#Lore interesting 2 no one but me but this was done w their original clothing designs. Which hv since changed | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shiningstardan · 2 months

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During the process of writing fanfictions, do you have a creative block or are you able to flow a story easily?

☆ A S K T I M E ! ! !

Well... Imma try to reply to the best of my abilities. But first context:

I have come just come out from a 5-year writing pause. I won't call it a block because 5 years ago I didn't have much interest in writing, I just wrote 5 fics but didn't think much of it and even dropped one of those.

So, what have I done now that is so different and has gotten my juices flowing?

I have established some rules

1. I will not write for others.

What does this mean? I will not write expecting kudos, bookmarks or reviews. So I don't place my writing motivation on feedback, some people get writers block because they don't feel appreciated. It's hurtful but you gotta remember that you also write because you love this character and the fandoms. I've always been kind of a lone wolf irl so, I gotta conduct the same mentality on online spaces.

2. I will find what I need out of the fics I'm writing and write that

I have been investing a lot of time thinking in Naruto for example. What do I need from this story that I never got?

Hyuga lore & politics

Konoha 13 interactions

Re-imagining of the time skipped between the OG series and Shippuden.

The fact that naruto talks friendship to everybody but he only cares about 1 friend, so I need him to interact with the other.

Knowing I need this I have started writing fics using prompts that may help my inspiration. Created character profiles to know who is friends with who besides what we are told in canon. Taken advantage of certain fandom patterns, there are some headcanons that have become universal.

For example: Somehow, somewhere a fan decided that in fanfic Hinata's grandfather is called either Hideo / Hideto and the rest of the fandom just rolled with it! which brings me to my next point~

3. I don't have to start from scratch.

If you feel that you are inspired by an image, headcanon, just roll with it. Don't feel pressure to come out with "original ideas" all the time, that's exhausting. I personally love when authors reference things, so maybe you said that a character likes the color red and you repeat that in a different way every fic you have, maybe through clothes, maybe through food, maybe through objects. A nod is always welcomed.

4. I can work on something else or abandon your idea

If you are stuck with an idea you can

Sleep on it and check it later

Outline it and move on. You can write 4 or 5 sentences about what you want to happen in that section and then you can come up with the details for the scene and write something else.

Not work on it anymore, maybe you can recycle what you wrote for another project (that's how I wrote Happy Valentine's Day, I didn't want to star from scratch so I reused the first portion from a discarded idea)

5. Length doesn't define you

I'm currently writing a 20k+ fic. This is my first time writing this much and it's scary AF. I thought it would be a 2k max, because I don't have a really good imagination. In the past I have mainly written works under 1k and even a 40 part drabble pieces (if you know the technical definition drabbles are 100 words exactly). So up until now I had just written relatively short works.

Challenge yourself to write short, write a haiku, a drabble, some flash fiction (250 w) or something under 500. Just a page.

Any writing is good writing.

6. Workshop it

Talk about your story and the ideas you want to explore with a friend (that includes me now, just so you know. Whether it is an annonymous ask or a direct message, my ask box will always be open for fanfic questions, even if it's a different fandom or ship I personally don't gravitate to).

7. Educate Yourself

This last few months I have discovered that english and spanish are formatted totally different in terms of punctuation.

I have also wanted to learn more about creative writing so I watch some Lectures

That being said I think I write slowly, but enjoy it nonetheless.

#answered asks

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lynaiss · 2 years

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My second contribution for the Autumn Season of @tgtw-project featuring variations in Cobalt Soul formal clothing ✨

I wanted to portray formal clothing of various members who all have different positions in the Cobalt Soul. On the first image, they are from left to right: Demid Sunlash, Dairon, Yudala Fon and Tubo.

Notes about my process are under the cut.

So, here’s another post with a bit of insight into how I approach things. Hopefully it’s helpful or interesting!

When I chose this subject to draw it I knew I wanted to portray variations in formal clothing throughout Cobalt Soul (part of Critical Role Campaign 2 setting lore) hierarchy. My idea was to convey station through detail level and the variety and intensity of the color scheme. With just that I set out to draw a sketch.

