Tension on the Horizon

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

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Mraize, you know you have an infected wound? Considering the time post infection you should be barely able to move your arm, not even speaking of the possibility of taking Nei'an out.

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian

[Life&Death he/him]

Soul stalked through the alleyway. He had just seen the body of Nei’an, and was filled with rage. Aluminum was flared within him both aluminum swords were drawn. He continued his prowling, only walking through the darkest alleys towards his goal. Blood would be spilt soon.

 

[Archer he/him]

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17 minutes ago, Life&Death said:

Blood would be spilt soon.

*facepalm* This is why you don't run with swords. 

 

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

Lopen appeared beside Soul, the ghostly eyes in his ethereal head blazing. 'Nei'an was a fine man, one who could take a joke. Let's make Rhaizen pay.' As he said this he offered the man a handshake, waiting for their bond as brothers in arms to be solidified.

[Life&Death he/him]

Soul sheathed on of his swords and shook the ghostly figure’s hand.

”Rhazien must die.” Soul agreed.

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

A grim sense of satisfaction graced Lopen's face as he unsheathed his trident. 'And I have the perfect tracker for us.'

[Archer he/him]

D'ave rounded the corner, coming up to the two men. "It is I! Using my excellent sense of smell and reasonable sense of direction, I will find your man." Dave began picking up the trail Rhazien had left. 

[Gancho Libre he/him]

Gancho frowned, invisible, the only sign of his existance being a dot of beige on the side of a building. Nei'an... died? Gancho should have helped, but the OP rules of the Alleyverse were... unforgiving. It shook his head, and the dot of beige disappeared as Gancho receeded from the area. Below, Nei'an body began glowing, powerful, blinding, the beige coloring of the aura so bright is almost seemed pure white. Then, the glow was gone, taking Nei'an's body with it.

Now, all Gancho needed now was a new host.

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

When Lopen saw this disappearance, he knew what was happening. 'See you soon Gancho. We shall avenge Nei'an for you. Wear something beige so I'll recognise you. D'ave, lovely to have you on board. Lead the way!'

[Life&Death he/him]

Soul sheathed his other sword, and instead summoned his Elblade. Aluminum was useful, but a shardblade was more versatile. 

“Find a new host soon Gancho. We need your help.”

Soul followed Lopen and D’ave, ready to spill blood, but not by falling on his sword. Soul sensed the cosmos making a joke at his expense and didn’t want to make the situation actually happen.

[Gancho Libre he/him]

Gancho, hearing the summons, made a commitment to follow along to the others in the quest. To do as Lopen said, he appeared as a slight shimmer of beige.

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New character incomming as a small write up. I'll post it in a buit, whenever I feel prompted.

 

[MacThorstenson he/him]

Meanwhile back in the alleys, Mac was encountering a serious problem.

He couldn't remember where he stuck his cookies.

He had ordered a case of cookies a few years ago, and stuck it in the alleys somewhere. Usually this wouldn't be an issue, It would be easy to find out where he left them through a variety of methods. 

But this was an issue, because he had never forgotten anything. Ever. His perfect memory was how he had avoided the decay of his memories with the copper minds. It allowed him to change bodies as much as he liked, without issue. Just spike the new person with F-copper, and he would involuntarily tap the copperminds. But now, if he really was forgetting things, there were two possibilities. Either Mack's body was responsible for being the reason that he had forgotten stuff, or the copper mind decay was happening. This was going to need more investigation, otherwise Mac could pass into the beyond. He was well aware that the only reason he appeared alive was because his entire life's experiences overwhelmed Mack, but if that balance tipped, then he would be in trouble. This was going to need some looking into. 

Edited May 29, 2018 by MacThorstenson

[Lord Meeker he/him]

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I jest need to get ChayShan, Bloodsealing, and Forgery, I can get these in the next thread. I will make said thread later tonight, to get us on back on track. I have planed four more threads to the story, names as follows.

