melodiesofeternity | Event || Once Upon A Dream

Event || Once Upon A Dream

Who: All characters who signed-up!
When: May 31st - June 04th
Where: The Dream Width (+ Curti Center & Airships)
What: Event log for the Once Upon A Dream Event! Should your character have their own memory, start your own top-level with said memory. If not, then tag around in other characters's memories! Furthermore, feel free to use the Mingle threads at the Curti Center and in the Airships for non-memory related CR. Please refer to the OOC Post for details and plotting. Plot Memories and the second Airship Mingle will be unlocked on May 25th.
Warnings/Notes: Memories with specific warnings will be marked as such by their players.

Please use the following form for your memory's title line:
CHARACTER'S NAME | MEMORY TITLE | WARNINGS (IF ANY)
We will add links to your memories here as the event progresses!

Mingle: Curti Center | Airships #1 | Airships #2
Plot Memories: The Dream | The Nightmare | The Premonition
Holographic Messages

Adrien Agreste | Then and Now
Aqua | Thorny Pathway | cw: spoiler for kh 0.2
Castor | Lord of the Inferno | cw: fire, mind control
Ena | Zera Hamlet, Reprise | cw: mutilated corpses
Futaba Sakura | Early Days | cw: references to verbal abuse/neglect and auditory hallucinations
Ignis Scientia | For The Life of the Chosen | cw: spoilers, violence, death
Irhya Pendhula | The Parting Glass | cw: violence, amputation
Johnny D'Amico | United Earth Prisoner
Kanji Tatsumi | You're a BOY, you know! | cw: bullying, mild homophobia
Lelouch vi Britannia | Julius Kingsley
Monika | Just Monika | cw: spoilers, possible horror, possible deletion
Nanamo Ul Namo | A Good Memory
Noctis Lucis Caelum | Light of the Crystal | cw: chapter 13 spoilers
Okuyasu Nijimura | Lending a Hand | cw: blood/injuries
Prompto Argentum | I'm not one of your experiments! | cw: episode prompto spoilers
Selphie | The Answer | cw: gore/death
Takashi 'Shiro' Shirogane | The end of the beginning | cw: end of season 2 spoilers
Tidus | A Broken Dream | cw: death, bullying

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"This woman stands accused of poisoning Her Royal Majesty Nanamo Ul Namo. And as suspected accessories to the crime, all members of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn will be detained for questioning!"

Her body hits the floor, hard. Hands bound behind her back, she is powerless but to land on her shoulder and then roll upright, but the look she passes Ilberd is one with a poison more potent than the one that has killed the Sultana.

Not this.

"What a pity," he intones condescendingly. He is still wearing his Crystal Braves uniform; the impulse to stand up and splash him in the blood of his godsforsaken partners-in-crime rips through her. "Who'd have thought your tale would end like this?"

Not by you.

"Should you demand further proof, a vial with traces of the substance used to poison Her Grace was found upon the assassin's person."

This time, it's Teledji Adeledji, whose tiny little neck she would very much like to stab a pointy object through right about now. Bloodlust doesn't suit her; the conjurers at Stillglade Fane had always warned her about the dangers of "imbalance" or something like that. Like they had any room to talk about imbalances, when there is one standing right in front of her, wagging his finger at her like he has the moral high ground.

Useless.

It's all too convenient, something Y'shtola is quick to note and have thrown back in her face by the accusers. Minfilia, too, attempts to stand her ground, only for yet another round of proverbial shots to be fired at the Scions for their supposed "plot". More nails in the coffin that she just happened to fall into, all too easily...

The exchange continues until Raubahn, lost in his own deep, abject disbelief, attempts to move towards the door, only for his path to be blocked. Truth be told, much of the conversation until now has gone in one of Irhya's ears and out the other as she simmers in her own loathing, but Raubahn's newfound capacity to react draws her attention.

"Stand aside, Ilberd! I want to see the sultana!"

"Spare yourself the pain, brother. I saw her with my own eyes. For a mercy, the poison took her swiftly -- her handmaiden can attest to that."

Handmaiden. Oh, of course. Was there anyone not in on this from the very beginning...?

