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homestuckmusicbracket · 1 year

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Bracket Information

There will be a total of 513 songs in the bracket (with 585 prior to preliminary rounds)! Each round will last one week, and each batch will be staggered by one day, With two days in between rounds. Propaganda is not only allowed, but encouraged! Assuming nothing goes awry, I also have a surprise planned for the winning song >:3c

This SHOULD include every song in Homestuck, excluding Hiveswap music and Beyond Canon, however, because there are an absolutely insane amount of songs in Homestuck, it’s possible I missed one or two. If there are any you think I DID miss, feel free to send me an ask and let me know!

The bracket is seeded randomly, in no particular order.

this brackets was inspired by other brackets like it, such as @character-of-all-time @transfemswagbracket @eyepatchbracket @movingmusiccomp @undertale-ost-bracket @notp-poll-showdown

Preliminary Round

For this round, the results of a draw will conclude in the original version of the song being chosen

All Polls

Showtime (Piano Refrain) vs Showtime (Original Mix) vs Showtime (Imp Strife Mix)

Aggrieve (Violin Refrain) vs Aggrieve vs Aggrieve (Violin Redux) vs Aggrieve Remix | DRAW

Sburban Jungle (Brief Mix) vs Sburban Jungle

Harlequin vs Harlequin (Rock Version) | DRAW

Explore vs Explore Remix | DRAW

Rediscover Fusion vs Rediscover Fusion Remix | DRAW

ohgodwhat vs ohgodwhatremix

Dissension vs Dissension Remix

Three in the Morning vs Three in the Morning (TJ’S I Can Barely Sleep in This Casino Mix) vs 3 in the Morning (Pianokind) vs Three in the Morning (Aftermath)

Blackest Heart vs Blackest Heart (With Honks)

I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew vs I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew (Post-Punk Version) vs I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew (Acapella)

How Do I Live (D8 Night Version) vs How Do I Live (Bunny Back in the Box Version)

Pondsquatter vs Pondsquatter (Live Chamber Version)

Candles and Clockwork vs Candles and Clockwork (Alpha Version)

Creata vs Creata (Canon Edit)

Eternity, Served Cold vs Eternity Served Cold (Canon Edit)

Mother vs Mother (Piano)

Vagabounce vs Vagabounce (Remix)

Trollcops vs Trollcops (Radioplay)

Guardian vs Guardian V2

Verdancy (Bassline) vs Kinetic Verdancy

Hoschestra vs Horschestra STRONG Version | DRAW

Walls Covered in Blood vs Walls Covered in Blood DX

Doctor vs Doctor (Remix)

Overture (Canon Edit) vs I - Overture

Sarabande vs II - Sarabande

Serenade vs III - Serenade

Homestuck Anthem vs IV - Anthem

Beatdown (Strider Style) vs Beatdown Round 2 vs Beatdown DX

Lotus vs Lotus (Bloom)

Pyrocumulus (Kickstart) vs Pyrocumulus (Sicknasty)

Even in Death vs Even in Death (T’Morra’s Belly Mix)

Round One

All Polls

Batch One

Ante Matter vs Land of the Salamanders | DRAW

Upward Movement (Dave Owns) vs Crustacean

Hardlyquin vs Phaze and Blood | DRAW

Aggrievance vs Skaian Summoning

Contention vs Medical Emergency | DRAW

The Thirteenth Hour vs Skaian Skuffle

Underworld vs Nannaquin

Chorale for Jaspers vs The Beginning of Something Really Excellent

psych0ruins vs Sarabande

Aggrieve vs Dissension

Homestuck Anthem vs Hardchorale

Enlightenment vs Endless Climbing

Atomyk Ebonpyre vs Skaian Dreams Remix

mIrAcLeS vs Harleboss

Spider’s Claw vs Space Prankster

Verdancy (Bassline) vs The La2t Frontiier

How Do I Live (Bunny Back in the Box Version) vs Greenhouse

Beatdown (Strider Style) vs Showtime (Piano Refrain)

Amphibious Subterrain vs Ace of Trump

Dupliblaze COMAGMA vs Nightlife | DRAW

Descend vs Vertical Motion

Dead Shuffle vs Clockwork Contrivance

Lotus Land Story vs Phantasmagoric Waltz

Skaian Skirmish vs Valhalla

Happy Cat Song! vs Candles and Clockwork (Alpha Version)

Revelawesome vs Tall, Dark and Loathesome

Sburban Jungle vs Mutiny

Welcome to the New Extreme vs Three in the Morning

Versus vs Ballad of Awakening

Black vs Snow Pollen

Octoroon Rangoon vs Pony Chorale

White vs Homestuck

Batch Two

Bed of Rose’s / Dreams of Derse vs Harlequin

An Unbreakable Union vs ohgodwhat

Song of Life vs Hauntjam

Joker’s Wild vs Planet Healer

Gardener vs dESPERADO ROCKET CHAIRS,

Hollow Suit vs Biophosphoradelecrystalluminescence

Skies of Skaia vs Get Up

Keepers vs Sburban Countdown

Upholding the Law vs Moonshatter

Softly vs Walls Covered in Blood

Light vs Vagabounce

Savior of the Waking World vs Pyrocumulus (Kickstart)

Sunsetter vs Showdown

Crystalanthemums vs Carefree Victory

Sunslammer vs Ectobiology

Clockwork Melody vs Carbon Nadsat / Cuestick Genius | DRAW

Moonshine vs Plague Doctor

Explore vs Chorale for War

Death of the Lusii vs Hearts Flush

Rediscover Fusion vs Livin’ It Up

Liquid Necrocity vs Virgin Orb

The Ballad of Jack Noir vs Crystalmanthequins

Pumpkin Cravings vs Heirfare

Clockwork Sorrow vs Throwdown

Squiddle! vs Unsheath’d

Blue Noir vs Skaian Ride

Ecstasy vs Hauntjelly

Knives and Ivory vs Can Town

Ruins (With Strings) vs Doctor

The Lemonsnout Turnabout vs Skaian Flight

Skaia (Incipisphere Remix) vs Guardian V2

Endless Climb vs Jade’s Lullaby

Batch Three

Stormspirit vs Heir Transparent

Make a Wish vs Karkat’s Theme

Chaotic Strength vs Time On My Side

Eridan’s Theme vs Wacky Antics

Scratch vs Clockwork

Spider8reath vs Trollcops

Trial and Execution vs Frogs

The Deeper You Go vs Rex Duodecim Angelus

Fly vs The Broken Clock

Darling Kanaya vs Horschestra

Rest a While vs Pumpkin Tide

Catchyegrabber (Skipper Plumbthroat’s Song) vs Nautical Nightmare

Squiddissension vs Phrenic Phever | DRAW

The Blind Prophet vs Terezi’s Theme

Savior of the Dreaming Dead vs Apocryphal Antithesis

Science Seahorse vs Beta Version | DRAW

Boy Skylark (Brief) vs The Nic Cage Song

The Sound of Pure Squid Giggles vs Carefree Princess Berryboo

Dreamers and the Dead vs Play the Wind

Gaia Queen vs Knife’s Edge

Warhammer of Zillyhoo vs Vriska’s Theme

Forever vs Mister Bowman Tells You About the Squiddles

At the Price of Oblivion vs Dance of Thorns

No Release vs Variations

Alternia vs Eldritch

Frost vs Ocean Stars

English vs She’s a Sp8der

Jade Dragon vs Rumble at the Rink

Friendship is Paramount vs Heir Conditioning

Omelette Samdwich vs Let’s All Rock the Heist

Sun-Speckled Squiddly Afternoon vs Nepeta’s Theme

Chain of Prospit vs Lazybones

Batch Four

Havoc to be Wrought vs Umbral Ultimatum

Arisen Anew vs Rainbow Valley

Shade vs Blackest Heart (with Honks)

Light vs Crystalanthology

Trollian Standoff vs The Carnival

Awakening vs Rhapsody in Green

Tangled Waltz vs Time Paradox

Squiddle Samba vs Terezi Owns

Atomic Bonsai vs BL1ND JUST1C3: 1NV3ST1G4T1ON

Lies with the Sea vs A Tender Moment

Squiddles the Movie Trailer - The Day the Unicorns Couldn’t Play vs Rain

Let the Squiddles Sleep (End Theme) vs Heat

Plumbthroat Gives Chase vs You Won a Combat

AlterniaBound vs Killed by BR8K Spider!!!!!!!!

Squiddles in Paradise vs FIDUSPAWN, GO!

Wind vs Tribal Ebonpyre

Courser vs Requiem of Sunshine and Rainbows | DRAW

Squididdle! vs Tentacles

Elavatorstuck vs I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing

WSW-Beatdown vs Squiddle Parade

Chartreuse Rewind vs MeGaLoVania

Swing of the Clock vs Catapult Capuchin

Baroqueback Bowtier (Scratch’s Lament) vs A Fairy Battle

Midnight Calliope vs Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E)

Squiddle March vs Dawn of Man

Clockwork Reversal vs Humphrey’s Lullaby

Squiddles Campfire vs Friendship Aneurysm

Black Rose / Green Sun vs Earthsea Borealis

Gamebro (Original 1990 Mix) vs Lifdoff

Maplehoof’s Adventure vs Squiddle Happytime Fun Go!

