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Magisteria Mods ([personal profile] magisteriamods) wrote in [community profile] memeisteria2024-05-15 08:01 pm
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Magisteria TDM #2







Magisteria Test Drive Meme #2


Welcome to the second official test drive meme for Magisteria! The TDM is game canon. Characters who do not app will simply disappear.

Notes:

* The magic/tech aspect of the game is not significant to TDM play. Any character can participate in the level of magic or technology used as TDM play.
* Content notes: Some spice throughout the prompts, though nothing one is obligated to engage with. The final section contains adult-centric prompts, including SUBSTANCES and SEXY FARE. They have been explicitly marked.
* Most of the island is not yet open to Otherworlders. High Rise Village and Eden 6 are, some of Agriculture is, and Market, but Sacred Nexus, the Grove, and all districts for the Institutions, are currently off limits. The settings will play a role in the metaplot.

Current players are highly encouraged to participate in the TDM. Those who do so will receive an extra reward for the month. 🎁 Those who show especial incentive in tagging new people might receive especially nice rewards and upgrades to previous gifts!


Prologue: The Story is Still Beginning... Just a Little Further Now...


In one moment, you find yourself before a portal radiant with light, a tree of life that blazes with fire and the brilliant hues of some great, potent energy which you feel surrounding you and infusing your body. Your vision fills with colors brighter than any you have known. Should you close your eyes, you even see colors in the darkness. In another moment, or perhaps many moments later (for you feel that time is waxing and waning), you are standing within what appears to be a station. There is not too much feeling of upheaval. Whatever you were doing before is simply on hold; instinctively, you know that, and instinctively, you feel a pull towards this place. There are others with you: a group of people, newly arriving.

This time around, things are a little different for newly arriving Otherworlders: first of all, you encounter your guide immediately... and possibly others, with her.














"Welcome once more, Otherworlders. You'll want to watch the projection that Minister Brennam prepared for the last group."


Meet Seraphine Nova: the first native who greeted the original Otherworlder group. Only this time, she is likely not alone, but accompanied by fellow Otherworlders, including possibly even others whom the new arrivals might know.


That's right; the OG Otherworlders have been roped into participating in the Magisteria Welcoming Committee. People from the first wave of arrivals are expected to help the newbies find their way around, get them settled in, and, once they're on the train, hand out the drinks.




I. An Enchanted AR Icebreaker



You're on a monorail train in the Business District of a city of the distant future. Your guide explains to your group that the first priority is to have you all acquainted with your aXess Link device. She explains that it can be shaped like anything – a phone, a watch. It’s a bit of a techno-magical device: the sort of cross-magisteria blending which can sometimes happen on smaller items. The fact is that pretty much everyone in the city needs one, so they’re ubiquitous and subsidized as necessary for accessibility.

Along the ride, your guide informs you of some team-building activities which have been prepared to get you all acquainted with your new technology and with one another. She explains that she did not design these, but those who did so intended them to be creative:


📱 a) Fuck/Marry/Kill, Magisteria Ver



The CyberCharm application has once again returned to the aXess Link. Only this time, it seems to have been modified a bit, and not necessarily for the best UX. Rather than a ❤️ or an ❌, users have three options: FUCK/MARRY/KILL. Users of the application will face forced honesty questions for each profile: each user will list someone for the three categories, as well as a secret confession.

Users will find that these categories will be automatically filled in by the AI if they don't answer these questions -- and the Magisteria algorithms may or may not have a good sense of these new Otherworlders' tastes. (Or, being algorithms, they may operate on a No Wrong Answers policy.)

Participation in the activity is theoretically optional -- after all, confessions wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but the app seems unusually glitchy today -- strange for a world of technology as advanced as this, perhaps? It's almost like it is really trying to pry some answers out of Otherworlders, or like it's determined to make everyone get to know one another through this strange game, even if it has to insert answers in places.

[Answers can be posted in comments and will count for network threading.]





*If questioned about the dubiousness of this activity or what purpose something like this could possibly serve as an icebreaker, Seraphine Nova will admit that certain activities might actually be meant to incite discomfort or test reactions in Otherworlders Something something "the trials ahead" and she will continue to insist there's only so much she's aware of, either.


