Yea it’s almost 11pm, but I got the monologue done for this week. I apologize ahead of time that it’s not a very good one (the photos weren’t working and I didn’t have patience to take a new batch). But something is better than nothing, right? 
Click the image below for the story! (and feel free to leave a comment here) 
Ok, so you know I think about my photostory stuff a lot. And as one of my good friend says about my attempts to assign roommates/ pairs of students “You over-think it! Just DO it already!”
Guilty as charged. 
But I was determined that I’d do it this time. I mean since I have the dorm room / student lounge set almost (sort of) done, I need to know this stuff. Really! And I need to be able to refer to it time and again (since I can remember the characters but not always who’ll be living where). So today (after I finished the last 3 re-paints so I had enough students for this) I made up a chart. It’s a quick reference one, so it’s not all pretty and lovely. But it’ll do the trick. So. Here we are: the female roomates. (you’ll notice that Nerissa isn’t on the chart. That’s because she’s got a private/ single room! Lucky girl!)
If you want to see the image @ full size click it and then look for the white X and then click that.
There you have it!
Now I have to get back to sewing!
In re-casting the “old” Claudia into a new character (She’s now named Meline and she works in the admissions/ student life part of the university). I realized that I don’t have anywhere near as many adult characters in my cast as I thought I did.
I’m not entirely sure why, but I really did think I had more than there are. There are a mix of them–some of them are Volks/Obitsu based, some are CG based, and some are FR based…and you’d think that given that, there’s be an overflowing amount of professors and university staff, right?
So not the case though! (O_o)
I have 5 female professors *including the librarian*
I do have some female characters who are “special lecturers” so they aren’t full time professors or anything, but they do come on campus and teach specific seminars. Those are:
I wanted to make one female professor who teaches ancient & mystical languages….so I guess I really should. I mean, i believe I hav ea use for her so why not, right?
*not even going to discuss the male professors in this post*
Ok, well once we get settled in, and I get a paying job so I can get supplies I think that’s what I’ll do!
This week I managed to do some more scripting and wrote a pretty detailed piece between Shay and Meline. It was really good IMO since it revealed parts of both characters’ personalities that I didn’t really know about. 
Meline is going to be a lot of fun to use in photostories–she’s feisty!
Yes, it’s me again. I’m still jonesin’ to work on stuff, make stuff etc. But since I can’t I’ve gone through my “favorite” dolls (the ones who are still in my carry-on bag! LOL). While I was at it I was thinking about Claudia.
To refresh your memory this is Claudia:
Claudia was always supposed to come across as sexy, self confident and chic in a way that her best friend Mallory wasn’t. I had a difficult time creating Claudia to fill that role, and fit (kind of) my mental image of her.
The problem I’m having with her is that she feels too “mature” to me.
Like maybe she’d be a better match in age as a professor, or other inhabitant of Quinlan…Maybe a gallery owner, secretary, or something. Realistically, I know that you can get a range of students some of whom can easily pass for older adults…..but to me….I’m not so sure about this being the best Claudia. Does it seem right to re-cast her?
If I recast her, then the chances are I’ll end up using this custom for another character *to be developed based on appearance* but if I don’t recast her the odds are that Claudia won’t get much screen time because I won’t/don’t feel comfortable imagining her in that role.
What do you all think?
Would this custom seem to be a better match as an adult of some sort in Quinlan rather than a 19/20 year old?
Does she seem to have more of a “grown up” feel when you look at her?
Hey everyone! I’m feeling kind of bad that I don’t have much to share on the blog these days (I know, I can’t be expected to be cranking out stuff since we’re still looking for a home—but still!) so I thought I’d share something I did in the last month before I left the UK.
You might remember that I mentioned doing some Larp costumes for the students (and some adult costumes for the Wrenwood Hall stuff). So here’s a dress that I threw together in an afternoon…originally it was going to be for raven but her boobs were too much for it so someone with a more modest chestline got to claim it! Piper!
*please excuse the photos: I’m way out of practice shooting pics and editing them without the usual software*
and a full length shot:
It’s not the best of dresses but I think it probably reflects that Piper’s not much of a seamstress! It makes her look extremely “hip-py” and maybe a bit dumpy…but it’s what she’s got for now.
