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llitchilitchi · 19 days

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oooookay, I'm not super versed in dsmp lore and I don't even really know the whole events in chronological order. but!!!! I love your monarchy restoration au. your art is so gorgeous. and the emotions there ... man

can you please give me some guideline of what should I know from the og lore to understand your au? or maybe some summary of your au?

just talk about it I really want to interact!!! :D

hi, editing Li here, the summary ended up being over 2k words. then I realised you asked for a summary to the AU, which is part of the masterpost. I went over the lore in brief, I promise it's just brief despite the length and doesn't tackle All there is to the SMP

okay, lemme try and speedrun the lore of the dream smp - given that the story of monarchy restoration centers around the Dream Team, or at least the parts that I shared, I'll be focusing on them. this will get long and I'm really sorry jghdfjd

the core ideas you should know is that: Dream, George and Sapnap were close friends, but they drifted apart as time went on due to conflicts on the server. Dream crowned George as King, but then due to George doing badly as a king and this position putting him in danger made him dethrone George, which made the rift between them grow. they were once inseparable, and now George and Sapnap thought of Dream as obsessed maniac who no longer cared for them as people. after Dream got put in prison and tortured, he broke out, and this is where the lore of Monarchy Restoration diverges from the original story of the SMP and becomes an AU, as instead of reuniting with Punz as intended, Dream is too weak and injured to do much and runs into George, who takes him in.

now for the Actual Lore Recap:

at the very beginning of it all, there were two friends - Dream and George. they found a little piece of the world for themselves, and everything was fine. then a third came, Sapnap, and then more people joined, and they lived in the same house in the middle of the lake and things were okay.

months passed, and fights turned into splits in the community and a community turned to factions, and the conflicts of factions were intertwined with interpersonal fights. (the interpersonal conflicts? the disc saga, aptly named over 2 music discs that were used as a bartering chip and have a pretty good significance in the overall story. put a pin into that.)

the two factions at play were the (retroactively named) Greater SMP and L'Manburg which declared independence from the Greater SMP on basis of xenophobia. they lost the war against the Greater SMP, the final fight being a duel between Dream and the original owner of the discs (Tommy). a deal was struck after, where Tommy offered his discs in exchange for independence (or independance, if you want to stick to the original text)

an important aspect of this war is to note that Dream offered one of the people on L'Manburg's side a deal - they betray the faction and get to become the King of the Greater SMP. this establishes monarchy in the story. they accepted, betrayed their allies, got the role of a King with the promise of 'staying neutral and uninvolved in further conflicts'.

I'll breeze through the Manberg era for the most part (despite being the most interesting one, imo). L'Manburg ran a presidental election, the original leader (who wanted to take power by scamming the whole thing) lost, and the new leader of L'Manburg (renamed to Manberg, because they're not taking any L's anymore) exiled the OG president and his right hand man Tommy, things went bad. the two exiled men started a new faction (Pogtopia) that they hoped to use to take back their "rightful place" and were given support from Dream because the new Manberg was a little too expansive. (he ended up siding with Manberg last minute for Yet Unknown Reasons, we will get to them, again, put a pin in it)

the King of the SMP very vocally sided wih Pogtopia, which was a betrayal to the core principles of their position as King. the King was dethroned, and Dream put his best friend George on the throne, with him and Sapnap serving as his knights.

upon the defeat of Manberg by Pogtopia (since Manberg's authoritarian regime ended up driving people out and most joined Pogtopia, Dream and his people fought for Manberg only as mercenaries), one of the core allies of Pogtopia - an anarchist, the blood god himself, Technoblade - turned on his former allies because they told him it was about defeating a tyrant, but all they wanted was to kill one tyrant and put their own people in his place. Techno then fled into exile.

next chapter begins after the rebuild of L'Manberg, yet the L' is back, under a new rule given that the OG president uhhh Blew Up The Country with several megatons of TNT and then persuaded his father into killing him.

King George is vibing. he is unaware of all faction wars, builds himself a holiday house far away from everything, enjoys time with new friends, all while Dream grows more and more distant due to trying to keep what is left of his old life together.

the reason the home is important to mention is that, once peace has settled over the world, Tommy decided that the discs that he traded for independence are His, in fact, and he needs to steal them - or barter for them in any shitty way possible. he still had tons of grudges against Dream, and in one of these half-grudge fueled fuckeries, he and one other character set fire to George's holiday home.

Dream found it in ruin and still burning when he came see his friend with a bouquet of flowers. there are several interpretations to this, and since Dream himself never really specified, there's a speculation that he thought that this event maybe killed his best friend, and given that George is the King of the Greater SMP, an attack by the right hand man of the current L'Manberg president on the physical property of the King of a rival faction is de-facto a war declaration.

so we are presented with an ultimatum, where Tommy is either exiled or a war starts. (exile won. it was voted on by the fans we wanted that bitch Out. this is not quite as important but the dynamics shaping up between Tommy and Dream had a massive impact on the plot.)

while Tommy is in exile, George becomes rather friendly with a new budding faction on the server. his involvement with them means that his neutrality vow was broken, and given how frequently he got harassed by L'Manberg, Dream decided to dethrone George, and put the previous King back in power. this dethronement caused a huge rift to form between George and Dream (and Sapnap, who sided with George) and the three of them fell apart with the parting words from George to Dream being "Just say you hate me."

I'm sure this won't have any lasting effects on the man who was tearing himself apart to make the world the same as it was when it was just the two of them

now in brief: the L'Manberg cabinet decided to take revenge on Techno after he turned on them after they tricked him into helping them against Manberg. the punishment? execution. how did they achieve that? they hunted him down, threatened to kill his animals, told him he will get a court process but just set him up in a guillotine. Dream intervened and saved him, thus earning a favour from Techno because both of them are traumatized warriors with trust issues that rather treat kindness as currency. Tommy runs away from the place he was restricted to in his exile, moves in with the anarchist-in-retirement-gone-pacifist Techno, the two of them end up teaming up for the time being as Techno protects him from Dream. L'Manberg in the meantime decides to host a festival to show that they are peaceful now, and nothing bad will happen again :) it takes place a week after they unlawfully tried to execute Techno, and the festival is meant to serve as public execution of Dream. However, the festival is cut short when Dream storms in because the original house where he and his friends lived - known as the Community House - got blown up. he blames L'Manberg and Tommy, and after a short conflict that happens then he declares that L'Manberg has a day to evacuate and him and Techno agree to blow up the country. a second time. and completely now.

so L'Manberg is gone now and the members of the faction scatter. within days, Tommy receives an invitation from Dream to come get his discs (I didn't know how to include it, but after the whole 'setting George's house on fire' Tommy tried to barter for the discs and for Dream to ignore him setting the house on fire, all while trying to leverage things that Dream held dear. attachment to objects and people is a running theme in here. Dream then proceeded to give his "I don't give a fuck about Spirit, I don't give a fuck about anything actually" speech, basically telling everyone they have nothing to leverage against him and he will destroy them if he needs to and them holding something hostage won't bother him.) This sets the stage for the Disc Finale. Tommy and his best friend Tubbo make their way to a specific location, far away, all alone, where they are to fight against Dream to win the discs back. they lose spectacularly and Dream reveals his "grand plan" where he has a vault to gather "all the precious items people own to control them" (and I wrote "grand plan" because it was a farce. it was a show, it was staged, all just to get Tommy to leave him the fuck alone and stop meddling with his greater plan. what is the greater plan? fuck if I knew.)

the whole thing is then intercepted when a large group of people, one of which is Dream's right-hand-man Punz who was running errands for him before, and more importantly, Sapnap. he's beaten and just as he is about to be killed, he reveals his secret: the reason he sided with manberg, all those months ago, is because in exchange for his services he got a book of necromancy. he can now bring people back to life. because of this, he is locked up in an inescapable prison in case anyone needs to use the book.

