spoiled that little girl completely rotten if I got the chance.”

“Must be your lucky day…,” Lena mumbled.

“Is your dad here?” Eddie asked. “I wanna meet the guy that made your mom settle down.”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I don’t know who my dad is,” Lena said, now speaking much more clearly.

Before Eddie could ask any more questions, he was brought right back into the dance circle. When Lena tried to find him, she was instead pulled to the side by Jonathan.

“Can I ask you a question?” Jonathan asked. “It may sound like I’m being nosey, but I’m trying to figure out how all of this is possible.”

“Go ahead.”

“How did your mother get this place? When I knew her, she was singing in a bar on the mainland.”

Lena shrugged. “I was really little when it happened. She was left some money in a will, I think. I know we lived with an older lady when I was younger. Her name was Darlene.”

“Darlene? Like my great aunt Darlene?” Jonathan asked.

“I think it must be.”

“I always heard her money went to family,” he said, trailing off. That was when he realized something. “Wait a minute. How old are you?”

“I’m twenty.”

With that, Jonathan went to go stand on the edge of the balcony, almost as if he was going to be sick.

“Jonathan!” Lena shouted, running after him.

“Sorry. I had to get some air,” he said, leaning on the edge of the railing.

“Why did your great aunt leave my mother that money?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You do. Please, just tell me.”

Jonathan hesitated, turning to look at your daughter for only a moment. “Well, what did your mother tell you?”

“She won’t talk about the past. She doesn’t understand how much I need to know.”

“Well, you’ll have to talk to her about it.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with her,” Lena finally said. “My whole life has been one big unanswered question, and I don’t want any more secrecy.”

“Lena, this isn’t my secret.”

She finally sighed. There wasn’t any point in sugarcoating it anymore. “Jonathan, are you my father?”

He hesitated. “I think I might be.”

“Well, you know what comes next.”

“Don’t tell me you have a win,” Jonathan said, his face going pale.

“No, no. It’s just me,” Lena said, trying to alleviate his worry. “No, I wanted to ask if you would give me away tomorrow?”

“Give you away?” he asked, not seeming to understand.

“I’ll feel like a real bride if I can walk down the aisle with my father.”

Before Jonathan could give her an answer, Jenny turned to tell Sophie something before quickly walking away, rejoining the dance circle. “The boys are back!”

“I’ll find your mother,” Jonathan said. “I need to talk to her about this.”

“No!” Lena replied. “Not tonight. We’ll keep this our secret until the wedding tomorrow, okay?”

“She’s gonna lose her mind, Lena.”

“She’ll be relieved. She’ll see us together and see that I’m happy.”

Jonathan pondered over the thought. “Oh, all right. I’ll do it.”

As he walked back into the crowd, Eddie came up to Lena again.

“Lena, I won’t beat around the bush, kid. I know why I’m here,” he said. “And let me tell you, I think it’s great. I’ve always wanted a little girl, and a big one’s even better.”

“No, Eddie! It’s—”

“I know I’m rushing things, but please tell me, does your mother know that I know?”

“No, she—”

“Okay, that’s good. Listen, I gotta know, who’s giving you away?”

“No one!” Lena said quickly.

“Wrong! I am!” he said, almost too excitedly.

“You?”

“Yes!”

“Oh!”

“And don’t worry about your mom. She doesn’t scare me too much!” Eddie shouted, getting sucked right back into the crowd.

“Wait, Eddie!”

Before Lena could catch him, however, Steve pulled her to the side once again.

“Oh my God! Talk about slow on the uptake. I’m your dad!”

“Steve!” Lena said, almost begging him to forget his realization.

“I get it now, okay? That’s why you sent me an invitation. You want your ol’ dad here to walk you down the aisle. I’m not gonna let you down, okay? I’ll be there!”

Before she could catch him, as well as Jonathan and Eddie, Lena could only stand in the middle of the crowd and the loud music, regretting her decision to try and find her father in the first place.

next chapter

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington series #steve harrington stranger things #mamma mia! au #eddie munson #jonathan byers

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faux-fires · 1 year

Text

(not a) drabble a day #6

2 things to say about today’s (not a) drabble a day:

1. I have not slept in 24 hours

2. who’s up for 3,000 words about hawke just being impressed at anders knowing people?! yeah that’s what i THOUGHT.

anyway here’s (TOTALLY NOT A) drabble-a-day #6, prompt “King”, i am going to BED.

The inn was by far the nicest one in all of Kirkwall, and the oldest, to boot. It appeared on the city maps even as far back as when Kirkwall had been Emerius - that bloody jewel in the crown of the Imperial slave trade.

Then, it had been some Magister's summer dwelling; now it was the Golden Spyglass, a respectable inn for very financially respectable people, situated in the prettier Orlesian quarter of Hightown and commanding a stunning view of the sea.

Normally Hawke would just saunter up to the door, smile charmingly at whatever bouncer stood outside, and be waved through once the bouncer clocked his patented "I'm here to cause trouble on purpose" grin. Today's visit required a more... subtle touch, however, which was why he was scoping the place out from across the street, loitering behind a fruit stand while Anders asked the vendor far too many questions about the origins of his pears.

