Changes: Samhain

Revision as of 15:57, 2 December 2019

“	Dean, Samhain is the damn origin of Halloween. The Celts believe that October 31st was the one night of the year when the veil was thinnest between the living and the dead, and it was Samhain's night.	”
	— Sam Winchester on Samhain in It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

Samhain, also known as the origin of Halloween, was a powerful and special demon of Hell and was one of the 66 Seals. He could only rise when summoned by two powerful witches through three blood sacrifices over three days, with the last sacrifice day on the final harvest, Halloween. Once risen, Samhain could raise ghosts, zombies, and ghouls, among other creatures.

History

SPN 0276 — Samhain as depicted in a lore book.

Early History

Samhain was one of the oldest demons in existence, having been created around the same time as the Knights of Hell. When God made the archangel Lucifer's cage, he made the summoning of Samhain one of the sixty-six seals. The ancient Celts worshiped him as a god on Halloween. When he reigned on Earth on Halloween night, people kept their children indoors. They wore masks to hide from him, carved faces into pumpkins to worship him, and left sweets at their doors to appease him. He was exorcised centuries prior to Sam and Dean's time by an unknown party. As he could only be summoned once every 600 years, he was trapped in Hell.

Season 4

Once Tracy Davis and Don Harding summoned him on Halloween of 2008, Samhain possessed Don Harding's corpse, turning the corpse's irises pale bluish-grey.

Samhain then killed Tracy and went a rampage, entering a mausoleum in a cemetery and releasing ghosts and zombies to kill his host's students. While Dean Winchester dealt with the summoned monsters, Sam Winchester armed himself with the Demon-Killing Knife and went to face Samhain. Though his White Light had no effect on Sam, Samhain proved too powerful for Sam to beat with the knife, and Sam was forced to use his psychic powers to exorcise him. Samhain proved to be powerful enough to resist Sam's powers but was ultimately exorcised and sent back to Hell by Sam. Despite Samhain's exorcism, his rising broke one of the 66 Seals.

Personality

SPN 084575 — Samhain after killing Tracy Davis.

Samhain was shown to be cruel and sadistic, he took pleasure in trapping his host's students and summoning zombies to devour them, so much so, that he playfully rubbed his hand against the gate as he walked off. However, he seemed more interested in simply creating and causing destruction, rather than running it, as rather than consolidating his efforts or powers, he simply passed through the area, causing chaos.

He also showed no loyalty, casually killing Tracy Davis, despite the witch loving and freeing him. He was also shown to be treacherous and cunning, with a violent and ferocious side to his personality. Although willing to use his powers to dispatch attackers, he was also willing to enter physical combat with his opponents and try to rip them apart with his bare hands.

He was quiet and didn't talk much. When angered, he would snarl like a wild animal.

Powers and abilities

Samhain is an incredibly powerful demon who displayed multiple rare abilities as well as abilities unique to himself. That his rise was one of the 66 Seals marks Samhain as a special demon; the only other demon who was a seal was Lilith. His rank in the hierarchy of Hell is unknown.

Summoning - Samhain had the ability to summon creatures without the need for an external power source. Sam stated that the longer Samhain was free, the more dangerous monsters he would summon until everything the Winchesters had ever fought would come to him.
Necromancy - Samhain could summon ghosts and command them, as shown when he had one attack Dean.
- Reanimation - Similarly, Samhain could turn nearby corpses into zombies and command them, as shown when he had them attack a group of party-goers.
Immunity - As one of the most powerful and ancient demons, he had a great amount of immunity similar to the White-eyed Demons. He was immune to iron, as he could close and run his hand over an iron gate without getting burnt. He could also resist Sam's powers better than other demons.

Immortality - Although Samhain's exact age was not stated, he was at least over six hundred years old and was implied to have been thousands of years old.
Photokinesis - Samhain had the power to emit a fiery blast of white light that could destroy anything in its path. He was one of only two demons known to have this ability, the other being Lilith.

SamhainEnergyBlast — Samhain tries to kill Sam with an energy blast

Invulnerability - Samhain could not be harmed or killed by conventional weapons.
Demonic Possession - Samhain used the corpse of one of his witch followers as his vessel.
Super Strength - Samhain was able to throw Sam across the crypt with great force and minimal effort. He was also able to effortlessly break Tracy's neck with his bare hands.
Astral Perception - He could perceive the true form of Tracy Davis, despite her young appearance.
Flight - Samhain could fly while in his true demonic smoke form.