Sapnap and George are very much under the impression that Dream doesn't care for them. Sapnap comes visit Dream once, promises to return, never does. George doesn't even bother coming in, instead sleeping his days away and it catches the eye of a deity who wears the same face as his beloved Dream, and he loses himself to the illusion of being reunited with his best friend in a world where everything is perfect.

another important thing to note is that Sapnap stumbles upon a Book Of Death (yes, its death note, sapnap is a weeb, it even functions the exact same.) the thing about the book of death and the book of necromancy is that they are both books that were placed into the world by the deity wearing Dream's face (known as DreamXD, or XD for short, yes it's a little silly) and XD reveals to another character (a somewhat-deity, Foolish) that the books and their owners are intertwined in a way, and if one were to die the other dies with him.

so we have three friends, one locked up in prison and seen as nothing more but an object to use (Dream), the other a man who watched his friends, his parents and his lovers fall apart (Sapnap) and a man who cannot face the world falling apart and the loss of his friends so he gives into an illusion created by god in his dreams. and all of them have a strange tie to a stranger god.

this very fractured relationship the three have, along with their ties to the god, were the main driving force behind making this AU.

the last thing you should probably know is that Dream was locked in prison for 10 months, starved, tortured, with little to no social contact until Techno was locked in with him, but with the use of some fun magic Techno managed to escape and then "return the favour" from when Dream saved him from execution, and broke him out of prison.

there's a lot of little nuanced things I probably forgot about but this is the core of it all I hope it helps

#asks #dsmp #monarchy restoration au #i feel a little insane looking at this #not to mention the little things I didnt get to talk about #like the intro comic referencing the one stream where george dreamed about meeting dream #the whole 'are you with me or against me' thing #or the scissors #or the whole nuance of red and green festivals i skipped those for the most part #doomsday? never heard of her sorry #the staged finale got a brief mention even tho it was just... so much #never mentioned the Experiments or why the prison exists to begin with #oh pandora how ive wronged you #torture also just got like. brushed over #ranboo gets no mentions L #or the whole no armor policies aaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!#tubbo vs dream during the l'manberg/exile debacle was so good too #like the manipulation on both sides the way they handled things #and i barely spoke of el rapids #this post is blasphemy #i should edit more of this but my tumblr is lagging at this point so. take it or leave it and Im sorry

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kuroneko1815 · 1 year

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I just realized that the Eckart family’s symbol is the rose just like GOTs Tyrell family and then it made me wonder what would have happened if Penelope had grown up just a little differently and she took on a personality that was more like Margaery or Olenna, like she would be called the Queen of Thorns for because she would seem like the perfect rose but also because she has such a sharp tongue and navigated the social world like a seasoned socialite that made the other ladies tremble at the idea of being met with her rapier wit but they also can’t stay away because she’s the lady’s textbook example, beautiful, poised, well educated, eloquent, and loved by the commoners. Except she has no ambitions or desire for the throne. No one in the family does.

OG!Penelope had a fashion sense that was far more mature than was accepted for her age and we all know how Margaery was. And all this time she navigates the social world maintaining the Eckart neutrality until she meets Callisto. And oh boy, the two of them team up and she drags the Eckarts out of neutrality, defeats Leila, and gets him his crown. Meanwhile, he destroys anyone who dares to look down on her for her origins, which isn’t that many now because most people forget she was adopted when she behaves and presents herself better than most noblewomen and she just seems like she belongs in high society. I mean, I think even when the Queen would be intimidated by her, especially when she and Callisto get together and she starts setting the trends away from the Queen’s more ‘modest’ styles.

I mean, even if there were no Leila and Yvonne was around (maybe Penelope’s mother sacrificed herself to seal Leila into the mirror and return Yvonne to her body), and Penelope was adopted. Despite being the technical youngest of the Eckart family, Penelope would be super overprotective of the cinnamon roll that is Yvonne and she doesn’t care about the fact that people scorn her for her commoner background but gets pissed off when they make fun of Yvonne for the year she was missing when she was just so close to her house. Penelope just verbally destroys them and their reputations in such a way that it’s nearly impossible to recover and their brothers support her 100% when they find out that Yvonne was being harassed. And people eventually get the message. Back off from the ‘real’ daughter.

Yvonne and Penelope would go out and volunteer a lot and they would run into Vinter who falls for Yvonne much to the disgruntlement of the men in the family. But then when Callisto comes into the picture and they realize that they now have someone courting Penelope too and it’s the worst possible person they can imagine? Horror… until they see how well Penelope manages Callisto who is so amused by her antics that he goes along with anything she says.

#death is the only ending for a villainess #vadd #villains are destined to die #callisto regulus #fic ideas #penelope eckart #penelope eckart x callisto regulus #death is the only ending for the villainess #penelope x callisto

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moltz23 · 8 months

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Random Three Houses & Hopes Trivia: How Edelgard & Dimitri's relationship is shockingly far more convoluted than you would think.

...And arguably how it's also kinda contrived, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

A few weeks ago, I had a realization about something surrounding Edelgard's past which lowkey explains her whole dynamic with Dimitri a ton better than the generally accepted theory that the experiments "those who slither in the dark" did to Edelgard affected her memory (not saying it isn't a factor, mind you). After sharing my thoughts with the Three Houses subreddit, people pointed I either got some facts wrong or was missing some key details, so I went back and did a more thorough research on the whole topic again. And once getting a full picture of the whole situation, I feel it was worth making this post.

To explain what I mean by claiming that Edelgard & Dimitri's relationship is shockingly complicated, we first need to go over everything both Three Houses and its Warriors spinoff tells us about their shared past and experiences:

1. Edelgard in the Goddess Tower scene says her first love was a noble from the kingdom a lifetime ago.

2. In the Blue Lions event "Childhood Memories", Dimitri says the following about his past with Edelgard:

Dimitri: We were born and raised in different territories, without ever knowing the other even existed. Yet, against all odds, for just over a year, we became childhood friends. [...] Unaware of each other's stations or backgrounds, we met and became incredibly close. This was when she and Lord Arundel were living in the Kingdom.

Incidentally, Dimitri also says this in his A-Support with Hapi:

Dimitri: As [Anselma/Patricia] was seeking asylum from the Empire in the Kingdom, Lord Arundel was obligated to hide the Imperial princess's whereabouts. She would undoubtedly have become a political pawn in the Kingdom as well. If her location had gone public, the Empire would have demanded her return. [...] I did not realize until much later that the girl I'd met under such strange circumstances was my stepsister.

3. In the AM event "Questions and Answers", Edelgard is noticeably shocked when Dimitri gives her the dagger back, which brings back the memories of when it was gifted to her. Besides realizing Dimitri was that kid, she also calls him once afterwards "My dear, forgotten friend...".

Oh, and Dimitri also calls her "El" a few times, which is important.

4. In Three Hopes, in one of Edelgard's Expedition lines, she recalls the following about how she got her dagger:

Edelgard: Have I told you about the boy who gave me the dagger? I called him "Dee," which is all I really remember about him.

5. In Edelgard's A-Support with Byleth, she mentions near the end how "there's no one left who calls me El..."

6. In Cindered Shadows, this exchange happens the second time you get to explore during the side-story:

Dimitri: Pardon the odd question, but something has been bothering me for a while now. Your hair...was it always that color?

Edelgard: That is an odd question. But yes, if you must know, it was a different color when I was a child. How could you know that? Is it possible that we met before the academy?

7. And finally, in Three Houses itself, not only any mentions of Edelgard calling Dimitri by name in flashbacks were removed with the last update in the English script, checking the OG Japanese one with Fedatamine.com reveals Edelgard never outright called Dimitri by name in those flashbacks, meaning the changes made to the EN script post-launch were likely done for consistency's sake (as in, the localization took some liberties with the Edelgard and Dimitri flashbacks, the devs likely noticed them, and ordered the translation team to remain faithful to the OG script).

In short, the "tl;dr" version of the whole Edelgard & Dimitri dynamic, in both Three Houses and Three Hopes, is that:

Dimitri recalls all of his past time with Edelgard back when they were kids. He remembers growing close enough to Edie to call her "El", but admits that neither Edelgard nor him knew who the other really was by then. Dimitri also states he eventually put two-and-two-together long after Edelgard had left the kingdom.

Edelgard meanwhile, remembers meeting a boy in the Kingdom whom she once had a crush on. She called him "Dee", recalls receiving her dagger from him and... That's pretty much it.

What exactly does this all mean then?

It means that, not only Edelgard does not remember her past with Dimitri the same way he does (jury's out as for why that's the case), her & Dimitri's recollections of events makes abundantly clear that, for most of Three Houses, Edelgard is 100% unaware that Dimitri and "Dee" (as in, the boy she befriended in the kingdom) are one and the same.

As always, many thanks to everyone who read this post! Looking back at it, I'm lowkey mad that I figured this out so damn late into the game's lifespan given all the evidence pointing it had been staring at my face all along.

But what do you all think about their whole dynamic? Does it make the whole tragedy of both sting deeper? Did it happen to confuse you even more somehow? Does it raise more questions than answers? Or does it feel needlessly complex?

#fe3h #crimson flower #azure moon #scarlet blaze #azure gleam #few3hopes #fewath #fire emblem: three houses #fire emblem warriors: three hopes #edelgard von hresvelg #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #trivia #fire emblem

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goddesspharo · 1 year

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EIGHT SHOWS TO GET TO KNOW ME

@earnmysong tagged me for this. Feel free to do it if you want!

This was surprisingly difficult because I decided to go with shows that had finished their runs and am in an extremely nostalgic mood about tv today. I think I watched more TV in my youth and now I am more of a movie gal. (Haha, too bad the meme isn’t 8 movies to get to know me!) I don’t know if these are my favorite favorite shows, but either I was ridiculously into them (ah, fic) or I genuinely loved them or they hold a special nostalgic place in my heart.

The X-Files

Alias

Freaks and Geeks (A perfect one season show that fully captures its perfection in the finale when a Grateful Dead fan says she wished she had never heard the band so she could experience it again for the first time ever.)

Beverly Hills, 90210 (The OG, of course, and only the Brenda Walsh years. If you were not raging when HER BEST FRIEND and HER BOYFRIEND hooked up with each other during Brenda’s summer abroad and then made it seem like SHE was to blame for not being supportive of THEIR BETRAYAL, then I don’t even know what to say. Team Brenda always.)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (If we’re being honest, it’s probably just the first three seasons after which my viewing dropped off to sporadically at best.)

