Aglow

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"I like the balance between her adult calm, and that sneaking naivette that is just beneath the surface. It's a stark contrast to the outlook that Jules had, and it's a wonderful dynamic." -Vinnie


Aglow
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Simply Dazzling.
Player: @Aglow
Personal Data
Real Name: Lilah Brenner
Known Aliases: Aglow, Dazzling, Lilu
Species: Human
Age: 23
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 119lbs
Eye Color: Pink
Hair Color: Peach
Occupation: Full-time Student and
freelance artist
Place of Birth: Steel Canyon, RI
Marital Status: Single (Dating Johnny Turbo)
Known Relatives: Father, Pilar Mendez
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Many could argue that Marie Brenner was a naïve young woman. Her mother and her daughter would say differently. She was many things: a student, an artist, a free spirit, a kind woman who gave and gave without asking anything for herself. She believed in and worshipped a God that many find trouble having faith in.

Marie was a hopeless romantic and so when dark-haired Professor Dane Robinson showed interest in her, Marie believed herself to be in love. The psychology professor was drawn to the vibrant and talented young woman. Theirs was a torrid and forbidden (but not uncommon) affair between student and superior.

When Marie turned up to be pregnant, she was sure Dane would step in, whisk her away, and they’d live happily ever after. When she broke the news to her lover, she guessed it to be shock that held him tongue tied.

Several months later when Marie Brenner gave birth on the eve of Halloween, she did so alone. Shortly after the announcement of her pregnancy, her Prince Charming transferred his credentials to a University out of state to leave the young woman to raise a child by herself.

Yes, Marie Brenner was many things and proud was one of them as she held her newborn daughter for the first time. Lilah Shay Brenner was truly her masterpiece.

Read more about Aglow!


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After Lilah’s birth, Eloise Brenner joined her daughter, Marie, and her infant granddaughter. The three generations of women resided in a tiny two bedroom townhome in the heart of the city. There was not much of a backyard or front, yet Marie loved to garden.

Eloise cared for young Lilah as her mother attempted to complete college and work full-time to provide for Lilah. Marie was in no way out of the picture in the upbringing of her daughter – any free time was spent doting upon the freckle faced child and introducing her to what may be considered her greatest love: art.

Lilah often attended church twice weekly under her catholic grandmother’s persistence that she be introduced to religion and God. As Lilah grew old enough to understand some of the story between her mother and father, she battled resentment for a man she had never seen. With the thought of him cast from her mind, Lilah determined at a young age that she had all she needed in their home and the garden full of fragrant rose bushes.

Lilah took after her mother not only in appearance, but in passion as well. With an eye for color, it began with crayons and quickly progressed to the paints her mother no longer used. Marie was happy to share the beauty of it with her daughter and encouraged her inherent skill. Her grades often suffered due to her easy distractibility when it came to art, disregarding school assignments or homework in favor for painting how the setting sun shone through the fall leaves and into the window of her room.

However, Lilah would soon find that life, while beautiful and rich in color, could also be dark.

On the way home from a traditional run out for Lilah’s birthday ice cream, their small sedan was hit dead-on by a drunk driver. The violent accident took Marie’s life instantly and left Lilah in critical condition. She suffered several broken bones and was pronounced to be in a trauma-induced coma. Doctors warned Eloise, Lilah’s grandmother, that Lilah may never regain consciousness and if she did – she may be mentally impaired due to the severity of impact.

Three weeks to the night of the accident, Lilah defied Doctor’s predictions and awoke. Painfully aware of where she was and why, Lilah calmly realized that she could no longer see. Lilah and her grandmother would later hear that the blindness was due to retinal damage from the accident. While her recovery was quick and for the most part painless, it was only in the physical sense. Any grief she may have felt was never shed and Lilah never openly mourned the loss of her mother. Amazing most of her doctors, she was given a clean bill of health. Mentally and emotionally, however, was an entirely different story.



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Lilah became introverted and withdrawn, unsettled by her own appearance of sightless eyes. She kept to herself, returning to the routine of life a different person. Her soul had aged years beyond her pretty face, a new solemnity to flatten her lips.

