Chapter 17.6 – November 2023: part II – Storslagent! Nei, legendarisk er ordet!

Well, so it didn't end up being the slumber party that Lise Veronica may have hoped for last night, thanks to her weird dad reading that book on her bed, and Margrethe getting tired and wanting to go to sleep early, but I think the girls have enjoyed their time together anyway. And getting a good nights sleep is also, well.. good. :P

The house was peaceful and quiet when Thomas woke up to venture out into the hallway outside his, and his parents bedroom. He was still a little to scared of heights to walk down the stairs, but he wouldn't need to as he could find most things he needed on this floor. The first door to the right is Lise Veronicas old bedroom, now turned into a playroom for him, and the second door to the right is a bathroom.

Of course, he walks straight past his playroom to find the bathroom. He knows mom and dad doesn't like him playing around in the toilet, so he makes sure to do it while they're still asleep.. There's just something about playing around with water that is so much more alluring than the regular kids toys that once used to belong to his sister..

 

..but her dares not to play with it for to long, because mom and dad could wake up any moment now... Satisfied with getting his hands wet and dirty from the toilet he decides to play it safe for the rest of the morning and walk back to his playroom to mess around with the building blocks instead..

Yawn... the next one (of the humans) to wake up is Margrethe, carefully crawling out of the sleeping back and rolling it back together as silently as she can to not wake up Lise Veronica who is still sleeping in her bed..

She watches Lise Veronica sleeping as she carefully tiptoed her way out of the room to head downstair. She walked towards the kitchen feeling a little hungry, but thought it was probably best to wait until everyone else was up before she found something to eat. She didn't want to feel like she was stealing food, even though she would probably have been welcome to take a bite. Well, that, and the kitten was there being so cute, so she had to stop and let it sniff her hand for a while.

After that she walks over to the dining table, but it's not to eat. Instead she finds the book Lise Veronica wanted to read the night before and puts it back in the bookshelf.. She didn't have to do that. This isn't her home and it isn't her responsibility to clean up after them, but she did so anyway...

When Lise Veronica wakes up the first thing she does is to take a glance at the prom photo of her and Kristina... It was the best, most exciting evening of her life so far.. Everything was perfect then.. 

Everyone in the family sat down to have their breakfast finally, after Ivar had a little quarrel with Thomas because he didn't want to eat, but instead go out and splash and play in the puddles of water outside.. They asked Margrethe if she wanted to join, but she said she was alright and that she was still full from the pumpkin pie yesterday..

Instead she puts the video game down to walk upstairs and make the parents bed! I wasn't expecting that, I thought she would be a little rude and relax on it instead, but no, she didn't..

I haven't spent to much time in Margrethes home since she became a teenager, so I don't really know how she does it at home, but it looks like her parents have somehow taught her to be good and help around the house as much as possible – apparently even when she is only visiting a friend. I suppose this could relate to her father being the prison warden of the local prison in town, and that he has really done his best to keep her in line and disciplined.. She probably knows from him what staying out of line can lead to, and as such it looks like she will do anything to stay well behaved and keep things tidy.. let's just hope this doesn't backfire in a few years..

It's not until after she has made all the beds in the house, also the one in Lise Veronicas room, that she sits down to eat breakfast.. In the meantime Lise Veronica has had some time to think while taking a shower, and decides to try again to send another friendly message to Kristina..

While they're watching tv after breakfast Lise Veronica directly shares her concerns with her mom about the relationship.. is it really going to break? What should she do? Monicas suggestion is a straightforward one, as she in part thinks her daughter is making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill..

She suggests she tries to call her again, and invite her over to do something simple, such as throwing ball. They can all hang out, she thinks, the three of them – Lise Veronica, Margrethe and Kristina. That would make it into a friend group, and there would be no pressure to 'have a date' or be particularly romantic..

Lise Veronica is still a little hesitant to her moms idea. What if she doesn't want to? What if she says no? She wants to think about it.. just a little more..

That's when Margrethe, who has overheard anything from the kitchen doing dishes, walks over to Lise Veronica to give her an encouraging hug. She probably won't say no, she says, and even if she does, we can always go out and do something fun together...

