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 Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:03 pm
"Oh man…" Ochre sighed down at his tablet and its depressing readout.
His segue into investigating his brother's disappearance left him three weeks behind on his quota. Even though he was at top form for a Negaverse senshi, sourced with the lowest quota and the easiest measures to obtain it, Ochre constantly put off its collection. He knew it was important, but why should he take the time to help the Negaverse out when it seldom helped him out with Umber's sudden vanishing act? The whole deal felt incredibly lopsided. And with no subordinates to ask for help with shouldering the load, Ochre now needed to play catch-up to dodge any form of punishment.
Which left him standing in one of the more dangerous, derelict parts of town. Restlessness haunted the windows of Destiny City's oldest establishments — the iconic King's Bar glared forebodingly out toward a desolate, trash-infested street. A pair of drunks stood at its corner, one consoling the other, while the other laid on the ground in the throes of dry heaves. Some girl walked the street on the opposite side, ever looking over her shoulder. Weeds grew high with gardener's neglect,, encroaching on sidewalks, obscuring yards, and casting their moodiness into the streets. A too-loud television projected an old rerun of Cops into the polluted night sky. Elsewhere, it sounded like fireworks went off. But the less naïve side of him warned that those weren't fireworks, and he should probably steer clear of the area.
And as he set off further into the district, the buildings grew older and shoddier. Cracked windows received cheap plastic repairs, duct tape became the repairman that everyone called to their aid, and bricks still knew coal stains from Destiny City's more industrious era. But the mood improved — as he looked out toward new establishments, he found an offbeat charm. Places like Tiny Donuts and Ray's Retreat fostered a neo-60's quirkiness with all their colors and collectibles. And then there was Waffle House, whose name declared everything he could expect from the little restaurant.
He could relax a little around here, and probably get his draining done. But there wasn't exactly a lot of people on the street, so… Maybe he could sit around and wait for closing time. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Maybe plan his next attack on Umber's disappearance while people polished up their dinners.ghooooouliboo super rusty but here you go~ lmk if anything needs correction
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2018 10:01 pm
She'd made a whopping fifteen dollars and eighty-seven cents in tips. It had been a long night and while Margaret Butler had started off the evening with hope of making the last bit of money she needed for April's rent, she received little more than disappointment. She'd made a little under a fifth of what she needed, which meant picking up an extra shift for the next day... and maybe the next day.... Discouraged was an understatement, to say the least. Smelling of stale kitchen and sweat, she'd bundled up her blonde, unruly curls into a ponytail and made her way outside, trusty paper bag in hand. The last of her tables had taken their sweet time in clearing out (and then hadn't even bothered to tip!) so she'd missed out on her bus ride home. While she didn't care much for cheating the system, walking on sore feet sounded less than appealing so ducking into the nearby alleyway, the tall gangly girl traded in her worn out sneakers for heels and her weathered uniform for a dress. A quick series of jumps and skips and she'd be home, just in time for ---- Oh no.The feeling of dread settled into her spine as the aura became more obvious. It was one thing to feel the ominous vibe of being in a bad part of town - lord help her, she was already familiar with that one - but this was bad. This was like, Nega bad. Her head popped out from the mouth of the alleyway, blonde curls bouncing as she glanced one way and then the other. The brown paper bag was still clutched in her gloved fist, the senshi's stomach growling loudly to remind her that she'd yet to have a proper break all night. As much as she loved a good fight, this was not what she wanted tonight! "Hey -- uh. Who all is out there?" Strickenized Your environmental descriptions are amazing~
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 7:17 pm
But then the dinners were polished and the people finally wandered their way out to old, beater cars parked alongside the street, and Ochre still hadn't moved. Ochre didn't really plan on moving. Energy-draining just sounded like a chore, and Ochre wasn't about that life at the present. He wanted to see things through with his brother foremost, consequences be damned.
