The Banana Republic (Political RP: OOC/Signups)

by **Machtergreifung** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:54 pm

This is a RP I've tried to run a few times, and I feel it's still original enough to merit another go.

Rules

1. I am the OP. My word is final. I will not be arbitrary, and I will give an explaination if asked.
2. Realism is fundamental to this RP. Your character must behave in a realistic manner, and can only know what he would be likley to know, or what has been made public.
3. A high standard of posts in terms of length and quality is mandatory.
4. All actions must have some justification, so no attempts to overthrow the government right from the start.
5. Extended conversations should be arranged in the OOC or by telegram. This is to avoid cluttering the IC.

OP's and Mods

Machtergreifung - Founder/OP

Overview

For background information, maps, ect this website should be used, though I have made changes for the sake of the RP. This link is required reading for anyone wishing to take part! - http://www.mapsymbs.com/back.html

The RP will start in July 1964, the height of the Cold War. The setting will be San Splendido, a country which has been troubled with problems at almost every level of society for decades. The most pronounced problem, until recently, was President Garcia, who ran the country with a totalitarian fist, earning a reputation as a brutal dictator.

In the last few months, the situation has changed. The reign of Garcia's terror came to an abrupt halt when a popular protest against Garcia emerged in the capital, with the focus being in front of the Presidental Palace. After two days of protest, Garcia ordered that the military clear the protesters using force. The military refused, and once word reached the crowds below the Presidental Palace, angry citizens stormed the palace, killing Garcia while the military watched.

Following this, there was an uneasy political stand-off between the popular political movements and the military high-command, which was only ended by the first elections in San Splendido for decades. A well known opponent of Garcia's regime, Alexander Calistro returned from exile to lead the Central Coalition to a victory in the first election is San Splendido for decades.

With the return of democratic rule, the newly elected President has a challenge before him - the military, that had enjoyed a great deal of prestige and privilage under Garcia's regime, severe domestic and an economy that has suffered from decades of being used as Garcia's private bank account. There already is much division is San Splendido - the civilians mistrust the military for it's tolerance of Garcia's reign and in turn, the military are wary that this new democractic government, led by a civilian might destroy the luxury that the officer corp has enjoyed for years now. Worse still, political loyalties are at play as well, with the extremist factions of both ends of the political spectrum fighting for power.

As if this wasn't a lofty challenge enough, the American Government and the Soviet Politburo have realized that the newfound freedom in San Splendido is a oppertunity for their nations as well, sending new ambassadors to the country in the hope of influencing the new government to align themselves with their respective spheres.

Goals

This will be player driven, and as a result players shall set their own individual goals.

Is the Minister of Finance and Trade patriotic enough to be determined to pay off the national debts, or pragmatic enough to embezzle funds from the nation to meet his own ambitions?

Is the head of the San Splendido Army content with modernizing the military and ending the rebel threat, or does he aspire to the Presidency himself, if he can gather enough power?

Is there a cadre of politically active officers in the army that despise the old military order and wish to purge it?

A journalist with a political vendetta, willing to cross any lines to get it?

The base rule this will operate on is that no player can act in complete isolation. If a player, for example, wishes to overthrow the government and establish a communist state, he must work with other players in military or political roles to make such an attempt possible. After all, no nation is built, or destroyed, on one man alone.

Political Situation in San Splendido

Following the disposition of the corrupt Manuel Garcia, elections have been held, though with the involved role of the Army in politcs at present, democratic expectations are low. The current government is led by Alexander Calistro, following the Central Coalition taking 56% of the votes, and consists mainly of Central Coalition members, with the occasional concession of a ministerial position to the other political parties an effort to promote cross-party co-operation.

Politics in San Splendido are divided into three main parties:
Splendido Socialist Front: A loose collection of die-hard communists and more moderate socialists. Draws most of it's support from the agricultural and working classes and works towards ending the terrible income equality in the country. The more extreme elements of the Front have been associated with bandit groups in the nation's interior.