(yes, it was a very bad idea to just go sketch it and it went very poorly. Some people can fly in blindly but that never works for me. Chaos reigns in vague directions and is my biggest nemesis.)

Halfway through drawing the figures I realized the outfits felt very same-y and lacked unique shapes. I also wasn’t pleased with how tense the poses looked like so I abandoned the sketch and went on to do a separate sketch for the outfit designs. Sometimes you just have to scrap things and start over with better preparation.

While making these I kept in mind my goals for each outfit and had one eye on the cut and detail references below, which I gathered just before sketching.

I knew I wanted to have some elements inspired by Eastern European traditional clothing so I gathered those images specifically, and wanted to have eye and triangle motifs in there since they are associated with Ioun (patron Goddess of Cobalt Soul). I also looked up the wiki for Cobalt Soul and determined which named characters from Critical Role Campaign 2 I’d like to portray, then added stock photos of models that had similar features that I wanted to paint.

Another thing I did while gathering references was to shoot my own with a few poses that I thought might work best. There were many broomsticks in there as stand ins for staves 😔

I don’t own any lighting equipment, and I wanted a clearer idea of how colors and light interact, so I mocked up a scene in Blender. I used DAZ for figures and the Sketchfab addon to quickly add stand in props made by other people, then very roughly blocked in the clothes. I am sure anyone who actually does 3D would recoil in horror at it.

This time I had all the things I needed and finally produced a good sketch. Some elements of it I traced off of the Blender render to save time; models were posed off of photos so risk of making things stiff was minimal and anything that was off I just corrected while drawing over because I have enough figure drawing experience to spot it.

I like to keep my blockin process very organized and very similar to how I approach it while working in different styles so I don’t get overwhelmed and lost. First I lay down flat local colors and then on top add shadow and light with Multiply and Hard Light layers.

With the initial blockin done, this is where A Lot of Rendering begins. While I’m at it I keep finding things that need more detail or specificity so I’m constantly looking up images to help me. Below you can see how my reference board looks after the entire process. This piece was very heavy on clothes so there are many references of fabrics and folds. I also wanted to push myself with painting skin so I gathered quite a few photos that gave me a clear idea of color shifts.

While rendering the outfits many times I noticed some elements were too much or needed a bit more detail, so I deviated from the original outfit sketches where necessary. None of it was a big change so the general feel of the outfits wasn’t disturbed, but that extra bit of accessories or stitches really helped the clothing feel more lived in.

(I redid that BG so many times because I couldn’t settle on a look for it...)

And then some 20 hours later we have this! That probably would’ve been half as much but I had things going on IRL which kept distracting me from work and then I struggled to focus while trying to get back to it.

I’m fairly happy with how this turned out and it really made me think more about how I use my brushwork to convey detail, along with making me pay more attention to how much detail I add. One thing I noticed that I should work on improving is my values because until the very end some of them were quite murky and made some important details and edges unclear.

Overall I probably spent around 25 hours working on this piece. I did all of my painting with Wacom Intuos graphics tablet, in Clip Studio Paint, with 3 custom brushes.

#tgtw #tgtw project #critical role #critical role fanart #Illustration #my art #lynart

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amazingphilza · 3 years

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DSMP!OC HEADCANNONS

i dunno if ppl on here make dsmp!ocs for themselves outside art but here’s my long list of headcannons?? idk what to call this, but assume all names have c! before it ofc :]

,, this is kinda messy & probably has a lot of plot holes but i just needed a space to write out all my thoughts LOL

also cw / ment of manipulation & ib: dsmp wiki <3

character origin :

previous life was the l’mantree :D

allegedly planted by schlatt, we will never know who’s my canonical parent(s)

reborn as a dryad after niki burns the l’mantree

i think being a dryad would fit especially since they’re typically nymphs of oak trees :]

appearance :

my character’s mc skin has long light brown hair & is seen wearing a flower crown with petals that are around the color of a pale violet and navy blue

clothing would consist of black shoes & a long light grey sweater that falls down to the legs and covers most of the hands which adorned with 2 black stripes on the upper arms

lore / history :

since my past life was the l’mantree, i would’ve known the ins and outs of the history when l’manburg was still standing, up until niki burned the tree

