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Khizan posted:I still want a book about Byerly living on Jackson's Whole with Ivan's in-laws. Goddamn right we do. Doji Sekushi posted:Saw Lois McMaster Bujold's Five gods series mentioned a couple posts back. I've been wanting to read them for awhile, so I'm gonna dive in. Should I start reading in published order or chronological order? Go with published I'd say. The worldbuilding comes off better that way. Book three takes place well before the first two, but there are no spoilers in them. The Penric series falls in-between, and its internal chronology and publication order are, I believe, the same. Penric does not spoil the third novel, but a couple of the novellas will make much more sense if you've read The Hallowed Hunt. Enjoy ! She won a second Hugo for Best Series for these for a reason. It's really nice to see a "retired" author writing whatever it pleases her to, on her own schedule, and then self-publishing whatever she finishes. The Penric series is going to go down as a lot of people's favorites of her whole opus; the Vorkosigan stuff is special, but Penric is extra special.
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Sep 18, 2020 02:24
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Apparently, Terry Goodkind passed. awesmoe posted:Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken’s head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. “Shoo,” Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn’t enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn’t tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn’t need to see it. “Dear spirits, help me,” she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People’s chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest. "Out of the way!" Richard yelled as he closed the distance. This was no time for subtlety or discussions: the success of their attack depended in large part on speed. "Get out of the way! This is your only warning! Get out of the way or die!" "Stop the hate! Stop the hate!" the people chanted as they locked arms. They had no idea how much hate was raging through Richard. He drew the Sword of Truth. The wrath of its magic didn't come out with it, but he had enough of his own. He slowed to a trot. "Move!" Richard called as he bore down on the people. A plump, curly-haired woman took a step out from the others. Her round face was red with anger as she screamed. "Stop the hate! No war! Stop the hate! No war!" "Move or die!" Richard yelled as he picked up speed. The red-faced woman shook her fleshy fist at Richard and his men, leading an angry chant. "Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!" On his way past her, gritting his teeth as he screamed with the fury of the attack begun, Richard took a powerful swing, lopping off the woman's head and upraised arm. Strings of blood and gore splashed across the faces behind her even as some still chanted their empty words. The head and loose arm tumbled through the crowd. A man mad the mistake of reaching for Richard's weapon, and took the full weight of a charging thrust. Men behind Richard hit the line of evil's guardians with unrestrained violence. People armed only with their hatred for moral clarity fell bloodied, terribly injured, and dead. The line of people collapsed before the merciless charge. Some of the people, screaming their contempt, used their fists to attack Richard's men. They were met with swift and deadly steel. At the realization that their defense of the Imperial Order's brutality would actually result in consequences to themselves, the crowd began scattering in fright, screaming curses back at Richard and his men.
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Sep 18, 2020 02:25
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A new SFL Archives readthrough summary is up, no idea anymore how long it will take before finishing off SFL Archives Vol 11 or how many more readthrough update posts will be required. GANDALF IS ILLITERATE
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Sep 18, 2020 02:40
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quantumfoam posted:A new SFL Archives readthrough summary is up, no idea anymore how long it will take before finishing off SFL Archives Vol 11 or how many more readthrough update posts will be required. Sorry, but where is this blog of yours?
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Sep 18, 2020 04:19
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Patrick Spens posted:I've been reading The Three Body Problem and I can't tell if Liu Cixin's prose is this dull or if he just got screwed by his translator, but man is it a slog to read. The ideas are cool, and I want to know what happens, but the actual process of reading the sentences is just dire. The Dark Forest has a different translator and much worse prose, IMO, so I think your problem is with the author rather than the translator.
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Sep 18, 2020 04:34
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awesmoe posted:Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken’s head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. “Shoo,” Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn’t enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn’t tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn’t need to see it. “Dear spirits, help me,” she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People’s chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest. I never read his books but I watched the series on Netflix and when this scene happened I just thought "yeah ok why not, this show's all in on the Hercules and Xena campy-as-gently caress train" and didn't find out until later that it was actually a scene from the books. Or that the books themselves weren't also meant to be over the top absurdity in a fantasy setting. There's just no way to watch that show, see the goddamn BDSM witch cult (among other things), and take it seriously. Really dodged a bullet by not reading those books as a kid.
