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Post by Fenrir on Dec 10, 2019 17:03:50 GMT -8
The seaside town was small, some would say insignificant, but Vidar called it cozy. It was a minuscule hamlet that sat in the center of a horseshoe shaped bay on the coast. There was an old, somehow, still functioning lighthouse sitting atop a tall mountainous hill, edging a cliff face, that overlooked the crashing waves below. It was very picturesque. The lighthouse, painted in the traditional candy cane striping, stood tall, a sentinel, whose light cut through the darkness of the night and showed the way to nearby ships, warning them of the rocky outcroppings that had sunk so many ships before the lighthouse’s construction.
The town, named Black Shores, was nothing to write home about - if he had a home to write to. But the people were nice, friendly, polite; the town was quaint, the structures were almost as if they were ripped out of a postcard, and that was only mentioning the lighthouse. There was also the tall white steeple of the church which stood tall in the town center, it’s heavy and large bell rang on the hour every hour. There was also the old fashioned architecture of the shops with their large display windows. The roads were paved with red bricks that had taken on a ruddy color from wear and tear and mother nature doing her thing over the years, yet it all looked vibrant and alive to Vidar.
It was by sheer happenstance that Vidar became aware of the contest happening in Oolong City.
He had been walking down the street, a chilly breeze blowing down the way; it had been an unseasonably chilly season - according to the locals - and Vidar could see that several people on the sidewalk, on either side of the road, were wearing winter coats, scarves, and some were even keeping their hands warm with steaming cups of hot cocoa or coffee. Or, at least, he assumed that is what they were drinking. He had no way to verify the contents of their cups from where he stood. His scanners worked overtime, scanning over every person that crossed his path, lifting information such as height, gender, race, eye color, hair color, and other defining characteristics which he was using to build a database of the town’s population.
He had already met the town’s mayor; a short somewhat busty woman that was slightly chubby but had a jolly personality. She was so kind. Her face was framed well by curly ginger colored hair and she wore a pair of small round glasses which seemed to always slide down the length of her nose as she was constantly pushing them up.
As Vidar reached the corner of the street, a piece of paper flew up and smacked into his face. It caused him to pause and reach up. He peeled it away and looked it over. The colorful flyer had writing splashed haphazardly across the top of it. To be specific, the words OOLONG CITY WINTER FESTIVAL were spelled out in large festive and bold lettering across the top of the page. There was also quite a lot of information, underneath those attention grabbing words, on the page that he had to take in.
Reading it over, his eyes scanning over the words carefully so as not to miss any important information, Vidar was able to get somewhat of a premise of what the flyer was advertising.
The Grand Dukes of The Pig Demon Duchies, whoever they were - Vidar had never heard of such a thing, but he had been in stasis for the past fifty years - were cordially inviting people, apparently from all across the continent and even to the surrounding islands, to a special event. They were being given an all expenses paid trip in order to participate in the event - which allowed for those that lived outside of Oolong City to participate - and the person who wished to join could, or had to, bring a team member along. It was going to be divided into groups of two, at least that is what Vidar was understanding.
The winners of the competition would be given one million zenni.
That gave him pause. One Million Zenni. One Million. That was quite a lot. Was it? He assumed it was. He could do quite a lot with that money. Perhaps he could find Hebihime and help her on her quest to find more artifacts.
But, he needed a partner. Who would he ask for such a task? He didn’t know many people. He had met a few people thus far, though the first one that came to mind was Hebi, and he had no way of contacting her. Then there was Riku. The cyborg samurai’s information was saved on his database; he had made a dossier on the man.
He sent a simple message to Riku; an image of the flyer, the more important parts highlighted, as well as a short message, Are you interested? I’ll be heading there. Reply if you want to join me.
As soon as the message was out, he headed to the nearest bus station and presented the flyer; on the bottom of the flyer was admission for an all expense bus ride all the way to Oolong City.
With flyer in hand, Vidar climbed aboard the bus and sat down at the window seat. There were no other passengers. As soon as he was seated, the driver slid into his seat; a somewhat rotund man with a grizzled face and a surly look to his eye, he shut the door and started up the engine.
