Well I haven't had much progress on well...anything. At least not this month. I've been dealing with a lot of or random BS this month, which is really weird for the summer. I haven't been feeling too great the last few weeks, mostly because of a lack of sleep. Only half of that is intentional. I've been having all these weird dreams and keep waking up at random points of the night. I sort of have a reason, but I highly doubt anyone would understand or believe me if I wrote them here so let's just say I've been restless.
New job is going quite well, especially now that I've gotten to know a lot of the people I work with. Most of them are women, so tons of random hormones and politics at work. It's like a giant messy game I get paid to play. It's also a lot more exhausting than any other job I've worked, and I don't even do full 8 hour shifts. Customers are pushy, rude and more or less ignorant (in more than one way). There are exceptions of course, but I find I'm liking the stock shifts A LOT more. I get to work in peace with people that I actually like. I can carry drinks around and swear as well, but that's just between you and me.
As for writing, this is the first day in a long time I've sat down to write something serious. I'm sitting at Higher Ground in Kensington drinking tea, eating a sandwich and waiting for a friend to arrive. I've also joined up with some other friends in a unofficial Nanowrimo called "Westwrimo". For those of you that don't know, Nanowrimo is a writing event held in November where you write a short novel in a month (approx. 50,000 words). This is basically the same idea, only it's the whole summer and it's Western themed. I have never read nor written a Western in my life. The only true Western movie I've seen was "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." So this should be interesting. I don't think I'll have enough done to use for my portfolio...which is essentially due for me next week. Aaaaaaaa
WMRR is on hold for a little while. I need to get my ducks in a row and bees in a line before I can count them, order them and squirt them with a water pistol. Now I know what you're thinking, and yes this is a giant, dirty mop that I am holding. I discovered it at work and decided that I'm going to wield it and instate it as a new form of weaponry. It's like a staff, but so much wetter and dirtier. Also it sounds really awkward when you scream "BEHOLD THE POWER OF MY DIRTY MOP" while you run up and down aisles as snobbish jazz music plays like elevator music. I may or may not have done this. All I can really say is...
A STORM IS COMING.
...literally, there's scary ass clouds all over the place outside and the trees are going nuts because of the wind. Wtf is up with weather in Calgary lately.
PS – I may have a special insanity reserved for whenever I drink green tea.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Filling in the Gaps
“Five factions to learn and be united as one. All powers and studies have two sides: a light and a dark, creation and destruction, mimicking the flow of our consciousness and hearts. You will be better at some than others, reflecting your talents and true state of being.
“The power of the body, the Physical: Known to you as Letics, they have mastered the arts of the body; its functions, capabilities and limits. They perfected the arts of speed, strength, agility, coordination, acrobatics, touch, stealth and endurance.
“The power of the mind, the Mental: Known to you as Brains, they have mastered the arts of intelligence. They are ones who have discovered the arts of learning, memory, remote manipulation, sense and awareness, mind reading, the conscious, precision, concentration and the abstract.
“The power of the soul, the Spiritual: Known to you as Happies, they have mastered the arts of feeling. The arts of empathy, heart, healing, the unconscious, dream, meditation, projection, protection, and stability are theirs to command.
“The power of the chaos, the Conflict: Known to you as Darks, they have embraced the turmoil and struggle of human experience. They may summon, consult, glimpse future and past, hide, frighten, teleport, mask and disguise, find what is lost, and know truth from lies.
“The power of communication, the Influence: Known to you as Populars or Poppies, they understand the call of the masses and the strength of the whole. They may persuade, rally, discourage, unite, build, adapt, dominate and control.
“Finally as a make-shift sixth faction, we represent the power of homoeostasis, the Balance: Known as the Freethinkers or the Freets, we seek to find harmony between all the factions and powers. Though each individual may not master all the arts, we learn from each and strive to equalize and keep our minds open to all possibilities.
“Know all these powers, learn from their ways and find your harmony and balance. Each has a light and dark side. Every Faction can be used for good or ill intentions. The Freets must acknowledge and accept both the stereotype and the contradiction. The journey will be difficult, as is with all Freets who wish to become Masters of our Order, but have faith that in time the answers you seek will come to you and you will understand.”