But consequences were encroaching on him already, even though he spent the better part of the past fifteen minutes just sitting around. Sitting around meant eking out a foreboding aura over a good mile of Destiny City, however, and that was met with its own challenge: the challenge of a tenuous voice making inquiries into the night air.
At first Ochre didn't think to respond. Whoever it was probably looked to make sure no creepy muggers were waiting on an ambush. Not that creepy muggers would respond from their ambush… But maybe the person thought the attempt meant something. Like she'd get confirmation that someone wanted to knock her over and take her purse or something. Yet, as he waited and waited, he realized that no one else lingered in the streets. The only thing he felt on the horizon was the inpleasant temporal headache that was a White Moon senshi, and no errant civilians left to stake a claim in that voice. So it was probably the senshi calling out, and she was calling out to him.
Which was doubly weird. Didn't they usually attack? Then again, the Negaverse was usually attacking everyone else.
Fine. Whatever. Just this once. Maybe it'll put her worries at ease and I can… Figure out what to do with myself after. "Just me?" He called back with just as much hesitance. "But uh, don't worry about me. I'm not super in the mood for energy draining. So just do what it is you people do when you're not trying to pick on officers or something."
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2018 8:02 am
Her eyebrows furrowed. The voice sounded tired, full of lackluster and enthusiasm. It was easy for Duhr to feel at ease, knowing that whoever lurked out there in the streets wasn't up to any no-good. Granted, it was likely that they were just playing possum, making her think they weren't up to any no-good all the while truly intending to be up to all sorts of no-good but she wasn't gonna find out either way if she never left the alleyway...right? Deciding her desire to make it back home trumped waiting out the negative aura to leave, dark heels clicked against the concrete as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Ain't in the mood ta fightcha anyways,” she huffed, decidedly sour at the implication that she picked on anyone. She wasn't the bully! They were the bullies! She was just defending the world from... from... ....from whatever it was that these goons did! The paper bag crinkled and the fabric of her skirt swooshed up until the moment she froze in place, coincidentally the same moment blue eyes fell on the seated corrupt who was... was... sitting there. Could he be up to no good as he sat there, looking as innocent as a bad guy could? "What're ya doing out here then, if you don't feel like bein' bad?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:26 am
The bitter objection caused his eyes to widen and his mouth tuck. He probably said the wrong thing again, this time to the enemy of all people. Which meant that even though she said she wasn't in the mood to fight him, she would probably have to fight him anyway. Maybe on principle or something. Which meant he just put everybody present into a weird situation because he had to go and open his mouth and say the wrong thing. And he couldn't even remember what the wrong thing was anymore; everything just wandered out of his brain these days.
When she finally walked out, Ochre straightened in surprise. She looked exactly how she sounded! Who even thoguht that could happen? And while Ochre hadn't exactly spent any time in the south, he sometimes saw the whole Southern Belle thing on the TV, and this senshi could've fallen straight out of an episode of… Oh, what was that one with the house and the dog… Oh well, it's gone now. He only ever watched it when he was cooking, anyway.
"Um…" The question left him out to dry. Ochre tapped his fingers together while he tried to scrape up an answer — something that maybe defended the Negaverse as not doing bad things, or at least himself not doing bad things. But she said not being bad, like it was a whole part of his persona. Which it wasn't, right? Bad was all in the eye of the beholder?
"Trying to convince myself to do my job…" He muttered, loud enough that she could hear. He hoped she took the hint and kept that one on the quiet. Not like he needed any more flak from the Negaverse for being the lamest senshi on their roster. "I mean, it's an important job. And you guys are always out trying to ruin it for us, you know? It's not like we get to give excuses when our quota turns up empty. And I don't wanna find out what they do when we fall too behind on our quotas.
