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Kayra Youvmir writes...

1. What is the name of Barbara Gordon's mother on Earth-16?
2. Is she still married to Jim Gordon?

Greg responds...

1 & 2. No Spoilers.

Response recorded on October 22, 2019

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Marvelman writes...

A thought occurred to me about Captain Marvel.

First, let me say, I'm not trying to get you into trouble. I'm really not. But I was wondering...

When ten-year-old Billy transforms into Captain Marvel does he gain an adult libido?

(I'll understand if you want to steer clear of this question.)

Greg responds...

I'm gonna say yes. But its not uncontrollable. In any case, as of Season Three, Billy is 18-years-old, so his libido is already "adult" enough.

Response recorded on October 22, 2019

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Anonymous writes...

In the DC Comics storyline, "Brightest Day," Black Manta's real name is David (last name unknown; presumed to be Hyde). Does his "Young Justice" animated counterpart share the same name as well...?

Greg responds...

#NoSpoilers here either.

Response recorded on October 18, 2019

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Marvelman writes...

This question goes back to the age old question: why does Superman need the Justice League? Or, why does Thor need the Avengers?

Have you ever decided against using a DC character as a team member because he or she was too powerful? If so, can you tell us which heroes you nixed?

Greg responds...

Nope. Quite the reverse. We began YJ with a Justice League that include 16 members including two Green Lanterns, two Hawks, Captains Atom and Marvel, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Zatara, Red Tornado, Green Arrow and Black Canary, so that when they arrived on the scene it would truly feel like the gods coming down from Olympus.

And the League only expanded and got more powerful from there, adding Doctor Fate, Icon and others of tremendous power.

Response recorded on October 18, 2019

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X-Aviery writes...

Why does the YJ WIKI look so much better than the Gargoyles WIKI? Don't you have the same people working on it?

Greg responds...

I don't have ANY "people working on it." Fans are in charge of both sites. I like both wikis for different reasons. I refer to both often.

Response recorded on October 16, 2019

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Anonymous writes...

How does Jade feel about her sister date Kid Flash (Wally)?

Greg responds...

I guess it depends on which season we're talking about. I'd say initially, she saw him as just another dumb hero dragging Artemis toward a mundane life. Later, of course, she would have seen how devastated Artemis was by Wally's death.

Response recorded on October 16, 2019

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Anonymous writes...

You once said you held auditions for Impulse, Blue Beetle, Tim and another. Was that Static?

Greg responds...

Yes, at the beginning of S2, we held auditions for Impulse/Bart Allen (Jason Marsden), Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes & Scarab (Eric Lopez), Robin/Tim Drake (Cameron Bowen) and Static/Virgil Hawkins (Bryton James). We already knew we wanted Mae Whitman to play Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark. And we already had Crispin Freeman for Arsenal, Logan Grove for Beast Boy, Yuri Lowenthal for Lagoon Boy, Alyson Stoner as Batgirl, Kevin Michael Richardson for Guardian, and Masasa Moyo as Bumblebee.

Note that for extra security/secrecy, we created a completely non-existent series for Jason, Eric, Cameron, Bryton and others to audition for. They had no idea they were auditioning for Young Justice.

Response recorded on October 15, 2019

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Liv writes...

I want to repost this question like you suggested:
http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=12525

I'm interested in your thoughts (and possibly Brandon Vietti's and Jamie Thomason's as well, if possible) on the casting process for the voices of the main characters of Young Justice. What was/is it that the main cast - Jesse McCartney, Khary Payton, Nolan North, Stephanie Lemelin, Danica McKeller, and Jason Spisak - bring to their respective characters that you, Vietti, and Thomason were looking for? In another question, you answered that the members of Young Justice were chosen based on a variety of factors (i.e. personality, dynamics, etc.). How did that play out in the casting process?

Greg responds...

I'm not going to attempt to speak for Brandon or Jamie, though I'd lay odds our thoughts on this subject are at least similar. But I'll take the original six leads and - one by one - give a little bit about what I remember from ... nearly a decade ago.

B-01 Jesse McCartney as Robin - Jesse was one of the last actors cast, mostly because we were having trouble finding a Robin, and Jesse was part of a second (or third?) round of auditions that we went through in our search. We were looking for someone who could bring the fun of our thirteen-year-old kid. Who could do that gleeful laugh and pull off words like "whelmed" ... and still bring the serious when we needed it. Jesse could do all that. Was that because he himself had been a pro since he was a kid? I don't know. All I can tell you is he brought all those qualities.