🧋 b) Refreshments



Seraphine Nova informs you that her family owns a coffee shop, The Bean and Berry. They even have discounts for newly arriving Otherworlders. Today, everyone on the ride gets a glass of Clari-tea. An enhanced version of a traditional chai: beyond having a lovely, spiced-sweet flavour, it can promote relaxation, stress reduction, and mental clarity. Some use it to combat anxiety, even having it recommended by their doctors for some psychological conditions.

To enhance the drink, adult passengers have the option of adding a chaser: a splash of something boozy but surprisingly sweet, it leaves the tongue tingling - a tingle that then suffuses the body, making every touch dance across the nervous system. It can even be something of an aphrodisiac, or at least encourage a light euphoria that predisposes one to such moods, and thus perfect for pre-gaming before any evening partying.

There's also a pastry option: hexberry danish. But Otherworlders will want to be cautioned: hexberries can have some notable effects.

[See "flora/fauna" at the end for information on Variable Hexberries.]


🃏 d) Wildcard

These prompts are just ideas. Feel free to make your own mini-games or engage with other activities during the ride!


II. The World Of Tomorrow: Exterior



Soon, the train arrives at its destination. Centrally located in High Rise Village, this is Evergreen Terrace, a luxury apartment complex. Otherworlders are informed that many of the district's elite, both techies and magic users, live within these apartments. They serve a thriving, hybrid community.

The apartments feature a series of buildings consisting of terraces of windows overflowing with greenery and pink bougainvillea. The buildings are bright alabaster white, and should you ask about their composition, you will be informed that there are magic-infused crystals within the architecture. The city sprawls around the apartments, but the greenery throughout and around purifies the air.


💧 a) Waters of Seeing



The apartment complex is encircled by artificial ponds and streams of running water. The water itself is crystal clear and sparkles in a manner that may give Otherworlders the distinctive impression of enchantment, even if they are not magically attuned individuals. There are signs indicating that Otherworlders are responsible for whatever they see, should they gaze at these waters.

If you look for very long, you may see a vision from home, perhaps someone you care for. Or you may see a memory, a glimpse of your past. Should another stand beside you, they just may see your memory, as well. Or the reverse: you might find yourself gazing into another’s past.
🐟 c) The Tetra War Rages On



Otherworlders from the first group are already familiar with some of the... scenery around Evergreen Terrace, such as the lotus flowers and the fish. However, this time around, the scene is a different one. The pink lotus flowers are still present, but there's no longer a sense of enchantment. They are ordinary flowers. And the fish...

... well, there are signs around the ponds with messages like "CAREFUL: INVASIVE SPECIES CONTAINMENT IN PROGRESS". Dealing with the cryptocarp and the near-figmentary tetras (NFTs) is an ongoing process at Evergreen Terrace, and there may even be evidence of destruction of some sort as local mages and tech types are repairing the turf and the ponds.

If newbies want to know what's up with the Great Tetra Takedown, they are encouraged to ask more recent arrivals (who are, in turn, encouraged to fill them in ASAP). Both sets of Otherworlders will continue to be encouraged to help natives dispatch of the fish, whether by relocation or more aggressive means.

The fish themselves? Far from being easy targets, the tetras and cryptocarp have been rapidly multiplying. Feeling the threat, the fish have stubbornly locked into their Magisterian magical power of Imaginary Financial Numbers and are now rapidly replicating themselves -- so a single tetra might suddenly turn into three, including when they're shot or cut apart.

Otherworlders can defeat the Imaginary Financial Numbers power by using Synthesis to enhance their magic or tech... but the question is whether one would use their special Otherworlder hack for an activity like this. If they do, some of the fish, like classical video game enemies, will drop coins upon death. Some will even turn into bags of golden coins on defeat: better get those turned into virtual currency on the aXess Link!

The coin-dropping, coin-transformation cryptocarp and tetras are those who bloodstreams have been entirely modified by whatever Shady Financial Attribute has modified their evolution in the first place. Others will turn into regular dead fish who can be cooked/eaten.




