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April 2nd, 2008

The 10 Doctors - Page 86(For real)

Doctor Grace Holloway jokes with intern Martha Jones about why she moved to England from the US. She uses the unbelievable truth to distract her from the facts. Grace gets called into emergency to consult on a peculiarity of a new patient’s X-ray and the mysterious appearance of twin hearts. Grace HAS seen this before!

(Keeping current, Grace was last seen resigning from the hospital in 1999 [The Fox Film aka: The Enemy Within] and being the first companion to be romantically interested in the [8th] Doctor.)

86 Responses to “The 10 Doctors - Page 86(For real)”

  1. BubbaWorldComix Says:

    It just gets better and better

  2. Captain Shade Says:

    Grace AND Martha…People were guessing one or the other…And you go and give us both…Long live the Gorpo of Traken

  3. Kelly Says:

    1996? You mean 1999, right? I seem to remember it being New Millenium Eve in that movie.

    Cute though, pre-Doctor Martha Jones! I love Dr. Holloway, she’s such a spaz and an underrated character. Thanks for following up the joke with a real comic so soon. I knew you would ;)

  4. Rich Says:

    GAAAH! *smacks self in head*
    YES! 1999!

    Gold star for Kelly!
    *edits entry*
    Am I slipping up more or are you guys just getting more observant?

  5. DrkFire666 Says:

    Brilliant!!!!!!!
    Bloody hell, I am loving this! In all seriousness though, if Martha get’s involved now (this might just be a cameo) at some point time will have to be reverted to it’s “proper state” in order to retain consistency.

  6. Rich Says:

    Hahahahaha!
    You mean continuity, right? Or do you really suspect that the whole thing will dissolve into a creamy gooey liquid?

    *edit* - I sit corrected. Consistancy is correct in this situation. Sorry.

  7. mamfidd Says:

    Hooray, update! Love it, as usual!

    Oh come on, Martha, that little description is plenty for you to make a few deductions from! American humour, or massive hint?

  8. Colley Says:

    Grace! Awesome show, sir. :)

  9. tabloidman Says:

    Is that the Plasmavore there in the second last panel??

  10. Victor Says:

    Heehee, you should’ve stuck with the April Fools version :D

  11. Sailorgreeny Says:

    Alright! I was just checking the site again, wanted to show my sister the joke page. I’m happy to see the REAL 86 so soon. Seeing Martha and Grace together is cool too.

  12. joe england Says:

    YEEEEAAHHH! Oh, great job, I was always one of the five people on Earth who really liked Grace. And hey, plasmavore! What fun. I’ll bet Grace thinks the Doctor went and made himself a woman this time…

  13. Mreen Says:

    I really liked Grace too - so glad to see her make an appearence! And having her with Martha there was just perfect!

  14. Lissa Says:

    Whee! Grace AND Martha!

    I kind of expected Grace, but Martha’s a bit of a surprise. I can’t wait to see where all of this goes.

  15. Ivriniel Says:

    The TVM was shown in 1996, but set in 1999.

  16. Ben Says:

    I wonder if the one element from the TVM most fans have chosen to ignore (all the “half-human” stuff ) will resurface? Or will the general attitude of “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil” persist?

  17. Sean Says:

    That was a brilliant page! And I love how you’ve drawn Grace!

  18. Os Says:

    Ben, good for you; i’m glad someone brought up the human mother.

    I’m putting this question out there: Guys, ladies, WHAT’s THE DEAL ON THIS? Is the Doctor half-human or can we chalk it up to babbling caused by the post-regenerative deep-fried neuron state combined with the shock of having chosen a Buffalo Bill Cody outfit to don, as i sometimes do? Time to hedge bets if rumors of episode six in the new season are true…

  19. Sean Says:

    I personally don’t see why people have a hard time accepting something like that. I see no evidence suggesting that he isn’t. If anything, it explains a whole hell of a lot about him!

    Also, I have my suspicions about the old lady watching Martha, but I’ll ignore her for now.

  20. Evie Says:

    Great job on the likenesses, as always… I love the look on Grace’s face at the end!

  21. Keightee Says:

    This is EPIC.

  22. ch1ps Says:

    Hooray for the binary vascular system! Martha being in this is just too cool. I dunno who Grace is though…i keep telling myself to watch the classic series and i never do >.