• Divided we fall
• United we stand
• Blood upon the Ground (This will be published by @MacThorstenson or @Voidus. They called dibs, and there are other reasons involved)
• Resolution (if Rhazien gets that far )

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Mraize

[Kidpen he/him]

1 minute ago, Mraize said:

Untied we stand

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Wondering if Mraize made a typo is is messing with us and knots are actually related.

 

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

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@Mraize You still have to deal with your infected wound.

 

[Lord Meeker he/him]

1 minute ago, Kidpen said:

Wondering if Mraize made a typo is is messing with us and knots are actually related.

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it was a typo, and it is fixed but i can untie you if you need.

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@LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian I am going to let it kill me at the very end if you are okay with the infection lasting that long

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Mraize

[I Am Witless she/her]

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Whose (who's?) turn is it?

 

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

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Yours if you want. And Mraize I would be fine with the infection lasting that long as long as you don't use f gold or stormlight.

 

Edited May 29, 2018 by LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian

[I Am Witless she/her]

Yzabet padded out into the night and breathed deeply of the fresh air. They had just missed being mowed over by a highstorm before finding shelter. She shivered in the slight chill and gazed up at the stars.

[Lord Meeker he/him]

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I wasn't planning on using any of my power unless confronted. Could the infection/poison be healing immune or something as well as slow killing?

Rhazien threw on the coat Nei'an gave him. It would be easier to keep track of. He would fulfill the dying wish of his friend. He armed himself with every weapon that he bought before leaving the the inn to look for Yzabet. He found her gazing up at the stars in a small garden. He approached her and wrapped his arms around her.

"What is occupying your mind?" He asked.

[I Am Witless she/her]

28 minutes ago, Mraize said:

He would fulfill the dying wish of his friend.

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Weren't they trying to kill each other or something? Are they friends now?

"I'm just wondering why we're enemies, and how much this fight is really worth. I mean, TUBA, the DA.... the only difference is that one group wants to put spikes in cookies and give them to people without telling them that they have spikes, and the other wants people to be aware that the cookies have spikes. That is literally our only difference. Otherwise we are crazy people with weird habits. We all enjoy the same hobbies, like reading the same books, and we all like cookies. Sometimes I wonder why we fight, and how much good we could do if we put our minds to a higher work."

[LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian]

The voice of Lopen pierces the air. 'The DA provides warnings. Stop with this anti DA propaganda!' Lopen himself was nowhere to be seen.

[Gancho Libre he/him]

 

 

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here's my small write up. sorry it's bolded, I couldn't fix it. Anyway, say hello to the new host! (if there is another thread coming soon I'll post it there as well)

1

Naerman brushed a plant leaf out of her face, stepping into an uncommon break in the trees and foliage. The strange green landscape had stood out on the blasted rocky surface of Roshar, so it had been relatively easy to find.

     She knew nobody else who had noted the same observation except those who had been accepted by the Nightwatcher.

    She started picking her way through the dense flora once more, the plants always seemingly hesitant about letting her loose. The green would have been almost blinding, after traveling the bland landscape of highstorms for weeks, had it not been dark. It could have been the night, it could have been the trees blocking the sunlight from high noon. She found she didn’t know.

     Or care.

     The Nightwatcher hadn’t appeared yet; had she been foolish in her assumption that it would come to her? She was undoubtedly foreign, and she had heard the Nightwatcher didn’t like foreigners. She wasn’t from any of the Roshars, whether it be the continent, the planet, or even the solar system. How could she be so foolish as to come here, instead of hunting him down and taking vengeance for Nei’an?

     Naermen…….

     Green mist rose from the ground. The plants seemed to disappear as the thick fog obscured everything, including Naermen’s own hands that she raised in front of her face. Did she imagine that voice? Or was it her?

     Naermen…….

     This time, she was sure there was a voice. “Nightwatcher?” she asked aloud, but the mist seemed to choke the sound back.