As far as sewing went it was the best experience I had with sewing stretch / panne velvet. The embroidery around the neckline was hand done (and I hated doing it because the trim I was using kept unravelling every stitch I did).
Anyway, just thought I’d share!
Since I’m feeling pretty down about the holiday I thought I’d take my mind off of it by subjecting y’all to another Friday Monologue! It’s been a while since I put one up so now seems like a good time to help get me off the bus to holiday blues land!
(as usual click the image for the story)
I don’t promise that it’s good, I don’t promise that it’s entertaining….only that it is what it is! Enjoy (I hope!)
The last two weeks have kind of ended up being a write-off. We were getting insulation put in and between the multiple times the people came to survey the attic/the landlord/and the actual installation of the insulation I got almost nada done. (since all my stuff was piled high & boxed to allow access into the attic).
So back to talking about Alison…Do you know who she is? If not check out her basic profile here: Alison.
In the process of everything going on I took her out of the box and did some thinking. You probably don’t realize that Alison is actually one of my favorites. I don’t know why for certain, but I think it is because of her personality.
She’s actually pretty nice and she isn’t bitter or particularly vindictive (and maybe she should be considering some of the storylines and plots that I have in mind for her). But despite me liking her personality I’ve got to admit that there are a few reasons she doesn’t get much in the way of screen-time. Or attention in general.
To begin with me and her head have a not-so-great history. She started out as a bit part named Nyssa:
As you can see she didn’t have much going for her. Awful facepaint, long frizzy hair and a beauty F body (that made her neck look weird). I really just couldn’t get on with the head and eventually tried repainting it.
So then she became this rather perplexed looking person….who eventually got her face wiped yet again. to become Alison.
She’s certainly my favorite but her face paint is messy and her eyes are crooked. I like the fact that she has a more mature look to her face. But…her face paint is messy (although that alone won’t stop me from using a doll). Anyway, I had her out on my desk and I started thinking that a good part of the reason why I don’t use her often is that I just don’t like the body that she was on. I had her on a volks EB-D (which I call the Basketball Boob body)
I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get on with it (I suppose the fact that I have out of all my many volks dollfies only 2 with the EB-D body it should tell me something, huh?). So I decided that I’d stick someone else on the Basketball boob body and let Alison have an EB-E body (bigger boobs yes, but they show that they’re subject to gravity–which will get the boobs everytime!) So here’s a quick pic of Alison sporting her new body!
I think I’ll be more inclined to play with her now, and make her some clothes–and maybe even consider working some more on her cafe! She just seems more “ta dah” and with it to me with the new body….So look for some more photos of her soon, and who knows, maybe I’ll do a mini story with her soon?
The beds! The beeeeeeeeeeeds!
Making the beds was (for me) the more difficult of the two projects from the challenge. (I should stop and say here, that my simple plan was critiqued and overseen by Mark. Mostly because this was the only way I was allowed in the shed and to use his power-tools–the things you gotta do, you know?) When we move though–I will have tools!
I don’t know if I’d mentioned it in the previous post, but I only had 2 real requirements for my beds:
1) that they be flat-packable. I didn’t want to go through the bother and hassle of making them (and bedding for them) only to have to ditch them when we finally move.
2)That they be slightly shorter & narrower than the original (make shift) dorm beds so I have a few mm extra space to jiggle things around for room set-ups.
I tend to be pretty flexible insofar as what I want my finished pieces to look like. This is because I have a habit of wanting to change it as I go along, to make it more …better. This, however did not go down well with Mark, who again was vetting everything I was doing. Ever take a shop class with that teacher who would stare at you when you said something incredibly retarded?
Yep. Mark is that teacher and I’m that student (when it comes to drawn plans). We had a disagreement about why I had to draw scale drawings (I knew the sizes of the pieces of wood, I knew where the wood went & how it connected—-so why bother with plans?)
The answer to that is that you can use it to make sure everything is “right”. Ok, maybe if I were planning on making a crap load of beds I’d bother. Otherwise—nah. Stuff for me (it’s totally different if I’m making it for someone else though) just isn’t that finicky. I kept my sheet of paper with the rough drawing I’d done and the min & max dimensions I wanted the bed to be, along with what pieces I needed to cut etc.
Anyway, in the process I did learn some stuff I hadn’t known.