-+-
I need to incorporate this into the prologue of my novel. I have feedback from two sources now that tell me that the story makes sense except for why the characters in my story have these "powers". I've been struggling to figure out how to explain these powers, since obviously I can't just expect my readers to accept them. I was going to explain the HOW later on, but the WHAT is the factor that needs to be taken care of immediately.
I realized I haven't given much information on my story other than general progress and the occasional snippets of what I'm focusing on and the type of research I'm doing (mostly light weapons and martial arts with some aspects centred on technology). It is a science fiction novel set in an "alternate future" (though I may change it to an alternate world altogether, but that would be more difficult). It's definitely an alternate future because there is no way in hell this could ever happen. Essentially a war occurs in North America between the East and the West (playing on that whole East/West tension idea that's at least present in Canada...I'm not sure about the States). The war ends in a stalemate, placing a temporary border between the East and West more or less in the middle (prairie provinces and states). The West divides into 3 parts, a north, middle and south. The East remains united, and a great deal stronger because of it.
My story takes place in the middle West (obviously most easy for me to relate to) and focuses on one of the factions mentioned earlier, "The Freethinkers" or "The Freets". Now, these aren't the Freethinkers you would associate with in our day and time (at least I associate them with religious issues, but that's probably because of the university clubs I've encountered over the past few years). They are called the Freethinkers because they are a group of rebels that oppose the government of the Middle West called the "Middle West Populars" or as the Freets like to call them "The Poppies" (or simply Populars, depending if the user is joking or not). The Populars (if you read above) established their "temporary government" after the North American War. After some disputes about which parties should be the one to govern the new state, the Populars came out on top, mostly because of their use of Influence powers (convincing the populace that they were the best choice for their nation). Many were not pleased about the development, but out of fear of being attacked by the East and the other two Western nations, they accepted the MW Populars as their legitimate government. Navar Poten was one of the few to resist, believing that the use of force and control over the minds of people were not a compromise for safety. Therefore he formed the rebel faction of the Freethinkers in an attempt to bring the government down from the inside and restore a form of democracy.
Over a course of five years, Navar Poten built his organization as the Popular government became stronger and less opposed. Originally starting with a handful of people, he gathered other like-minded individuals until the organization grew to number in the thousands. My five main characters, Ash, Dedrad, Dan, Myra and Grypt all join the Freets in this time (for extremely different reasons) and become part of a special operations team led by Ash. Ash was the first of these five to become one of the Freets (was one of the first overall, joining little over a year after Poten began his faction) and became Navar Poten's apprentice. He was then given the freedom to find members for his special operations team and learn to master the five powers. At the time of the story, the Freets are preparing for their final attack with the creation of the "Clear Mind Device", a small machine which can protect their minds from the Popular's Influence powers.
-+-
Wow a really long entry, but it was about time it was done. Now when people ask "what's the book about", I can just give them this site and I won't be lost for words. I have been working on this story since I was in grade 11 (so since 2006). I have gone through 2 versions before arriving at the one I am working on now. I seem to always give up before I finish and I decided that's not going to happen this time. After I figure out how to work this information into the first few chapters, I will be finishing chapters 8 and 9 in the next few days. I have no idea when the whole book is going to be finished. I have the attention span of a goldfish (thank you internet), a job to worry about and a portfolio to finish in the next little while. I also have a video series I'm WAY behind on, so hopefully I'll be able to allocate my time a little better. My writing tips page is currently on hold because the person who said they'd give me notes on poetry can't now and I'm still trying to figure out what else to add. I'm also trying to figure out how to USE the EGAWT, but I digress. At any rate, being the paranoid writer I am I pray none of these ideas are stolen, but I really don't think I have anything to worry about.
I ran out of black forest ham. Sad day.
“The power of the body, the Physical: Known to you as Letics, they have mastered the arts of the body; its functions, capabilities and limits. They perfected the arts of speed, strength, agility, coordination, acrobatics, touch, stealth and endurance.
“The power of the mind, the Mental: Known to you as Brains, they have mastered the arts of intelligence. They are ones who have discovered the arts of learning, memory, remote manipulation, sense and awareness, mind reading, the conscious, precision, concentration and the abstract.
“The power of the soul, the Spiritual: Known to you as Happies, they have mastered the arts of feeling. The arts of empathy, heart, healing, the unconscious, dream, meditation, projection, protection, and stability are theirs to command.
