Beanie level: Errand boy

Round-up 2023 is here!!

I can’t believe it’s that time of the year again!! I say it every time, but this year has really flown by, for some reason, especially when it comes to drama watching.
It might have something to do with the fact that overall it has been a very disappointing one for me; my favorite drama came out at the end of October, after months of slump!!

Add to that my year long obsession with Chinese actor Zhang Xincheng/Steven (the C-dramas in my list are all from his filmography lol), after first knowing and liking him at the end of last year. The fact that his new drama dropped in February just to be discontinued after the first 8 episodes really messed me up, not gonna lie, cause I was actually enjoying it a lot!! I spent the next few months waiting in vain for it to finish airing, unable to really focus on any other drama, it was that bad! Forever traumatized by Youku! ><

As a result there are not that many dramas in my list, about half as many as I watched last year, and even less beans (= Korean dramas that aired in 2023)!! xD

So here it is:

    _KOREAN:

  1. Unlock My Boss (2023)
  2. Hit The Spot (2023)
  3. The Glory pt.2 (2023)
  4. See You In My 19th Life (2023)
  5. Doona! (2023)
  6. Castaway Diva (2023) 💙
  7. Age Of Youth 2 (2017)
  8. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022)

    9. _CHINESE:

  9. The Justice (2021)
  10. Young Blood (2018)
  11. Justice In The Dark (2023) (..the 8 available episodes at least 💔)
  12. My Huckleberry Friends (2017)
  13. Symphony’s Romance (2020)
  14. Young Blood 2 (2023)

Movies:

  • Dream (KOR)
  • All These Years (CHN)

Bonus, dropped or forgotten.

  • Kokdu: Season Of Deity …Kim Junghyun, let’s meet again with a better drama next time…and good luck with your new movie!!
  • D.P. 2 …I liked season 1 and thought I was gonna enjoy the second too, except I had forgotten the extent of the violence, I can’t bring myself to watch it, really. I’m stuck at episode 2, I think…maybe one day.
  • All That We Loved
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Appreciation post for Park Eunbin that looked absolutely stunning during the showcase scene in episode 9!

PEB 3

Our Mokha was glowing! 🥺

PEB 1

#CastawayDiva

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    I really liked her look in eps 9 and 10, kinda boho/hipster. I think that it really suits her in terms of looks, personality, and her musical style!

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I slipped on an icy driveway and fell on my back, the other day, I still have a bruise because of it…well, that hurt less than getting blocked in the middle of a discussion about Castaway Diva I was having with someone over on Reddit…talk about butthurt!! Literally and figuratively 🤣😭🤣😭

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    Ouch ! Be careful

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      Thanks! I’ll try my best!! Though this is the second time I fall this year (I’ve complained about it here too lol)..hopefully that’s enough 😅🙈

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    The first sentence scared me and the second part 🙃
    Take care, both literally and figuratively. 🤣

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    Comment was deleted

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    Oh no! Hope you feel better soon!

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    Getting blocked? You mean by a mod or what happened?

    Also, I wonder if we’ve also discussed CD on Reddit together without knowing it!

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      Yes, it was the mods doing, they locked the specific discussion/thread!
      It was getting too heated in their opinion…they had a point tbh! lol

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        OMG, really? Can I ask what the was discussion about?

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          I think it was a disagreement regarding Mokha similarities (or lack thereof) with Attorney Woo, something I’m quite passionate about ahahah!
          But I got stopped mid discussion! That’s why it was frustrating 😅
          (It was for the better though, it was becoming a pointless conversation tbh)

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            Ahh, i see. What side of the argument were you on?

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            I disagree!! Ahah! I’ve mentioned it before here too 😁
            Despite seeing some similarities here and there, to me they’re 2 very different characters and I really cannot see what others see 🤷🏻‍♀️
            It’s like worlds apart for me!! XD

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      ..and yes, because you have the same username I did recognize you over there ahah!
      You definitely got my upvotes hehe

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        Haha, I realized after I commented that you would recognize my username. Whoops! I really love the CD discussion on Reddit, though. Overall I’ve been participating more on here than on there for on-air dramas, but CD is an exception because there is such rich discussion happening.