Even in Death vs Frost

Trails vs Temporal Piano

Batch Five

Nightmare vs Battle Brotocol | DRAW

Hussie Hunt vs Pink Cat

Black Hole / Green Sun vs Emerald Terror

Litrichean Rioghail vs Red Disc

Calamity vs Mayor Maynot

Chronicles vs Teal Hunter

What a Daring Dream vs Iron Knight

Teal Seer vs Cyan Beast

Homefree vs Prospit Dreamers

Hallowed Halls vs Questant’s Lament

Creation vs Escape Pod

Tomahawk Head vs Revelations II - DISQUALIFIED

Indigo Heir vs Serenade

Coolkid vs Olive Scribe

Requiem for an Exile vs Bargaining with the Beast

We Walk vs Green Ghost

Judgement Day vs White Host / Green Room

Carapacian Domain vs Gust of Heir

Derse Dreamers vs Endless Expanse

Purple Bard vs March of the Batterwitch

Purple Tyrant vs Years in the Future

Bronze Page vs The Golden Towers

I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew vs Do the Windy Thing

Raggy Looking Dance vs Song of Skaia

The Vast Glub vs Terraform

The Lost Child vs Rust Maid

Gilded Sands vs Genesis

Orchid Horror vs Love You (Feferi’s Theme)

Exodus vs Cobalt Thief

Requiem vs Flare

Arcade Thunder vs Blue Atom

Rapture vs Violet Prince

Batch Six

Fuchsia Witch vs Violet Mariner

Frog Hunt vs Pendulum

The Meek vs The Prelude

Airtime vs Pilot Light

Riches to Ruins Movements I & II vs Iron Infidel

Havoc vs Indigo Archer

Rust Servant vs Eden

The Obsidian Towers vs Temporal Shenanigans

Phantasmic Youngsters vs Infinity Mechanism

Revered Return vs Galactic Cancer | DRAW

Nine Lives One Love vs Bec Noir

Revelations III vs Cascade (Beta)

Sburban Reversal vs Jade Mother

Kingside Castle vs Orange Hat

Galaxy Hearts vs Scourge Sisters

Cobalt Corsair vs Null

Pale Rapture vs ohgodcat

Fuchsia Ruler vs Davesprite

Center of Brilliance vs Jade Sylph

Carefree Action vs Your Universe

Revelations I vs Bronze Rebel

Afraid of the Darko vs Squiddle Song

Darkened Streets vs Cupcake Girl

Core of Darkness vs Aimless Morning Gold | DRAW

Cascade vs Frostbite

Made of Time vs WV: Become Mayor of the Cans

Gold Pilot vs Do You Remem8er Me

Unite Synchronization vs Ruins Rising

Frog Forager vs Drift Into the Sun

Temporary vs Ocean Stars Falling

Skaian Birth vs Gold Mage

Superego vs Olive Rogue

Batch Seven

Speaker (Skaia’s Reflection) vs Lunar Eclipse vs June Sleeps / Skaian Magicant

Aggrievocation vs Feel (Alive)

Of Gods and Witches vs The Lordling

Red Sucker vs Moonsetter

Ascend vs Cairo Overcoat

Respit vs Princess of Helium

FantasyP vs Conclude

Beatup vs Frogs’ Intermezzo

Bridge of Stars vs Mother (Piano)

Portrait vs Eternity Served Cold (Canon Edit)

Dord Waltz vs Reverie

Firefly vs Entrance of the Salamanders

Breeze vs Frustracean | DRAW

Stargaze vs Trepidation

Another Chance vs Pipeorgankind | DRAW

Solar Voyage vs Overture (Canon Edit)

The Vast Croak vs Crystalmethequins

Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted)’s Water Apocalypse vs Stride

Breakshot vs Prospitian Folklore

The Temple’s Withered Bloom vs iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE

Constant Confinement vs Elephant Gun

A Taste for Adventure vs Despot

Jane Dargason vs Hate You

Negative Aperture vs Starfall

October vs Another Countdown

Clockstopper vs Creata

Sweet Dreams, Timaeus vs Checkmate

Requited vs Busting Makes Me Feel Good

Our Glorious Speaker vs Carne Vale

Game Over vs Voidlight

Noirscape vs Lilith in Starlight

Train vs Firefly Cloud

Batch Eight

Red Miles vs Skaian Shrapnel

Coursing vs The Lyrist

Bilious vs THIS Pumpkin

Dapper Dueling vs Encore

Pink Shells vs Battle Against an Unfathomable Enemy

Stress vs Minihoof’s Adventure

Power Fantasy vs Consorts’ Intermezzo

Everything is Something to Somebody vs Skaianet

Vodka Mutiny vs Cumulating Dreams

Cancerous Core vs Castle

Pondsquatter vs Moonsweater

Frogsong vs Flying Car | DRAW

Skaian Happy Flight vs Thanks For Playing

A Little Fight Mewsic vs Heir of Grief

Constant Conquest vs Anbroids V2.0

Stoke the Forge vs Freefall

Sunrise vs Unlabeled | DRAW

Breeding Duties vs Expedition

The Scratch vs Before the Beginning and After the End | DRAW

Buy NAK Sell DOOF vs Ugly Betty

Renewed Return vs Green Lolly

ASSAULT vs Lancer | DRAW

You Killed My Father (Prepare to Die) vs Dogfight

Rustless Fall vs Underfoot

Another Jungle vs Whistling Jackhammer | DRAW

Thip of the Tongue vs GameGrl (Original 1993 Mix)

Austin, Atlantis vs Stellarum Salve

The Changing Game vs Negastrife

Oppa Toby Style vs Great LOFAF Expedition of 2009

Skaian Overdrive vs Sound Judgement

Under the Hat vs Three’s a Crowd

Prelude vs Miasmajesty

Round Two

All Polls

Batch One

Ante Matter vs Land of the Salamanders vs Upward Movement (Dave Owns)

Hardlyquin vs Phaze and Blood vs Aggrievance

Contention vs Medical Emergency vs Skaian Skuffle

Underworld vs The Beginning of Something Really Excellent

Sarabande vs Aggrieve

Homestuck Anthem vs Endless Climbing

Atomyk Ebonpyre vs Harleboss

Spider’s Claw vs The La2t Frontiier

How Do I Live (Bunny Back in the Box Version) vs Beatdown (Strider Style)

Ace of Trump vs Dupliblaze COMAGMA vs Nightlife

Descend vs Clockwork Contrivance

Lotus Land Story vs Skaian Skirmish

Candles and Clockwork (Alpha Version) vs Revelawesome

Sburban Jungle vs Three in the Morning

Black vs Ballad of Awakening

Octoroon Rangoon vs Homestuck

Batch Two

Bed of Rose’s / Dreams of Derse vs An Unbreakable Union | DRAW

Hauntjam vs Planet Healer

Gardener vs Biophosphoradelecrystalluminescence

Skies of Skaia vs Sburban Countdown

Moonshatter vs Walls Covered in Blood

Vagabounce vs Savior of the Waking World

Sunsetter vs Crystalanthemums

Sunslammer vs Clockwork Melody vs Carbon Nadsat / Cuestick Genius

Plague Doctor vs Explore

Death of the Lusii vs Rediscover Fusion

Liquid Negrocity vs Crystalmanthequins

Pumpkin Cravings vs Clockwork Sorrow

Unsheath’d vs Skaian Ride

Ecstasy vs Knives and Ivory

Doctor vs The Lemonsnout Turnabout

Skaia (Incipisphere Remix) vs Endless Climb

Batch Three

Heir Transparent vs Karkat’s Theme

Time On My Side vs Eridan’s Theme

Clockwork vs Spider8reath

Trial and Execution vs Rex Duodecim Angelus

The Broken Clock vs Darling Kanaya

Pumpkin Tide vs Nautical Nightmare

Squiddissension vs Phrenic Phever vs Terezi’s Theme

Savior of the Dreaming Dead vs Science Seahorse vs Beta Version

The Nic Cage Song vs Carefree Princess Berryboo

Dreamers and the Dead vs Knife’s Edge

Vriska’s Theme vs Forever

At the Price of Oblivion vs Variations

Alternia vs Frost

English vs Jade Dragon

Heir Conditioning vs Let’s All Rock the Heist

Nepeta’s Theme vs Chain of Prospit

Batch Four

Umbral Ultimatum vs Arisen Anew

Shade vs Crystalanthology

The Carnival vs Rhapsody in Green

Time Paradox vs Terezi Owns

BL1ND JUST1C3: 1NV3ST1G4T1ON!!! vs Lies With the Sea

Rain vs Heat

Plumbthroat Gives Chase vs Killed By BR8K Spider!!!!!!!!