They'd increased the guard, he could see that much. Four on the main door, two on the roof, and probably more around the back and the side. They weren't patrolling, which was a point in his favour; guards stuck for hours at a time on a single entrance were bored, easily distracted guards, and nothing he couldn't handle. The walls were rough stone and easily climbed, particularly with all those pretty wooden trellises installed so close for those lovely perfumed vines to wend their way up. It would be helpful if they knew where the Golden Spyglass their man was staying, but the lovely fluted windows were tinted a warm champagne and impossible to see through.

He was contemplating the old washer-woman disguise trick when Anders nudged him, looking disgruntled, or more disgruntled than usual. "Fifty silver a pear," Anders griped, holding one out for him. "It's an absolute outrage. They're twenty silvers down by the docks, and only slightly squashier." He bit into his and brightened; the juice ran clear down the corners of his mouth, and for a moment Hawke couldn't care less about the swanky inn and its security: it was good to see him happy, even if for just a little. "Thank you for inviting me out, love. I still think we could have gone to the docks."

"Yes," said Hawke, "But for only thirty silvers, you're saving yourself a trip to the docks. Bargain." He crunched his pear, eyes returning, somewhat reluctantly, to the exterior of the Golden Spyglass. The coloured glass lanterns strung from the eaves shivered a little in the late afternoon breeze, fresh and cool from the sea. "Do you think there's a cellar access point in the sewers?"

Anders looked from the pear to the building and back again. "Oh," he said. "Oh, we're breaking and entering? I thought you - never mind." He wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb, and sighed. "Do you really think this is wise?"

"Got to at least try," Hawke said. "Maybe if Varric and Isabela and I come back tonight, we can get in via the windows -"

His lover's face did something complicated. "Why bother? We had our shot, it didn't work as we hoped..."

"I can't do nothing," said Hawke, quietly. "I can't - I can't look Grace in the eye and say I learned nothing. Helping mages escape means nothing if I have nowhere safe to send them, and I can't - not at least try, Anders." He turned away, sharply, and gave Anders a wan smile. "Things are getting worse in the Gallows, you know that as well as I do. I don't know how many we can save but I can't give them a taste of freedom and leave them to the wolves."

"Oh, Hawke." Anders looked softer, suddenly. Normally Hawke loved it when Anders looked at him like that - all soft and hazy affection, with that warm tilt to the corner of his mouth - but this expression looked a little bittersweet, like they both knew it didn't matter but were going through the motions for lack of other options. "You are a good man, my love. Come on. Hood up, follow me."

"Wha - wait!"

But Anders was already moving, striding confidently across the street to the burly guards, and Hawke had to scramble to keep up. He arrived in time to hear him say, "Tell Gwen the Darktown Healer's here to see her. I'll be waiting around the back door."

The guard eyed him with thuggish suspicion. "Not 'sposed to let anyone 'round the back," he said, his huge ham-hock hands wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword. Anders was taller than him - well, taller than most people, the beanpole - and he was putting those extra inches to good use; his posture was even and relaxed, his chin lifted, casual confidence in every joint. This usually made people anxious, and Thug#1 was clearly no exception. Hawke tried to skulk behind him without looking like he was skulking, but needn't have worried; Anders was in full haughty mode, and drew attention like a vortex spell drew in hapless victims.

"You've got guards posted at the back entrance too, correct?" He didn't wait for them to answer. "So I'll loiter in their line of sight until Gwen fetches me. I'm her healer. Hurry; the guest is likely to be in a lot of discomfort."

Thug#1 cocked his head to one side, taking Anders in from the top of his head to his dirty, bandage-wrapped boots. "You know Gwen?" he sneered.

"Even a cat may look upon a King," Anders replied, with such arrogance it made Hawke almost double-take. "Particularly this cat, right here, standing between the city and something potentially contagious."

"Contagious? Contagious how?" This was Thug#2, who had come to see the commotion.

Anders shrugged. "Could be Mummer's flux," he said. "Possibly Thespian's Bowel. Have either of you noticed a certain... salt smell in the air recently?"

They were literally facing out over the sea, but somehow this fact seemed to have missed the guards, who looked a little queasy. "You'll stay outside 'til Gwen fetches you?"

"On my honour," Anders agreed, the edge of his mouth curving with what Hawke, friend and companion for many years now, knew to be mischief. It was also his number one tell in Wicked Grace.

The back entrance faced a narrow alleyway, lined with slop buckets ready for the pig man to come collect - or any of the feral children who called rat's nest walkways such as this one their home. The guards posted at the back of the grand building squinted at them in mistrust but didn't ask, while Hawke grabbed Anders' shoulder and hissed, "Who's Gwen?"

"Landlady," said Anders. "Love of my life, obviously. We've been carrying on an elaborate affair these past few years under your nose."

"You are not funny -"

"Anders? The guards said you needed to see me about the plague?"