II. The World Of Tomorrow: Interior

🕯️a) A Light Greeting



Waterfalls of light cascade down from the ceiling within the lobby of the apartments. There are people eagerly stepping beneath them, and should you do so, you will find that the light imparts a sense of deep pleasure and inner peace. Sounds within are ambient, voices musical, and you may feel attuned to this space. It’s like the feeling of being near a beach, warm and tropical-tinged: the sense of embarking on a new adventure. That said, there are signs cautioning that standing beneath these pleasant lights for too long could reduce inhibition(s), an effect which could potentially last for the duration of the night.


🎨 b) Art-Shaming



Other things have changed since the earlier Otherworlders arrived at Evergreen Terrace, too. In particular, the art installations from the first arrival now seem a bit quieter, and many of them have signs affixed in front of them, such as:

"I pretend to be a serene woodland but really I'm a party animal"
"I'm supposed to beautify walls, not walk them"
"I'm worth a million, but I act like a two-cent mischief maker"
"Officially a high-class installation, unofficially a high-energy instigator"
"They programmed me to inspire, but I just aspire to entertain"

The art installations are indeed far more passive this time around, though when Otherworlders' attention is divided, they still tend to try to sneak around. Otherworlders can help with this rather silly problem by using 🪄 basic magic to encourage a calm aura in the art installations. Tech PCs can simply modify the art installations, changing their state from an active to a passive one by tweaking their interior. These are very simple challenges that even low level techies/mages can do.


🎉 c) Job Applications



Instead of a welcoming party, this time around, there's a vocational learnshop. The time cometh for Otherworlders, old and new alike, to be contemplating what they might do for their jobs/careers in the city! Otherworlders can fill out any of the below categories, and their answers will be broadcast to the network.

PCs can meet people with fellow backgrounds/interests and possibly starting seeking opportunities together, and this prompt can also be used to initiate planning for longterm opportunities for those who do app (i.e. mods can work with players to make these happen). Answers can be serious or shitposty, of course.
















There's another area where things differ this time around: the whole apartment crew is present. Malik Patel, the concierge, Ava Nguyen, the head of the maintenance department, and Atlas, the AI caretaker, are all accounted for. It's been an eventful month at Evergreen Terrace, one might say.


Atlas: Well, I think I've been successful enough with the art installations for the time being. The robots, however, have begun whispering amongst themselves and calling me names. "Rutting dog of late stage capitalism." Slander! Simply because I think there are times and places for such a ruckus and we're on the clock!

Ava: Sometimes, Atlas, you have to be a little more carrot than stick.

Malik: I agree with that, as long as the carrot isn't one of Ava's muffins. One minute I was at the desk, taking a bite. The next I was floating, growing, shrinking, turning blue, turning translucent, and then I look up to see a Woofaloomp floating above me, covered in glitter and butterflies and smelling like hashbrowns. I guess it was an Experience and I'm a guy who is all about those, but not one I'm keen to redo anytime soon.

Ava: Guess the takeaway is I need to test my recipes more as I go.

... anyway, hello, Otherworlders. We're the crew here. Don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything. Sorry, but as you might've noticed, we've had a bit of a hectic month here at the complex.




🌆 D) Rooms with a View




Within Evergreen Terrace, there are tech quarters and magic quarters, as well as plenty of general all-purpose apartments with full service amenities. Occupants will learn that their rooms are fully customizable to their specific preferences: via enchantment or AR, each room can take on virtually any appearance its owner wishes.

Some common themes include Neo-Tokyo Metropolis, Nature Fusion, Steampunk Retrofuturism, and Synthetic Dreamscape.

Not only can these rooms assume different appearances, but they are immersive enough to provide full sensory experiences. From the scent of metal to the feeling of sun-infused warmth touched with the coolness of a recent rain shower, the sensations are realistic and evocative.

Otherworlders are encouraged to explore. You may settle in, pick a theme, or personalize your room with your own imaginative design choices. There are also communal areas, and Otherworlders can congregate and interact in the hopes of finding prospective roommates. Why not come out and meet your neighbors? After all, you can make the currency in your virtual account last longer if you share a place . . .

When the evening descends, everyone is encouraged to explore the night life of the Entertainment District.


III. The Eternal City: Entertainment District



At night, the colors within the city truly come to life. Bios shows itself everywhere, and in all things. Natural Bios and industrial, mechanized Bios. There is conventional neon, yes, and conventional electricity, but also Bios, and as you walk the avenues, you can feel the pulse of this great, incandescent power.