House, MD (The first two seasons of this show were so good and happened to coincide with when I was in med school so it hit differently when I was studying different pathway deficiencies at 3am just as it also happened to be the answer to the case of the week! Also lupus was never that rare, you dorks! Unfortunately, this show also has the distinction of disappointing me so much - I don’t even think I watched the last few seasons - by giving me the thing that I wanted back when it was a thing that was never actually going to happen and morphing it into this soul-sucking beast that devoured the show in a really terrible way when it happened. I am, of course, talking about when they made House/Cuddy canon and turned them into needy people in a fundamentally unpleasant way that didn’t work.)

Happy Endings

Gossip Girl (The OG, probably the first two seasons although realistically I am going to say that this show was great just during the first 13 episodes of the first season before the writer’s strike. Again, I didn’t even watch the last few seasons except for that Dan is GG reveal. But in the halcyon days of ol’ LJ, I was all about the fic and picspams and the mixes for these terrible idiots. Why doesn’t Leighton Meester have a better career than what she has when she was the best out of the nonjudgmental breakfast club? She has Adam Brody so she wins in that regard, but I need her to have gigs that are not bad made-for-Netflix movies!!!! Did Cobra Starship break up? Can we get a sequel to “Good Girls Go Bad,” which is somehow still a banger whenever a clip randomly makes the rounds on Twitter?)

This is my warning that I’m going to be feral about it when Succession and Yellowjackets come back at the same time at the end of this month.

#ask me things

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secondgenerationnerd · 1 year

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I'm curious about the relationship between the OG Titans and the Omega (og including Raven, Gar, Vic and Kori)

Lol 😂 honestly for Raven that definitely tracks. They’ve got a few hotheads on the team so she’s a very calming presence. Even Damian rarely argues with her, which more than one person asked if there was dark magic involved. She just understands what it feels like to grow up with someone controlling you.

Gar is the goofy uncle that they can talk to, but when he’s tells them to do something they usually listen. He’s definitely close with Jai, Lian, Mar’i, and Irey (the pranksters and the alibis 😂) I think he and Damian would get along pretty well, especially as Damian gets older. Omega is really good friends with their twins, Elijah and Emerson.

Victor babysat Mar’i a bunch when she was a kid. He told her that “Booyah” was a phrase people said when they were angry. Dick was ready to smack the bastard the first time Mar’i said it in a super angry voice. He has an adopted son, Parker, who’s dating Emerson and close with the team

Donna Troy is Godmother to Lian, with Jason as her Godfather. She is the go to for Mar’i when it comes to strength training. The girls all adore her, especially when she does their hair for the day. Honestly, Donna is that chill aunt we all love.

Garth doesn’t see them too often, but he’s friendly with them. I think Mar’i is afraid of the ocean as a kid, so he spends some time getting her comfortable with it. Again, not super close, but they all like seeing him.

Kory passed before Omega formed (it’s why Mar’i was sent to Earth). I think she would have adored Omega squad. I had this heartbreakingly sweet idea of Zachary using his magic to access Mar’i’s memory, letting them see her mom interact with Mar’i. It’s just so obvious when they see how Kory looks at her that Mar’i is her whole world. (Kory would also put the fear of X’hal into Jon, warning him not to break her daughter’s heart.)

Then there’s the teams favorite supervising trio—Roy, Dick, and Wally.

Roy is obviously Lian’s dad, but I think he’s actually close with most Omega squad. Like the twins and Mar’i were over all the time, Milagro is best friends with Lian, he practically adopted Colin, Jon and Damian remind him of their dads but with some of the…less flexible personality traits still in the works. He and Lian are incredibly close. Like when all the families are together, it’s easy to see how much she’s like him. His house is open when someone is in a crisis and doesn’t want to be alone.

Wally’s in the same boat as Roy. I don’t think he’s as close to Jon, but will go to bat for him without hesitation. Wally definitely didn’t like Damian, especially when he first started dating Irey, but I can see that relationship becoming more love-hate as time goes on. He loves Mar’i like a second daughter, takes care of Lian after Roy and Jade die, helps Colin when the venom makes his body burn, listens to Milagro talk all about her latest fashion stuff, and just…he’s a good listening ear.

Dick, obviously, is close with Mar’i and Damian. He made damn sure Mar’i could defend herself without her powers. Made sure he was a better brother to Damian than he had been to Jason, reminding his youngest brother it’s okay to be a kid. Jai, Irey, and Lian are his niblings, he literally watched them grow up (which yes, was weird for a bit when Irey and Damian started dating). He and Colin bond over being orphans, Colin able to ask him some hard questions he didn’t feel comfortable asking others. With Milagro, he was one of her biggest supporters with her fashion design, even offered to get her in touch with some people. He calls Jon his future son-in-law constantly 😂

I had a fic idea involving Roy, Dick, Wally, Linda, and their kids if you’re interested!

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ramblingdisaster73 · 2 years

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Season 3 Character Highlights

Character: Grace Ryder

Favorite 3 scenes:

3x04 “Push”: I will forever enjoy Grace giving Billy a piece of her mind, and really who says stupid things to someone in labor. The weasel comparisons were hilarious.

3x05 “Child Care”: The kitchen scene after finding out about Wyatt. This scene was raw, it was full of valid emotion, there wasn’t anyone to blame, but so much hurt. The scene at the end of the episode with Judd and then with Marlene were also great, the acceptance and respect was clear.

3x11 “Prince Albert in a Can”: The vulnerability that she showed both to Judd and to Carlos felt so authentic. I loved how she decided that she and Carlos were going to figure out who made the swatting call and helped them both get their power back.

Favorite 3 lines: funny, heartfelt, or ridiculous

3x03 “Shock and Thaw”: “Billy, I read that there are two reasons that we do anything. There's a good reason, and then there's the real one. So, how about you just admit it. When you saw a chance to shutter that place permanently, you couldn't resist. You couldn't stand to see that house thrive under Captain Strand. Billy, I don't even want to think about what your 126 brothers would say if they could see you right now. I hope you think about it, though, and I hope it keeps you up at night the way losing the 126 kept my husband up at night, Billy! He thinks I don't know, but I do, and dammit, Billy, I promised him that I would stay relaxed, and I'm not feeling so relaxed right now, so how about you get your sandwich, and you get out.”

3x04 “Push”: “Billy, if you are on your way to an, "I told you so," I will rip your weasel tongue out, stick it to that windshield just to watch it freeze.”

Favorite 3 dynamics:

Judd, Charlie, & Wyatt: Grace doesn’t love anyone only half way, she loves them with her whole heart. She let her self be vulnerable, and the way she immediately included Wyatt as part of the family was a very selfless action.

Tommy: Tommy is Grace’s voice of reason when she gets too stuck in her faith. Grace has a strong relationship with religion, dating back to when she worked at the prayer hot line. Tommy is the one that is able to cut through what Grace thinks she should do based on ‘Christian’ ideals. Ex: Telling Grace she wasn’t Jesus, when they were talking about Dave.

Carlos: Like many people, I had been waiting for this team up since at least 2x05 so when we finally got them interacting in 3x11 I was so excited, and they did not disappoint. (I have even started a fic series based on them being a support group for each other in regards to their significant others.

3 things we learned:

Do NOT mess with her family: Angry Grace is terrifying. She is such a kind and loving person, but fiercely protective of those she loves. Her scenes with Billy, with her being able to rant at him about how badly his actions had hurt her husband, and the rest of their fire family.

Her faith: There are times that she takes the teachings from church to mean that she has to suffer. We saw this in 2x10 when her back wouldn’t allow her to move out of the backseat of the car at the grocery store. We saw it again with the whole Dave situation.

Sarcasm Queen: Season 3 was full of quippy and sarcastic Grace, one of my favorite versions of her! Her banter with Judd is fantastic.

3 hopes for season 4:

More life outside the call center or maybe more time with others that work at the call center. – The call center is the one area that I think the OG 911 does a bit better. We have really only had Grace at dispatch, where in the OG we have had multiple people. We didn’t even get names until the end of Season 2 or the beginning of season 3. I would like to see her interacting with Joel and Brie, or even a new recurring character.

Grace & Charlie – I just want to see more of Grace and her baby girl

More Judd & Grace – They just have such great chemistry that their scenes are so fun to watch (even when they want to make you cry).

Next up: TK Strand

#911 lone star #season 3 #Character highlight #grace ryder #judd ryder #tommy vega #carlos reyes

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lovecolibri · 2 years

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"#i did enjoy the episode but they still keep telling us 'this is a family' without ever showing it" about 911ls and I agree so mich, something was bugging me when i was watching and there it is! 911og shows them being a family so genuinely and beautifully, they hang out, they call, they know e/o kids and spouses and a strong bond is very very visible! when ravi shows up it's even more clear, he's new and he's not totally in yet but he will! and i can't wait for him to feel at home w them

This is a fairly recent ask but I know the post that I tagged with that was earlier this season so I'm not even going to try and find it and remember which episode it's about. I will say season 3 has had some improvement on showing us things like the 126 hangs, and everyone showing up at Paul's house and stuff, but like, it's season 3. We should not still be having to establish these dynamics or still know so little about the majority of the characters! I actually saw someone mentioning characters like Paul, Marjan, and Mateo as "supporting" characters, when they are mains! This is supposed to be an ensemble show, and Owen is NOT the main character like people keep trying to say he is, as a reason for others to not complain about his screen time.