“The power of the chaos, the Conflict: Known to you as Darks, they have embraced the turmoil and struggle of human experience. They may summon, consult, glimpse future and past, hide, frighten, teleport, mask and disguise, find what is lost, and know truth from lies.
“The power of communication, the Influence: Known to you as Populars or Poppies, they understand the call of the masses and the strength of the whole. They may persuade, rally, discourage, unite, build, adapt, dominate and control.
“Finally as a make-shift sixth faction, we represent the power of homoeostasis, the Balance: Known as the Freethinkers or the Freets, we seek to find harmony between all the factions and powers. Though each individual may not master all the arts, we learn from each and strive to equalize and keep our minds open to all possibilities.
“Know all these powers, learn from their ways and find your harmony and balance. Each has a light and dark side. Every Faction can be used for good or ill intentions. The Freets must acknowledge and accept both the stereotype and the contradiction. The journey will be difficult, as is with all Freets who wish to become Masters of our Order, but have faith that in time the answers you seek will come to you and you will understand.”
-+-
I need to incorporate this into the prologue of my novel. I have feedback from two sources now that tell me that the story makes sense except for why the characters in my story have these "powers". I've been struggling to figure out how to explain these powers, since obviously I can't just expect my readers to accept them. I was going to explain the HOW later on, but the WHAT is the factor that needs to be taken care of immediately.
I realized I haven't given much information on my story other than general progress and the occasional snippets of what I'm focusing on and the type of research I'm doing (mostly light weapons and martial arts with some aspects centred on technology). It is a science fiction novel set in an "alternate future" (though I may change it to an alternate world altogether, but that would be more difficult). It's definitely an alternate future because there is no way in hell this could ever happen. Essentially a war occurs in North America between the East and the West (playing on that whole East/West tension idea that's at least present in Canada...I'm not sure about the States). The war ends in a stalemate, placing a temporary border between the East and West more or less in the middle (prairie provinces and states). The West divides into 3 parts, a north, middle and south. The East remains united, and a great deal stronger because of it.
My story takes place in the middle West (obviously most easy for me to relate to) and focuses on one of the factions mentioned earlier, "The Freethinkers" or "The Freets". Now, these aren't the Freethinkers you would associate with in our day and time (at least I associate them with religious issues, but that's probably because of the university clubs I've encountered over the past few years). They are called the Freethinkers because they are a group of rebels that oppose the government of the Middle West called the "Middle West Populars" or as the Freets like to call them "The Poppies" (or simply Populars, depending if the user is joking or not). The Populars (if you read above) established their "temporary government" after the North American War. After some disputes about which parties should be the one to govern the new state, the Populars came out on top, mostly because of their use of Influence powers (convincing the populace that they were the best choice for their nation). Many were not pleased about the development, but out of fear of being attacked by the East and the other two Western nations, they accepted the MW Populars as their legitimate government. Navar Poten was one of the few to resist, believing that the use of force and control over the minds of people were not a compromise for safety. Therefore he formed the rebel faction of the Freethinkers in an attempt to bring the government down from the inside and restore a form of democracy.
Over a course of five years, Navar Poten built his organization as the Popular government became stronger and less opposed. Originally starting with a handful of people, he gathered other like-minded individuals until the organization grew to number in the thousands. My five main characters, Ash, Dedrad, Dan, Myra and Grypt all join the Freets in this time (for extremely different reasons) and become part of a special operations team led by Ash. Ash was the first of these five to become one of the Freets (was one of the first overall, joining little over a year after Poten began his faction) and became Navar Poten's apprentice. He was then given the freedom to find members for his special operations team and learn to master the five powers. At the time of the story, the Freets are preparing for their final attack with the creation of the "Clear Mind Device", a small machine which can protect their minds from the Popular's Influence powers.