  23. wulfae Says:

    Well… I think people have a problem with it more because it comes from the American-made TV movie than an official BBC production. The half human thing feels like something a producer insisted on, to make the character more relatable to the audience, and damn the canon. This ignores the fact that a alien doctor has connected to the audience since the Doctor first regenerated into Two.

    Granted, there’s nothing to say that he *isn’t* half human… But still. I chose to believe he was just bein’ flippant. And that’s all I have to say on this subject. :)

  24. ch1ps Says:

    ack, my last comment got cut off. never use the less-than sign in posting comments…

    I can’t wait to see what Martha’s reaction to Rose is…”Oh, she was BLONDE was she?” Captain Jack was just too good to be true but now Martha’s in it! Hooray! Martha’s face looks a bit strange but I’m sure you’ll get better at drawing her, like all the others.

    One last thing: aren’t x-rays usually straight, stiff and black and white? The x-ray in the last panel is curly like a scroll.

  25. wulfae Says:

    Darnit! Except for the YAY NEW COMIC squee that I meant to put at the beginning of my comment!

    Also, I wanted to show some friends the april fools page 86. Is it stashed about somewhere?

  26. ch1ps Says:

    IS the 8th Doctor half-human? I like to believe he is, only because it makes the 8th Doctor seem all the cooler (to me). From what i’ve read in the books, the authors carry on the idea that the 8th Doctor is half-human.

    Erk, sorry for the triple posting.

  27. ch1ps Says:

    I’ve got a copy of Page 86 without the “Just Kidding!” on it. I keep a record of all the pages (even the jokes) :-)

  28. Dr. Bunsen Says:

    I think our friend DrkFire666 has it right - this is a Martha cameo - a ‘near miss’ with the Doctor narrowly preceding the incident with the Plasmavore at the beginning of New Series 3.

  29. ch1ps Says:

    ack! i just remembered, the Doctor hasn’t met Martha yet! isn’t this going to wreck the normal timeline or something? well, i guess the timeline’s already in flux so it doesn’t matter…

    jesus, a first for me: penta-posting…sorry about that!

  30. ch1ps Says:

    gack! how is it I always manage to post at the same time as others? ok, i’ll shut up now and just read comments…

  31. GracieLizzie Says:

    I love Dr. Grace Holloway! And I really like Martha too. Also as others have said, I think I spy Mrs. Flanagan the Plasmavore! So this must just be a few days before “Smith and Jones” right?

  32. Heather Says:

    Ben, Os, and Ch1ps re the Doctor being half-human: *sticks fingers in ears* La la la la la la la

    As far as I’m concerned, that’s a bit like the second Highlander movie - it never happened. For 33 years prior to the 1996 movie, the Doctor was happily completely alien and made no apologies for it. But let American producers get hold of the show, and suddenly they decide that their audience couldn’t possibly deal with a wholly alien hero and so they come out with this ‘half-human’ nonsense to make him more palatable to the American audience.

    And Ch1ps - you can’t have just the 8th Doctor half-human, because if he is, then all the rest have to be half-human as well. Regeneration transforms them, but doesn’t change their species - and the Chameleon Arch isn’t something they use regularly, that’s for sure. So nope, no messing with the Doctor’s genetics. He’s 100% Gallifreyan as far as I’m concerned.

  33. Heather Says:

    Wulfae - if you click the “previous” button on this page, it takes you to the ‘Just Kidding’ version of the April’s Fool page. :)

  34. Meglomaniac Says:

    Oh, yay! Both Martha and Grace. Can’t wait to see where this is going. :D

  35. Levanta T. Says:

    Secret, not setcret…and yeah, I do correct all grammar and spelling. Sorry if you don’t like that. Just me and my insanity.

    Levanta

  36. Levanta T. Says:

    Cool x-ray, but as mentioned before, they usually are stiff, usually on or behind something very rigid, so they won’t get ruined.

    ~~~~

    Levanta

  37. klcthebookworm Says:

    I guess I’m person number 2 out of the five who liked Grace. :)

    I never had issue with the half-human bit either, but I think it’s because Eight was the first Doctor I had seen beginning to end and understood it. I had seen a few bits of Tom Baker episodes, enough to go “This is really cool, and I love it, but I have no IDEA what is going on.” Didn’t help that PBS always aired the episodes past my bedtime and out of order. I kept getting stuck in the middle or beginning of a multi-parter and never seeing the resolution for it. So for me, the half-human bit answered why the Doctor was always on Earth so much and concerned about humans.

