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tricks-up-my-sleeve · 6 years

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((okay so spoilers for s8 ep 18 aka on the road to friendship under the cut w/ a bunch of spoiler tags just in case))

So uhhh this episode was everything I wanted? A lot of it’s subtle things, but, I’m ghkjlhgfd I’m not crying you are. I don’t do horse analysis or reviews or anything like that I grew tired of those types of things ages ago bc it personally gets to a point where it sucks out the fun for me but I’m just gonna make bullet points of all of my thoughts. Mainly involving Trixie and how this episode ties into my portrayal of her. Probably others too, though.

The little magic show at the beginning? Wonderful. I love these two performing together.. and together in general. Twi & Caddy even agree on how they’re such a good duo.

Speaking of which, Twi complimenting Trixie with a huge smile? HERE. FOR. IT.

Flurry Heart watching the show was adorable. Also the inclusion of Granny Smith was of course great.

“Doing a show with you is almost as much fun as counseling students at Twilight’s school.” Almost? I’m disappointed. It’s not the first time I’ll be disappointed in Glim this episode, but we’ll get there. She’s still loved.. but it gets rough.

Loved how Hoo’far called Trixie “Miss Powerful” and her reaction to it. Just cute and silly.

TRIXIE’S. LOVE. FOR. HER. WAGON. I didn’t expect this to be a big plot point in the ep or really ever brought up, but I was so thrilled because that’s always been a small part of my Trixie. She loves her wagon. It may be small and cramped (and also, it apparently has a pretty fucked up doorknob) but it has sentimental value. It means a lot to her. I loved this so much. Not once did she stop and consider trading it for something that a lot would look at and assume was superior.

Moonwalking Trixie.

Trixie bringing up how traveling gets pretty lonely a few times in this ep. Pretty much something that’s easy to guess or assume, but that’s also something my Trixie hasn’t been too shy of admitting, either.

Trixie!!! Levitating!!! Herself!!! She obviously learned that from Starlight. Although we didn’t see it much, I’m so fucking thrilled that we see that Trixie’s been improving her magic. An issue I had with To Change A Changeling (which is just a nitpick) is that they really don’t bring that up. Personally, ever since All Bottled Up, I’ve definitely been convinced that Trixie actually has strong potential for magic, given the right teacher. Glim Glam succeeds there. I could go more into detail to why I think this is but I’ll spare you.

Trixie on the couch in Starlight’s office. I don’t even have to say anything. Just perfect.

I love how Trixie painstakingly made room for the both of them in the wagon. To it’s credit, looking at it paused, it at least isn’t as small on the inside as it is the outside. It has an entire cannon in there. It seemed like she set up two beds for them? Perhaps at least one of them was makeshift? It’s hard to tell, since Star brought stuff and then she set up hammocks. It did look slightly cozier in there before the extra luggage, though. What I guess I’m getting at, is that although it’s a tight squeeze, it’s good to see that it can at least fit two ponies, although it’s not entirely ideal.

Seeing the inside of the wagon’s been a thing I’ve wanted for ages. I could sit and look at every little thing in there and just smile for a while. Super cute.

Trixie really is sweet and considerate, you know. Seriously. Asking if Starlight is sure she doesn’t want to ride instead of walking with her, and giving her more than one chance to back out on the trip if she wants to.

THE SONG. Tell me I’m biased, I don’t care. This is my favorite horse song. I’ve waited patiently for pony Trix to sing... and it’s just.. all so fucking cute. Too much to take in.

More of Trixie’s magic shown in her shielding Starlight. Love it.

“For untold seasons yet to come, our friendship will be here!” “For nine, at least.” FUCKING. WOW. That’s clever but it also hurt my heart. Especially since my favorite friendship duo has only known each other for three of those seasons thus far, and ultimately it’ll only be four. Too soon, Glimmy.

Trixie talking about how she learned the hard way about life on the road and saving bits and all that. I like that. It shows her more mature side, and that she’s a little street smart from experience. Usually she’s kinda shown as less mature than Starlight, and this episode shows the flip side, which I really like.

I love how she’s adamant on buying hay cakes (Haycakes? They’ve used the word pancake before, though. What’s the difference?) from her preferred stand. Like.. me too, Trix. Clearly there’s a higher quality in the line that’s actually got ponies in it.