Look, I'm not nearly as invested in LS as I am in the OG. I enjoy watching it very much but I'm more than happy to just see where the show takes things rather than speculate or theorize or read tons of fic and fix-its. But I think part of that has to do with how disconnected I feel from the characters! I really enjoyed season 1 and I actually liked Owen most of the time, and I was so excited to learn more about these characters. But Owen now is...I can't say totally different, but he's way less likable most of the time, and outside of 3x08 we hardly see him interacting with TK when that was one of the highlights in season 1! He just feels kind of all over the place so it's harder to enjoy the moments when he gets to be funny (because he does have them!), and now it rarely happens, but when he's being a guiding light as captain it's always his best look. That speech he gave everyone after the guy shot their victim was SO GOOD! But there is just...SO MUCH of his personal life that it not only keeps other characters from getting time to be explored (because they always shine when get the chance!), but it also means that his stuff becomes repetitive and boring instead of being able to enjoy them. Because honestly it's not all bad! I actually enjoyed everything about the stuff with the cat UNTIL he lashed out and was awful to his girlfriend. I am reserving some judgement because I see what they are trying to do here with his anger management arc and family issues, but IDK if it will end up working out or not.

But no matter what, we need more time to see the team(s) on calls doing their jobs, and the other characters interacting with each other and digging into who they are and their relationship dynamics. Every little bit I see just makes me want more across the board! I wasn't sure about Nancy because we barely saw her in season 1, but she was good in season two and has been an absolute delight this season! We have gotten more for Carlos and it has all been wonderful, Mateo is always great when he gets some focus and I just want to know EVERYTHING about Paul and Majran's dynamic. They really are making improvements this season though so I'm hopeful they will continue to deliver, and move towards some more balanced screentime across the season.

and a tiny note about Ravi since you mentioned him, he is a DOLL and I LOVE HIM. Anirudh is a delight, and he has such an expressive face and mannerisms. I wish he was getting all the scenes this season that are going to others because he really does fit with the OG team, but is still fresh and outside the loop enough to provide some great moments. Hopefully he doesn't get too busy with other projects (though I won't begrudge him that, he deserves the work!) and can get some more focus next season. People have been begging, so maybe TPTB will listen!

#my sweet nonnie friends #911 lone star #lone star spoilers #anti owen strand #to be safe #it's not totally anti but i don't need haters in my inbox #they just need to find a better balance so when he does have scenes they shine #instead of just being part of the monotony #911 #911 spoilers

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no53472 · 4 years

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Better.

#in light of recent events #////fuck that guy////#so have an improved cropped version of my favorite gents art 😤👌#achievement hunter #ahfanart #in this house we love and support team og #geoff ramsey #jack patillo #my art #fanart

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ambelle · 2 years

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I find it so interesting that people are saying we didn’t get DK in S3. We absolutely did. In fact, what we got was way more mature than what happened with DB (or DD). It’s a kind of twisted slow burn. I rewatched S1-3 and it’s actually sort of genius. When they get back together it will be in a sincere way. They will both be in a good place. It should be a solid pairing/relationship that cannot be infiltrated by any of Dick’s exes. They’ve already slept together (twice) and both times were surprisingly intimate for two (2) people who had just met. It is especially delicious when you consider that Dick is broken and a runner 😂 Kory is an alien from another planet, yet is more human and understanding of Dick and his flaws than his oldest friends (the OG Titans). DK have this kind of unspoken loyalty, protection and respect for each other that we want more of. They live together, raise teenagers together and lead the team together. It’s not perfect - they have disagreements. Dick still hasn’t quite figured out that he needs to stop going off and doing things on his own. Kory tends to keep things to herself and take on too much. However, I’m hoping the experience in Gotham, essentially the rebirth of their characters, is enough to get them in sync as leaders, friends and romantic partners. I cannot wait to see how this road trip lends to the journey!

I honestly think Titans is meant to be a show you binge not a week by week show. It flows so much better when I sit and binge a season and I wish it was released in that format.

And I agree that what we got from DK in s3 felt like two people who are very comfortable and trust each other. There wasn't any guessing or walking on eggshells. You could tell neither of them were afraid the other would leave or that if they got angry with them it would ruin their relationship. They were operating as a family who bumps heads instead of a team that's there just to solve a case but can't stand each other beyond that like s2.

DK has been a slow burn if you review the entire series instead of just select plot threads from select seasons. Before Mar'i showed up everyone was calling them a slow burn. If people want to claim that DK now doesn't have enough build up and there's no way Dick is carrying a torch for this amazing woman walking around his house in those outfits sure... but it's realistic to me. It's just a slow burn and I've seen this on so many shows and the main pair always ends up dating people in the middle of the series then come back together. But on other shows there's usually some horribly disrespectful conflict between them at one point or the other. DK doesn’t have that issue. I just watched s2 of The Witcher the main pair are in a really rough patch that I can tell is gonna take a while for them to bounce back from.

I feel like Dawn isn't an evil person she means well and Babs is cool. But it didn't work with either because he wasn't compatible with them. Dawn doesn't support Dick unless he's doing everything perfectly and Babs is anti vigilante which is his entire life. Kory is here for it all and he supports her when she's murdering ppl, beating up the team on accident, or dosing Gotham LOL. They are just here for each other.

I love your analysis of them because they are both flawed but both good people and I think that's why they are drawn to each other. Nothing in s3 made me think he's never thought of Kory romantically. He seems to struggle with not flirting with her actually.

Welp this got long. I love them.

Edit: Justin and Faddei were both very likable. But well one died and Kory decided Justin was probably not going to be able to handle her chaotic good personality.

#dickkory #anonymous

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shadowqueen1220 · 3 years

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Analysis on C! Tubbo's Emotional State

Disclaimer: I am in no means a professional and I am heavily basing this off of my own experiences and general observations. (Please let me know if my wording is bad)

This is all about the roleplay characters if it wasn't clear

Warning: self harm, self sacrifice, self destructive behavior and talk of mental health and canon typical violence

Tubbo has always been a self sacrificial character. He always helps his friends at the expense of his own safety (ie disc war and L'manburg). He is a bit of an overachiever and that has gotten worse when combined with tendencies of paranoia. (all og members of L'manburg have paranoia issues, stemming from the final control room)

After the Independance War, Tubbo was involved with the elections. He made a secret bunker, saying "hope for the best plan for the worse" in case the electrons went wrong. He was proven right and then had to endure a harsh dictatorship.

Spy Tubbo was constantly under stress. He not only was secretly slipping information to Pogtopia but had his role of Security of State as well. At the Elections, Schlatt verbally abused Tubbo and scared him into following his orders. Most of the things Schlatt had told Tubbo to have shaped him into the Tubbo that internalizes and represses all his emotions. (ie don't complain, don't cry, don't talk back, agree with everything I say). Tubbo, who already naturally liked to help his friends, was forced to become a yes man in order to stay safe.

The Festival was a disaster and a huge blow to Tubbo's self esteem. The famous line here is "Wilbur said he wasn't going to hurt me" and Tubbo wholeheartedly believed that he could trust Wilbur, his former president and older brother figure. However, all he got was the fact that he was now expendable to Wilbur. His death was brushed aside and it seemed like the only person who cared was Tommy. Even Tubbo quickly became desensitized to the fact that his own pain did not matter in the chaos of the situation.

His life becomes even more chaotic when he is thrust into the role of President and his self sacrificing nature kicked in when no one else would take the presidency. And then in the first 10 minutes into his presidency, he is shot and his nation is blown up.

Tubbo takes this all in stride, repressing everything in order to rebuilt but his cabinet does not listen to him and constantly talks over him. When his vice president and best friend gets into trouble, Tubbo learns that he must be louder in order to be heard.

Tubbo felt betrayed by Tommy's actions during the exile negotiations. He felt as if Tommy didn't respect his power and the pressure of living up to President Wilbur, the threat of becoming like President Schlatt and the expectations of the entire nation all depended on him.

Tubbo once again choose sacrifice but this time, he was not only sacrificing himself but harmed Tommy in his decision as well. Immediately Tubbo regretted his decision and regressed into his yes man habits to cope with the situation.

From here on out, this may be a bit of a stretch but I love putting lore goggles on to every scene for analysis purposes and with a character like Tubbo who is rarely played, we can get some character depth from seemingly "silly" bits.

Tubbo after exiling Tommy shifted from being self sacrificial to self destructive. Both presidents before him had died and the odds were not looking good for Tubbo, already he had made an awful decision that he immediately regretted. Yet he couldn't reverse it and didn't feel worthy enough to see Tommy.

Tubbo never built himself a home in L'manburg. No stuff, no place to sleep, no roots. He told Ranboo that the presidency was all his when the elections came around. He didn't want to be president anymore. He's worryingly self depreciating.