    Which also explains why I’m a hardcore fan of Nine and Ten and like Rose. They basically started over without killing the continuity of the previous eight Doctors and I understand what’s going on.

  38. Jim Says:

    The Doctor says in the TV Movie that he is half human on his Mother’s side and that he remembers watching the Sunset on Galifrey with his father
    So He Is Half Human, No Wonder He Likes/Hates Earth

  39. Rob H Says:

    Well he does say that, but in a very fllippant manner, whilst pickpocketing. So I for one don’t buy him at face value in that moment.

    It is of course entirely possible that the 8th incarnation of the Doctor was half human, just as the 7th was ‘Time’s Champion’ and the 9th was apparently Northern.

    It’s equally plausible that he’s half human. Time Lords do appear to mate outside their species - Leela stayed on Gallifrey with Andred, after all.

    However all that aside, thankyou rich for making me SQUEE in a very unmanly style once again!

  40. Kara Says:

    Come on, Martha, show ‘Amazing Grace’ how doctoring is done!

    (Although maybe she’s matured a bit over the last nine years …)

  41. Jim Says:

    What year is this Because we don’t know how long the Plasmavore was hiding in the Hospital For do we, so this could only be the year 2004 for Martha and it’s another 3-4 years before she Meets the Doctor by which time Grace Is Gone

  42. JustAWanderer Says:

    Since the subject came up of the 8th Doctor’s claim to be half human, I’ll share this. It’s from the now defunct Who fan comic, “The Whovian Observer,” the first Doctor Who-themed Webcomic I ever found:
    http://www.nightgig.com/whovian/?viewDate=20050420

  43. Stressfactor Says:

    Considering that the whole “Half-Human” thing has never been brought up again I lean towards a ‘bait and switch’ on the part of the Doctor. I think it *was* perhaps part of his Eighth incarnation but the addition of human DNA was a temporary (but perhaps unconscious) ruse to help fool the Master.

    After all, that seems like something sneaky Seven might do, right? Seven knew the Master was not dead and had escaped and so he was probably formulating some plot to catch the Master but then he got shot and he felt himself dying and he started to try to implement what he could of his plans — including forcing certain temporary DNA changes in his form — but then the regeneration went wrong and Seven didn’t get the chance to pass on all the knowledge of the plan to his new self.

    Or at least that’s MY story. : )

  44. Jim Says:

    I like Stressfactor’s story, but that doesn’t quite explain why the security system around the Eye of Harmony in the movie would need a human eye to open; Seven certainly wouldn’t have had time to change the lock, so to speak, after he was shot. Come to think of it, though, *nothing* would explain that.

  45. Thomas Says:

    The Big Finish story The Apocalypse Element had the Time Lords using the Doctor’s companion’s retinal data to replace all the Time Lord patterns in Gallifrey’s security systems to stop the Daleks removing Time Lord eyes and getting control of everything.

  46. Kreuzritter Says:

    This is something of a pickle. didn’t Rich say Jack was from after Series 3? and yet here we are, mere days before “Smith and Jones”.

    huh, wonder if this means we can add some sort of cameo from Mr. Saxon to the wish list.

  47. The Creeping Spleen Says:

    Would that be Mrs. Finnegan, the Plasmavore from “Smith and Jones” I see peeping out from behind a door in panel 7 Rich? :D

  48. Lisa Says:

    Well~ I hated Grace (guess why…) but I like Martha so I’m good. ^^

  49. Maureen MacDonald Says:

    I literally yelled “Stop being awesome!” at the screen. You are an evil man Rich, keep it up.

    Ah, the TVM. Such a mixed bag that. Perks? Paul McGann, the bike running into the TARDIS, breaking the romance taboo, this fanvid.
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=S9BqnxGp4HA
    Downsides? Eric Roberts, the Master bellowing like a Rhino for no reason, endless half-human debates, having my beautiful, beautiful show in some small way associated with FOX.

    But the best part of the whole movie? The little *poink* sound effect when the Doctor pulls some peace of something off the TARDIS control and throws it away. I couldn’t stop laughing.