For Raubahn to then fall to his knees, scream at the top of his lungs, and slam the floor tile with all the force he can muster signals a point of despair in him that Irhya has never seen before in anyone else. Whereas her impulse for these backstabbing fools is to end them, to ensure they never get to take coin for another job ever again -- her impulse for Raubahn is to reach out, to bury her face into his back and cry out. She didn't know. She didn't know...

But then, Teledji Adeledji makes a mistake. In the same breath as proclaiming the Monetarists should govern Ul'dah in the wake of the Royalists' incompetence, he offers the Flame General the opportunity to plan the sultana's funeral.

None of them are so foolish, least of all Raubahn himself.

The thread of sanity that snaps at that moment is practically audible as Raubahn clenches his jaw and rises to raise his voice, so high on raw fury that his speech even begins to slur a little: "You had her killed, you black-hearted bastard!"

For a brief while, the insults fly. So, then, does Raubahn's blade, right through Teledji Adeledji's neck.

The attendees of the banquet, up until now, have been silent through the exchange. Now, with the corpse on the ground, eyes rolled up into his skull, the screaming and mass panic begins. Lolorito makes a tactless and altogether rehearsed remark from the other side of the room; somewhere halfway between his starting point and crossing the room to claim his next victim, Ilberd's sword swings.

Raubahn's left arm drops to the floor with a grotesque thump.

((OOC: So, Irhya's in fetters, Raubahn has a stump for an arm and is kneeling helpless before Ilberd, and the rest of the Scions are surrounded by Crystal Braves just waiting to take them down with one wrong movement. Your character will be an onlooker in the crowd, and in terms of class/job or combat ability, it's flexible and totally up to you how/if you want to help. (For the record, Irhya herself is still a conjurer at this point in time.)

What do, then!?))

Edited 2018-05-22 05:49 (UTC)

This feels weird. She's watching the entire thing in shock and awe as the players shuffle along and play their roles but fact that they're throwing out accusations and it feels like they're refusing to listen to the accused. Now Camilla is not the type to just bum rush a situation unless there's a reason for her to do so: and then she sees Irhya trapped and her heart stops for a moment.

Sure she has only known the miqo'te for a couple months but it was nice to have a fellow comrade and...it was frustrating to see her trapped like this. But then there's those men...and there's an axe strapped to her back. Instinct takes over and the closest Crystal Brave is the poor sod who is the first target; taking the axe off her back, she slashes the man in his back. If blood comes out, well...she ain't gonna complain.

"Oops, was that my doing?" Her tone is rather coy as she speaks, smirking because this is going to be a bit of fun. "Why don't we even the playing field so to speak?"

She was not a thinker, she used her weapons to speak and for now...Camilla was going to fight back whatever this was.

Raubahn is still engaged with Ilberd, while Lolorito is escorted quietly out of the room for his own safety. Meanwhile, Irhya rocks a bit against her fetters, curling her fingers.

"You call this even?" she grouses, just in time to hear Ilberd set the trap.

"You want to know who killed your precious sultana?"

A pause, and it's as if the whole room holds its breath.

"It was me."

Maybe, or maybe not, Irhya thinks. Either way, it's enough to bait him when he's this far lost to anger, far more of a Mad Bull than she's ever seen him. If Ilberd has learned anything in the intervening years, it was most definitely in the art of large-scale backstabbing.

"Help!" she pronounces in a single caustic bite, shooting a desperate glance at Camilla.

Camilla cannot help but shrug, having had to big with a greater number than these boys who look like they're ready to piss themselves at the scene before them. But there's two men who are ready to duke it out and she will let the memory go on as such because honestly, she doesn't really know how to deal with that crazy but that's not the important bit.

The princess simply nods as she rushes over, dodging any other attackers for the moment and raises her axe upwards. "Don't move, darling." and she brings it downwards, slashing the bonds as best as she can.

It's about then that Ilberd sends Raubahn flying across the room; he recovers quickly, launching himself off the wall to land next to Irhya and Camilla. "I never doubted you. Not for a moment. But there is more to this than I yet understand." He and the other Scions exchange looks, and then he continues, "Flee this place. Clear your names. Find out who is behind this plot; it is the only way! Now go!"

