[well, ow. there's a quiet noise of pain on kagachi's end as well. he'll be feeling that for a while.]
Are you both okay?
[ignoring the pain in his wrist which surely is fine and has no problems whatsoever, he moves on from the crash as quickly as possible and continues driving, but his reflexes for that hand are dulled now—all too frustrating. when an opponent swerves in front of him, he can't react fast enough to avoid slamming into them.]
[Despite being the loudest asshole on the planet, he grits his teeth and hardly makes a sound when he feels something sharp at his side and shoulder. Look, he shoved his own guts back into a stab wound once without batting an eye, he's... fine...
But the suddenness of the pain is enough to detract his attention from the screen so another fuckin zombie gets past to his right almost immediately. He's swinging his attention back a hot second later, though, firing off a neat round of bullets to keep the nearest ones from crossing that invisible line that's apparently the only thing standing between him and being ghost vored. All are dead-hit headshots but the first, which veers slightly to the left and just knocks part of the zombie's jaw off, rip.]
Never been better—! Demons in both of yours too? Hah--
[oh yeah i forgot to mention this earlier but after the tutorial ended and the Real Game began, he'd have dropped his cursed doll on the ground to free his hands and he's just stepping on it with one foot to keep it from escaping. i hate this]
[With Higekiri missing that arrow entirely, he's faced with another jolt-- this time he feels it in his right hand, since that's the side he missed. It's essentially the same effect: painful, with a little difficulty moving it, but it's not completely immobile.
After that, it's just a few more steps for the song to finish playing, and the screen displays:]
PASSED.
[Afterward, the machine shuts off as the screen abruptly turns to static, then displays the creepy eye gif. The sounds in this section of the arcade have ceased.
Kagachi's also nearing the finish line when that second crash occurs; since he's slamming into them from behind, he'll feel an impact as if an invisible airbag hit his body. That's going to leave his torso more bruised, and it feels like he's hit his head too--
But he luckily doesn't have the chance to hit anything else before his round wraps up around the same time as Higekiri's-- just slightly after. The same thing occurs: the screen informs him he has passed, before the machine shuts off, the sound in his area goes dead, and the screen comes back on to the same animated eye.
Wei Wuxian's second miss will get his right forearm bitten, and the zombie whose jaw he clips manages to get a second swipe off on his chest.... but this appears to be the last wave for him also. Yet again, the screen informs him he's done, the machine goes dead until the eye appears, and the sound is... mostly quiet. Except for the muffled 'skin. Skinnn.' beneath his foot, I guess.
The arcade is now quiet, the lights somewhat dim, but they have a moment to breathe.]
at the very least, his hand wasn't needed for the game - and he still reacts quickly enough that when the creepy eye gif shows up, higekiri will draw his sword and move to point it at the screen like he's ready to just fucking stab it]
Are you our foe?
[IS THIS THE DEMON POSSESSING THE TECH??]
Are the two of you alright? Did you complete your mission?
[great, hige and kagachi can match with mirrored injured hands—
climbing out of the seat and grabbing his scythe from where he left it, he blinks a few times. hope he didn't get a concussion or anything, but it's fine.]
Looks like it. [as wwx's fuckin doll keeps talking—] ... Wei Wuxian, just kill that thing.
[yay he didn't get ghost vored MISSION SUCCESS, he only got a bit gnawed on!! He eyes the... eye..... as it appears on his screen, but after a second or two he bends down to pick up his fuckin doll and move over in the direction of his matching fool wounded comrades.]
All good over here, too! [Are they really all good, though... He also looks Kagachi's way with a frown and gives the doll a shake!!]
I want to try seeing if I can figure out how our friends here have been rendered capable of movement. Some sort of hex? Another possession? [DEMON SCIENCE!! But his doll aside, he's moving in to look them both over.]
How are you two? No put-out eyes or missing fingers so that's good, haha.
[We're all good here! The blood is fine. The blood is just a feature of the room?