"But it's just… Not doing it for me tonight, I guess. It gets old, you know? Like I imagine you guys marching around every night and trying to get in our way gets kinda old. It's not productive."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 6:17 am
Quotas? Weren't those what the cops said they didn't do when it came to tickets? She'd heard the rumor on the news, back before her poor 'ol television had crapped out, something or another about how the police force were handin' out tickets to meet the amount they'd been told to give. She didn't quite understand what everyone was fussin' about, but the word had been repeated over and over again. Did that mean this fella had a job that involved this quota - for the Nega-goons? Heels took her further forward, blue eyes still skeptical but not enough to where Duhr felt she needed to keep her distance from the senshi that radiated an aura that felt like her stomach felt when it went sour. It wasn't intolerable but it wasn't the best feeling either. While she knew she wasn't the smartest egg in the hen house (or was it the sharpest color in the crayon box? She could never remember how those phrases went), she'd never seen a baddie that... well, that hadn't wanted to bother being bad before. It was like a fox tired of chasin' the chickens. "Ah suppose it does get kind of old, after a while." Standing around on sore feet wasn't doing anyone good, so the senshi of tornadoes promptly took a seat a few yards away from the Nega-senshi. Sure, she'd much rather be going home but... but maybe keepin' an eye on the baddie was just as good as fightin' one, if it kept everyone out of trouble, right? One hand dug into the paper bag, pulling out two of the four waffles she'd stashed away. They lacked the syrup she was gonna douse them in at home but plain waffles were better than no waffles, in her opinion. The paper bag was then tossed over towards the enemy without warning, the mouth of the bag crinkled as close to shut as her fist could make it before it went sailing into the air. Tearing into the first of her own two, she chewed on the piece thoughtfully before asking, mouth still half-full, "So what happens if you get caught slackin' on the job?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2018 6:22 pm
Did being tired of energy draining mean he should switch to a new vocation? Ochre heard people talk about that kind of stuff before with more normal jobs. They just get tired of doing whatever it is they're doing — pushing papers or mopping floors or smiling at strangers — and decide to move on. And it's nothing personal, either; it just… Happens. And they go through life just like that — moving from one play to the next, one job to the next, one friend to the next. They stay as long as they need and then they go. Could the same thing happen with the Negaverse? Could he tell them he was tired of draining energy and hurting random strangers and switch to something more internal and interpersonal? Or was that like asking for —
"Oof!" Ochre startled out of his thought as the bag struck him in the shoulder. It peeled off him and plopped on the ground, threatening to slide off and out of reach. He caught it, though he still wondered what it was. The bag had some kind of grease stains on the bottom and it smelled a bit like fried dough. He looked over to ask the senshi what she just did, whether she tried to attack him with this bag or if it was some kind of offering, and then he saw what she'd gotten to work on.
A waffle. The bag was full of waffles.
Not he felt kinda dumb. Here he was, sitting in front of a place described only as Waffle House, and he was asking himself what was in the bag she just threw at his face. Maybe the senshi just finished dinner there or worked there or was picking up a friend who worked there and got paid in waffles. But he didn't see anyone around, so… Maybe this senshi just had a thing for waffles.
And maybe sticking her nose where it didn't belong a bit. Not that the Negaverse really needed to keep secrets… "Well, I guess something awful. I mean, not too awful. Um…" Ochre tapped his chin for a moment as he looked up at the stars. "I'd get punished for one. I dunno how, or how bad. I guess that depends on the crime. Not doing my job is probably kind of low on the totem pole of offenses to make… But it would probably not reflect super great on me as an eternal senshi. So I'd maybe get more work and reprimanded or something. I'm not really sure; I haven't seen anyone slack off on the job before.
"Hey, this is probably dumb to ask, but… Do you think, maybe, it'd be okay for someone who didn't like their job too much to switch to a different job? Like stay in the same business, but instead of like… Waiting tables, they're one of the line cooks?"