Irhya is quick to get to her feet, only now feeling the absence of her weapon more keenly. She can't do shite without it, and that kind of dead weight is the last thing anyone needs right now. The other Scions are armed, with the exception of Minfilia, but even so... they're going to be tailed until they leave the city limits, and perhaps even past that if they're unlucky.

"No choice," she breathes, as the rest make for the door in the wake of a pile of blue-clad corpses. Perhaps fleeing the city with naught but disgrace upon their names is exactly what this mastermind wants, but... She takes Camilla by the hand, tugging her along and leading her out into the hallway that precedes the Chamber of Rule. "They seized my cane when they arrested me. I hate to ask this, but I'm going to need your help here."

"You use a cane? Last I saw, you had a sword the size of yourself."

It sort of just tumbled out of her mouth before Camilla could stop herself and she shakes her head. "Never mind, but what exactly happened in there?"

"What? I..."

For a second, Irhya's eyes go wide, as if appalled at the concept. She's never used a sword in her life, much less a sword that large... right?

But Camilla is quick to drop it, so she doesn't follow up. Instead, she continues as she drags her down the stairs from the banquet hall. "We'd suspected conspiracy among the Crystal Braves for a long time, but to think it had run this deeply..." A shake of her head, and then, "They planted the vial in a way they knew I wouldn't be able to resist picking up, and then had her poisoned. I watched her die right in front of me!"

Rounding a corner causes them to run into Thancred, who is quick to apprise them of his findings from a different angle. Not only has this plan been in motion for a fair number of moons now, but the Brass Blades have put every way out of Ul'dah under tight watch. Where they go will hardly matter if they cannot get out at all...

"Papashan once told me about the passages hidden in the walls of the palace. If I recall correctly, the fireplace in Nanamo's chambers conceals the entrance to a tunnel..."

A group comprised of Crystal Braves and Brass Blades appears from the stairwell to the strip below, making their way around the circular path. Yda steps forward.

"The rest of you go ahead. I'll handle this lot!"

Not one to allow her to stand alone in a crisis, Papalymo insists on joining her -- only to shoot a fire spell at the gate separating them, forcing it closed.

And thus does Irhya's gut begin to sink as the sound of boots against flooring rattles in the distance.

"Oh, gods... Not now, please..."

Camilla was about to tell her to calm down but the scene was not having any of it. Two of the group have decided to split off to buy them time it seems and it feels like that there is no time to take a breath. But what Camilla managed to get out of this was that someone important was killed and this group Irhya is a part of was framed(?) for the deed.

"I know this looks bad but if we do not leave quickly, it will be a lot worse. If there is a way to leave, then let's take it."

It's hard to figure out how to snap her out of this dream and not have it go crazy or downhill. The only thing Camilla can do in the meantime until she sees an opening is to go with the flow so to say.

Edited 2018-05-25 19:18 (UTC)

Before ducking into the narrow opening the fireplace provides, Irhya grabs a lantern from Nanamo's bedside table and lights it, stepping into the shallow flow of water. It's convenient, at least; Y'shtola notes that the ancients clearly saw the need for a ready means of escape, and she is inclined to agree.

But it doesn't take long before both sets of Miqo'te ears perk, their attention drawn to the faint voices and footfalls on their trail, the sloshing of the same water at the feet of the Crystal Braves. Y'shtola and Thancred then see the same thing Yda and Papalymo had, yet unbeknownst to Irhya herself, and convince Minfilia to run ahead without them, much the same as before.

Irhya's lips thin. It isn't that she doesn't see the need for it as well. It isn't that she doesn't agree with the sentiment, but... the hope was for everyone to make it out alive. If it turns out that only the two of them get to escape, what will have been the point? All they do is smile at her and usher her along, and it's frankly infuriating, but she finally turns and starts moving again as fast as her feet will carry her.

"There are too many to simply fight off," she says to Camilla between breaths as they run, and to Minfilia by extension. "If they're just sacrificing themselves to keep us alive... I can't--"

Minfilia then stops as if physically stricken by something, at about the same moment a loud, thunderous crash is heard behind them. "Hydaelyn... she speaks to me!" Then, turning to the two of them, "I must remain behind... but you cannot stay with me."

