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Oh wow, a few thousand Fragments? To be honest I expected the number to be lower. More questions for the Sejin: -You lost me when you were talking about the Terrible Light spell. Could you explain it again?  -Can you tell me about the most common Fragments? -Have you seen many of the Fragments yourself? -Are there any you know of that have a reputation for being more... mentally dangerous? -So if I'm doing or experiencing something intensely magical, I'm likely to experience a Fragment? And it may or may not have anything to do with what I'm doing? New thread goal: make a new Fragment without kicking the bucket. 
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Aug 16, 2018 18:09
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 00:31 |
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Let's collect all the fragments like pieces of a puzzle and put them together to form a nice, hopefully not mind-erasing picture.
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Aug 18, 2018 05:45
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1A. Avoiding having our mind blasted by incomprehensible horror seems like a good tactic at the moment. 2D. A regular ferret is a good pet, rather than the giant wingferret we saw. 3H. Given the life we've chosen to lead we're going to need to start racking up the hardened notches on our Violence meter, best to start exposure under controlled conditions with the Seijin around so a potential freakout won't get us killed. The Lone Badger fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Aug 18, 2018 |
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Aug 18, 2018 05:58
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Avoiding the dreams is 1A. On that note: 1 A 2 E 3 H
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Aug 18, 2018 06:35
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The Lone Badger posted:1A. Avoiding having our mind blasted by incomprehensible horror seems like a good tactic at the moment. This. The spirit, while tempting, slows our training appreciably at a time when every scrap of mana could be the difference between casting a spell and dying.
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Aug 19, 2018 04:08
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Questions: It is possible to strengthen one's will or identity such that it is more resilient to warping by Fragments or possible similar attacks? If I were to find a book of Fragments and memorize some of them, would it be possible to then recognize and choose to experience beneficial ones while avoiding traumatic, dangerous, or ethically incompatible ones? Would you ever choose to experience any Fragments? Why or why not? If I was determined to experience Fragments, what would you say or do to dissuade or protect me?
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Aug 19, 2018 21:02
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I feel like its a "child watching horrible things in a first person perspective" rather than a magical warping deal. Considering he recognized it easily, I suspect we'll be viewing the Fragments later.
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Aug 20, 2018 03:40
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It's experiencing everything first person that's probably the problem. In the dream we become the person at the center of the Fragment, and apparently some people have found themselves changed after that happened.
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Aug 20, 2018 03:59
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Sejin, is there a way to prevent the fragments from entering our dreams? poo poo's spooky.
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Aug 21, 2018 04:15
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Blasphemaster posted:Sejin, is there a way to prevent the fragments from entering our dreams? poo poo's spooky. Yeah he just told us how, whether or not we do it is what one of the votes is
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Aug 21, 2018 04:27
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Dr Subterfuge posted:It's experiencing everything first person that's probably the problem. In the dream we become the person at the center of the Fragment, and apparently some people have found themselves changed after that happened. We have quite a way to go until our force of personality is so strong that we stay the same and the historical person gets changed.
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Aug 21, 2018 04:34
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The Lone Badger posted:We have quite a way to go until our force of personality is so strong that we stay the same and the historical person gets changed. I'm saying it's the force of the personality in the Fragment that changes the dreamer. If anything I'm expressing that as a danger to us, of being changed by the personality in the Fragment. We have the potential to be hot poo poo, considering how many times we keep surprising the Sejin and what sort of attention we've already attracted, but I have no illusions that we're anything but a tadpole.
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Aug 21, 2018 06:17
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Crazycryodude posted:Yeah he just told us how, whether or not we do it is what one of the votes is Oh yeah  Well then let's go find us some SMRIs then. Sleep is for wussies!
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Aug 21, 2018 13:23
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Blasphemaster posted:Oh yeah I slept like hot trash last night and resent your cavalier attitude. Also on a list of poo poo I resent: Bright lights Noise Being upright not being asleep
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Aug 21, 2018 15:39
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Cannon_Fodder posted:Also on a list of poo poo I resent: Yikes. Feel better, Forum Friend.
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Aug 21, 2018 17:59
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Im pretty sure Terminex has a Gnome Illusionist Extermination Policy if you say the right words?
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Aug 22, 2018 01:17
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1A 2D 3I Yaaaaay we aren't dead!
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Aug 22, 2018 03:37
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 voting is closed.
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Aug 22, 2018 22:33
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TheCog posted:voting is closed. 