Like: if you are trying to drill into pine (or spruce) and you have the sap rings/banding (See Pic) then you will have to force the drill to go through it otherwise the sap bands cause the drill to veer off to either side.
I actually got all the wood sourced, cut and ready to go in one day. As you can see Bree had to help with the wood cutting!
As you can see it takes quite a bit more wood than is apparent at first glance.
Here’s one tip–if you’re going to cut a bunch of pieces that need to be the same size (on the band saw) tape them together (provided they’re small/thin enough). It helps to make certain they all end up the same.
The next day I started gluing & drilling. I had to clamp the side rails.
Glue always ends up stuck on my clothes and stuff and this time was no different.
Merrit & Verity helping with the headboards:
This is the place where I should say that when I finally move home (and want to make a new set of beds (and bunk beds, where you’ll see the underside) I’ll buy some good wire & make the faux springs & metal bottoms like the should have had. Buuuuut—they work (and will work if I choose to re-make the bottoms at a later date!) Or hell, they do work as bunk beds as long as I don’t focus on the undersides of them. LOL
Anyway I don’t want to bore you all with the way I put it together. Suffice that I did (at that point I just couldn’t be bothered to take any more pics. It was just easier to do than to document!), and then I had to stain it. I wanted them to match the existing dorm furniture which is stained a dark color. It’s boring (you have to do a coat, let it dry, do another, let it dry etc…repeat. repeat.) I used some water-based varnish from B&Q. Only problem I had was that I would keep forgetting how many layers I’d already applied….oh well. Live and learn.
While the various coats of stain were drying I had to work on the mattresses. After all, I can’t use the old ones (wrong sizes) and I wanted to do them better anyway. Besides, I don’t remember any dorm bed having super cushy & thick mattresses!
Karly & Eff are showing off the new beds. One is partly stained and the other needed to get stained.
You can see my attempts at mattresses. I wanted them to look a bit more like the industrial /old ones we had when I was at Caz, but I didn’t quite succeed. Part of this was because I only had a little bit of the fabric to make them out of and I tried to scrape by to get it to work. (thus one is actually a bit smaller than the other, and wouldn’t you know that they both shrank in size after I “quilted” them? D’oh!
And one of the other projects I started was trying to get the bedding done (the blankets, sheets & pillows for Nik & Merrit’s room. So far all I’ve gotten done was Merrit’s comforter. He get’s plaid. I still need to wash it to get it that crinkled/used look. I did give it a few rows of wavy “quilting” like you sometimes see on older comforters/sleeping bags. I took this pic to see how well that size blanket would work if in the future I want to use them as bunk beds:
Anyway, that’s last week’s projects done & dusted.
I’d like to say I’m going to take on 2 more projects but the situation with the house (trying to sell it), trying to research some options for us (just suffice to say some plans fell through) & some of the other joys of life means that nothing is stable enough for me to plan “hobby” time. Heck — at this point I’m just fighting migraines and trying not to let acid gnaw a hole in my stomach. Ugh
Wish us good luck with the house stuff and I’ll try to keep updating the blog with something doll or hobby related (since I’m pretty sure no one wants to hear about the house! LOL)
Yay for friends who support my 1:6 habit, and understand & appreciate my driving need for dolls who are 1) articulated and 2) relatively close to matching in head and body skintones.
You might remember Ishani from a while back…. She was my Fashion Royalty Rare Find Isha. As you can see–even on her default body it’s not a perfect match.
Since she was repainted she’s been shelf-sitting & waiting for me to assign her a part in my photostories. Like the majority of my FR dolls she was waiting for me to find suck it up and shake it off– and accept the fact that she has limited posability.
But my good friend Will came to the rescue and volunteered to give me a Hot Toys True Type Cuban Female body.
I’d really been hoping for a skintone match for my Perk Collette (but not a match) so that left me with PG Natalia and RF Isha (Ishani) as possible matches. Natalia was a decent match (her head was a tiny shade lighter) but Isha (Ishani) has a rounder face/head shape and it just seemed to fit the general look of the body.
So…Yeah. Ishani’s the RD for two of the dorms. She lives on campus, and is pretty mellow for the most part. Can I just say how amazing it is that when I got her onto a decent body, and set her up in the roomset—-just how many ideas and thoughts, and yes–details suddenly came into focus about her???!!