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Posted: Tue May 01, 2018 12:21 pm
"Punished?" The mouthful of carbs froze in their chewing, her jaw slacked and left open for a moment before she figured out that she still needed to actually swallow the bite. "You'd get in trouble?" Well that was a troubling thought in itself. Sure, she hadn't exactly excelled at being a sailor scout, but nobody ever actually reprimanded her for the days or weeks she went without powering up. She'd taken it upon herself to patrol when it felt necessary (or when she was bored, if she was being truly honest with herself) but no one was around to monitor whether or not she'd actually been productive. Her head tilted at his next question, the preface making her eyebrows furrow. Dumb questions usually meant for easy ones, so she knew she'd better have some sort of answer to give, unless she wanted him thinking ---- Wait. He wanted to change jobs? Could they... could they do that, being a NegaBaddie? "Well... Ah guess it depends on the job?" The waffle hung right below her mouth, the temptation to tear off another piece strong - but the guy seemed like he was strugglin' and stuffin' her mouth full wasn't helping nobody but her own stomach at the moment. "Henry used to be a waiter but he kept messin' up orders so they put him on dishes and he cleans them up real nice like." Duhr paused when she realized she might have given out a little too much information. Large blue eyes watched the corrupt senshi before the remainder of the waffle was quickly shoved into her gaping pie-hole. The morsel lasted only a few moments before it was successfully chewed and swallowed, allowing her time to think of how to change the subject from her potential identity-endangerment. "Ah mean... it's not like you're gettin' paid to work, right? So what's the big deal 'bout changing things up a bit?" She paused again. "Y'all don't get paid, right? Because we don't get paid... but we also don't get in trouble either. None that Ah know of, at least."
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 2:23 pm
"Yeah. Punished," Ochre conceded almost nonchalantly. Finally he unwadded the bag and opened it up to find the same fried dough that he fed herself. It looked good, smelled good — he could give it a shot. Ochre reached in for one of the proffered waffles and parked it in his mouth as he shut the bag.
And when he tore a piece off, he chewed thoughtfully for a while before he decided to answer her. Well, answer her answering him. The whole thing was getting kinda out of hand by his measure, what with trying to talk in code. It was hard, he found, to keep everything straight. Like… Would energy draining be called accounting? Or would it be more like some weird form of customer service since he had to face the public? Except the customer was Metallia and not the civilians he drained, so that didn't really work out. It's not like he ever saw Metallia face-to-face. Maybe it was more like farming? Farmers never saw the people they fed.
She sorta ran with the whole code thing to an incredibly personal degree, anyway. "I'm, uh, just gonna forget you said that." Whoever Henry was didn't need to die because this senshi got a little too specific. And he didn't want to try to hold up a Waffle House at some hour, hoping to find and poach the Southern Belle he met. It was so much effort to be that mean. And it was just plain mean.
But damn, Ochre was getting so tired.
"I guess not," he conceded. "We don't really get paid. Well, unless you count having superpowers as getting paid. They like us to do what we're good at though. I'm just not really good at running down random strangers and taking their energy. I mean, I'm better than I was, but it's not… Yeah, not really my thing.
"So you really don't have anyone looking over your shoulder? How do you know what to do, then? Like… What keeps you on track?"
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2018 10:49 pm
One hand moved up to scratch the back of her head, sending spirals upon spirals of blonde ringlets bouncing with the gesture. She'd slipped up with her words, sure as day - and the baddie had dismissed it as if she hadn't uttered a peep. Dorado would sure as hell be kickin' her a** if the younger girl found out but at the same time, she'd have prolly attacked the fella on sight, no questions asked. And it wasn't like he was hurtin' anyone - he just.... Well, he seemed downright done with his job. "So can you go to... ya know. Being like me?" One frilly glove gestured down at her overabundance of lace and silk, all of which lacked the dark, ominous colors and aura of her new companion's attire. "Ah'm sure there's some way to fix that spot on your noggin' - ever met one of the talkin' cats? They're great at figuring out stuff like that. They're real smart, those guys." Not very subtly, the super senshi scooted her way closer towards the man who was supposed to be her enemy. Feet scraped the asphalt as she inched, blue eyes taking in the corrupt Eternal the closer she got to him. "Ah mean... what keeps everyone on track, Ah guess. Right and wrong - ya gotta do what you feel is right and Ah don't mean any harm, mister, but takin' stuff from other people like that... that just doesn't feel right to me, y'know?" Then again, Sailor Duhr never claimed to know much about anything, unless it came to simple things like waffles.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2018 3:30 pm
"Huh?" Ochre wasn't sure where she was going with her question. Be like her? "You mean, uh, just set my own hours and patrol whenever? And eat waffles and stuff?" He looked to the delectable chunk of breakfast food still waiting to be eaten in his hand. The greasy bag, too, now all crumpled on the sides and bottom like an old man's face. "Err, not really. I mean, the Negaverse still wants their energy. I can't just go around talking to people, you know? As much as I might want to."