Weaknesses

Harming, Misleading or Trapping

Exorcism - Like most demons, Samhain could be exorcised and sent back to Hell. Since he could only be summoned once every 600 years, an exorcism would greatly prolong Samhain's time in Hell.
Partial Blindness - Samhain's eyesight was impaired, causing his vision to be blurred; because of this, he was apparently unable to make any distinction between genuine monsters and humans wearing monster masks.
Demon-Killing Knife - The knife cause irritation when sliced with it and was quick to disarm Sam of it.

Banishing and Killing

Special Children - Samhain was vulnerable to the powers of a Special Child, and he was eventually exorcised by one.

Appearances

Season 4
- It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
- I Know What You Did Last Summer (drawing only)
Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting (non-canon, mentioned only)

Trivia

A drawing of Samhain can be seen in Anna Milton's journal. The description says "Samhain. The next seal is broken." In Anna's drawing, Samhain's eyes are completely whitish.
Samhain is the second of two demons to only show their true eye color instead of their vessel's eye color for most of their screen time, the other being Azazel.
Despite the students wearing costumes in the mausoleum, Samhain was able to see them, even though he couldn't see Sam or Dean properly when they were covered in blood. However, some of them were not wearing masks, which is identified as the key component for tricking him, possibly revealing their humanity to him.
In reality, Samhain is the Wiccan holiday on Halloween where the Wiccans celebrate their dead ancestors, loosely based upon an older Celtic holiday of a similar name.
The ancient Gaelic holiday of Samhain, historically celebrated in Ireland and Scotland, actually fell on November 1st, not October 31st, and signaled the start of winter. It was one of the four main Gaelic holidays, each marking the beginning of a new season. The others were Imbolc (February 1st), Beltane (May 1st), and Lughnasa (August 1st). It was traditionally believed that on Samhain, otherworldly spirits would enter this world and blight all crops and green vegetation with their breath Link
The festival of Samhuinn is at the end of the year for the Celts, when the Otherworld and the normal world could be crossed. It represented ending the year with darkness and beginning the year not too long after, which corresponds with some of the character's thoughts and actions.
In this episode the name 'Samhain' was pronounced Sam-Hane, its correct pronunciation is Sow-ann
The Celtic festival of Samhuinn is celebrated in the myth the Kelpie, in which souls are brought back from the dead, supporting Samhain's powers.
In Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting, Samhain is described as a blue-eyed demon. On close inspection, his irises appear to be a very pale blue or possibly grey.
Since Samhain's raising was one of the 66 Seals, this indicated that Samhain already existed by the time Lucifer had been trapped in his cage. The only other demons confirmed to have existed at that time were Lilith, the Princes of Hell, and Knights of Hell.
Samhain's White Light ability was the second trait he shared with Lilith, the first one being part of the 66 seals.
Samhain and Ramiel are the only high-tier demons that only appeared in one episode.
Samhain's eyes are similar to those of the Rakshasas.
There are multiple things unique about him that separate him from the rest of demonkind.
- He is the only known demon to possess the power of necromancy.
- He is the only high-tier demon that is the only known member of his type.
- He is the only known demon that required a specific ritual to be released, as other demons could be released through basic summoning or through the opening a gate of hell.