She became engrossed in learning to deal with her lack of eyesight, something that greatly frustrated and at times, left to bouts of self loathing. It was through the stress of this time the dormant part of her biological father's psychic powers came into the light, quite literally. It had manifested itself through her eyes. Lilah could process colors and light to view the world as a strikingly different place.

After graduating highschool and beginning college, Lilah had managed to begin her life anew and began rebuilding her social life. After the passing of her grandmother, Lilah sought out her father only to be turned away with little to no warmth or excitement. This only further strengthened the walls she'd built around her heart.

Grief still overwhelmed her and she turned to her art, diving deep into it's depth. Rather than drowning in it, she learned to swim. Her first big piece that rewarded her with attention to her also became her first tattoo when an admirer of her artwork happened to be a fellow artist -- a tattooist.

He suggested she had the 'eye' for tattooing with her bright colors and beautiful lines. After offering to tattoo her painting upon her arm, Lilah began working for him under an apprenticeship in a tattoo parlor located near the boardwalk in Talos. This lasted for a short duration and during this time, Lilah met hero High Score. Her simple life, however, would soon take a turn for the dark once more...


The Birth of a Hero.
(Note from the Author: The following information may be unsuitable for minors or those with sensitivities to sexual assault. There's no easy way to say this: I do not use the following in casual disregard to give my character some random traumatic experience and I was so afraid it'd be perceived as much, that this much of her history has not yet been shared. Please do not use the information in-character and all I ask for is respect, not just for myself/my character but for the victims of said repugnant crimes. Thank you.)


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She hadn't always been afraid of the dark. Such phobias were ludicrous to her when she had faced far more worrisome things. Over the years Lilah had managed to gain a sense of her limits and weaknesses to her powers. True, she didn't see her best at night, but she did well enough with street lamps to guide her way.

It was her sophmore year at Steel Canyon University. It was a time of finals, of stress, of sleepless nights and non-stop studying. She did her best to be as 'normal' as a student as she could, minus her vibrant appearance and glowing eyes. Mutants and metas weren't unheard of in Paragon City and it being the 'City of Heroes' made it easier to blend in, especially considering she was not a registered hero and had no moniker to uphold.

Maybe that made her a target; sticking out like a sore thumb when the clock struck two in the morning. She stuck to the more well-lit areas as she made her way toward a 24-hour Cuppa Joe coffee shop but in a city where crime was rampant, it wasn't enough.

More than anything, Lilah despises feeling vulnerable and helpless and that was exactly how she felt as her assailants covered her face with cloth, leaving her blind. She thinks she screamed that night, but she cannot remember if she resigned to her fate or fought back. Gut instinct tells her she did.

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Hours passed after they left her there to rot, or it could have merely been minutes until Lilah gathered the courage to stand and pull her pants on and calmly continued her walk, this time ending at the after-hours clinic located within the campus and quietly informed them of what had happened.

She can remember the staff and police attempting to comfort her as they questioned her, yet all she could think about was how soft the cloth over her head had been compared to the faces of those who were trying to help. How bleak and black the dark had truly been. How she had wanted nothing more than for a beacon of light, that fragile hope.

She was sent home that early morning with little still intact. Lilah did not want to be a victim. She wanted to be the light in the dark for others, to be what she herself did not have. To give a glimmer of hope, to protect. To give others a reason not to fear the dark as she now did.

The next day Lilah withdrew herself from her courses and found herself face to face with the registrar in the Atlas Park City Hall, and new identification in hand. They took so much from her that night, the ability to have children, little pieces of herself she'll never have back, and left her with an all-consuming hate, a fear of the dark and most importantly, a light at the end of a tunnel.

Born from the dark came a new beacon of shining hope, Lilah Shay Brenner became the hero Aglow, the light in the dark.

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Read more about Aglow!




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Powers:
Aglow is labeled legally blind and a puzzle to physics. In normal cases of blindness; either the entire sight has failed, or color blindness is experienced. Blindness is typically related to retina trauma or brain, eye and nerve damage. Mutant genetics took hold and over compensated for the loss her sight when her powers manifested.