Central Coalition: Mostly supported by the urban professionals and middle-class, and seeks to keep the status quo that has existed in the country by opposing change. The Central Coalition will not oppose any reforms that gain popular support, but will resist radical political change, instead it will "go with the flow" in terms of reforms rather than strive to make their own. Since the return of Alexander Calistro, this party is the most popular in San Splendido

Progressive Party: Populated mainly by the upper-classes, industrialists and military officers, the Progressive Party is anything but, as it strives to keep the situation frozen as to prevent any radical shift in politics and protect the lifestyles, buisnesses and livelyhoods of its members. While lacking a large support base amongst the population, the Progressives have the largest political bankroll thanks to the numbers of wealthy landowners and industrialists that make donnations to the party. There is a supposed assoscation between the Progressives and a string of strange occurances where opposition figures supporting reforms have been found dead in accidents or arrested for crimes. The Progressive Party has suffered since the fall of Garcia, owing to the fact that some important party members were members of the former regime.

Character Roles

The characters in this RP will be divided into five main sections: Political figures, International figures, military figures, paramilitary figures and civil figures.

Political figures - Consisting of the current government and the opposition, these people have large exposure to the public and weild significant political power and control in their parties.

International figures - Characters who are not native to San Splendido, but have significant political influence regardless.

Military figures - these are the men who are responsible for leading the armed forces of San Splendido, and though they nominally command the most powerfull arm of the govenrment, they must nevertheless be wary.

Civil figures - Made up of those individuals who work outside the structures of politics and the military, these figures can exert a great deal of influence on the population, but must be wary, as offending one of the more powerfull groups is a quick way to be exiled or worse. However, should civil figures develop enough popularity amongst the general public, they can insulate themselves from danger by simply being too popular to "dispose off".

Paramilitary figures - those figures who are involved with the armed struggles in San Splendido.

Applications

I intend to try to moderate the application process very heavily, so please, take some time and make it good. The thing that will make or break this RP will be the quality of the RP in it. To that end, please only apply if you have extensive RP'ing experiance as well as the time to commit to this RP.

NS Name:
Character Name:
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?):
Character Role:
Character Political Stance (if any):
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):
Character's vice (for those handy political scandals)
RP Examples:

Accepted Applications

Machtergreifung: Alexander Calistro - President of San Splendido, Leader of the Central Coalition
Max Empire: Max Purpleborn -Head of the "San Splendido Media Network"
Lunas Legion: Diego Fernandez - Commander of the Presidential Guards Division
Albaie: Miguel De La Waterson Y Trantisma - Commander In Chief of Splendido Military

by **Machtergreifung** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:55 pm

Appendices

This post will cover all the various parts of San Splendido to avoid cluttering the RP.

by **Machtergreifung** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 2:56 pm

My application, to be used as an example.

NS Name: Machtergreifung
Character Name: Alexander Calistro
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?): Splendido born
Character Role: President of San Splendido, Leader of the Central Coalition
Character Political Stance (if any): Central Coalition.
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background): Alexander Calistro was born in Arpaz. His father was the head teacher in the local highschool, while his mother was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who held a minor post in the Ministry of Finance before Garcia's dictatorship.

When Alexander was 8, his father was appointed as the main inspector for schools in San Splendido, a appointment which led to the family moving to the capital, Puerto Splendido. As a child growing up in the capital, he could see the divisions in Splendian society clearly; starving children could be begging at the side street while expensive American and British cars were parked across from them.

Alexander was taught the importance of education by his father, who had risen from provinical schoolteacher to minor government offical, and after graduting high school, the young Calistro entered Puerto Splendido University oringally to study history, but switched to law. After five years of study, he graduated and began work as a paralegal for a small law firm in the capital. Two years after this, he married Isabella Morro, who had studied at university with him.