FIDUSPAWN, GO! vs Wind

Courser vs Requiem of Sunshine and Rainbows vs Tentacles

Elevatorstuck vs WSW-Beatdown

MeGaLoVania vs Swing of the Clock

A Fairy Battle vs Walk-Stab-Walk (R&E)

Dawn of Man vs Clockwork Reversal

Squiddles Campfire vs Black Rose / Green Sun

GameBro (Original 1990 Mix) vs Maplehoof’s Adventure

Even in Death vs Temporal Piano

Batch Five

Nightmare vs Battle Brotocol vs Pink Cat

Black Hole / Green Sun vs Litrichean Rioghail

Mayor Maynot vs Teal Hunter

Iron Knight vs Teal Seer

Prospit Dreamers vs Hallowed Halls

Escape Pod vs Revelations II

Serenade vs Coolkid

Requiem for an Exile vs Green Ghost

Judgement Day vs Carapacian Dominion

Derse Dreamers vs March of the Batterwitch

Purple Tyrant vs The Golden Towers

I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew vs Raggy Looking Dance

Terraform vs The Lost Child

Gilded Sands vs Orchid Horror

Cobalt Thief vs Flare

Blue Atom vs Violet Prince

Batch Six

Violet Mariner vs Pendulum

The Prelude vs Pilot Light

Iron Infidel vs Havoc

Rust Servant vs Temporal Shenanigans

Infinity Mechanism vs Revered Return vs Galactic Cancer

Bec Noir vs Cascade (Beta)

Sburban Reversal vs Orange Hat

Galaxy Hearts vs Cobalt Corsair

Pale Rapture vs Fuchsia Ruler

Jade Sylph vs Your Universe

Bronze Rebel vs Afraid of the Darko

Darkened Streets vs Core of Darkness vs Aimless Morning Gold

Cascade vs Made of Time

Gold Pilot vs Unite Synchronization

Drift into the Sun vs Ocean Stars Falling

Gold Mage vs Olive Rogue

Batch Seven

Lunar Eclipse vs Feel (Alive)

Of Gods and Witches vs Moonsetter

Ascend vs Respit

Conclude vs Beatup

Mother (Piano) vs Eternity, Served Cold (Canon Edit)

Reverie vs Firefly

Breeze vs Frustracean vs Trepidation

Another Chance vs Pipeorgankind vs Overture (Canon Edit)

Crystalmethequins vs Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted’s) Water Apocalypse

Breakshot vs iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE

Constant Confinement vs A Taste for Adventure

Hate You vs Starfall

October vs Clockstopper

Sweet Dreams, Timaeus vs Requited

Carne Vale vs Game Over

Lilith in Starlight vs Firefly Cloud

Batch Eight

Skaian Shrapnel vs Coursing

THIS Pumpkin vs Encore

Battle Against an Unfathomable Enemy vs Stress

Power Fantasy vs Skaianet | DRAW

Vodka Mutiny vs Castle

Moonsweater vs Frogsong vs Flying Car

Thanks for Playing vs Heir of Grief

Anbroids V2.0 vs Freefall

Sunrise vs Unlabeled vs Expedition

The Scratch vs Before the Beginning and After the End vs Ugly Betty

Renewed Return vs ASSAULT vs Lancer

You Killed My Father (Prepare to Die) vs Underfoot

Another Jungle vs Whistling Jackhammer vs GameGrl (Original 1993 Mix)

Austin, Atlantis vs Negastrife

Oppa Toby Style vs Skaian Overdrive

Three’s a Crowd vs Miasmajesty

Round Three

All Polls

Batch One

Upward Movement (Dave Owns) vs Aggrievance

Skaian Skuffle vs The Beginning of Something Really Excellent

Aggrieve vs Homestuck Anthem

Atomyk Ebonpyre vs The La2t Frontiier

Beatdown (Strider Style) vs Dupliblaze COMAGMA

Descend vs Skaian Skirmish

Candles and Clockwork (Alpha Version) vs Sburban Jungle

Black vs Homestuck

Batch Two

Bed of Rose’s / Dreams of Derse vs An Unbreakable Union vs Planet Healer

Biophosphoradelecrystalluminescence vs Sburban Countdown

Moonshatter vs Savior of the Waking World

Sunsetter vs Sunslammer

Plague Doctor vs Rediscover Fusion

Crystalmanthequins vs Pumpkin Cravings

Unsheath’d vs Knives and Ivory

Doctor vs Endless Climb

Batch Three

Heir Transparent vs Time On My Side

Spider8reath vs Rex Duodecim Angelus

Darling Kanaya vs Nautical Nightmare

Terezi’s Theme vs Savior of the Dreaming Dead

Carefree Princess Berryboo vs Dreamers and the Dead

Vriska’s Theme vs At the Price of Oblivion

Alternia vs English

Heir Conditioning vs Nepeta’s Theme

Batch Four

Umbral Ultimatum vs Shade

The Carnival vs Terezi Owns

BL1ND JUST1C3: 1NV3ST1G4T1ON!!! vs Heat

Killed by BR8K Spider!!!!!!!! vs Wind

Courser vs Elevatorstuck

MeGaLoVania vs Walk-Stab-Walk

Clockwork Reversal vs Black Rose / Green Sun

GameBro vs Even in Death

Batch Five

Pink Cat vs Black Hole / Green Sun

Mayor Maynot vs Iron Knight

Prospit Dreamers vs Revelations II

Serenade vs Green Ghost

Judgement Day vs Derse Dreamers

Purple Tyrant vs I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew

The Lost Child vs Orchid Horror

Flare vs Blue Atom

Batch Six

Pendulum vs Pilot Light

Iron Infidel vs Temporal Shenanigans

Infinity Mechanism vs Cascade (Beta)

Sburban Reversal vs Galaxy Hearts

Fuchsia Ruler vs Jade Sylph

Bronze Rebel vs Core of Darkness

Cascade vs Gold Pilot

Ocean Stars Falling vs Gold Mage

Batch Seven

Feel (Alive) vs Moonsetter

Ascend vs Beatup

Eternity, Served Cold (Canon Edit) vs Firefly

Breeze vs Overture

Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted)’s Water Apocalypse vs iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE

A Taste for Adventure vs Hate You

Clockstopper vs Requited

Carne Vale vs Lilith in Starlight

Batch Eight

Coursing vs THIS Pumpkin

Battle Against an Unfathomable Enemy vs Power Fantasy vs Skaianet

Vodka Mutiny vs Moonsweater

Heir of Grief vs Anbroids V2.0

Unlabelled vs Ugly Betty

Lancer vs You Killed My Father (Prepare to Die)

GameGrl vs Austin, Atlantis

Oppa Toby Style vs Three’s a Crowd

Round Four

All Polls

Batch One

Upward Movement (Dave Owns) vs The Beginning of Something Really Excellent

Homestuck Anthem vs Atomyk Ebonpyre

Beatdown (Strider Style) vs Descend

Sburban Jungle vs Black

Bed of Rose’s / Dreams of Derse vs Sburban Countdown

Savior of the Waking World vs Sunslammer

Plague Doctor vs Crystalmanthequins

Knives and Ivory vs Doctor

Batch Two

Time On My Side vs Rex Duodecim Angelus

Darling Kanaya vs Savior of the Dreaming Dead

Dreamers and the Dead vs At the Price of Oblivion

English vs Heir Conditioning

Umbral Ultimatum vs Terezi Owns

BL1ND JUST1C3: 1NV3ST1G4T1ON!!! vs Killed by BR8K Spider!!!!!!!!

Elevatorstuck vs MeGaLoVania

Black Rose / Green Sun vs Even in Death

Batch Three

Black Hole / Green Sun vs Iron Knight

Prospit Dreamers vs Serenade

Derse Dreamers vs I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew

Orchid Horror vs Flare

Pendulum vs Temporal Shenanigans

Cascade (Beta) vs Sburban Reversal

Fuchsia Ruler vs Core of Darkness

Cascade vs Gold Mage

Batch Four

Moonsetter vs Beatup

Eternity, Served Cold (Canon Edit) vs Overture (Canon Edit)

Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted)’s Water Apocalypse vs Hate You

Requited vs Carne Vale

Coursing vs Skaianet

Vodka Mutiny vs Heir of Grief

Ugly Betty vs Lancer

Austin, Atlantis vs Oppa Toby Style

Round Five

All Polls

Batch One

Upward Movement (Dave Owns) vs Homestuck Anthem

Descend vs Black

Sburban Countdown vs Savior of the Waking World

Crystalmanthequins vs Doctor

Batch Two

Rex Duodecim Angelus vs Savior of the Dreaming Dead

At the Price of Oblivion vs English

Umbral Ultimatum vs BL1ND JUST1C3: 1NV3ST1G4TION!!!