This is where Trixie and Starlight really start to argue like a married couple. Here I thought Applejack and Rainbow Dash took the prize for that. This is so domestic tho.

The first argument, at least, is short lived. I really liked that. Trixie sighs, presumably not wanting to push farther to where she hurts Starlight’s feelings. Love how she says “No, of course not.” and continues to apologize for getting snippy. She’s really improved on being.. to put it lightly, less bitchy. It’s what I love about watching her, and while To Change A Changeling was hilarious, that was my other nitpick. She had an attitude almost the entire time.. but it was funny, and I wouldn’t go as far as to call it OOC, so I wasn’t mad. The reason Trixie appeals to me so much is that she’s definitely a much nicer pony, but she’s still her. She hasn’t seemingly changed overnight from the first time we saw her, but she’s definitely made an effort. She’s quite the sweetheart when she wants to be.

I love how Trixie states that it’s taken her years to collect all of her magical items. I just think it’s neat. Also, rightfully getting offended when her stuff is called junk.

Coward Trixie returns. This is definitely me looking too deep into it but personally I’d like to think that yeah, after the Ursa event, I’d be scared of animals outside, too.

Starlight snoring and Trixie outright performing in her sleep. Lmfao. I’ve said this like fifteen times already about other things but I love it.

I relate to these tired and grumpy girls, but even I would have made sure to save some food / juice for my pal. Well.. maybe the juice was definitely out of spite. Wish I could scold her, but I would’ve done the same thing.

The grouchy magic show hurt me to watch. It was still funny though. Again, definitely arguing like a married couple. Two tired, angry friends trying to work together is just never gonna turn out right.

I love their voices in the “Practice makes perfect.” “Not today it didn’t.” exchange. So sassy. So higher pitched. Those faces, too. Lol.

Starlight throwing all of Trixie’s shit out followed by Trix yelling “You can HAVE IT ALL!” Oof. Almost like I’m watching a breakup right before my very eyes. Also the way she runs off. These poor hopeless gays.

STARLIGHT GLIMMER CONFIRMED WORST GIRLFRIEND. I’mjustkidding. Naturally I saw this coming from a mile away, but still. Wow. Ouch. I do like though how it seems to be consistent that she can be defensive of her bad decisions. Not really realizing that what she’s doing is wrong.

TRIXIE FREAKING OUT, THEN BEING BROUGHT TO TEARS BECAUSE STARLIGHT TRADED HER WAGON. This hurt me more than you could imagine, but what hurt me even more is that Starlight didn’t even flinch, and was completely insensitive about it for a while. Yikes. I already went into how much I love Trixie’s attachment to her wagon, but this killed me.

Also, pretty sure that selling or trading somebody else’s stuff is illegal, Star. Trixie shouldn’t have beef with Hoo’far. She should just be planning a lawsuit against Glimmer instead.

Am I just crazy or stupid? When Trixie tells Starlight that at least the wagon wouldn’t have traded her away, I was like, yEAH, you’re valid. Tell her. It made total sense to me. Then Starlight just responds with “That’s ridiculous.” Like?? It wasn’t to me? I sound silly now bc I get the joke, it’s an inanimate object, but what I’m trying to get at is that Trixie was pretty much trying to say that if Starlight really was her best friend she wouldn’t have done that.

I love how Trixie doesn’t accept the flattery from Hoo’far like she normally would bc she’s real pissed. To be fair, though, it’s really not his fault. I mean.. okay, a little, considering he should have known that it didn’t belong to Starlight, and that the trade needed to be given the okay by Trixie. He’s not a bad guy, though.

TRIXIE LYING IN FRONT OF THE CART FOR HOURS BC NO WAY IN HELL IS SHE LETTING THIS GUY TAKE IT. AMAZING. Give it up for his patience, too.

Starlight finds out that you win some and you lose some with the bigger caravan. Also, I love how she didn’t realize how fucked up stuff was when she was with Trixie and having a good time. Her regret sinking in seems about right. You can see her start to miss her.

“Sometimes travelling together is hard.” “But you reminded us that you can also make it fun!” Definite lesson that these two needed. Obviously Starlight was breaking before hearing that, but those big sad eyes she gets after. Regret.