All the yellow eyed cyborg had to do now was make it to Oolong City and meet up with Riku and get their ice sculpture started. In the meantime, he began to draw up sketches on the back of the flyer; ideas, really, of what his ice sculpture would look like. He already had an idea in mind. With every detailed sketch, adding in dimensions, size, width, etc, he allowed his eyes and scanners to sweep over the image, scan them into his memory, and then sent them to Riku.
What do you think of this?
WC: 1,025
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Post by Rik on Dec 12, 2019 13:27:55 GMT -8
Riku sat cross legged on a small mat resting on the floor of his apartment. His eyes were closed, his back was straight, and his palms were resting flat on his knees. His mind was drifting in a deep state of meditation; he had seen things he would rather forget recently. While meditation didn't really wipe memories away, sometimes it helped him put them in a more palatable light. This was the deepest meditation he had achieved since he had left the hibernation pod and entered this new time. A sound tried to pop the bubble of tranquility he had entered, but he ignored it. The sound persisted, as determined as any pest that had ever existed. He sighed and came back to himself to see what it was... and saw that he had a notification on his HUD.
Attention: Messages Received - 1 Sender: Vidar Title: Oolong City Winter Festival
Rik brightened a bit, he hadn't heard from Vidar for a few weeks, and from the title it looked like he was heading this way. He browsed over the flyer that had been scanned into the message... That was a LOT of zenni. He didn't really need it per se, but there were definitely things he could purchase with that money to even his kit out. He rubbed at his cheek feeling the stubble he had allowed to take purchase. He hopped up and examined himself in the mirror... he looked haggard and unkept. He had been mostly staying in his room since his return from the islands... Oolong City seemed a bit too bleak and cold despite the warm colors of it's neon lights after the temperate warmth of the islands. He thought about the winter festival... it sounded fun. He had been cooped up too long in his room since his return from the islands. It would do him good to get out with a friend and do something amusing. He had studied sculpturing with stone... maybe some of those skill would transfer themselves to carving ice. He pulled up his HUD and drafted a reply...
Recipient: Vidar Subject: Re: Oolong City Winter Festival
Vidar,
I would be glad to participate in this event with you! I must admit I have been a bit of a hermit since my return to Oolong City, this will be just the thing to get me out and about. I will meet your bus at the station and we can walk to the stadium together, I know where it is. Looking forward to carving some ice, do you have any ideas for what to carve?
-Rik
Sending message... Sent.
Riku went to the bathroom and performed his ablutions and shaved his face before he put his hair up and out of his way. He gathered his apartment key and threw his cloak on around his shoulders... it was quite cold out there. He paused as he looked at his sword... he shouldn't need it... but only a fool counted himself safe in these streets. He belted his sword onto his side and headed out the door to start towards the bus station. The afternoon was crisp as he walked down the alleyways that formed their own highway of sorts for those in the know in Oolong City. It wasn't long before he was near to the casino where he had gotten into a battle the first night he was out of his pod... He tugged his cloak down and tried to hurry on his way. He didn't want any trouble, especially not today. He picked up the pace and tried to clear the camera range before they noticed him. It was then that his message notification popped up in his HUD once more. He paused and looked at it...
Attention! New Message Received. Sender: Vidar Subject: Re: Oolong City Winter Festival
He looked over the proposed form for their statue... it was of some sort of snake woman holding a sword with one hand and a torch aloft with the other. He pursed his lips as he considered the image... he didn't really have any ideas and it seemed artful enough. He nodded to himself and fired a message back:
Recipient: Vidar
Subject: Re: Oolong City Winter Festival
Vidar,
This image seems artful and thought out. Is she a goddess you revere or a product of your imagination? I was simply curious. I am fine with using this as the base of our sculpture. I am heading to the bus station right now. Let me know what bus you are coming in on.
-Rik
He zoomed it off on it's way back to Vidar and noticed a figure running out of the back of the door and turning to face him. It was Perrsip, the saiyin he had thought dead at his hands before he left for the islands. He froze for a second as the man approached, his tail twitching in agitation as he drew his blade forth. "My master has ordered your death or mine, Riku Masumura. This will be our last meeting, whether you win or I do."