After they've all had a moment to breathe, though, the speakers of the machines they used crackle to life, static sounding first as a forewarning. Since you all did this simultaneously here's the wall of text that happens as each machine plays an audio clip in succession.
Higekiri's DDR machine plays the following:]
I laid with H͖̦̖̠͌̓-̦̘͙͉̹̞̠̉-̓̇ͥ̑̅͗̚҉̮̺̦̲̬̰̩-̢̲͎̘͑͛ͦ̐͠-͈̘̮̲ͨͪ͗̋̽͑̀̓ͨ̀͟͞-̠͈̯̳̯͆́̽ͪ͗́͜͞-̮̻̭̘̖̫̦̿͋̈ ̺̂̋ͯͨͤ͠t͎͓̃̐̍͗ͥ́͟h͕̹̲̃̈́̎ͅat night. Watched him toss and turn as he bemoaned the fate that had befel̢͐̒́ͤ̈l̞͍̥͈͡ͅ ̧͕̌͆̉̊̌̍ͅh̥̲̱̣͋̈̍ȋ̟̱̍̓ͫ͝s͉͜ ̩̮͚̬͉̣͍̍ͫ̓̍̋͡b͕̩̣̫̑̉́r̫͉̗̀o̯͙͙̭̮ͮt̤̺h̥͙͎̤ͣẽ͎̱̺̞̭̥͆ͦͦ̌̚ͅr for the nth time. In the morning, I asked him to accompany me. When he asked where, all I did was tell him to bring a weapon.
[After playing the message, the machine shuts off completely. Kagachi's racing game machine is next.]
We confronted C̨͕̥͖̔̏̍̎͒ͨͦ-͎̱̜̝̠̰͛ͫ-̝̀ͬ͆͗̐̉̈́-͙̜̹̼͖ͯ̅-̶ͩ̾͆̉̒̂-̢̙̝͍̘̮͆̋̐ͪ-̡̝̝͚̖̤ ͪ̐̆̾͆̈́͗in theͬ̅͂̊͐͟ ͈̘̮̞̂̈-̬̞͖̅ͅy͎̳̲͚̱m̧͈͙̟͖̬ͭ̒ͧ̚ͅ'̧̖ͮsͭ҉̼͈̱̭̮͚ ̘̹̰̀l͍̭̺͓͉̟ͤͣͥ̚ͅo̵̼̲̤̹ͩ̃̈͛̌̒̏-͌͆ͬ͝-͕̖͈̠̪-ͪͤ͢rͤͨ́ ͤr͍͊̎͆͊͂o͙͙ͦ̿̇̂̉om. Cornered him against the -̷͂-͕̮-͍̪̤̩̹̫͗̊͑ͦ̽-̛̓̐̌̐͋-̌̈́ͯ̏͗͏̫̯̟-͉͖̹̹̙ͮ̋ͬ̇̈̀̚͡-̵̘̩͍̩̜͉ͥ-̣͙̫̘̑ͥͮ̋͢ͅ-̤ͫ͆̀̓-̀͐̃̚-̼̱̪̩̟̔͊-̴̭̻͎͇̪͓̞̋ͩͩ̍̈-̧̉̿͐ͥ-̻ͦ̎̊ͯͩͪͣ-͆͏-̨̗̊͋ͫ̽̚-̜̼̥̤̊.́̌ͪ̚.
[That machine shuts off as well, and Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter continues:]
"You have a -̝̻͖̐̍̊͜-̣̰̫̯̫͋͒͂̔͘-̦̤͒ͮ́ͤ̇ͫ̀-̨ͪ͋ ̻̻͓͉͕̾̿ͫͯ-̭̪̬̮͍͔͗̋̄̒ͩ-̰ͪ͊g̸̞ͣͭ̓̄h͎̹͓̳̽̕ͅt͕̭̪̠̗̮̓̏̌ͅ? You're one of the 13."
[That machine also shuts down.