Lise Veronica then agrees to make the call. She's still a little nervous about it, but Margrethe is there, doing her best to reassure her that she will have her back in this situation.. ;)

Kristinas answer this time is positive, but short and to the point. "It's good. I'll be there in a few."

 

Then comes the anxious moment of waiting.. Lise Veronica sits down to watch tv again with her mom, while Margrethe goes back to the kitchen and begins to clean their sink, of all things.. with a sponge, luckily, and not a toothbrush like some kind of prison punishment, but still.. nobody there told her to do that, she does it all on her own accord.. it's almost as if she's programmed to do house cleaning without thinking...

 

When the doorbell finally rings, both Lise Veronica and Monica immediately jump out of their chairs. Monica cheers loudly, because she feels pretty certain that the teenagers will get over it and sort everything out. Lise Veronica is a little more anxious still, though.

Kristina is invited in, but doesn't immediately appear very interested in talking, as she walks directly over to the bookshelf to pick up a childrens book to read..

That doesn't help with Lise Veronica feeling of being a little nervous, but after a while of just.. looking at Kristina as she reads, she finally manages to find a little bit of courage by mentioning that she had a really good time at Morten's birthday party just last month.... which is true, up until a certain point..

 

..before she admits to being 'so sorry about what happened at the end of the party, she felt like she could die', which is probably also true, all things considered.. Kristina, who was up until now unaware that Lise Veronica felt this way, finds her honesty comforting and reassuring and then admits to having followed her to the house that night.... because she was angry...

...but when the taxi stopped outside and she saw the lights on inside and realized that, of course, Lise Veronicas parents would probably also be inside, she got a little scared and didn't dare to knock on the door to confront her, so... instead she told the taxi driver to just take her home..

 

The girls both realize that they've been a little dumb, and that.. phew.. it was good to get it out and settled, after all.. ;)

Kristina then steers the conversation over to talking about her own sister, how she has gone to university to study art, how she wants to be a writer, and of course, her boyfriend there studying science, who is also Lise Veronicas cousin and Margrethes half brother.. hey, Sunset Valley is a pretty small town, you know...

 

Everything seems good, until Margrethe comes walking down the stairs and into the living room after having conviently gone upstairs before Kristina was let in. Kristina wasn't expecting that, and becomes a little anxious again..

    "What? Where did she come from..? ..and why is she in her sleepwear?"

Of course, Kristina knows that Margrethe is Lise Veronicas best friend, and that it's all they are, nothing more, but still.. she wasn't prepared to have her show up like this seemingly out of the blue.. and whatever it was Margrethe did up there, she could of course have been a little more tactful and put on her everyday clothes before venturing downstairs again, but..

 

Lise Veronica walks over to Margrethe and suggests all three of them go somewhere to hangout, since they're already gathered, and of course, since this is a saturday with no school. ;) Margrethe wants to go watch a movie, but Lise Veronica, remembering her moms suggestion of throwing ball, thinks they should do something a little more active, and instead suggests they go to the bowling alley. Just throwing a ball inbetween each other is a little dull, but bowling with a group of friends is always fun. ;)

 

So.. finally Margrethe gets dressed (which makes Kristina feel a little more comfortable again), and off to the bowling alley they go! The bowling alley is located just below the grocery store and down across the road from the Corsican Bistro, but Lise Veronica knows a shortcut to get there across the grass, so she leads the way for the other girls to get there.

..and wouldn't you know, as soon as they arrive there comes Kristinas family too, to hangout. Like I said, Sunset Valley is a small town..

Well, anyway.. Kristinas parents stay behind flirting with each other, and young Emmy takes her first steps as the girls go to do what they came there for. Margrethe is the oldest of them and has gone bowling a few times before, so she begins the first round. This is Lise Veronicas first time, so she is a little confused on what to do...

She fumbles around a bit at first, but Kristina makes sure to cheer her on and encourage her once she figures out how to pick up the ball. :P

 

She is really happy that she manages to knock over as many as five pins already on her first throw. ;)

 

The girls take their turns as they keep on bowling, and even though Margrethe is more experienced, she still falls on her face every now and then. :P 

 

 

After they have finished bowling, Kristina takes the courage to ask Lise Veronica for a slow dance, while Margrethe goes to buy herself something to eat.. however, the barista (to the left) has been drinking on the job and is just completely useless...