     You want something, Naermen……

    It wasn’t a question; why would it need to be? Everyone came here only for one purpose. “Yes,” Naermen called out. “I do. Where are-”

     Do not make demands of me, Naermen……. The Nightwatcher’s tone seemed to admonish. There is no need to ask me where I am…. I am right here…..

     And indeed, out of the mist came a figure, who dragged themselves on the ground, or, rather, a couple inches above it. The detailed, green, feminine face was wreathed by tiny green hands, which reached out for Naremen’s own. “The Nightwatcher,” Naremen breathed. She had lost many nightly hours to worries that she would not be picked. Though she had lost many, many more to her grief.      

Yes…….. The Nightwatcher intoned. I am……. What do you wish?

     What did she wish? She… didn’t know. Her mind had suddenly become riddled with holes, then completely blank. She could remember nothing. Nothing. Except… one desire she had, one that was, in her current state, nearly undefinable and untranslatable to coherent speech.

     You…. The Nightwatcher said. Come to me in grief…..

     Yes. Grief. Memories came back, having been temporarily held back by, undoubtedly, the green mist.

     “I wish,” Naremen said, licking her lips. Everything had gone dry. She could grasp her wish now and held it in her mind’s iron grip. “I wish for the death of another. Rhazien,”

     Ah… the Nightwatch sighed, coming closer to Naremen. Naermen tried to step backward, but the mist seemed to hold her in place. I know of the man you seek…… but I cannot take another. My powers are constrained to this oasis….

    “It is my wish,” Naermen said, feeling suddenly stubborn. The dark green of the mist lightened slightly as if some of the power inside of it was leaking out. The Nightwatcher didn’t seem to notice.

     Ahhh…. The Nightwatcher sighed again. Think on it some more… only one’s true wish can be shown here…

     Naermen concentrated as the Nightwatcher directed and found her wish, the one she held, was more than its surface. She delved deeper into it, leaving behind any true wish of Rhazien’s death. She did still want it, but it was only the recent shell, the outer appearance and drive of her true want. She explored it, learned it, examining her own greatest desire as she trapped it in her cognitive fist.

     You see now…. The Nightwatcher said. Now, what do you truly wish?

     Naermen closed her eye, breathing softly as she pondered. She truly did want Rhazien dead, but… it felt wrong to her. It would be too short lasting. She had known several people or humanoid creatures like Rhazien, and the death of one of them would not end her troubles. There would always be another one to take his place.

     All her life she had been ruled by tyrants and traitors, people who ruled because if they were made mad they killed. People who didn't deserve anyone’s loyalty, trust, or authority, but got it anyway because others were too scared of them to object. People… who claimed the title ‘peacemaker’ but whose every action lead to war and suffering.

     People like Rhazien.

     “I…” Naermen faltered, drawing in another mist-filled breath. “Power. I want… power. The… power to protect myself and others,” The power to have helped Nei’an.

    The Nightwatcher’s head drew close to Naermen’s, and the little hands linked them together, mere inches away. Yes… the ultimate goal of humanity…. I give you power. Investiture, as I know you mean. I give you-

       “No! That isn’t it!” Naermen exclaimed. Although shouting did no difference than softly speaking, as both seemed to be absorbed by the mist, the Nightwatcher was still shocked by her ferocity. Everything turned a shade of beige as a boost of confidence rushed her.

       The Nightwatcher froze for several seconds. No?

       “I know what you’ll say. I’ve spoken to men who asked the same boon. Mine is different,” Naermen said, less confident than before. “You’ll give me one power, from one shard. Well, I know of the Cosmere. There are sixteen shards.” Naermen paused. “I want all of the forms of investiture.”

     The Nightwater smiled tensely, as if trying to convince Naermen to take it back by acting smug. This power will come with a great curse.

       “I don’t care,” Naermen said, gaining more confidence. She later learned her eyes had began glowing beige.

     This changing of the eyes frightened the Nightwatcher greatly. No…. I said I wouldn’t serve you…

     Naermen felt confused, and more so when the mist’s thickness lessened, showing the foliage beyond. Actually… it wasn’t as if the mist grew any less thick, but the flora showed through it as if they had moved closer. This may have actually been the case, for every branch of every plant was growing at an alarming rate.

