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* Quicker version: Who is the Claw in ''[[Gun X Sword]]''? {{spoiler|The old man talking to Wendy in the park.}}
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', manga version. The Homunculus Pride is {{spoiler|[[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|little Selim Bradley]]}}. The biggest clue to his identity are his speech patterns in the original Japanese, [[Lost in Translation|which wouldn't get through to an American reader]]. One translator did pick up on this [[I Knew It!|and correctly predicted his identity]].
* Used in ''[[
* ''[[Tantei Gakuen Q]]'' has an epic "Whaaaat!?" moment when the high priest behind ''five murder cases'' in the Kamaikakushi village is revealed to be the cute and innocent [[The Woobie|Fuuma Mio]], who later turns out to be a [[Anti-Villain]] thanks to [[More Than Mind Control]] that [[Break the Cutie|Broke the Cutie]]. Result? Eventual redemption and [[Tears of Remorse]].
* Hardly anyone could have expected Aji Tae, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Shin Angyo Onshi]]'', [[Diabolical Mastermind]] who had already brought down an entire country before the series began and is stated to be an [[Evil Sorcerer]] of the highest order to be {{spoiler|that [[Adorkable]] prettyboy healer with a pet goose who shows up to save one of the main characters and clearly plays into the role of not-so-covert sage mentor later.}} All exactly as planned by him, of course. The fact that he completely changes his appearance between flashbacks and actual story helps to mislead readers.
* In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* Even though now it falls into [[It Was His Sled]] territory now, originally, Aizen from ''[[Bleach]]'' is an example of this. There was a great deal of focus on how evil [[The Dragon|Gin]] was, so no one was expecting [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|friendly]] captain that all the characters liked. Not to mention the fact that Aizen ''[[Faking the Dead|died]]'' while hints were still being dropped that Gin would be the [[Big Bad]].
* In ''[[Eden of the East]]'', the mastermind behind the Selecao organization, Mr. Outside, is really {{spoiler|an old taxi driver. You may remembering seeing him in the earlier episodes, long before his reveal near the end of the story.}}
* In ''[[Code Geass]]'' no one could have possibly guessed that the co-[[Big Bad]] of the story was actually {{spoiler|Anya, the fairly emotionless girl. Even less likely is anyone figuring out that the dear old Mommy everyone loves could be one of the biggest evil bitches in anime history}}.
* In [[Domu]], the psychic menace terrorising the apartment block turns out to be {{spoiler|the mentally-deficient little old man}}.
* In ''[[
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* In the ''[[Doom Patrol]]'' comic, the would-be cosmos-destroyers in the Cult of the Unwritten book are led by the Archons of Nurnheim--i.e. a couple of [[Punch and Judy]] puppets. Why yes, as a matter of fact this was written by [[Grant Morrison]].
* In the ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' comic book series, a recurring villain is a genetically engineered house cat who fakes his own kidnapping from a research laboratory. Yes, in the Darkwing Duck universe [[Furry Confusion|ducks can keep cats as pets]].
* In the original [[Silver Age]] ''[[Spider
** This is something of a reoccuring theme among Spider-Man villains. The original Green Goblin was eventually revealed to be [[Norman Osborn]], the father of his best friend (this being long before Norman established himself as the Lex Luthor of the Marvel Universe). The Jackal, better known as the villain who set up the [[Clone Saga]], was Peter's nerdy science professor. The Hobgoblin, a villain modeled after the Green Goblin, had a two-for-one deal. He was originally revealed to be a Daily Bugle reporter and longtime minor supporting cast member Ned Leeds until a [[Retcon]] explained that he was yet another minor supporting character who had since faded into near-obscurity.
** One particularly jarring example involves Spider-Man searching for the murderer of a scientist who had created a crime cataloguing supercomputer. {{spoiler|The culprit is none of the three suspects, ''but the computer itself.''}}
* ''[[Asterix]]'': The [[Man Behind the Man|villain behind the sickle-trafficking gang]] in Asterix's second album, "Asterix and the Golden Sickle": [[Chekhov's Gunman|He appeared time and again before the reveal? ]] Check. Was he [[Beneath Suspicion]]? Check. [[The Reveal|It is a surprise both to the heroes and the audience? ]] Check. [[Inherent in
* In the third ever [[Justice Society of America]] story in ''All Star Comics'' #5, the JSA bust up a series of rackets headed by a mysterious figure known as Mr X. At the end of the story, an innocuous milquetoast who had appeared in each of the individual chapters turns up the police station. It turns out he is really Mr X and now, with all of his rackets smashed, he intends to turn himself in and live off the state in prison.