Calistro had always possessed a great deal of political consciousness, but it only manifested itself as Manual Garcia was attempting to construct his dictatorship. As Garcia's repressive measures grew harsher and harsher, Alexander became a member of several groups opposing Garcia. It was his membership of these groups that led to him being the defence lawyer in several high-profile political trials, as well as providing free legal advice to many of those put on trial by Garcia before the legal system became a sham

Alexander's profession as a lawyer came to an end as Garcia assumed full dictorial powers, and his opposition to Garcia led to him being marked for elimination. Calistro narrowly avoided arrest, escaping with his wife and his young child to neighbouring Sangria, but his parents were not so lucky. Both perished in the period of mass arrests that marked the start of Garcia's reign of terror.

In exile, Alexander became the most well-known figure in opposition to Garcia, and due to his correspondence with groups opposing Garcia both inside and without and his oratory skill, he became the nominal figurehead of the anti-Garcia movement.

When the regime of Garcia finally came tumbling down, Alexander returned to San Splendido to find a power vacuum. The military was desperate for a suitable civilian figurehead to present as a leader, and the vast majority of political organizations had went underground during the dictatorship of Garcia. Following a series of meetings, conferences, assemblies and publich speeches, Calistro crafted the Central Coalition, and in the election period that followed, his history of opposition to Garica, excellent oratory and promises of a brighter, better, happier San Splendido was enough to win the election for his political party and the Presidency for himself.
Character's vice (for those handy political scandals): Alexander fathered a son out-of-wedlock during his exile in Sangria. During his exile, he was also in contact with criminal elements that oppossed Garcia.
RP Examples: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=292507

by **Saragrossa** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 3:09 pm

Tag for interest!

by **Machtergreifung** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:18 pm

Saragrossa wrote:Tag for interest!

That's a good start!

by **The United Motherland** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:24 pm

Taggers.

by **Lunas Legion** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:25 pm

It returns. Again.

Reserve me Diego's usual spot.

by **The new united britsh empire** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:30 pm

Another tag for interest
EDIT: Reserve Minister of Finance, Trade and the Interior please

by **Machtergreifung** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:30 am

Lunas Legion wrote:It returns. Again.

Reserve me Diego's usual spot.

I suspected Diego would be back!

by **Max Empire** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:47 am

Alright, since my favorite roles have already been taken or reserved, I'll just try to f**k everybody over (specially the President) with the media.

NS Name: Max Empire
Character Name: Max Purpleborn
Character Nationality : foreigner, born in Greece, is Greek-American
Character Role: Head of the "San Splendido Media Network"
Character Political Stance (if any): Central (officially)
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):
Max was born in Greece to a upper class family in 1940. His family moved to Splendido in 1953. He went to boarding school in the US and eventualy went to Harvard University to study economics. When he returned to Splendido he was appointed as Minister of Finance and Trade under dictator Garcia, althought it was only to gain the support of his family. He would often come into conflict with the Dictator due to his limited power. He became a large obstacle for Garcia and the dictator was soon planning to get rid of him, until his subsequent death.

During the Garcia regime, Max began secretly raising a large opposition against Garcia. Max and his base of supporters argue that without his help, the overthrowing of Garcia would have never been managed. Since then Max has forged strong corporate connections to the United States and Great Britain. Becoming the richest person in San Splendido in the process.

After the Garcia Regime ended, Max ran for President, but lost to Alexander Calistro. Enraged that his "work" against Garcia had gone unnoticed, Max bought San Splendidos biggest Media "tools" and vowed to bring the current government to ruins. He also plans to construct the a extremely large Mansion that will be the largest building in San splendido if construction ever begins and is completed.

Max is a very ambitious person, and will not shy away from funding rebels, hiring spies, assasinations and digging deep into other people's pasts to find dirt on them. Despite his lust for power, Max is intent on improving San Splendido and helping the people of the nation. He is currently San Splendidos biggest investor.
Character's vice: Compulsive Gambler and Overly-Ambitious, also tends to speak with more authority then he has.
RP Examples: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=226703&p=13092376#p13092376 (I was the insane character with multi-personality disorder)

