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calpernia does not doubt she could kill quite a few members of the inquisition guard should she try to escape. she had killed several when first they captured her, their limbs transformed to ash before they could so much as blink astounded eyes at her ; the issue comes in numbers. they outnumbered her then and they outnumber her now. yes - - - she could cause harm, could make her way even out of this building, but there is no doubt they would have her in fetters before she managed to reach the great bridge that seems to mark the singular access and exit to skyhold. or dead. she wonders which she would find preferable should that moment come.

when he sits and asks her to she remains where she stands. fingers twitch at her side in an aborted wish to lunge and scrape the blunt edge of her nails across his smiling face but feet remain planted and still despite the urge. "you think because you have revealed one mans machinations i have missed your own?" once-teacher is cast aside ; she agrees corypheus needs to be met with a painful death, but calpernia remains displeased. finally her feet move to the desk the inquisitor had pulled the chair away from and she picks up the scroll that details plans for her to be bound. "if you had thought this thing would have earned you my trust and goodwill you are sadly mistaken, herald." in a flash of heat and the smell of smoke the scroll is engulfed in controlled flame that burns ancient parchment but leaves her calloused hands unsinged.

"a gauge," she repeats with a bitter laugh on her tongue, "your spymaster and her little birds are not finding enough information, is it?" a pile of ash sits by her feet and calpernia lets her hands fall to her sides once more before she crosses to stand behind the chair across from the inquisitor. fingers curl around the back of it and she leans forward to be at eye level while she stands and he sits, "corypheus has been killed before. what makes you think you will be able to make it stick this time?"

From what his advisors had told him of Calpernia, Zaahyr was only slightly surprised at the reaction he had received from her. He had thought ( perhaps naive of him now that he was here ), that bringing her information as a symbol of goodwill would have softened her some to his want of information in return. Then again, if he were in her position, would he have done the same? It was hard to say as he stared patiently at the woman. The only thing that barred her was a door, not locked but flanked by two soldiers more for his safety than her imprisonment, and a window that could be unlatched easily should she desire the steep drop to get away. He had thought more trust shown would be better and perhaps it was. Who was to say this was the better reaction from her, seeing as she was a mage and had not yet shown the true extent of her magic. Yet...

With a restrained sigh and a quiet ❛ All right, ❜ he made his way over to the door at her last statement, but did not leave. Instead, he took a chair from the disused desk and brought it back over. He set it down next to her before heading back to another chair where he set it across from the other. Zaahyr then sat and smiled at Calpernia. ❛ Would rather not kill you, but thanks for the choice. I won't keep you here long either, however for the time being, you will have to stay and during said time, if you won't tell me anything, maybe you could listen? And sit? Or...stand, whatever you're comfortable with. ❜ There was a brief pause, gaze searching as it were before he continued. ❛ We do not see eye-to-eye, perhaps, but what I do know is that Corypheus is really the only one who needs to die, between you and me. You know this, we all know this, there is nothing good to come from his actions for either side. If you wish to make a change, a good solid change, it's not going to happen when the world is being ripped apart by some guy with an ego the size of Thedas. Maybe bigger at this point seeing as he has the Templars under his thumb. I'm not asking you to join us, all I'm asking is for some kind of gauge on him from you. ❜

#fadedpath #* v ; inquisition #i love this so muchhhhh

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the shape doesn't emerge from the shadows but a voice echoes from it and calpernia rolls her eyes as she continues on her way. "just as i am certain you were sent here absent of bias as well," her words aren't sharp, as she cannot blame the inquisition for treating her as a potential threat, but the fact they seem to insist upon their righteousness day in and out is exhausting to have to deal with. at least they tend not to meddle in her dealings too much of late - aside from the spies she knows lurk in every corner. as a show of good will she does not send back their corpses, as she did during the height of their conflict. the heels of her shoes click against the stone streets as she walks, secure in the knowledge her tail is still there to listen.