Spot on my noggin? Curiously, Ochre reached up to check his head. His hands sifted through far too much red hair to massage his scalp, then found the back of his head, then traveled to the front again. And then he remembered. "Oh. Ohhhhh, you mean the, uh, hole. Yeah, um, I don't think… That really goes away. But maybe they have, like, head spackle or something…" Never before had he thought to feel self-conscious about the holes in his head or his chest, beyond the initial few weeks of their first appearance. Most failed to ever comment on that or his overly long hair or any other part of physically being a Negaverse senshi. Should he have been self-conscious about them? His starseed was basically on display, after all.
At least when she drew closer, he could return the bag without tossing it and risking the remaining waffles. So when she inched within easy distance, he slid the bag to her with a mouthed thank you. It wasn't often that he got fed on the job.
Shifting, Ochre thumbed the bat wings stuck to his back. Fingers toyed with the minute jewel pierced into the right one. "Yeah, I know what you mean." It was wrong to rip away people's energy. But it didn't exactly feel wrong when he was doing it — just sometimes when he was looking back on it. Usually when he was powered down. And Umber could do the draining thing just fine on his own — he always said it was basically strong versus weak and the strong could take what they wanted. But that… Ochre had trouble with that. A lot of trouble.
About as much trouble as he was having with this senshi here. "Oh, um, by the way, my name's Ochre. Or Sheikh, I guess?" Absently he scratched his ear.
"And just so we're, uh, on the same page… Before, you weren't talking about just filling in the holes and stuff, right? You were talking about leaving the Negaverse."ghouliboo tagging in a public area so if i missed something, please let me know and i will edit!
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Posted: Fri May 11, 2018 8:41 am
She watched as his fingers roamed around on his head, locating the dark mark she'd been referring to. He didn't seem to think it could go away - maybe it was just something that attached to him, every time he powered up? "S'alright, it happens. Hard as Ah try to keep these heels 'n gloves from showing up every time Ah power up, they keep coming back no matter how many times they get tossed." And that was the gospel truth - she'd torn apart her fuku more times than she could count, doing what she could to cause enough damage that maybe the Powers That Be could bestow upon her a decent pair of tennis shoes and some jeans to work in but the same frilly getup continued to show up - unmarked and brand new - every time she henshined. Life wasn't fair, sometimes. "Ochre." She stuck with the first offered name, assuming it was his preference. "Duhr - pleased ta meetcha, sir." The blonde senshi wasn't entirely sure if handshaking with the enemy was a thing... but Ochre didn't seem very much like an enemy as he did a weary comrade on the other side of the battle line. So both gloved hands moved out, one extending itself towards him while the other collected her precious waffle remains, dragging it back to her side. "Don't see why you couldn't. If it's like a job, there's gotta be a way to quit it, right?" That was how things worked.... right??? Strickenized sorry she's such a derp, she tries.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:26 pm
"Yeah. Yeeeaaaah, my hair's the same way." Ochre caught one of the too-long braids and gave it a toss over his shoulder. The splay of it on the roof, as red as brilliant yarn, dangled heavily off the edge. "Every time I power up, it gets really long. And I can cut it and it's fine? But then it just grows again the next time. And again. And again. You'd think I could donate it to Locks of Love or something, but no, it disappears after I power down." Ochre breathed a sigh.