Gwen was a tall, willowy woman with dark hair in a loose braid. Her clothes were clean and well-made, and she had gold sparkling at her ears, throat and sleeves; she also had a surprised, but not distrustful expression on her face. "Is everything alright? Who's your companion?"

"My bodyman," said Anders. He held out his hand and when she returned the gesture automatically, seized her palm in a firm but not unreasonable shake, drawing her away from the lurking guards and dropping his voice. "Hello Gwen, good to see you. How's Ioan? You haven't sent any of the girls around for more poultices, so I hope that's a good sign."

"Oh, he's been right as rain since -" her eyes cut to Hawke, and now Hawke was surprised to see concern in her eyes, and not for herself, "Since you did your special treatment for him. Thank you, by the way. We just couldn't afford the Circle prices after the Qunari..."

She knew Anders was a mage. She knew Anders was a mage and she didn't know if Hawke knew, and she was clearly willing to keep his secret to some extent. For some reason this warmed Hawke's heart. Lately it felt like the mages were the only ones that mattered, and it was dispiriting seeing Anders run himself so ragged to try to save them while Meredith knocked the ground down under him; it pleased him to see someone recognise and appreciate Anders for the gifts he had and the choices he'd made. It reminded him of those Fereldans who'd stepped in outside Lirene's shop, armed and furious ion their need to protect the man Hawke had grown to love. He tried to smile at her, and saw her shoulders relax a little.

"Good," Anders said. "I'm relieved. Gwen, I'm terribly sorry, but I lied to the guards out front. I need to see your special guest, and I was hoping you could help with that."

She flushed. "I'm being paid quite a bit of money to make sure he's undisturbed, Serah. I've already had the Chantry come knocking, and the Templars."

"I know," Anders said. "And I can't offer money or custom the way they can. I'll keep looking after Ioan if you need me to no matter what you say. But, Gwen -" he still had her hand in his, and his eyes were shining with sincerity - "- a good man told me I have to at least try. The tides turn tomorrow and I could lose my chance, and I thought - I hoped... Please."

Gwen searched his face, hesitantly, and then, to Hawke's considerable surprise, nodded. "Alright," she said. "You've never done me any wrong, healer. Just - if you're asked to leave - go. Don't loiter." She drew her hands back and smoothed them down the front of her skirt, anxiously.

Anders nodded. "I swear," he said. "Thank you. You're a good woman, Gwen."

"And you," she said, a little archly, "Are very good at sweet-talking people." She smiled, a wan thin thing, then glanced at Hawke. "Whoever you are, keep an eye on this one. Both of you, follow me."

When she put her hand on the back door, one of the guards leaned over and said, "Not supposed to let anyone inside."

"This is my inn, Sergeant," she said. "This is a healer. One of our other guests needs healing. If you'd like to explain to your man, so that he can explain to my guest why they have to suffer...?"

The other guard shook his head at the first one, who sighed and moved away. "There'd be shouting," he said glumly. "And complainin'."

The second guard snorted agreement and narrowed her eyes at the three of them. "Besides," she said, lazily, "He could take all three of them in a fight. A innkeep, a coat rack and whatever you've got going on?" She gestured vaguely to encompass all of Hawke, who felt this was unnecessarily mean. "He'll be fine. Good luck with your healing. Leave the same way you came in or we'll come find you."

"It is not my intention to be disruptive," said Anders, who was absolutely the most disruptive man Hawke had ever met. He inclined his head stiffly at the guards, still doing his best impersonation of an icicle person - the coatrack remark must have really gotten to him - and slipped through the door Gwen held open for them without a second look. It wasn't until they'd gone around a corner and entered a plushly carpeted hallway that he glanced back over his shoulder and said, wrly, "What have you got going on, Haw - lo - my friend?"

He didn't want Gwen to know he'd brought the Champion of Kirkwall with him, Hawke realised. It felt strange, being the unknown party in an event. He tried to remind himself that this was Anders' space, the parts of the city he moved in without Hawke, because he had six years of history all his own with the city. Hawke knew about the clinic but he'd never know every person Anders had helped, and that was fine. That was normal. Normal couples weren't sewn into each other's pockets. Out loud, because he was a jealous man, he said, "Probably my four foot long -"

"The client you're looking for is staying in the master suite," Gwen interupted. She had stopped by a fork in the hallway, although Hawke couldn't see any particular difference between the branching corridors. The carpeting was thick and looked Orlesian; the walls were decorated with gold-toned wall sconces. This was exactly the kind of place someone like the Champion might stay if he needed to stay in another city. "Go up there, along there, and down there. Fifth door on the left. Remember, Healer, you swore me an oath."

"I did," Anders said smoothly. "I have no intention of ruining you, Gwen. Thank you for all your assistance."

Her jaw tightened. Hawke wondered if Anders had burnt this bridge for good with his request, but somehow doubted it. How much power had Anders amassed, he thought, simply by doing what came naturally to him - healing those who needed it without cost? He couldn't say it was a surprise. He tried not to think of how different his life could have been, if a mage healer had lived in Lothering all those years ago when his father died. He knew for a fact that if it had been Anders, Malcolm would have pulled through, and that was a little shard of agony in his chest every time. Perhaps Gwen's thoughts ran across the same lines, because after a while she simply exhaled heavily through her nose, nodded, and hurried away in down the corridor.