"i'm sure you can understand that i can't simply speak freely in the streets," even as quiet as this seedy side street in minrathous is there is no doubt this pair of inquisition ears is not the only ones lingering nearby. a certain magister has of late been sending daggers for her after she had orchestrated the sinking of an empty slave ship under his employ and calpernia can not be certain there isn't someone loyal to him waiting to hear the next of her steps and report back, "there is a teahouse a few streets over where i can get a private table safe enough for the both of us to speak." it is owned by someone she had freed and epidia will have no issue letting calpernia take one of the small private rooms kept in waiting for important figures. calpernia doesn't wait for a response before she changes direction towards the teahouse. he can follow or not.

a smile curls the edges of her lips and she turns her head vaguely in the direction the voice came from. "i'll even pay for your meal."

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@umbrs

feet stop upon the street abruptly, head tipping slightly as though cocked to hear something. some days she would not have broken stride at the feeling of someone watching her ; it is not an unusual experience. she is a woman with many enemies upon many sides - - - factions still loyal to corypheus linger in shadows, magisters do not shy from an assassination between themselves and upstarts, there are the scattered whispers her spies collect about agents of an old elvhen god, and the inquisition keeps a keen eye upon her even if they know she is aware of their presence. the last, though, is less likely to be bearing a blade meant for her throat.

unless the inquisitor has changed their mind ; calpernia would not be surprised, and perhaps happy. she does so hate the fact there is a debt between her and the inquisition, some tie of thanks she must begrudgingly feel for the warning of what would have become of her had corypheus succeeded.

“if your nightingale requires a report on my activities you may ask for one instead of skulk about.” calpernia resumes walking and does not wait to see if the pair of eyes she had felt follows along. if the spy feels the need to remain hidden and return to skyhold with a report on her movements extrapolated from what they see rather than what she says, so be it.

the  shadow  at  her  side  stops  as  she  does.    victor  watches  the  other  curiously,    his  head  tipped  opposite  hers,    and  simply  observes.    he  much  prefers  these  missions  to  the  usual  scraps  and  battles  the  inquisition  gets  themselves  into   ————   though  its  rare  he’s  caught  in  the  middle  of  one,    that  a  voice  addresses  the  phantom  that  lingers  in  their  shadow.    it  almost  makes  him  smile. 

he  doesn’t  make  himself  known,    not  physically,    but  does  let  loose  a  quiet  puff  of  air,    hinting  at  a  snicker.       “   ‘cause  i’m  sure  a  direct  report  would  be  detailed  and  free  of  all  bias.   ”

sarcasm  seeps,    and  when  calpernia  begins  to  walk  again,    so  too  does  victor;    allowing  this  time  his  steps  to  make  sound,    just  so  she  knows  he’s  still  there.       “   if  you’re  wantin’  to  talk,    however,    i’ll be  happy  to  take  both.   ”       he  wonders  if  the  mild  distaste  in  his  voice  gives  notion  that  this  city  gives  him  the  creeps.    why  couldn’t  he  be  assigned  somewhere  nicer,   like  back  home  ?

#umbrs #* v ; post inq #DFGHJK calpernia like don't use my own moves against me #thinking abt the line in inquisition where leliana says calpernia is especially good at rooting out spies among her numbers

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i both love and hate that the inquisition characters all call calpernia a magister bc like...i get they use the word as shorthand for 'mage from tevinter' but calpernia would never be allowed to be an actual magister and it's one of the things that fires her up abt the imperium in its current state. she's a mage of massive skill and because of her history - - - not even the like tried to help destroy the world and was the head of an unfavorable cult part, the was a slave part - - - she will never be allowed in the magisterium. the magisterium, in its current form, is to calpernia an emblem of everything that's wrong with tevinter ; caring more about ancient names and bloodlines over merit. so to be called a magister by, like, leliana? calpernia would have some sort of feeling about it.

#slavery / #* ooc #* headcanon #kind of #more like a ramble but i'll let it count

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Calpernia as the Eight of Swords

UPRIGHT: trapped, powerless, imprisonment

REVERSED: freedom, taking control, empowered

Calpernia stands in a field of seven swords, holding the eighth in her hands. Her chains are broken, but Corypheus prevents her from seeing that she has done so by her own actions, trying to maintain his control over her. But his grip is slipping.