  50. DQ Says:

    Hey, Heather, you said: But let American producers get hold of the show, and suddenly they decide that their audience couldn’t possibly deal with a wholly alien hero and so they come out with this ‘half-human’ nonsense to make him more palatable to the American audience.

    Seriously, leave the “American” out of it. We’re not all that stupid, and we don’t need to be coddled by addled producers. Most of us American fans thought it was rubbish too!

  51. Tori Says:

    LOL. Well, hopefully Grace won’t kill Romana.

  52. herk Says:

    Martha and Grace, now that is a nice surprise.

    Since Martha didn’t realize whom Grace is talking about, I now will spent the rest of the evening playing out little scenarios in my head in which the both of them try to keep Romana’s secret from the others :)

    Thanks Rich.

  53. Other Chris Says:

    Okay. I take it back. You’re not a smeghead.

    Martha’s in for a bit of a shock in a couple of weeks, though, isn’t she? (I am assuming, of course, that this takes place before Smith and Jones.) I wonder how Grace would react if she found out that the Doctor was in town and didn’t drop in. Especially now that he’s David Tennant, who, I have gathered through consensus from my female friends, is quite a bit better-looking than Paul McGann.

    How’s this for a weird idea–what are the odds of the Master being an Oingo Boingo fan? I’m listening to Insanity as we speak, and it makes me think of two people: Sylar and the Master.

  54. Heather Says:

    Actutally, DQ, that was entirely my point. That FOX figured they had to make changes to the show for their audience, when frankly I think nobody would have had any trouble with an unadulterated Doctor. Far from having a go at Americans, I was having a go at FOX. :) (Whom I have much reason to hate in any case, since they cancelled Firefly and Wonderfalls and Greg the Bunny and…)

  55. Lawrie Says:

    The half-human stuff bothers me because it’s GENETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. Only closely related species, such as dogs and wolves, can interbreed. In some cases, the offspring aren’t even fertile (mules, donkey-horse hybrids, are all sterile). Humans are more closely related to Komodo Dragons (after all, life on Earth evolved from the same group of bacteria) than to Time Lords, who are ALIENS. Even if Time Lords resemble humans on the surface, the show has made it clear that their biological structure is vastly different–two hearts, respitory bypass system, regeneration, telepathy–and that’s just the little we know about them. I think we can count on Time Lord DNA being drastically different from human DNA. Interbreeding between humans and Time Lords would require drastic genetic manipulation, probably on both parents. While such manipulation is not inconceivable, given the extent of Gallifreyan technology, I doubt the resulting child would be as Time Lord-ish as the Doctor is. (Coincidentally, this is why the phrase “Time Babies” sends me into a seizure.)

    Rant aside, yay for Martha! Slipping her in there gives me such a kick. I’d love to see her in the story, but seeing as she hasn’t met the Doctor yet, it would screw up the time stream. Likewise with Mr. Saxon (though I’d love it if he pops in just long enough to hassle UNIT or something). But please hold onto Grace, I’d like to see more of her. Even though I didn’t like the movie over all, I really did enjoy both 8 and Grace–I think it’s a shame they didn’t get a season or two of their own.

    And Other Chris, 10 isn’t in town–he’s on Gallifrey, remember?

  56. Liz Says:

    *stares* American humor…*snort*

  57. Phantom Drummer Says:

    OhMyGod Grace Yay! Totally did not expect her at all, or Martha for that matter.

    I agree with Maureen…Rich, you are an evil genius.

    Rock on with your bad self!

  58. Kelly Says:

    Yay! I got a gold star! :)

    And… you know, I really hope that this particular little slice of the internet could remain free of America-bashing. It’s not happening yet, but I can see where it could start, and it would make for a slightly happier world if anyone who has a problem with an entire country full of human beings could just keep that prejudice to his or herself. I tend to think that Doctor Who fans are generally intelligent, open-minded, well-meaning people. Even on the internet.