"Up there, along there...?" Hawke nodded his head at the corridor, questioning.

"Don't worry about it," Anders said. "I know where we're going." And he set off first, humming under his breath as he strode down the corridor with purpose. The melody was strange and haunting, frequently off-key, and Hawke found himself trying to trace it. It had certainly never been played at any of the parties they'd attended together... the drunken fiddler at the Hanged Man only had two fingers, so it would have been beyond him... perhaps it was a Circle ditty?

Anders walked on without hesitation. As they got closer to their destination he reached out and began dragging the fingertips of his gloves along the wall, still humming under his breath; when they finally arrived at a beautiful mahogany door, fifth on the left, he stopped and tilted his head quizzically to one side. "Here," he said. He glanced at Hawke, amused. "I hope you know what you're going to say."

"Oh, always," said Hawke, breezily, and then added, "So... how long have you known Gwen?"

Anders glanced at him, copper eyes bright and sparkling warm. "That's your main concern? Now?"

Hawke shrugged. "I didn't know you knew... you know... Hightown people. Or that they knew about you." He could feel his mouth moving, the corners turning down. "Not that there's anything wrong with that! I just - thought I knew you."

"Ah," said Anders. He looked a little discomforted, and then said, "I have... hobbies. Interests. Ones it's not always safe to share, love." He was fidgeting with the cuff of his left sleeve, Hawke realised, his other Wicked Grace tell; working his fingers between the stained green cloth and the bandages wrapped tightly around his bracer. "Even before I knew I was a mage," he said slowly, "I knew I was a healer. I was treating the - animals on our farm by the time I was six."

Hawke didn't miss the careful censorship there; Anders never would say whereabouts in Ferelden he came from. "And the owner of the finest inn in Hightown?"

Anders shrugged. "She's a person," he said. "I've never turned anyone down, Hawke. Laughed at, yes. Especially if it's venereal. But I've never turned anyone down. I'm a healer. There's pride in that." His jaw clenched. "In another world - that's all I'd be."

But not this one, Hawke thought, sadly. Perhaps if they had more time, this could have been enough. A selfless mage healer could be the kind of hero the mages needed, the kind of story they needed to see themselves as worthy of leaving the confines of the Circles, as being safe to go outside and live free lives.

But Meredith Stannard was clearing out the Gallows one made-up crime at a time, and they didn't have the decades - centuries - it would take for Anders' tale to spread even to the other Free Cities. He sighed, and caught Anders' sleeve. "I know," he said. "One day, love."

"And they call me an idealist," Anders said, with a small slant of his mouth.

Hawke shrugged. "You're a good man. A kind man." He paused. "With a large friend network, apparently."

That coaxed a grin from Anders. "Larger than you'd think," he said, and that mischief-tell was back, glaringly bright on his narrow face. He reached up before Hawke could stop him, rapped on the door with his knuckles, and made a "go ahead" gesture with his hand.

"Anders!" Hawke hissed like a goose. His lover's expression was somewhat smug.

"You said you knew what you were going to say," Anders said. His smile was a little bit feral.

Hawke pinched the bridge of his nose. "Obviously," he said. "I was going to knock on the door, and when it opened I'd say -"

The door opened inward, and Hawke's brain stopped. The man on the inside was tall and thickly built, wearing full plate armour, and what beautiful armour it was; gold-coloured, with careful, elaborate scrolling details along all the edges. It was well-cared for and nearly as bright as the sword he had in his hand, shimmering with enchantments, smooth-edged with a hilt that could only be dragonbone. He carried it ready at hip-height, in the stance of a born fighter, and his expression as he looked upon them was alert but otherwise unreadable.

After an awkward moment, Hawke essayed a quick wave. "Hi," he said.

The man's eyes traced the lines of the kaddis smear across his nose, and some of the battle-ready tension left him. He glanced quickly between them, sighed heavily, and lowered his sword. "Hello again," he said. "Looks like you couldn't get enough of me in the Viscount's keep. Not that I'm not pleased to continue the conversation without Meredith Stannard breathing down my neck, obviously, doing that... face she does. Do you think the wind changed on her halfway through? Do you think it could change again?"

"No," said Anders, leaning a shoulder against the door frame, "I think she's always been a tyrant."

The King of Ferelden sheathed his sword absently. "Yeah, some people are. Born that way, I think. You met Commander Tabris, right? Now there was a woman who could chew through tables." He nodded at Anders. "Nice to meet you again, by the way. I wasn't sure at first if it was you in a building or a very small genlock. There's not that many Wardens in the area, and you have a different feeling."

"Ex-Warden," Anders said. "And likewise. Although I'd like to think, incompetent as our city guard are, even they might notice a genlock roaming the streets."

"Ouch," said Alistair, grinning. "A shriek, then?"