I don't quite remember the timing of this stream but Tubbo and Ranboo once went nether exploring. Ranboo panicked as Tubbo was extremely reckless during this adventure, jumping into lava without fire res, speed bridging with few blocks and jumping off of tall places without checking his health. In addition, Tubbo went through a series of projects as a President, always doing something new and often involving things that could hurt him (ie Ravenger teleportation, tnt jumping). We can see Tubbo become subtly self destructive during this time.

(sidenote: tubbo has a habit to jump off of high things and expecting the person at the bottom to water bucket. Tommy usually is the person to "catch him" and I find it interesting that they both had self destructive tendencies while the other was gone. I'll come back to this point soon)

We never get Tubbo's opinion on the Butcher Army. He heavily opposed the idea at the beginning of the presidency but agreed to take part in it despite Techno killing him being a traumatizing event.

And then Logsteadshire. The guilt of exiling his best friend and being the cause to his death is too much for his mind to handle and he passes out. We never learn how Tubbo got back to L'manburg and the next time we see him, he is back to throwing himself into project after project.

The next time we really see Tubbo is when Tommy and Technoblade take Connor hostage. Ranboo says that Tubbo is just staring at a grass block and when Tommy appears, Tubbo is severely shaken. He is glad that his best friend is alive and upset that he's teamed with his murder but has to all shove it aside to fulfill his role as president. Tubbo takes Tommy yelling at him and Techno's accusations with no protest and once again, represses everything to move on.

Already the Green Festival reminded Tubbo of familiar events but at this time he was in control or so he thought. He had already failed an execution so he was determined to make this word so L'manburg could be safer. He had failed Tommy so he might as well try to make the server a better place by killing Dream. Yet Tubbo had doubts about it.

Dream was manipulating Tubbo during his entire presidency. Tubbo truly believed that Dream was his friend and thought that Dream supported him as a president. His self esteem was so low that he searched for validation anywhere (ie "rate my kidnapping", "phil tell me I'm doing good pls") and Dream willingly gave him companionship.

But then Dream started screaming at him and calling him and awful president, Tubbo agreed with Dream. Tubbo saw himself as weak and stupid and no one came to his defense so it had to be true.

His fight with Tommy was very impactful and led Tubbo to believe that the discs mattered more than him but we'll get back to that soon. Most of the things said during this fight were forgiven by both parties so I hope it doesn't affect him much.

Sidenote: when Quackity suggests to execute Ranboo, Tubbo chooses forgiveness for Ranboo having been in that position before and snaps at Quackity. Here we get a glimpse of Tubbo's inner emotions and we can see clearly that the events of the festival have hurt him.

Doomsday is further proof to Tubbo that he is the worst President that L'manburg had. He stares at the destruction in mute disbelief and even throws himself into tnt and in front of a firework for Tommy. By the end of the experience, Tubbo is so drained that he has given up on government, the fight beaten out of him and he lets L'manburg go, thinking it was his fault it fell.

Tubbo has suffered the most from government yet strives to make a community. Snowchester was supposed to be his healing. However, Tubbo's paranoia from all the violence and the lessons that he has learned from the others, caused him to built a way to defend himself. He doesn't even make a bed for himself in his new house.

Then his life gets shaken up by the Disc War Finale. He refuses to talk about his feelings on the odds, accepts defeat instantly as they were "doomed from the beginning" and doesn't seem to mind the fact that he might die.

In fact, he says "It was about time anyway"

Tubbo thinks he is living on borrowed time. All of the presidents before him are dead and he is in a seemingly impossible situation. Death seems to be the only option and he has accepted it before hand so he is fine with it. Even Tommy seems shaken by this as Tubbo was so positive about the situation before. But Tubbo had been hiding that all for Tommy's sake as he is very self sacrificial.

When everything seems to return to "normal" Tubbo tests his nukes and later tells Ranboo that be had expected everything to go horribly wrong. He is trying to heal and does a decent job at it, starting a family and building Snowchester.

But then he gets the memo that Tommy has been trapped in prison with Dream. He checks out the prison, being a inconvenience to the guards and is hardly fazed when Sam threatens to kill him. He leaves feeling disappointed that he cannot help but that is what it is and Tubbo thinks that Tommy is the strongest person he knows.

So that's why Tommy can't be dead. Tubbo denies Sam's words and when they finally register, begins an investigation to find out who's to blame. He becomes self destructive again, wearing Dream's armor and building a familiar panic room to research the crime.

He is once again extremely reckless when investigating. With Ranboo's help, they go and investigate the egg and Tubbo shows his lack of care for his own safety. He tries to break open the egg, challenges Bad and Ant to a pvp and suggests to continue investigating. But at this point, Ranboo has noticed this recklessness and gently reminds Tubbo of Michael.

From this point, Tubbo seems to be healing again. And then to make things better, Tommy is back and they are going to kill Dream but that's okay because it hasn't really settled yet. Tubbo is once again shaken by Tommy's return and follows him in silence to make sure he is really there. He is so worried about Tommy, he reaches out to MIA Ghostbur to help him.

Tubbo is still self destructive but less so after this. He still jumps off high places but does so more out of trust. He finally gets a bed in Snowchester and things seem to be looking up.

But then Tommy's words about Dream settle in. Dying is no longer permanent and Tubbo has things he wants to protect. To do this he recommissions the nukes but is panicked when one is stolen.

We have no idea where it is going to go from here, but I can already see some problems with Tubbo's increasing paranoia.

In addition, the details about the nukes and their suicide button and Tubbo's willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good does not bode well.

Overall, Tubbo is a complex character and I greatly enjoy how he is played.

Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any comments!

#dream smp #tubbo #c! tubbo #tw suicidal ideation #tw self destruction #suicide tw #tw suicide #abuse tw #clingy duo #bee duo #bench trio #shadow talks

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thespoonisvictory · 3 years

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Okay, you don't know how obsessed I am with pre-canon stuff. Please share things.

ask and you shall receive!

Here is my lore document dubbed "The fuck it everything is canon au"

My version of canon: no sbi family canon! Even if it is best, I wanted to do elaborate backstories, and they are all Like brothers, with phil being Like a dad

Pre SMP Earth: Wilbur: he starts on this universe’s version of smplive. He meets schlatt and they become close friends. They start up business ventures together, only for it to go horribly wrong, with the server collapsing in on itself over time. Lost, he decides to try out tournament competition in the form of Minecraft Monday (I’d give it an actual name lmao), aka melees, pvp, etc. Think hunger games except voluntary and you don’t actually die.

Techno: becoming famous as a competitor on Hypixel! This is where he begins to take on the blood god persona, and develop a reputation for being a strong pvper. Looking for what to do with this, he joins, you guessed it: MCM

Phil: after holding a record for longest amount of time survived in a hard core world, he dies, thrusting his name up into fame in pvp circles. Sure enough, he gets invited to participate in MCM.

Tommy: still a kid lmao, but grows up as techno’s little brother in hypixel, idolizing him even as he grows more detached

Tournament Era: As fate would have it, crowd favorite Wilbur Soot (he’s not good at competing but charismatic and friendly) gets teamed with top competitor Technoblade (loved, but also feared and not treated kindly by some of his competitors)! No one thinks they’re going to hit it off, but even though they don’t win, they get on like a house on fire.

Shortly after, Techno and Phil get teamed, and then Phil and Wilbur, and there’s a moment of realization of “huh, we’re kind of a power trio, and all good friends now.” they mesh together unbelievably well as competitors, but also as genuine friends. Tommy is like the little brother hanging out with the cool older kids.

MCM essentially ends somehow, but while wilbur goes off to meet the sky gods and basically get traumatized in pursuit of knowledge and connections, phil and techno decide to take over a world: SMP earth

SMP Earth: for a while, phil and techno rule by themselves over smp earth, calling themselves the Antarctic Empire (their home base), but they quickly realize they need like… a pr person, because they’re good at the taking over but not the keeping people happy part.

Enter Wilbur. They invite him and he’s like lmao what, but accepts the job. He instantly starts making negotiations with other worlds, weaseling his way into the techno phil duo, and generally improving the now infamous rep they have. Og sbi is at its strongest here, and they truly do good work together

Wilbur’s work includes meeting Niki and having her as a liaison with Chelor, her home server (aka the loh fic I wrote), making connections just in general, and so, so much hearing out citizen’s complaints.

He also starts getting a lot closer with techno’s brother tommy, who he sees a lot of himself in, and tommy slowly starts to favor wilbur because he like, actually pays attention to him. Tommy starts business bay in some capacity, but also spends a lot of time shadowing wilbur and learning from him.

Things are going well mostly, but because of an elaborate conflict I’ve started writing out, wilbur gets into an elaborate argument with phil and techno about Political Things, and the Empire splits up for plot reasons I won't disclose in case I ever actually write it. While they try to pretend like this won’t affect their personal relationship, it clearly does and they all know it

This starts not only wilbur’s Words over Weapons policy, but Techno’s deep seated distrust of government and the belief it makes people and relationships worse, along with Phil siding with Techno over Wilbur (Tommy supports Wilbur, but quietly™)

What could’ve been one of the powerhouses of the universe with sbi’s skills crumbles due to ideological differences and personal issues, rip. Once again, they try to pretend like everything is fine, but in the next tournament they compete in together (this universe’s mcc 7 and mcc has been going on in the background whoops), it’s another big blow up fight that causes Wilbur to angrily leave over their loss, fracturing them fully

Hot off the anger of this disaster, Wilbur fucks off to the dream smp , where he meets up with Tommy, and the dsmp plot as we know it kickstarts.