Once all three audio messages have played, the lights in this area of the arcade dim further. Deeper in, there is a flashing red light.]
[ . . . . it's always something about brothers, isn't it? higekiri blinks, because when you hear the same voice recite the same word enough times, it actually starts to stick. his brow furrows before he turns in the direction of the other two.]
Minor damage - nothing worth caring about.
[aka he can still fight and that's what matters. but he looks around before his eyes narrow at the red flashing light. he walks forward as a means to lead the way, pulling out his clamshell again to help illuminate just a little bit more]
... It's the same voice as all the messages thus far - but I wonder what the 13 means... In the first message when I entered a room with Junpei, there were only 12 remaining. But they keep mentioning these same people.
[hate hige's functional memory for missions and missions only]
[He listens as the messages roll out, gaze drifting from machine to machine as it pingpongs from one to the next. There's a careful, thoughtful look on his face, but he'll leave the braincelling to Kagachi here, following after him as they all collectively decide that it's a good idea to walk toward the red light for some reason.]
It's fine, it's fine. What is it - minor damage? I like that phrase!
[He's not missing fingers or chunks of flesh so hey, good enough!]
I'm wondering about that myself, though... Quite a puzzle of a diary we have here. [And then because he listens to no man and has no sense of dangerdar, he's moving to overtake Kagachi so he can walk alongside Higekiri at the front, squinting into the dim lighting.] See anything yet?
[The clamshell light definitely helps a bit! Good job writing things down also, Kagachi. Wei Wuxian you're a twink don't go to the front.
They'll be able to make their way through the aisles of inactive arcade games, following the source of that light until they finally enter a slightly more open space. They step onto something that feels like plastic, and there's a faint sound above them: whirr.... click-click-click-click--
As they all step into this area, the lights will come back on, and they'll be able to see the noise is coming from a circle hanging above them, spinning too rapidly to see what each wedge of it says. They're standing on a plastic mat covered in brightly colored dots.
A mechanical, text-to-speech style voice from the spinner says:]
THREE ROUNDS REMAINING. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES.
[Three sets of footprints light up: a pair each on the west, north, and south sides of the mat.]
[it will be so shocking if they somehow manage to avoid getting horny here.
Higekiri will glance about to WWX when Kagachi mentions his injuries though - and laugh?]
I wonder if your pet put a bad curse on you.
[since he’s the most obviously injured of the three???? but Higekiri will just look at the mat in front of them and start to walk toward the West set of footprints]
Higekiri has never played Twister once in his life and has no concept of strategy, so guess who’s just going to go ahead and plant his hand on the closest possible yellow ]
[They can move in turn... but the first limb to be called? Still stuck where they placed it, except in Higekiri's case. He can shift his hand to its new place.]
[Yeah that's fair as hell. Anyway since he can turn, he's going to be shifting so his left foot is on the nearest yellow circle and his back is facing the center of the playing board.]
Who knows! We seem to be doing pretty well, I guess...?
[Or at least none of them have been injured yet or unleashed angry dolls so like. Better than before!!]
[hey quick q why does the spinner hate kagachi and only kagachi]
You've got to be kidding me...
[stop staring at him??
the good news is that even if he's no ballet dancer, kagachi's fairly flexible!
the bad news is that HE HAS A FRACTURED WRIST, YOU JACKASSES. he bends over easily enough, but yeah, pain sure is flaring up his arm now. this is great. why do you all get the easy moves!!]
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Are you both okay?
[ignoring the pain in his wrist which surely is fine and has no problems whatsoever, he moves on from the crash as quickly as possible and continues driving, but his reflexes for that hand are dulled now—all too frustrating. when an opponent swerves in front of him, he can't react fast enough to avoid slamming into them.]
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But the suddenness of the pain is enough to detract his attention from the screen so another fuckin zombie gets past to his right almost immediately. He's swinging his attention back a hot second later, though, firing off a neat round of bullets to keep the nearest ones from crossing that invisible line that's apparently the only thing standing between him and being ghost vored. All are dead-hit headshots but the first, which veers slightly to the left and just knocks part of the zombie's jaw off, rip.]