B-02 Khary Payton as Aqualad - Khary actually had a strike against him, going in, because he played Cyborg on Teen Titans. As we wanted to distinguish ourselves from that series and Justice League Unlimited, we weren't too inclined to use regulars from those series as regulars in ours. But Khary's audition just nailed it, leaving us no choice. (Thank God.) He instantly "got" the character and instantly mastered that combination of wistful steadfastness, maturity and leadership we were looking for, without making the character suddenly older than his sixteen years. Plus he really nailed that feeling of English-as-a-second-language that we wanted our Atlantean to have.

B-03 Jason Spisak as Kid Flash - As Jamie often said, no one was better than Jason at bringing out his inner douche. Wally had to be both obnoxious and lovable. He had to be smart and a dope. He had to be Robin's best friend and a bit of a pain. Enthusiastic and insecure. Blustering and vulnerable. Jason was able to bring all those contradictions to life.

B-04 Nolan North as Superboy and Superman - This was tricky, too, as we needed someone who could play both Superman (age 33) and his clone Superboy (age 16). Nolan does an amazing job at playing both characters, making them sound distinct and yet genetically the same. Conner had to start out angry but have somewhere to go. There had to be heart and depth beneath his hardened exterior. Nolan did all that.

B-05 Danica McKellar as Miss Martian - We were actually looking for someone who had a bit of experience as a sitcom actress to play M'gann (and eventually Megan Wheeler and Marie Logan). Someone who understood those rhythms but could transcend them, as well. Someone who could play the insecurity that comes with hiding big secrets from the people she's closest to, but also be a bad ass when necessary. Someone who would be unafraid to be soft and (traditionally) feminine and not be hamstrung by that.

B-07 Stephanie Lemelin as Artemis - Artemis needed edge. She was the tough girl, particularly in contrast to Miss Martian. But underneath it, she - like most of the other characters - had some vulnerability and a lot of insecurity because of the secrets she too was hiding. Stephanie brought that edge.

And, of course, all six brought - in addition to their acting skills and intuitive understanding of the character - certain vocal qualities that just felt like they fit the designs of the characters.

Response recorded on October 15, 2019

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John Doe writes...

Hey Greg. I have a few questions.
1) I've read somewhere that you stopped reading comics all together in the mid 90s. Not asking why as you've already abetted that but rather did that ever stop. The abstaining from comics that is for lack of a better word. I assume that you've picked up a read a comic every now and then since you quit obviously but was there a time where you went back consistently?
2) How do you determine when you will answer questions. I tend to check this site maybe once a month and sometimes I'll be back and you've answered dozens of questions, a lot of the times in one day. Other times you'll haven't answered a question in weeks. Is it just as simple as whenever you have free time and want to our is there some uniquely complicated schedule that you follow. (The question sounded more silly as I continued.)
3) Do you consider yourself to have a dry sense of humor. I've been told I do and I find some of your replies downright hilarious that to others might seem to come off as blunt. Or on the contrary are you just more of very blunt person.
4) Can you explain the little joke you do every time someone asks you who would win what fight and you reply with that quote about the hulk and the thing.

Greg responds...

1. I started reading comics again when I started working on The Spectacular Spider-Man (around 2007, I think) after about a decade break. By the time Marvel did a soft reboot after Secret Wars in 2015, I was reading nearly everything in their line, in part because I was also writing Starbrand & Nightmask for Marvel. Plus I was reading all their Star Wars Books, in part because I was also writing Star Wars Kanan for Marvel and Lucasfilm. Both those books were cancelled, and Marvel no longer had any work for me. And then the third season of Young Justice began, right about the same time as DC did its own soft reboot with Rebirth. I started reading everything in the DC line at that point, edging out any free time I had for Marvel for the time being. I've continued to read the entire DC line (with very few exceptions) ever since. I'm about three or four months behind in my reading, but I'm still purchasing everything and reading as fast as I can manage.

2. It's just when I have time. Ideally, I try to answer five questions every weekday, but there are some days (many days, really) when even that is impossible. And then there are some (rare) days when I find myself with free time, and I just go to town on the queue.

3. I like to think I have a dry sense of humor. Certainly when I write. My verbal humor may be goofier or more sarcastic or whatever. I may also be blunt. The two things aren't mutually exclusive.

4. I think it's fairly self-explanatory. "Hulk vs. Thing, who would win?" is one of the oldest fan questions in comics. It's all situational, and the question - and those like it (including most hypotheticals) - just doesn't interest me. Fans can decide that sort of thing for themselves. They don't need me to weigh in.

Response recorded on April 30, 2019

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Anonymous writes...