Defying the law of probability and science, Aglow sees in spectral color format. A spectral color is a color that is evoked by a single wavelength of light in the visible spectrum, or by a relatively narrow band of wavelengths. Every wavelength of light is perceived as a spectral color, in a continuous spectrum; the colors of sufficiently close wavelengths are indistinguishable.
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Her sight is not limited to single wavelengths, but an on-going multitude of varying wavelength and frequency. Think of this like technicolor; every color is more rich, more vivid, more vibrant. Aglow acts as a prism, absorbing the visible light around her and projecting it into the optic spectrum; i.e, the refraction and dispersion of light that causes rainbows.

Pupiless, her polarized eyesight gives Aglow’s eyes the effect of appearing to glow. This is an example of harvesting the light source around her. Left undirected, the light will radiate from her body in all directions, producing a simple, steady glow or ‘leaking’ of multi-colored light. By conscious control over the light she produces, she can control its direction, frequency (color), amplitude (intensity), and duration. She is immune to the potential injurious effects of her light transducing abilities.

In more recent events, Aglow is becoming increasingly aware of the untapped potential of dormant psychic ability. Previously having believed herself only to be a psionic-based mutant, Aglow has developed and practiced new abilities, branching out from what she already knows.

It has also been noticed that during these times, Aglow appears to be unstable and unlike herself. She has disappeared for hours on end, only to have been found in Ouroboros, causing great fluctations of power in the system's atmosphere and in a trance-like state. For the moment, these episodes while unsettling, appear harmless.

Light Manipulation

  • The ability to control, direct and manipulate light and color in such fashion is a both conscious and subconscious act of mind. Considered a psychic, Aglow’s powers are limited to psionic use only. She cannot read minds nor does she have any sense of clairvoyance or precognition. At times, unconsciously may she project her own thoughts or illusions; this most commonly occurs when she’s sleeping and not actively shielding herself.
  • Psychokinesis is the ability to move (lift, agitate, vibrate, spin, bend, break, or impact) visible life forms or objects and control photonic energy (lightwaves/particles). The duality of psychokinesis and Aglow’s illuminating abilities, she can conjure various forms of photonic energy, including blinding flashes and concussive photon pulses. At rest, these plasmoids of energy float around her in what she endearingly refers to as ‘drunken fireflies’.
  • Simpler hypnotic patterns made out of her rays of light can produce trance-like effects in her targets. A display of chaotic pulsing strobe effect of sparkling lights and colors severely upset other people’s equilibrium and bursts of light which causes temporary blindness with it’s brilliance. Low levels of light generate a glow, higher levels can create blinding flashes and can make light that burns skin on contact which has proven useful in soldering wounds.
  • Directing her blinding light from her eyes and hands, she can generate bright bursts of multi-colored psychic energy, approximating laser beams, with which she can cut through virtually anything.
  • The mental manipulation of light also gives her the ability to bend the light around herself or others to grant a degree of stealth and invisibility. This can further lead to protective shields, however the latter is excruciating upon her endurance and often leaves her drained and void of regenerating.
  • Causing precision bursts of light inside a human brain, simulating the effects of a massive stroke and creating a protective force fields with laser light that can deflect or vaporize oncoming objects.
  • If/when powerful enough, Aglow can also perform disillusion and exposition, allowing her to negate optical illusions or to reveal otherwise invisible objects.

The Everlight:

A non physical entity that is the horsepower behind Aglow's abilities. Everlight is Aglow, and Aglow is Everlight.
Lilah refers to Everlight as 'It'. The power that powers her; for sometime she wrestled with herself in regards to surmising it was her soul and still believes her soul and her power are one and the same.
Rather than being a result of multiple personality disorder or possession, it is more or less the dormant psychic abilities becoming so completely self aware that her powers began over-compensating for what Aglow has long since suppressed, thus in itself creating an entity, an intangible force that drives Aglow.
It is more than her subconscious, as it has become cosmically aware even when Aglow herself may not be alert. The Everlight is untapped potential, extremely powerful and unstable from the result of being suppressed for far too long.
There are moments when Everlight overrides Aglow and the first clue is in Aglow's change of appearance: her brightly colored hair bleeds white, and the glow spreads from her eyes to encompass her entirely, shifting hues from pink to a cool, ultraviolet. This gives her an overall ethereal appearance, similar to an apparition. Secondly, the powers and energies of all organic life (especially those who are offensive psychics) may fluctuate, pulse, ebb, and flow. Everlight seems to absorb the endless supply of power rather greedily.
She is a divine sense of the Quintessence Force, granting her the ability to generate pure energy from her own body without the need to 'pull' from those around her. She may emit vibration-like waves of such power. This power cannot be replicated through means of power mimicry, because the energy being used comes from the self, not from the outside world.
In this form, Everlight is a master of Twilight manipulation; the mixture of light and darkness. Everlight seeks out dark matter, overcasting such bright light to consume the power, resulting in an eclipse of power, and ultimately allowing her to control the essence between light and dark.
The Everlight is a powerful psychic. Her mind is laid open with no resistance barriers to all those with psychic and telepathic abilities. However, much like a spider web, if sensing the entry of another psychic, the psyche of Everlight immediately overcomes the intruder and holds them hostage, trapping them within her own psyche.
At this moment, the intruder (or hapless psychic) may be overwhelmed by the eclipse. They may experience blindness, disorientation, dizziness and worse, could suffer strokes, seizures, and/or aneurysms. Depending on the severity of the assault, the former side-effects may only be temporary with no long-lasting issues. The entire process is not gentle and the victim is often held helpless and vulnerable to Everlight's whims.
Aglow’s telekinesis also becomes stronger during this time; with the ability to push, shove, and render people and inanimate objects unable to move. This feels like an overwhelming amount of pressure bearing down on those who are succumbing to it. She may appear invulnerable to many attacks, especially against those that are energy based.
During these spells, once Everlight recedes, Aglow will have no immediate recollection of events. Later, she may have flashbacks and with time, the Everlight and Aglow will merge to become one. For now, Everlight remains a once-dormant part of Aglow's psychic abilities that have manifested itself into it's own existence and awareness.


Weaknesses:

  • Reflection and/or mirroring manipulators: The users of these abilities can easily trap Aglow within a mirror and force her into a trance-like state as she reflects light back onto herself. If this were to ever happen, it could mean Aglow's end unless the dazzling spell is broken through interference. However, interference of organic life could mean death for the one wishing to break the vicious cycle of unending reflections.
  • Gravity manipulation is another weakness as gravity can bend light, making her powers ineffective or reversing them back upon Aglow.
  • Trapped in a enclosed space with no viable light sources (say caves, rooms with no windows, etc) use her power, she gradually loses any output she has, leading to a total loss of power with no supply to meet demand. The dark to her is like a candle is to being put out. Without the oxygen, the candle eventually suffocates and the flame goes out. Such is the same with light and dark, concerning Aglow.
  • Disorientation from explosions, collisions or large crowds render her momentarily useless. In these times, her light will flicker and waver, displaying a growing weakness the longer she remains unsteady.
  • Her inability to act when faced with her phobia of the dark is also an issue, making Aglow her own greatest weakness and enemy.


Special Abilities:

  • Manipulation (bending) of light around her to give tactile defense of concealment and invisibility. Those with infrared or ultra-violet vision abilities will see her as a dispersed ‘mist’ of color. However, this allows her to remain undetected on most optical tools such as surveillance cameras, binoculars, and more simply – glasses.
  • A great and entirely focused form of concentration, Lilah can 'disperse' herself, dematerializing and becoming an intangible form of light and energy. In this incorporeal form, she can travel vast and far distances at the speed of light. However, it comes at a cost. After dispersing, it takes time for Lilah to become corporeal once more, and can leave her ineffective. While her combat ability is enhanced, allowing for greater energy output, she is impossible to touch or be touched. Upon rematerializing, Lilah is exhausted of power and vulnerable.