"Have you lost your mind!?" Irhya snaps, looking like she's ready to fling the lantern into the woman's face for even entertaining the thought. She has no discernible weapon on her, either; it's not difficult to conclude she stands easily the slimmest chance against their pursuers in combat. "If they catch you, you'll be killed!"

"Please, you must go on! You are the Warriors of Light! You are hope -- for the Scions, and for all of the realm! As long as your flame continues to burn, the light of the dawn may ever be relit!"

It seems the sentiment is directed at Camilla as well, as though there had been two such individuals, but Irhya does not seem to question the oddity of this.

"'Tis the only way..." Minfilia finishes, taking off in the direction they came heedless of Irhya's protests.

She spends a moment in silence, then continues running, a bit slower and less enthused than before. "This wasn't about the Scions at all, then. This was about us," she concludes, her voice cracking at the end. "Even if none of them make it out alive from this, they'd still pin all their hopes onto the fact that at the very least, the two of us make it out alive. I... I'm not..."

Camilla is fine at first watching the scene play because it's just constantly running and screaming and fighting and damn she could have taken those enemies down no problem. They were just fodder anyway so why couldn't she step in and make them lose a limb or two? Everything next just confused her: why were these people throwing themselves into something that would most definitely kill them? Do they believe being martyrs will save the world? Perhaps it's due to her own upbringing and how Nohr itself valued the strength of its people and anything less was considered weak.

But then she sees the once confident miqo'te doubting herself and it...hurts. She has no idea what the hell this Warriors of Light thing is but Irhya is hurt and worried.

"Take a deep breath." she starts. "You're much stronger than you look, Irhya. Besides, you would be the type to put your foot in their face if they were stupid enough to say it to you."

Edited 2018-05-26 16:40 (UTC)

Yeah, wouldn't that have been nice. It would have been a preferable alternative -- why, she ought to have been the one to put the knives at their throats herself, in that case! Irhya's jaw clenches.

"And evidently the type to fall right into other people's traps at the expense of those around me," she says as they emerge into moonlight at last, surrounded by arid desert on all sides. "I can't do anything like this... it just isn't enough!"

There is a hill before them that they need to scale, but she does not approach it just yet, standing still as she catches her breath. The pursuit seems to have ceased, most likely thanks to Y'shtola and Thancred. But those sounds... did they collapse the tunnel? But isn't that suicidal? She drags a hand over her face and into her hair.

Now she isn't the type to sound much like a intelligent person but she knows mistakes when she sees them. But she knows that from making them, you have to press on no matter what. Letting the enemy see you crack is a huge mistake and can cost someone their life. But she has to wonder...is this why she has that confidence from before? She never saw Iryha cowering or whimpering because some jerks decide to give her the upper hand up until now. So...was it?

"Then if you feel like it is far from it, then get stronger. Channel what you're feeling right now into a force not to be reckoned with. Make them see that you are a force of your own. If those people believe in you, then you need to have that as well."

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omnicrafter - 2018-06-03 07:31 (UTC) - Expand

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carnageandclass - 2018-06-03 19:37 (UTC) - Expand

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omnicrafter - 2018-06-03 20:32 (UTC) - Expand

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carnageandclass - 2018-06-08 19:04 (UTC) - Expand

The accusations went up as Nanamo drifted into awareness.

She was dressed in some sort of armor, a long blade at her side. For a moment, she took in the scene and her blood ran cold.

This was the scene of her attempted murder. When Ilberd took Raubahn's arm.

She had her mission, and would see it through as she drew the long katana from her hands and proclaimed, "Irhya, roll to thy side!"

And she loosed a cutting energy that flared out to strike Irhya's fetters as Nanamo charged in to fell the nearest traitorous guard.

Irhya does as instructed, not making the connection until she pulls herself up and -- nearly loses her footing all over again.

"Nana... mo?"

Even convinced as she is that this is reality, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something isn't right here, given that Nanamo is apparently here to join in the brawl -- and even stranger yet, has armor and weapon that have a distinctly Far Eastern feel to them.

