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    1. Chapatrap 10 yrs ago
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1 yr ago
Current I can't believe this site is 9 years old lol I remember the old site moving over to this one
3 likes
8 yrs ago
I love the North, it's so quaintly barbaric.
1 like

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Retired

Still check in from time-to-time though. This website literally hasn't changed since Mahz migrated it over like 8 years ago lol

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<Snipped quote by Chapatrap>

Alright, I switched it from an occupation to a failed attempt to invade Anatolia.

Also updated the app to fix some mistakes, oversights, and to add more info


You're basically accepted by the way, you just need a mod or someone to clarify it*
Traditional powers aren't very popular.

Also, to the lad who wants to take on Greece, your application is all fine except for the occupation of Anatolia/Eastern Thrace. The Ottomans had all pulled back to Anatolia by 1929. If you want to say you launched an invasion and took all the islands in the Aegean successfully and then attempted an invasion of Anatolia in a Gallipoli-type situation, I'm fine with it. I really liked your app apart from that, I hope we can get some cool story arcs going!
@Nerevarine
Okay, now that time's come up, I will be interesed as playing the Hellenic Socialist Republic

@Chapatrap I'm interested in collabing on some shared history with Greece and the Ottomans


Cool. I've been saying Greece basically conquered the Aegean Islands and Cyprus after the Great War but I'm fluid on what form Greece has taken (Neo-Byzantine or otherwise). Basically, Ottomans and Greece don't like each other and a certain streak of irrenditism is currently going through Ottoman government.
Famagusta, Cyprus
Since the end of the Great War, Famagusta had changed substantially. Under the British, the town had boasted a large central market, pristine beaches and was a popular spot for Turkish and British high society. It was one of the only places in the world that Greek, Turkish and British cultures met, creating an odd patchwork of Turkish coffee shops, British pubs and Greek fish stalls. Following the meteoric fall of the British Empire, Cyprus itself was a brief, independent republic in the 40's. Famagusta had become one of the few economic centres on the island that successfully carried the torch handed to them by the British Army. A Greek military invasion in 1947 of the island had caused hot debate in the Ottoman Empire, with fears of a Greek invasion butting heads with the single decade of peace in Turkey. In the end, only the Ottoman embassy in Athens had closed in response.

Greek politics had brought economic growth to the Cypriot Greek community but the Turkish Cypriot community had largely been ignored. The upper classes of Turkish Cypriot society had fled to the open arms of the Ottomans, becoming a powerful minority in their own right. Famagusta had died a slow death, suffering from being only, Turkish periphery town on the edge of the Greek demesne. Of the few rich Turkish families that had remained in Famagusta, Melik Demir and his family were one of only three. The Demir's had made their money on a small, offshore natural gas drill and when that ran out, diversified, going on to own entire towns of real estate for Greek and European tourists. They had made their fortune under the Greeks and British.

But Melik, robed in an open-buttoned shirt and a pair of shorts, felt no less Turkish than the two Foreign Intelligence men sat opposite.

The meeting was to take place at Melik's Famagusta home. After a long dinner of olives, beef and Greek yogurt, where the men had made chirpy small talk with Melik and his associates, they had retreated to the balcony to smoke and discuss business.

"Well, Melik, to put it into simpler terms - what do you want?" asked Yusuf, drawing a long breath of smoke from his cigar. Melik, a darker man with a powerful moustache and a belly that only grew with the loss of his hair, smiled. "My associates and I are proposing this, gentlemen. A mercenary force, made up of Turkish Cypriot patriots, ex-soldiers and others with interest in our island, re-take our soil from the Greeks. Upon retaking our land, we wish for it to be annexed back into the Ottoman Empire, as it was prior to British occupation" said the Cypriot. The Ottoman, Emir, nodded slowly. "We are aware of that. In your original proposal sent a few years ago, we were led to believe there was to be an independent Cypriot republic, led by you" he smirked.