“What are you two doing?” “Taking a stand! By lying down!” Lmao. Never change, Trixie.

“Best friends who share a deep bond but weren’t prepared for the emotional challenges of traveling.” Oh, definitely. Really feel like their first trip should have been a short one. Possibly with more planning ahead of time.

Best. Friendship. Chant.

“Only true friends would be willing to act so ridiculous for one another.” Aww. True.

“At a certain point, I don’t even like travelling with myself.” Line I really liked. Also Starlight saying that it’s harder than she thought.

Despite their exchange about knowing not to do it again, eh, still not wanting to completely rule out the thought of them travelling together in the future. Like I said, with more precautions taken, pretty sure they could’ve been just fine. Mainly reserving a room at an inn, since the big issue really just seemed to be them getting crabby sleeping in the wagon. Would’ve preferred it if it kinda gave that lesson and had Trixie say that they’ll know how to handle it next time, with both of them saying yeah, but let’s not make that anytime soon.

Trixie and Starlight almost killed an old man.

That’s it, if anyone even read through all of that. Can’t really say much more. This may or may not be my favorite Trixie episode. I’ll have to give it some time, but I loved almost everything about it. (No Second Prances is my current favorite I suppose, due to it also validating a lot of how I viewed Trixie at the time, and still do.)

Like I said.. it’s just really refreshing to see her take on a more mature stance than Starlight for the most part, since other episodes usually show the exact opposite. Not that Starlight is incredibly mature in her own right, but she does usually take that role when it comes to her dynamic with Trixie. I love any chance we get to see Trixie, but in episodes like To Change A Changeling, sometimes I worry that they don’t give her enough credit. She’s not a complete incompetent bitch, and to be fair, I don’t think she ever really has been. I won’t go into how I personally view her flaws, though. Guess that could be another post.

Until next time. Hopefully there is another next time. Starlight’s line in the song about nine seasons still has me all fucked up and I need help. Maybe one day I could go back and do these for past Trix episodes.

#mlp spoilers #s8 spoilers #mlp s8 spoilers #spoilers #mlp s8 e18 #on the road to friendship #🎆 || out of peanut butter crackers. { ooc }#🎆 || a good magician never reveals her secrets. { musings }#🎆 || unbeknownst to the public. { headcanons }#wasn't sure what to tag this as but i felt at least one of them fit

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heloflor · 6 years

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I don't know if you've watched the full S8 finale yet, but what are your thoughts on it?

(Sorry foranswering so late, I was kept busy >_

So I didwatch it entirely and, if it may not be my favourite finale, it’sdefinitely a really interesting and entertaining one (and hey ! It starts withDerpy so it can only be good !). Now, for my thoughts of it, here’s some kindof review :

First off,I like the way they made the story. It’s interesting to have two differentplots, making it possible to focus on the school while still making the Mane 6be active (but I must admit “To Where And Back Again” is my second favouritefinale and the mane 6 are barely doing anything, but it’s true that the contextwas different). Although, the mane 6 plot feels a bit too rushed in my opinion.Like, by the end of the first part, the only thing left in their plot was totake magic to open the door while at the same moment Cozy Glow still hadn’ttaken over the school. But despite it, it’s still a good way to make the plotaround the school and justify the mane 6 absence while still having their questbe shown.

Now, forthe scenario, in the little scenes I saw before the entire thing, one of themwas the scene with Rarity complaining about being unable to brush her tail andI must admit seeing only this scene made it hilarious because this is so much asituation in which you can have 2/3 of ponykind being like “geeze, it suresucks to live like a pegasus or earth pony, you know, what we are -_-“. Buthonestly the episode made a pretty good job to avoid this “unicorns/alicornsare superior” cliché thanks to scenes showing that magic is actually everywherein their world, like how we see Pinkie’s food not lasting or Rainbow sayingshe’s unable to move the clouds. So yeah, it’s another good thing.