A line even forms as Ingrid, who also arrived to go bowling, decides to get a snack too, so eventually the barista is dismissed and unfortunately the café remains closed for the rest of the day...

The bar is still open, so it's still possible to both get something to eat and drink...

 

Iselin and Jarle are proud that Emmy learned to walk all on her own. ;) Lise Veronica and Kristina have been doing great as they have been both repeatedly flirting with each other.

Of course Kristina also has to congratulate her little sister with learning her first essential life skill, and play with her for a while. ;)

 

"Next thing you know, she'll be running on treadmills..." Lise Veronica says out loud, though I'm not sure to whom she says it. :P Now, Eirn which is her grandma, is being a little inappropriate as she hands flowers to Kristinas father.. Small town again...

 

Jarle appreciates the flowers, how can he not, she's just so charming... but it's not very popular with anyone, including Ingmar, Eirins husband playing the bass all the way to the left there...

 

Lise Veronica thinks they're being dumb.. After the trouble she just had with Kristina, what are they thinking? Her grandma should not be giving flowers to her girlfriends dad.. and he shouldn't be accepting them! Adults think they're so smart, but they're not...

"We're not going to be like them, we're much smarter."

"Indeed we are..."

 

Then Margrethe feeling very confident since she won the bowling game, has to brag about her arcade gaming skills..

"Oh.. are you sure about that?" Lise Veronica asks in a slightly mocking tone. "The arcade is just on the other side of the park, you know..

"I'm absolutely positive! We'll go there and I'll show you!" Margrethe says

        "..but I think I'm gonna have something to eat first. I don't know what was up with that barista, he was acting really strange and didn't look like he wanted to do his job at all.."

        "Yeah, didn't you smell it? He smelled like super-juice... Just like what's in the keg in the basement of the Blitzkrieg house..." Lise Veronica said, almost suggesting that they should go to the Blitzkrieg house and eat from the cafeteria there, but then.. she remembered how angry mom got last time she went there, so she suggested they go to the Corsican Bistro instead.. Afterall that was almost just across the road.

Continue reading.

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Chapter 17.5 – October 2023 part II – Morten's birthday

Sim profile:

Full name: Morten Kråke-Karlsen
Date of birth: 10.10.2010.
Personality traits: Excitable, Good, Ambitious, Easily Impressed
Family tree:

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Just a few days later it was another rainy morning in town. This day would be Mortens last day as a 7^th grader and the last day where he would have his classroom in the west wing on the first floor..

 

While Morten was still sleeping his father had just gotten out of bed to make breakfast in their kitchen downstairs. Jonathan had his day off today, and Kathrine was on leave from her job at the hospital to care for the newborn.

Morten looked up to his parents, like most kids do, and had noticed how both of them had excelled in their careers. He knew when he woke up that soon he would be old enough to take a part time job as well, and was already thinking about getting his first promotion...

 

Maybe one day he would be an austronaut, like his weird uncle Eivind hoped to be..

 

Their breakfast was mostly eaten in silence. Jonathan wasn't always the most talkative man, often preferring to stay in his own thoughts.

 

Jonathan is still a good father and husband to his wife, always being faithful and keeping the house clean and tidy. The latter which he had learnt from his mom, and the former which he had.. also 'learned' from his mom...

The school bus honked and it was off to school again for Morten. School was always a little boring of course, but he still (atleast a little bit) enjoyed going there when he could hang out with his friends inbetween classes.. and tomorrow he would find himself in a new class with all the teenagers in town..

The days after giving birth, Kathrine often felt more tired than usual and needed to sleep a lot. She wasn't nearly as tired after the time Ingrid was born, though that was a much scarier and more exciting time... Doing those things then, that she had never done before.. giving birth, raising a child and balancing it all with a demanding job at the hospital. Amazing she could pull that off.. but now, she just wanted to sleep...

 

And she was allowed to do so, because Jonathan was there on the spot to take care of Caroline before she got to hungry or lonely, so no baby cries were heard in the house, at least so far.

Then it was time for laundry. The sound of a laundromant humming in the distance was sometimes like music to his ears.. because it meant clean clothes. :P

 

There wasn't really that much of a need for Jonathan to constantly be tidying it up and cleaning everything around the house, because he had of course also made sure to hire a maid.. but still, he enjoyed cleaning and it also served as a welcome distraction to keep his mind off from.. other things..