Also colloquially referred to as Neon Heaven by the locals, Eden 6 is broadly comprised of two different zones:

🍏Green Apple Quarters – all-ages fare
🌹Red Rose Quarters – adult centers


🍏 a) Green Apple Exploration

These quarters house most restaurants, except those with notable bars or alcoholic beverage menus. Coffee and pastry shops are well-represented. There are plenty of magic-themed attractions, as well as general techie hangouts. One popular shop is named Fairy Dust: it’s a shop for potion and alchemy products, as well as magical toys of sorts to entertain children, and fun little spells. The highlight of the Green Apple Quarters, however, are certainly the gaming centers and arcades.


🛹 b) Skyracing



This is an activity which both children and adults participate in, often in different forms. Throughout the all-ages districts, young people can often be seen riding in the air on skateboards. But there are also other kinds of flying craft, some which are more like aerocycles, as well as hoverboards. Some of the latter are more prominent among the older set, with some races even having a hardcore adrenaline junkie component. Those take place primarily around The Fountain, the superclub which is on the border between Apple and Rose. There, skyracing is especially popular around the sunset and early evening hours.

Beings glimpsed in the evening sky can include sylphs and zephyrs, though sighting them is not entirely common.




IV. Entertainment District: Adults-Only 🚫



Quarters identified with the Red Rose designation are those which contain adult-centric fare. This includes any alcohol-first establishment, such as bars or nightclubs.

Otherworlders will find that the denizens of Magisteria’s Entertainment district maintain complex attitudes around nightlife. On the one hand, they are big believers in the protection and demarcation of adult sexuality. They’re very anti-criminalization of substances and big on legalization in principle. Perhaps not surprising for the people of a futuristic city. But even in Magisteria, there’s some sense that what happens in Neon Heaven, under the cover of night, stays there, and the usage of certain inducements to pleasure is not, as a rule, spoken of in the pristine offices of High Rise Village.

While the city emphasizes age restrictions, there are also plenty of people around the adult-centric establishments, none very hard to find, who will, for a small price, help teens who are on the older side (15+) access some of these establishments, especially the ones focused on pleasures of an AR-centric nature. After all, teens will find ways to explore things, and if it’s AR, it’s probably fine, right?




a) The Neon Oracle

Come one, come all to the Grand Casino, the Neon Oracle.

Set in a towering skyscraper in the heart of a bustling cyberpunk city, The Neon Oracle dominates the skyline with its glowing neon lights and holographic displays. The casino is known for its blending of ancient magic with futuristic technology. There are gaming tables, slot machines, a VIP lounge with exquisite drinks for the ambitious, and of course, everything is enhanced by technology and magic. Augmentations and enchantments abound.

🃏 There are poker and blackjack tables. Players can play enhanced poker with magical effects, such as cards that randomly change to wild cards or cards which whisper about other teams and try to coordinate with the players. Enchanted cards, as it were.

🎲Magical Dice Roll: The magical dice can roll six positive outcomes or six negative outcomes. RNG:

1. 🌈 Rainbow Aura: This effect grants the player "Shield Tokens" that prevent any loss of credits for the next 10 minutes of play, effectively making them immune to negative outcomes in that time frame.
2. 🔒 Mana Lock: Negates the next positive RNG
3.🎁 Treasure Chest: When this prize is unlocked, the player receives one of the following items, selected randomly:
High Level Protective Armor/Shielding and/or Neural Circuitry Enhancement
A Mysterious Key
Arcane Blueprint (An Equally Mysterious Blueprint)
4. 🌪️ Chaos Twister: Previous winnings are blown away by a brief magical whirlwind
5. 🌀 Time Warp: The player can redo a negative roll at any point in the game.
6. 🌑 Eclipse Curse: Darkens your fortunes by turning the next prize invisible
7. 🎰 Jackpot Spin: Spinning this exclusive wheel can yield one of the following major prizes:
Luxury Vehicle: A high-speed, advanced-tech vehicle usable in various game modes.
Resort Pass: A voucher for luxury accommodations in the game's virtual world resort, offering unique interactions and bonuses.
8. 💥 Elemental Backlash:
9. 💥 Elemental Burst: Multiplies the player's previous win by 3
10. 🕸️ Web of Stasis: Makes you unable to collect the next reward roll
11. ❓ Mystery Effect: Triggers one of several random but highly beneficial effects:
Instant Win Cash: A large sum of credits added directly to the player's account.
Legendary Companion: A powerful NPC ally joins the player for a limited time, assisting in various game challenges.
12. 🔄 Reversal of Fortune: Reverses your fortunes by taking away the equivalent of your last prize won.