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Sep 18, 2020 05:24
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I've known a few people that really dug the first book, Wizard's First Rule and never read anymore because the early printings declared the next book would be Wizard's Second Rule and they never found it in the book stores.
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Sep 18, 2020 05:32
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Can't believe Hillary killed goodkind for putting her in his books. When will her reign of terror end.
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Sep 18, 2020 07:26
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FPyat posted:Sorry, but where is this blog of yours? Updated this thread's OP with the link to the off-site blog for everyone who missed it the first and only time I posted it. I have a few self-imposed rules for the SFL Archives readthrough attempt, which I never really listed out before; so here it goes. -Highlight the many weird, bizarre, horrifying and retroactively interesting things in the SFL Archives -Try to be objective as possible, but some things creep through anyhow (Did you catch on that I utterly loathe filksongs in my earlier SFL Archive readthrough summaries?). -Give framing context for the many weird, bizarre, and retroactively interesting things of interest that make no sense to people who grew up in the 1990's or later. -Stay on topic and only mention things that come up in posts in the SFL Archives readthrough -Minimize googling all the weird and bizarre things that get mentioned in the SFL Archives. If I gave in and started googling everything, I would be somewhere in SFL Archives Vol 03 right now instead of <as of 09-17-2020> a third deep into SFL Archives Volume 11. So I take plenty of bookmarks for things I plan on looking up later, whenever the SFL Archives readthrough is finished.
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Sep 18, 2020 08:49
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Apparently, Terry Goodkind passed. "He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"
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Sep 18, 2020 08:56
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quantumfoam posted:It's been over a year, how has Steven Erikson's Rejoice: A Knife to the Heart aged in the minds of people who posted about it in the old SF&F megathread? It's still a huge miss for me. I think i'm the only person who enjoyed his Wilful Child series though.
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Sep 18, 2020 10:16
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Drakyn posted:"No war! No war! No war!" the people shouted as Richard led the men up the street at a dead run.
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Sep 18, 2020 12:16
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Drakyn posted:"No war! No war! No war!" the people shouted as Richard led the men up the street at a dead run. awesmoe posted:Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken’s head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. “Shoo,” Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn’t enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn’t tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn’t need to see it. “Dear spirits, help me,” she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People’s chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest. We had some good times. I think the ASIOF forum had something like 50 threads writing parodies.
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Sep 18, 2020 12:31
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Mind you, chickens ARE evil incarnate.
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Sep 18, 2020 12:45
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Drakyn posted:"No war! No war! No war!" the people shouted as Richard led the men up the street at a dead run. nervously hahaha what the gently caress
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Sep 18, 2020 13:29
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Terry Goodkind posted:First of all, I don't write fantasy. I write stories that have important human themes.
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Sep 18, 2020 15:53
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^^^^^ are you sure that wasn't Garth Marenghi? i will always love the chicken that was not a chicken. rip you freak.
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Sep 18, 2020 17:02
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What I have done with my work has irrevocably changed the face of [fantasy or horror]. In so doing I've raised the standards. I have not only injected thought into a tired empty genre, but, more importantly, I've transcended it showing what more it can be-and in so doing spread my readership to completely new groups who don't like and wont ready typical fantasy. Agents and editors are screaming for more books like mine. Garth or Terry? It's literally impossible to tell.
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Sep 18, 2020 17:48
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Most fantasy is one-dimensional. It's either about magic or a world-building. I don't do either.
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Sep 18, 2020 17:50
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Drakyn posted:At the realization that their defense of the Imperial Order's brutality would actually result in consequences to themselves, the crowd began scattering in fright, screaming curses back at Richard and his men. Oh god that's from book 8 isn't it. I have never read a book in my entire life that was more boot-strappy. Richard was for some reason a peasant but took a second job and invested wisely and becomes a superman again all through his own power. Inspirational stuff.
