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DudeNuva

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Blog Entries posted by DudeNuva

  1. DudeNuva
    Time for some MOCs! And remember, I'm not much of a MOCist at all, so don't expect anything spectacular...
     
    ... Also don't expect anything original.
     
    Firstly, my versions of Defilak and Dekar:
     

     
    There are only two differences:
     
    1.) The blades on one hand of each Mahritoran have been removed to make way for a normal hand, with a wrist, and in the color of that Matoran's armor.
    2.) Each Mahritoran now has eyes, in the color of their respective Mata Nui coloring (2001-2003).
     
    Not much new, but those are my versions.
     
    We also have the two more impressive; that it probably because ToM Dracone created their designs.
     

     
    Keahi and Okoth are Matoran from the old MNOLG games. These Matoran forms are fully articulate, and have realistic knees, elbows, wrists, shoulders, waists... the design is so incredible that I just needed to make some of my own.
     
    To see the original figures of ToM that used this design, look over here.
     
    Enjoy the MOCs; comments are appreciated, even if they're not strictly about these MOCs.
     
    A full gallery of these Matoran can be found here (when public).
     
    DudeNuva
     
    Oh, and I apologize for the moderate picture quality.
  2. DudeNuva
    You heard right; the second in my series of Toa Inika reviews!
     

     
    The Can:
     

     
    At a whopping nine inches tall, this canister is more like a Box than anything. That's what's very unique about these cans; they're larger that the sets themselves!
     
    The front of the box shows a portrait of Matoro standing in front of lightning and a chain-link fence.
     

     
    The back shows how Matoro's functions work, small portraits of the other Inika, and the safety warnings covering the bottom half of the back.
     

     
    And here's the top, displaying Matoro's four blue Zamoe spheres and his light-up ice blade.
     
    The Pieces:
     

     
    As I dump out the contents of the canister, I find plenty of new pieces, some classic older ones, and of course, Matoro's Iden.
     

     
    Matoro's secondary color is a cool ice blue, which goes along great with his white coloring, not to mention his sword and Zamor spheres.
     

     
    Here we see Matoro's Zamor magazine, two white Vahki legs, his shoulder armor, and the white lower legs and knee guards. You'll also see thigh armor up to the top left.
     

     
    Here's Matoro's feet. His feet are the spiky type, which is also included in Hewkii and Jaller. We also have the Metru lower body and a pile of smaller pieces.
     

     
    This is Matoro's Kanohi Iden: Mask of Spirit. Also, we have the blob which the mask attaches onto.
     
    Might I comment that Matoro's mask doesn't fit as neatly onto the Blob as Kongu's does.
     

     
    Here's all of the pearly-silver pieces in the set. Matoro's crossbar body, Zamor Launcher, Ice Blade, and Chest Armor.
     
    Building:
     

     
    The first surprise in this area is that the instruction manual doesn't have a horizontal picture of Matoro. It actually has a pan shot.
     

     
    A little way into the project, Matoro's body is done.
     
    Here's several more production pictures:
     

     

     

     
    That last image is Matoro's Zamor launcher. As said before, the Zamor magazine improves the shooting of the spheres. See the Kongu review for more details.
     

     
    Here's a last shot before we put on his mask and transform him into Matoro! (<Insert Vader breathing>)
     
    "Lord Matoro... Can you hear me?"
     

     
    Not onyl can that picture deliver a famous STAR WARS quote; it also gives you a closeup on Matoro's Iden.
     
    Playing:
     

     
    Matoro, as are all the Inika, is great fun to pose. He have a ton of flexibilty...
     

     
    ... Not to mention great balance, due to those huge feet of his.
     
    And the light-up sword and Zamor add even more interest and playing experience to this set.
     
    Overall:
     

     
    Matoro is possibly the coolest of all the Inika; not that I'd know. But thanks to his secondary color scheme and awesome blue elements, he can beat Kongu in any contest.
     
    Therefore, if you're going to get some Inika, I advise you to make Matoro one of them.
     
    Since you've all sat there nicely, I'll reward you with a surprise:
     
    Clicky!
     
    This may or may not work for you guys, but I hope you enjoy it if it does.
     
    Those close friends I have may have noticed 'Trai' in the background. And yes, that was him humming annoyingly, not me.
     