Players are encouraged to play for best of three or five rounds for the actual prizes.

Players can of course make up their own games for the casino! Slot machines with magical effects involving unicorns or fae companions, special AR creatures, cyborgs and AI -- the imagination is really the limit for the fantasy/cyberpunk casino and its indulgences.



b) Water Gardens



”Water garden” is the codename for Verve hotspots. Verve is a substance specific to Magisteria and its Entertainment district. It’s really the major drug of note, the biggest if not nearly-only game in town, mostly because of how intense its effects are.

Verve creates feelings of euphoria and bliss. The drug also enhances sensory perception, making colors more vibrant, sounds more vivid, and textures more pronounced. Users feel more connected to their surroundings. Other effects include: heightened energy levels and excitement, a creativity boost, heightened empathy and a desire to connect with others, mood regulation and increased feelings of relaxation, the potential for lucid dreams, time dilation – in which moments feel elongated, and sensory merging, in which synesthetic effects occur. While under the influence of Verve, you may see music or taste colors.

There’s also the aphrodisiac effect, which can be quite potent, particularly if one is otherwise savoring the pleasures of their environs.

Most users partake of Verve by having it mingled with their alcoholic beverages. Shots for cocktails come at a small fee. It brightens drinks with luminous colours and enhances the taste with its own, so there’s no question of anyone partaking of it accidentally or without their knowledge.

Some clubs and gathering spots have Verve misting stations outside or small fountains spraying droplets of mist into the air, so patrons can indulge before even entering, priming their mood for intense indulgences and the full sensory brilliance of the neon city.




Flora/Fauna


Rarity: Rare
Variable Hexberries




Found In: Only found on the riverbank of the Mysticaire District.
Description: Native to Magisteria, these berries grow in only one area on the island: on the shore of the river as it passes through the Sacred Nexus. The berries grow on plants that are never more than two inches tall, with leaves brightly variegated between a vibrant yellow and deep green. The plants will grow soon after winter ends, soon forming small flowers of unpredictable colour, and the colour of the flower seems to have no connection to the berries that they develop into. The process itself takes roughly ten days, and any berry that isn’t harvested will fall and develop into a new plant, the process repeating until the next winter. No plant bears more than two berries in a season and will die off once those berries are produced and either plucked or shed.

The berries themselves are small, no larger than a common garden pea once shelled, and have a tough outer skin that is still easy enough to bite through. Wildlife has been seen eating these berries to no ill effect. People report that their flavour is mild and sweet, but each berry has an unpredictable magical effect. So far, none of these magical effects has been truly harmful, though some have set off mild allergies, and none have lasted longer than one full day. Their changeable nature means that they aren’t seen as a dependable food source, but they do seem to have some use as entertainment. (See table A for observed results. It is possible other results have yet to be documented.)
Edible/Not Edible: Edible, with caution.

Table A:
1:Hair colour changes4 hours
2:Eye colour changes
4 hours
3:Everything eaten tastes like your favourite food
24 hours
4:Everything eaten tastes like your least favourite food
24 hours
5:Skin colour changes4 hours
6:Scales appear on your body then shed away, leaving the effect of a pleasant exfoliation
6 hours
7:Sensation of pins and needles travels over your body
2 hours
8:Gain the scent of flowers, type of flower dependent on anyone smelling you
12 hours
9:Gain the scent of the favourite breakfast food of the person smelling you
12 hours
10:Colour of skin, hair, eyes, and clothing changes to photo negative, even if action is taken to change those colours otherwise
4 hours
11:Gain energy and wakefulness without "energy crash" afterward
5 hours
12:Fall into a sleep state with pleasant dreams
6 hours
13:Grow proportionally 6 inches taller, clothing included
8 hours
14:Shrink proportionally 6 inches shorter, clothing included
8 hours
15:Hands glow, leaving glowing prints on everything you touch
3 hours
16:Gain a sudden and lingering awareness of the cardinal directions
24 hours
17:See those with a strong emotional connection to you with a halo or aura
12 hours
18:Gain the ability to control a floating, heatless source of light of scintillating colours that cannot be dismissed
6 hours
19:Burp bubbles of different tints that float into the sky but pop upon being touched
3 hours
20:Attract butterflies that land on you or flutter about you
6 hours
21:Hair grows between 1-3 feet - can be cut, but will revert to original length
24 hours
22:Levitate ten inches off the ground, but retain ability to move normally
4 hours
23:Scatter glitter with every gesture - glitter can set off pollen allergies
8 hours
24:Gain energy from sunlight, needing water but not food
24 hours
25:Become translucent.7 hours