Travel Mode:

  • Means of travel are generally through flight; conclusive with the ability of telekinesis and psychokinesis, Aglow can move herself through the air at long distances, often leaving a trail of light in her path. She has often been mistaken for a small comet or shooting star for this very reason.
  • Telekinesis has also been showing to giving her greater jumping distances and running speeds, though these two are much more less frequently used as they require a higher expense of energy to do so.


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Often considered prudish, Lilah can agree that she often has a stiff demeanor. Her smiles are only shallow curtsies upon her pink-painted lips, and the heavy fringe of her lashes act as a shield to avoid prying eyes.

Polite, elegant and oddly uptight for one as vibrant as she, her humor is misunderstood and overly dry. Many will see Lilah as distance or stand-offish and in reality, they would be partly right. Upon closer examination it more or less seems a defensive tact and it is apparent that she holds herself back from many things. Her closed off attitude squares her shoulders and carries regal stature, leading some to think she is prone to bouts of arrogance.

She rarely acts out of reason or upon emotional outbursts, her voice barely rising above conversational level. She holds herself aloof and just out of reach as though the act of doing so will keep control in her hands and prevent being hurt by someone she has grown to care about. Lilah despises self-doubt and insecurity, and moreso, she dislikes being vulnerable.

Beyond the mental barriers is a hopeless romantic, a woman who longs for a great love of her own and adores quirky and unique things. She can get lost in her own daydreams and thoughts. Her loving and nurturing side tends to shine the most when she feels passionate about something, or in the presence of animals and children.


FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

Smallheartpred.pngThe Crux Enigma: If Lilah Shay were to have someone similar to herself, it would be Rosie. The pale woman shares many overlapping similarities with Aglow, both in power and life experience. Perhaps that is why Lilah finds it so easy to tell her things she doesn't tell others.
Smallheartpred.pngFirst Player: Miles is a tech-genius and completely relaxed to boot. Lilah often calls upon Miles when she needs some tech work done.
Smallheartpred.pngFoxy Ferret: Another one of The Challengers, Lilah greatly respects this woman's work and endeavors. She is a prime example of never giving up.
Smallheartpred.pngHigh Score: A previous client of Lilah’s, Casey gives clear definition to the ‘a few good women’. Casey is also one of Lilah’s few close friends and you’re more likely to find them giving each other a hard time rather than squealing about shoes together. Still, Casey’s one of the people she likes having on her side.
Smallheartpred.pngImpact: Upon joining the Peacekeeper front, Aglow and Impact were blanketed by brooding tension. As time passed, the two heroes expressed their feelings for one another and quietly dated for the better part of a year. Differences caused a split between the two and due to other circumstances, have hardly spoken since.
Smallheartpred.pngJohnny Turbo: The Ego on Two Legs, Johnny Turbo and Aglow met a couple years ago after he approached her for help on a suicide mission. Over time, Lilah has grown close to Johnny, their friendship evolving into something slightly more. After much dancing around, Lilah has accepted the fact that she is in love with the Fastest Man Alive. Johnny is a good balance for Lilah; helping her to lighten-up or relax, and she helps him slow down just enough to enjoy life.
Smallheartpred.pngThe Masked Renegade: He just stares at Lilah a lot.
Smallheartpred.pngThe Noisebomb:WIP.
Smallheartpred.pngPaul Ooshun:WIP.
Smallheartpred.pngRed-Havok:Having worked along his side on a number of occasions and shared the responsibility of a hero's work with Red Havok, Aglow would choose no other person to stand beside or to have her back in battle as she has done for him. Not only does she respect him as a fellow colleague, but Aglow also respects Red Havok's ability to lead such an inspiring group as The Challengers.
Smallheartpred.pngReplacer: Replacer, known as Grant and once, Rave spider, is one of the most splendid heroes that Lilah has had a chance to work along side of. His sense of humor is refreshing and she thinks he is attractive. Multi-talented, Grant never ceases to amaze Lilah. Lately, more and more Grant has been a voice of reason and comfort for her. She believes their friendship is gradually and continuously growing, and she's thankful to know a person such as he.
Smallheartpred.pngShadowtrick: Aglow’s half-sister, Pilar Mendez is the biological daughter of Dane Robinson. The pair are very yin and yang in physical appearance and powers. Their abilities negate each other’s, making them useless when together. However, personality wise, Pilar and Lilah get along smashingly well and share some of the same habits.
Smallheartpred.pngSovereign Fist: WIP.
Smallheartpred.pngTrem: A big guy with an even bigger heart, Trem is quite the teddy bear. Strong, loyal, and fiercely protective of his mates and Paragon citizens –Lilah not only adores him, but looks to him for guidance and friendship.
Smallheartpred.pngUltimogirl: Tammy is the blonde bombshell; the girl most envy. Charismatic, drop dead gorgeous and athletic, Tammy is only hindered by her insecurity. She is easily one of Aglow's closest friends, and the person she runs to when she needs a night of drinking and girl time.
Smallheartpred.pngVoltium: Volt is likely one of the most genuine people Aglow has ever met. Not afraid to express himself or his thoughts, she finds Volt hides behind no mask and is comfortable sharing who he is. There are days she's left thinking there's no way anyone this day and age, could be as good as he is. Volt has increasingly become a brother-like figure to her and has recently begun dating Aglow's sister, Pilar.
Smallheartpred.pngXanatos:For some time, Lilah thought Xanatos was a myth as she had never met Paragon's finest hero. While she has respect for the legendary hero, she sometimes wonders at his decisions.