#asks #spoon's pre dsmp au

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stellocchia · 2 years

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Wilbur DOES comfort him but he isnt great at it. Wilbur spent quite a while before this warning him to be careful of putting his trust in certain people,saying tommy is too naive. and while he isnt WRONG,in this instance,tommy just feels like wilbur is implicity calling him stupid for trusting people. tubbo actually is not apart of the cabinet,he's kinda been vibing,doin his own thing and being happy,but he IS on the investigation team. c!dream DOES pops back in-

tommy KIND of has a support system in the og lmanburgians and his cabinet of niki,jack,and fundy but he doesn't FULLY put his trust in them after this just bc he's too anxious. so dream pops back in to say "hey,i know we aren't cool,atm but i had a reason for that,if you'd let me help you back then,this wouldn't have happened,i can monitor ranboo on house arrest,etc,etc",he basically starts manipulating and guilt-tripping tommy.

Of course, he does, green fucker, I love him.

Also, damn... poor Tommy. Who decided that it was a good idea to let the 16 yo lead a nation? Actually, scratch that, they did that in canon too. People on that server are simply dumbasses.

#regulus-ready-to-scream ask #dream smp #dream smp au

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the-lightning-strikes-again · 3 years

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A Review of Voltron DDP Comic: A Legend Forged (2008)

I knew the old Devil’s Due Publishing (DDP) comics for Voltron were lit…but the sequel, A Legend Forged, really resonated with me! This 5-issue comic series is DDP’s interpretation of the history behind the Voltron robot itself, and it wraps this lore within an adventure plot featuring our main pilots (Allura, Keith, Hunk, Lance, Pidge) in an alliance with Lotor.

I’ve meant to write a review about A Legend Forged for a while because I know that older Voltron comics aren’t always accessible. I think this one deserves some attention because it does things that I find just really refreshing after watching the 2016 Legendary Defender show. It also has some fun details that could have been source material for the world building and events in the 2016 VLD show.

The basic summary of this comic is that Team Voltron and Lotor are accidentally transported 1,200 years in the past after some classified time travel tech destabilizes in the middle of a fight. Powerless from the blast, they crash-land on a nearby planet, and they’re soon captured by people on the planet who have exceptionally advanced technology. Lotor agrees to a truce with Team Voltron to help find a way out of their prison, and back to their own time.

In arriving through the wormhole, however, they catch the attention of a very powerful group who are missing an important piece to complete their special defense project (the Voltron robot). The robot is being built in part by King Altarus, Allura’s ancestor, to fight off the villain in that ancient past—Empress Jain IX, Lotor’s evil great great (10X) grandmother, who is a sorceress hellbent on intergalactic domination.

Ultimately, Team Voltron and Lotor get caught up in the efforts to stop Empress Jain and assist King Altarus’s Council…and they discover some interesting things about themselves and about Voltron along the way!

I found A Legend Forged to be one entertaining, snarky shenanigan after another. Although it does source the 1984 character designs and backgrounds along with some references to Vehicle Voltron (which may be alienating to fans familiar only with VLD), I love that this comic deeply and openly explores what makes the Voltron franchise so identifiable and unique—its Arthurian legends/magic in the midst of an expansive space opera.

The comic is meant for slightly older audiences compared to VLD—it includes several instances of adult cursing, frightening images, some brief images of romance/non-graphic sensuality, and occasional graphic violence showing blood. I couldn’t find a publisher-recommended age for this comic on the book covers, but I think it might be T for ages 12 and older.

If you’re interested, a deeper overview of A Legend Forged is included under the cut!

___

At a high level, there’s certain things that just really attracted me to this comic, even though I’m usually not much of a comic reader:

THE WORLD BUILDING

The whole timeline distortion that takes them back 1,200 years is a direct consequence of humans attempting to back-engineer the mysterious Voltron robot. Within that back-engineering, they’d stumbled into creating a time machine:

(Photo Description: The city of Toronto in the future. Someone asks, “Time travel?” Coran replies, “Devised using reverse engineered technology from Lion Voltron, no doubt.” An alliance official responds, “Come on now, how would that be possible?” A second official responses, “Coran’s right. The way that Lion Voltron summons energy and weaponry is a mystery. We learned how to mimic the ability with the vehicle units, without really understanding it.”)

So there’s a lot of undertow here about just what exactly all these different parties (Earth/Galaxy Alliance, space pirates, Lotor) were planning to do with a time machine to begin with before it gets blown up in a battle over it. But there’s also something interesting happening here involving Fate/Destiny and plasticity of time itself.

At the very heart of this comic is the concept that the Voltron robot could not have been completed 1,200 years ago if Team Voltron and Lotor were not accidentally tossed back in time to help complete the project. And idk, I think that’s just pretty cool. It ties these lives of these characters together in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen in any other Voltron iteration—that they were meant to pilot Voltron, because their presence helped to unlock the final missing piece to bring it to life.

---

In addition, we get a really interesting look into the ancient past of the Voltron universe, back to the beginning of the first space empire. The comic’s big bad, Empress Jain IX, is an incredibly powerful and heartless sorceress of Drule heritage, from the planet Doon:

(Photo description: Empress Jain standing before the leader of a world she’s conquered, declaring, “And thus, the mighty fall! The powerful kneel at my feet! Behold the grandeur of your empress, and witness what happens to those who stand in her way!”)

But there’s always been this larger question in the Voltron franchise around King Zarkon’s unique, fish-like features compared to other Drule characters like Jain, and this comic answers that.

This is what the OG Zarkon looked like:

Compared to the ancient people of Korrinoth, who have similar ears and coloring as he does:

(Description: Keith says to the team, “I think we may be witnessing the beginning of King Zarkon’s people’s assimilation into the Drule Empire.”)

The planet that our protagonists crash-land on 1,200 years in the past is called Korrinoth. The people here had been recently conquered by Jain and share many similarities with the visual features of Zarkon. So this comic establishes that Zarkon has both Drule and Korrinite heritage. Unfortunately for Lotor, the Korrinites of the planet don’t acknowledge his Korrinite blood because he looks too Drule in comparison. So this comic reaches back on the hints that Lotor struggles to fit in with his own people…and it helps to explain why he’s captured along with Team Voltron:

(Photo description: Team Voltron and Lotor stand together, having been captured in a purple energy field functioning like jail bars.)

---

There’s also the concept that Voltron—just like the surrounding environment in Voltron franchise—is an amalgamation of science and magic. The comic’s big bad, Empress Jain, had discovered that her own dark sorcery arts could be challenged by the “lion gods,” who were demanding an increasing price be paid for her horrific conquering. In order to negate the lion gods’ power, Jain explicitly banned religious worship around them and any lion god iconography from her empire.

(Photo description: The dark entity Sarga says, “It is coming, and soon, that which may be your downfall. A twisted abomination of science and technology. The might of the Lion-Gods with the heart and mind of Man.” Jain says, “But I have banned worship of the Lions through the empire.”)

So the Voltron builders were reaching back to a very ancient, lost power that they were risking their lives to resurrect. The connection to a pantheon of lion gods helps to provide some logic around why the Voltron robot itself splits into lions—because it’s literally the symbol of these lost gods.

The visual design of Voltron is also reflected in the armor worn specifically by warriors fighting in the name of these banned gods:

(Photo description: A humanoid warrior wearing Voltron-based armor, coming to Team Voltron’s rescue at the command of the Council.)

So Voltron as a machine metaphorically stands as the Ultimate Warrior in humanoid form, supported by the individual lion gods.

---

Within the comic, it hints at some pretty intense religious discrimination—that Empress Jain was willing to arrest and torment even her own daughter, Azakhi for becoming a Lion Priestess:

(Photo description: Jain’s daughter, Azahki, is revealed to be a dirtied prisoner captured by Jain’s forces. She tells Team Voltron, “Do not fear my Drule appearance. I am a devout follower of your ways.”)

This background battle supports why Team Voltron and Lotor are instantly targeted by Jain’s forces when they crash-land on Korrinoth, bearing the banner of the lion gods in the form of Voltron.

Later on in the comic, we also see that the colors themselves represented the various domains of these lion gods:

(Photo description: An image of Voltron as it’s being built, with King Altarus narrating in the background, ““Yellow for win, red for fire, green for earth, blue for water, and at the center…the might blackness of space which houses all of reality.”)

So we really see Voltron pick up a lot more backstory to explain the robot itself.

We do get a deeper look as well into King Altarus and his Council.

King Altarus, Princess Allura’s ancestor, is the leader of the group. But the work involved in building Voltron doesn’t just rest with him like it did with Alfor in VLD. His council is just as equally if not more powerful than him in other ways.