Yea, color me a happy bunny! Thanks again Will!
Last year sometime I created Terry (aka Terrence Waterstone III). I’d tried twice to get him to come out right but it wasn’t until the 3rd go round that I was at least partially happy with him.
He’s visible here in the (old) class photo. He’s #4 (and as usual click the photo for a larger image).
Anyway, as I said I wasn’t completely satisfied with him. His face was ok but his hair…well. No. Who ever had had that head before I got it must have done some kind of magic to it because no matter how I boiled it and tried to re-set it, it refused to be tamed and just continued to stick out at his head at angles (and it only got worse at the months went by).
I debated wiping his face and re-rooting him, but I decided instead just to give re-rooting him a go. I don’t like re-rooting that much but why not? Especially if it meant not having to re-paint him too.
I took the mohair I had left and decided to use it. It’s not great and the stuff actually began felting itself while I was rooting it. Talk about a major annoyance and irritation. This is the worst I’ve experienced in the whole time I’ve worked with mohair and I’m probably not going to use it again.
I decided at that point that if I got it in I didn’t care if he looked like freakin side-show Bob from the simpsons—it would do. And maybe be better since it would add to the sense of “whatever”ness I wanted Terry to have.
This is how it looks after rooting, and after 3 go rounds with a scalpel knife and hair goop. Still not fantastic, and I might eventually thin down the hair some more. I’m fighting to keep from making it into dreads lol…
I figured I should let y’all know what I’m upto (since I haven’t shown you anything new lately, aside from the IQ). It’s been bugging me that I have new characters to add to the QC website but haven’t been too motivated to do anything with them. I decided that this week & next week are pretty much set aside for updates. Why?
How about because I want to start shooting the Quinlan Chronicles? LOL
Now (that hopefully the major dramas of the last few months are over) I can get back on track. I hope. I thought one good way of getting more motivated about it would be to update the individual character profiles & information. This is partly for you readers and partly for me, since I use them as “cheat sheets” when I can’t remember all the tiny facts about a given person!
The thing that takes the most time is remembering how I did things the last time I updated, and of course–taking photos for new characters. Yea, I know it’s a simple matter of shooting a pic, but sometimes it’s just more than I can deal with. So here’s hoping I can keep this juggernaut rollin’!
I’ll update on the blog when I’ve got the Student bits done (I’ve gotten 4 updated so far that need uploadingout of….lots!). Then after that I’ll need to do the staff & Faculty section, and then the other people part. It doesn’t sound like much….but it is. Plus I want to try to do a little repainting this week too. (I need a few more characters!)
Of your dolls?
Last night I had the strangest dream…
I dreamed that I was in Quinlan, and that I kept running into my dolls—except they weren’t dolls. They looked like were people–but I could tell by looking at them which of my dolls they were (if that makes any sense at all?) It was really interesting to see how they translated, and how clearly their personalities came right across. I ran across some places and things that I “knew” from my writing and it was all just really interesting (even if at times a bit spooky & just waaaay out).
There was some sort of murder mystery and stuff going on too–but I was more interested in the people/ characters! LOL. It was weird– or maybe I should say bizarre– interacting with them 1-on-1. I think the strangest part was reassuring one doll that she was fine, and that she had a lot going for her even if she was being picked on by her roomate! So has anyone else ever dreamed like that? Or is it just me?
Okkaaaay! I finally finished her! I have to say that overall I’m pleased and feel that she’s come out better than I hoped for even if she doesn’t look as tired and worn down as I’d mentally envisaged her.
I chose not to paint on lines or wrinkles. After all, Ms.Daniels is only 39 and she’s not exactly a dried up old husk yet!! (Ok, maybe to Merrit she is, but c’mon, 40 is the new 30 right?)
Her hair is a little longer than I’d planned on, but I’m kind of loathe to cut it shorter. I was tempted to try to give her a pageboy cut but really, I don’t see her having that style. So….
She was rooted with restoredoll saran. I’m not entirely sure which colors they were (2 different ones though, a darker brown & the lighter reddish brown)
I tried to paint her with a fairly neutral expression. That was mostly so that when I use her in the photostories I can have a somewhat easier time of altering her expression in photoshop.