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 |actor = [[Don McManus]]
 |Title/Alias = The Origin of Halloween
-|affiliation = [[Hell]]<br>[[Tracy Davis]] {{c|formerly}}<br>[[Don Harding]] {{c|formely}}<br>Ancient Celts {{c|formerly}}
+|affiliation = [[Hell]]<br>[[Tracy Davis]] {{c|formerly}}<br>[[Don Harding]] {{c|formerly}}<br>Ancient Celts {{c|formerly}}
 |occupation = Demon of Halloween
 |family = [[Lucifer]] {{c|father/creator}}}}
 {{Quote|[[Dean Winchester|Dean]], Samhain is the damn origin of Halloween. The Celts believe that October 31st was the one night of the year when the veil was thinnest between the living and the dead, and it was Samhain's night.|[[Sam Winchester]] on '''Samhain'''|''[[It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester]]''}}
-'''Samhain''', also known as the '''origin of Halloween''', is a powerful and special [[Demons|demon]] of [[Hell]] and is one of the [[66 Seals]]. He can only rise when summoned by two powerful [[witch]]es through three blood sacrifices over three days, that last day on the final harvest, Halloween. Once Samhain has risen, he is able to raise [[ghosts]], [[zombies]], [[ghouls]] upon other creatures onto the [[Earth]].
+'''Samhain''', also known as the '''origin of Halloween''', was a powerful and special [[Demons|demon]] of [[Hell]] and was one of the [[66 Seals]]. He could only rise when summoned by two powerful [[witch]]es through three blood sacrifices over three days, with the last sacrifice day on the final harvest, Halloween. Once risen, Samhain could raise [[ghosts]], [[zombies]], and [[ghouls]], among other creatures.
 ==History==
 [[File:SPN 0276.jpg|thumb|left|225px|Samhain as depicted in a lore book.]]
 ===Early History===
-Samhain is one of the oldest demons in existence being created around the time of the [[Knight of Hell|Knights of Hell.]] When [[God]] made the [[archangel]] [[Lucifer's Cage|Lucifer's cage]], he made the summoning of Samhain one of the sixty six seals. He was worshiped as a [[Deities|god]] on Halloween by the ancient Celts. When he reigned on [[Earth]] on Halloween night, people kept their children indoors. They wore masks to hide from him, carved faces into pumpkins to worship him, and left sweets at their doors to appease him. He was [[Exorcism|exorcised]] centuries ago by an unknown party. As he can only be summoned once every 600 years, he was trapped in Hell.
+Samhain was one of the oldest demons in existence, having been created around the same time as the [[Knight of Hell|Knights of Hell.]] When [[God]] made the [[archangel]] [[Lucifer's Cage|Lucifer's cage]], he made the summoning of Samhain one of the sixty-six seals. The ancient Celts worshiped him as a [[Deities|god]] on Halloween. When he reigned on [[Earth]] on Halloween night, people kept their children indoors. They wore masks to hide from him, carved faces into pumpkins to worship him, and left sweets at their doors to appease him. He was [[Exorcism|exorcised]] centuries prior to Sam and Dean's time by an unknown party. As he could only be summoned once every 600 years, he was trapped in Hell.
 ===[[Season 4]]===
-Samhain, once summoned by [[Tracy Davis]] and [[Don Harding]] on Halloween 2008, possesses the dead body of Don Harding. When he enters the body, the corpse's irises turn either grey or pale blue, while his pupils stay black and the remainder of his eyes stay white, marking him as a different kind of demon than any that has appeared on the show before.
+Once [[Tracy Davis]] and [[Don Harding]] summoned him on Halloween of 2008, Samhain possessed Don Harding's corpse, turning the corpse's irises pale bluish-grey.
+Samhain then killed Tracy and went a rampage, entering a mausoleum in a cemetery and releasing [[ghosts]] and [[zombies]] to kill his host's students. While [[Dean Winchester]] dealt with the summoned monsters, [[Sam Winchester]] armed himself with the [[Demon-Killing Knife]] and went to face Samhain. Though his [[Photokinesis|White Light]] had no effect on Sam, Samhain proved too powerful for Sam to beat with the knife, and Sam was forced to use his psychic powers to exorcise him. Samhain proved to be powerful enough to resist Sam's powers but was ultimately exorcised and sent back to [[Hell]] by Sam. Despite Samhain's exorcism, his rising broke one of the [[66 Seals]].