by **Whiteshore** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:57 am

NS Name:Whiteshore
Character Name:Jose Santos
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?):Splendido Born
Character Role:Commander-in-Cheif of the Splendido Military
Character Political Stance (if any):Center Coalition
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):Jose Santos was born to a family to professional military officers on May 2,1906.He attended school in the city of Puerto Splendino before he joined the armed forces.
When in the officers academy,he developed a knowledge of tactics and graduated as a lieutenant.He served his nation with dignity on the battlefield until 1942 when he became the commander of a regiment.He then became a competent staff officer in the 1940s and 1950s until in 1958,he became Commander-in-Cheif of the Splendido Military.
He was during this period was regarded by Garcia,despite his private hatred for him as a tough and apolitical officer.Garcia would come to regret his move as he would turn against Garcia.That move sealed the regime's fate.He believes the armed force's role is to safeguard the people and their interests.
As for his personal life,he married Michele Santos née Roxas in 1932 and they have 4 children.The pair lives in an apartment in the city of Puerto Splendino,
Character's vice (for those handy political scandals)He is quite wrathfully at times.
RP Examples:Whiteshorian civil war

by **Machtergreifung** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:19 am

Whiteshore wrote:NS Name:Whiteshore
Character Name:Jose Santos
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?):Splendido Born
Character Role:Commander-in-Cheif of the Splendido Military
Character Political Stance (if any):Center Coalition
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):Jose Santos was born to a family to professional military officers on May 2,1906.He followed his father and grandfather in enlisting in the army when he turned 18 and showed an interest in tactics and command.He is a ruthless but efficient commander.He quickly rose through the ranks and became Commander in Chief in 1953.Jose Santos when he turned against "President" Garcia sealed his regimes fate.He believes the armed force's role is to safeguard the people and their interests
Character's vice (for those handy political scandals)He is quite wrathfully at times.
RP Examples:Whiteshorian civil war

Five lines is not four paragraphs.

Max empire wrote:Alright, since my favorite roles have already been taken or reserved, I'll just try to f**k everybody over (specially the President) with the media.

NS Name: Max Empire
Character Name: Max Purpleborn
Character Nationality : foreigner, born in Greece, is Greek-American
Character Role: Head of the "San Splendido Media Network"
Character Political Stance (if any): Central (officially)
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):
Max was born in Greece to a upper class family in 1940. His family moved to Splendido in 1953. He went to boarding school in the US and eventualy went to Harvard University to study economics. When he returned to Splendido he was appointed as Minister of Finance and Trade under dictator Garcia, althought it was only to gain the support of his family. He would often come into conflict with the Dictator due to his limited power. He became a large obstacle for Garcia and the dictator was soon planning to get rid of him, until his subsequent death.

During the Garcia regime, Max began secretly raising a large opposition against Garcia. Max and his base of supporters argue that without his help, the overthrowing of Garcia would have never been managed. Since then Max has forged strong corporate connections to the United States and Great Britain. Becoming the richest person in San Splendido in the process.

After the Garcia Regime ended, Max ran for President, but lost to Alexander Calistro. Enraged that his "work" against Garcia had gone unnoticed, Max bought San Splendidos biggest Media "tools" and vowed to bring the current government to ruins. He also plans to construct the a extremely large Mansion that will be the largest building in San splendido if construction ever begins and is completed.

Max is a very ambitious person, and will not shy away from funding rebels, hiring spies, assasinations and digging deep into other people's pasts to find dirt on them. Despite his lust for power, Max is intent on improving San Splendido and helping the people of the nation. He is currently San Splendidos biggest investor.
Character's vice: Compulsive Gambler and Overly-Ambitious, also tends to speak with more authority then he has.
RP Examples: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=226703&p=13092376#p13092376 (I was the insane character with multi-personality disorder)

Welcome aboard, even if it does mean that Calistro's not going to get an easy ride from the media!

by **Whiteshore** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:39 am

I edited my post

by **Machtergreifung** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:54 am

Whiteshore wrote:I edited my post

Sorry, it's not what we're looking for here, and it's the same with your RP example.

by **Whiteshore** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:55 am

Machtergreifung wrote:
Whiteshore wrote:I edited my post

Sorry, it's not what we're looking for here, and it's the same with your RP example.