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Aug 22, 2018 23:13
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Dr Subterfuge posted:-You lost me when you were talking about the Terrible Light spell. Could you explain it again? Dr Subterfuge posted:-Can you tell me about the most common Fragments? Dr Subterfuge posted:-Have you seen many of the Fragments yourself? Dr Subterfuge posted:-Are there any you know of that have a reputation for being more... mentally dangerous? Dr Subterfuge posted:-So if I'm doing or experiencing something intensely magical, I'm likely to experience a Fragment? And it may or may not have anything to do with what I'm doing? "Not quite. Fragements will only come on while your conscious mind is away. Its the intensity of the magic that causes your mind to be attractive to the fragments, but its only when you sleep that your mind will be open enough to receive them" Butt Discussin posted:It is possible to strengthen one's will or identity such that it is more resilient to warping by Fragments or possible similar attacks? Butt Discussin posted:If I were to find a book of Fragments and memorize some of them, would it be possible to then recognize and choose to experience beneficial ones while avoiding traumatic, dangerous, or ethically incompatible ones? Butt Discussin posted:Would you ever choose to experience any Fragments? Why or why not? Butt Discussin posted:If I was determined to experience Fragments, what would you say or do to dissuade or protect me? [/b]
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Aug 22, 2018 23:46
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Foolish risk for little gain eh? Sounds like it'll be voted for am I right.
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Aug 22, 2018 23:54
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 You tell the Sejin you will go with him. To Blackpool. To the massacre. You see the village before the sun sets. The first thing you notice aren't the strange snow covered lumps, but rather the clinging oppressive black substance that seems to overlay the snow. It cross-crosses across the pure white, a thin black sheen that is almost translucent. Something about it immediately puts you on edge. Its repulsive. The Sejin steps on it as if it didn't exist. "Miasma" he whispers to you, stonefaced, as if that answered everything. You can read the Sejin, you know now is not a time for questions. Still you hesitate to even put your foot in the miasma. It's deeply unsettling. Wrong. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. The Sejin puts a hand on your shoulder, but its cold comfort. A few steps into the miasma, which seems to shift slightly whenever you're not looking directly at it, and you focus your attention on something else. Now that you're closer you can see the gates of the town are askew, as if some great force had knocked them over. Slumped at the sides are... figures. More lumps than anything. The snow around the gate is died a deep crimson. You trudge on. As you approach the gate, you can see that the frost has perfectly preserved the scene. A dozen men, armed with pitchforks attempted to hold the gate. You feel queasy.  They did not succeed. Disfiguring blows tore them apart. "Maces and glaives" the Sejin says stony faced. He points at the hoofprints. "The attackers had horses". One of the defenders was decapitated. You spot his head a few feet away. Another had his skull caved in in such a way that you can make out the grimace on his face, the look of sheer despondent terror. It looks like perhaps the defenders turned their backs and ran down the main street? They did not make it very far. As you look over the corpses, you realize that the youngest of the defenders was probably about your age. A blow from shoulder to bladder cut him open. His expression is captured in the ice, in his bloodstained face, a mix of terror, confusion and pain, as he looked down at his escaping innards.  You cannot keep the contents of your stomach in any longer. You retch, for what feels like a small eternity. The bitter taste of bile fills your mouth, and you can't really say you feel better. "I think we've seen enough" the Sejin says, looking grimly down the street. "I'm sure there are only other horrors down there." he pauses. "I do need you to remain silent while i do this." he says, a strange expression in his eyes. "Can you do that for me?" you manage a nod, even though your knees are shaking, and there is no part of you that wants to remain here. The Sejin nods, and his face grows oddly... empty, as if his eyes were looking far beyond here. He takes three steps, and turns, facing down the street. Perhaps its the after effect of your violent upheaval, but you can't help but feel like the miasma is pulling at the Sejin, clinging to him, trying to drag him down. Small wisps of shadowy miasma seem to rise from the floor, reaching, grabbing, tendrils of smoke... You can feel it. The Sejin is expending mana. You don't have a good gauge for how much. Your Sight isn't quite there yet. But you can see that the Sejin is expending mana. He opens his mouth, and begins a song. As he sings, he moves, smooth, practiced motions, a dance, but with the grace and elegance of a warrior. Its mesmerizing, and it takes you an instance to realize that the Sejin isn't singing in any language in particular. There are words in there, but they are not really words, your mind cannot hold on to them. Not properly. They have meaning, but they have no meaning for you. You don't know for how long the strange ritual goes on, or what causes it to end, but when it does, and you look around you, it seems like the miasma has faded. You at least don't see it anymore, and even though you still feel weak, the pervasive sense or wrongness that clung to you is gone. "Lets go." Says the Sejin, offering you an arm to brace against. By the time you return to camp, you feel ready to ask questions. Who did this? "Bandits, probably. Humans, certainly. Not monsters" When do we go after them? "We don't." The Sejin grimaces, and his