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So, I should be sleeping, I had a really tiring Sunday, I would have loved to go to bed by 9pm lol
But I watched the new CD episode anyway, and now my brain can’t stop working…
I put my phone down and was trying to fall asleep and yet, at 1am, I still found myself brooding over the recent eps against my will!! 😂😂

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    I hope you got some sleep in the end!! This happens to me sometimes, and then I find myself refreshing DB to see if there’s been any fanwall posts about a particular episode, or traversing over to reddit where the threads are usually long enough to keep me entertained or finally get me tired enough to sleep 😂

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      Yes, I did manage to fall asleep in the end, luckily ahah! ^^

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Out of context this could even be cute…instead it is *pain*!! 😢

#CastawayDiva e10
CJH PEB e10

And with that, goodnight ~

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    See, this is what happens when I try to make GIFs late at night….I forgot to check the frames and now there’s a single one out of place…SO. FREAKING. ANNOYING. ><

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Castaway Diva Ep10
SPOILERS

Why did our Mokgeolli get a break up scene/scenario without ever getting together?? 🥲
Also I hate when noble idiocy trope is written in a way that can make sense!!! Not fair ><

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    Seems like it was just a box to tick. ✅

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      It’s the fact that they forgot to tick all the other previous boxes that gets me, tbh 😅

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    On second thought, maybe it doesn’t make sense… because Mokha already has that connection with Kang family; is cutting them off now really that helpful???
    Pfft..some ruthless ent. news reporter could totally write some unfavorable article based on all the time she’s already spent with that “criminal family”…
    This to say, at this point she should have just said, forget it! I’m already screwed, I’m not gonna leave you!! 😂😭
    Ehhh…I don’t know anymore 🙈

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      Hope writer-nim has a card up her sleeve for the finale.

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        I really hope so!!

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          I do have faith in the writer. Castaway Diva feels little more uneven because it has only 12 episodes but she did manage a satisfactory (depending on who you ask) ending for Start Up. Here too the threads are neatly placed to be tied by in the final week. Actually writing needed to be tighter for 12 episodes.

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            The arcs in the drama are all engaging just that the pacing seemed to be more for a 16 episode drama therefore this somewhat underbaked feeling is there.

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            That’s true!
            I’m not sure if with more episodes we would have gotten more focus on the interesting parts of the show, or just more fillers, though I can’t help but thinking “what if”, in this case.

            Overall, considering the shorter episode run, the writing was quite well paced, imo, but I still wish there was more time to delve deeper into certain aspects (NOT EVIL DAD…there was too much of that already xD)

            I’m pretty confident the finale will be satisfying, plot-wise. I just hope it will be well executed too! With lots of cute and happy scenes to make up for the recent hurt!! ahaha

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            Actually it started off pretty well. I mean the first episode with time jump and rescue was very well done and considering the amount of storytelling did not seem rushed at all. Then the pacing was somewhat off in dragging the Ki-ho reveal and actually setting up the OTP. Your comment of the breakup without an “actual relationship” is pretty much spot on: In fact because of casting / promotional materials we already knew who the ML was and therefore were waiting for the reveal otherwise purely from the story point of view it was not clear. When a viewer need to consider external factors to understand a drama, that means the writing is somewhat off.

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            @seeker
            I believe I misunderstood you earlier…I really don’t think the writing could be that much tighter tbh, it’s just that the show should have been longer ahah!

            On another note, the reveal of Kiho was 100% clear once the writer made it so (around week 3). In the previous episodes there were numerous hints that obviously pointed at BG being KH, for example:
            – Bogeol buying Mokha new shoes right after setting foot in Seoul.
            – The montage of Kiho waiting at Seoul station even during his military service. Knowing that Woohak lost his memories during high school, we could safely assume that it couldn’t be him, waiting for someone he did not remember.

            Of course there are potential, more convoluted, explanations of WH being KH despite the memory loss, but luckily the writer didn’t go there and stayed true to a more consistent story telling.

            Knowing that CJH is the ML helped confirming suspicions, but that’s not what the reveal was based on.

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            @cubely I think we are on the same page. 🤣
            The show definitely needed more episodes.
            There was never any mystery about Ki-ho for the viewers.

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    I KNOW. I will only forgive the writers if they play “Night and Day” during their reunion scene

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      PLEASE!! 🥺
      (I’m currently listening to it even!! Ahah!)

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        I’ve been listening to it for the past four weeks (mostly the contest version but I sometimes will include the acoustic and OST versions). I have a serious probelm.

        Although I’ve been listening to “Until the End” a lot today because I REALLY like it. It gives early Taylor Swift vibes IMO.

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    Also, how horrible was it of them to put in the Saturday instead of the Friday episode? Don’t make me wait another seven days for the pain to end!