Riku shook his head in consternation and drew his blade, throwing his cloak back, "Why does he persist in this foolishness? I have done nothing against him except defend myself. I killed his men only when I was forced to defend myself. I thought I killed you, but apparently he has some good medical resources. Are you sure you want to die today?"
The only answer he received was a furious all out assault by the Saiyan blade master. Rik stepped into the attacks, backing up Perrsip even as he defended, taking the momentum from his swings. His opponent tried to leap back to gain room, but he charged right after, keeping the pressure on. Not letting the saiyan have any breathing room, he started attacking full out, using Boar Rushes down the mountain... His opponent started out meeting every blow, but on one of his back steps he slipped on a patch of ice; Riku's blade bit deep into his shoulder, causing him to drop the blade. Riku shook the blood off and pulled a rag out of his pocket and cleaned it the rest of the way. He looked down at the wincing Perssip and told him, "I think it is time for you to find a different employer. Go your own way before someone ends your path for you."
Riku reached the bus station and found a bench to wait upon and started watching old science fiction movies to pass the time til his friend arrived...
itWC2SMD1d100
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 14, 2019 16:53:24 GMT -8
The ride in the bus had been rather dull. Sure, the bus driver stopped to pick up several more passengers, a group of older women who sat close together near the front of the bus - apparently, they were on their way to some big Bingo tournament - but aside from that, there were not many other passengers that boarded the bus as soon as it was on its way. The women had climbed aboard. They appeared nice enough, they smiled to the bus driver, spoke politely to him, then took their seats.
One of them peered over at Vidar. She looked at the young blonde man’s handsome face then appeared taken aback by his strange eyes; the bright yellow irises and the black sclera, the small black oceans in which his irises floated. She did a double take and peeked at him a second time, as if to confirm what she had seen, that her eyes were not betraying her. Then she turned to her friend and began to whisper at her. Soon, the second woman peered over at Vidar as well.
He did not mind. He was used to the staring. His appearance was not exactly normal or every day for a lot of people. His arms were cybernetic, high tech augmentations, his blonde hair and bright eyes stood out. Plus, why would it bother him? He was stared at constantly when he was in the lab.
Several hours into the drive, the bus pulled over at a stop. There was a young man standing at the bus stop. He was alone. As soon as the bus slowed, came to a stop, and the doors opened with a soft hiss, he climbed aboard and stopped at the head of the aisle. He noticed the quietly gossiping group of elderly women then noticed Vidar. The rest of the bus was empty.
“Tch, not many people,” The boy piped up. He looked to be in his late teens, perhaps even close to his early twenties.
“Come on, kid, find a seat, we gotta get going,” The bus driver spoke up, standing up from his seat.
The boy moved fast. He pulled something from his oversized jacket’s pocket, a pistol, and struck the bus driver across the temple. The man was caught off guard, he cried out, fell into his seat, holding his head; he had a small gash on his temple, and he was bleeding.
“Sit down, fat ass, and you,” The gun toting juvenile delinquent growled and then turned to face the elderly women, “Empty your purses. Let’s go, grandma. I’m not above shooting little old ladies.” He raised the pistol, aiming it at the women who cried out and began to dump the contents of their purses out onto the seats in front of them.
Vidar's eyes took on a golden glow. The teen did not notice this. He was too busy rooting through the older women's belongings, plucking out jewelry and whatever else caught his eye. The cyborg's scanners swept over the gun he held. It was real. That much was certain. However, he knew something that the assailant did not.
He stood up from his seat, getting into the center aisle. This caught the teen's attention and he raised his gun toward Vidar. A look of confusion on his face.
"What the hell, man? What's up with your eyes?" The juvenile delinquent took a half step back, staring at Vidar.
The blonde cyborg's eyes were brightly glowing in the darkened bus, his brows furrowed and his expression focused. He stepped toward the gun toting delinquent.
"Get back, you freak. I'll shoot you,I swear." He held the gun up, aiming for Vidar's face.
Yet, he walked toward him nonetheless, "Robbing people is wrong. However, if you are going to do it," He stepped up to the boy, moving surprisingly quickly, cutting the distance between them before the boy could react.
He cried out, yelping in shock as the blonde man just appeared in front of him. He cried out again as Vidar gripped his wrist tightly. His grip was like that of a vice, and it hurt.