expression settles into something you haven't seen before. Resignation? Determination? "When I chose to walk the path of the Sejin, I chose to preserve the balance, to tend to the bond between spirit and mankind. To not become justice, unless the situation was so grave I had no other choice." he lets out long exhalation, a coiled breath. "The situation is not so grave. Other justices exist" What was the black stuff? "Miasma, the lingering, confused animus of the dead, robbed of form, confused, angry, searching for another vessel to carry them. Left untended it could have become something much more dangerous. We are fortunate it had only been a couple days" "Now, let us sleep, tomorrow we resume our travels" You: A.) I what? I go to sleep, wake up in the morning and resume our travels. B.) I think this is bullshit. I tell the Sejin we have to go track these bandits down and get REVENGE C.) B, but JUSTICE D.) B, and I tell the Sejin that if he isn't coming, I'm going by myself. I'm not bound by any oaths. E.) C, and I tell the Sejin that if he isn't coming, I'm going by myself. I'm not bound by any oaths. F.) When the Sejin goes to bed, I sneak off and go track down the bandits. G.) When the Sejin goes to bed, I sneak off and go plunder what remains of the town. H.) When the Sejin goes to bed, I sneak off and go explore the town. I.) I have a good cry. J.) Write in.
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Aug 23, 2018 00:39
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What did you do to the miasma to make it go away?
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Aug 23, 2018 00:45
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Also, H
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Aug 23, 2018 00:45
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A likely plus some horrible but not supernatural dreams.
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Aug 23, 2018 02:39
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IA
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Aug 23, 2018 02:44
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A + I
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Aug 23, 2018 02:49
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TheCog posted:The Sejin grimaces. "Yes." you ask him to elaborate. "It is unpleasant to talk about. But if it will dissuade you from doing something foolish, fine. There is one Fragment that relates to a sorcerer trying to give consciousness to a small animal, but he is so arrogant, so foolish he believes he cannot fail, so when things go on, he pours an incredible amount of mana into his spell. Under this strain, the spell fractures and goes awry. His consciousness is fragmented, it escapes his body, and is trapped within the small creature, but not just within the small creature, within every living thing within a wide distance. For a small instant you get to experience what it is like to have your mind utterly shattered into shards of agony, each screaming in confusion and alarm, before going mad." Yep, alright, no Fragments for me. Yikes. I
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Aug 23, 2018 02:54
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BI If we can't hunt them down ourselves, can we do some investigating so we can give the attackers' identities to someone who can?
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Aug 23, 2018 03:03
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a + i
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Aug 23, 2018 03:05
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AI
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Aug 23, 2018 03:06
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A
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Aug 23, 2018 22:21
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Vote: A.) I go to sleep, wake up in the morning and resume our travels. I.) I have a good cry. We've caused the Sejin enough grief these past few months; let's do as we're told, especially since this is a dangerous situation.
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Aug 24, 2018 20:22
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Is this dead? Please say no, please say no please say no
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Oct 15, 2018 14:56
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Toughy posted:Is this dead? Please say no, please say no please say no Probably, but I don't know for sure. If it isn't then expect an update at some point in January. If I don't update in January, I'll have a QA where we talk about what happened/was planned/give closure as much as possible.
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Dec 17, 2018 21:45
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TheCog posted:Probably, but I don't know for sure. Thanks, appreciate you dropping in and giving us an update. Come what may, Happy Holidays, hope to hear from you again in this here thread.
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Dec 17, 2018 22:05
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Seconding the "please don't die" thing. This was a pretty neat story.
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Dec 17, 2018 22:52
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Game is dead, but I'll do my best to answer any questions people have. I don't think i'm cut out to consistently update anything unfortunately
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Feb 5, 2019 18:20
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This was lots of fun. I'm sorry to see it go.  Your worldbuilding has been great, so naturally I have lots of questions.What overarching conflict did you have in mind for the game? Who killed Sundar's parents? Why? Was there anything special about Sundar other than being unusually powerful? What was up with that Ifreet(?) that spoke to Sundar during the initiation? What was the Sejin's history? How fleshed out was the magic system? Any neat details you didn't get around to describing that you want to share?