 

Eventually, way past noon, Kathrine also woke up to a smell in the room indicating that Kathrine was probably in great need of a bath, so she took her to the bathroom upstairs to soap her in and clean her in the sink..

Afterwards they met Jonathan out in the hallway and had a little bit of family time. :P

Kathrine couldn't help herself though.. even if she had days off from work, she still wanted to keep up by filling out reports and stay up to date on the latest knowledge in the medical field.. but alteast she could do so by working from home still in her underwear. ;)

 

When Jonathan didn't have anything better to do, he would just keep his mind sharp and play some chess, before they would begin to prepare for Morten's birthday party and wait for the guests to arrive.

 

On the invitation they had told the guests that the party would begin at 18, just in time for Morten to come home from his boy scouts after school activity. Of the invited guests the first one to arrive was his grandma Lucie (fathers side) to the left, followed by his sister Ingrid, grandpa Egil (mothers side), his cousin Bjørn-Ynge, Kristina, his aunt Sofie (holding the umbrella), and of course... himself, thinking about gardening.

 

And then a little bit by himself came George who is his best friend among those that are still children.

Kathrine immediately begins to entertain the guests by playing guitar in the living room.

Grandpa Asgeir (fathers side) was the last to arrive at the party. Grandma Frida (mothers side) unfortunately couldn't make it, because the matrix worked against her and she got stuck...

Jonathan had just served everyone on the buffet table in the hallway when Ingrid came inside and was happy to see her father again. The feeling was also very mutual. ;) It was a strange experience for them to have their first born move out on her own. It certainly left a void there, which is probably why Caroline was born...

Then comes the moment when Morten will blow out the candles. His sister is there right on the spot to cheer for him, along the teenagers Kristina, Lise Veronica and Bjørn-Yngve. Well, his cousin there isn't excactly cheering, he's more pointing and laughing, but, well... and grandpa Egil is more concerned with stuffing himself with spaghetti and meat balls..

Mom and dad is very happy though, watching him as he blows out the candles...

The grandparents that were present had also made it into the room to cheer for him. I'm sure Frida would have done the same if she was there.

 

..and then.. it happens..

..voila! Morten Kråke-Karlsen, 13 years old. Happy birthday there kid. ;)

Grandma Lucie knows what's the most important thing now.. cake. This reminds her of her own wedding cake way back when she married her ex-husband Asgeir... It was the best day of her life until then when it happened... Unfortunately things went as they did, if only she hadn't been so... easily impressed by her sweet talking coworker at the hospital..

Nonetheless, another one that looks like he's having the best day of his life.. so far.. is Morten, the birthday child. Officially a teenager, but perhaps still young enough to play with toys for a few more years..?

Everyone gets a piece of the cake to sit down where they can to eat their share. Jonathan found a place on the couch in the living room, next to his daughter and Lise Veronica, a friend of the family. Three age groups on one couch, adult, young adult and teenager. :P

After everyone is done eating Morten follows his fathers example and walks around picking up everyones plates to put them in the dishwasher. He doesn't have the neat trait like his father or his grandma, but it's still fascinating how things appear to be passed down through generations still..

I think Morten is going to be a good boy and not as rebellious as some of the other teenagers in town, maybe... I guess we'll just have to wait and see..

 

While father and son is in the kitchen doing dishes, Mortens aunt Sofie picks up the entertainment duties and plays the guitar for everyone. Bjørn-Yngve and Lucie immediately begins to dance, while Malcolm, Lise Veronica and Ingrid stand to watch.

 

George has discovered the Kråke-Karlsen familys expansive bookshelf. Bjørn Sveum sitting next to him can't understand why his friend is so boring.. he wants to be outside and play, not sitting on the couch reading books...

 

Morten started thinking about Lise Veronica, so he asked her to go to his parents bedroom for a pillow fight.. but they didn't get to be there alone, because Caroline is also in there and both Kathrine, Kristina and Egil had gone upstairs to check on the baby to see if she needed anything..

Lise Veronica then suggested that maybe one day they should go to the movies together, she already had some spare tickets to use.. His grandpa Asgeir is much to caught up reading a book on his sons bed to hear what the young teenagers are discussing. :P

 

Downstairs Sofie was still doing the guitar entertainment, and Lucie was now dancing with her neighbour Egil. They were just dancing though, like old friends, well.. more or less..