As for themagic disappearing plot, it’s an interesting one. It’s great to see howEquestria would actually struggle at all levels without magic (although itfeels like they may still be able to survive, it would just need some bigadaptations, especially in terms of making food last or dealing with anunpredictable weather) and I like how they tied it with Tirek, a magic stealercreature; which makes sense to accuse him. Though, I’m kind of weird out as tohow the artefacts are able to take magic like that. I know Tirek told Cozy howto do it so there must be something behind it but still…and speaking of it, howdoes Tirek know about the power of 6 artefacts coming from species he may notknow nothing about ?? (considering he wanted to take Equestria’s magic in atime when ponies were enemies with other species (Changelings, Dragons,possibly Griffons) or didn’t care about them (Yaks, Hippogriffs) )

Now, I wantto talk about Cozy individually so let’s skip the school part for now and talkabout Tartarus. It’s really interesting to finally see this place after yearsof knowing it exist. However, I kind of have two issues about it. First of, itlooks so small ! I mean, it’s true that there’s some kind of path on the cornerof the screen in one scene but overall it’s just a long corridor with Tirek’s prisonat the end of it ! Isn’t it supposed to be the equivalent of hell or at leastsome big prison ? And my second issue, also partly related to what the place issupposed to be : why are there so many creatures from Everfree ?! What are theydoing there ? Sure, they attacked the ponies but when you think of it they’rejust wild animals living in a forest who is known to be threatening; andhalf these animals have been tamed in the past by Fluttershy who says here thatthey aren’t monsters !

Seriously :

- thechicken thing (Cockatrice in French but I’m not sure of the English name) canbe easily tamed and lives in Everfree which, again, is considered as adangerous place that ponykind should avoid.

- theManticore is the same deal but less dangerous (because you don’t instantly diesby looking at them)

- theTiger/Goat/Serpent chimera lives in a random place full of fire and I’m prettysure not a lot of ponies go there (well, yeah, you have Starlight, Trixie andthose mail ponies but like Applejack they probably know how to remain safes)

- thebugbear seems more of a threat but can still be defeated and sent back toEverfree

Also areyou telling me that random animals are sent in hell because they arepotentially a threat but next to that actual threats like Chrysalis arefree ? Really ? So yeah, I’m sorry but having these creatures here just feellike the creators being too lazy to create new species (although it’s true thatwe see other cages with creatures but they aren’t put under the spotlight)

- and yetthe Timberwolves, the ones who were seen as the most dangerous animals inEverfree, aren’t here

…You knowwhat ? When you consider it, these animals being here actually get rid of oneplot-hole : Everfree being a forest with no creatures and “pretty littleflowers” in “The Mean 6” X)

But despitethese two points, the scenes in Tartarus are very interesting. The moments withFluttershy are just amazing. Honestly, the scene when she comforts thecreatures and the one with Cerberus are adorable and her expression when sheencourage the creatures is just the best ! Also, when Twilight drains the magicof the others, I find it quite interesting to see them being actual differentseparated animals when magic-less…and then I started to think of how much of azoo it would be if Discord had to give his magic like that and now I can’t stopimagining the bunch of animals that he is all snuggling against Fluttershywhile a grey stallion with a tornado cutie mark (and a grey horn instead of ablue one I guess since the antlers would have given an other animal ?) would belooking away, blushing while saying something like “I swear they all have amind of their own, it’s definitely not my feelings rubbing on them !”. (sorry;I’m a shipper)

Anotherthing I love about these scenes is the moment they decide to weaponize PinkiePie. It’s just always funny when her randomness is used to make people loosetheir shit (and hey ! At least we know that Pinkie still has her magic in sucha crisis !) and, as badass as Tirek can be, it still fits to see him beingharassed by Pinkie. But honestly we need more situations with Pinkie or evenFluttershy being weaponized (and with Flutters, it would be her cuteness, likeher puppy eyes in “Fluttershy Leans In”). Seriously, you know you need toweaponize someone when you have episodes like “To Where And Back Again” inwhich the enemy uses one of the protagonists as a weapon (aka theFluttershy trap).

Now, aboutthe student 6…to be honest, I didn’t find their appearance to be as “strong” asin some previous episodes. I mean, clearly they are the ones saving the schooland we see them working together and all; but, in my opinion, Cozy is the onewho completely steals the show in the school plot. Although, I like how, foronce, we saw a bit more of Sandbar; and I like how his first thoughts againstthe Chancellor was to make sure to be out to get help, giving him kind of aclever side. Also, random detail but I like how he’s called a child but isvisibly taller than the CMCs, reminding that the trio are still pre-teens, like11-12 while Sandbar is probably like 15. And speaking of the CMCs, it’s good tofinally see them in a premiere/finale; but their role is kind of limited,making it a bit sad.