"I'm not interested in politics. I'm interested in Cyprus" replied Melik. "I reached the decision some time ago that an independent Cyprus cannot stand on its own two feet. We need the guidance of our brothers in Turkey". He dipped his bread into the olive oil bowl and nibbled on it as Emir and his partner glanced at each other. "There are complications to this, Melik. The Department, while believing an annexation is feasible, cannot see our neighbours reacting too kindly. Arabs and Bulgarians do not want to see a re-growth of the Ottoman Empire" said Emir, reciting the lines given to him by his boss. "This is not re-growth, this is the taking back a historically Turkish province" replied Melik, his usual warm Cypriot accent remarkable colder than just moments before. "I will remind you of my gift to His Sultans government".

"Yes, Melik and we are very glad for that but the military will not back a blatant invasion when you refuse to share any of your plans!" began Emir, his partner nodding in agreement. Before he could continue, Melik spat in disgust. "Oh, don't spin that old yarn. I know the military have had plans for an invasion of this island since the 30's!" he growled. "Yet you do nothing. If the Ottomans will not take the initiative to crush a clearly weaker enemy, then we bloody well will!"

Silence descended on the balcony. Emir took a deep breath before speaking again. "What do you need, exactly?"

"Men, ships, arms, money, anything the Sultan can share with us" said Melik, his smile from before returning. "Well, we can't give you uniformed soldiers but there are several Cypriots operating with the Ottoman security service who may be glad to aid you" retorted Emir. "We can get you guns and transport, easily. When exactly is this invasion to take place? Next year?"

"July" replied Melik. Emir dropped his cigar and scrambled to the ground to pick it up. "July!" he exclaimed. "We've been planning this for two years, gentlemen. Just because you only decided to get involved when we hit a road-bump on supplies doesn't mean we aren't prepared for this". With that, Melik snapped his fingers and a servant appeared in two seconds. "The file, Stavros!" he barked in Greek, who disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

By the time the file had reached Melik's hands, Emir still had not spoken but chewed on his cigar, incredulous at what he had just heard. Melik flipped through the folder slowly and nodded. "I want this to be in the hands of the Sultan by Friday. If you require further negotiations, I will personally meet with him myself" said Melik, sliding the file over to the Ottomans. "There's a boat leaving Famagusta tomorrow evening. Get on it and you will meet my associate, Ismail Ali. He will journey with you back to Constantinople and answer any questions that remain. Goodbye, gentlemen" he sneered, standing to his feet and retreating back into his villa.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Emir, incredulously looking at his partner. "I thought this guy had a plan! What am I supposed to do with a fucking file?"

"Give it to Ankara" replied his partner, staring out at the glittering sea thoughtfully. "We did our bit."

Karakilise, Kurdistan Autonomous Region, Ottoman Empire

The bodies swung softly in the breeze of the warm, May afternoon. Crowds of curious onlookers were held back by a cordon of police as Sergeant Nebez climbed the ladder, the cool steel of a knife bringing a metallic taste to his mouth. "Careful, sergeant!" called a police officer, standing below the bodies with a tarp. He spoke with a thick Kurdish accent that masked any sarcasm. Nebez's muffled reply was unintelligible but the officer nodded anyway.

The two bodies had been found earlier in the morning, hanging from the statue of some Sultan or another in the central square. On each outstretched, stony arm hung a man, each with a sign around their necks. "Traitor". Both men had been Kurdish police officers, by the looks of their dark uniforms. The army had been quick to the scene and Nebez's squad had quickly taken over from the police, who had been unsure what to make of the unusual scene. Bodies of local Turkish farmers had been appearing for months now but never had the murderers attacked the police.

When Nebez reached the top of the ladder, he removed the knife from his teeth and began to quickly slide it across the rope. It was thick and knotted, probably made in a local mill. As he slowly cut, the corpse swung around and he was face to face with the dead man. His hair was greasy and flecked with dried blood. One eye was swollen and his face was bloated with bruises. No doubt he had taken a beating before being strung up for the town to see. This was a message to the police and the populace and Nebez already knew who it was from.

The Kurdish National Front.

Nebez placed a hand on the rope to steady himself and began sliding the knife across the rope even faster. The body fell with such force that he almost lost balance but caught himself on the eroded face of the statue. "Fuck..." he swore loudly before quickly scrambling down the ladder. The corpse had already been wrapped up in the tarp and two officers were struggling to carry it into the back of a van. Nebez brushed himself down. The onlookers had lost interest yet the cordon was still in place.