Morten was being a good boy, much better than necessary as he was now picking up the dried clothes from the drying rack and putting them back in their place, as well as continuously putting everyones plates into the dishwasher as they kept eating...

 

In the living room Bjørn-Yngve had inappropriately made romantic advances towards Kristina, which she clearly did not approve off. She told him it was unacceptable and that she, as he should know, was already in a relationship with Lise Veronica..

..and yet, being as friendly as she is, she asked him if they instead could go outside for a while to watch the stars...

Bjørn-Yngve, now offended at her first reaction to him wanting to kiss her, only scoffed at her question... "Hmmph! That's boring! That's not what I want..."

        Lise Veronica of course heard it all, and had her own reaction...

She wasn't going to accept that and immediately walked over to Kristina and said they should dance. "Remember, you belong to me!"

        Now, Kristina didn't mind dancing, after all that was great fun, but she did not appreciate the way Lise Veronica came over and pretty much commanded her to dance, and to top it off with a statement like that..

"Eeeh... I don't... think so.." she said as she backed away. She didn't want to be treated like that, like she was someones property.. there was something wrong about that! Kristina is still young and doesn't know to much about love yet, so she wasn't thinking in terms of 'red flags' and wasn't looking out for them.. but she had seen and heard how mom and dad talked to each other, and it wasn't like that.. Lise Veronica right now gave her a bad feeling, and she lost all interest in dancing.. this wasn't very funny..

 

"..but, but... why not?" Lise Veronica moped, not quite understanding what just happened... she didn't mean to push Kristina away, she just wanted to let her know that.. that she wanted her all to herself, that she wanted them to stay together.. just the two of them, and now.. she suddenly didn't want to dance and just walked away..? What did she do...?

        Maybe she came on to strong, but just like Kristina, Lise Veronica had heard how her own mom sometimes talked to her dad, and she would say excactly something like that.. and it was no secret that her dad liked it when her mom starting talking like that.. She had heard a lot worse coming from their bedroom.. but clearly this didn't work with Kristina..

She needed to think of something to make Kristina want to talk to her again.. but what? That's when she got an idea she thought was a little devious, but it might work.. If being frank and honest about what she actually thinks and feels isn't working, then what if she do the direct opposite..

So she started walking for the door, 'casually' making a remark to Sofie as she passed her on the way that she had really enjoyed her time at the party and that she was now going home. A little loudly of course, because this remark wasn't intended for Sofie at all...

 

Her plan must have worked, because it didn't take long for Kristina to follow her despondently trudging along..

 

Lise Veronica kept a watchful eye on Kristina the entire time. She didn't want to glare and be obvious, but she couldn't help it.. she wanted her to follow her, and had to make sure...

 

Once she had walked down the stairs she turned her head quickly just enough to see the silhouette of Kristina exiting through the front door.. That's when she knew her plan had worked, but she didn't want to make it to easy so she started to run towards her taxi that was already waiting for her...

 

"No! No.. wait!" Kristina almost tripped down the stairs. She couldn't control her feet, they ran. The rain, the house, everything around her was a blur.

                "Lise Veronica!!"

She only saw the taxi as it drove off. She couldn't be leaving like that. Was it going to end? Maybe she should've danced. Even if she didn't want to. Maybe she shouldn't have been so friendly. Maybe she should've apologized. She had to talk to her.

 

At the same time inside Egil had just called for a taxi too, and had also made a promise that George could ride with him and that he would insruct the taxi driver to first drive up to Amenas house to drop him off...

Outside Kristina was relieved to see another taxi arriving so quickly. She immediately jumped in and told – no, she commanded – the driver to follow the other taxi ahead of them.. Once in her seat, she felt a different sensation.. She clenched her fists as she grabbed the seatbelt and pulled hard on it, only to have it stop with a sudden jolt. She had to talk to her.. and then she would tell her..

        you.... You!

                    ..belong to me!

If that's how she wanted it, that's how she would get it. This was very unlike Kristina. She didn't know how to handle this. She had never been angry about anything like this before.