"If you like," Anders agreed. His mouth was smiling, but his shoulders were tense. He cleared his throat and jerked his head at Hawke, and said, "I do apologise for the visit. Haw - my lo - the Champion of Kirkwall wished to continue a conversation about Fereldan mages in a place slightly less likely to be crawling with Meredith's eyes and ears."

Alistair blew out a long sigh and leaned back from the doorway. "Might as well come in, then," he said. "I won't even ask how you got passed the guard. I expect you want to talk about the Circle - well, I'll do it, but Kailan'll never forgive me if I don't ask you some questions first, Anders."

"Wait," said Hawke, feeling like he'd missed a step several turns back, and the dance had carried on without him and now he was doing a handstand by the punch bowl with the music coming to a halt, "You also know the King of Ferelden?"

And Anders, halfway into the suite, turned back to him, that damn mischief-tell making his eyes sparkle so brightly they made Hawke smile in kind, and said, "Of course. After all, even a cat -"

" - may look upon a King," Hawke finished for him, grinning despite himself, and for a moment Hawke couldn't care less about the King of Ferelden, watching them with a politely baffled expression.

After all, it was good to see Anders happy, even if for just a little while.

current mood:

(i’m trying to tell myself that’s it’s ok i can’t shut up as long i’m producing something every day. it helps a lil)

#reikah writes recklessly #drabble a day #GOD I AM FAILING SO BAD AT THIS #ugggggh #anders #hawke #handers #dragon age

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silverynight · 1 year

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KEEEEEEEPING it strong with princess Tanjirou!😌 Tanjirou, the lost prince, has been locked in a tower from the evil witch, part for the amazing power his beautiful hair holds of healing and reversing age, as well as power, part for his extreme kindness. But, every year, he sees the lanterns set out on his birthday....and he remembers a different family? But that can't be right. Either way, his wish is to see the lanterns in person! But unfortunately when he asks, he's immediately shut down, by his step father.....Muzan. Tanjirou isn't a fighter, and convinces his father for a different gift for his birthday....and once again is left alone in his tower....but not for long. Move to outside the tower- The 9 Hashira, or pillars, are the kingdoms most ruthless group of thieves and assassin's! Their latest mission? Stealing the lost princes' crown. While escaping the castles guards, they run into... A huge tower?

"This seems very suspicious." Shinobu mutters, but Giyu just rolls his eyes as they all start to climb up.

"Maybe its an old hideout?" Muichiro shrugs, Gyomei humming in agreement.

"Well, compared to the castle it's not very flamboyant. Though it serves as a temporary hiding place just fine!" Uzui laughs out. Finally they make their way up, to a dark...but seemingly very lived in place?

"Shit, if someone's here we're screwed." Iguro mumbles, Mitsuri hiding behind him, slightly scared.

"It will be fine-!" Rengoku is cut off.

"What the fuck-" Sanemi curses next. Nowww they're scared. One by one they're wrapped up in....

"Is this....hair?" Giyu asks.

Suddenly, the most beautiful boy steps into the light, holding a frying pan.

"S-struggling is pointless." He stutters. The pillars can only gape in 1. Shock. 2. Awe....Tanjirou hasn't noticed.

"Just..." Tanjirou shakes his head, pointing his frying pain at Giyu, then the others. "Who are you...and how did you find me?!" He questions, his pan ending back on Giyu, glaring.

They're all tied up with his beautiful red hair and Tanjirou is in complete control, which they don't mind at all... Muichiro is already lost in the amazing smell of flowers of that hair...

But still... They answer him. However, Giyuu doesn't tell him the truth about them. He's a pretty boy who is obviously too innocent and pure to be interested in thieves. But he doesn't have to know about that.

So they tell him the tiara belongs to one of Tengen's wives and they have to return it; no, they have no idea who he is or want his magical hair for anything.

They're really sad to hear he's been there his whole life so Shinobu tells him he should go out for a while.

"I want to go see the lanterns!" Tanjirou pleads and by then they're ready do anything for him, but he has no idea.

Now the plan is really different; they hope to make him fall for them completely so he decides to stay with them and never go back to that awful, lonely tower of his.

Kyojuro thinks is a good plan.

#demon slayer #anonymous #asks #ask silverynight

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drustvar · 1 year

Text

Ch. 13: Borrow the Moonlight

In the quiet, secluded darkness of the woods, the lovers finally have a moment to themselves.

WC: 951 A/N: So this chapter is technically explicit, but its also kept pretty discreet. (But its...pretty obvious what's going on) Ao3 link in reblog || Full text under cut

It all seemed to happen so quickly. One minute they had been walking through the woods away from Portia’s cottage — and then they were rolling around, touching and grabbing at each other on the ground beneath an olive tree.

“Do you think we’ll finally have some privacy out here?” Julian’s voice was husky, and Rosie could feel him grinning against her ear. “Ah, or will we be interrupted as we have so many times before?” He’d caught her wrists and had them held over her head, though his grip was loose. She knew he wanted her to break free and show him what for. “I’ll be right pissed if we are.”