He yanked the boy's arm straight up, "If you are going to rob someone at gunpoint. Actually know how to use a weapon," Vidar commented, yanking the gun from his grip with his free hand. He released the boy's wrist as he held the gun, "The safety is on." He crushed the weapon in his grip, the gun falling to pieces to the ground; the delinquent's eyes all but bulging from their sockets. "Now, apologize to these women and the driver. Then sit down and wait for the police."
The boy stared, eyes wide, jaw slack, and he dropped into the seat, cowering from Vidar against the window.
"I suggest calling the proper authorities." Vidar commented to the driver, then returned to his seat once more.
The police did not take their time arriving. Once they arrived, they arrested the young man. The officer, a young ginger of a man, thanked Vidar several times, though reprimanded him for being so careless. Someone could have gotten shot.
Once that bit of excitement was over, the bus driver was replaced as a second bus had to drive over to where they were to pick them up.
The new bus driver was a woman. She was a bit chubby but was apparently quite nice, helping the first bus driver into the ambulance and making sure he was alright. "Alright everybody," she called out to Vidar and the group of elderly women, "We'll be heading to your original destination now. Sorry for the delay and we apologize for what happened."
The drive to Oolong City, after that, was rather dull. They pulled up into the bus station soon and everyone began to disembark. The elderly women got out first; happy to be off the bus. They walked away, heading to their Bingo tournament. Vidar climbed off after them. As soon as he stepped off the bus, he spotted Riku and made his way over to him.
"I apologize for the wait. There was a bit of excitement on the way here," The blonde commented, apologizing to the cyborg samurai, "For now, are you ready to go sign up for the event? I hope to win it. I could use the money for some new equipment; perhaps upgrade my weapon systems."
WC: 1,065 TWC: 2,090
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Post by Rik on Dec 27, 2019 7:30:44 GMT -8
Riku bounded up off of the bench and smiled as he reached out to clasp hands with his friend and gave him a few hearty pats on the back as he called out, "Vidar, my friend! It is good to see you again. You'll have to tell me about this excitement on the way if it will pass the time, but for now, it is exciting enough to have a friendly face here in Oolong City. Certainly, let's go get signed up, I could definitely find uses for the zenni. Follow me, I know some shortcuts." Rik began leading his friend through the back alleyways of Oolong City towards the stadium. As they entered the first one and fell into shade, Riku felt a little safer and a little more on edge at the same time; this was his preferred method of travel through the city but he seemed to run into a lot more trouble here than out on the open streets. Still, he wouldn't let that chase him from his preferred mode of pathing through this place.
He led them to the first turning and went left, half turning as he did so, "Hope you don't mind walking the alleys. They're almost like their own back highway system through the city for the people who know them. I won't lie, they can be dangerous at times, but I haven't run into anything I couldn't handle. I'm sure the two of us together shouldn't have any issue." He almost winced as he said it but turned back to lead them down the next turn. Usually if you handed fate a straight line like that, it was almost unavoidable that it would hand you just what you didn't want. Still, he had already had his alleyway altercation for the day; hopefully that would appease fate for the day.
As they moved through the alleys, some relatively clean and others cluttered with tumbleweeds of cast off brochures and plastic bags the cold air stirred itself and began blowing across them. It felt like an icy caress with fingers of ice as it trailed across his cheeks softly. He shuddered and pulled his hood tighter... it felt like the fingers of death reaching for him, eager to taste him. He sometimes wondered if death felt cheated of his soul since he should have long since been dead... but all men, even ones that were part machine died eventually. Death could afford to be patient; she would eventually get her due. He shook of his dark thoughts; he needed to concentrate of getting them to the stadium. This was supposed to be an enjoyable event and he wouldn't let the pall of his mood affect it.
Finally they came out of the mouth of the last alley and stood before the stadium. Riku turned and held his arm out, presenting it to his friend, "Here we are, my friend. Let's go and register." He led the way up and through the door and to the registration area, where a harried looking Oolong descendant paced behind the row of desks with workers, urging them to greater productivity. They got in line for the queue that seemed the shortest and bided their time. Riku turned to Vidar and started telling the tale of all his run ins with the Saiyan before he told what had occurred on his way to the bus station. He finished with, "Perrsip seems like a good warrior turned to bad purpose; it is my hope that he will use this as an opportunity to better his situation and find honor. If not... next time we meet might be our last. But forgive me, tell me of your excitement on the way here. Looks like we're going to have enough time while we wait in line..." They had barely moved halfway through the queue during Rick's full recounting of all his run ins with the Saiyan blade master.