 

Bjørn-Yngve had seen what just happened, how Lise Veronica all of a sudden decided to leave and the look on Kristinas face as she did so.. That's not what he meant, that's not what he wanted to happen.. He just suddenly got this.. feeling that welled up inside of him and just wanted to kiss someone.. He didn't mean for anyone to get hurt.. Maybe it was time for him to leave too now, he thought as he skulked his way out, hoping that no one would notice him...

 

Completely unperturbed by the teenage drama, Sofie was still having fun entertaining those that still hadn't left the party with her now slightly better than mediocre guitar playing...

Morten hadn't seen any of this as he had gone upstairs to check on Caroline. Though it was a little late, Jonathan had gone to look for him to find him there, because he had something he wanted to give him as a birthday present.. A stereo to keep in his room so that he could play whatever music he wanted without his parents interfering.. :P

Downstairs again Asgeir, who was tired of waiting to get a chance to dance with his ex-wife, decided to leave the party and go home, without knowing that her dance partner was just about to do the same and that he might just have gotten his chance..

 

That leaves only Ingrid, reading a book by the chess table, and Lucie, who decided then to join Jonathan and her daughter-in-law to eat another meal, as the last remaining guests.. after which Jonathan just had to come with a snide, and somewhat bitter, remark to his mother about how she never would've had it in her to become a successful author like his dad..

"Was that really necessary Jonathan?" Kathrine asked rhetorically before taking another mouthfull of the pasta carbonara she was eating.

 

"Well you know mom has never been much of a team player..." Jonathan said just loud enough for Lucie to hear..

"Jonathan!" Kathrine said giving him a small kick on the leg.

 

        "Well, it has certainly been nice coming here, celebrating Morten...and having such a lovely supper with you..." Lucie said with a hint of sarcasm as she picked up her bowl to carry it to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher. "I would've like to stay longer, but you know.. I'm getting old and my head can only take so much before it needs to rest..."

        "That went well didn't it..." Kathrine said after the awkward moment of silence that came before they heard Lucie closing the front door behind her..

        "You know how embarassing I think it is when mom always keeps flirting with these other guys... even guys that are much younger than her..." Jonathan tried to explain.

        "Let it go, Jonathan.. just let it go.. you know, I think I'm going to bed..." Kathrine said not bothering to explain it to him.. again....
It was 37 years ago that his parents divorced... and they've been friends and living under the same roof for the past 19 years... which is much better than anyone back then would've hoped for.. much better than anyone thought they could've hoped for considering how it all ended.. and he still wasn't completely over it...

Sofie had overheard what Kathrine said after she put the guitar down and was about to leave the party. She thought she knew what Kathrine referred to.. She knew it more than anyone else. She was there. Sometimes her brother could be just so pathetic.. He wasn't there. He didn't see it, he didn't hear it, he didn't feel it like she did...

After mom moved out, it was always him that went out fishing with her and being her 'little best friend', when she hated her mom for what she did.. It took years for her to be able to even talk to her again, and now.. he was the one that couldn't get over it.. Pathetic, that's what it was... Just pathetic...

Ingrid had finally finished reading the book and went to put it back in the bookshelf as she heard her father being on the phone with someone in the kitchen. She could sense that something was a little off, as it sometimes could be in this family..

No one had ever directly told her, but she thought she knew anyway what had happened.. why the relationships in her family sometimes seemed a little.. strained..

How everything was always so fine.. on the surface.. She thought she knew how her grandma had always enjoyed working in the garden and getting her hands dirty, yet they were always so clean.. Seemingly, both literally and figuratively, grandma always knew how to clean her hands and tidy up after herself .. Ingrid thought she had figured out that grandmas hands weren't at all as clean as everyone wanted them to be, as everyone wanted it to appear...

Everyone knew how important it was for this family to have everything appear clean, smooth and shiny.. Everyone knew.. but they also knew that bruises and bloodstains can leave their marks, long after they're gone... It doesn't matter how much you clean, those marks may never go away...

 

Eventually Jonathan had finished his late night phone conversation (and cleaning up the remaining dishes) to join his wife sleeping upstairs when they had to wake up again because Caroline had soiled herself...

 

..and who knows, maybe in the future the family will actually be as clean as it wants to be, and there will come a time when there are no more stains to haunt them.. 

        Good night...

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