He laughed as she easily switched their places, flipping him onto his back and pinning his wrists. The grass was a soft dewy blanket beneath them, and the moonlight that filtered through the leaves danced so very handsomely across his features. Rosie thought that she had never seen anything so beautiful before.

“Oho, that’s more like it,” Julian grinned. A needy, plaintive noise came from his throat when her knee brushed between his legs. Rosie laughed at the pitiful smoldering look he gave as she traced her nails along the dip of his collar and down his chest. “Don’t be shy, make yourself right at home,” he encouraged as she spread out her skirt and settled in his lap, grinning at the way he bit his lip when she brushed against him.

“You get wound up so easily,” Rosie laughed as she dragged her hands lazily down his chest to his abdomen. “Can you really blame me?” He asked as his hands came to rest on her hips, giving them a squeeze. Rosie clicked her tongue as she took them in hers and pulled off his gloves before she let them fall back. “Not a fan of leather?” She shook her head, the moonlight that dappled through the branches above catching and glittering in her pale curls. “I want to feel your skin. I want to feel you .” She didn’t have to tell him twice; his bare hands already roaming up under her shirt as deft fingers unlaced her corset. She leaned forward to nip at his neck, relishing in the way he groaned and tilted his head back, offering her more of his throat.

“Oh, Rosie ,” Julian sighed. His voice was reverent like a prayer when he spoke her name. “We really shouldn’t.”

“Hmm?” She murmured and tilted her head as she traced his jaw. His eyes were troubled.

Rosie shook her head. She knew better. The woods were safe and dark, far from any of the paths that spiraled outward from the Palace. Nobody was around to hear them, and if anyone was they would surely know better than to interrupt a pair of lovers. His gaze was both mournful and wanting when he met her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she had pulled down the front of her shirt and pressed his hands to her chest. “No more thoughts, no more words,” she murmured. “Just feel .”

The breeze that whispered through the reeds and rushes was joined by frogs chirping and cricket song. Together, it was a tranquil backing melody for the balmy night. The blanket of stars and inky blackness was a refreshing contrast from the daylight; melting the harsh heat of the sun into a comfortable warmth. During the summertime, the city usually came alive at night. The citizens freed from the oppressive heat and humidity to go about their little lives lit by lanterns and street lights. But even outside of the secluded woods, the night was quiet. It was as if time had frozen for all but two. ||

Rosie sighed contentedly as she snuggled close against Julian’s chest, one of his long arms wrapped snugly around her. His heart was just beginning to slow, and it made her smile to think how his pulse had so easily jumped at her command.

“I suppose we uh,” Julian’s voice was quiet. “I suppose we had better get a move on.” “We could stay here if we wanted." He shook his head as he pulled his pants back up. He reached for her shawl and wrapped it back around her shoulders, his hands trailing down her arms to slip into her hands. She had a feeling he was just as desperate to linger in their closeness as she was.

“You need a good night’s rest. We both do, if we’re going to jump into this mystery together.” She mumbled an agreement as he helped her to her feet. They walked close together, arms intertwined and shoulders brushing as they trekked up the adjacent hill, stopping at its crest to look down over the city together.

“Isn't it nice?” Julian murmured. “Look at them all. All those little homes, everyone snug inside their beds. You’d never have guessed how this city or her people have suffered.” He squeezed her hand as she rested her head against his shoulder. “I just hope I haven’t brought it all back on my heels.” “You haven’t, I promise,” Rosie stood on tiptoe to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Here,” she said as she pulled a small iridescent key out of her pocket. It was the same shop key she’d confiscated once from him; though now that felt like a lifetime ago. She pressed it into his palm, smiling up at him. He stared at it for a moment before he swept her into a hug so tight she could hardly breathe. She was glad her message was clear:

‘No matter what this storm brings, I'll be your sanctuary.’

#kismet #the arcana #julian #julian devorak #rosie #mine

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cheddar-inq · 10 months

Text

silly goofy rivulet design !!!

been working on different silly scug designs based on non-rain world things, like im planning to make a space/star themed spearmaster and stuff but i was shown a cool moodboard with jellyfish and dark blues and it was so cool so

have rivulet !!!

i think that riv usually looks like how he does in the normal ver, lighter colors and all that, but he can kind of "activate" the darker ver, which works pretty well in dark places !!!

i imagine the transitition between is kind of like a lantern mouse, they can kinda just "pop" but it also fades between yk

it only works for so long before it slowly stops glowing and then fades back to the normal ver but its good when travelling is places without much light, esp if theres other with riv, although it can attract things like spiders and vultures (if outside) bc of the glow

lizards sometimes area attracted towards it and sometimes not, really depends on the lizard

i feel silly !!! its been a while since i drew non-canon rw designs man

#rain world downpour #rain world #rivulet #slugcat #scug #rain world au

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cozza-frenzy · 25 days

Note

do you think the fusions had anything to do with the red forest finally "dying"?