Finally they reached the mousy overworked looking man with brown hair working the table at the end of the line. He barely glanced up as he typed away on his keyboard to pull up a form. In a bored voice colored with resignation to a unpleasant duty his monotone voice ground out, "Name and name of partner?"
Riku spoke up, "I am Riku Masumura. This is my partner for the event, Vidar."
The man typed for a few moments and then glanced at them, "Do you have a team name you want to go by?"
Riku glanced towards his companion and after a moment shrugged, "Team... Robros."
The man cocked an eyebrow at that but dutifully typed it in. A little label printer spit out two badges that the clerk ripped of with an efficient motion and passed to the two androids as his voice took on the cadence of someone reciting something from memory, "Wear these badges at all times while on the stadium grounds. Please no fighting or sabotage on arena grounds. Once your sculpture is done, it will be judged for artistic value, originality, and execution. Also, the Grand Duchies of Oolong take no fault or responsibility for any injuries incurred during said event. Have fun and please enter the arena to sculpt your submission at this time."
Rik peeled off his badge and stuck it to his chest before handing Vidar his as they walked into the arena and took in the sights of teams already lined up and considering their large chunks of ice. The arena was quite crowded, with people cheering and jeering as teams worked. They walked down the row until they found the block of icce that had been designated for them. Riku reached up and traced his finger down it... he had not seen ice this clear before. They must have purified it somehow... but it was time to get to the task at hand. He brought up the picture Vidar had sent him and studied it carefully, then created an overlay to virtually lay over the block of ice they could use as a template. He sent it to Vidar with an explanation and cocked his eyebrow, "Shall we get started then?"
[1029/2127] [EWC: 2000/2000]
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Post by Vidar (PROJECT: RAGNAROK) on Dec 29, 2019 21:49:54 GMT -8
Riku was rather excited to see him. Or at least, that is what Vidar perceived. From the way the cyborg samurai leapt from the bench and began to pat him on the shoulder, a big smile on his face, it left the blonde somewhat silently baffled though he was good at not showing it; his face remaining neutral. It was really all new to Vidar; social interactions and friends. He had not known someone to see him and get that excited before. Then again, while his life had been a long one - several hundred years at this point - he had known very few people in the amount of time that he did remember; he recalled little to nothing of his life before he was turned into what he was now, and most of the life he did recollect was spent in the lab hidden in the Southern Islands with Doctor Kringle and his small cabal of rogue scientists. Most of them were rather professional (read, distant and cold) and showed little emotion to Vidar whenever they spoke. He was a test subject, not a friend. He was an experiment, a tool, not a comrade. He was, above all else, a weapon, not a confidante.
Still, he had to admit, that the warm welcome was rather nice. It was new but appreciated. “I am happy to see you as well.” When he commented that he was happy to see a friendly face in Oolong City, Vidar, for a moment, didn’t know how to react and he commented, “Are there not many friendly faces here normally?” He walked alongside the samurai, who was leading him through various shortcuts in order to arrive at the stadium where the contest was going to be held.
As they walked, he looked around, his eyes scanning over the area, creating a mental map of the alleys they took; his HUD creating somewhat of a topographical map of the city, overlaying it over a map he managed to locate using his database.
“I do not mind,”Vidar replied honestly, “I have never been to this city before; it allows me to see the places and areas you normally traverse.”
Oolong City, or at least what Vidar was being shown - in terms of filthy and dank back alleys - was not exactly what he had imagined the city to look like. Sure, he knew that such alleys existed in every city, but he imagined that in a city where a tournament was being held (especially one with a grand prize of one million ) the city would look a bit less like the setting for some action or horror movie.
As they made their way to the stadium, Riku began to explain his dealings with a particular saiyan who appeared to have an interest in killing the samurai. Though, from the sound of it, the man was not as skilled as the cyborg and he managed to defend himself just fine without any assistance. "That person sounds rather persistent."