after witnessing everything, i’d hold a grudge on niki (+ allies?) and loyal to wilbur since he’s the whole person that made a meaning of the land of l’manburg

however i’d still be on edge w any side because i could sympathize with everyone to some extent after seeing some sort of distress from everyone at some point

i think seeing both sides of the spectrum when l’manburg/manburg still stood could change my perspective of some other characters

but at the same time, not everything was completely centered in l’manburg so i wouldn’t know the whole story of everyone’s character

i’m currently writing this just after tommy has left the prison & mostly everyone is treating him differently, so i’d try to befriend him by not showing that i dont care about his past & trauma but also not being fully faithful about our friendship ahaha,,,

he seems like the type that needs someone to see through his past history but tommy would definitely disapprove of my character visiting dream at the prison (i would do it anyway :))

vowing my current life to wilbur, i would help dream escape to revive wilbur & follow along with their plans of chaos

i don’t fully support dream but he is the only way to wilbur, making me comply with dream’s decisions

“growing up” in my past life and witnessing endless conflict, it is the only thing i know and understand; chaos

but i think during the process of helping dream & wilbur i’d keep my connection with them secret, being the person to obtain all the inside information they need

i could see myself as a type of equilibrium like ranboo but in a bad way, i don’t know how to explain it

but i would try befriending ranboo since he seems like he is involved in many things and would know a lot, despite his short term memory

unfortunately i’m not sure how much his character actually knows since i haven’t been able to watch his pov that much but i’m sure there’s a lot in his memory book...

to blend in as a normal person within the rest of the characters, i’d surround myself with connor a lot

not only because he needs more lore, connor is one of the “normal” citizens of the smp so i believe being with him doesn’t bring as much attention to myself, unlike people that’s related to the egg and their noticeable features after associating themselves with the egg

he is currently only on bad terms with techno which is rly good when comparing that to other characters and their relationships with other people

connor could probably sense my real intentions eventually & tell everyone else that i’m not who i say i am but if that’s my flaw & my downfall is caused by connor, so be it! sorry dream & wilbur

i feel like for being a young dryad, i’d still fool around with dream/wilbur & help give tommy an small “advantage” to defeating the two ?

like yes i’m supposed to be on your side but where’s the fun if tommy can’t do anything to begin with?

i honestly don’t know if wilbur was revived he’d actually be his vassal but let’s assume that happens, but either way i’m with wilbur on his decisions

but ya dream seems like the type to punish me for helping tommy and send me to the afterlife to learn & become smarter like wilbur had done or smth

in the end, i just want to give tommy bits and pieces that tease him from ending all the wars and problems he has been faced with

like here’s some info about dream and wilbur but it won’t be no where close to enough

but who knows, ghostbur said ‘villains are just heroes that aren’t convinced yet’ & maybe tommy could eventually grow on me & change my ways,,

maybe me fooling around & teasing tommy with answers he’s been searching for is a way to mask that i want to be a good person

ok but imagine after knowing so much about dream/wilbur, the revive book, & the afterlife & then i switch sides,,,

surely if tommy can’t put and end to them, dream would make sure i’m gone for good instead

but also if me & connor are in good terms & he’s canonically a necromancer & can bring ppl back to life,,,,

personality :

to all besides dream & wilbur, i’d try to act passive and friendly on the outside to get on everyone’s good side

however under the mask i am more mischievous & strive to cause more problems for everyone on the server from the inside out

in a way, i’ve taken up some of dream’s manipulative personality but still very understanding

i’d like to think of my character as a good listener,, trying to do less talking than others so i do not open up about my true self and intentions

i’ve seen rumors about schlatt & mexican dream also being revived along with wilbur & i feel like i’d have some soft spot for schlatt & pick up a few things from his own character, not sure what though

schlatt planted l’mantree theory, dad!schlatt au part 2 !! /j

because of my character’s closed off and quiet personality, i feel like i’d be pretty analytical

i would know how to slip between the cracks with some characters & notice the smallest things to make them question themselves

maybe my character is good at holding their composure, and not that susceptible to being “emotional” in a way so it’s easier to face people

like i understand when a situation is sad, etc but i can’t show emotion towards how i feel about it (i don’t know if that makes sense but ya!)