Chaos: Well, we finally managed to get Terry out of front, hopefully for an extended break, so it'll be the rest of us answering any asks today. But in my opinion; yeah, I think the "final death" of the Red Forest had a lot to do with it. When the part of us that was suppressing every other part finally stopped fighting, the barriers that had been forcibly separating at least some of us were bound to come down. I think even when it lay down and let itself "die" on its own terms, it still hated us; but even knowing that, I can't really hate it in return. I'm allowed to be salty about all the hurt it caused, for me and everybody else, but after our recent mass fusion there's a part of me that's Vimes, and Vimes knew what that thing was from the start. It was hatred, anger, fear, and nothing else. It never got a chance to form memories outside of our head because it never saw any reason to. It never knew anything but pain, and when it "died" it was because it had finally had enough. It had out-lived its purpose, and Jenova ended its suffering by fusing with it. Vivien: Honestly, it's no wonder Vimes countered it with his lantern; back then hope was scarce, and fragile, and that little flame was all we had to fight against all that accumulated misery. But now hope is represented by glowing golden flowers, and we see them everywhere - they grow wild basically wherever they can, from the rubble of Neogara to the cracks between the planks in the outdoor theater. They've even been appearing symbolically around the place after our mass fusion, as a golden starburst that looks like a compass rose. There's one on the floor of the fronting room, Dagwood and Taffy both have the symbol on the clothes that appeared on them post-fusion - even Terry recently found out toon has the symbol on their back, between their wings. Chaos: Our Inner World can get pretty heavy-handed with the metaphors, but at least stuff like this gives us a visual reference for how we're doing. And if this is any indication, we're definitely being pointed in the right direction.

#Spiral Posting #Beyond The Shadows #Adventures in OSDD

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justyoursicanon · 1 year

Text

Can I have that for takeout?

. . _________________________________________________ . .

Summary: Uncatchable & unknown assassin Sniper, continues to lay low as casual and innocent citizen named Mick Mundy, and finds a lovely looking café. With his hidden home found and far from safe, Mick planned on using this as a little distraction for himself. What he didn't plan was meeting a rather charming and talkative barista along the way.

(A/N: This is based on this idea, and I may continue this oneshot series sometime on!) . . _________________________________________________ . .

You may start reading! ^^

BANG

Another clean shot. The ringing continued around the abandoned building, and the horrified screams and sirens joined along. The gun that laid on the edge of the window gently dropped, as the man that was behind it relaxed back onto his seat.

Sniper let out a tired sighed as he stretched onto the chair, his single gloved hand removing his hat, and his uncovered hand combing through his hair. Putting back his hat on, Sniper flips a page on the overly filled notebook to his side, taking the pen that was left on the page and crossing n 'x' over the picture that stuck onto the paper.

As he took one more glance at the name. He shuts the book close and continues to pack up and leave.

Mick takes one more drag of his cigarette, before pinching the end with his thumb and pointing finger and throwing it to the near by trash can. He sighs out the smoke that was left on his tongue and continued to walk outside and around the park.

The city he recently moved in wasn't so bad, sure it was crowded and busy, but that made his job a tad bit easier. Or worse, depending on the job.

Although, blending in a new city like this was difficult, back to his usual locations, the buildings were smaller, less crowded, and easy to spot his targets. But this? This was really something else. But it wasn't going to stop a professional such as Mr. Mundy himself.

But then again, his recent targets were quite difficult to find, especially in the bright and busy city. He decided it was best to find somewhere new to lay low in since his old place did get found not too long ago.

Walking further down the street, his eyes catch a glimpse of neon sign. Turning his head to get a good look at it, he tilts his aviators low to get a proper view of the sign.

'RED Café' The bold letters display, upon walking closer, he reads the lower explanation below the sign. R- Relax - E- Eat and D- Date, at the RED Café!' It read.

The shop itself looked appealing to the eye, relaxing indeed with both its soft and dull colors of white, peach, pink, and of course red. The tables and chairs went back and forth with being metal and wooden, the lights in and outside looked both bright and dim in the lanterns that hung above on the ceiling. And Mick could hear the soft drawl of jazz and classic instrumental music from the inside.

Mick takes one look at his duffle bag that hung on his shoulder, and let his mind think for a moment.

'Won't be a bad idea to let the Sniper take a break for a bit.' He thought to himself. Adjusting the bag as he dug his other hand in his pocket, and gently pushed open the door with his boot.

The music from the outside had grew louder, and pleasing to the ear. Mick could already feel his body relaxing inside the cool and sunny café. He looks around for a moment, and takes note of his surroundings.

The atmosphere was pretty open and comfortable, walls going between smooth cement and a brick sort of textured, from the outside the café seemed small, but the inside was way wider and open then expected. To some sides and corners, their hung along the lanterns were cages in many bright and satisfying colors. All filled with lovely pure white doves.

A man, slick black hair with white to his sides and round glasses, almost the same height as Mick but just about 2 inches taller, stood beside an open cage, casually talking to one of the doves that stood on his gloved finger. Mick leans a bit into the direction, and catches a bit of German from him.

Mick continues to look around, slipping out of the crowding looking line and to the empty single table that stood in the side. Since this was a break, he drops his duffle bag beside the chair and takes a seat on the comfortable chair. Doing another round of observing the place.