-Samhain proceeded to kill Tracy and then go on a rampage, entering a mausoleum in a cemetery and releasing [[ghosts]] and [[zombies]] to kill Don's students. While [[Dean Winchester]] dealt with his monster minions, [[Sam Winchester]] faced him armed with the [[Demon-Killing Knife]]. While Samhain's [[Photokinesis|White Light]] had no effect on Sam, he proved too powerful for Sam to beat with the knife and Sam was forced to use his psychic powers to exorcise Samhain. Samhain proved to be powerful enough to resist Sam's powers, but ultimately he was exorcised and sent back to [[Hell]] by Sam. However, while Samhain was exorcised, his rising broke one of the [[66 Seals]].
 ==Personality==
 [[File:SPN 084575.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Samhain after killing Tracy Davis.]]
 Samhain was shown to be cruel and sadistic, he took pleasure in trapping his host's students and summoning zombies to devour them, so much so, that he playfully rubbed his hand against the gate as he walked off. However, he seemed more interested in simply creating and causing destruction, rather than running it, as rather than consolidating his efforts or powers, he simply passed through the area, causing chaos.
-He also showed no loyalty, casually killing [[Tracy Davis]], despite the witch being the one who loved and freed him. He was also shown to be treacherous and cunning, and had a very violent and ferocious side to his personality. Although willing to use his powers to dispatch attackers, unlike most demons, he was also more than willing to enter physical combat, and try to catch and rip them apart limb from limb with his bare hands.
+He also showed no loyalty, casually killing [[Tracy Davis]], despite the witch loving and freeing him. He was also shown to be treacherous and cunning, with a violent and ferocious side to his personality. Although willing to use his powers to dispatch attackers, he was also willing to enter physical combat with his opponents and try to rip them apart with his bare hands.
+He was quiet and didn't talk much. When angered, he would snarl like a wild animal.
-He was also shown to be quiet, and did not talk much, also when angry, he would start snarling like a wild animal.
 ==Powers and abilities==
 Samhain is an incredibly powerful [[Demons|demon]] who displayed multiple rare abilities as well as abilities unique to himself. That his rise was one of the [[66 Seals]] marks Samhain as a special demon; the only other demon who was a seal was [[Lilith]]. His rank in the hierarchy of [[Hell]] is unknown.
-*'''[[Apporting|Summoning]]''' - Samhain has the ability to summon creatures without the need of an external power source. Sam also stated that the longer Samhain is free, the more dangerous monsters he would summon, until everything the Winchesters had ever fought would come to him; this would include [[ghosts]], [[zombies]], [[ghouls]] and many other creatures.
+*'''[[Apporting|Summoning]]''' - Samhain had the ability to summon creatures without the need for an external power source. Sam stated that the longer Samhain was free, the more dangerous monsters he would summon until everything the Winchesters had ever fought would come to him.
-*'''[[Necromancy]]''' - Samhain has the power to summon [[ghosts]] and bend them to his will, as shown when he had one attack [[Dean Winchester|Dean]].
+*'''[[Necromancy]]''' - Samhain could summon [[ghosts]] and command them, as shown when he had one attack [[Dean Winchester|Dean]].
-**'''Reanimation''' - Similarly, Samhain has the power to turn nearby corpses into [[zombies]] and bend them to his will, as shown when he had them attack a group of party-goers.
+**'''Reanimation''' - Similarly, Samhain could turn nearby corpses into [[zombies]] and command them, as shown when he had them attack a group of party-goers.
-*'''[[Immunity]]''' - Being one of the most powerful and ancient demons, he has a great amount of immunity similar to the [[White-eyed Demons]]. This ancient demon is immune to [[iron]], as he was able to close an iron gate and ran his hand over it as he walked away without getting burnt. He was also able to resist Sam's powers better than other demons. He can survive the [[Demon-Killing Knife]], as it only caused mild pain when Sam stabbed him with it.
+*'''[[Immunity]]''' - As one of the most powerful and ancient demons, he had a great amount of immunity similar to the [[White-eyed Demons]]. He was immune to [[iron]], as he could close and run his hand over an iron gate without getting burnt. He could also resist Sam's powers better than other demons.
-* '''[[Immortality]]''' - Although Samhain's exact age was not stated, he is at least over six hundred years old and it is implied that he is thousands of years old.
+*'''[[Immortality]]''' - Although Samhain's exact age was not stated, he was at least over six hundred years old and was implied to have been thousands of years old.