-+-
Wow a really long entry, but it was about time it was done. Now when people ask "what's the book about", I can just give them this site and I won't be lost for words. I have been working on this story since I was in grade 11 (so since 2006). I have gone through 2 versions before arriving at the one I am working on now. I seem to always give up before I finish and I decided that's not going to happen this time. After I figure out how to work this information into the first few chapters, I will be finishing chapters 8 and 9 in the next few days. I have no idea when the whole book is going to be finished. I have the attention span of a goldfish (thank you internet), a job to worry about and a portfolio to finish in the next little while. I also have a video series I'm WAY behind on, so hopefully I'll be able to allocate my time a little better. My writing tips page is currently on hold because the person who said they'd give me notes on poetry can't now and I'm still trying to figure out what else to add. I'm also trying to figure out how to USE the EGAWT, but I digress. At any rate, being the paranoid writer I am I pray none of these ideas are stolen, but I really don't think I have anything to worry about.
I ran out of black forest ham. Sad day.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Cynics R' Us
Well not really, but it seems I'm getting more cynical every day. Is it possible to love the human race and at the same time want to blow it off the planet? This my friends, is the struggle that never ends. I'm just bitter because I realized that I have literally worked towards being invisible and now I'm kind of regretting it. Time for some hard work in the opposite direction it seems. At any rate, I never posted a status update last time other than "I finished a chapter".
Before I post it, however, I updated my Writing Guide yesterday with another section. I hope to get the essay writing and poetry writing guides up soon, but I need some info from friends and have to figure out how extensive I want the essay guide to be (there's so many different types!).
At any rate: EGAWT update.
Please at least look at it. I spent enough time on it that even one ten second view makes my day. Hopefully I've done a decent job on it...I haven't gotten much feedback.
And now...WMRR UPDATE! I had to do some number adjustments because I added a few chapters. (I was originally aiming for 90,000 words, but considering I have about 4-5 chapters before I reach the halfway point, I may be aiming more around 100,00 - 105,000 words)
Current rough draft completion: 45%
Overall completion: 34%
Word Count: 45,886
Before I post it, however, I updated my Writing Guide yesterday with another section. I hope to get the essay writing and poetry writing guides up soon, but I need some info from friends and have to figure out how extensive I want the essay guide to be (there's so many different types!).
At any rate: EGAWT update.
Please at least look at it. I spent enough time on it that even one ten second view makes my day. Hopefully I've done a decent job on it...I haven't gotten much feedback.
And now...WMRR UPDATE! I had to do some number adjustments because I added a few chapters. (I was originally aiming for 90,000 words, but considering I have about 4-5 chapters before I reach the halfway point, I may be aiming more around 100,00 - 105,000 words)
Current rough draft completion: 45%
Overall completion: 34%
Word Count: 45,886
Monday, July 5, 2010
Chapter 7 ***Complete***
I've unlocked the satisfaction of finally completing mission 1! I'm also being rewarded with my first shift at my new job at 7-11am tomorrow morning! Yay?
This mission originally supposed to be one lengthy chapter ended up being THREE lengthy chapters. I needed a lot more room to say what I needed to say. The completion of the new Chapter 7 is the official mark indicating that a good third of the novel is finished. I can't tell you how good this feels, even though I know a lot of the writing is complete crap. I have the ideas, basic actions and dialogue down and that's what counts. I had so much fun writing about the Ash's battle with the giant minotaur and the Laelaps. Not only that this chapter completely changed events I thought would turn out differently later on in the novel (one of the reasons I don't write out of order...I'd just have to change it). Chapter 8 and 9 need some work now, but I've left a lot of room at the beginning of chapter 8 for this.
As a special treat because I'm in such a good mood, I will post the first portion of the battle with the robot minotaur here. Enjoy!
*PS - This is not edited yet, so there may be a few typos and odd choices of words. Action scenes can get a little crazy/muddled. At least they can for me.
Also, I uploaded this song on YouTube earlier today to show you what music I had in mind when writing this: Metal Mayhem
This piece is mostly for the first part of the battle (what I've pasted below). The piece could technically carry on to the second part, but I had this song in mind instead (the particular music is at 7:46): Baptism of Fire
<-->
“Not bad, but let's see how lucky you are against a military class robot after I take him out of defence mode.”
“He was only in defence mode?”
The general smiled. “C-Delta, offensive mode, target five feet at 135 degrees.”
The semi-circle of guards widened as the robot whirred to life behind Ash. He looked over his shoulder to see the robot rotate the upper half of his body to look at him with its yellow eyes. Before he could think of a suitable move the robot swung one of its arms, catching him in the stomach and throwing him back towards the general. He managed to hang onto his broadsword with one hand as he hit the ground and slid, the wind knocked out of him.