       The Nightwatcher noticed this and glanced between Naermen and the plants, showing fright in her well- defined face. No… I don’t want to choose…

       ‘THERE IS NO CHOICE, CHILD. FOR ONCE, BOTH OF US AGREE.’ A great voice which thundered down the green valley, like rolling stones. A figure wearing a brown dress that seemed to blend in with the earth shown through the mist, among the rapidly and threateningly growing plants. ‘BLESS THIS HUMAN.’

       ‘Yes….’ came a much smaller voice from the air directly above them. ‘But remember, she is mine… Cooooookie…..’

Naermen gasped. She had heard the voice before, and the beige was familiar, as if from a memory from so long ago....

I cannot grant this boon… The Nightwatcher said. It is beyond me….

Again, the strange voice came from above. ‘I will help you, little spren. Unlike others, I haven’t wasted my time making my own magic. I’ve been collecting.’

       The Nightwatcher sighed, and actually sank to the ground, the tiny arms that grasped Naermen’s startled face elongating into tentacles in order to keep their hold.

       Fine… the Nightwatcher said. I’ll bless her… Give me the power to do so…..

       The mist re-thicked and Naermen’s beige coloring disappeared. “What was-”

      No questions…. The Nightwatcher growled, rising back up to Naermen. Then she started shaking. Beige coloring crept up her form until she had been completely encompassed in it, glowing brilliantly in beige. The mist turned beige. Everything Naermen could see was now colored beige. Your boon is all of the magic? All of the Investiture? Fine… This I will give you: All of the power I know of. Some being not in the cosmere…. The Nightwatcher’s face softened. I see you want this. I will not stop you. Here is you boon….

       Naermen swallowed nervously.

       I give you… Oculatorship…. Rithmatic abilities… Epic abilities, the ability of small teleportation, the weakness of which will be found by you… Sand Mastery, but not saltrification… 150 Breaths… Elantian abilities, but without any physical change… the gift of forgery… ChayShan.... the Aether of Verdant…. the Surges of Abrasion and Gravitation….Allomantic Iron…. Feruchemical Copper….. And a power, a One Power, which is farther beyond my scope than earth…. But I give this One Power to you in limited forms. By accepting these powers, you no longer have jurisdiction over what you have… these powers cannot change… except when new investiture is discovered, or when they disappear…. Hemalurgy cannot give you more, breaths cannot give you more... lerasium… Nahel bonds… all of these will do nothing….

       “Is that,” Naermen asked once the Nightwatcher had taken a large pause, “My curse?” she was hopeful that it would be so but she doubted it.

       No…. the Nightwatcher said. Slowly the beige receded from the mist and from the Nightwatcher. It did not fade out, like it had appeared, but instead migrated to the soily earth, leaving behind the natural dark green. The beige mist kept it’s presence near the ground, holding a couple inches from the green, making a mysterious stripe across the floor. Your curse is that what you expect to be able to do with these powers will be impossible.

      Naermen felt a chill. “Go on,” she said.

The Nightwatcher paused. I do not generally explain my banes in any amount of detail…. They are meant to be discovered by the individual….

Something growled from above, and the stripe of beige began to grow upwards.

       The Nightwatcher sighed. Because of the strength of the boon, it will take three parts… number one… The Nightwatcher gazed into Naermen’s face. “I see a dream of yours… I see glory…. brutality…. Honor… The Nightwatcher paused. You dream of this, that you will be glorious, wielding all of these without discretion… I will make that impossible. Your first bane…

       Naermen paused to object, but the mist thicked around her so she could not speak.

       Your first bane is that everytime you stop using one power, you will not be able to use it again until you use the others first. The order will not matter only that each is used…You will, however, be allowed to overlap magic from the same Shards, of course...

       Naermen, sighed, relieved. It sounded only inconveniencing, not terrible.