i wanna try to elaborate more,, like imagine my character before tommy visits the prison, i would be unfazed from when i found out he died to the point he’s released and we find out he’s been revived

everything is a constant blur hehe

i just can’t fully process everything i guess? i dunno if that’s helpful but yeah!

in the end though, my moral compass has been very tainted; despite wanting to show my loyalty, it can be slightly easy to sway me, making me internally feel guilty to other people

but me trying to get on everyone’s good side to impress wilbur/dream to seem useful to them would ruin me before i would even realize that i’m another “pawn”

we know damn well dream is faking it till he “makes it” but yk,,

but i’d be stuck in this kind of dilemma of not knowing what thoughts are my own or just something trickled down from wilbur or dream

there’s like maybe something that clicks in my head like “maybe i wanna think for myself for once” or smth

like who am i really?

powers , bonuses , etc :

since dryads can technically manipulate plants in some ways, theoretically i could control the blood vines to some extent ???

i’m pretty sure dryads can communicate with plants so i could understand what the blood vines are saying as well

maybe i could get a good sense of what the egg is all about and stuff

assuming that i understood anything that was happening with the egg in the first place but anyway—

i guess similar to ranboo like how he can’t really be around water without some type of amour or something, it would make sense for me to primarily reside in a type a forest or be near one ?? who knows

seems a bit morbid in a way because of the whole history but if i can somehow easily get rid of the blood vines without it affecting me (if there is still some there) i think it would be kinda pretty to build a tree base in the middle of the l’manburg crator (iskall tease)

like it can show a sign of some rebirth, not the same government repeated once again but a new era in general

you know how you see like destruction years after it the disaster or smth happened and it gets all overgrown with plants and stuff? ya that’s what i’m going for in my head (mumbo jumbo s7 tease)

i know it’s covered in glass already but i dunno, some broken glass and a giant tree emerging from the whole thing and all the rubble seems cool

i’m not a good builder but i have the vision LMAO

omg puffy is like a sheep human hybrid im pretty sure & like there’s a specific type of dryad that are a protector of sheep & other animals?? i’m not exactly sure but that seems like an interesting element to incorporate somehow

also glatt randomly planting a oak sapling in quackity’s lore stream yes pls feed my nonexistent dsmp character lore /j

i honestly dunno how to incorporate the fact dryads can turn shapeshift into trees when trying to escape something but i read something that if a dryad stays in a tree form for too long they’ll forget who they are and stay stuck as a tree?? which like woah that’s cool & some material but at the same time what—

since everyone’s backstory is kinda a mess, mr beast parent tease bc he planted a bunch of trees /hj

i have realized wilbur saying like “the whole reason i built this nation is gone” & blowing up everything or whatever is kinda a plot hole in like ‘why would i follow wilbur if/when he’s revived when he said this?’ but i’d like to think he was the one that made some meaning of the area lmanburg was on, which includes the lmantree

like he was the one that started everything and created that sentiment of that land, and however he views it now is how i would see it now

he gave meaning to my past life and now in my current life, i feel this obligation to repay him for it

not really lore bc i think it was cc!tommy talking to cc!ranboo about his height & age when he first joined but yk it would funny to make my dsmp character than his just to slightly spite him anyway

canonically 6’4 dryad yes . /hj

also i have no idea anything about hannah and her lore but we do be flower buddies :D

also omg like this isn’t at all important but the way ranboo can pick up grass blocks will just have me at awe, i dunno seems in theme with the forest/plant stuff

and i remember reading like there was something about dryads and apples but i can’t remember but i’d give tommy a bunch of apples /hj

apples am i right chat,,,,,

i’ll just have infinite apples in my inventory, like kill me in game, not like losing lives kinda deal but just in general and boom stacks of apples