He noticed that Riku was somewhat on edge. Perhaps because these alleys, as he said, were not always safe. Though, they would be able to handle themselves, or at least that's what the yellow eyed cyborg thought; a sentiment that Riku shared, aloud, as if he were reading his thoughts.
"The trip here was rather exciting," He commented as he followed after Riku; up ahead he could see the stadium, it was peeking over the roof of at least two or three buildings so they had an alley or two to go before they arrived. He moved at a moderate pace, keeping up with the cyborg samurai but not crowding him. He stayed within two or three steps behind him so he could make sure he did not get separated from him but also wasn't just breathing over his shoulder. "As you saw, I arrived by bus. However, that was not the bus that I began the journey on. The one I was on first was rather empty. I was the only passenger for quite a distance." He explained how the journey went, the group of elderly women, the strange rider all by themselves in a hoodie, and how the individual attempted to carjack the bus.
He finished explaining things as they arrived to the front of the line, giving Riku the chance to get them registered. When he was given his badge he looked it over but placed it on his shirt pocket and followed the samurai inside.
When they were given their block of ice, as Riku marveled at the size and clarity of it, he was already working on how to get the large block into the shape he wanted.
He was given the overlay and using his HUD was able to create a sort of 3D representation of the sculpture they would do as it appeared, within his HUD, as if it were within the large block of ice. "Yes, this will be a lot simpler than I had originally anticipated."
Walking up to the ice, their tools had been set on a table beside them, Vidar gave the block one final once over before he went to grab the first of their tools, as he picked up a chisel and looked it over. "This will do."
He walked over to the block of ice and began to carve. He was starting at the top, and was following the intricate but simple pattern that his internal HUD had created, carving around the image, slowly but surely removing more and more ice from the block but adding more detail to what he was sculpting. Large chunks of ice dropped to the ground as he chiseled away, carving away at the ice, swiftly and smoothly.
"We should be done within a few hours, I believe, at our current pace."
WC: 970 CWC: 3,060
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Post by Rik on Jan 2, 2020 19:44:46 GMT -8
Riku nodded in agreement. A few hours of work seemed to be a fair assessment of their timeline. He placed the 3 dimensional vector overlay on the ice block and started working from the bottom up since Vidar started on the top. He picked up a medium chisel and hammer and moved into position, studying the ice carefully for any faults. The clear ice seemed perfectly solid so he nodded to himself and set the chisel into place and began to tap, gently at first, then a bit firmer as he began to get a sense of the force needed to chip a bit, shave some off, or take a chunk out. His pace began to pick up as he gained more confidence in his skill and soon the rough shape of the sinuous curves of the snake portion of the carving were done. He took a polishing cloth and started cleaning up some of his errant chisel marks as he planned out his next move; he decided that he would work on the fine scale detail from the tip of the tail and make his way up to the waste. If he ran out of time, he ran out of time, but he planned to get it done.
He swapped out the medium chisel for the fine chisel and stepped back to the work area. He didn't really think he was going to need the hammer... he used his ki to heat the tip and it cut through the ice like butter. He grinned as he began to easily carve the scales into the ice; it had worked better than he had ever suspected it would. It took him about an hour still until he was satisfied with the details. He replaced the fine chisel onto the work station and casually massaged his hand as he studied his work; his hand was trying to cramp, rebelling from work it was no longer used to. He grabbed an ice pick and moved to the back of the torso, "I can assist with the hair. You can concentrate on getting her face and pose just right."
Riku had never claimed to have special insight into hair, but with the image to guide him it was reduced to almost tracing lines. He once again used his ki to heat the metal of the ice pick and carefully shaped her tresses, including the ones that looks like snakes. When the timer hit 2 hours, Riku stepped away and studied their work. It was.. surprisingly well done actually. It wasn't quite as good as the 3d render... but little ever was in reality Riku had found. He turned to Vidar and clapped him on the back heartily as he said, "You did very well, my friend. You captured the nobility that you were trying to place into her expression I believe. Neither of us did quite a perfect job, but on the whole, I am quite surprised and satisfied with how well we did."
[500/2590] EWC: 2500
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