MeGaLoVania vs Black Rose / Green Sun

Batch Three

Black Hole / Green Sun vs Serenade

I’m a Member of the Midnight Crew vs Flare

Temporal Shenanigans vs Cascade (Beta)

Fuchsia Ruler vs Cascade

Batch Four

Moonsetter vs Eternity Served Cold (Canon Edit)

Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted)’s Water Apocalypse vs Carne Vale | DRAW

Coursing vs Heir of Grief

Lancer vs Oppa Toby Style

Round Six

All Polls

Batch One

Upward Movement (Dave Owns) vs Black

Savior of the Waking World vs Doctor

Rex Duodecim Angelus vs At the Price of Oblivion

Umbral Ultimatum vs MeGaLoVania

Batch Two

Black Hole / Green Sun vs Flare

Cascade (Beta) vs Cascade

Moonsetter vs Pumpkin Party in Sea (Redacted)’s Water Apocalypse vs Carne Vale

Heir of Grief vs Oppa Toby Style

Round Seven

All Polls

Black vs Savior of the Waking World

Rex Duodecim Angelus vs MeGaLoVania

Flare vs Cascade

Moonsetter vs Heir of Grief

Round Eight

All Polls

Black vs Rex Duodecim Angelus

Cascade vs Heir of Grief

Round Nine

Black vs Cascade

Winner: Cascade!

Current Bracket

#i wont be able to include links to the individual polls bc tumblr has a limit of 100 links per post :(#didnt do cascade beta in the prelims bc its just the first part of the full cascade song. like it felt like itd be the same as doing flare #and cascade in the prelims #also prelude and the prelude ARE different songs i listened to them to check. preludes from genesis frog and the prelude is from sburb albu #also YES ik that the bottom bracket is illegible. there was not a way to edit it to be otherwise :pensive:#i tried to only @ people who i knew had a homestuck char in their bracket or told me i could bc i know not everyone wants to be associated #w homestuck #homestuck #homestuck music bracket

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angelsaxis · 3 months

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whyyyy are editors so expensive

#angel posts #thats what this book needs. a structure edit #i need someone to stick to my at the hip so i can ask ridiculously detailed questions and get a professional response to it #hhhhhhhh #angel writes #because ive noticed that for the betas and the free crits #they always all ignore when i say that im constricted by the word limit?#i say ''i cant add XYZ or do X bc of word limit''#''if you have suggestions on where to reduce the word limit let me know''#and they jsut dont see that #and then ask ''why isn't X thing you mentioned in the book???'' word limit #this book is like 123k #i cant do that for a debut #i need to reduce the word limit #it has to go down. DOWN. and i had it quite tight at one point!!#but then i blew it up again!#the lowest was 117k just......ugh #and beta readers often do go above 100k like do yall see my problem #and here i am. finding ways to add more words kajshdflksajdf

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fragrantpines · 11 months

Text

Pei Long's kisses are short and sweet. They are sprinkled throughout the day but on days where he cannot give you your daily doses of kisses, he'll give them all back to you on a later date.

He'll hold your face with one hand, stroking your cheek tenderly with his thumb while his other hand rests on your back, pulling you closer and closer until there isn't any distance left between your bodies. If you try to move, his hand will gently push you back towards him until you are practically leaning on his chest.

"I love you," he whispers softly, as if he were still in a dream.

When you stand on tiptoes to press a kiss onto his lips, reminding him that this isn't a dream, he looks awestruck for a moment before proceeding to shower a bunch of kisses over your face, devoting a small piece of love into each and every single one in hopes that it would calm down his heartbeat that was beating dangerously fast.

Nothing in this world was enough to prove how much he loved you. So, he can only hope that these small kisses filled with his love will someday fill your heart and remind you that you are always loved no matter where you are.

…

Pei Feng's kisses are like a storm, erratic and appear too fast for you to be able to stop. You'll never know where they will appear from until you're suddenly trapped between him and something, whether it be the door, bed, table… it happens so often to the point that you can say with confidence that you've been pushed onto every single surface that can possibly be leaned on in this world.

… At least, that's what you thought until you were suddenly pulled into a nearby closet without notice.

"Where have you been?" He asks sharply, eyes glaring into yours as if they wished to pin you down at this very place. The closet was so small that it could barely fit the two of your bodies but that didn't seem to stop the man from thinking otherwise as proven from his arms that were placed on both sides of your head, making the already small space become much more cramped than it was before.

Any excuses fall onto deaf ears. He cuts through all of them mercilessly until he's had enough and shuts you up with a kiss, taking advantage of your surprise to pry open your lips and slip his tongue into your mouth without a moment's notice.

His kisses are long and passionate, never half hearted as though he wishes to devour your entire being, capture your heart and mind until the only thing that you will ever think of is him, him, him.

There's nothing that you can do to stop his rampage so just let him kiss you as much as he pleases, allow him to clear up the unease in his heart and feel that his love for you is mutual, not just a fantasy that he has created in his head to fill the empty hole in his heart.

#no thoughts head empty only them #i know like the bare minimum about them because i don't want to spoil myself too much but dear lord #you've ever seen a man and fall in love at first sight #that's me with long feng pei #mans just slapped me across the slap the moment i saw him and i've never been the same #why must you be cny limited why must you hurt me in this way #tale of food #the tale of food #▪︎ writings #longfeipeng #long fei peng #will update the tags when he has a translated name #longfeipeng x reader #龙凤配 #食物语龙凤配 #btw this is not beta read so expect like 50 different edits from time to time #i just want to kiss pei long and pei feng cries #the tale of food x reader #tale of food x reader

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chandelier-s-notebook · 7 months

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Day 2: Time from @/ink-ghoul’s Hermittober prompt list.

- - -

Midnight, Again

Time stands still

But the clock keeps ticking

Down

Down on the jagged peaks below

Where a friend in lain

His last scream still echoing in the void between your ears

Tick

Tock

Down

The clock counts down

It never stops

And yet

Time stands still

#Hermittober #Limited Life #Jimmy Solidarity #poem #no ~~edits~~ beta we die like — well… we die like Jimmy #Bread Boys #Made with the Hermittober Prompt List

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lightning24680 · 2 years

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Genshin Impact Scenarios

Hi, this is my first post and I write fanfiction and scenarios, really just anything that comes to my mind. Requests are always welcome! I'll set up rules later and what I'm okay with writing, as well as what fandoms I'll write for. Love ya'll and hope you enjoy!

P.S. since tumblr has a word limit I'm making this into a mini series!

They're your protective older brother and they meet your s/o gn!reader

Childe/Tartaglia/Ajax

Oh boy I feel sorry for your s/o

Older Brother Ajax cares about you a lot and only wants the best for you. So seeing someone else taking care of you, well he takes it as them taking his place as your protector

Ever since you were young he's always been taking you with him on adventures and showing you how to fight to protect yourself, but even so he's always been with you to make sure your safe

He sure doesn't trust anyone else to make sure your safe

Even though he's taught you how to fight, he doesn't let you know about his affiliation with the fatui, he never wants you to lose your light or your child-hood wonder

You love your brother but sometimes he can be a little too overprotective, so of course you choose to hide it from him that you have an s/o because knowing Ajax he's not going to give them a chance

However as much as you might try to hide it (and you try your hardest trust me) Ajax knows you too well. He's your older brother after all he can tell when you're hiding something from him

He doesn't make it obvious at first, he just writes it off as you just acting a little weird, but eventually he decides that after you've been disappearing for long amounts of time and canceling on him when you would usually jump at the chance to spend time with him, especially since he's been off in Liyue for quite awhile, he gets suspicious

He follows you one day when you leave the house all dressed up and seem happier than a clam

Ajax has no problem with that, he wants you to have everything this world can offer and seeing you happy brings back that spark he lost to the abyss, but why were you so happy for seemingly no reason?

Today wasn't any special occasion that he can remember

So he carefully follows behind you making sure that you don't notice him trailing you

Eventually you stop at some restaurant

He is SO confused poor boy doesn't understand why you would want to go get food from a restaurant all alone (you hadn't mentioned going out with friends?) especially when he made a point to tell you he was cooking this morning (no one can change my opinion his cooking is literally the best)

So when he sees you sit down at a table and seem to be waiting for someone, he decides to get a table close to you, not close enough for you to see him, but close enough for him to hear you

Anyways it had been about five minutes and you had ordered your drink and he was getting worried and had just about had enough of sitting watching you, but just as he was about to get up and go over to you and ask if you were okay and if you were upset, instead of at home

This boy honestly thinks he did something wrong for you to have not been spending as much time with him, it never occurs to him that you could be seeing someone, your his wonderful younger sibling who looks up to and adores him, and all his stories and skills that he teaches you

Honestly he basically raised you and your siblings with how much he loves you all, he always makes you feel safe and happy

Anyways back to your s/o, they they showed up just before Ajax could go over to you, and low and behold before he could even think who they were and why they were showing up with you for breakfast, they go and kiss you!🤯

Ajax exe. has stopped working. Who in the HELL has the nerve to kiss his sibling! Well he's about to find out. He starts stomping over ready to give this person a piece of his mind when something even MORE shocking happened you kissed them BACK, now he really stops in place for a second before he almost seems to teleport in front of you and pushes you two apart

To say you were shocked was an understatement, you were so startled you almost choked!

AJAX?! What are you doing here?!