#* aesthetics #foaming at the mouth #* calpernia

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i'm like.... not 100% convinced on this fc but also i keep thinking abt her as cal

#* ooc

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@fadedpath said ; ❝ you aren’t all stone, calpernia. there is a person inside of you. ❞

lips pull from her teeth in a snarl and calpernia glares at the inquisitor before her. "i do not need you telling me what i am," she replies, voice scraped from her throat. that she is not in a cell does not change the obvious fact that she is a prisoner here ; that the scroll that tells of a binding ritual the elder one had planned on performing on her eventually does not make things clear. "my personhood has never been up for debate because i do not believe in your follies." there are guards outside the door, that much she is sure, and she would no sooner sear the man before her than more would be rushing in to decimate her. a shame. there are flames crawling just beneath the surface of her skin that a less adept mage would have difficulty keeping within. "i am a person who will tell you nothing."

are there still those loyal to her within corypheus' numbers, she wonders? names and faces she spoke with daily, who she kept her voice gentle with because they startled at the sound of a raised voice, who she smiled at and joked with in quiet moments when the elder one was not nearby. surely someone has noticed she is gone. surely someone is looking. she is leader of the venatori, though they are smaller in number than she had dreamed due to the machinations of the inquisition, and there must be some of them that will come for her no matter what corypheus orders. fingers tighten into fists and calpernia lifts her chin in an attempt to look haughty even barefooted and with her hair loose. it's a look she learned from the magisters young, when they would scowl down their noses at the frightened slip of a thing she was. "you may keep me here or put me to the sword. it will make no difference."

#fadedpath #* v ; inquisition #uh oh! angry! #i figure this is like just a few days after she was caught so she's very much still not working w them even tho she has been told abt the #binding ritual #she very much took that the wrong way lmao

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dragon age starters

feel most free to change pronouns ,  etc .