“bee i get you’re half tree but do you just poop apples out like they’re nothing??” “girls don’t poop” /j

ok but like no matter how many streams i watch i cant grasp where everything is but omg but no if i was new to the server & stuff, canonically & not, i would feel my character to be the curious kind to explore everywhere

like besides a mini tour from some other person in the server, since my character only knows things in the bounds of lmanburg, i’d go off exploring different places like pogtopia, the sewers, showchester, etc

i feel like my character would be really into history, like they would have questions about what happened to lmanburg after the last war? what was life like before wilbur? what was the whole history about the antarctic empire? i dunno but reading a bunch of books from a library seems really interesting

oh but in theory, me and tubbo are loosely related if you wanna count schlatt as my “dad” because he supposedly planted the lmantree ???

i mean could make sense but it seems like a stretch

also if my character ever got close to schlatt, i’m not sure if this is canon, but i swear one time he mentioned how the whole dsmp sever is just a game/server in a game & he’s the only one that knows that ??? but like imagine if i found that out canonically,,,,,

big existential crisis pls

and i’m not 100% sure how dryad shifting works with like going from female to tree form and stuff but if i’m able to morph into different girls on the server & act as them,,,, the about of problems that can cause in the lore omg

lemme frame niki real quick and get inside information /j

oh ya and like hey bee do you support the government then? yes but no. whatever my “fav” person is canonically (assuming this is based in the beginning of this whole hc) whatever wilbur thinks, i think. head empty. but subject to change as the dsmp storyline progresses and stuff :]

ngl i wanna throw in some like random lore that doesn’t make sense to throw people off but i can’t think of anything

not actually really lore related but my choice of stream music like how ranboo has his undertale stuff that makes everyone cry, i will have in love with a ghost

yup i like in love with a ghost sm & i’m pretty sure their music is like not dmca too which yay but yk theoretically never gonna stream on the dsmp but still a fun aspect to think of bc i love listening to music & it’s very impactful to a story & associating something to it makes it more meaningful :D

like i could imagine the chill pop lofi piano stuff fits witha few lore streams of like exploring the whole smp before my character would really go out with being this lost villain in a way?

tubbo’s gangnam style who?

like i feel like i made my character bad/evil so they could have potential to get better in the future

on one hand, i’ll end up w dream and/or wilbur for the rest of my life, which is okay but i could also switch to be with tommy or even disregard all of them and be with techno/phil or quackity & potentially schlatt even who knows

also i cant wait for more connor lore tho, like as much as i tried to make my character give him more content i wanna see how everything goes with him having connections to schlatt & stuff

anyway i would’ve made concept art for my character but i honestly don’t rly like my art currently but who knows LMAO

and lastly if u read all of this ily /p

i might update this later when there’s more lore but ya

#bee for dream smp 2021 /j #dsmp headcanon #dream smp oc #dreamsmp headcanon #dsmp hc #mcyt x oc #dsmp x oc

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fairyfolkreviews · 4 years

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“The Mermaid Bride and Other Orkney Folktales” Review

Disclaimer: In accordance with FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements: The book reviewed has been purchased by me and the opinions I have expressed are my own. All quotes from “The Mermaid Bride” are the property of © Tom Muir, and illustrations are all by artist © Bryce Wilson. Images used with permission of © Tom Muir from Orkneyology.

“The Mermaid Bride” is a varied collection of folk tales retold by the author and is as entertaining as it is informative. It’s a hidden gem among the many Scottish folklore books that line the mythology and local interest section of bookstore shelves. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn more about Orkney's traditional tales and customs. It is also a great choice for children who love fairy tales. The pages are filled with fantastic creatures, lesser known creatures of folklore: selkies, giants, ghosts, fin folk, mermaids, and trows, to name a few. If you are familiar with Norse mythology, you will notice its influence on some of the legends. Vikings had invaded the Orkney Isles and lived there for a time among the natives long ago. Bryce Wilson’s illustrations adorn the book and add even more charm to the stories. They are incredibly detailed and are done in black ink with a stippling effect, creating texture as well as a three-dimensional impression to his pictures.