Cryptocarp


Found In: Any moving freshwater. If found in lakes or ponds, please report immediately.
Description: Traveling the rivers in schools, the cryptocarp group together seemingly by colour. Their scales can range in shade anywhere from red-orange to yellow-green and be blotched with white or black. They sometimes beg at footbridges, schools swimming in enticing patterns to persuade the passers-by to toss in bits of food, from bread to lettuce to pellets that are sold by the handful in coin-operated vending machines.

Actually feeding the cryptocarp is frowned upon. The patterns in which they swim are hypnotic when combined with the patterns on their scales, something thought to have come about to lull predators into either ignoring them or finding them frightening enough to leave alone. Now, they use it to gain sustenance and reproduce in the rivers, sometimes threatening the natural habitats of the waterways. The pellet vending machines have been removed multiple times, but it is presumed that someone enthralled by the cryptocarp keeps replacing them.
Friend-shaped/Not Friend-shaped: Debated.



Near-Figmentary Tetra





Found In: Any moving freshwater.
Description: These tetras are an invasive species. At first, the nigh-figmentary tetras were seen as beneficiary as they kept the number of cryptocarp in check. As time has passed, however, their presence has made the number of cryptocarp dwindle by sniping the ability for the male cryptocarp to fertilize the eggs.

These fish are difficult to see, their entire body all but invisible. The only way to spot them is to be inside the water when one swims by and either see or feel the ripple in the current nearby. Even then, by the time they’re reached for, they’re already out of reach. Their invisibility thoroughly bypasses the visually-focused cryptocarp’s senses and brings them into the ideal position to steal the cryptocarp’s spawn. The two species are, somehow, compatible as it comes to breeding, but the offspring, a piebald mix of visible, patterned scales and invisible body, are infertile.

The tetras are big enough to be a food source when caught, and many high-end restaurants sell them as delicacies. Those who buy the dish mostly do so as an experience, however, as the flavour is reported to remind most of those who eat it of despair.
Friend-shaped/Not Friend-shaped: Not friend-shaped, free game for fishing and eating (with ample seasoning).


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ghostlight: (092)

cw drug mention (marijuana)

[personal profile] ghostlight 2024-05-24 02:07 am (UTC)(link)
Emerick didn't turn to look at the person the voice belonged to. Not yet, at least. He was still focused on the scene before him: the pair just working away at the articles of clothes they were making. Emerick remembered it: it was Emily's final project. She had to create a collection to go down the runway of an event her school was putting on. He helped her with the hemming because she absolutely hated doing it, and she thought he was better at it anyway. He stayed up and helped her instead of sleeping. It was clear he was fond of the memory, wanting to take in every moment of it.

He thought about how to answer her question about altering his perceptions. Emerick smoked weed to deal with his anxiety, not because he wanted the experience of being high. It was true that he self medicated but he didn't smoke because it was a fun time. He smoked to keep his head clear, and to keep his hands steady, and to help him sleep through his nightmares.

"I don't try to alter my perception, it's just an unfortunate side effect. I've never had visual hallucinations before," but he has had auditory ones. He can still hear his father's voice in his head every single day, criticizing every single thing he did, and sometimes that voice got so loud he could swear Alexander Kline was behind him yelling at him.

"I never talk about these memories. This place shouldn't know about this." He didn't comment if it was something he didn't wish to see - that didn't particularly matter. Emerick had always worked hard to obfuscate his connection to her because he didn't want to drag her down with her career just starting to bloom, but in this new place it didn't really matter who knew about Emily, did it?
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