Finding a body that her head matched was something of an issue. Visually, (as in my eyes & mark’s) her vinyl head was a good match for the Takara CG 2.0 (the pale catwoman body) and a close 2nd to a TTL pale body.
Putting her on a volks isn’t an option at the moment simply because none of the bodies I have look like a close match skintone-wise. BUT….having said that, when I took her photos it became really obvious that she didn’t match either body well enough for me to get away with little post production editing. 
I cursed a bit, complained a lot and dug through my bodies again, wondering if I’d find anything that would work!
Funnily enough, although not a close visual match, the standard cg 2.0 seemed to photograph best with the head. It’s not perfect, but at least it’s not so yellow. Ugh.
Anyway, we’re not going to be seeing lots of Janet’s bare skin so it shouldn’t really be an issue. The big issue at the moment is the fact that she’s a teacher and I have absolutely zero clothes that would be work appropriate! (I think anyway?)
So! Now Merrit’s got a Mom!!!
Ah, I’m happy to be able to have a few good things to say for the moment! Although dental-wise things are horrible I did get some good stuff done this weekend!
2 out of 3 of these repaints have before & after pics.
First I’d like to introduce Astrid:
Astrid is a volks old-type C head that I’ve had for ages and have repeatedly re-painted over & over in an attempt to get out a look that felt “right”. This is what she looked like previously:
And this is how she looks now:
Astrid is a 2nd year student. I should mention that the facial “tattoos” are there because somehow (no idea how/where) her head picked up some dark stains in the vinyl. I still wanted to use the head but the blemishes were not doing it for me. Hence the new face art.
And of course there’s Karly! She’s gone through a bunch of incarnations and the last one looked like this: She has a new Volks C-type head.
I wasn’t happy with her lips but I left them as they were until today. They’ve been repainted… and I’m not sure they’re quite right yet but somehow I do think they work. I’m still on the fence about them and may end up repainting them again…
Karly & Eff
And the last custom of the week is Holly. She is also a Volks old-type C head. I don’t think she’s particularly great, but she seems like she might have a personality. I don’t know if she’s a student or a teacher. Ideas?
I did also re-paint Merrit 3.0′s eyebrows but d’oh—I forgot to take photos before I did this soooo…maybe tomorrow along with some of the Top 10 list !
You know, sometimes I feel like I live at the edge of the known world…an outpost where I’m socially isolated. My family is an ocean away, and well, all my friends live in other countries!! So….when I get something in the mail (from a friend) I get a bit choked up, a little sad and a lot happy! It makes me remember that I’m not forgotten even if I am miles away! 
Today, I got a truly wonderful gift in the mail today from my good friend Will (you can find his blog here). This was a belated birthday present. Maaaaan, did I totally make out like a bandit this year, or what??!!
He’s known for a while that I have a serious shortage of men-folk in my cast & has been instrumental in finding some guys in the past—and wow, talk about a lovely birthday present! I got some guys to add to my new photostory cast!And some other spiffy stuff too!
First, lemme share the guys who came with bodies!! (yay for bodies!!)
First up is Sam (newly re-named Christopher Arden, actor on the costume drama Wrenwood Hall)
Next is our friendly detective & a member of the Quinlan PD: (who came completely dressed & packing heat!)
and also, mr. skinny Hot Toys action figure guy: (Don’t ask me what’s up with his pose, ok?)
And remember I mentioned other stuff?
I’m particularly happy about getting the evil-looking Wesker head! He might be a professor or maybe an actor on the costume drama. Not sure…except that I know he’s a demon who has a secret (and nasty) agenda!! Any comments on if he should be an actor….or something else?
Will was also cool enough to send me some spare hands, a TTL girl head (who might end up being another cougar), an Ice head so that down the line I can do an alternative version of Paloma, a shoulder holster for Cass to wear, some funky shoes from Hot Toys Cha cha asai, a skull-thingy, some goggles that will be awesome for my next steampunk custom, and some small glass beads that he thought looked like ice!
Now I’ll tell you, that’s just one hell of a present!
And you know, I’d be just as happy if my friends just sent me lame birthday cards & letters. It’s just really, really nice to know I’m on someone’s mind, sometimes.
I hear you! You’re saying: “Huh, what? Last time I visited the blog you were talking about making a fireplace in 1/6 (sixthscale)!”