Raubahn's back is still turned, for a mercy. She doesn't know if he could handle a godsdamned specter right now, with as tattered as his temper is. Her eyes travel from Nanamo to the dumbstruck Scions to the scene in front of her, generously littered with blood and bodies and a single dismembered arm.

As much as she hated to see Raubahn in such pain, she grasped Irhya's arm and tugged towards the door, pausing to hamstring a perusing guard. "Come, tis not safe here," she urged. "Fly Scions, your time is not upon you!"

Nanamo had heard the tales, of how many of them were swept up into Flow, and others escaped to join the resistance. But her concern right now, as much as she wanted to join Raubahn's side, was Irhya.

She lashed out with the butt of her weapon, grateful for the skills that came with the Job. Nanamo wept on the inside for Raubahn. "Fly, fly!" She commanded of the Scions and Irhya, tugging them along.

"But--!"

She doesn't have much time to protest. Nanamo is unyielding, dragging them into the hallway with her hand around Irhya's wrist. About halfway up the stairs to her chambers, Irhya wrenches her hand free and stops running, digging her heels in hard.

"Forgive me, but-- what the hell is going on? I watched you die just now! Even so, they're not going to stop just because things went a little awry! They'll kill you too!"

Ilberd is surely not daft enough not to notice, but perhaps the fact that the play has already been made means they cannot simply append their plans for an unexpected circumstance like this. But is the sultana still collapsed on the floor of her bedroom, or...?

"Lolorito has no intent on letting that go on far," replied Nanamo with a scowl. "Nor would this charade of Teledji Adaledji go unanswered."

She pulled Irhya down and said, "You must flee this dream of yours, Irhya, tis a memory that we both wish naught to repeat! Remember where you are, and what has become of me. I am healthy, hale, we visited Lord Godbert a moon ago, there is nothing to fear anymore!"

Even with the clamor of bluecoats in the distance, she exclaimed, "This is your dream on the edge of reality, pull free. I lay unmoving in the chambers, and yet that is a shade, a memory of thing that happened moons ago! Come, there is no time to rest and tally. The bluecoats are upon us."

She turned towards the approaching enemies and looked up. "Forgive me my precious Ul'dah."

Sheathing her weapon, power grew and for a moment, it was like wind passed. And then the blue coats collapsed as the entire area exploded into chunks of rubble. "Fly Irhya, do not let the dream overwhelm you!"

Realization is slow to break, but when it does, it hits Irhya like a brick. She inhales sharply, and not as a result of the wave of energy that flows past her.

"...Ah, yes... I suppose I do tire of this charade."

And then, it's just gone, leaving them back floating in space.

...That's right. This is her reality now. Never mind that she'd never willingly suffer the same situation twice if it meant life and death. But that Nanamo herself was the one who had to come to her rescue, to pull her out of a place of guilt for her... it's more than a little embarrassing. It's not that she wouldn't know, surely; it must be the same for Castor, after all, and any others who might have ever shared the same fate, in any given world. The Scions each lost things, individually and as a whole, but Nanamo... Nanamo lost time.

Irhya is staring straight down into the abyss below them until she takes her savior's hand after a long, tense stretch, leading her to the airship waiting to take them away from here.

"I'm sorry. You should not have had to see that."

"In truth it was enlightening, if naught for a memory I would naught wish to repeat." She squeezed Irhya's hand gently as she followed, her Samurai garb dissolving back into her usual clothing.

"Are you all right, Irhya? As much as I worry, that ordeal could have been stressful."

Also dwelling on the moment of the poisoning was bringing back bad memories for Nanamo as well, but she shook it off as best as she could. "But if you wish to talk about it, I am welcome and open."

Irhya only laughs nervously in the back of her throat. What is she supposed to say? Never mind that the very sight of it must make her feel terribly responsible for the whole thing, but that it was the catalyst for a number of stark changes in her life, things that extended far beyond the Scions or Nanamo herself...

"We were all blaming ourselves," she tries, her mouth dry. "Everybody, for every reason we could find. Alphinaud came down on himself hard for being an incompetent leader. Tataru surely must have lamented that she had nothing but words to offer anyone. Raubahn... I can scarcely begin to imagine how he felt, more than anyone else. But that the rest of the Scions dropped everything in order to ensure I escaped, even over themselves... to be honest, I didn't understand it at all."