He watched the robot approach, analyzing it's parts and weapons as he gasped for air. It was fast for a machine. He rolled to the side as the minotaur tried to crush him with its enormous feet. The robot followed him with on of its arms and locked on to where he stopped to jump to his feet. A the loud clicking indicated it was trying to use the broken machine gun on its arm. The base of the machine gun popped out and a tiny piece began spinning uselessly on the end. Ash hardly started laughing before the robot took another swing at him, hitting him in the side. This time Ash hit the wall and lost his hold on his broadsword.
He heard laughs and jeers from the spectators as he cleared his head and searched frantically for his sword. The blade had bounced off the wall and skidded beneath the robot's feet, who was closing fast on his position. Again he rolled, aiming for the space between its legs. The robot threw a punch into the ground behind him, missing him by inches. He grasped the sword, swinging it to his right as he came out of the roll and stood. The sword deflected off the side of its leg armour, leaving little more than a scratch behind.
Ash jumped back before the robot could attempt to break his ribs with another swing. He looked for a weak spot, somewhere he could connect a successful swing of his sword. A lack of armour on the neck and joints exposed machinery in favour of mobility. The targets were small and the bot was in constant motion, so hitting the marks would be difficult. He needed to be faster than the machine. Ash glanced down at the coffee machine which had been knocked on its side. As the minotaur began to charge at him again he saw it lay in its path.
Ash raised another small shield around it as the robot stepped directly above it. He felt a sharp jolt surge through his head and spine as the weight of the minotaur nearly crushed the shield. The unexpected presence of the shield tripped the robot and it fell forward. Ash dashed to the left to avoid being hit by the falling heap of metal and struck the robot under its shoulder, nearly severing the arm from the robot. A one of the minotaur's cables leading into its arm broke, spilling think, black liquid all over the floor.
“Try and hit me now asshole,” Ash spat as he kicked the side of the minotaur.
Ash turned and went for the coffee machine on the floor at the minotaur's feet. As he bent to pick it up the robot spun around and kicked him in the small of the back, sending Ash flying face-first across the room into a group of soldiers watching. One of the soldiers broke his fall as the rest dove out of the way. Ash pushed away from the soldier and flipped onto his back. He groaned in pain as he rose.
“Kay, I deserved that...I think.”
<-->
FISH IN THE FACE!
This mission originally supposed to be one lengthy chapter ended up being THREE lengthy chapters. I needed a lot more room to say what I needed to say. The completion of the new Chapter 7 is the official mark indicating that a good third of the novel is finished. I can't tell you how good this feels, even though I know a lot of the writing is complete crap. I have the ideas, basic actions and dialogue down and that's what counts. I had so much fun writing about the Ash's battle with the giant minotaur and the Laelaps. Not only that this chapter completely changed events I thought would turn out differently later on in the novel (one of the reasons I don't write out of order...I'd just have to change it). Chapter 8 and 9 need some work now, but I've left a lot of room at the beginning of chapter 8 for this.
As a special treat because I'm in such a good mood, I will post the first portion of the battle with the robot minotaur here. Enjoy!
*PS - This is not edited yet, so there may be a few typos and odd choices of words. Action scenes can get a little crazy/muddled. At least they can for me.
Also, I uploaded this song on YouTube earlier today to show you what music I had in mind when writing this: Metal Mayhem
This piece is mostly for the first part of the battle (what I've pasted below). The piece could technically carry on to the second part, but I had this song in mind instead (the particular music is at 7:46): Baptism of Fire
<-->
“Not bad, but let's see how lucky you are against a military class robot after I take him out of defence mode.”
“He was only in defence mode?”
The general smiled. “C-Delta, offensive mode, target five feet at 135 degrees.”
The semi-circle of guards widened as the robot whirred to life behind Ash. He looked over his shoulder to see the robot rotate the upper half of his body to look at him with its yellow eyes. Before he could think of a suitable move the robot swung one of its arms, catching him in the stomach and throwing him back towards the general. He managed to hang onto his broadsword with one hand as he hit the ground and slid, the wind knocked out of him.