-* '''[[Photokinesis]]''' - Samhain has the power to emit a fiery blast of white light that could destroy anything in its path. He was one of only two demons known to have the ability.
+*'''[[Photokinesis]]''' - Samhain had the power to emit a fiery blast of white light that could destroy anything in its path. He was one of only two demons known to have this ability, the other being Lilith.
-[[File:SamhainEnergyBlast.gif|thumb|275px|right|Samhain tries to kill Sam with an energy blast]]
+[[File:SamhainEnergyBlast.gif|thumb|right|Samhain tries to kill Sam with an energy blast]]
-*'''[[Invulnerability]]''' - Samhain cannot be killed by conventional methods, weapons.
+*'''[[Invulnerability]]''' - Samhain could not be harmed or killed by conventional weapons.
-*'''Demonic [[Possession]]''' - Samhain used the corpse of one of his deceased witch followers as his [[Vessels|vessel]].
+*'''Demonic [[Possession]]''' - Samhain used the corpse of one of his witch followers as his [[Vessels|vessel]].
 *'''[[Super Strength]]''' - Samhain was able to throw Sam across the crypt with great force and minimal effort. He was also able to effortlessly break Tracy's neck with his bare hands.
-*'''[[Astral Perception]]''' - He could perceive the true form of [[Tracy Davis]], behind her young appearance.
+*'''[[Astral Perception]]''' - He could perceive the true form of [[Tracy Davis]], despite her young appearance.
-*'''[[Flight]]''' - In his true demonic smoke form, Samhain is able to fly.
+*'''[[Flight]]''' - Samhain could fly while in his true demonic smoke form.
 ==Weaknesses==
 [[File:SPN 101444.jpg|thumb|225px|Samhain exorcised by Sam.]]
 ===Harming, Misleading or Trapping===
-*'''[[Exorcism]]''' - For being a more powerful demon being exorcised has a greater affect on him as he can only be summoned once every 600 years.
+*'''[[Exorcism]]''' - Like most demons, Samhain could be exorcised and sent back to Hell. Since he could only be summoned once every 600 years, an exorcism would greatly prolong Samhain's time in Hell.
-*'''Partial Blindness''' - Unusually for a [[Demons|demon]], Samhain's eyesight is impaired, causing him to see the world blurred.
+*'''Partial Blindness''' - Samhain's eyesight was impaired, causing his vision to be blurred; because of this, he was apparently unable to make any distinction between genuine monsters and humans wearing monster masks.
-*'''[[Demon-Killing Knife]]''' - This knife could only cause Samhain pain.
+*'''[[Demon-Killing Knife]]''' - The knife cause irritation when sliced with it and was quick to disarm Sam of it.
 ===Banishing and Killing===
-*'''[[Special Children]]''' - Samhain was vulnerable to a special child's powers and he was exorcised by [[Sam Winchester|one]].
+*'''[[Special Children]]''' - Samhain was vulnerable to the powers of a Special Child, and he was eventually exorcised by [[Sam Winchester|one]].
 ==Appearances==
 *[[Season 4]]
@@ Line 56: / Line 62: @@
 **''[[I Know What You Did Last Summer]]'' {{c|drawing only}}
 *''[[Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting]]'' {{c|non-canon, mentioned only}}
 ==Trivia==
+*A drawing of Samhain can be seen in Anna Milton's journal. The description says "Samhain. The next seal is broken." In Anna's drawing, Samhain's eyes are completely whitish.
+*Samhain is the second of two demons to only show their true eye color instead of their vessel's eye color for most of their screen time, the other being [[Azazel]].
 *Despite the students wearing costumes in the mausoleum, Samhain was able to see them, even though he couldn't see [[Sam Winchester|Sam]] or [[Dean Winchester|Dean]] properly when they were covered in blood. However, some of them were not wearing masks, which is identified as the key component for tricking him, possibly revealing their humanity to him.
-*In reality, Samhain is the Wiccan holiday on Halloween where the Wiccans celebrate their dead ancestors, loosely based upon an older Celtic holiday of similar name.
+*In reality, Samhain is the Wiccan holiday on Halloween where the Wiccans celebrate their dead ancestors, loosely based upon an older Celtic holiday of a similar name.
-*The ancient Gaelic holiday of Samhain, historically celebrated in Ireland and Scotland, actually fell on November 1st, not October 31st, and signaled the start of winter. It was one of the four main Gaelic holidays, each marking the beginning of a new season. The others were Imbolc (February 1st), Beltane (May 1st) and Lughnasa (August 1st). It was traditionally believed that on Samhain, otherworldly spirits would enter this world and blight all crops and green vegetation with their breath [http://books.google.ie/books?id=nd9R6GQBB_0C&pg=PA407&dq=samhain+ireland&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r99CVLDOLa3A7Aai2YGYDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=samhain%20ireland&f=false Link]