Can you tell us the meaning of the colors of the index cards you use to plan your shows?

Greg responds...

It changes from show to show, even from season to season. And on YJ S3, because of index card shortages of specific colors (this happened, believe it or not), it changed more than once DURING the season.

As an example, in YJ S1:

Green - villains
Red - Justice League
Blue - The Team (hero stuff)
Purple - The Team (teen stuff)
Yellow - Stuff where a specific date matters (like holdays)
White - Stuff that we're laying pipe for but will not objectively reveal to the audience at this time

Response recorded on April 29, 2019

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Joel Wheaton writes...

Hi Greg,

Just curious, the Atlanteans in the comics worship the Greek Gods, like the Amazonians, but in Young Justice there's a lot of Neptune references and outside of Poseidonis, I can't recall anyone talking about Poseidon.

I guess what I'm asking is do the Atlanteans of Earth-16 worship the Greek Gods or the Roman Gods?

Thanks.

Greg responds...

Sea gods, generally.

Response recorded on April 29, 2019

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Stranger writes...

Hi Greg!
1. Does Sportsmaster realize he is bad (not good/perfect) father?
2. Does he care?

Greg responds...

1. I'm sure he doesn't think he was perfect.

2. I'll leave that to your interpretation.

Response recorded on April 25, 2019

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YJ Nerd writes...

How do you pronounce Ra's name?

Greg responds...

I was taught - by Denny O'Neil, who created the character - to pronounce it the way we pronounce it in Young Justice, i.e. as Raysh-ahl-gool.

Response recorded on April 24, 2019

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Jack Carpenter writes...

Thank you for answering several of my questions now, it's really great to have my curiosity rewarded!

Can Beast Boy turn into an extinct animal? If so, would he need to see/study an accurate and detailed reconstruction of it first?

Greg responds...

1. No.

2. He'd need to connect with an actual living inidividual of the species. If somehow one were cloned or something, that would make it possible. But a fossil or computer simulation wouldn't cut it.

Response recorded on April 24, 2019

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Stranger writes...

Did Artemis and Wally had sex before start to live together?

Greg responds...

Well... sure.

Response recorded on April 23, 2019

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Cassidy writes...

Was Marie Logan's death reported on the news?

Greg responds...

Yep. As a car accident.

Response recorded on April 23, 2019

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Dani writes...

Hi Greg,
In YJ at the end of season one Superboy says that he's known about Miss Martian's true form since they first mind melded.
So my question is, in the episode "Bereft" when we see the flash of memories M'gann shares with Conner and there is the flash of Megan from Hello Megan, is that the moment where Conner learns about M'gann's true form and her love of the show?
Similarly, in "Terrors" during the scene where M'gann and Conner are in the psychiatrists office and Conner says something about her' fantasy world where problems are solved in half an hour', was that a hint at him being aware of how much the show has shaped her?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Yes.

Response recorded on March 28, 2019

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Marvelman writes...

What is the League and the team's stance on killing?

I'm sure they have a rule about not deliberately taking a life, but how rigid is it? I'm not necessarily thinking about M'gann brain-frying someone because in her mind he had it coming. I'm talking about stuff that accidentally and inevitably happens in large scale battles. For example, let's say in that battle with the Light and the Reach in Summit, one of the League's young proteges accidentally hits a foot-soldier too hard and he dies. Is he or she going to be automatically expelled from the team? Or, what if the only way to protect innocent life is to take a life?

I guess what I'm asking is do league and team members have the same discretion of using lethal force that a police officer has?

Greg responds...

They are granted LESS discretion than a police officer because they have powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men. They hold themselves to stricter standards. The League's U.N. charter gives them authority to act, in essence, as an international SWAT/Search & Rescue Team. But the Team has no such authority.

Still, as I hope you saw in Season Three, accidental deaths - particularly those that occurred during moments of self-defense and/or while protecting others can happen. Those deaths are reviewed internally, and a decision on expulsion or other penalties will be made by the entire League. It's all on a case by case basis. Nothing's etched in stone.

Response recorded on March 28, 2019

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KarrinBlue writes...

So I managed to finish streaming YJ on Netflix with my friends, just a day before it's taken off. Hopefully it'll return someday. But in the meantime - I still really love this show, and every time I watched it I think I noticed something new. A few thoughts:

-Kaldur at one point says 'blood is thicker than seawater' as a dig at Aquaman - but the original phrase, 'blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb' meant that families of choice are stronger than families of blood, so was that line meant to be a subtle nod to Kaldur not being a traitor?
-Artemis and Dick have some very fascinating parallels (Gothamites, unpowered, trained from a young age, both Kaldur's second in command at different points in time, and they tend to pair up to attack or recon after Homefront) which I don't think could've come up in any other show. It's really interesting, and I hope we get to explore their parallels and differences more in s3.
-Speaking of character decisions that'd be unlikely in the original canon - having Jade actually care about other people, having Beast Boy as part of M'gann and J'onn's family - even bringing in Sportsmaster as a legitimate villain. I'm really excited to see what's going to happen next, especially since I'm sure that I won't see half of what you have coming.