Never been better—! Demons in both of yours too? Hah--
[oh yeah i forgot to mention this earlier but after the tutorial ended and the Real Game began, he'd have dropped his cursed doll on the ground to free his hands and he's just stepping on it with one foot to keep it from escaping. i hate this]
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After that, it's just a few more steps for the song to finish playing, and the screen displays:]
PASSED.
[Afterward, the machine shuts off as the screen abruptly turns to static, then displays the creepy eye gif. The sounds in this section of the arcade have ceased.
Kagachi's also nearing the finish line when that second crash occurs; since he's slamming into them from behind, he'll feel an impact as if an invisible airbag hit his body. That's going to leave his torso more bruised, and it feels like he's hit his head too--
But he luckily doesn't have the chance to hit anything else before his round wraps up around the same time as Higekiri's-- just slightly after. The same thing occurs: the screen informs him he has passed, before the machine shuts off, the sound in his area goes dead, and the screen comes back on to the same animated eye.
Wei Wuxian's second miss will get his right forearm bitten, and the zombie whose jaw he clips manages to get a second swipe off on his chest.... but this appears to be the last wave for him also. Yet again, the screen informs him he's done, the machine goes dead until the eye appears, and the sound is... mostly quiet. Except for the muffled 'skin. Skinnn.' beneath his foot, I guess.
The arcade is now quiet, the lights somewhat dim, but they have a moment to breathe.]
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at the very least, his hand wasn't needed for the game - and he still reacts quickly enough that when the creepy eye gif shows up, higekiri will draw his sword and move to point it at the screen like he's ready to just fucking stab it]
Are you our foe?
[IS THIS THE DEMON POSSESSING THE TECH??]
Are the two of you alright? Did you complete your mission?
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climbing out of the seat and grabbing his scythe from where he left it, he blinks a few times. hope he didn't get a concussion or anything, but it's fine.]
Looks like it. [as wwx's fuckin doll keeps talking—] ... Wei Wuxian, just kill that thing.
[GET RID OF THE DOLL]
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All good over here, too! [Are they really all good, though... He also looks Kagachi's way with a frown and gives the doll a shake!!]
I want to try seeing if I can figure out how our friends here have been rendered capable of movement. Some sort of hex? Another possession? [DEMON SCIENCE!! But his doll aside, he's moving in to look them both over.]
How are you two? No put-out eyes or missing fingers so that's good, haha.
[As blood drips down his forearm, god.]
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After they've all had a moment to breathe, though, the speakers of the machines they used crackle to life, static sounding first as a forewarning. Since you all did this simultaneously here's the wall of text that happens as each machine plays an audio clip in succession.
Higekiri's DDR machine plays the following:]
I laid with H͖̦̖̠͌̓-̦̘͙͉̹̞̠̉-̓̇ͥ̑̅͗̚҉̮̺̦̲̬̰̩-̢̲͎̘͑͛ͦ̐͠-͈̘̮̲ͨͪ͗̋̽͑̀̓ͨ̀͟͞-̠͈̯̳̯͆́̽ͪ͗́͜͞-̮̻̭̘̖̫̦̿͋̈ ̺̂̋ͯͨͤ͠t͎͓̃̐̍͗ͥ́͟h͕̹̲̃̈́̎ͅat night. Watched him toss and turn as he bemoaned the fate that had befel̢͐̒́ͤ̈l̞͍̥͈͡ͅ ̧͕̌͆̉̊̌̍ͅh̥̲̱̣͋̈̍ȋ̟̱̍̓ͫ͝s͉͜ ̩̮͚̬͉̣͍̍ͫ̓̍̋͡b͕̩̣̫̑̉́r̫͉̗̀o̯͙͙̭̮ͮt̤̺h̥͙͎̤ͣẽ͎̱̺̞̭̥͆ͦͦ̌̚ͅr for the nth time. In the morning, I asked him to accompany me. When he asked where, all I did was tell him to bring a weapon.