The book begins with the “Acknowledgements” page, followed by an introduction by the author, Tom Muir. He explains that his purpose for writing this book was to preserve Orkney's heritage and compile as many folk stories as he could find into one place for fear that all the ancient tales would be lost in time. I believe that he has achieved this goal. He may have even composed a classic that will lay on the bedside tables of many Orkney children for their mothers to read to them for years to come. Following the introduction is “The Creatures of Orkney Folklore” section which provides short descriptions of the mythical characters featured in the tales. I recommend you read this section if you are not familiar with Orkney folklore. Otherwise, it will be difficult to understand who or what the supernatural characters are in the tales. After the collection of folk tales, there is a small segment titled “Short Stories from Old Lore Miscellaneous.” and one labelled “Ernest Marwick Papers, Orkney Archives of the Orkney Library, D31.” Ernest Marwick was a folklorist who wrote one of the first books of folklore of the Orkney and Shetland Isles. The last two sections are “BBC Radio Orkney Archives” and the bibliography, which is designated “Notes and Sources.”

The language of the tales is simple to adhere to traditional story-telling. This combined with the author’s unique voice which captures the essence of the settings in which the stories take place and the dialogues between the characters. They preserve the authenticity to these tales as faithful as the ambiance of the originals. They invoke emotions of love, loss, wonder, caution and even some humor. Some tales are short, less than a page long, while others exceed three pages. I found that the narration is similar to that of many fairy tales. Most folk tales have an underlying purpose, theme, or lesson.. My favorite sayings from the book are: "A close tongue keeps a safe head" and "She shaped her own cloth, now let her wear her ill-fitting dress!" The stories are more plot-driven and the protagonists generally do not play a large part and are not particularly well-rounded. Therefore, the choices these characters make and external supernatural forces/entities are what move the narrative forward. Supporting characters are not mentioned much and rarely influence the events which occur. If you keep in mind that you are reading a book of folktales, not a collection of short fiction, you will enjoy the book regardless.There is plenty of adventure to be found: discoveries of hidden islands and an underwater kingdom, the exploration of the wild, rich and untamed Orkney landscape, which is depicted in Mr. Muir's brilliantly.

As much as I adored the book, I’m giving it ★ ★ ★ ★ instead of five because of some minor vexing details:

Toward the end of the book, there is an increase in common grammatical errors (misuse of punctuation, not capitalizing the first words of sentences, etc.). Also, the language in the tales do not seem to flow as smoothly as they did earlier in the book. Everything feels somewhat rushed. Furthermore, some factors in the tales are difficult to comprehend. I understand and appreciate that these folk tales were told this way years ago, but one wonders if the original storytellers at the time had not been improvising or adding elements spontaniously. A good example to support my opinion is the story "Good Neighbours of Greenie Hill," when a stampede of pigs suddenly appears out of nowhere in the house and starts squealing next to a character’s feet, then one of them carries him or her off to see fairies.

Overall, I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this book. I learned a lot about the folklore of Orkney and a little about the customs of the people who lived there in the past. I loved the stories toward the beginning of the book most of all, which are creation myths that portray how Orkney came to be, as well as stories of Mermaids, Selkies, and Fin Folk. But my absolute favorite tale was by far "Lady Odivre;" it was one of the most epic folk tales I had ever read: an oath made by Odin, a heartbroken lady, a brave knight in a faraway land, a Selkie King, and even a scandal!

I recommend this book to anyone interested in folklore, particularly Scottish folklore. I also recommend it to anyone who loved mermaids, selkies, and stories of the sea. The tales of the Orkney Isles are not as well-known as those from the rest of the UK, but they should be. If not for the sake of scholarly research, then for the pure joy that they will no doubt bring you. If you are interested in this book, you can find used copies online, but most are overpriced overpriced. Luckily, you can still purchase a new copy directly from the bookshop linked to the publisher, Orcadian Limited (Kirkwall Press), here.

Resources for research and further reading:

1. Orkneyjar: http://www.orkneyjar.com/

2. Orkneyology: https://www.orkneyology.com/

3. Orkney Library: http://www.orkneylibrary.org.uk/

4. Marwick, Ernest W. The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland. B.T. Batsford, 1986.

5. Muir, Tom, and Sheila Faichney. Orkney Folk Tales. The History Press, 2014

6. Black, George F. County Folklore. Facsimile ed., III, Folklore Society, 1994.

7. Dennison, Walter Traill, and Tom Muir. Orkney Folklore & Sea Legends. Orkney Press, 1995.

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