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Yay!! No more fugitive here!!
New upgrade after almost a year: errand boy it is!! 😁

I’d like to thank Castaway Diva for this achievement, it wouldn’t have been possible without this precious obsession help! XD

..also Chae Jonghyeop’s smiles, yeah, that too!! 🥺
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First fan admiring his first autograph ^^

#CastawayDiva
CJH KBG 1st fan

I spy a little smile 👀
CJH KBG 1st fan 2
@vienibenmio @jls943

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    I’m not crying. That would be weird. I’m just really happy.

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    I read a translated interview with CJH and he said he is similar to his smiling characters about 50% of the time. So doesn’t smile as often in RL which is a shame.

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Mokha signing her first autograph for her first fan ~
Our precious Mokgeolli 🥺

#CastawayDiva
CJH PEB e8

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Unexpected encounters: Seo Mokha meeting CEO Lee Seojoon in an alternate universe.

(From Extraordinary Attorney Woo 😁)
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Chae Jonghyup struggling with his smiling scene after holding back for so long in the previous episodes!! XD

"i need to smile but it feels so awkward. in this drama i rarely smiled, this would be my first time"my smiley boy having a hard time to smile on screen 😭🥺💖pic.twitter.com/xjN930cqL5— 🌙🏝️🍉 (@kimyoungdaes) November 21, 2023

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Castaway Diva
After the high of ep 7, ep 8 felt almost like a filler, despite a lot of things happening and some cute scenes! They kinda fooled us with those camping scenes though, not enough of that! XD
And not enough Bogeol x Mokha for my liking!! Instead we got bestie Woohak taking the lead once again..which I don\’t really mind because I love him too!! 😁

It seems like the cliched break up after a misunderstandings happened here, except the victims are not lovers, but our sunbae-hoobae duo…they better solve their issues soon!! 😭

Sidenote: I find it interesting how the writer seems to have predicted all the questions viewers might think of and is answering all of them one by one with each episode!! It\’s hilarious (see the love triangle issue, for example) xD

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    I had the same thought! Ep 8 was good but we need more of BG/MH together. I did love the epilogue scene though!

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      That was so cute!

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      I loved it!! I was sad we got little interactions between the 2, so that made up for it..but it was just one cute little scene, I needed something with more substance! 🥺
      Hopefully next week 🤞🏼🤞🏼

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    I don’t understand where we are going with Ran-joo’s mom.

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      I don’t either but we’re definitely going somewhere 👀
      She might have dementia now, but in the past she might have had an instrumental role regarding Ranjoo’s career?? We’ll see!!!

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        Earlier I thought it was flash-forward of Ranjoo reminiscing days bygone. That was weird enough but now … okay wait and watch then it is.

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    “the writer seems to have predicted all the questions viewers might think of and is answering all of them one by one with each episode” – yes, totally!

    The drama is predictable and not predictable at the same time due to this very experienced writer who plays with tropes like nobody. Perhaps, Start Up also gave her a lot ‘lessons learnt’.

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      You’re right!
      Let’s hope she can keep it up till the end!! ^^

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I finished ep7 around 10pm…it\’s now almost 2am and I\’m finally putting myself to sleep 😴
It\’s safe to say I am obsessed 🤣
\’night ~

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Kang Bogeol beating the \”he doesn\’t care about Mokha\” allegations..I\’ve always trusted you ♥️

Castaway Diva EP 7
CJH KBG nice
..and then there was the ending scene and those flashbacks too 😭🥺

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There it is!! Precious smile!! 🥺

Castaway Diva EP 7
@vienibenmio @jls943
CJH KBH smile

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Castaway Diva episode 7..aka Kang Bogeol\’s revenge 🥺
(I wish more people were \”jerks\” like him 👀)

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Castaway Diva episode 7 was PERFECTION!!!!!

To the point that I\’m scared of reading anyone else\’s opinion about it…let me stay in this blissful bubble forever!!!
Legit crying right now 😭🥺

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About the house in Castaway Diva..to entertain myself during this endless wait for new episodes, I went ahead and rewatched some relevant scenes to check for any differences between past and present.
I think this one transition at the beginning of episode 6 is there to tell us that the dad is in fact living in the same exact house the whole family used to live in before, in Seoul.
CJH KBG home2

Some more pictures for comparison, not the best angles (also give me some light!! lol), but the windows look the same:
Flashback scenes vs present time.

CD compare

And there is also this part: doesn’t the look on Bogeol’s face just scream “15 years later I’m about to enter this hellhole of a house once again”?? 👀
CJH KBG home
That’s all I have to say! Thanks for your attention! ^^
Finally it\’s the weekend tomorrow, I\’ll stop overanalyzing for a bit! xD

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    Thank you for your detective work! 🕵️

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    YES, someone else analyzing this show as much as I am! Thanks so much for sharing. Have you compared the house in Seoul to the house in Chunsam?