One of her hands runs over the top of her head, pressing her ears down only for them to spring back as she passes over them. "That thought festered for a while. It went from a faint trace of contempt to an almost palpable temptation to run away and never look back. And then..."

And then all those ugly things manifested in front of her, stared her right in the face, drew their sword, and quite literally tried to cut her down. It's still mildly amazing that the only people still holding onto that secret are those who bore witness to the whole thing at Whitebrim.

"...Mmm. I suppose sometimes it takes just such a strong dose of reality to set one straight after something like that, though." Crossing her arms, she adds shortly after, "Anyway, that you were able to blow a hole in that scenario so quickly without stumbling over any lingering feelings speaks a great deal about you."

"I had not realized your group almost shattered from the situation," said Nanamo. "For that I am sorry. If only I had been more attentive to the situation at hand, perhaps I could have avoided the whole ordeal for everyone. Clearly I was mistaken."

"Mmm. To be honest, I was focused on the job ahead. Once I get home I will most likely ensconce myself in the house with a bucket of that confection they call ice cream. I cannot admit that I would love to scrub this from memory, but I was a victim as much as you were."

Castor knows this. The smell of the room. The pregnant silences. The heavy tension.

She knows the sound of that voice. The laugh. The sound of blades being drawn.

She's on Illberd before she knows what she's doing. She's too late to save Raubahn, but the small voice in the back of Castor's head reminds her that none of this is real. Acting here won't change anything. Her rage is real though, and as her fist connects with Illberd's smug fucking face, it feels good.

She dances away from the retaliation, landing light on her feet next to...

Irhya.

Oh.

"You need te wake up," Castor hisses, "Ye need te get out of here!"

The distraction Castor affords Raubahn gives him enough time to leap towards Irhya and sever her bonds in turn, much like he had likely done for Castor that day, somewhere distant but yet so nearby. She rolls around and leaps to her feet; notably, there is not a sword at her back, but a conjurer's cane.

"You're coming too, you fool," she is quick to snap, not about to let her stay there and take the bait. Raubahn is bad enough; they don't need two -- no, three heads on a silver platter this day. Seizing Castor's wrist, she yanks her none too gently towards the door and out onto the carpeted hallway.

She's not quite hit full recognizance yet, it seems, by the way she's muttering under her breath. "It should have been me... I should have seen it...!"

Castor made to fight away Irhya's grip; to do for her what the Scions once did - and were about to do.

It won't change anything.

So she follows. She knows how long they have. She's played this scene in her head too many times not to. Once they're into the hallway, Castor spins Irhya to face her, grips her by her shoulder. Castor's hold is not unkind, but urgency and adrenaline makes it firm.

"Listen te me," she hisses as the other Scions begin to close in on them, followed unnervingly closely by Brass Blade and Crystal Brave alike. "Listen. Ye have te wake up, Irhya! Ye've seen all this before. It's happened, and ye can't change that now!

Reacting instinctively to what's going through her head, Irhya's ears turn, flatten, and then come back to their normal position again, offering a half-clear impression of her feelings at that moment. Slowly, her hands rise, and she rests them on Castor's, her gaze darting about as her mouth starts to open.

"Ah..."

It seems like an aborted effort to articulate something, one that she instead decides is showcased better by closing her eyes and curling her fingers around Castor's.

"No... no, I suppose not..." A breath, and then, "There's really only one way this was ever destined to go..."

Ah, right. The very first smack in the face she'd received from having caused so many ripples in the pool, but certainly not the last by any means. It was ultimately what sparked her to drop her cane for a sword, and all the repercussions wrought of that unfortunate sort of self-discovery in turn.

Her cane drops to the ground. She steps on it for good measure, snapping it in half right before the scene crumbles, and sighs.

"If this is what we'll come to expect from this place from now on, I'm already over it."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Event || Once Upon A Dream

Irhya Pendhula | The Parting Glass | cw: violence, amputation(?)

how many chopped limbs will be from the dream and how many from camilla herself

betting contest tbh

safe to say of the cw: Camilla

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Nanamoception - Smash and Grab time?

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yes hi I might be working out some personal rage issues here.

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