Now, for actual questions -

-Do the Team or League members get any sort of stipend or compensation as part of their membership?
-Is the public generally aware that Blue Beetle was controlled by the Reach against his will, or do they think he did everything voluntarily?
-If Zatanna has no secret identity, does that mean that everyone she went to school with knows her dad was Zatara and that she could do magic?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

1. I'd love to say so, but I never knew the whole quotation until now.

2. I'll leave that for the audience to judge.

3. How have you liked it so far?

4. They can.

5. The former.

6. Most people think the way Wally thought in "Denial" - but yes.

Response recorded on March 28, 2019

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Alison writes...

Did Miss Martian think Garfield would reject her if he saw her true form?

Greg responds...

Back in Season One? Yes.

Response recorded on March 06, 2019

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Anonymous writes...

First of all, I would just like to say that Young Justice is one of my favorite shows, ever, and I think you and the team behind it did an amazing job. I was rewatching the other day and I noticed something in Alpha Male. M'gann talks to Superboy telepathically a handful of times, but it's never really clear as to whether she's selectively talking to him or if it's a group communication she just directed towards him, what's going on?

Greg responds...

In that episode there's some of both, so you'd have to pinpoint for me which scene (or dialogue) you're referring to for me to answer with any specificity.

Response recorded on February 27, 2019

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Cinderblue writes...

I was rewatching Young Justice the other day and I was wondering how long it took for the Bioship to fly places. Is it faster than a commercial plane? It can enter space, so it's capable of accelerating fast enough to leave the atmosphere, so does M'gann slow it down while just flying around Earth or is the Team constantly flying at that kind of speed?

Greg responds...

As we revealed in episode 313, if the Bio-Ship is traveling long distances on Earth it will fly almost straight up and straight down along the Earth's rotation, allowing it to get almost anywhere on the planet in a couple hours or less. Obviously, it doesn't travel that fast if it's going horizontally. And how it accelerates and decelerates is very important.

Response recorded on February 27, 2019

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TheRantDragon writes...

Hey, Greg! I'm so excited for season 3, I can't believe the show is coming back after so long. I've never been so invested for so long in a cartoon series, and for that, I have to say thanks for providing this awesome series!

I'm a HUGE Spitfire fan, it's one of my main hooks to the series, that and Artemis is like my favorite female character ever. I just have a couple of questions regarding Spitfire.

1. In one of your responses about the pairing some time back, I recall that you gave a few reasons for why Artemis finds Wally attractive, such as his scientific brain and how he never gives up. Can you tell us some of the traits/aspects about Artemis that make her so attractive to Wally? (I'm not questioning WHY Wally would like her, but rather, from Wally's point of view, just what is it about her that fuels his crush/deeper feelings?)

2. During season 1, before they were together, did Wally and Artemis ever spend time together outside of missions, just the two of them?

And one question just about Artemis:

3. Out of pure curiosity, do you think Paula or Lawrence chose the name Artemis when she was born, or did they mutually choose it? How about Jade?

Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

1. I think she also has an analytic mind that appeals to him. She's quick and smart and calls him on his bulls#!t. She's very easy on the eyes, as well. Which I'm sure sounds sexist, but I will only counter that by saying HE is also easy on the eyes to her. The fact that they are physically attracted to each other just makes sense to me.

2. No spoilers.

3. No spoilers.

Response recorded on February 27, 2019

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Leary writes...

What was Miss Martian 's age when she first began shapeshifting into Megan form on mars?

Greg responds...

Not sure. Sometime between when the show first aired in 1979 and when she came to Earth. So somewhere between the age of 17 and 48, I guess. I know that's a big range, but I don't want to be held to something that I haven't thought about yet. Closer to 17 than 48, I suppose.

Response recorded on January 24, 2019

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THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE ROOM

The following needs saying, so I'm taking time out from my very packed weekend - not to procrastinate, which would not be unusual - but to write up something that I think is important.

But first, some backstory...