Your shock quickly turned to panic when you saw your brothers steel gaze that looked downright murderous towards your s/o

Ajax decided to ignore you for the moment his attention was on your s/o who to their credit was calm and didn't look scared at all...yet at least Ajax thought

Your s/o as calm as they were, they were visibly confused and they made their confusion known as they asked "who are you?"

Oh boy I feel sorry for your s/o

Older Brother Ajax cares about you a lot and only wants the best for you. So seeing someone else taking care of you, well he takes it as them taking his place as your protector

Ever since you were young he's always been taking you with him on adventures and showing you how to fight to protect yourself, but even so he's always been with you to make sure your safe

He sure doesn't trust anyone else to make sure your safe

Even though he's taught you how to fight, he doesn't let you know about his affiliation with the fatui, he never wants you to lose your light or your child-hood wonder

You love your brother but sometimes he can be a little too overprotective, so of course you choose to hide it from him that you have an s/o because knowing Ajax he's not going to give them a chance

However as much as you might try to hide it (and you try your hardest trust me) Ajax knows you too well. He's your older brother after all he can tell when you're hiding something from him

He follows you one day when you leave the house all dressed up and seem happier than a clam

Today wasn't any special occasion that he can remember

So he carefully follows behind you making sure that you don't notice him trailing you

Eventually you stop at some restaurant

So when he sees you sit down at a table and seem to be waiting for someone, he decides to get a table close to you, not close enough for you to see him, but close enough for him to hear you

Honestly he basically raised you and your siblings with how much he loves you all, he always makes you feel safe and happy

The continuation will be posted shortly because tumblr just haaad to have a word limit 😅

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bakumu · 2 years

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So character limits on posts now... welp

#someone else try posting 5000 character from mobile #because i cant #and the new beta editor is apparently character limited...#edit: i can post long things from my computer so idk whats up

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labs · 18 days

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Communities closed beta is here

Hello again! We’re back with an update on Communities, a big idea we had last year that we’ve been working on steadily since then. We’re abnormally jazzed to announce that we’re beginning a “closed beta” phase of this new feature, which means many of you will get to play with it soon!

We want to build this whole thing together, with as much input from all of you as possible. We’ve read and re-read the feedback from our previous post, and we’ve been surveying and interviewing people about this idea for a few months now. But it’s time to open this up even more for hands-on testing.

We’ve already begun reaching out to most of you who interacted with our previous post, as promised, with a survey asking whether you’d be interested in helping (check your email!). Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be using the results of that survey to narrow down who we’d like to help test Communities in these initial batches.

The process is looking a bit like this:

If you received a Communities survey email to your registered Tumblr email address, fill it out! If you’re interested in helping us in this beta test period, that’s your way of potentially getting early access. If you did not receive an email with the Communities survey, don’t fret! Communities will be rolling out to more people as we expand our testing.

We’ll go through the results and choose a diverse range of community ideas to gather a wide array of feedback.

Selected testers will receive a second survey with more detailed questions about their proposed community. Very practical stuff, like the name, title, and description, whether it should be public or private, the About page contents, its own community guidelines, and more.

We will create the new Tumblr community on your behalf using the information supplied. We’re building the tools that will let people create and edit communities themselves, so eventually you’ll be able to change them without needing our help. But for now, we’re creating and editing them for you, as needed.

After we’ve created the community, you’ll be made its first admin. Everything from here on out is up to you – Tumblr staff won’t be in your community (unless you invite us, of course). You’ll be able to invite anyone on Tumblr to your community. However, your community will have a population cap to start, limiting how many people can be in it and invited, as a way of keeping this beta test somewhat contained and manageable for us. We’ll be able to raise that population cap for communities that are growing and if we want to test further in that direction.

And throughout, we’ll be asking for feedback, both in some special communities for everyone in the closed beta, and via more surveys and the Support tickets we receive.

This closed beta version of Communities is far from finished, and that’s part of the reason we want to start opening it up to more of you for feedback. There are a lot of rough edges and known issues, but we think it’s far enough along that it’s usable enough for testing. We need feedback in order to feel like we’re building the right thing.

The very first public community is called “Communities Feedback” for this reason! We want everyone helping us test out communities to tell us about it, so people in this closed beta will be in there by default. We want to use that space to be more public and real-time about new pieces we’re building, bugs we’re fixing, things we know are broken, and answers to common questions. There is an additional, private community for community admins, to help shape how administrating and moderating these spaces will work. And if you don’t want to use those spaces, you can always use the “Feedback” category in our Support form.

Stay tuned for more, and keep an eye on that Communities Feedback space if you’d like to see how things are changing over time.

#communities #tumblr labs

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isolctions · 9 months

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#0.2 seconds away from talking myself outta not finishing this hc.#it’s just so much fhdjdkdk #but i literally just have to edit/condense since beta editor has a fckn character limit DASSIT #and. i love evil women revenge stories. :(#ooc.

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mask131 · 9 months

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MtG masterpost: Limited Edition

White cards: part 1 - part 2 - part 3

Black cards: part 1 - part 2 - part 3

Blue cards: part 1 - part 2

Red cards: part 1 - part 2

Green cards: part 1 - part 2

Some series: Laces & Walls ; The Power Nine & the Boons

Colorless cards: part 1 - part 2

Lands - Dual Lands

The Beta printing

#magic the gathering #mtg #mtg masterpost #masterpost #limited edition #alpha #beta

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prestoned · 1 year

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My brother and I power leveled to 20 yesterday in the Diablo IV beta for the fun extra goodies.

#we did it #we love limited edition goodies #lgbt #gay #queer #stoner #gay man #gay stoner #stoned #gay guy #stoned posting #stoned posts #diablo #diablo iv #diablo iv public beta

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physalian · 1 month

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What No One Tells you about Writing #3

Opening this up to writing as a whole, because it turns out I have a lot more to say!

Part 1

Part 2

1. You don’t fall in love with your characters immediately

But when you do, it’s a hit of serotonin like no other. I’d been writing a tight cast of characters for my sci-fi series since 2016 and switched over in a bout of writer’s block this year to my new fantasy book. I made it about ⅓ through writing the book going through the motions, unable to visualize what these new characters look like, sound like, or would behave like without a ‘camera’ on them.

Then, all of a sudden, I opened my document to keep on chugging with the first draft, and it clicked. They were no longer faceless elements of my plot, they were my characters and I was excited to see what they could accomplish, rooting for them to succeed. Sometimes, it takes a while, but it does come.

2. Sometimes a smaller edit is better than a massive rewrite

Unless you’re changing the trajectory of your entire plot, or a character’s arc really is unrecoverable, sometimes even a single line of dialogue, a single paragraph of introspection, or a quick exchange between two characters can change everything. If something isn’t working, or your beta readers consistently aren’t jiving with a character you yourself love, try taking a step back, looking at who they are as a person, and boil down what your feedback is telling you and it might demand a simpler fix than you expect.

Tiny details inserted at the right moment can move mountains. Fan theories stand on the backs of these minutiae. One sentence can turn a platonic relationship romantic. One sentence can unravel a fair and just argument. One sentence can fill or open a massive plot hole.

3. Outline? What outline?

Not every book demands weeks upon weeks of prep and worldbuilding. I would argue that jumping right in with only a vague direction in mind gives you a massive advantage: You can’t infodump research you haven’t done. Exposition is forced to come as the plot demands it, because you haven’t designed it yet.

Not every story is simple and straightforward, but even penning the first draft with your vague plan, *then* going back and adding in deeper worldbuilding elements, more thematic details, richer character development, can get you over the writer’s block hurdle and make it far less intimidating to just shut up and write the book.

4. It’s okay to let your characters take the wheel

I’ve seen writing advice that chastises authors who let their characters run wild, off the plan the story has for them. Yeah, doing this can harm your pacing and muddy a strong and consistent arc, but refusing to leave the box of your outline greatly limits your creativity. I do this particularly when writing romantic relationships (and end up like Captain Crunch going Oops! All Gays!).

Did I plan for these two to get together? No, it just happened organically as I wrote them talking, getting closer, getting to know each other better in the circumstances they find themselves in. Was this character meant to be gay? Well, he wasn’t meant to be straight, but you know what, he’d work really well with this other boy over here. None of that would have happened if I was bound and determined to follow my original plan, because my original plan didn’t account for how the story that I want to tell evolves. You aren’t clairvoyant—it’s okay if it didn’t end up where you thought it would.

5. Fight. Scenes. Suck.

Which is crazy because I love fantasy and sci-fi, the actiony-est genres. Some authors love battle scenes and fistfights. It comes naturally to them and I will forever be jealous. I hate fight scenes. I hate blocking and choreographing them. I hate how it doesn’t read like I’m watching a movie. I hate how it could take me hours to write a scene I can read in 5 minutes. I hate that there’s no way around it except to just not write them, or put in the elbow grease and practice.

Whatever your writing kryptonite is, don’t be too hard on yourself. It won’t ever replicate the movie in your head, but our audience isn’t privy to that movie and will be none the wiser of how this didn’t fit your expectations, because it’s probably awesome on its own. It could be a fight scene, sex scene, epic battle, cavalry charge, courtroom argument, car chase—whatever. Be patient, and kind to yourself and it will all come together.