    ~DudeNuva~
  3. DudeNuva
    That's right, viewers. I'll be reviewing Kongu Inika, through a full, lenghy review.
     

     
    The Can:
     

     
    The canister is the same style as all of the ones we've seen through the staff reviews of Matoro, Jaller and Hewkii. This one has a Metru-Green cap, Kongu's sword, the blue zamor, and an awesome picture of Kongu himself on the front. Fairly simple, and my favorite part has to be the lightning.
     

     
    The back has a close-up of Kongu, a picture of Voya-Nui, and small portraits of the other Toa Inika.
     

     
    However, the most interesting part of the canister tends to be the top, which boasts a rack full of four blue-shaded Zamor Spheres and the light-up sword. This piece is actually two pieces, one being the green outer covering, and the other being a black base that holds these items.
     
    The Pieces:
     

     
    This shot is basically of all the pieces included in the set, ranging from his Kanohi Suletu, Mask of Telepathy, to his silver-tainted armor and feet.
     

     
    Some old pieces we've seen before; the two-socket connecters and the one-socket connectors. The two-socket connectors, however, never came in Metru-Green before.
     

     
    Some more familiar pieces, though these are harder to find; a Zamor Launcher, two Metru lower legs, and a Metru lower body.
     

     
    These pieces are entirely new. We have the two feet, which are primarily Metru-Green tainted with silver. We have the body piece, which resembles the Piraka torso. We have the two lower legs; these, however, are quite interesting, as they are the first to have a knee guard built in. This limits any unrealistic beinding, and adds a nice effect. Lastly, we have the chest armor, which consists of a swirl of green and silver.
     

     
    The new silver pieces; two shoulder armor pieces, two upper leg armor pieces, and Kongu's laser crossbow.
     

     
    Here we see Kongu's Zamor spheres, and the silver Zamor 'cage'. I especially like this piece, which holds all of the spheres in place. Though sometimes, the top one falls off, so be careful when tilting Kongu.
     
    In addition, the cage creates a top hold, thus surrounding the sphere in the launcher bay. Previously with the Piraka, the sphere was surrounded only by the sides and bottom. With the added top support, the sphere then shoots in a straight line until brought down by drag. To quote Dr. B:
     
    "This means you can shoot Vezok 3 times in exactly the same spot and give him one heck of a black eye."
     
    Which I ought to try...
     

     
    And the most questionable pieces of all; the 'blob' and Kongu's Suletu. Most seemed to either love or hate the 'mask on blob' concept immediately. I tended to like it. The mask fits comfortably upon the blob, which others were not so sure about.
     
    The Set:
     
    Here are some pictures in the building stages:
     

     

     

     
    Kongu's build is simple and straightforward. Though I must comment on the color scheme. I've seen Jaller and Matoro, both with a scheme of having the element colored armor and secondary-colored joints. On Kongu, this is the opposite, which had me a bit disappointed.
     
    I got over it after the set was done.
     
    Overall:
     

     
    Kongu is an awesome set, and very fun to pose. His light-up sword, which I unfortunately couldn't snapshot, is incredibly bright. Though as it's the same as Matoro's, just take Tom Dracone's say and pics. It's awesome.
     
    Therefore, I conclude that Kongu Inika is an awesome set. From the laser crossbow to the rapid-fire Zamor Launcher, I say that he's definitely worth it.
     
    ~DN~
  4. DudeNuva
    Bonsiuer, personnes!
     
    Un interessant question, aujourd'hui; combien de vous savoir parler francais?
     
    Tu avoir non idee quoi je suis parlant quant a, juste?
     
    ~Monsieur DudeNuva~
  5. DudeNuva
    Hmm...
     
    Profound Thoughts
     
    Why is the plural of goose "geese", but the plural of moose not "meese"?
     
    If the plural of "louse" is "lice", then shouldn't the plural of "house" be "hice"?
     
    Why do we drive on the parkway, but park in the driveway?
     
    Why do hot dogs come in packs of ten, but buns come in packs of eight?
     
    Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, but dishwashing fluid made with real lemons?
     
    If 'pro' is the opposite of 'con', then is Congress the opposite of progress?
     