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      Mmm..well, the house in Chunsam is a different one compared to their old family home. 🤔
      I was trying to confirm whether the place dad is living in the present was the same as the house where they all lived in the past, and it seems like that’s the case ~

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Because of comparisons that keep being brought up, I thought of seeing for myself, and watch Extraordinary Attorney Woo; so I checked a couple episodes, followed by Castaway Diva, back to back.
And honestly I find the comments disregarding PEB acting quite unfair. The two characters are actually very different!?!
The fact that occasionally they seem to resemble each other is not enough to say she\’s acting the same and can\’t separate them.
She\’s doing great!

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    I do think that she displays some of the same mannerisms as Attorney Woo, and it doesn’t always make sense for the character. If it’s a choice, I don’t quite understand it. If it isn’t, well, she isn’t the only skilled actor to fall into that trap.

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    I’ve been reading the same kinds of comments here and on MyDramalist, and I’m not really seeing it either. I think some of it is because Attorney Woo was her last drama, so there will inevitably be some subconscious comparing of both characters.

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      It’s the way she walks and holds her arms. Also not making eye contact sometimes

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        She’s tiny, she’s just trying to make herself look/feel bigger than her frame allows xD

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      Really!! But I really suggest those people to revisit an EAW episode and CD right after, just to truly appreciate the difference lol

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    The situation/character/dialogue are different so she doesn’t act exactly the same, but I can see that she’s bringing back some of Woo’s characteristics to portrait the adult-child Mo Ka.

    I wouldn’t say they can’t be separated tho. That’s a bit much, haha.

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    As someone who has been critical of PEB’s performance so far, I want to make it clear that it’s not because I think she’s repeating the same mannerisms that she used to portray Attorney Woo. (What I previously said is that I feel like she is combining some of the ticks of that performance with those she relied on for “Age of Youth”). Actors–even the greatest of them–all have a style complete with gestures, facial expressions, and line delivery that remain the same across performances and PEB is no exception. The problem for me is that there doesn’t seem to be an internal logic to her choices in this role, which could be due to lack of direction or poor direction overall and not her fault, per se. But regardless, I don’t understand the choices that she’s making here and I can’t quite get a grasp of who Mok-ha is because the acting seems to be exaggerated or one-note or confusing. I guess we could chalk the infantile reactions, the emotional immaturity, the odd voice inflection, and the flailing gestures up to the fact that Mok-ha lived by herself on an island for 15 years, but really, we could chalk up *anything* she does to that. Why these specific iterations of this character in those moments? Usually PEB’s performances give us a glimpse of the internal logic and emotional landscape of the characters she plays, but in this case, it seems empty and gimmicky.

    And look, even on her worst day, PEB is still a great actress, so I don’t want to trash her too much here. I’m just not feeling this particular performance right now, and I hope that changes. As I said before, though, her singing is excellent!

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      You have good points, though I can’t say I agree.
      But this is not about liking/disliking her current performance for this specific role.
      That’s a different discussion.

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Castaway Diva ep 6
Laughing at Mokha and Ranjoo speculating about who\’s Kiho like we\’ve been doing for the past 2 weeks!! XD

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    About that…is this the most anticlimactic reveal ever or what?! XD

    With ep 5 ending I was on the edge of my seat! It left me very confused!! And for what?! ..Ep 6 immediately confirmed all my previous suspicions, revealing everything at once!! I spent a whole day thinking about this for nothing!! Ahahah!!
    Maybe it’s just because I was expecting them to drag the whole thing for longer lol

    (Sidenote: thankfully Mokha is not buying a single word of that stupid lie Woohak told her 😆)

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      I had the exact opposite reaction. I am finally relieved they stopped this guessing game when we knew all along Kiho is. There is no doubt about is as the other option is too extreme even with Kdrama logic. To me the reveal was actually done on ep 5 as the photo confirmed who is who.

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        So, yes, I am very glad the guessing game is done, too.

        My point was that it felt somewhat anticlimactic.
        I think it’s because the reveal scene was split between Ep 5 and 6, so my brain spent the time in between overthinking the whole thing, while the actual reveal turned out to be exactly the scenario I had expected from the start! Hence why, a little underwhelming! 😅

        Having said that, I actually really liked how they did it, how the story played out!
        The rest is all because I gaslight myself after episode 5 ahaha!!

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          I get that, and yes, when you think about it, it was a bit underwhelming since the show went for it in the first few mins of ep 6. But at least we can move forward from that plot point now.

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