In this panel, King Altarus introduces his four other team members as the most powerful scientists or sorcerers of their respective planet:

(Photo description: An introduction of the five council members of Altarus: “Cybrus hails from a world of sentient machines…More than a computer, he is also sorcerer to rival any other. The striking beauty to my right is Heket. Born of a nomadic race who travels the galaxy bestowing gifts of knowledge to primitive worlds. She is also the most brilliant scientist of her people. Phelos is a brilliant sci-mage from the neighboring solar system. If you are truly who you say, you may already know legends of our final ally. From a primitive world, but master of the most advance wizardry in the galazy: Merlin.”)

The combination of Altarus, Cybrus, Heket, Phelos, and Merlin all echo the 2016 Legendary Defender’s backstory—in which leaders of various people united together for the greater good of their galaxy. Once again, we have five unique planets represented in the Voltron effort—but in this case, it even includes Earth. This helps to explain part of why Voltron’s original design had very medieval attributes.

Maybe some would think it’s a bit hokey that the OG builders included the actual Arthurian figure of Merlin, the wizard? Idk, I think it’s kind of a fun way to connect Voltron’s ancient, magical past to Earth as well, and it suggests that Merlin was preparing or called by the others to help prepare for a future of advanced warfare. I’ve always wondered why the OG Voltron looked so medieval with the crests and the swords and such—and actually, it being built in part by a medieval human wizard would help to explain that!

We also see in the DDP comics a very heavy evolution to Allura’s character and to the world building within the Voltron franchise itself. She’s no longer just a princess who knows how to fight—she’s actively a Clairvoyant, with untapped power. King Altarus acknowledges, and the other Council members sense it, that Princess Allura has way more internal magic than she even knows about herself:

(Photo description: Council member Heket says to King Altarus, “I have a feeling about the girl [Allura]. Her aura is oddly similar to your own.”)

We also see that the dark entity Sarga recognizes this in her as well:

(Photo description: The dark entity Sarga says to Empress Jain, “The visitors…they each have a link to this monstrosity. However, the blood of only one of them pulses with the magic of Arus. The one called Allura! She is the one! She must be—” Jain cuts in, “The host!” And Sarga confirms, “Yes, with Princess Allura, Sarga will live in this realm once more. With her, we can control Voltron.”)

I feel like this magic probably helped to set the tone for the Princess Allura we meet in the 2016 Legendary Defender reboot, who ultimately got the opportunity to grow into the powers that are hinted at here in this previous iteration.

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I do also like this comic because the protagonists (with the exception of Pidge who is 16) are adults, and they’re a little more mature in their decisions and interests.

Like, for example, the Lance in this comic has a much more extensive sensitivity to and interest in culture. Instead of it being Hunk bonding with aliens through food, we see Lance as the diplomat, bonding with Jain’s daughter Azahki, just by asking her questions:

(Photo description: Lance and Jain’s daughter, Azahki, sitting at a table and eating. Lance says, “That hit the sport. I was frickin’ starving.” Azahki says, “After being held prisoner for so long, I had forgotten what real food tastes like. So much time was wasted…so much life. Just sitting in a cell because of my beliefs. I…I’m sorry, Lance. This should be a nice evening, and I’m bringing the mood down.”)

(Photo description: Lance replies, “Actually, I’m fascinated to learn more about the followers of the Lions, and about you. Like, where you come from. You feel free to talk about whatever comes to mind.” Azahki responds then, “You’re too kind.”)

I think along with this, we see a more nuanced view into the Drule themselves. Azahki, as both a Drule and as Empress Jain’s daughter, has turned away from the evil deeds of the empire and has suffered dearly for trying to do the right thing. This falls in line with DDP’s dedication in the worldbuilding to show that not all Drule are bad.

We also see some very interesting, Honervian backstory relating to Empress Jain’s dark powers. Like VLD Honerva, Jain is in part backed by an ancient spirit/power she likes to “talk” to. She calls on it as the “Mother of Power.” This creepy creature is named Sarga in the comics:

(Photo description: Jain summons Sarga: “Mother of Power, Great Spirit, I summon thee.” The dark entity Sarga manifests and says, “Yesss, sweet Jain! You know my name! Feel free to speak it. Have you found the Host?” Jain replies, “Not yet, great Sarga. But the search continues. To date, my body is the only one that could sustain you in our realm.” Sarga says, “Jain. Do not be so simple-minded. It’s only your mortal shell.” Jain retorts, “One that I rather like, thank you.”)

Sarga is pushing for Jain to give up her mortal body entirely so that Sarga can walk the mortal plane, but they don’t see eye to eye on this. Jain likes having her own body. Even so, Sarga knows that she has to protect her investment in Jain, and so she’s the one who plants a devious idea in Jain’s head—that she could potentially use the Voltron from the future to destroy the Voltron of the past, and therefore reestablish her supremacy over the lion gods and their legacy.

Tbh, I visually get a LOT of vibes from Jain relating to VLD’s Honerva character? Down to the long stringy hair and gold eyes…and she really does look like a female version of Lotor, tbh, lol.

(Photo description: Jain leaning in a circle of candles, exhausted from summoning Sarga, who has referred to Voltron. Jain murmurs to herself, “Pow..power. There is power in that name.”)

I think what I like about Jain as a big bad, though, is that she’s legit just an evil person. She doesn’t have an abuse backstory, like what so many content creators like to reference as the reason for someone going insane/evil. She’s clearly very talented and very powerful and very in control, and she’s using those abilities in all the wrong ways just because she can.

Given DDP’s contributions to the Voltron franchise with its female villains (Merla, Jain), I almost can’t believe that the 2016 VLD show didn’t carry these characters forward but instead raised up the all-new Honerva as “needed female villain rep.” But I can definitely see the echoes of Jain in the Honerva that we see throughout VLD.

I also really, really see similarities in how Jain is willing to use her own daughter, Azahki, as a pawn for her own aims. And by the end of the comic, Jain eventually accomplishes bringing Sarga into the mortal plane by sacrificing her own daughter’s body. This pretty hauntingly echoes the lack of maternal instinct seen in Honerva in VLD and Honerva’s malicious interest in and use of Lotor, even post-death in s8.

I feel like I relived Honerva’s interactions with Lotor in s8 when I saw how Jain acts with her own daughter, Azahki:

(Photo description: Azahki has been shot in the battle. Jain kneels down to her and cries, “Daughter. My only daughter.” Azahki says, “Mother...you…you’re crying? I…I’m sorry…you didn’t give me… a choice.” Jain pleads, “You can’t do this, Azahki, not now. After being gone for so long and now…” But then Jain has a complete switch of demeanor. She stands up and declares, “Now you’ve ruined everything! Everything!” Azahki, bewildered, says, “What?” And Jain yells, “I should have killed you in your crib!”)

Another association with Honerva is that Honerva/Haggar killed the original paladins. Likewise, it is Jain who takes down the Council one by one:

(Photo description: Jain breaks into the Council, hand glowing with power and fallen warriors around her, saying, “How could someone with such feeble defenses have eluded me for so long, Altarus? I give you credit for that, at least.”)

(Photo description: Jane is surrounded by the dead bodies of Merlin and Heket. She says, “Now, to finish this.”)

So I guess I’m just fascinated by Jain as a villain and find her similarities with Honerva interesting. In Jain’s case, however, there’s absolutely nothing to be sympathetic with her on, lol.

In terms of Lotor’s part:

I think this comic represents probably the most actively hopeful iteration of him that I’ve seen in the Voltron franchise? Like, Dynamite Comics had Lotor moving to ally with Team Voltron to bring down the rift creatures in a massive alliance, but those comics were canceled before we could see the whole story that Brandon Thomas intended. Here, we have a whole, complete story in which Lotor actively does good deeds and lives, wow.

(I didn’t think that was, like, allowed in this franchise, lol?)

I do think it’s really interesting that here, Lotor comes face-to-face with just pure, unadulterated evil—and it scares him. Just like in VLD, this Lotor is forced to watch Jain decimate an entire planet and enslave its people. Despite being canonically “evil,” Lotor does not take this level of destruction very well:

(Photo description: Empress Jain speaking to an underling, saying, “For now, rid this planet of its luscious environment and warp home.”)

(Photo description: The planet is set ablaze by Jain’s forces. Lotor is looking on from a different ship. He is unsettled by Jain’s power and says, “My god.” His prisoner that he’s watching on Team Voltron’s request (the space pirate Captain Stride), teases, “Nothing like a little global decimation to build character, eh, Lotor?” And Lotor warns, “Stride,” with an upset look on this face.)

His motivations for helping out and connecting with both Team Voltron and King Altarus’s council do start with just wanting to save his own neck. But as the comic progresses, we see him taking larger and larger risks to help protect the team, and he responds more emotionally to the stakes being faced by other allies.

Jain’s level of evil, and her later attempts to target Princess Allura as a host body for the dark entity Sarga, are what really push Lotor out of the antagonist/villain role into the position of antihero. And I like this exploration of him because Lotor is a really fascinating character in the franchise and usually always a wild card. Like, he has the capacity to play both sides and be unpredictable.