❝ it doesn’t matter that they won’t remember me. what matters is i helped. ❞ ❝ bad things should happen to bad people. ❞ ❝ i’m here to set things right. also ? to look dashing. that part’s less difficult. ❞ ❝ planning has never been my strong suit . now, killing…killing & love-making. those i am better at. ❞ ❝ oh ! we could get matching outfits ! ❞ ❝ i’m not saying i should be your first pick for a dance partner at the ball , but in the deep roads , i’m your man / woman. ❞ ❝ draw your weapon & say that again ! ❞ ❝ we’re here to kill them all, yes ? for sport ? ❞ ❝ you tend to get up to interesting things. you meet interesting people & then you kill them. ❞ ❝ i never worry, darling. a leash can be pulled from either end. ❞ ❝ it’s like you need permission to be alive. ❞ ❝ has anyone told you what marvelous eyes you possess, my dear ? ❞ ❝ have you ever licked a lamp post in winter ? ❞ ❝ i’ll try not to hit anyone. ❞ ❝ there you are. everyone’s been looking for you. ❞ ❝ the last man standing gets final say on who is right or wrong. ❞ ❝ i like my hair the way it is, thank you. ❞ ❝ do you think about how to kill everyone you meet ? ❞ ❝ are you… sassing me, ____? ❞ ❝ yes, but she/you seems more… “ooh, pretty colors !” than “muahaha ! i am princess stabbity ! stab, kill, kill ! ❞ ❝ congratulations ! you have found a wastebin . ❞ ❝ what are you going to do with that sword ? ❞ ❝ not listening ! la la-la la la ! ❞ ❝ i saw you looking at the girl/boy in town earlier . ❞ ❝ anyone wishing to accuse me of weakness is welcome to try. ❞ ❝ …did you cut your own hair ? ❞ ❝ ”one by one they follow, drowning in the sea”. the rest of the poem is sad.. ❞ ❝ you aren’t all stone, ____. there is a person inside of you. ❞ ❝ we crush the heads of rude women when we feel like it. just so you know. ❞ ❝ protect what matters with everything you have, or you’ll have nothing, and deserve it. ❞ ❝ i want you to know that what we had was real. ❞ ❝ in the end you are always alone with your actions. ❞ ❝ somebody’s been drinking. ❞ ❝ let’s show them our hearts, and then show them theirs.. ❞ ❝ do you feel that ? my magic-sensing nose is tingling. ❞ ❝ well, shit. ❞ ❝ you worry me, you know that ? ❞ ❝ i’m cold. & it’s indoors. this is so wrong. ❞ ❝ i saw what you were doing back there. ❞ ❝ we will never speak of this again. ❞ ❝ you’re a big softie ! ❞  ❝ i’ve got just the thing to cure that pout. ❞ ❝ eight, nine, now you die. ❞ ❝ daughters never grow up. they remain six years old with pigtails & skinned knees forever. ❞ ❝ i don’t need my pants, anyway. ❞ ❝ smiles. we must be careful how we present ourselves. ❞ ❝ be careful what you wish for. power is treacherous. i have seen many people–great leaders–consumed by it. ❞ ❝ don’t touch me ! stay away ! ❞ ❝ i think of him/you/her as much as he/you/she thinks at all. ❞ ❝ i knew nothing of friendship before we met. ❞ ❝ you can approve or not approve as you wish, but this is one thing you cannot influence and mold to your liking. ❞ ❝ there you go, breaking my heart. ❞  ❝ does anyone else feel the verge to vomit? ❞ ❝ i…love you. just… wanted to tell you that. ❞ ❝ let those who would destroy us step into the light. ❞ ❝ it’s dangerous when too many men in the same armor think they’re right. ❞ ❝ if you love a character, you give them pain, ruin their lives, make them suffer. maybe even throw in a heroic death. ❞ ❝ i do quite like watching you leave. ❞ ❝ send him a fruit basket. everyone loves those. ❞ ❝ did i stutter ? ❞ ❝ are you kidding ? i’m surprised you didn’t kill anyone just coming over here. ❞ ❝ the world may want my time, but you have my heart ❞ ❝ have you ever heard the saying ‘let sleeping abominations lie’?  now would be the time to consider it. ❞ ❝ that sounded much better in my head . ❞ ❝ i have an excellent sense of dramatic timing. & good hair.  ❞ ❝ the air hurts. i have to stop. ❞ ❝ challenge someone to arm-wrestle me. ❞ ❝ so, you’re not like a lot of other girls/boys. ❞ ❝ not long ago this was impossible to imagine. you, the man i love, victory close at hand. ❞ ❝ how do you do that ? make everything better with a smile ? ❞ ❝ it gets no easier. your struggles have only just begun. ❞ ❝ there comes a time when you must stop running, when you turn & face the tiger.  ❞ ❝ it’s family, you protect. doesn’t matter who it is, blood or not. ❞ ❝ perhaps we should carve our names into the giant tree ? ❞ ❝ hey ! that’s mine ! ❞ ❝ our mistakes make us who we are. ❞ ❝ fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could. ❞ ❝ don’t let anyone tell you when to move on. take their hand & say, “my choice". ❞ ❝ words are easy, like the wind; faithful friends are hard to find. ❞ ❝ shitballs. fuck. shit. crap. ❞ ❝ living a lie … it festers inside you, like poison. ❞

#* ask memes

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there's literally nothing on this blog but. quiet starter call.

#* starter call #again! again! more!

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uh oh! making a new dragon age oc w friends!

#* ooc #they are specifically for a friend group i have and set in our own like. this is free real estate version of rivain #so they will never see tumblr unfortunately #but im already a fan

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@standbetween

"thom rainier," her voice is clear and bright as she peers at him from where calpernia has perched atop a rocky outcropping, "where are your compatriots?" the venatori are scattered across this expanse of sand and dust and calpernia need only raise her voice with a request upon her lips and more could be here at her side. sound does carry wonderfully across these barren expanses. "they must be nearby, or have you ventured out from your new stronghold all on your lonesome?" her weight leans against her stave, the end of it planted across the rock, and she smiles down at him. "that was very well done, even i must admit."