"Boy" barked Nebez and a private immediately appeared at his side. "Yessir?" he answered obediently. "Send word of this back to base. I want arrests and suspects immediately". "Yessir" he answered again before hurrying off into the crowd of police officers who surrounded the second body.

"What's going on? Get him wrapped up now!" yapped Nebez, following the private into the crowd. The second corpse was already laying spread-eagle on the tarp but the officers were rifling through his pockets. "But sir, there's something wrong with this one" said an officer, squinting at the corpse. Nebez pushed past and bent down. "What do mean?" he grunted. This one looked like the other.

"Under his jacket, there's some kind of-" began the officer, pulling the mans jacket apart and revealing a bomb vest. He never got to finish his sentence as a large explosion rocked the square, blowing the statue into pieces and every man scattered across the ground. The dust cloud could be seen for miles and in Nebez's final moments of life, he could only see dust and feel the fire slowly consume his body.
For the record, Greece controls most of the outer islands of the Aegean and all of Cyprus. Neo Byzantium, nu?
[disregard]


:^(
The Ottoman Empire



History:
The Ottomans entered the Great War on the 29th of October, 1914, with a surprise attack on Russian Crimea. They entered on the side of the Central Powers but saw action largely in the Caucasus and within their own borders. However, with the exit of the Russian Empire in 1916, the Ottomans gained dominance in the Black Sea and largely concentrated their armies to crushing revolts and holding the Eastern Front. Backed by the British, the Arabs in the Ottomans Levant territories began a huge revolt. Despite the Ottoman's best attempts at crushing the ever present Arab insurgency, it only became larger and more powerful. The Ottoman's possessions were abandoned in all but name by 1920 as the army fell back to Anatolia to defend the homeland.

As the war dragged on and the Ottomans became increasingly dependent on the Central Power's help in crushing nationalist insurgencies in their Arab provinces. When a white peace was declared and Europe began the long road of reconstruction, unrest continued in the Ottoman provinces but once again, the Sick Man of Europe was left isolated. The Central Powers, all facing their own internal issues, could no longer subsidise the dying Islamic empire and by 1929, Ottoman forces had largely fallen back to Anatolia. The abandonment of provinces held for centuries left many Turks bitter and unrest began in the urban centres of Turkey. The declaration of a Turkish Republic in Constantinople by disillusioned army officers caused the Sultan, Mehmed VI, to flee the capital. As the revolution began to lose steam in late 1932, a large force of Ottomans loyal to the Sultan crushed it and it's leaders, including a man we would today call Ataturk.

The population at large disliked Mehmed VI's government for his perceived abandonment of the Empire and the military declared a Interregnum period of 5 years, during which a new constitution and Sultan were to be chosen. The Military Junta largely concentrated on a reconstruction of the Empire's remnants and it came to a surprise in 1937 when a relatively unknown member of the House of Osman was crowned as Osman IV. Under the Third Constitution, the Sultan was delegated as a figurehead to the so-called Second Empire and wide-sweeping liberal reforms swept over Turkey. Basing the Second Empire on the United Kingdom as a symbol of stability, Islamic law was abandoned completely in favour of a secular Empire, although the Sultan was still recognised as the Caliph of Islam. The remaining minorities in the Empire were all enfranchised and the head of the military even issued an apology to the families of Pontic Greeks and Armenians who's families had been effected by "brutal military conditions during a time of extreme political stress".

Liberal reforms, as promising as they seemed, did not last long. While a majority of the empires subjects were placated with notions of freedom of speech and religion, in practice very little changed. The Gizli, a secret police established in the 30's by the military junta, remain at large and people have been known to disappear or discouraged from expressing certain opinions in the name of national security. Romantic notions of re-conquering the lost territories are ever-present in the Ottoman Empire and since the early 50's, the Ottomans have begun sowing the seeds of pro-Turkish revolt in Cyprus, Tataria and parts of the Caucasus.