But I mustadmit, the student 6 are still a delight to watch and their interactions arestill great and adorable. Though, a little thing that kind of bothers me is howthey don’t trust Cozy from the beginning. I mean, coming from Smolder or evenGallus, I’m not surprised considering where they come from. But for the others,it just feels like they don’t trust her because they’re main characters; andeven if at one point they show Sandbar liking how friendly she is, if Iremember correctly the feeling is quickly dismissed by the rest of the group.

One last thingI really liked is this shot at the end with the princesses and an entire army,including both day and night guards, which is a good touch. Although I do havean issue about this scene but I’ll talk about it later on the post.

Now, withmost the story said, I wanted to go back to two characters : the twoantagonists (god is this post going to be long)

First off,Tirek. When I saw him in the SDCC trailer, I was really hyped to see him again,and honestly I wasn’t disappointed. Sure, he isn’t as badass and intimidatingas he previously was, but that was the point of it; and if they did add humoraround him, he still feels like a good character. He’s clearly in a badsituation, put into a cell with no way to escape. So when a random pony askshim about how to steal magic, it’s not surprise that he finds it funny andcan’t resist helping her out. After all, he has nothing to loose; and seeingthe mane 6 in a bad situation surely feels like revenge to him (at least untilthey reminded him that they were stuck with him and they deployed Pinkie onhim). And despite that bad situation, he’s clearly in control in his firstdialogue with the group since he’s the one with the answers they seek; and heclearly has fun about it (and even making Pinkie uncomfortable…sighs I swear if people made fanart of Pinkieflirting with the statue in Griffonstone, there’s going to be weird shit aboutthis episode…). However, I found it a bit sad that none of his previousappearance was really mentioned. Seriously, if someone starts the show withthis season (like kids who only watch on TV), all they will no about him isthat he once was a threat and stole magic. But they won’t know anything abouthow he stole magic and was able to use it, about how he manipulated Discord oreven how Twilight had to face him with all alicorn’s magic in an epic fight.The only callback we have seems to be how Fluttershy was the most scared aboutthe idea of Tirek coming back, considering that Twilight and her were the oneswho went through the worst during Tirek’s attack (with Twi having to deal withthe biggest responsibility alone and Flutters going through Discord’sbetrayal); and even so I think she’s shown as being terrified because she’sFluttershy, not because of what happened in the past…

So yeah,good appearance and personality but maybe more callbacks may have been good(and heck, in “Twilight’s Kingdom”, Tirek teams up with Discord before beingbeaten by friendship and here he’s penpals with Cozy. Honestly there wasmaterial for a small callback)

As for thesecond villain, Cozy Glow, gosh is she great ! Honestly it was obvious thatshe’s the manipulative little kid but damn ! It’s almost Gideon’s level(character from “Gravity Falls”); and I just love it ! Especially forone detail I think : she’s powerless. Until now, all antagonists were eithermagic beasts with their own abilities (Discord, Tirek) or had a horn to usemagic (Nightmare moon, Chrysalis, Sombra, Starlight, Stygian). But Cozy Glow ?She’s a simple pegasus. So it’s understandable why she would try to puteveryone on her side, especially considering she actually seeks friendship forpower. And her ways to manipulate are really felt. When she talks to theChancellor or the student 6 in front of the rest of the school, she doesn’thesitate to cut the others and she clearly has full control of theconversations. Also her evil laugh just sounds creepily crazy and it’s great.But um…maybe the skull and the mane 6 dolls were a bit too much…

Anotherthing I really like about her is how she’s the reasons Neighsay had achange of heart through some good cruel irony : during the entire season,Neighsay had been shown to fear the student 6, claiming that they would usemagic as a form of power against Equestria. But suddenly, he finds himself infront of a pony who is doing exactly what he feared (and thenlater on the student 6 helping him surely made him truly see they don’t wishany harm). And speaking of that, little detail but I like how Cozy is actuallymad when the Chancellor push away the student 6 files, because to her they aremembers of the school that she can use.