6. Write the scenes you want to write first

And then be prepared to never use them. It can be mighty difficult working backwards from a climax and figuring out how to write the story around it, but if you’re sitting at your laptop staring at your cursor and watching it blink, stuck on a tedious moment that’s necessary but frustrating, go write something exciting. Even if that amazing scene ends up no longer working in the book your story becomes, you still get practice by writing it. Particularly if you hate beginnings or the pressure of a perfect first page is too high, you’re allowed to write any other moment in the book first.

And with that, be prepared to kill your darlings. Not your characters, I mean that one badass line of dialogue living rent free in your head. That epic monologue. That whump scenario for your favorite character. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out anymore, but even if it ends up in the trash, you can always salvage something from it, even if that’s only the knowledge of what not to do in the future.

7. “This is clearly an author insert.” … Yes. It is. Point?

No one likes Mary Sues, because a character who doesn’t struggle or learn to get everything they want in life is uncompelling. The most flagrant author inserts I see aren’t Mary Sues, they’re nerdy, awkward, boring white guys whose world changes to fit their perspective, instead of the other way around—they don’t have anything to say. I’m not the intended audience to relate to these characters and I accept that, but I don’t empathize with the so-called “strong female character” who also doesn’t have flaws or an arc either.

A good author insert? When the author gives their characters pieces of themselves. When the “author insert” struggles and learns and grows and it’s a therapeutic experience just writing these characters thrown into such horrible situations. They feel human when they’re given pieces of a human’s soul. They have real human flaws and idiosyncrasies. I don’t care if the author wrote themselves as the protagonist. I care that this protagonist is entertaining. So if you want to make yourself the hero of your book, go for it! But make sure you look in the mirror and write in your flaws, as much as your strengths.

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #fantasy #scifi

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 months

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Kickstarting “The Bezzle” audiobook, sequel to Red Team Blues

I'm heading to Berlin! On January 29, I'll be delivering Transmediale's Marshall McLuhan Lecture, and on January 30, I'll be at Otherland Books (tickets are limited! They'll have exclusive early access to the English edition of The Bezzle and the German edition of Red Team Blues!).

I'm kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to last year's Red Team Blues, featuring Marty Hench, a hard-charging, two-fisted forensic accountant who spent 40 years in Silicon Valley, busting every finance scam hatched by tech bros' feverish imaginations:

http://thebezzle.org

Marty Hench is a great character to write. His career in high-tech scambusting starts in the early 1980s with the first PCs and stretches all the way to the cryptocurrency era, the most target-rich environment for scamhunting tech has ever seen. Hench is the Zelig of tech scams, and I'm having so much fun using him to probe the seamy underbelly of the tech economy.

Enter The Bezzle, which will be published by Tor Books and Head of Zeus on Feb 20: this adventure finds Marty in the company of Scott Warms, one of the many bright technologists whose great startup was bought and destroyed by Yahoo! (yes, they really used that asinine exclamation mark). Scott is shackled to the Punctuation Factory by golden handcuffs, and he's determined to get fired without cause, so he can collect his shares and move onto the next thing.

That's how Scott and Marty find themselves on Catalina island, the redoubt of the Wrigley family, where bison roam the hills, yachts bob in the habor and fast food is banned. Scott invites Marty on a series of luxury vacations on Catalina, which end abruptly when they discover – and implode – a hamburger-related Ponzi scheme run by a real-estate millionaire who is destroying the personal finances of the Island's working-class townies out of sheer sadism.

Scott's victory is bittersweet: sure, he blew up the Ponzi scheme, but he's also made powerful enemies – the kinds of enemies who can pull strings with the notoriously corrupt LA County Sheriff's Deputies who are the only law on Catalina, and after taking a pair of felony plea deals, Scott gets the message and never visits Catalina Island again.

That could have been the end of it, but California's three-strikes law – since rescinded – means that when Scott picks up one more felony conviction for some drugs discovered during a traffic stop, he's facing life in prison.

That's where The Bezzle really gets into gear.

At its core, The Bezzle is a novel about the "shitty technology adoption curve": the idea that our worst technological schemes are sanded smooth on the bodies of prisoners, mental patients, kids and refugees before they work their way up the privilege gradient and are inflicted on all of us:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

America's prisons are vicious, brutal places, and technology has only made them worse. When Scott's prison swaps out in-person visits, the prison library, and phone calls for a "free" tablet that offers all these services as janky apps that cost ten times more than they would on the outside, the cruelty finds a business model.

Working inside and outside the prison Marty Hench and Scott Warms figure out the full nature of the scam that the captive audience of prisoners are involuntary beta-testers for, and they discover a sprawling web of real-estate fraud, tech scams, and offshore finance that is extracting fortunes from the hides of America's prisoners and their families. The criminals who run that kind of enterprise aren't shy about fighting for what they've got, and they're more than happy to cut some of LA County's notorious deputy gangs in for a cut in exchange for providing some kinetic support for the project.

The Bezzle is exactly the kind of book I was hoping I'd get to write when I kicked off the Hench series – one that decodes the scam economy, from music royalties to prison videoconferencing, real estate investment trusts to Big Four accounting firm bogus audits. It's both a fast-moving, two-fisted crime novel and a masterclass on how the rich and powerful get away with both literal and figurative murder.

It's getting a big push from both my publishers and I'll be touring western Canada and the US with it. The early reviews are spectacular. But despite all of this, I had to make my own audiobook for it, which I'm pre-selling on Kickstarter:

http://thebezzle.org

Why? Because Audible – Amazon's monopoly gatekeeper to the audiobook world, with more than 90% of the market – refuses to carry my work.

Audible uses Digital Rights Management to lock every audiobook they sell to their platform. Legally, only an Audible-authorized app can decrypt and play the audiobooks they sell you. Distributing a tool that removes Audible DRM is a felony under Section 1201 of the 1998 DMCA.

That means that if you break up with Audible – delete your Audible apps – you will lose your entire audiobook library. And the fact that you're Audible's hostage makes the writers you love into their hostages, too. Writers understand that if they leave the Audible platform, their audience will have to choose between following them, or losing all their audiobooks.

That's how Audible gets away with abusing its performers and writers, up to and including the $100m Audiblegate wage-theft scandal:

https://www.audiblegate.com/

Audible can steal $100m from its writers…and the writers still continue to sell on the platform, because leaving will cost them their audience.

This is canonical enshittification: lock in users, then screw suppliers. Lots of companies abuse DRM to do this, but none can hold a candle to Amazon, who understand that the DMCA is a copyright law that protects corporations at the expense of creators.

Under DMCA 1201 commercial distribution of a "circumvention device" carries a five-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine. That means that if I write a book, pay to have it recorded, and then sell it to you through Audible, I am criminally prohibited from giving you the tool to take it from Audible to another platform. Even though I hold the copyright to that work, I would face a harsher sentence than you would if you simply pirated the audiobook from some darknet site. Not only that: if you shoplifted the audiobook in CD form, you'd get a lighter sentence than I, the copyright holder, would receive for giving you a tool to unlock it from Amazon's platform! Hell, if you hijacked the truck that delivered the CD, you'd get off lighter than I would. This is a scam straight out of a Marty Hench novel.

This is batshit. I won't allow it. My books are licensed on the condition that they must not be sold with DRM. Which means that Audible won't sell my books, which means that my publishers are thoroughly disinterested in paying thousands of dollars to produce audiobooks of my titles. A book that isn't sold in the one store than accounts for 90% of all sales is unlikely to do well.

That's where you come in. Since 2020, I've used Kickstarter to pre-sell five of my audiobooks (I wrote nine books during lockdown!). All told, I've raised over $750,000 (gross! but still!) on these crowdfunders. More than 20,000 backers have pitched in! The last two of these books – The Internet Con and The Lost Cause – were national bestsellers.

This isn't just a way for me to pay off a lot of bills and put away something for retirement – it's proof that readers care about supporting writers and don't want to be locked in by a giant monopolist that depends on its drivers pissing in bottles to make quota.

It's a powerful message about the desire for something better than Amazon. It's part of the current that is driving the FTC to haul Amazon into court for being a monopolist, and also part of the inspiration for other authors to try treating Amazon as damage and routing around it, with spectacular results:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-four-secret-novels-by-brandon-sanderson

And I'm doing it again. Last December, I went into Skyboat Media's studios where Gabrielle De Cuir directed @wilwheaton, who reprised his role as Marty Hench for the audiobook of The Bezzle. It came out amazing:

https://archive.org/details/bezzle-sample

Now I'm pre-selling this audiobook, as well as the ebook and hardcover for The Bezzle. I'm also offering bundles with the ebook and audiobook for Red Team Blues (naturally these are all DRM-free). You can get your books signed and personalized and shipped anywhere in the world, courtesy of Book Soup, and I've partnered with Libro.fm to deliver DRM-free audiobooks with an app for people who don't want to mess around with sideloading.