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Sep 18, 2020 17:54
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Purposeful or not, "armed only with their hatred of moral clarity" is an incredible piece of writing. It says so much!
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Sep 18, 2020 18:23
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graventy posted:Oh god that's from book 8 isn't it. I have never read a book in my entire life that was more boot-strappy. Richard was for some reason a peasant but took a second job and invested wisely and becomes a superman again all through his own power. Inspirational stuff. Naked Empire was published in 2003. The Pillars of Creation, the prior book, is: Terry Goodkind posted:Dedicated to the people in the United States Intelligence Community who, for decades, have valiantly fought to preserve life and liberty, while being ridiculed, condemned, demonized, and shackled by the jackals of evil. genericnick posted:We had some good times. I think the ASIOF forum had something like 50 threads writing parodies.
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Sep 18, 2020 18:23
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General Battuta posted:Purposeful or not, "armed only with their hatred of moral clarity" is an incredible piece of writing. It says so much! quote:"After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."
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Sep 18, 2020 18:51
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Drakyn posted:No, you're thinking of Faith of the Fallen drat, my memory is terrible, and I have no plans to go back and reinforce it. I really should have stopped in the first book where his dominatrix/torturer falls in love with him, but, what can I say apparently I like bad porny books. Unrelatedly the third Baru is very good so far! (I think it's unrelated I haven't finished it yet.)
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Sep 18, 2020 19:02
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Silver2195 posted:The Dark Forest has a different translator and much worse prose, IMO, so I think your problem is with the author rather than the translator. Yeah, Ken Liu's supposed to be the gold standard for translating Chinese sci fi and The Dark Forest read much worse than either of the other two books in the trilogy which supports that. That's just the way they're written I guess; they definitely can be a slog.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:11
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awesmoe posted:Hissing, hackles lifting, the chicken’s head rose. Kahlan pulled back. Its claws digging into stiff dead flesh, the chicken slowly turned to face her. It cocked its head, making its comb flop, its wattles sway. “Shoo,” Kahlan heard herself whisper. There wasn’t enough light, and besides, the side of its beak was covered with gore, so she couldn’t tell if it had the dark spot, But she didn’t need to see it. “Dear spirits, help me,” she prayed under her breath. The bird let out a slow chicken cackle. It sounded like a chicken, but in her heart she knew it wasn’t. In that instant, she completely understood the concept of a chicken that was not a chicken. This looked like a chicken, like most of the Mud People’s chickens. But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest. Never forget that the last Sword of Truth book introduced a major plot hole in the first book.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:46
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Major Ryan posted:Yeah, Ken Liu's supposed to be the gold standard for translating Chinese sci fi and The Dark Forest read much worse than either of the other two books in the trilogy which supports that. That's just the way they're written I guess; they definitely can be a slog. Well I'm definitely not reading The Dark Forest then.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:50
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Major Ryan posted:Yeah, Ken Liu's supposed to be the gold standard for translating Chinese sci fi and The Dark Forest read much worse than either of the other two books in the trilogy which supports that. That's just the way they're written I guess; they definitely can be a slog. I had the same feeling with Finnish translations (from Chinese) so I doubt it's a translator issue too.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:54
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Yeah I have friends who read Three Body in the original Chinese and that’s just how the guy writes. He’s and engineer by trade and very interested in theory and the moral particulars, not so much in the flow of language or even characterization.
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Sep 18, 2020 19:59
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Patrick Spens posted:Well I'm definitely not reading The Dark Forest then. It's the best of the three, though.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:00
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General Battuta posted:It's the best of the three, though. It is, yes. A shame to miss out on all the cool ideas. I mean, the prose isn’t good, but it’s still a very impressive piece of fiction.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:04
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Just finished Baru 3, did I miss any indication that the spinal surgery to remove a slice of Abd's tumor was going to paralyze him before it was revealed that it had happened? I thought they said they were super good at that thing so I assumed it would not happen.