    (Feel free to post more, I'll add them to the list of Profound Thoughts. XD )
     
    ...
     
    Oh, yeah, I have a point.
     
    ALL YOUR BLOG APPROVALS ARE BELONG TO ME
     
    (I started a new section, but I have only 2... )
     
    DudeNuva
  6. DudeNuva
    Yep, that's right, DudeNuva has got his Blog back for the summer. But the question is, what will he do with it?...
     
    To that, I say...
     

     
    ASK CHUCK NORRIS
     
    That is all.
     
    DudeNuva
     
    Oh yeah, and if you see the name of the blog change several times today, don't be alarmed. I'm just trying to find a name that fits. If you want to be alarmed, though, be my guest.
  7. DudeNuva
    If I counted correctly (which, chances are, I did ), then my Premier Membership will be expiring tomorrow... and besides, Dlakii said something about me getting PM on his birthday or whatever, so I must be right. XD
     
    That said, I consider my mission to be fufilled... I had a summertime of Bloggehness, which I didn't entirely use that much... which basically means that I won't be renewing Premierness again in the near future, if at all. But it was fun. I'll be reverting the Blog back to its original theme before I lose it. No good having Minas Tirith as my memorial.
     
    A few last updates. Check LGD tonight or tomorrow for a new film from Legosfilm Ltd.; I hate to say this, but it's not Imperial Inspection. It's another PSA, kinda, explaining why it's not Imperial Inspection. It's hard to explain. Just watch it when it comes out.
     
    Speaking of that film of death, it's still not even in the editing stages yet. But it will get done. Before 2009. That's all I can promise at this point. :annoyed2:
     
    And I know I said I was going to post the pics of my new Star Destroyer... look for those in LGD as well. And maybe some pictures of Kashyyyk, Echo Base, Mos Eisley, the new Death Star... lots of goodies.
     
    Since I can no longer use this as a base... or rather, a rarely-used base (I should call this place Dantooine... OOH! NEW BLOG NAME!), I'll just be... heh, a fleet on the move. Mainly in LGD. Which I've mentioned three times now...
     
    For now, ladies and gentlemen...
     
    Semper Fi.
  8. DudeNuva
    Hmm... guess everyone was worried about biased opinion.
     
    Okay, so we all know that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is coming to theaters in about a week. Who's excited to see it? Or rather, who's excited to see a 64-year-old Harrison Ford beating up Russians like he did in his young years?
     
    The movie does look quite cool... for those who haven't seen it, a new trailer is located on the official Indy website.
  9. DudeNuva
    I know I haven't posted an entry in a long time, been very busy, and I'm likely to remain that way. (Limited internet time, that is.) But anyway, some fresh new thoughts:
     
     
    The four Batman films from the past two decades are fairly well-known, the first more so than the others. Jack Nicholson famously portrayed the Joker in the first film, a role that is now a large part of pop-culture. This summer, The Dark Knight is hitting theaters as the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins, and this time around, Heath Ledger plays the Joker as a completely different (but still psychopathic) villain.
     
    I'm wondering, which Joker is better?
     
    For those of you that have seen both the trailers of the new film, and actually seen the past one, what's your opinion? Will Ledger's portrayal of everyone's favorite villain live up to Nicholson?
     
    ----
     
    Now venturing into the realm of Star Wars, I'm finally beginning to read the rest of Republic Commando: Hard Contact after a one-year hiatus. I surprisingly remembered most of the plot, so I just picked it back up again... I also might rent the video game to see how it plays.
     
    So who's a fan of the Commandos? Who's read the books, played the game, or both? Is the game good? (Torhuki, I know what your opinion will be. XD )
     
    ----
     
    Also kinda concerning Star Wars and kinda not, I'm going to attempt building more sets for my Lego movies; which of the following planets/locations would you like to see in a future movie?
     
    - Mustafar
    - Utapau
    - Tantive IV
    - Raxus Prime
    - The Jundland Wastes (I already have Mos Eisley
     
    I'm going to venture out of the world of strictly Imperial movies, and I'll try to get more Rebel involvement, or perhaps some Clone Wars-era films as well.
     
    ----
     
    I'm finally going to get an XBox 360, along with Live, and I want to know which games to get. I'm already planning to buy Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as well as The Force Unleashed when it comes out. Any other good ones?
     