I've also got some spendy options for high rollers. There's three chances to name a character in the next Hench novel (Picks and Shovels, Feb 2025). There's also five chances to commission a Hench short story about your favorite tech scam, and get credited when the story is published.

The Kickstarter runs for the next three weeks, which should give me time to get the hardcopy books signed and shipped to arrive around the on-sale date. What's more, I've finally worked out all the post-Brexit kinks with shipping my UK publisher's books to EU backers. I'm working with Otherland Books to fulfill those EU orders, and it looks like I'm going to be able to sign a giant stack of those when I'm in Berlin later this month to give the annual Marshall McLuhan lecture at the Canadian embassy:

https://transmediale.de/en/2024/event/mcluhan-2024

Red Team Blues and its sequels are some of the most fun – and informative – work I've done in my quarter-century career. I love how they blend technical explanations of the scam economy with high-intensity technothrillers. That's the the same mix as my bestselling YA series Little Brother series – but these are firmly adult novels.

The Bezzle came out great. I hope you'll give it a try – and that you'll come out to see me in late February when I hit the road with the book! Here's that Kickstarter link again:

http://thebezzle.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/10/the-bezzle/#marty-hench

#pluralistic #kickstarter #audible #the bezzle #bezzles #prison tech #disciplinary technology #crowdfunding #wilw #wil wheaton #audiobooks #publishing #science fiction #marty hench #martin hench #red team blues #shitty technology adoption curve #reits

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genshin-impact-unofficial · 5 months

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🌦Confessions gone wrong...

Genshin men and how they fuck up their confessions to you.

Ft. Bennett, Venti, Xingqiu, Xiao, Itto, and Wanderer

Tags: Fem!Reader, Long-Hair!Reader(Xingqiu), crushes, pining, fluff, pg, bad things happen to good people. Note: This thread is mostly humor. I just really wanted to bully some characters. No beta. Pay no mind to me trying to edit my mistakes after this has been posted. (Repost!)

Bennett

Fatal Flaw: Honestly does nothing wrong, is just an unlucky dude.

There’s too many instances to count. The poor boy has really been trying to tell you his feelings for MONTHS.

In his excitement he wanted to be flashy and ask you out somewhere cool, like by the big tree in Windrise. The weather thankfully allowed it, but right as he was about to take your hand and confess, a swarm of crystal flies began swarming him. You didn’t know they could be so aggressive.

A restaurant! He could treat you to a meal and tell you there! When the two of you arrived at Good Hunter, it was unfortunately closed early for the day. Apparently all of the meat had suddenly gone bad…

You get the gist.... he’s been in this constant confession limbo for a while now. The more he wants it the worse it goes.

Bennett finally decided he didn’t need the bells and whistles. He cared about you a lot and he was going to confess to you if it was the last thing he did. And it damn well might be. With a new found determination, he ran out to do just that.

“Y/N!” Bennett called out when he spotted you by the Adventure’s Guild. He rushed to you, paying special attention to every stair step to keep from tripping. You turned around and smiled too sweetly when you caught sight of him. It made the boy’s heart thump in his chest. Were it not for his sudden tunnel vision, he may have noticed that cat running past him and not trip down the remaining flight of stairs.

The next time he opened his eyes, he found himself being carried up the familiar route to the cathedral. The adventurer’s face flushed bright red when he realized you were the one carrying him piggyback. It was embarrassing..... but it shamefully wasn’t the first time. Bennett sighed in defeat and simply leaned into your back. When felt his shift in weight, you glanced back to smile at him. You giggled at his clumsiness and it was like music to the boy’s ears. You told him how glad you were that he already regained consciousness this time.

The two of you began joke around like usual and talked the rest of the way there. Bennett took the small victories.

Venti

Fatal Flaw: Tries to impress you too hard.

He knew exactly where he was going to sing his love ballad about you. The sound of the wind as it blew off the hills of starsnatch cliff would be the perfect accompaniment. Maybe it would need some encouragement, but it was nothing he couldn’t accomplish.

Venti wanted the wine to be just right for the occasion too. You deserved nothing but the best. And how else would he be able to judge the quality.... if not just a teeny tiny taste test? He had to be thorough about this choice after all.

The bard usually had enough self control to limit himself to a glass or two, but he felt his nerves get to him a tad. Venti had the confidence that he could show you a beautiful night, but in the end it was your choice whether to accept his heartfelt gesture. The archon respected your freedom above all else.

They sure don’t call it liquid courage for nothing! Venti was brimming with confidence when he brought you to a picnic under a tree, overlooking the cecilias in full bloom. You were visibly in awe, and your reactions quickly inflated the bard’s ego to dangerous heights. “If you think that’s beautiful, watch this.”

A gust of wind flowed over the field, sweeping up all the fallen petals to dance in the air. It was unreal, magical, magnificent, splendid, it was…… buzzing? A thud fell between the two of you and effectively ended the romantic moment. It was a wasps nest.

“ABANDON SHIP!” Venti cried out, grabbing your hand and booking it downhill.

Xingqiu

Fatal Flaw: Hubris.

He really doesn’t like to toot his own horn. Maybe once in a while when it’s warranted. But he really out did himself. Xingqiu read plenty of books regarding the art of courting, and they guided the way to what was sure to be the most romantic confession possible.

The brilliance was in the simplicity of the plan. First he would begin with a gift. The two of you always met at the book store on your off-days. When he sees you wear your long hair in your usual up-do, he would offer the beautiful hair ornament he acquired. Maybe in your excitement, you would even allow him to affix it for you.

The boy’s stomach dropped when he saw you enter the bookstore. He stared while you looked around for him, turning your head left and right in an adorable manner. The movement accentuated your newest feature... a hair cut. “Y/N, over here.” Xingqiu called to you, his confidence was already wavering a little. You excitedly walked to meet up with him and offered a big grin.

Well all is not lost! This leads into his next step; Flattery! “Dear Y/N, you cut your hair. It looks-” “Ugh, don’t remind me.” You quickly cut him off, mood souring just a tad. You explain the tragic story of how you stupidly got a chunk of your hair caught in a lever. The only solution was to cut it clean off, the dramatic change was definitely still a sore topic.

Now the boy was breaking a sweat. He changed to a new tactic, to cheer you up. Xingqiu dropped the subject and prompted that you both look at the newest releases. It would help to take your mind off things and he was banking on the last step of his plan to pan out. It was his last hope.

The two of you settled on the docks and were eager to discuss the books you had just picked. Xingqiu had hidden a love poem into the latest book from your favorite author. He knew you couldn’t resist picking it up, so he stealthily slipped the note into the book you held. Xingqiu spend all night pouring his heart out just right onto the page, as if trying to convey every reason he should be by your side. He expressed his desperate want to be the one to protect and cherish you. Watching you now, talking about your day, left his brain dazed in admiration. It made him realize that all those little things before didn’t matter, as long as you knew how much he adored you in the end.

Finally, you pulled out your newest book to show Xingqiu. The distressed boy nearly fell off the dock. “T-the cover-” He stammered, quickly righting himself. You looked back at him concerned, and slowly explained that it was a limited edition cover. It was only available for the first hundred copies sold. When you saw there was still some in stock, you just had to snag one.

Why do novels make romance it sound so easy....

Xiao

Fatal Flaw: One track mind.

Xiao had been hyping himself up for this one moment for weeks! He nearly talks himself out of confessing every other minute. You may not even reciprocate, but for his sanity he couldn’t keep hiding how deeply he cares for you. The whole situation was so uncertain but the hammering in his chest was proof that he had to do this.

Its like a band-aid he just had to rip it off. To get it over with. Xiao had no idea how to approach it and resorted to redeeming a favor owed to him. He needed to know what he was getting into and have a battle plan. When he approached Ganyu for advice he concealed most of the details. If she was any the wiser who he was asking romantic advice for, she was kind enough to not to mention it and let him keep his pride.

Xiao glanced down at the single glaze lily in his hand. The irony was not lost on him. It was almost humorous, an adeptus making an offering to a mortal and asking for their blessing.

It was almost the time and he prepared as if going into war. You greeted him and sat casually on the balcony railing of Wangshu Inn. Xiao wasted no time with pleasantries and held out the glaze lily to you. “Please accept this.” He stated. The flower was rigidly extended to the full length of his arm. The fiery determination on his face was quite off-putting while offering such a delicate plant.

“Ah... I appreciate it Xiao, I really do, but I can’t.” You began to say, confusion steeping into your tone.

“I insist and I ask that you hear me out.” Xiao’s arm did moving an inch. It was the first thing Ganyu told him to do. He couldn’t abandon his path already.

“What is going on Xiao? I really can’t accept-” You try to explain.

“Please.” His eyes were downcast and the yaksha’s tone was the closest thing to a plea that you’ve ever heard it. You were a tad bewildered and felt as though there was no use trying to talk him down right now. Left with no other choice, you reluctantly took the glaze lily in your hand.

“Y/N I must tell you that I-” Thats as far as Xiao got before the coughing fit began. Your wracking coughs brought you to your knees. A wheeze is the only thing you could manage as you point to your bag. Xiao was alert and scrambling to make sense of what was happening. Your bag is brought to you in an instant and an arm wrapped around your waist to gently guide you to a chair.