[After playing the message, the machine shuts off completely. Kagachi's racing game machine is next.]
We confronted C̨͕̥͖̔̏̍̎͒ͨͦ-͎̱̜̝̠̰͛ͫ-̝̀ͬ͆͗̐̉̈́-͙̜̹̼͖ͯ̅-̶ͩ̾͆̉̒̂-̢̙̝͍̘̮͆̋̐ͪ-̡̝̝͚̖̤ ͪ̐̆̾͆̈́͗in theͬ̅͂̊͐͟ ͈̘̮̞̂̈-̬̞͖̅ͅy͎̳̲͚̱m̧͈͙̟͖̬ͭ̒ͧ̚ͅ'̧̖ͮsͭ҉̼͈̱̭̮͚ ̘̹̰̀l͍̭̺͓͉̟ͤͣͥ̚ͅo̵̼̲̤̹ͩ̃̈͛̌̒̏-͌͆ͬ͝-͕̖͈̠̪-ͪͤ͢rͤͨ́ ͤr͍͊̎͆͊͂o͙͙ͦ̿̇̂̉om. Cornered him against the -̷͂-͕̮-͍̪̤̩̹̫͗̊͑ͦ̽-̛̓̐̌̐͋-̌̈́ͯ̏͗͏̫̯̟-͉͖̹̹̙ͮ̋ͬ̇̈̀̚͡-̵̘̩͍̩̜͉ͥ-̣͙̫̘̑ͥͮ̋͢ͅ-̤ͫ͆̀̓-̀͐̃̚-̼̱̪̩̟̔͊-̴̭̻͎͇̪͓̞̋ͩͩ̍̈-̧̉̿͐ͥ-̻ͦ̎̊ͯͩͪͣ-͆͏-̨̗̊͋ͫ̽̚-̜̼̥̤̊.́̌ͪ̚.
[That machine shuts off as well, and Wei Wuxian's zombie shooter continues:]
"You have a -̝̻͖̐̍̊͜-̣̰̫̯̫͋͒͂̔͘-̦̤͒ͮ́ͤ̇ͫ̀-̨ͪ͋ ̻̻͓͉͕̾̿ͫͯ-̭̪̬̮͍͔͗̋̄̒ͩ-̰ͪ͊g̸̞ͣͭ̓̄h͎̹͓̳̽̕ͅt͕̭̪̠̗̮̓̏̌ͅ? You're one of the 13."
[That machine also shuts down.
Once all three audio messages have played, the lights in this area of the arcade dim further. Deeper in, there is a flashing red light.]
no subject
Minor damage - nothing worth caring about.
[aka he can still fight and that's what matters. but he looks around before his eyes narrow at the red flashing light. he walks forward as a means to lead the way, pulling out his clamshell again to help illuminate just a little bit more]
... It's the same voice as all the messages thus far - but I wonder what the 13 means... In the first message when I entered a room with Junpei, there were only 12 remaining. But they keep mentioning these same people.
[hate hige's functional memory for missions and missions only]
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First, let's focus on getting out.
[he starts following higekiri, before glancing at wei wuxian.]
We need to deal with our injuries—Wei Wuxian's especially, I think.
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It's fine, it's fine. What is it - minor damage? I like that phrase!
[He's not missing fingers or chunks of flesh so hey, good enough!]
I'm wondering about that myself, though... Quite a puzzle of a diary we have here. [And then because he listens to no man and has no sense of dangerdar, he's moving to overtake Kagachi so he can walk alongside Higekiri at the front, squinting into the dim lighting.] See anything yet?
no subject
They'll be able to make their way through the aisles of inactive arcade games, following the source of that light until they finally enter a slightly more open space. They step onto something that feels like plastic, and there's a faint sound above them: whirr.... click-click-click-click--
As they all step into this area, the lights will come back on, and they'll be able to see the noise is coming from a circle hanging above them, spinning too rapidly to see what each wedge of it says. They're standing on a plastic mat covered in brightly colored dots.