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Sep 18, 2020 21:40
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DACK FAYDEN posted:Just finished Baru 3, did I miss any indication that the spinal surgery to remove a slice of Abd's tumor was going to paralyze him before it was revealed that it had happened? I thought they said they were super good at that thing so I assumed it would not happen. ah heck I accidentally clicked this and got spoiled Anyway, I just read that section, and Iscend implies it's a very real possibility: "The nerve gives me the most concern," Yawa said. She'd been very quiet. "Justifiably so." Iscend marked a certain vertebrae with a long needle, flagged with red cloth. "Any injury to the spine above this point will kill him. A lower injury might only cause paralysis." [...] "Do you think you can keep him alive?" "At spinal operations my success rate is better than average. Hesychast trained me himself." "Tell us the exact rate." Yawa's grip on the magnesium mirror began to shudder. She transferred it to her other hand. "Seventy percent. If you discard those who came into the theater already dying." Barhu groaned in worry. "Abd is weak. He hasn't been eating well. He has a fungal infection. I can't let him die." "There are no certainties once the skin is open, Your Excellence." It's on page 461 of the print edition, if you're curious.
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Sep 18, 2020 22:09
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Baru 3 spoilers: There's also the fact that Iscend isn't the one who did the surgery, the Cancrioth took Abd and Iraji back on the ship do to it. And the surgeries were interrupted by Faham's raid on the ship, so even if everything had been going fine before then, that was probably when his spine was injured.
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Sep 18, 2020 23:21
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Finished the Anubis Gates and it's a really fun book. I really liked how everybody believes that the protagonist holds the secrets of the universe and yet he barely knows what's going on. It also feels like a kinds prototype of China Mieville's books, you got secret underground societies, people being remade into monstrosities and characters named Dog-Faced Joe.
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Sep 19, 2020 10:01
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quantumfoam posted:A new SFL Archives readthrough summary is up, no idea anymore how long it will take before finishing off SFL Archives Vol 11 or how many more readthrough update posts will be required. quote:-A weird bit of SciFi pulp fiction creeps out. In 1948 or early 1949, a anonymous person sent in a fake review of the upcoming October or November 1949 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, complete with author & story title listing. John W. Campbell bit, and low-key contacted the authors listed in that fake review ASF review and had them write SciFi stories using those story titles, and then published everything listed in that fake review. JW Campbell then used that gag as a editorial hook-line about how Science Fiction can become a Self-Fulfilling prophecy. That is the November 1949 Astounding Science Fiction, the letter by Richard A. Hoen is in the November 1948 issue
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Sep 19, 2020 10:45
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DurianGray posted:Baru 3 spoilers:
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Sep 19, 2020 12:06
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Making a request for assistance before I re-post Thursday's SFL Archives readthrough summary here. I want to re-vamp the SFL Archives readthrough blog design, however the blog-banner picture looks terrible when it gets upscaled. Does anyone have a HD screengrab of the scene in the Naked Gun 1 where Leslie Nielsen is saying "Please disperse. Nothing to see here. Please Disperse" while a fireworks factory is exploding behind him? Aka this scene. https://youtu.be/aKnX5wci404?t=27 e: that picture run through Google's DeepDream might be terrible or terribly-amazing quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Sep 19, 2020 |
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Sep 19, 2020 17:43
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New Abercrombie was pretty good and a step up from the first book in the series. He has evolved quite a lot since the first law trilogy. Seems like the third will be a version of the French Revolution based on the final chapters. Also, killing your darlings is not a problem for Abercrombie.
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Sep 19, 2020 17:49
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<re-posted from off-site SFL Archives readthrough blog> SFL Archives vol 11 readthrough update 04 34% completion, 135 bookmarks 18 items of interest. <re-posted from off-site SFL Archives readthrough blog> quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Aug 29, 2021 |
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Sep 19, 2020 18:09
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