But yeah,Cozy truly is a good villain who really knows how to keep control over thesituation. Also, it’s kind of genius how they still reminded us that she’sstill a child with how she used fricking duct tape to stick the school’slogo on her crown. One last good thing I could say about her is how she mayeasily go into the category of strong villains and one of the things making itpossible is that, when you think of it, she doesn’t have a backstory (unlikeactually all the others pony threats), making her being evil just to be evil.

As fornegative points, honestly I would give just one : the fact that Celestiadecided to sent her to Tartarus, literally hell while next to that youstill have Chrysalis on the run, Chrysalis who isn’t a child unlikeCozy.

Finally, Iwanted to point out some random details that I find a bit bothering but theyare more stuff like what you may find in a “Everything Wrong With” video so it may be a bit picky :

- Why isYona always the one who almost die ?! Hasbro, what do you have against thatpoor adorable thing ?

- It mayjust be me who wanted it to be more explicit but the way the three days are putis a bit confusing. Like, when they went to Canterlot, it was the first day.But then, when they leave the school, we only see one night happening andbefore it creatures already lost their power so does that mean they went awayon the second day ? Again, it’s being extremely picky but it kind of bothers me(and again, these points are the kind you can find in “EWW” videos who aren’tpopular to never be picky).

-Additionally, it means that the mane 6 took less than 24 hours to reachTartarus, which is who knows where.

- So by thetime they are in Canterlot and get Starswirl’s letter, it’s the first day,which means that creatures still have their magic…I know it has always been abig plot-hole but why couldn’t Fluttershy or Spike call for a noodle godex-machina ? Or at least mention him or saying something like him sending aletter telling them that he refused to try solving their problem if it meantrisking loosing his magic or something (and speaking of this, if the Chaosrealm is affected by what happens, considering the creatures living in it, I’mpretty sure Discord almost died after the second day).

- Twilighttelling Rarity that she finally learned that she couldn’t save the worldalone…um…guys…you’re doing an episode with Tirek in it and yet you forgot about“Twilight’s Kingdom” ? You know, the episode where the mane 6 say about how inthe past they were standing the same way in front of the Everfree forest andTwilight said something like “And at that time I was foolish enough to think Icould do it alone”; or how Twi wanted to warn her friends about the shit happeningbut Celestia told her to keep it secret. So yeah, Twilight learned likefour seasons ago that she needed her friends, and they are aware of it.

- Twilightsays at one point that she went to Tartarus in the past, but when ?? Was itwhen she brought back Cerberus in season 2 or did we miss something cool thatwasn’t shown ?

- How doesTirek know that Twilight is the princess of friendship ? Wasn’t she called thatway after he was defeated ?

- Sandbarbeing out of apples in an apple farm…I’m sorry but he just wanted tokill Apple Bloom (heck, looking at the episode to write that part of the post,he has a fricking anvil next to him !).

- Soapparently there’s a fricking mail system in hell ? And no one checks theletters of the most dangerous creature kept here ? Really ?

- As saidbefore, how can the artefacts take magic like that ? And how can Starlight betrapped in it ?

- The treeex-machina. Honestly I already found it confusing to have the three being underthe school (how did it get here ?? From Twilight’s castle ?) but having himacting and even making the elements out of the student 6 just feels like someex-machina save (although I easily forgive it because the elements being someex-machina stuff has always been a thing)

- Celestiaand Luna being like “An evil centaur trying to steal magic ? A god of Chaos ?An evil king ? meh, let’s get rid of it by ourselves. What ? A child with nomagic took over a school full of ponies who will surely listen to us, theleaders of the country, rather than this kid ? WE NEED THE ARMY !”. Seriously,what the heck Celestia ? It’s a kid ! And she’s not even an unicorn !

- Alsowasn’t it shown from Rainbow that pegasis can still fly ? Why didn’t theprincesses went to the school flying, possibly with some pegasis guards ? Andwhy do they start flying the moment they get their magic back ?!

- Again,they sent a kid to hell ! What the heck Celestia ?! EvenTirek is like “wait what ?” !

Phew, well here are my thoughts about this episode !I hope it’s not too annoying to read considering how long it is !

#MLP #MLP spoilers #S8 Spoilers #School Raze #Flor talks

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