FOES AND ARCHENEMIES

Carnival of Shadows: WIP.
Codename Devilfish: Mercenary. Assassin. Soldier. Lilah had looked past those titles to form a close bond with someone she only regarded as a man and nothing more. Her high expectations would seemingly leave her disappointed, however, when Devilfish betrayed her by siding with with some of Rogue Isles' most dangerous villains known as...
Phanto, Baron Blitzman, and Trioxin : Three notorious villains, who with Codename Devilfish planned to set off a psychic bomb. The trio came close to success with the aid of the repugnant group United Underworld. Phanto had even went as far as to create the illusion that Aglow had been kidnapped while Trioxin manifested the psychic bomb. Phanto also had her hotel room destroyed, leading to the destruction of many personal valuables and memories. In the end, the villains were defeated yet Phanto made his escape with Trioxin's help. Baron Blitzman was incarcerated for sometime before he was broken out of the Zig by...
The Zodiac: WIP.


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Want to submit a fact or note? Do so on the Talk page!
Smallheartpred.pngShe attends church every Sunday morning if possible.
Smallheartpred.pngLilah would like to renovate an old farmhouse.
Smallheartpred.pngShe is back in school full-time to achieve her Bachelor's in Education and Fine Arts, hopefully leading to a teaching career of art for pre-schoolers.
Smallheartpred.pngLilah is considered an Omega-Level mutant in telekinesis, psionics, and energy projection. An Omega-level mutant is one with the most powerful genetic potential of their mutant abilities.
Smallheartpred.pngHer nickname is 'Lilu', pronounced 'Lee-lou'.
Smallheartpred.pngLilah is afraid of the dark.
Smallheartpred.pngShe collects skeleton keys, antiques, tea sets, and bird cages.
Smallheartpred.pngBunnies are her favorite animal and peach is her favorite color.
Smallheartpred.pngShe has an insatiable sweet tooth.
Smallheartpred.pngLilah has a half sister from her father's previous liasions.
Smallheartpred.pngShe has two holland lops named Boomer and Bummer.
Smallheartpred.pngFeel free to recognize Aglow as a local painter. The player loves that kind of stuff!
Smallheartpred.pngOne of her favorite things are elevator rides.
Smallheartpred.pngCheck out her Virtueverse Gallery.
Smallheartpred.pngBe sure to visit Aglow's gallery!
Smallheartpred.pngUltiglow; dubbed the Top Short Story Involving Two Heroines of the Year.
Smallheartpred.pngA short story on Aglow's views of her powers.
Smallheartpred.pngLilah will often exclaim that anything she prepares or cooks is "Dazzlingly Delicious." It is kind of her catchphrase. (This note was submitted by Aglow superfan Johnny Turbo)
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