Silver eyes catch a few other cages in some corners, and then a man on the near by piano. He had a fuzzy crochet black beanie, a glimpse of a black eyepatch, and to one of his side was a tall small table that had a bottle of booze. He continued playing the piano, sometimes singing along with the tune, Mick again took note of the Scottish accent from him.

A sudden yell had caught the marksman attention. Snapping his head up and beyond to the well décor and wooden counter, Mick had caught a distant silhouette of another man, a black cap on top, and a bright red apron that laid on his front. Mick steadied his breathing to get a better earful of what the man was saying.

"Yo Spy! Get your ass over here and help me! I still got a couple of orders to grab!" A Boston accent yelled throughout the counter. And soon enough, another man walked up to the counter to take over.

Mick looked around the cafe one more time, and let his shoulders fall as he breathed in the sudden relaxing scent. Seemed the place had scented candles somewhere too.

"Little man new to shop?" A rough and loud voice spoke up behind him, startling the marksman in his seat as he quickly turned around. He was greeted with the sight of a large man in a chocolate brown coat, and a scarlet scarf around his neck. He was twice the size of Mick, and he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Da, did not mean to scare little man. Indeed is new to café then?" The man apologizes, and continues to sip his coffee. Mick takes a deep and quiet breath before nodding. Pushing his aviators closer to his face.

"Hm, it is nice to meet you. I am Misha, you are?" "Mick, alright with Mundy though. Nice to meet ya too mate." He replies, gently taking the large hand that reached out to him and shook it. "Is little Mick going to order or is he here to relax?" Misha asked. Taking another sip of his coffee and grabbing his sandwich to take a bite. Mick shrugs as he looks around the place again.

"Just moved in the city few days ago, still getting used to the buildings and all." Misha hums. "That is understandable, Misha used to stay in Russia with mother and sisters, just us. No one else, too cold for average person." He explained, and continued to eat.

The two sat in silence the next few minutes, enjoying the piano that continued to play.

Another minute passes by, and Mick looks over at Misha to see him talking to the man who talked with the doves earlier, both smiling and talking in both German and Russian.

He subtly rolls his shoulders and checks over at the line, about 2 to 1 customers were left, Mick shrugs and decides to get up and get an order while he's here.

Walking up to the counter, he buries both his fists in his pants pockets, already feeling the twist of anxiety in his stomach. Now was not the time to get so nervous over asking for a cup of coffee.

As the person finally walks away, Mick takes another step in front, looking at the menu that was displayed onto the side for a quick moment, before looking up, ready with his order-

"Hey there! What'dya want to order this awesome morning?" The Boston accent from earlier had voiced in front of him. And now he had a better look of the man.

Under the cap were red-ish brown curly locks, matched with a bright hue of baby blue eyes. His face was a bit pale, but the freckles scattered along his skin were.. Beautiful.

"Hey handsome? Your kinda staring right now, but I can't blame ya." The man chuckled, his teeth surfacing on his lips. Christ the man even had 2 buck tooth on front. Mick was probably red by now, especially with the added compliment.

Clearing his throat, Mick rubbed his neck and muttered out his order. "Just a simple black coffee and sandwich for me mate." The man gave him a smile an quickly wrote down the order. "Yknow I can see it, with the hat and sunglasses, definitely the sugarless coffee type." The man commented, bringing a chuckle out of Mick.

"And what would you suggest mate?" He asked, already feeling his voice shrinking as he closed his mouth, and his throat tightening.

The man chuckled and looked over at the menu. "Hmm since ya really ain't the type for sweets, maybe a coffee with a swipe of creamer, and a pinch of cinnamon might suit ya." He flashed him his smile, and Mick could feel his knees almost give out.

Mick shrugs. "Suppose I could try it some time." He replies, fidgeting with the excess string in his pockets. As the man stood straight, a name tag that was attached to the apron could be seen, and it read 'Jeremy' in cursive letters. Mick hummed as he looked back at the man. "Names Mick by the way and-" He pauses as he felt a vibration in his pocket, quickly picking up his phone, he looks at the notification.

'Found your next target, be here in an hour.'

Mick sighed and quickly shoved his phone back inside his pocket, nervously rubbing his neck. "I'll erm.. Can I have that for takeout? Got a text from work and I don't want to be late." Jeremy nodded and ripped out the piece of paper and pushed it aside, glancing back at the marksman with that charming buck tooth smile. "Gotta go so soon man? Will I at least see ya again?" Mick could feel himself chuckle.

"I'll come back again sometime, if it means I'll see ya as well."

If he is going to stay in the city for the next few missions, he might as well drop by the café to rest, eat, and talk with the barista named Jeremy.

The End ^^

#SiC anon writes #tf2 #team fortress 2 #team fortress two #tf2 scout #tf2 sniper #tf2 medic #tf2 demo #tf2 heavy #tf2 au #coffee shop au #sniperscout #tf2 sniperscout #speeding bullet #tf2 speeding bullet

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