But when she gave her name, Ochre's face reddened nearly to the color of that hair. "Duhr? Like, uh, hurr durr? No offense. That's… I'm sorry. I mean, it's nice to meet you, and you're a good person, but…" Darkening in hue, he cleared his throat. "Yeah. Um. Nevermind."
He still shook her hand, though. It was only polite, and he was pretty sure she wasn't going to pull any weird magic tricks on him in the moment.
Still, his mouth pulled into a line. He looked out past her into the dark — into the broad blocks of black where Metallia's children roamed, into the interstices between industry and recreation. Could he really just quit? It hadn't been so easy when he was a senshi. Like the buildings surrounding them, he was mired in the Negaverse's black and suffused with their chaos. Was it harder to get out when he's at the top? Was there anyone who really depended on him that would be left in the lurch? His heart immediately went to Porsha and Shale, but… Would he really be doing them a service by staying?
But any thought of leaving the Negaverse had "… Yeah, you're right, there's gotta be a way. Oh, and thanks for listening. It really means a lot."ghouliboo i like her anyway <3 had to type while holding this
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 3:29 am
There was a feeling of camaraderie with this NegaSenshi, if only because he seemed to really relate to her when it came to hair problems. The blonde senshi had always felt like she'd been given the raw end of the deal but it was clear that Ochre here had enough problems (and hair) that she should actually be thankful for the amount she'd been cursed with. He seemed to struggle with her name, making the young woman's head tilt just a bit as she watched the word repeat itself from his lips. He was quick to apologize and redden (poor darlin'), earning him a genuine smile from the tornado senshi. "It's alright, Ah know it can be tough to say, the first time 'round. You'll get the hang of it." She paused after his gratitude - it sounded like he was ready to part ways, which was fine and dandy but... "Anytime, friend. Just... don't let me catch you tryin' to hurt people, yeah? You seem like a good egg, Ochre. Don't share my waffles with just anyone, y'know." A small lie but a well-meant one. Waffles were meant to be shared, but she also didn't want to have to test the mettle of her newfound friendship anytime soon. Strickenized HOW CAN YOU EVEN MANAGE TO TYPE, SUCH SKILL. Both of my hands would be petting and scritching that furry baby
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Posted: Fri May 25, 2018 10:42 am
Ochre considered responding to the name comment, decided against it, and simply smiled with a nod. Yeah, that name's pretty tough. Pretty tough if you don't really want to imply the other person is a moron. Duhr, as a name, sounded kinda bad. Not that his normal senshi name was a whole lot better.
Ochre stood, then, and dusted himself off. Hair tumbled and pooled wherever it could, especially into gutters. Ochre only sighed at this.
"I'll do my best," he returned to Duhr. He couldn't really promise not to drain people, especially when the Negaverse expected him to do it. But saying it this way meant he had a little wiggle room if, say, one of his superiors commanded him to drain a civilian to unconsciousness straight away. There wasn't much he could do about that. And if Duhr was around to see it, well… Maybe she'd understand that anyone his rank or higher could just teleport to him and rip out his starseed for subordination. His brother would do it, for sure. Maybe he didn't do the best job of explaining that one…
But as he straightened, as he looked out the far gaps of the city where its veins ended, he figured there was more room for those explanations later. If Duhr frequented the Waffle House as much as her responses implied, then he pretty much knew where to find her later. Assuming he'd be able to find her without, like, bringing half the Negaverse with him by accident.
With a sigh, he gave her a wave. "I better keep looking for my brother. Dunno how much good it'll do, but it's easier than just…" Considering him dead. "You know. Anyway, thanks again. Maybe we'll meet up again sometime." He might really need that friendship if his role in the Negaverse got compromised enough.
With a flicker of thought, he disappeared toward the end of those city veins. Deep in that sector of the city was another web of alleys unchecked. And Duhr's words gave him excuse enough to leave energy draining by the wayside for that night.ghouliboo she's tough to refuse <3 fin; thank you for doing this one! i would love to follow up with her again when ochre's plot progresses a little more, if you're alright with that!
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