#standbetween #* v ; inquisition #the way her opinion of him actually went up when his identity reveal happened lmao #she doesn't have a good opinion of the grey wardens #she also thinks he's more....i don't know? relatable? bc his past is less squeaky clean than the inq tries to portray itself in her eyes #she's like yes.....none of us are ideologically pure #also this is in the western approach in my head

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he has been weaving in and out of the ballroom all night. it is something someone might easily miss, assume he is going into a courtyard for a breath of air or ducking into some hall to speak lowly with his advisors, but calpernia has had whispers brought to her on the lips of a few others hiding their place among the venatori behind orlesian masks. there are countless eyes upon this man, but calpernia does not let the charm or the good luck of a good name cloud her vision of him. the inquisitor and his compatriots have been venturing places they ought not be. calpernia is glad she is not here with a goal of being sure the empress dies, because this unkillable man seems set to make that...difficult.

"seeing as you have now narrowly avoided death thrice, i'm afraid you will have to listen to awe over such things many times over," the stealing of the mark, the fall of haven, and the fade - - - none should have been something he was able to walk away from. like a roach scampering out from beneath the boot once, twice, thrice. hazel eyes peer at him from behind her mask and calpernia thinks of the speck of him, of armor and green light, she had seen distantly at haven. nothing but flesh and blood, lucky though those tendons may be. hands fold before the dark silk of her skirt and calpernia lets her gaze drift across the hall for a moment. "i am half surprised your inquisition did not mount a gala to rival this in the wake of your return to us, in celebration." now that would be luck, a chance to slide into skyhold among some horde of nobles that make her stomach turn, "many of us have yet to be able to make pilgrimage to skyhold."

@dragyran

for a man like him, Halamshiral is a maze full of too many dead ends, but somehow the outing is proving to be fruitful regardless. Saving face, going behind every single Orlesian noble including the Empress herself, uncovering court - spanning schemes and plots ——— it's practically espionage under another name and coloring. Somehow, as he casts another look behind his shoulder to ensure he steps back into the ballroom alone, Tristan is reminded of street treats back in Ostwick advertised as candied apples, only to be a far more bitter vegetable in truth. If only this whole endeavor were that simple, the unpleasant taste a thing to be spat out and surmounted: this, plus the threat of a looming assassination, is terrifying. Still, it's no worse than the Fade, the effects of it he yet feels upon his skin when he thinks about it too much. [ He's seen crueler fates than a knife to the neck, but he would rather avoid them in any case. ]

Tristan hears his title called and a silver - masked attendee bows to him, a gesture which he returns with the rough grace of a noble estranged from his position. ❝ I am glad to be alive still myself, my lady, ❞ he offers in return, displaying a mellow smile. ❝ I see news and stories of my survival are making for remarkable conversation among those present; you're hardly the first to offer such relief. ❞ And she won't be the last, if socializing continues. He isn't unkind, however; he knows how much tone matters in these occasions.

#dragyran #* v ; inquisition #tagging ur new blog <3

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the timing on cal leaving vicinius' house makes me laugh like? the crystal implies she was there for his death but you get to his house and find his fresh corpse and a bunch of venatori that aren't cal???

#* ooc #i like to imagine she's literally still in the house just invisible

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he he he my parents have dai on their xbox bc of nan and i so i've continued...just disbanded the templars so i can see cal. lets see if i can speedrun the game and get thru trespasser before i go back to the city on the 21st

#* ooc

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puts cal in a jar and shakes her around. she's so interesting to me bc she is both intensely unrepentant about and fully aware of the fact she's doing bad things and will not apologize for the hand she had in almost ending the world post game - - - literally the only reason she drops corypheus is because he was going to actively harm her & reneg on his promises to help end slavery in tevinter - - - but also so intensely manipulated into the position she is in and aware of that post game, too.