Can you ignore it.

by **Snovatgatovia** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:17 am

I remember this from back when I was Riserland! Taggity, tag, tag!

cool if I run El Camino Roja again?

by **Machtergreifung** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:10 am

Whiteshore wrote:
Machtergreifung wrote:
Sorry, it's not what we're looking for here, and it's the same with your RP example.

Can you ignore it.

No, we're looking for RP of quite a high standard here.

Snovatgatovia wrote:I remember this from back when I was Riserland! Taggity, tag, tag!

cool if I run El Camino Roja again?

Sure, are you wanting to port your old application over or start afresh?

by **Lunas Legion** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 12:13 pm

NS Name: Lunas Legion
Character Name: Diego Fernandez
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?): Foreigner
Character Role: Commander of the Presidential Guards Division
Character Political Stance (if any): Socialist Front
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):
Diego was not born in Splendido, but instead aboard a refugee transport from a third world country that had recently suffered a revolution and Diego's family had been part of the previous administration and as such fled before the wrath of the facist revolutionaries. Since then his parents constantly reminded him about 'those right-wing bastards who took our homes' and his hatred for both Facism and those who are not Splendido-born grew from there.

At 18, having not obtained any qualifications, he enrolled in the Splendido armed forces and although he was liked by many of the instructors for his 'unorthodox' methods and plans, his racist and sometimes unpatriotic remarks got him into a arguement with Roberto Enriquez, who would later become his Commander in the Presidential Guard

When he graduated, he was assigned to the Presidential Guard as a Corporal and eventually became the Second-in-command of the Presidential Guard before the Revolution. During the revolution, Diego killed his commander and ordered the Presidential Guard not to intervene when Garcia was dragged from the palace and executed by the revolutionaries.

Diego is much loved by his men, but not by the officers who command them. But as Diego put it once- " It is better to have the army on your side than the army's commanders. Who knows then what the army may do?"

Character's vice (for those handy political scandals) Despises anything vaguely resembling facism and a massive racist to just about anyone, as well as being somewhat unpatriotic.
RP Examples: I was in the previous incarnation of this and you should know me from somewhere.

by **Machtergreifung** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:15 pm

Lunas Legion wrote:NS Name: Lunas Legion
Character Name: Diego Fernandez
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?): Foreigner
Character Role: Commander of the Presidential Guards Division
Character Political Stance (if any): Socialist Front
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):
Diego was not born in Splendido, but instead aboard a refugee transport from a third world country that had recently suffered a revolution and Diego's family had been part of the previous administration and as such fled before the wrath of the facist revolutionaries. Since then his parents constantly reminded him about 'those right-wing bastards who took our homes' and his hatred for both Facism and those who are not Splendido-born grew from there.

At 18, having not obtained any qualifications, he enrolled in the Splendido armed forces and although he was liked by many of the instructors for his 'unorthodox' methods and plans, his racist and sometimes unpatriotic remarks got him into a arguement with Roberto Enriquez, who would later become his Commander in the Presidential Guard

When he graduated, he was assigned to the Presidential Guard as a Corporal and eventually became the Second-in-command of the Presidential Guard before the Revolution. During the revolution, Diego killed his commander and ordered the Presidential Guard not to intervene when Garcia was dragged from the palace and executed by the revolutionaries.

Diego is much loved by his men, but not by the officers who command them. But as Diego put it once- " It is better to have the army on your side than the army's commanders. Who knows then what the army may do?"

Character's vice (for those handy political scandals) Despises anything vaguely resembling facism and a massive racist to just about anyone, as well as being somewhat unpatriotic.
RP Examples: I was in the previous incarnation of this and you should know me from somewhere.

Welcome back!

by **Waztaskio** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 5:24 pm

by **Machtergreifung** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 12:05 pm

Any chance of some of those tags being converted to applications at all?

by **The Grand Republic of Hannover** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:08 pm

Is this thread like the one that ran in 2013? :unsure:

by **Machtergreifung** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 9:02 am

The Grand Republic of Hannover wrote:Is this thread like the one that ran in 2013?