A mechanical, text-to-speech style voice from the spinner says:]
THREE ROUNDS REMAINING. PLEASE TAKE YOUR PLACES.
[Three sets of footprints light up: a pair each on the west, north, and south sides of the mat.]
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Higekiri will glance about to WWX when Kagachi mentions his injuries though - and laugh?]
I wonder if your pet put a bad curse on you.
[since he’s the most obviously injured of the three???? but Higekiri will just look at the mat in front of them and start to walk toward the West set of footprints]
Another game is it? I hope I win.
[THEY SHOULD JUST FOCUS ON SURVIVING]
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I just hope we get out of here.
[he walks over to the north, before placing his scythe on the floor.]
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[SAID LIGHTLY AND WITH A LAUGH he's seen Bad Curses... He'll take this any day.
Anyway, he glances up at the giant clicky circle overhead curiously, before stepping onto the mat and taking up the south side of footprints.]
We're doing fine so far, aren't we? [To Kagachi. THEY'RE STILL ALIVE IT'S FINE THEY'RE FINE. Then, to Higekiri:] Good luck! I hope you win, too.
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ANYWAY.
Once they've all taken their places... they will find they can't lift their feet from the mat. The voice speaks up again:]
PLAYERS REGISTERED. GAME: START.
[The spinner slows to a stop, and Higekiri will find himself able to move first as it calls:]
WEST PLAYER: LEFT HAND ON YELLOW.
[He'll be able to move, but as soon as he follows those instructions he'll find his hand and feet both stuck again. Pick your positions carefully!]
NORTH PLAYER: LEFT FOOT ON BLUE.
SOUTH PLAYER: RIGHT FOOT ON RED.
[It'll be the same with them-- they can only move on their turn, and they will be stuck to the mat upon completing their assigned movement.
I'm trying so hard to save you guys.]
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Higekiri has never played Twister once in his life and has no concept of strategy, so guess who’s just going to go ahead and plant his hand on the closest possible yellow ]
Is it just like this?
[it seems
so simple (haha)]
no subject
[likewise, kagachi places his left foot on the blue circle at the border.]
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Oh - this one isn't so bad!
[i hope he just cursed them all. Also he's experimentally trying to lift his foot because of course he is, he doesn't like being stuck to the mat??]
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The spinner speaks again:]
TWO ROUNDS REMAINING.
WEST PLAYER: LEFT HAND ON RED.
NORTH PLAYER: LEFT HAND ON YELLOW.
SOUTH PLAYER: LEFT FOOT ON YELLOW.
[They can move in turn... but the first limb to be called? Still stuck where they placed it, except in Higekiri's case. He can shift his hand to its new place.]
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[the twister gods love hige apparently because he’s just going to up and shift and place his left hand down on the closest red!!
they’re trying to keep him out of the mix with kagachi and wwx and that’s honestly valid]
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[kagachi places his left hand on the yellow just diagonal to him, careful not to agitate his probable fracture.]
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Who knows! We seem to be doing pretty well, I guess...?
[Or at least none of them have been injured yet or unleashed angry dolls so like. Better than before!!]
no subject
ONE ROUND REMAINING.
WEST PLAYER: LEFT FOOT RED.
NORTH PLAYER: RIGHT FOOT GREEN.
SOUTH PLAYER: RIGHT HAND BLUE.
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and then puts his left foot down next to his hand
that’s it that’s all he does
he stares at kagachi while he does it]
Good luck!
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You've got to be kidding me...
[stop staring at him??
the good news is that even if he's no ballet dancer, kagachi's fairly flexible!
the bad news is that HE HAS A FRACTURED WRIST, YOU JACKASSES. he bends over easily enough, but yeah, pain sure is flaring up his arm now. this is great. why do you all get the easy moves!!]
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