       Your second bane…. Hm…. The Nightwatcher peered into Naermen’s face again. You wish for control. That is a key reason why you asked for this boon. You want to control your own life…. I curse you that, if you accept this curse, you will be ruled by humanity's special bane… the weakness of most living things…. The most unpredictable element in the human brain… The Nightwatcher paused. If you accept this, you will be ruled by your emotions rather than your thoughts….

       Naermen felt cold.

      I see… before you came to me, you always relied on you rational thoughts to guide you…. Always careful to think through an option… Now, you are cursed to put you emotions before you mind, your heart first. Logic will have no meaning to you. You will do as you please….

       Naermen shivered, and the Nightwatcher smiled.

       Other men would be glad for this chance…. this excuse to rampage.... But you rely on the opposite, and you are aware of that fact…

       Naermen closed her eyes in dread.

     For your third bane….. A pause so long Naermen opened her eyes a crack to see if the Nightwatcher had left, but found that the Nightwatcher only looked further into her eyes, only millimeters apart. Naermen would have performed a startled jump backwards at the sight, but the mist held her in place.

       Yes…. I see…. Your greatest factor in asking this boon…. You wish to be like him.

       Naermen’s eyes opened wide, but she could not speak.

       You wish to be like Nei’an. To fight, to kill, to destroy others like he did. You looked up to him, did you not?

       The Nightwatcher didn’t wait for an answer, likely because Naermen could make none.

       Your greatest bane of all... your greatest fear of all…. Pain.

       The Nightwatcher's voice, instead of drifting off like it regularly did, clipped so suddenly after that last word that it was nearly as frightening as before.

       Yes…. Nei’an, his inability to feel pain influenced you…. It is your worst fear…. Very well…. Here is your third bane…… Because of the power inside of you, all of the many forms of investiture outside of you that come in contact with you….. Will send you a wave of fiery pain…..

       Naermen tried to scream out, but couldn’t.

       The amount of pain experienced…. Will vary based on what type it is…..

       The Nightwatcher’s attention had started to slip away from Naermen’s face for a bit, but after she had finished this sentence she studied her once again.

      Everything you touch that has even a smidge of investiture inside…. will cause you pain…. Glass…. Chaulk….. Sand…. Awakened objects…. Aviar... The Nightwatcher’s voice started to rise. Stamps... Aethers…. Speres…. Even the metal shavings will burn you as they travel down your throat. Your copperminds will leave scorch marks on your arms……

       Naermen, despite the hold of the mist, began to tremble.

       Ah…. but this is not all…… even people you touch will pain you, and living things will pain you more than nonliving things. Even people who have but a one single breath will cause a fire to burn down you veins….. There is some relief, touching a nonliving object through clothing will lessen or even take away the effect, but there will have to be quite a lot more insulation between you and another person….. Jackets on you both should suffice to take away the majority of the pain…… The  Nightwatcher looked at Naermen and noticed the look of pain already on her face as she imagined it. Speak….. I will let you speak….

       The hold on Naermen lessened, and she took a deep breath. “Why….. so much?” she asked.

       Ah…… The Nightwatcher smiled. Some men, after coming to me, find they are better off than before, as they see their curse bearable and their boon enjoyable. Some men, after coming to me, find they are worse off, because their curse outweighs they boon. But in my eyes…….. It is all the same. I don’t change men at all. I give them a boon, to raise them up, and I give them a curse, to lower them down  the same amount as they were raised. They are, in my eyes, the same…… But you…… the Nightwatcher looked back at Naermen. You asked for power beyond comparison, even by him…… The Nightwatcher tailed off. You ask for something unimaginable, a boon that, if left unchecked, would lead to you becoming the most powerful being in the Cosmere and elsewhere…. I had to give you a bane beyond imagination…… you will survive….. Don’t worry….

       Naermen sighed. Did she really want that? Amazing power…. But terrible curses…..