The original idea is older than that, I'm sure. The first incarnation was started by a nation named San Splendido (funnily enough), but it never really got off the ground. I expanded on the original premise and got a much better response before interest started slacking off.

Waz used my format a few months ago to try to start things up again, but that didn't work out. I've waited till now to avoid the RP becoming saturated and growing stale.

Interested?

Also, any chance that we can start changing those "tags" and interest posts in to applications?

by **Ublia** » Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:23 pm

Huh this is different.

by **Albaie** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 3:08 am

NS Name:
Character Name: Miguel De La Waterson Y Trantisma
Character Nationality (Splendido born, or foriegnier?): Splendido born
Character Role: Commander In Chief of Splendido Military
Character Political Stance (if any): Central Coalition
Character Biography (At least four paragraphs, detailing your characters background):

Miguel was born in 1922 into an upper class military-plantation family with his father Miguel De La Waterson being a high ranking officer in the military and being from a old Spanish noble family with centuries of military history and his mother Isabella Trantisma being the heiress to the vast Trantisma Plantation fortune. Miguel lived his early years in the capital mixing with the children of the upper class.

Miguel's father who's family had long been in the military with a history stretching back hundreds of years gave his son a military upbringing breeding into his son the skill and ruthlessness that the De La Waterson's had used to succeed in the military for hundreds of years. Miguel went to military schools throughout his childhood and afterwards was sent by his father and the government to West Point to study to be an officer. Miguel while there found a love for Americans and also his skill at tactics and fighting became even more obvious. He graduated high up in his class and still wears his class ring.

Upon his return to Splendido Miguel immediately became a Second Lieutenant in the Presidential Guards Division. The young officer spent his time bringing the reforms he had learned at West Point into action making the soldiers he commanded the best in the entire army and his promotion was swift up the ranks. As well as bringing in reform Miguel spent his time mixing with the upper classes and quickly became staunch friends with many of the upper class and government officials bringing on further promotion.

Upon Miguel Senior's death Miguel became Conde Miguel De La Waterson in Spain and after his mothers death soon after also inherited her substantial wealth and plantations making him one of the wealthiest men in Splendido. Upon the Revolution Miquel was Commander of the Spendido Army Corps but was well known for his dislike of President Garcia. When the order trickled down to Miguel to begin using his soldiers against the military he disobeyed the orders and despite the Commander In Chief repeatedly ordering him to move in his men the Army Corps remained at base until Miguel heard of the rebels killing Garcia upon which the Commander In Chief was arrested by Miguel and a fellow group of officers who believed in reform which the Commander In Chief was against on the charges of corruption and treason against Splendido. Miguel took over the duties of Commander In Chief following the Revolution but was only given the job when Calistro took power.

Miguel has already started to bring in reform to the army trying to bring in more westernization which he is also backing for the whole country. Miguel's ties to America and him knowing several key figures there from his West Point days have made him getting military equipment and trainers easier but the Americans are expecting him to follow any orders if they are sent. Miguel while loyal to the Central Coalition has ambitions of his own. Miguel wishes to become President soon and despite his friendship to Calistro is prepared to us the military to succeed in his dreams. Miguel is also not only an important military figure but has close ties to much of the government as well as wealth making him one of the most dangerous and powerful men in all Splendido.

Is married to Joan Banza the daughter of one of his generals who he married for political gain aged 24 shortly after his return from America with two children. Miguel De La Waterson Y Trantisma Banza III (17) and Mateo De La Waterson Y Trantisma Banza (14) . Both sons are in military schools with Miguel Junior already at West Point following in his fathers footsteps.

Character's vice (for those handy political scandals) Known to have extra marital affairs and is a violent man.

RP Examples:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=287632 World Cup Rp
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=288510 GoT rp

More if you want them.

The Banana Republic (Political RP: OOC/Signups)

The Banana Republic (Political RP: OOC/Signups)

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