And it’s interesting too that this comic even opens up by acknowledging that. In the beginning, King Altarus and his council are watching Team Voltron and Lotor recalibrate from their crash-landing on Korrinoth. King Altarus notes that Lotor is evil, but that he’s capable of doing good…because of his love for Allura:

(Photo description: King Altarus judging the team: “The girl has a clairvoyance about her, but doesn’t even realize it. I sense something noble about all of them…save for the Drule who should not be trusted. Although his apparent fondness for the woman may cause him to fight his true evil nature at least for a while.”)

Later in the comic, it’s King Altarus himself who leans on Lotor when he thinks all hope is lost. And it’s Lotor who holds him up and tries to take down Jain:

(Photo description: King Altarus leans upon Lotor and mourns, “She’s…she’s done it, Lotor. She’s ruined our chances. Five generations…for nothing.” Lotor has raised a blaster and replies, “Not without going through me first.”)

So we really see this comic actively allow Lotor’s character to do things outside of the typical bounds of a villain. The very person who called him inherently evil is the one wailing to him and counting on him to save the day, lol.

We also see echoes of VLD Lotor’s pride in this comic. The DDP Lotor is also a man of mixed heritage and is very proud of who and what he is.

(Photo description: Lotor is on the battlefield, having slain an enemy who’d called them pathetic. Lotor responds, “Pathetic? My noble blood begs to differ.”)

So I liked that once again, Lotor is actually proud of who he is even though the world around him actively tries to devalue him. I think that’s been something meaningful about the Lotor character that a lot of people have connected to.

In his efforts to assist Team Voltron in reclaiming their own recharged Voltron lions (so that Jain can’t get them), Lotor is actually a very helpful ally as well, and a skilled warrior. So it was fun to see panels of Team Voltron and Lotor fighting together, side by side.

THE CLIMAX AND RESOLUTION

Ultimately, the evil Empress Jain tries to take over the Voltron from the future, in realizing that Allura has deep, spiritual connections to the machine. She agrees that this makes Allura the perfect host body for the dark entity Sarga, and as their way to control the robot. And so she enacts the rituals to possess Allura:

(Photo description: Allura’s features are mutating unnaturally as Sarga begins to posses her. In the background, Jain calls, “Don’t fight it, child. Don’t fight the honor of becoming a god.” Someone in the background, revealed later to be Lotor, calls out, “No! You can’t do this!”)

With Jain threatening Allura’s life, Lotor steps up to defend her, still holding up the battered King Altarus:

(Photo description: Lotor yells, “No! Not Allura!” And he shoots Jain through the shoulder.)

(Photo description: Jain snaps, “Lotor! How dare you attack your own kind! I’ll smite my own daughter, let alone a pissant distant grandson!”)

Ultimately, Lotor’s decision to shoot his grandma (what is it with this franchise and matricide/patricide lol) results in Jain being distracted long enough for the combined spiritual/soul energies of Allura, the previous Council members, and Altarus to bring “life” to Voltron.

This completes Voltron as a spiritual being as well—that it’s sentient and not just a robot, but imbued with the hopes and impulses for a defender against the evil attacking them.

(Photo description: Voltron awakens as a sentient robot and stands to move against Jain.)

Realizing that she has lost, Jain flees in a poof of magic—with her daughter, Azahki, oddly disappearing too. The comic ends for them on an unsettling note that Sarga has in fact slipped through to the mortal realm…by choosing Azahki instead of Allura as her host body:

(Photo description: Jain kneels and cries, “Oh mighty Sarga, I humbly beseech thee. Forgive my failures. Forgive my ability to bring you into our world. I beg you to be given a second chance! I vow to you we will see this through.” From behind, someone says, “Don’t be so harsh, mother.” Jain turns around and asks, “Who dares?” A woman in a cloak appears and says, “You may have failed to give me Voltron’s power, my child. But do not fear.” The woman is revealed to be the possessed body of Azahki, Jain’s daughter. Through her body, Sarga says, “I found a body that will do just fine for now.”)

However, we don’t see this thread explored any further. Shortly after the battle, the Galaxy Alliance manages to rebuild a temporal manipulation device to lock in on the missing Team Voltron and Lotor, and pull them back through time.

(Photo description: A strange flying machine appears. Someone asks, “What…what is it?” Allura echoes, “What’s it doing?” Lotor peers at it curiously and says, “I believe it’s scanning us.” The comic panels show the device scanning and identifying people to send back to modern times.)

And so, eventually, this wayward team makes it back home, with the final panels suggesting the Garrison had to complete a couple of temporal jumps to do it.

FUN LITTLE PIECES ALONG THE WAY

The comic itself had some interesting and funny scenes in it, including the following:

Please enjoy this image of a boi having tamed a dinosaur in the middle of an active battle:

(Photo description: Prince Lotor sitting atop a large, dinosaur-like creature that he’s tamed, calling joyfully to the paladins, “You can put your toy away, Pidge. I know where to find the lions.”)

Pidge jokes about Hunk and Lance:

(Photo description: Hunk had saved Lance from a shot. In running past them, Pidge calls, “Keep moving, guys! There’ll be time for spooning later.”)

Some time-traveling paradox humor:

(Photo description: Lotor shooting an ancient Drule, “Hope you’re not one of my forefathers.”)

Some Keith and Lance badgering:

(Photo description: Lance complains, “Keith Kogane seriously isn’t going to lecture me about battlefield romance, is he?”)

Did VLD get the name Kaltor from this comic??? Because Kalthor sounds pretty darn similar to Kaltor from VLD:

(Photo description: Jain calling out for an underling, “Kalthor! Sigh. Kalthor, this effort is beneath me. Extract the information I seek.”)

ALSO BLESS, THIS COMIC LETS ALLURA CUSS:

(Photo description: Princess Allura raises a blaster to use, but it doesn’t work. She says, “What the--? Damn! Now is not the time for you to malfunction! And I do not know how to fix a 1,200-year-old—”)

This comic probably is also the singular place in the DDP comics that offers any evidence whatsoever that Lotor and Allura actually did have positive childhood experiences together prior to his father decimating Arus, helping to explain Lotor’s curious loyalty to Allura throughout:

(Photo description: Lotor standing before Allura and saying, “I knew you’d pull through, Allura. Speaking of treehouses, do you remember climbing the Arusion orchids in the royal gardens when we were children?” Allura responds, “Yes…of course I do. I…”)

And finally, this comic has no issues whatsoever with making fun of itself or the concept of robotic lions:

(Photo description: A space pirate complains to Lotor, “Think about it! How you think this place ends up looking like it does in our time? Looking like Planet Doom?! Meanwhile, the Kitty Cat Club up there gets out without a scratch!”)

VOLTRON IS THE KITTY CAT CLUB, 2008 CONFIRMED

CONCLUSION

The 5-part comic A Legend Forged (2008) adds an incredible amount of history and lore to the Voltron franchise. It gave me some things that I personally was really craving out of this franchise—including some logic behind the lion imagery, a legit alliance between previously warring groups that doesn’t just end in catastrophe, some adult snark and some good-old fashioned silliness, some deeper exploration into dark entities/spirits, and also just a really powerful villainess that you can love to hate.

I think the comic ultimately took on the theme of Strength in Unity and fulfilled the concept that people really can work together. Even if the Team Voltron and Lotor and Council alliance was all just temporary, it was still nice to see that alliance come through for the greater good of the universe, instead of leading to more mass insanity like it did in VLD….

I liked that in this iteration, Voltron stood as a collective effort on the part of various worlds who were oppressed by Empress Jain. That helps to tone down the savior complex inherent in the franchise, that at least here, Voltron wasn’t one nation’s attempt to play police for all other people.

From a critical perspective, if you read carefully, there are some instances where you can tell that various alien races are prejudiced against each other and discriminate on the basis of appearance and religion, and even Team Voltron feeds into this at times in their initial assumption that Korrinites are a barbarian race when in fact they’re very intelligent and advanced. These aspects are just not fully reflected on within this comic, but they definitely feed into the conflict as we experience it 1,200 years in the past. Interestingly enough, the comic also makes fun of Team Voltron members who are from Earth as being “primitive” too. So I guess the DDP world does function in a “problematic” state where all of these alien races are struggling with how to interact well with one another. I’m not sure if that baseline would be a potential trigger for someone just entering this series, so I wanted to call it out here.

I do also occasionally find comics hard to read because of the all-caps print and because comics will switch back and forth between past and present, with only small visual markers to warn you. So I don’t think these comics are designed in the most accessible way. But that could just be me.

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Overall, I think A Legend Forged ranks as one of my more favorite comic iterations of Voltron. It definitely has some differences from both the 1984 and 2016 shows, but it pulls on enough shared content to remain accessible. And while it was a quick read, it felt pretty tightly constructed. I would have liked to see more aftermath and epilogue, but I feel thankful that the story got an ending and that both Team Voltron and Lotor are shown being transported back home. The comic’s similarities and differences compared to VLD made it fun to read and analyze as well.

So yeah, if you get the chance to try reading it yourself, I recommend it! And if you’ve made it to the end of this very long post, thank you for reading!

#Comics #Voltron #Comics review #A Legend Forged #Allura #Lotor #Keith #Hunk #Lance #Pidge #Zarkon #Jain #Azahki #Coran #DDP Voltron #yay I finally finished my review piece #it actually was a pretty enjoyable read

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