       She remembered the last time she had spoken with Nei’an, so long ago. He had been so long ruled by anger, and fueled it into crazy ideas for vengeance. He had blamed the authorities for the loss of his family, and thought of insane stunts to bring them down. She had been the word of caution for him, never letting him do something that might kill him. Then, one day, he had to leave. They had just been sitting there, him brainstorming and her disproving these ideas, when he started to glow beige. He quickly told her he would be back, then he vanished. Then, recently, he had appeared for a couple seconds, and had thrown a paper airplane at her that contained a note. The note told her, once again, he would come back. She was so confused and angry at the forces that kept him away, and she was desperate to have him back.

       Now, thanks to Rhazien, he never would return.

       “I accept this,” she said, resolutely. The Nightwatcher smiled, then stopped once Naermen started glowing beige. The Nightwatcher’s green face actually went pale with fear.

      “What is it?” Naermen asked, eyeing her new aura.

       Your…… patron…..

       “Who is he?”

      I….. don’t know…. He calls himself….Master Libre. He chose Nei’an as his own, and now you….

     As soon as she said this, the glow faded. ‘That’s all I wanted you to say,’ came the voice from before.

Couldn’t you have said it?

There was only silence.

Nightwatcher sighed, shaking herself, turning back to green. He will…. watch you, and see through you, to see the events of the Alleyverse…..

      “The Alleyverse?”

       Yes……. Time is running out…… The Nightwatcher’s mist thickened.

‘Wait,’ came the voice once more. ‘I have one more suggestion,'

What is it? The Nightwatcher sounded utterly defeated. She backed away slightly, bowing her head in submission..

Now the voice seemed directed at Naermen herself. ‘Nei’an…. When he died, he gave Rhazien his coat.’

Naermen would have gasped if she could.

‘He told Rhazien to give it to you. He said you would find him. And Rhazien agreed to his dying wish, taking the coat and giving a promise.’ the voice softened. ‘I can take you to him. I doubt he would kill you. He did technically murder Nei’an, but he seems honorable in his own way. What do you think?’

Naermen still couldn’t talk.

‘Oh, for crying out loud, spren, allow her to speak!’ This was directed at the Nightwatcher.

The Nightwatcher seemed to stiffen at the situational derogatory term used but released the binding hold.

"You took him away from me?” she asked, letting her anger lose. “And you call his murderer ‘honorable’?”

‘Oh dear,’ the voice said, sounding slightly abashed and apologetic. ‘I meant nothing by it.  Anyway, my offer stands.’

‘How do you know this?” Naermen asked. “How? Were you his patron too?”

‘As a matter of fact,’ the voice said, ‘Yes. If you remember,that had already been mentioned. Anyway, he could call upon my power, as you can as of... soon. Of course, you can only do it in times when it is not OP, depending on the laws of the Alleyverse.’

‘I-” she began, but the voice interrupted her.

‘Look,’ it said. ‘It’s taking quite a lot of my seemingly infinite power to keep my cognitive interactive form here. Now, do you accept or not?’

Naermen sighed. Her anger seemed to seep out of her. “Fine,”

‘Wow, it’s like the sighing contest. I think it’s a tie between you and the Nightwatcher,’ As the voice spoke, the mist thickened.

Goodbye, Naermen…. Naermen doubted these were the traditional ending words of the Nightwatcher, as she had known people who, after coming to her, recounted how cold she had been. However, Naermen also doubted that the strange being, the G.L. who frightened the Nightwatcher so much, appeared regularly. Naermen felt as though the strangeness of the experience had forced a bond be made between them.

The beige mist near the ground slowly crept upwards, engulfing the dark green in beige.

Then the beige was engulfed in darkness as Naermen fell unconscious.

***

       Although she was not awake at the time, Naermen’s body soon lay not ten feet away from Rhazien. He stared at her unconscious and defenseless form in front of him, his mouth parted open in surprise, holding Nei’an’s coat in his hands.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Gancho Libre

[Life&Death he/him]

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Well now there’s another skydancer. Question, does Soul hurt you if he’s burning aluminum? 

 

[Jehoiada he/him]

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I like how Gancho said "small write up"