I still am!
But If you know anything about me it’s that I’m usually working on a few projects concurrently. It helps me to avoid burning out & getting sick of a project. So yes, the fireplace is still in the works (going to give my fingers a few days to heal before I go back to plastic cutting). Which is good because it gives me a chance to talk about another project that I have going.
In case you’ve missed my more recent posts, I’ve lately had an influx of Fashion Royalty dolls into my collection. Not a bad thing (even if I do think that their articulation does leave a lot to be desired).
I can hear you collectors out there — “What! Why are you going backwards?? Why go back to collecting those dolls? Hot Toys makes female figures now! Buy those!!”
Oh, the Humanity! (does anyhone else remember Heathers? LOL)
Seriously though. I fell in love with a few of the facemolds the Fashion Royalty line came out with. I finally gave in and bought some of them. I also thought that if Amber from SITC could use them in photostories (without getting purple with frustration) then I could take a page out of her book and be able to integrate them into mine too. If collecting Blythe’s has taught me anything–it’s that FR articulation isn’t as bad as it could be! And wires or strings from above are a good thing!
So, you probably want to know who’s who and what’s what?
You know that apartment set up I’m currently working on? That’s for the 2 main girls to live in and otherwise generally “entertain”. Ideally I want to be able to randomly intermix these new girls and my existing cast & I think in this situation it can really work. Of course the girls are glamorous & model-like–they’re “tv stars”. I don’t necessarily see them mixing with the students (unless they run into them in the cafe), but they certainly could deal with some of the “adults” and that leaves me to wonder if they have anything to do with the more arcane aspects of Quinlan. Hmmm. Food for thought!
Anyway the “stars” of the show are Giselle & Kyori (yet to be renamed). Of course Giselle gets to keep her original name. I don’t think there’s another name out there that would fit her as well. Kyori—well she’ll be getting re-named but I’m waiting before pinning a name on her until she gets here. Once I can photograph her I should be able to get a better handle on her personality. I do think she’s the calm one compared to Giselle who I see as temperamental & quick to mouth off in one way or another.
Anyway talking about the dolls & cast membership here’s who I have:
Giselle:
Private Goddess Natalia (role TBD) My original idea was that she’d be a therapist in Paloma’s practice but I just don’t know if she looks the part (out of that dress).
Tricks of the Trade Eugenia (local gallery owner)
Flight Pattern Kyori (name TBD. Actress in costume drama. Co-Stars w/ Giselle)
And this week I got an absolute steal on feebay uk and got Fire Within Jordan for uber cheap (I mean cheap enough that I felt bad for the seller that I was the only one who bid!). And she came from here in the UK so I didn’t get killed on the shipping–I got her in less than 2 days! Talk about instant gratification! YAY!
Fire Within Jordan (name TBD. Head costume designer for the costume drama. Teaches 2 classes a semester at the University re: fashion/costume design & history).
I’m thinking I might try to repaint her this week coming if time & projects permit. I also need to get hopping on my sewing challenge & just get busy drafting some new patterns for the Fashion Royalty bodies. I’m really tired of searching for slacks & skirts to fit them… best way to cure that is to make some quickly!
The next project I’m also working on right now is with a Hot Toys True type guy body. I’m willing to put up with the reduced articulation on the FR girls…but not the FR guys. So I’m looking into doing a mod with the true type body to make it a better match for the girls. I’ll update as soon as I’m closer to finished!
Anyway that’s what’s going on here today!
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I’ve been making some good headway on making the remaining students I needed for the chronicles. (I need a few more but they won’t show up until later I’m not going to fuss with them for now. )
So–here are the students for now! The top 2 rows are 2nd years & the bottom 2 are 1st year students.
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Female Student Roommate Assignments |
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| Alex | Mallory |
|
Brooke |
Abbey |
|
Lori |
Jillian |
|
Eff |
Claudia |
|
Raven |
Felicity |
|
Karly |
Olivia |
|
Dana |
Shayna |
|
PK |
Portia |
|
Claire |
Alisha |
|
Male Student Roommate Assignments |
|
|
Merrit |
Nik |
|
Jeremy |
Terry |
|
Rupert |
Seth |
|
Devin |
Zach |
|
Calvin |
Oscar |
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