  59. gecks Says:

    SQUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAALLLL (copy and paste 15 times, take breath, rinse and repeat)

  60. gecks Says:

    oddly enough the whole half human thing never bothered me, it was a frivioulously momentary idea, that was as easily forgotten as the second Highlander movie (or was it the third?) where they tried to say that they where all aliens. the thing that stuck out for me, in the TVM was that mcgann was a great doctor, he seemed to fit those shoes perfectly, and in only one appearance :)

    as per my previous commment, totaly loved this and my human fan brain kicked into hyper-overdrive :)

  61. dragon64 Says:

    Spock jealosy! :D
    8 - I do NOT!
    He he he he he. :D

    Lawrie, remember the Eccleston season, where the Doctor says that’s what humans do: go out and ‘dance’, and Cassandra talks about the other humans ‘mingling’ while she was the only one who remained ‘pure’. So, looks like in the Doctor Who Universe it’s possible! (Unlike, you know, “real” science — which deals with the itty bitty piece ot the universe we understand.)(I however maintain that 7-8 was just a messed-up regeneration causing Eight and only Eight to have a Human side. Unless he was fibbing. :P)

  62. Isi Says:

    @ dragon64:
    urmmm…Ten has a human side….
    he’s called John Smith and has poor taste in clothes.
    no, he didn’t die, he just isn’t at the forefront of his mind now….

  63. Kevin Says:

    Woo-hoo, just read them all in one sitting! Fabulous stuff, sir. IDW should be begging you to adapt this into a new comic book miniseries. You have an excellent sense for everyone’s voice and your introductions of characters always feels organic and not contrived. Can’t wait to see it all come together at the climax.

  64. Heather Says:

    Ok, Kelly. First off, like I said to DQ up there - I wasn’t indulging in ‘America-bashing’ at all. It seems both he and you perhaps misread what I said, or perhaps I didn’t say it clearly enough. In any case, in reply to DQ I believe I clarified my position there.

    Secondly, if I had a prejudice against an entire country full of people, as you assert, then I hardly think I would have married one and been living in the US for the past five years, right?

    Now, what I’d like to see is an Internet free of rash assumptions and an inability to read what someone’s written.

    Thank you.

  65. Heather Says:

    Sorry, Rich, I got a little tetchy there in your comments area… I find the “twist my words so it seems they mean the exact opposite of what I actually said” gambit is something that really ticks me off, and so I’m afraid I let rip a bit there. Apologies to all concerned.

  66. Mreen Says:

    In Doctor Who universe we know humans can interbreed with lots of species, plus all of Leela’s&Andred’s children are half human, half galafreyian. So it’s entirely possible- and while I didnt think they needed to make him half human, or even ‘last of the Time Lords’ to gain our interest, he was fine before, I also dont have a problem with the way the stories turned out. So … on a technical level - I just dont care if he’s half human or not. Or if the Time Lords are gone or not.

    But on a story level, I say let the writers play, and make them show us something good. Where ever they take us.

  67. Mreen Says:

    Oh, and I wanted to add, 8th Doctor was not bad looking at all, so I’d put him and 10 on par with each other. From the female perspective. :p

  68. Gaz Says:

    Ooh ooh it’s secret not setcret =D

  69. Levanta T. Says:

    Gaz, I said that all ready. But at least I didn’t mess up then.

    ~~~~

    Levanta

    (At school, I must be careful to never mention Doctor Who. Everyone [invariably!] responds this way- “Who?” AAA! And I have a theory. Is The Doctor really the Other? I just annouced that I thought that to my entire school now…)

  70. Lawrie Says:

    Don’t get me wrong, I loved 8–and yes, Mcgann is quite hot–I just try to ignore the whole half-human thing.

    Dragon64, I’m pretty certain that one of the first things humans will do if/when they encounter aliens is to go “dancing” with them. I’m just saying that it would be very, very difficult to interbreed if at all possible. As for Cassandra’s remark about “mingling,” I always interpreted that as genetic manipulation to better colonize new worlds–for example, making humans amphibious in order to live on a planet that is almost entirely underwater. The Doctor even remarks in “Utopia” that humans have changed their form many times, but always come back to the original bipedal-ape-shape–which indicates heavy modification/evolution in the past. Of course, human-alien interbreeding is a common sci-fi trope…

    I guess I just find the concept of the Doctor as half-human as a cheap gimmick. I don’t need him to be human to like him, and indeed one of the things I like about the Doctor is that he is an alien. It gives him an entirely different perspective, and this manifests itself in interesting ways in the show. For example, in “Unquiet Dead,” he has no problems giving cadavers to the Gelth so they can survive, while all the humans are horrified.