He watched the robot approach, analyzing it's parts and weapons as he gasped for air. It was fast for a machine. He rolled to the side as the minotaur tried to crush him with its enormous feet. The robot followed him with on of its arms and locked on to where he stopped to jump to his feet. A the loud clicking indicated it was trying to use the broken machine gun on its arm. The base of the machine gun popped out and a tiny piece began spinning uselessly on the end. Ash hardly started laughing before the robot took another swing at him, hitting him in the side. This time Ash hit the wall and lost his hold on his broadsword.
He heard laughs and jeers from the spectators as he cleared his head and searched frantically for his sword. The blade had bounced off the wall and skidded beneath the robot's feet, who was closing fast on his position. Again he rolled, aiming for the space between its legs. The robot threw a punch into the ground behind him, missing him by inches. He grasped the sword, swinging it to his right as he came out of the roll and stood. The sword deflected off the side of its leg armour, leaving little more than a scratch behind.
Ash jumped back before the robot could attempt to break his ribs with another swing. He looked for a weak spot, somewhere he could connect a successful swing of his sword. A lack of armour on the neck and joints exposed machinery in favour of mobility. The targets were small and the bot was in constant motion, so hitting the marks would be difficult. He needed to be faster than the machine. Ash glanced down at the coffee machine which had been knocked on its side. As the minotaur began to charge at him again he saw it lay in its path.
Ash raised another small shield around it as the robot stepped directly above it. He felt a sharp jolt surge through his head and spine as the weight of the minotaur nearly crushed the shield. The unexpected presence of the shield tripped the robot and it fell forward. Ash dashed to the left to avoid being hit by the falling heap of metal and struck the robot under its shoulder, nearly severing the arm from the robot. A one of the minotaur's cables leading into its arm broke, spilling think, black liquid all over the floor.
“Try and hit me now asshole,” Ash spat as he kicked the side of the minotaur.
Ash turned and went for the coffee machine on the floor at the minotaur's feet. As he bent to pick it up the robot spun around and kicked him in the small of the back, sending Ash flying face-first across the room into a group of soldiers watching. One of the soldiers broke his fall as the rest dove out of the way. Ash pushed away from the soldier and flipped onto his back. He groaned in pain as he rose.
“Kay, I deserved that...I think.”
<-->
FISH IN THE FACE!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Canada Day! Yeah!
I would have wished my fellow Canadians a Happy Canada Day yesterday, but I was out all day at a bachelorette party and I didn't come home in the best condition. Was an interesting day with a lot of firsts to me. First time going out of the city with a group of people I barely know. By this I mean pretty much everyone, but the bachelorette, and even then I've only known her for a little while. It was so nice of her sister to invite me though. I also went to the rodeo for the first time ever. It wasn't bad...the bull riding was the most interesting. It was super cold with the wind though, so I got a chill. Last first for me was going to Ranchman's, a country/Western bar in Calgary. Thank God no one asked me to dance. I hate dancing. Other than that it was a decent night. Missed fireworks, but it's not like I haven't seen fireworks before.
I really wanted to write last night and edit my next video, but I decided that being a little bit tipsy wasn't the best state to do it in. Okay a little more than a bit tipsy, but I didn't wake up with a hangover today. In fact I feel quite chipper. I am going to crack down on that this weekend and fianlly finish some work. I have no school anymore and I think I'm opting ut of an Edmonton trip. I'm a little low on money and I won't get paid at the earliest until 2 weeks from now. I really need my government GST rebates. Aside from wishing I wrote more of WMRR, I wrote a really crappy short story as my final project and I used a little bit of Dreamstate in it. I really think I'm dillusional half the time.
Also sunburns hurt. Worst part is that once the burn goes away, I'll be just as white as I was to begin with.
I really wanted to write last night and edit my next video, but I decided that being a little bit tipsy wasn't the best state to do it in. Okay a little more than a bit tipsy, but I didn't wake up with a hangover today. In fact I feel quite chipper. I am going to crack down on that this weekend and fianlly finish some work. I have no school anymore and I think I'm opting ut of an Edmonton trip. I'm a little low on money and I won't get paid at the earliest until 2 weeks from now. I really need my government GST rebates. Aside from wishing I wrote more of WMRR, I wrote a really crappy short story as my final project and I used a little bit of Dreamstate in it. I really think I'm dillusional half the time.
Also sunburns hurt. Worst part is that once the burn goes away, I'll be just as white as I was to begin with.
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