It took twenty minutes to fully get your breathing under control. You declined is offer to go grab you help. You just knew Xiao would disappear as soon as it arrived. It was a small allergy attack and nothing too threatening, but you could tell the boy next to you was profusely beating himself up for it.

You never did find out why he was so insistent on you taking that flower. What a strange guy.

Itto

Fatal Flaw: All of the above.

The whole situation was more or less doomed from the start. Once his oblivious ass realized he was in love with you, it was over. The oni was going to confess to you so hard that people were going to be talking about it for YEARS!

It was an all hands on deck operation. Itto gathered the whole gang and then some. He was able to recruit the neighborhood kids to gather as many sakura pedals as they could carry. The boys were on staging duty, making sure the location was so romantic it could even make onikabuto stop fighting long enough fall in love. Itto even managed win a few fireworks off Yoimiya. (She brutally crushed him in a game of Genius Invokation TCG, and mercifully tossed a couple firecrackers his way as a consolation prize.) SCORE!

It was all coming together! All that was left was to distract you for just a little bit longer. That was a job so important that he could only entrust it to his competent second in command. Shinobu tried to convince Itto again and again that he didn’t need all this extra stuff. Pulling off something this complicated was only setting his expectations to an impossible height. Overall wouldn't it be better to be up front and earnest with you about how he felt? Her genuine, good advice promptly fell on deaf ears. Itto was far too busy trying to find which color would make his horns look even cooler in the light of all the fireflies they captured to release right when he said he loved you. Shinobu left this trainweck to to its thing and went to go find you.

She usually would’ve press the subject more, but she did genuinely enjoy your company. The Arataki Gang Deputy considered you a good influence on the boss and anything that could keep him out of trouble, the better.

At last, the time arrived to set all the gears into motion. Now Itto just had to wait for.... The realization hit him. He hadn't told you or Shinobu a time or place too meet today.

The bumbling oni spent a great deal of the afternoon searching for you like a lost puppy. “Yo! Y/N! Hey Hi! I gotta talk to you!” Itto yelled out across the road. He had finally managed to catch up to you two. The guy was ecstatic that things were looking up, plan was back on track! If he hurried now he could get you to the location the gang set up before sunset.

Itto excitedly told you that you HAD to see something. You were always amused by his antics, so of course you agreed. Without hesitation the oni all but dragged you out the door and towards the beach.

When you arrived.... oh crap.

Apparently, you need to get a “warrant” or something to set up the most romantic love confession of all time. Are they trying to say they own the beach or something? That's crazy now! The gang members were trying to explain themselves to the Tenryou Commission guards when you both walked in on the scene. Itto may have made things only a little tiny bit worse when he called the annoyed guard a “block head without a romantic bone in his body”, but no one was keeping score were they? Nonetheless, the whole altercation placed everyone on the scene in a Tenryo Commission cell... including you.

Shinobu was gonna be so pissed.

Wanderer

Fatal Flaw: Forgets he’s supposed to be confessing.

The whole situation was incredibly annoying anyway. You were the one who wouldn’t take the hint, why should he have to spell it out for you. It’s not like he even wanted these feelings. It was all happening without his permission. On top of that, you were dense enough to miss the point every single time he tried to explain it to you.

“Is something on my face?” You asked your newly reformed friend while putting down your book. He'd been boring holes into your skull for several minutes now.

“No? Why are you asking dumb questions?” He snapped. You noticed Wanderer had been doing that quite frequently recently. You sighed in defeat and began gathering your things.

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, I’m heading out.” You told him casually.

You were usually pretty patient with Wanderer, but he’d been in some sort of sour mood lately. Typically it took a few more irksome things before he would start his attitude, but you just couldn’t figure out whats been setting him off recently. You decided it was best to just let him calm down and try again later.

“Don’t.” Wanderer said snatched your hand roughly before you could get too far. “I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t calling you dumb.” He spoke without looking directly at you. You made no movement towards returning and his grip on your hand did not let up.

“And?” You prompted gently.

“Sorry. I’m sorry I said it.” He spat out, clearly annoyed.

You settled back down and asked him what's been bothering him. It’s clear that he was on edge and when you pointed it out his posture became rigid. He was a former Harbinger for fuck sake. Why was this so terrifying. He had been through hell and back without flinching, yet here you were just a person with a goofy laugh and weird interests. It shouldn’t be that hard.

“It’s your fault.” The boy accused, shooting you an annoyed glare. “These emotions aren’t exactly something that come with a manual.”

You blinked back at him in confusion and damn it now you looked cute.

“Stop looking at me! It’s weird.” Wanderer sneered, and immediately scolded himself for harsh it came out. You narrowed your eyes and pointed out that he was just staring at you just a few moments ago. Doesn't that make him weird too? “What? No! That was different. Fuck, you’re already missing the point. That’s why this is impossible with you!”

You were loosing your patience and told him he was being just as impossible. “Me? At least I'm trying to talk here. You make things so much harder. If you just didn’t look at me like I asked, this wouldn’t have been an issue.” The boy jabbed back at you.

The bickering went on for a while and concluded with both of you storming off in opposite directions. It wasn’t until Wanderer entered the second room over that he remembered what he was trying to say...... “Ugh, smooth.” He scowls.

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k1ss0fjudas · 2 months

Text

untitled mean lucifer fic

(first time posting something like this anywhere but regardless of that, enjoy. all lowercase and not beta-read. just slightly edited wordvomit pretty much. written and uploaded on mobile.)

tags/cw: nsfw, lucifer being mean, gender neutral reader/mc, dub-con (implies that lucifer wouldn't stop if you asked him to but only bc he knows whats best for u. ur rlly into it i promise), degradation + name-calling, puppy play, creampie, spanking (a little), breeding mention but not too in-detail - thats abt all i can think of.

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lucifer fucks you like he hates you.

when he allows you to warm his bed he makes sure you know it is a mercy on his part to even let you touch him, let alone in the haphazard, careless way you do— impatient and needy and pathetic.

an excitable, dumb puppy is the image he always circles back to; especially when you're on your knees and peering up at him with those wet, lost eyes of yours— tongue out and panting like a bitch in heat for a taste of his cock. you're so pitiful.

aw, don't look so sad. there's always a fondness for you nestled in his chest. who can blame him when you're such a tantalizing little thing? you're simply too endearing to ignore. you were made for him; made to be picked up by his own two hands and have him break you into something fun.

he knows you won't disappoint. mammon can talk all he wants with that idiotic mouth of his, you are lucifer's pet, and being lucifer's pet means that you will always entertain him without fail. it's what good pets like you live for. you really think lucifer would settle for anything less?

and what a good little pet you are, making such sweet sounds when he truly starts the process of breaking you in, bending you over the bed— ass up and face down so you can be properly bred and mounted like the dirty little mutt you are.

his hands are tight around your hips in case you decide to run away. you have a tendency to believe that you have any say in how lucifer plays with you. it's nothing a little punishment can't fix.

when light spankings aren't enough to tame you he pulls on your hair and makes it hurt, tormenting you even more with a mean little chuckle when you whine at him for 'being too rough'. if he's feeling especially evil he'll chastise you with a heavy slap to your ass to remind you that a "good little whore takes cock with no complaints." dumb cocksleeves like you always remember your place after a few good and hefty slaps.

and what kind of owner would he be if he didn't cum inside and mark you as his? you know he's reaching his limit when he starts to breathe a little heavier— huffing and puffing through clenched teeth as he presses your face even deeper into the bed. if you bitch and moan he might even try to suffocate you a little just as a reminder that you are his puppyslut to fuck and abuse. not even you can tell him how to use your holes, whether it be to satisfy him or to simply breathe.

you should be thanking him, really. you like to pretend you hate it when he's mean to you like this but he feels the way your fuckhole squeezes around him when he is.

it's okay, he'll treat you the way you deserve.

and what you deserve is to be collared and leashed, fucked and bred, used and abused. all of that is something lucifer can provide so make sure you lay there and take it all when he suddenly pushes balls deep inside you and cums. it's hot and so thick and there's just so much of it that you can barely hold it. you should pray to whatever there is out there that it won't leak onto the bed, unless you want lucifer to click his tongue and scold you, muttering something to himself about how he "should have known that a stupid whore like you would be incapable of doing something as simple as being a cumdump."

what a shame, really. oh well. that only means that you're going to have to be pumped full of cum for the next few hours until you learn to be a proper cumrag. aw, don't look so scared, puppy. you're only going to turn lucifer on even more.

in fact, he's already hard and rearing to go, pressing his tip against your freshly broken-in hole. he'll fuck you even rougher and he'll be so smug watching you struggle beneath him. aw, trying to run away again? that simply won't do.

now be a good little bitch and take it.

#obey me x reader #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me lucifer x reader #obey me reader #obey me mc #lucifer x mc #lucifer x reader #obey me lucifer x mc #obey me lucifer x you #obey me smut #obey me nsft #obey me shall we date

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