+*The ancient Gaelic holiday of Samhain, historically celebrated in Ireland and Scotland, actually fell on November 1st, not October 31st, and signaled the start of winter. It was one of the four main Gaelic holidays, each marking the beginning of a new season. The others were Imbolc (February 1st), Beltane (May 1st), and Lughnasa (August 1st). It was traditionally believed that on Samhain, otherworldly spirits would enter this world and blight all crops and green vegetation with their breath [http://books.google.ie/books?id=nd9R6GQBB_0C&pg=PA407&dq=samhain+ireland&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r99CVLDOLa3A7Aai2YGYDg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=samhain%20ireland&f=false Link]
-*The festival of Samhuinn is at the end of the year for the Celts, when the Otherworld and normal world were able to be crossed. It represented ending the year with darkness, and beginning the year not too long after, which corresponds with some of the character's thoughts and actions in this episode.
+*The festival of Samhuinn is at the end of the year for the Celts, when the Otherworld and the normal world could be crossed. It represented ending the year with darkness and beginning the year not too long after, which corresponds with some of the character's thoughts and actions.
 *In this episode the name 'Samhain' was pronounced ''Sam-Hane'', its correct pronunciation is '''Sow-ann'''
 *The Celtic festival of Samhuinn is celebrated in the myth the Kelpie, in which souls are brought back from the dead, supporting Samhain's powers.
-*In ''[[Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting]]'', Samhain was described as a blue-eyed demon. On very close inspection, it can be spotted that his irises are a very pale blue or possible grey.
+*In ''[[Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting]]'', Samhain is described as a blue-eyed demon. On close inspection, his irises appear to be a very pale blue or possibly grey.
-*That Samhain's raising was one of the [[66 Seals]] indicates that Samhain already existed by the time [[Lucifer]] had been trapped in [[Lucifer's Cage|his cage]]. The only other [[demons]] confirmed to have been made by that time were [[Lilith]], [[Cain]], [[Abaddon]] and the [[Princes of Hell]].
+*Since Samhain's raising was one of the [[66 Seals]], this indicated that Samhain already existed by the time [[Lucifer]] had been trapped in [[Lucifer's Cage|his cage]]. The only other [[demons]] confirmed to have existed at that time were [[Lilith]], the [[Princes of Hell]], and [[Knight of Hell|Knights of Hell]].
 *Samhain's White Light ability was the second trait he shared with Lilith, the first one being part of the 66 seals.
-*Samhain along with [[Ramiel]], are the only high-tier demons that appeared in just one episode.
+*Samhain and [[Ramiel]] are the only high-tier demons that only appeared in one episode.
 *Samhain's eyes are similar to those of the [[Rakshasa]]s.
+*There are multiple things unique about him that separate him from the rest of demonkind.
-*In [[Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting]], Samhain's eyes are described as blue. This however, is non-canon.
+**He is the only known demon to possess the power of necromancy.
-*There is multiple things unique about him that separates him from the other demons.
+**He is the only high-tier demon that is the only known member of his type.
-**With the [[White-eyed demons]] (presumably), [[Princes of Hell|Princes]], and [[Knight of Hell|Knights]] all dead, Samhain is the last known ancient and high-tier demon to still be alive.
+**He is the only known demon that required a specific ritual to be released, as other demons could be released through basic summoning or through the opening a gate of hell.
-**He is the only know demon to posses necromancy.
-**He is the only high-tier demon that is the only known member of his type
-**He is the only known type of demon whose type does not have any kind of title.
-**He is the only known demon that require a specific ritual to be released, as other demons can be released through basic summoning or through opening a gate of hell.
 [[de:Samhain]]
 [[Category:Demons]]
@@ Line 87: / Line 93: @@
 [[Category:Special Demons]]
 [[Category:Types of Demon]]
+[[Category:Necromancers]]

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