In the early 40's, the Ottoman government began a programme of settling Turkish-speaking peoples into Ottoman Kurdistan (an autonomous region in South-Eastern Anatolia) in order to encourage economic development there. This created tensions among the Kurds who saw it as a form of assimilation. Large tracts of traditionally Kurdish land were bought cheaply from local tribes and given to loyal Ottoman citizens, usually richer men from a military background. An political party, known as the Kurdish National Movement, and its paramilitary wing, the Kurdish National Force, have grown quickly in recent years due to the Ottoman's heavy handed response in dealing with dissent. Despite being an illegal organisation, the KNF has become bolder and attracted many young, educated Kurds. The Ottoman intelligence organisations have become increasingly concerned by the radicalism expressed by these organisations.

It is now 1960 and in his yearly address to the public, Osman IV announced that the days of a dying Empire were over. The 1960's were to be "the Ottoman decade", a quote that worried many in the lost territories and beyond. 30 years of peace have allowed the state to grow and consolidate. Some are already bidding farewell to the liberal decades and are preparing for a decade of upheaval and change. The Sick Man of Europe, while battered black and blue, has once again began a march in the name of Islam.

Other:
The Ottoman Empire consists of just the European side of Constantinople and Anatolia, including the autonomous region of Kurdistan and excluding the parts of Greater Armenia found in today's Turkey. (look at 0th post)



Tasucu, Ottoman Empire
May, 1960


Cem yawned as the morning sun peered over the docklands and warmed the narrow streets of villages across Southern Turkey. All night, the Derin Gizli operative had slept uncomfortably in his black 1944 Atingucu, a common civilian car of government officials. It was parked awkwardly on a quiet street that hadn't seen a repaving since the Great War. Cigarette butts stained the passenger seat and Cem again felt tempted to relight the end of one to liven himself up. A quick rummage through the glove box confirmed that he may have to do just that.

As he held the stale cigarette up to the match, a car began to roll slowly down the street towards him. It was a blue, Austrian style motor vehicle that purred as it pulled up beside him. Two men sat in the front seats and one raised a hand in greeting as it passed. It was Melik's men, clearly. No one in Tasucu was awake at this time. Especially those who drove unmarked, Austrian cars.

Cem nodded in return and turned the key in his own car. It sputtered and protested before roaring to life. He rolled down the window and spat the manky cigarette on to the street. He methodically checked his watch before slowly rolling the ancient car down the road to turn around. Quarter past four in the morning.

2 hours late.

The blue car moved slowly, almost frustratingly so, through the town, as the operative drummed him fingers impatiently on the wheel. His car stayed a few feet behind their own but he knew that on open road they could leave him in the dust. The town slowly fell way to rolling fields of olives and grapes yet Melik's men continued to move slowly. "Cheeky bleeders..." grumbled a tired Cem, his eyes firmly on the back of his guides.

They stuck to the coast for what seemed like an eternity before crawling up the side of hill overlooking the glittering Eastern Mediterranean. The Austrian car, with a superior Germanic motor, flew up the hill with no issues but Cem's government issue banger struggled up the steep track. He could almost feel the motor of the car struggling like a fat man on a run.

Ferries and fishing boats dotted the bay and if one squinted into a telescope in this morning light, they could see the tip of Cyprus. The road, which had by now become dirt, ended abruptly at the gates of a large villa. Green and white mould stained the sides of the walls and clung to the iron gates, which were firmly locked. The villa had seen better days and had obviously not been touched in decades. The locals had once called it the Big House but those days had been left with Ottoman dominance, far in the past. A lone Turkish star and crescent, limp with the lack of wind, hung atop of the gate.

The blue car was waiting for Cem as his own sputtered up the hill. The two men leaned on it, arms crossed and casually smoking. They both wore western-style suits that were crisp and clean in comparison to Cem's own. They wore Greek fishermen hats but the operative wore only a head of greasy, unwashed hair. One of the men walked over as the operative pulled his car to stand still and turned off the engine.

"You Cem?" barked the man, his Cypriot accent clear in the morning air. "Yep. You with Melik?" answered Cem, his own Ankara accent seeming bland in comparison. The man didn't answer. "Identification?" he asked instead, the cigarette staying between his lips. "One moment" the operative replied, diving into his glove department and returning with a Derin Gizil badge. He inspected it for a moment before turning to his friend and nodding. Cem took this as an invite to step out onto the ground and stretched his long legs.

"Any of you gents got a cigarette?" he asked and Melik's goon gave him one without a word. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, boys. My superiors read Melik's proposal and they are, well, very interested in taking it to the first phase".