    Also, with that $350 purchase, I'll hardly have money to get that incredible new Death Star set... gah...
     
    DudeNuva
  10. DudeNuva
    "The Emperor rules the galaxy through fear. You must destroy a symbol of that fear."
    -- Darth Vader to his Apprentice
     
    My Star Destroyer has been completed on schedule.
     
    I didn't have many shortages; those I did have were in one specific area, and I managed to get around those. All in all, I got some good resources for this project, and they prevailed.
     
    About half of my Imperial minifigs are now on display in the Star Destroyer's bridge. They look AWESOME, especially because I designed Vader to be taller than the rest. I'll have pics, a ton of them, as soon as my Dad returns from Mexico (business trip) with the camera. Until then, all of you must wait in agony. Like Torhuki. XD
     
    Soon To Be DudeNuva Again
  11. DudeNuva
    *walks in happily, humming the TFU theme*
     
    So yeah, I've not been here much for the last two weeks... a good deal of that is because of The Force Unleashed, which I bought for the Xbox 360 on the day it came out and haven't stopped playing since.
     
    It's really good. But with that is also a small bit of bad. I'll outline the main points.
     

    THE FORCE UNLEASHED: DUDENUVA'S REVIEW 
    The story is easily the greatest aspect of this game, gameplay aside. They did such a good job of bridging the two trilogies, in a way that other mediums could not. Many characters that you'll recognize are in the game... won't say who... and the ending brings some revelations that are very surprising. This, of course, is if you choose the Light Side ending. That's the one that was canonized; WIN. The Dark Side ending is somewhat different, and I've not yet experienced it, but it's not canon. So if you're looking for story, take the Light Side first.
     
    For the most part, the combat is awesome. As advertised, the Force powers are completely over-the-top, which makes the game really easy at first... but later on, you need those powers. A little more variety wouldn't have hurt, but it's fine.
     
    The difficulty... ouch. The first level, the VERY FIRST level, is hard. At least the boss is. From there, you get a brief respite, and then it just goes up. And up. And up, until you're constantly dying. XD Now, some of the enemies in this game are rather annoyingly challenging, but after a while, you get into the groove and take them out easily. (Mega-upgraded Force powers help in that area, too.) As for the bosses, they are VERY hard. Usually they take me within an inch of death for the first three bosses... for the major bosses towards the end, I die quite a lot. So in that area, it's good.
     
    The levels. They're nice and long, and they offer tons of save points at ideal locations. So the layout is good. As for the locations themselves, you'll find yourself revisiting planets throughout the game. However, the maps change each time... on the second round, they're considerably darker. As per the plot, it actually makes sense. The detail they put into these settings is awesome; you get to see some planets more in-depth; ones that weren't explored much in the movies, or planets that weren't in the movies at all. And of course, the occasional battle station. *cough*
     
    Characters. They made up a good host of both old and new characters, and the mix of these is what gives the story its awesome elements. Seeing Prequel Trilogy characters about to be killed by Original Trilogy characters, or else taking your bridge-character-of-an-Apprentice meeting both kinds, is rather cool.
     
    The cinema and cutscene quality, versus the game quality. Unlike most other games, they are hardly different at all, and in a good way. While the cutscenes are amazing in quality, with realistic movements, good lighting/graphics and such, the game almost matches this. There are just a few of those small graphics glitches that are nigh-impossible to avoid in a game, especially one as huge as this.
     
    Which brings us to... the new technology. There was huge hype over this. Digital Molecular Matter, first of all, applies real physics to the game environment. Surprisingly, there was little execution of this. The best part to test this out is in the opening level of Kashyyyk, where there's tons of trees you can snap. In the rest of the game, glass, wood, and stuff is hard to come by. However, there's plenty of metal that you can dent; and, if necessary, completely bend out of shape so that you can get through. And it's not preanimated; you can blow it any which way from any angle, and it bends realistically 'til it can't bend no more.
     