I'm not particularly smart about very many things. I am in many ways a bear of very little brain. Ask anyone. I use an iPhone 4.0 because I literally believe that I don't have the brain space to deal with upgrading. I'm a slow reader. My dyslexia makes math difficult as I am constantly transposing numbers. I'm afraid of change. Etc., etc., etc.

But one thing - maybe the ONLY thing - I am smart about is STORY. Now, I've studied story for decades and decades in small ways and large. I also believe I have an innate gift for story. Like a great pianist, the gift itself would have been wasted without years of study and practice. I've had and done both.

What that means is that - when it comes to story - I have often (not always, but quite often) considered myself - with no modesty and tremendous arrogance - to be the smartest person in the room. In any room where this is a topic of conversation, but especially in any room where story was being professionally discussed. (You can see why - with an attitude like that - I'm so popular with animation executives and the like, and why I've been fired from so many jobs.)

Even on the many, many occasions when I have felt that I am among peers who understand story as well as I do, I never felt like they understood it better than I. As good, yes. Differently, sure. Stylistically, of course. But not better. I never felt anyone knew story better.

Oh, I've made mistakes, missed opportunities, slipped up, ad nauseam. I'm human and have never claimed perfection. I've collaborated with some brilliant and wonderful people. The list is nearly endless. But none of that ever shook my basic feeling that when it came to story, I was as smart or smarter than anyone in the room.

All that changed with YOUNG JUSTICE.

So let me state it for the record: when it comes to story, BRANDON VIETTI is the Smartest Human Being in the Room.

I'd love to tell you - BELIEVE ME, I'd love to tell you - that he learned all this at my ancient knee, and that if the student has surpassed the master, the master can at least take some satisfaction in that. But that, dear readers, would simply be a load of crap.

From Day One of YJ, as witness Kevin Hopps could attest, Brandon Vietti knew story, understood it deep, the way I do. And he was smarter about it than I.

The ultimate example of this dropped this past Friday.

Episode 307 of Young Justice: Outsiders, entitled "Evolution."

SPOILERS coming, so if you haven't seen the episode then please go watch it first before reading any further.

Like all YJ episodes this season, Brandon and I broke this story together. A pretty even 50-50 collaboration. There were certain things I wanted specifically to see, like the Cave Bear. Certain things I had researched such as that in (actual documented non-DC Comics) mythology, Nabu was the son of Marduk. And there were certain things that BV wanted in there, like the meta-human kid that Kalibak sacrifices. Certain things he had researched like The Art of War by Sun Tzu (a.k.a. Vandal Savage, a.k.a. Genghis Khan, a.k.a. Marduk, a.k.a. etc.)

And together, we created a pretty kick-ass story for the episode. I don't actually remember the day of the week, but for the sake of simplifying the story, let's say we finished breaking/building the story with index cards all neatly pushpinned into my office bulletin board on a Monday. Monday evening. We both felt pretty good about it, or at least I did, and we left for the day.

Tuesday morning, he comes in and says, "Something's missing."

I tell him he's crazy. There's nothing missing from 307. Nothing. It's a great damn episode. Maybe one of our best.

BV says no. Something's missing.

I say, "What? What's missing?!"

BV says, "I don't know yet. Something. Give me a day."

I roll my eyes in as pronounced a fashion as I possibly can and say, fine.

Wednesday morning he comes in and says, "I want to add a character."

I'm resistant. "It'll mess up the works, I tell him."

But he explains, and of course, he's right. Because Brandon Vietti is the Smartest Person in the Room.

The character he wants to add is Olympia. Olympia Savage. (I take credit for the first name only.) That's right. In our first version of this story, Olympia simply did not exist.

Try to picture "Evolution" without Olympia. Be honest. It's still a solid story. A few of the actual things Olympia does, we had Cassandra doing. But otherwise the plot remains almost completely unchanged.

But not the ending.

With Olympia in the story, the episode isn't merely a solid YJ episode. It's not merely a great YJ episode. To my mind, "Evolution" transcends YJ. It is a phenomenal, even revolutionary twenty-plus minutes of television.

And I tried to talk the guy out of it.

Of course, BV's contributions don't end there. He wrote the script, too, which is fantastic. And if you knew how much he contributed to every facet of production it would humble you. It humbles me, and as you can see above, I'm NOT a humble guy.

But screw all that. I'm not talking about pretty pictures, or color, or sound, or music or even dialogue.

This post is ONLY about STORY. And when it comes to STORY... BRANDON VIETTI will always be the SMARTEST HUMAN BEING IN THE ROOM.

I bow to his greatness. And trust me, I do not do that lightly.

To be honest, he's so good, it's pretty damn annoying.

But it's an honor to be his partner.



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