"We're glad to hear. Those Greek bastards have begun seizing Turkish businesses" replied the other man, throwing his cigarette to the dew-covered grass in disgust. "We know. Operatives in Famagusta are concerned for our brothers and sisters in Cyprus. They believe tensions will be hitting dangerous levels in the coming months" nodded Cem, inspecting the Austrian-made car. The two goons seemed amused.

"You like the car?" asked one, kneeling down next to Cem. "It's a step up from that thing" grimaced Cem, referring to his own vehicle. "And I have to drive the bloody thing back to Ankara". The other goon went to the boot of the car and opened it. "I think you'll like this even better" he called to Cem, inviting him over with a wave of his hand.

Cem stood quickly and walked around to the back of the car. He whistled, impressed, a stream of smoke leaving his nostrils. In the trunk, three large briefcases were open, all filled with money. "Tell Melik he has a blank cheque, straight from the Sultan himself. We can help with money, guns, ships, hell, even soldiers" grinned Cem, his eyes never leaving the thousands of lira in banknotes. "As long, of course, that he agrees with our end goal".

"We have the same end goal" replied the goon, picking up a briefcase and handing it Cem.

"A Turkish, Islamic Cyprus".

Constantinople, Ottoman Empire

The day was dying in the city once heralded as the second Rome but it still held on, streams of light still piercing the dusk.

"Very good" replied Selim Pasha. "I will pass your dealings with these Cypriots onto the Sultan, he will be very impressed". Across from the Grand Vizier sat Mehmed Adil, the head of the Deren Gizli. Mehmed was to be trusted - he was Selim's, after all and years of loyalty to him had cemented him as a firm member of Selim's inner circle. The military may control the sultan but the internal security forces were damn well his. Selim rubbed his greying beard thoughtfully as Mehmed silently rummaged through his bag and produced a second document.

"As for the Kurdish situation..." he began. "Ah, I suppose I did ask for the good news first" smirked Selim. "Yes" replied Mehmed simply. "The Kurdish situation is not looking as rosy, I'm afraid. We lost two operatives within the so-called Kurdish National Front this month and we believe our other five are at risk, save for one. Before received no reports from them, save for their last. Our cell believed there to be rumours of a document being drawn up that will be presented to the Sultan. A petition, we believe". He passed a folder to Selim, who opened it slowly. A frown furrowed the older mans brow as he read the final report of a certain Fered Izit, under the name of Hilkar Kemal.

5am, 26th of April, 1960

I was to sign a petition today. There were some grumblings in the Front about it but I believe they are trying to maintain an image of political legitimacy in the province. No developments on the arms deal with the Islamic/Arab militia. The commander is sending us to a town for guard duty tomorrow. The Police haven't been seen in the area for months and it's 'crime-ridden', they claim. I remain safe - they don't suspect a thing.


"Famous last words" mumbled the Grand Vizier. "What happened to this man's handler?" "In a safe house in Izmir. We are instructing him to stay low for a few months, maybe take a holiday to Sofia" sighed Mehmed. "Allah save us" groaned Selim, closing the folder and placing it on the desk. "Are the Persians aware?" "I just got off a call with my counterpart in the Persian intelligence agency. They are concerned but are reluctant to take action on Kurds within their territory" replied Mehmed, placing the file back into his bag.

"At least it's only a petition. If they start signing declarations, we'll be in trouble" said Selim, standing. He leaned heavily on his desk until his hand found a wooden cane. "Well, Mehmed, keep me up to date. It's a long journey back to Ankara. I'm scheduling a meeting with the police and the High Command this week. We may find the grounds to have these separatists arrested".

"Very good, Selim Pasha. I'm on call if you need me" replied Mehmed, standing to his feet and shaking his superior's hand. As they walked to the door, the conversation became lighter. "That old war wound still acting up?" he smiled. Selim hobbled beside him. "I'll have to cut the bloody leg off soon" he grumbled, holding the door open. "You'll look like a Rhodesian Negro if you do" laughed Mehmed.