    As for Euphoria (the program that infuses the AI with human characteristics), this was done very well. It didn't have as much shine-time as it could have, but it was awesome. The Stormtroopers all run and hide when they see the big bad Apprentice coming towards them... they look up over their cover to catch a glimpse of their doom, before you Force-Push the cover directly into them. When they're about to fall over the edge, they grab onto the railing and attempt to hoist themselves up.... Then, when you Grip them and attempt to finish the job, they reach out to their brethren to try and latch onto them... except you don't care, so you take the two dangling Stormtroopers and throw them into a wall, where they slump down and lose all movement. For the most part, it's well executed.
     
    Havok. That thing that apparently makes all the levels random, and all of its materials destructible... not so much. I don't know as much about this particular program, but its effects weren't obvious enough to warrant more comments.
     
    Music and sound effects. The work of John Williams and Ben Burtt. It's awesome. Duh. Oh, but that new Force Unleashed theme that they composed just for this. Absolutely amazing. It blends in with Williams' work easily.
     
    I can't think of anything else... but hopefully this gave ye some good insight.
     
    DN, Newly Discovered Game Reviewer, Signing Off
     
    And No One Cares
  12. DudeNuva
    Well, I changed my name, which must mean that Arenethas won.
     
    The name of my blog has also changed. That was pure impulse. And the "Why do we fall?".... Well, we all know where that comes from. And we all know the answer.
     
    I've just resurrected my blog after about a month of inactivity, and the last time I was here, Legolas was shiny and new. Now he's a thing of the past. And most of all, I'm sure you seriously don't feel like hearing about it.
     
    So, some updates from the life of DudeNuva:
     
    - Imperial Inspection, the latest movie from my company Legosfilm Ltd., is running into some technical difficulties, or shall we say, already has. It's getting back on track. All we need is the lines from one of our actors, to wrap up some of the awesome special effects, and work on the brand new opening titles. This'll be big, and for those of you who enjoy my films, be patient; this movie will be the best by far.
     
    - I've actually gone back to playing Pirates of the Caribbean Online in the past few weeks, after aiming to never play again. I'm rather glad I went back. The BZPower-Only guild, named Part of the Ship, has gained half-a-dozen new members in the past month alone.
     
    - As we all know, this summer has been absolutely huge at the box office. In the past weeks, I've seen The Dark Knight, which was amazing; Get Smart, probably the funniest action movie ever made; The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which was a good follow-up to the series; and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which was easily the best Mummy film to date. I recommend them all.
     
    - I've finally bought my long-awaited Xbox 360, which is pretty awesome. Although I only have two games on it so far (Medal of Honor: Airborne and Spiderman 3), it's well worth the money. I have yet to get Xbox Live, which I seriously want to get; all of my friends are urging me to get it ASAP.
     
    And there's other things that have been going on, too, in my life. But those are the interesting ones. XD
     
    So there, DudeNuva's blog is back in business.
     
    (So be quiet, Tor. )
     
    DudeNuva
  13. DudeNuva
    You ever been a really big fan of a particular Lego theme, and then suddenly, you really like another theme?
     
    That just happened to me.
     
    While I'm usually the LSW guy, I have a new, almost-equal obsession with Lego Batman. Not that I can get any sets, though. I have no money. Which is good, I guess. XD Just want to ride it out.
     
    In other news...
     
    Just to be weird, I'm going to lead you into thinking there's something else, then blatantly fool you when I say there is nothing else.
     
    Nope, nothing else.
  14. DudeNuva
    Two topics today! Related to movies!
     
    Topic #1
     
    In your opinion, what is the most famous quote that has ever been said in a movie?
     
    I know so many, so I actually can't decide, myself. I'm tempted to say "Luke, I am your father" from Star Wars. XD
     
    Topic #2
     
    The trailer for a new animated Star Wars movie, The Clone Wars, has just debuted on the Internet. If you've seen it, what's your opinion of the movie? Do you think it'll be cool?
     
    If you haven't seen the trailer, it isn't too hard to find by now.
     
    ...
     
    Nope, nothing about life today.
     
    DudeNuva
     
    (Maybe this kind of double-topic entry will encourage more replies. Muahaha.)
  15. DudeNuva
    CAUTION: THIS ENTRY CONTAINS POTENTIALLY HARMFUL ANNOYANCE
     
    Friday was the "official" last day of school, but today and tomorrow are Finals days. Today, therefore, was the last time that I'm going to see a lot of people until next year... and then of course, there are some that I won't see at all next year, at least during classtime, and I hardly have any time otherwise. That's the issue that I'm quite upset about, and something that I'm going to try and change.
     