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Feb 5, 2019 18:51
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Dr Subterfuge posted:What overarching conflict did you have in mind for the game? Dr Subterfuge posted:Who killed Sundar's parents? Why? An agent of the Eyes was looking for a long buried temple beneath the town. Killing everyone was merely a matter of convenience. Dr Subterfuge posted:Was there anything special about Sundar other than being unusually powerful? Nope, she's not the chosen one, she's not special, she's just particularly talented in magic and the Sejin's protege Dr Subterfuge posted:What was up with that Ifreet(?) that spoke to Sundar during the initiation? The first Ifreet, The Magnificent Consumer, was part of an effort to subvert the power of the other Dijini by betraying the pact they'd made upon the Gate of Sands, which created the whole structure of Sejins (Protectors from the outside world) Forgotten (Protectors from the inside world), Kings (Decision makers about the outside world) and Magi (Decisions makers about the inside world), of course this balance went out the window when the Forgotten and the Magi sided with the First Ifreet and his allies, in a terrible war that destroyed much of the culture of the Sejins land. He could not be killed, so he was imprisoned, in the Obsidian Spire, had you guys voted to free him, he would have come with a number of boons, and of course a few drawbacks. Dr Subterfuge posted:What was the Sejin's history? The Sejin is ancient, he drank from the fountain of life during his Sejin trial, and as a result is functionally ageless. In his youth he traveled the lands, having trained under a master binder, looking to maintain the balance, early on he met Nomia, and they had an unlikely, almost impossible love, and eventually a child together (something completely taboo, for a number of reasons) . This child was killed by superstitious villagers while the Sejin was away, sending Nomia into an inhuman, murderous rage. The Sejin was forced to track her down, and wipe her memory, after binding her in the obelisk (A tool designed to bind beings much more powerful than a mere river spirit). The Geases placed upon her by the Sejin are to keep her from remembering and dying of grief. She doesn't remember any of her time with the Sejin. Later, having become the leader of the Sejin (unofficially, there is no such title) he defied the King of Kings and rallied every last Sejin to go fight in the battle of the Brass City, where they died to a man. While he was out, the King of Kings murdered every other king, in a massive coup, revealing that he'd been in alignment with the World-Eater. Having killed the kings and any Magi foolish enough not to bend knee, he grew insanely powerful, since the power sent into the world by the Dijini for kings was all going to him. He banished the Sejin, not being able to kill him, as per the terms of the Laws imposed by the Dijini. (The Dijini are bound by the rules they originally set down, and they are completely incapable of modifying them) Having only just survived the battle of the Brass City, and with everyone near and dear to him dead, the Sejin fled from the influence of both the king of kings and the worm that walks, traveling the land, building up a network of allies to fight back. It was slow going. He knew he could not train another Sejin, because if he did, he'd have to go to the Gate of Sands where the Trial occurs, and the King of Kings would do everything possible to stop him (The Trial offers the chance for the participant to take up the mantle of King or Magi instead of Sejin). As long as he did not do this, the King would take no action against him, since he needed to keep a Sejin alive for the Law to remain in effect. In here somewhere the Sejin travels to the Feywild, and is banished for *almost* succeeding in getting the Fey Court involved in mortal affairs In the present time, the Sejin was preparing to travel to the far north, to the Icy Tomb, where an ancient horror is entombed, the seals on the horror have been deliberately weakened, and the Sejin needs to gather his allies again to go restore them. Of course this is a trap, and the Sejin knows it is, but if the horror is loosed, it will literally bring about the end of the world and hand victory to the Worm Dr Subterfuge posted:How fleshed out was the magic system? Any neat details you didn't get around to describing that you want to share? A couple of the cooler points: The Root, the thing that enables all magic, is a being like the World-Eater, except instead of malicious, it simply wants to be left alone. It takes some amount of mana out of each transaction, which is what keeps it alive, if dormant. That's the actual reason the World Eater is here, he wants to devour his cousin. All Artifacts are cursed, they allow miracles, but the cost is they will extract a terrible price. E.g. there is a crown that makes everyone who listens believe your words, but three days after you don it, you and every member of your bloodline will turn to ash. In the Feywild, where the faries are, promises literally bind you to them.
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Feb 5, 2019 20:37
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