like. corypheus is the first person of status to treat her like a person, in her eyes. he teaches her how to use magic beyond the bare necessities to not become an abomination. he puts trust and faith in her, lets her lead things without constantly checking up on her, believes in her. but he's using her and the fact he can dangle a future that will never happen like a carrot in order to get her to do his bidding. there is also imo canon evidence that wide swaths of what the venatori do aren't actually under calpernia's command/are happening without her knowledge - there is no way she would be okay with or even able to look the other way with the use of slaves in lyrium mining that you find, not to mention the red lyrium smuggling into tevinter with the plan of using it on slaves there to use as an army against the qunari in seheron. like it's just so blatantly against everything she stands for/the driving force of her character that i have to assume these things were hidden from her and she has less general control over the venatori than she/the inquisition is led to believe.

on that note post game calpernia hunts down each and every other venatori leader who had a hand in any slave labor at all and turns them to ash.

#* headcanon #slavery / #rambling abt cal time

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calpernia keeps her stave in its sling upon her back, posture loose and unworried. this smuggler wandered into a trap calpernia did not know she had set to begin with ; the upper hand is hers, and there is no reason she should fret or worry. combat does not frighten her like it once did. the threat of violence is a threat calpernia knows she can rise to, can meet head on, can crush if need be. hazel eyes remain locked upon the inquisition agent and calpernia tips her head and blinks, cat-like.

"it would feel cruel to kill you," calpernia replies easily, taking a stride forward, "and we will be moving this operation before you can get a report to your commanders." in truth, the stolen mine is beginning to run dry. there is still lyrium to be plucked from the earth but not so much that the loss of this space entirely would be any sort of true detriment to the venatori or their leader. "i have no quarrel with you in particular, unless there is something you want to tell me." it's almost a joke, the corner of her mouth twisting upwards as she approaches, "THOUGH i would ask you deliver a message to your spymaster from me, should you return."

helena has always been someone who knows when she's beat. and in this moment, being caught by herself in a venatori camp most likely means that this is over. it doesn't, however, mean that everything she could do is done.

standing stock straight with her hands held tensely by her sides, she stares directly at the woman in front of her. of course she had heard of calpernia, had even seen her when haven fell. if she's surprised to see her here, she doesn't show it. as helena listens, it takes all her strength to not openly scoff. in no universe does she believe that she can just walk out of here. "really? just turn around and walk out? excuse me if i find that unlikely." her voice is confident, but she can feel her own adrenaline like a hairpin trigger. ready for a fight at any second, one that she's afraid she might not win.

#gracesmuggled #* v ; inquisition #omg no worries

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@dragyran

the mask feels wrong upon her face, fingers twitching by her sides as she watches from a corner of the ballroom as the inquisitor slides back into the space from wherever it is he has been. the loss of the mages she could have added to venatori numbers had been blunted by the apparent death of the inquisitor ; her teacher had not been happy when reports the man yet lived and reappeared in time to spoil machinations for the empress reached his ears. it is why calpernia is here at all, when the assassination is not her job nor her business - - - to see the once-dead herald herself from behind the cold metal of a mask. she still does not feel natural here, and she stops on her path to the inquisitor to help steady an overly-large tray starting to tip from the hands of a servant. they thank her, hushed, and she shrugs it off. they may not be what she was, not quite, but calpernia has no romantic notions of how servants are treated here.

"inquisitor," her voice lilts from behind the silver, smiling face she wears, and calpernia dips into a bow, "i am glad to see you still live with my own eyes." it is dangerous, this talking to him directly when there is no doubt someone will try and divine who she is and why she is here the moment she is seen standing before the inquisitor ; calpernia does not intend to remain her the rest of the evening, for this is florianne's duty and not her own. but knowing trevelyan lives, truly, is a report she can bring back to corypheus herself should this plan succeed or no.

#dragyran #* v ; inquisition #okay realized it's a fun option when the inq sides w the mages bc #they don't fucking know who cal is even tho she's canon kicking around #gives her more space to be sneaky #the fact that samson and cal exist in every world state but u just Don't See The Other One is so wild to me

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there's literally nothing on this blog but. quiet starter call.

#* starter call