    Still, if you like to believe he’s half-human, hey, that’s your own choice. We’ll just have to agree to disagree–not uncommon in Who fandom!

  71. ch1ps Says:

    mmm…well, whether he’s half-human or not, he’s still one of my favourite Doctors. It doesn’t bother me whether he’s half-human but it added a bit of a twist. Doctor Who is one sci-fi show that i can actually believe if i really, really wanted to (as opposed to Star Wars, no offence to SW fans).

    I found a website that has a list of all these cartoon characters. apparently, the Doctor ranks second in Time Travel…SECOND after a character called Kang. Gah! Oh well…

    The website’s here: http://www.comicvine.com/doctor-who/33354/
    and the rankings are here: http://www.comicvine.com/power/time-travel/93/

  72. Ranko Says:

    The fact that the above list doesn’t include any characters from Chrono Trigger in it, makes it fail in my eyes.

  73. Mr Scirev Says:

    great stuff as usual!

    In the 2nd season torchwood episode Fragments, we get to see Jack in 1999 and the torchwood team of that time (which end up.. no sorry better not spoil it!)…

    So what year is this page set in, current Dr Who time (2009 = current year + 1 as usual) or 2000 as “post-tv-movie time”?

  74. Danfink Says:

    Just a heads up for any UK fans who’ve missed it, the entire Hartnell who story ‘The Daleks is being repeated on BBC4 starting RIGHT NOW! (well 10 minutes ago…)

  75. Danfink Says:

    Try and Imagine I posted that with a capital ‘W’ on who and a closing ‘ after ‘the Daleks…

    cheers…

  76. Danfink Says:

    On the subject of the Doctors possible half-humanity…

    how do we explain Barbara, his ‘Granddaughter’?

  77. The Radge Says:

    Haha! Love it!
    And Mrs. Finnegan peeping out… Very clever Rich!

  78. Kori Says:

    Hrm… is that Finnegan hiding behind that door? Does that mean- no…
    My head is all aflutter with possibilites. ‘Can’t wait to see what you do with this.

  79. Leah Masterson Says:

    AHHH GRACE AND MARTHA!
    You just made me SO happy you have no idea.
    I have an insane Doctor-ish grin on even.
    It’s SO canon!

  80. Doc Says:

    Goodness, what a sinister little old lady, peeking out through that hospital room door…

  81. Mreen Says:

    Well, it’s set ishortly after Doomsday & Runaway Bride, with the Doctor trying to deal with Rose being gone. He went to the Eye of Orion to recover a bit try and make himself believe that Rose was going to have a better life without him. On Earth we know it’s post School Reunion, as Sarah Jane Smith has a working K-9 following her about. Considering Rose was gone a year before she returned home for the aliens to take over London’s government, that makes it late 2006 or early 2007. Since Martha met the Doctor only a few days before she left him in 2007 (tho they traveled for about a year or more and experienced another year of terror) then I’d say we in early 2007.

  82. Mreen Says:

    And Danfink - what would the Doctor’s parentage have to do with explanations of Susan? We know she’s his granddaughter. Her great-grandmother being human or not isnt going to change that, or make a whole lot of difference in her life, I’d think.

  83. anonymous Says:

    Kelly: I think the movie was actually made in 1996. Remember, there’s time travel so it can take place any time it wants to. I’m not sure. Maybe someone could check?

    BTW I love grace holloway. she’s so awesome. :)

  84. Levanta T. Says:

    Yesterday was Peter Davison’s birthday, so I thought I’d tell you all. Just so you could cry about how you missed it and go back pages in this comic to see Five again.

    ~~~~ (yeah, I’m a wikipedian…)

  85. Omegabrain Says:

    Eight does mention to grace very briefly in the movie (during the scene where they are at the party with the atomic clock) that when a time lord regenerates it is possible for them to change species, while this is never touched upon again this may mean that only the eighth doctor is half-human and the others are pure time lord; there is still the matter of his “mother” but ive chosen to shrug that one off as a joke (you can only go so far in my opinion)

  86. Levanta T. Says:

    Two days ago was David Tennant’s birthday. Now go back to the beginning and sing Happy Birthday. Maybe.

    ~~~~

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