    There were some people in particular that I wanted to talk to/get contacts with before the year ended, but my English teacher decided to volunteer a friend and I to help some other teacher, which practically killed that period. And I never got time afterwards... so now I'm annoyed, both that I didn't manage my own time, and that most of it was taken from me.
     
    As a result, I have contact with five people from school, primarily on AIM. Three of them are never seen around there, one of them is too obsessed with some random game to get on that often (I think the game is World of Warcraft... bah), and the final one (a good friend of mine, actually) has a rather large job. And I'm never around during the summer, so I can't even hang out with him or anyone else anyway. :annoyed2:
     
    Later tonight, or tomorrow morning, I go in for two hours. Two hours. And I have a lot of things to do in that time.
     
    So I figure, I'll do what I can tomorrow, and after that, my only anchor to that community is my one friend who actually uses AIM. And since I'm at the shore all summer, and at a job when I'm not, that'll complicate things.
     
    Other than that, I'm also annoyed at petty things. For instance, several of my Finals had grades that were less than desirable... yes, they were graded not a day after I took them, much to my displeasure. Some issues with incompetent technology, particularly this computer and its stupidity in the gaming field... in fact, this is what I wish to do for this piece of junk:
     

     
    I'm just in a very bizarre, annoyance-type mood.
     
    ANNOYANCE THREAT CLEARED
     
    I got Chirox for my birthday, which was my very last present. Also got LEGO Indy, $75, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, two soundtracks, and other random stuffs.
     
    DudeNuva
  16. DudeNuva
    It is over...
     
    Oh, wait, wrong movie.
     
    Anyway, Boromir served well, but I lost a considerable amount of notoriety under the name. XD Good luck, Faramir; it's all up to you now. Watch out for Orcs. They might kill you.
     
    DudeNuva
  17. DudeNuva
    Three days until my birthday... I already got one present, the soundtrack for The Empire Strikes Back. And ironically, today is my friend's birthday, he's three days older than me...
     
    Anyway, I finally saw Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and I was pleasantly surprised. Here's my rating; better than Temple of Doom, just as good as Raiders, and not as good as Last Crusade. (Last Crusade was my favorite of the trilogy, and still is the favorite of the series. Sean Connery FTW.)
     
    And they tied the characters together well; I had feared that they'd brought Marion Ravenwood back for reminiscence, but she was definitely there for a reason...
     
    Finals are approaching.
     
    Here's a short little survey that I made up. It's also kind of a free-for-all, so feel free to submit your own answer. Which book trilogy (or series, or single book from a series)) should be made into a film series? My top candidates were these:
     
    - Artemis Fowl
    - Angels & Demons (they're actually already casting for this)
    - Republic Commando (a movie of this would OWN)
    - Tom Clancy's Debt of Honor or Executive Orders (preferably both, with Harrison Ford returning?...)
  18. DudeNuva
    Most people must not like Boromir or something, because ever since I made the theme change, no one has been commenting here. Except Tor.
     
    But hey, he comments on anything.
     
    Anyway... status report... I had an interesting weekend, the majority of which was spent simmering, typically while venting my anger into my new Star Destroyer and making it the most powerful in the galaxy. >8D
     
    And... the rest of my weekend was mainly playing Xbox.
     
    So yeah. The main deck of my Star Destroyer is complete. Working on getting it raised above the crew pits now. And then the outer wall goes on a curve around the bridge. Fun fun fun. XD
     
    Boromir
  19. DudeNuva
    I still can't believe how many replies that last entry got. The most I ever got before that was 9, and then the next entry we have is 33. It's so crazy.
     
    Anyways, maybe I should keep up with this before we go back to... 9... *shudders*
     
    *shudders some more*
     
    *shuts up*
     
    Anyways, I think I'll make some kinda blog thing... like... "Bloggish Thing of the Week". Yeah, that's good. Except, let's make a twist; it has nothing to do with Blogs!
     
    Bloggish Thing of the Week #1: What's your favorite movie, and why is it your favorite?
     
    Um... *dissappears*
     
    ~DudeNuva~
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