Even that cracked a smile from the humourless Vizier.
The Ottoman Empire



History:
The Ottomans entered the Great War on the 29th of October, 1914, with a surprise attack on Russian Crimea. They entered on the side of the Central Powers but saw action largely in the Caucasus and within their own borders. However, with the exit of the Russian Empire in 1916, the Ottomans gained dominance in the Black Sea and largely concentrated their armies to crushing revolts and holding the Eastern Front. Backed by the British, the Arabs in the Ottomans Levant territories began a huge revolt. Despite the Ottoman's best attempts at crushing the ever present Arab insurgency, it only became larger and more powerful. The Ottoman's possessions were abandoned in all but name by 1920 as the army fell back to Anatolia to defend the homeland.

As the war dragged on and the Ottomans became increasingly dependent on the Central Power's help in crushing nationalist insurgencies in their Arab provinces. When a white peace was declared and Europe began the long road of reconstruction, unrest continued in the Ottoman provinces but once again, the Sick Man of Europe was left isolated. The Central Powers, all facing their own internal issues, could no longer subsidise the dying Islamic empire and by 1929, Ottoman forces had largely fallen back to Anatolia. The abandonment of provinces held for centuries left many Turks bitter and unrest began in the urban centres of Turkey. The declaration of a Turkish Republic in Constantinople by disillusioned army officers caused the Sultan, Mehmed VI, to flee the capital. As the revolution began to lose steam in late 1932, a large force of Ottomans loyal to the Sultan crushed it and it's leaders, including a man we would today call Ataturk.

The population at large disliked Mehmed VI's government for his perceived abandonment of the Empire and the military declared a Interregnum period of 5 years, during which a new constitution and Sultan were to be chosen. The Military Junta largely concentrated on a reconstruction of the Empire's remnants and it came to a surprise in 1937 when a relatively unknown member of the House of Osman was crowned as Osman IV. Under the Third Constitution, the Sultan was delegated as a figurehead to the so-called Second Empire and wide-sweeping liberal reforms swept over Turkey. Basing the Second Empire on the United Kingdom as a symbol of stability, Islamic law was abandoned completely in favour of a secular Empire, although the Sultan was still recognised as the Caliph of Islam. The remaining minorities in the Empire were all enfranchised and the head of the military even issued an apology to the families of Pontic Greeks and Armenians who's families had been effected by "brutal military conditions during a time of extreme political stress".

Liberal reforms, as promising as they seemed, did not last long. While a majority of the empires subjects were placated with notions of freedom of speech and religion, in practice very little changed. The Gizli, a secret police established in the 30's by the military junta, remain at large and people have been known to disappear or discouraged from expressing certain opinions in the name of national security. Romantic notions of re-conquering the lost territories are ever-present in the Ottoman Empire and since the early 50's, the Ottomans have begun sowing the seeds of pro-Turkish revolt in Cyprus, Tataria and parts of the Caucasus.

In the early 40's, the Ottoman government began a programme of settling Turkish-speaking peoples into Ottoman Kurdistan (an autonomous region in South-Eastern Anatolia) in order to encourage economic development there. This created tensions among the Kurds who saw it as a form of assimilation. Large tracts of traditionally Kurdish land were bought cheaply from local tribes and given to loyal Ottoman citizens, usually richer men from a military background. An political party, known as the Kurdish National Movement, and its paramilitary wing, the Kurdish National Force, have grown quickly in recent years due to the Ottoman's heavy handed response in dealing with dissent. Despite being an illegal organisation, the KNF has become bolder and attracted many young, educated Kurds. The Ottoman intelligence organisations have become increasingly concerned by the radicalism expressed by these organisations.

It is now 1960 and in his yearly address to the public, Osman IV announced that the days of a dying Empire were over. The 1960's were to be "the Ottoman decade", a quote that worried many in the lost territories and beyond. 30 years of peace have allowed the state to grow and consolidate. Some are already bidding farewell to the liberal decades and are preparing for a decade of upheaval and change. The Sick Man of Europe, while battered black and blue, has once again began a march in the name of Islam.

Other:
The Ottoman Empire consists of just the European side of Constantinople and Anatolia, including the autonomous region of Kurdistan.
Oh wow, PoW is back. I haven't looked at RPGuild in months so excuse my absence so far. I might do my usual and grab a little nation in Europe, if that's grand.

Scratch that, I'm grabbing the Ottomans, esse
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