* ''[[Rat-Man]]'': one story has the eponymous "hero" meeting Graziello, a stick figure who annoys him by telling corny jokes and laughing in a monotonous way, and Rat-Man can't get rid of him. In the end we discover that everything that happened in the issue was Graziello's plan: as a failed comic book character who never got the chance to be published, he lured Rat-Man to the comic book school and in doing that he had appeared in a ''Rat-Man'' issue, thus finally [[Medium Awareness|being published and read by many people]]!
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== Fanfiction ==
* The ''[[Harry Potter]]'' story ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4101650/1/Backward_With_Purpose_Part_I_Always_and_Always Backward With Purpose]'' involved Harry, Ginny, and Ron [[Set Right What Once Was Wrong|traveling back in time]] [[Peggy Sue|to fix]] a [[Bad Future]]. At the same time ([[Timey-Wimey Ball|relatively]]), someone else is also traveling from the future and [[The Man Behind the Man|tweaking things behind their backs]]. It is revealed to be {{spoiler|Harry and Ginny's son Albus, who was never seen previously and had not yet even existed in any form or timeline from the main characters' (and audiences') perspective}}. Perhaps most bizarrely, if you read the sequel ''it all makes sense''.
* In the ''[[Firefly]]'' fanfic ''[[
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* In ''[[The Bone Collector]]'', the killer is {{spoiler|Richard, the technician from the beginning of the movie}}.
* An early cut of ''[[House of 1000 Corpses]]'' had the relatively harmless Grampa Hugo Firefly turn out to be Dr. Satan. [[Rob Zombie]] decided this would have been anti-climactic and changed it.
* Parodied in the "Scooby-Doo Ending" of ''[[
* And talking about ''[[Scooby Doo (
* In ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'', diabolical [[Diabolical Mastermind|Criminal Mastermind]] Keyser Soze is {{spoiler|the "cripple" Verbal Kint, our pathetic narrator}}.
* The first ''[[Saw]]'' movie (see page quote). {{spoiler|The "guy on the floor" (John Kramer) is also seen in a flashback, where he's equally inconspicuous as a patient at the cancer ward.}}
* All of the movies in ''[[The Thin Man (
* In ''[[Galaxy of Terror]]'', Kore, the unassuming cook, turned out to be {{spoiler|The [[Big Bad|Planet Master]] who had sent the crew of the starship Quest to the planet [[Death World|Morganthus]]}}.
* In the Hungarian film ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[Phone Booth (
* Played straight, and somewhat deconstructed, in s German Film "''Net of Steel - The witness''" (Stahlnetz - die Zeugin). The murderer is {{spoiler|the eponymous witness, a 12-yr-old girl picked mercilessly by her family and threatened by others because of their secrets. The deconstruction applies because the girl is not a "mastermind" - rather a desperate child - but still totally aggressive - and before [[The Reveal]] she is seen just as a random girl who saw too much.}}
* Played double in Takeshi Kitano's ''[[Zatoichi]]'', when the leader of the Yakuza is revealed to be {{spoiler|the tavern keeper. Then it's revealed that even ''he'' was a decoy for the elderly busboy, who was the real power behind it all}}.
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* Similar to the [[Source Code]] example above, [[Dream House]] throws suspicion over nearly every character introduced. {{spoiler|The actual killer? Someone who drove by the main character's house during one scene and did not become relevant again until [[The Reveal]].}}
* In ''[[Scary Movie]]'', the ''Scream''-esque serial killer is actually revealed to be {{spoiler|the apparently retarded officer. Then again it is a parody.}}
* {{spoiler|Debbie Salt, the seemingly harmless journalist reporting the murders}}, is the killer in ''[[Scream (
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*** These became so expected that Rowling ended up adding a page to her website's FAQ where she asked readers not to assume that EVERY named character in the series had a world-exploding secret. In particular, fans had fixated on a random muggle kid who appears at the beginning of book five, with many emailing Rowling and saying they had "figured out" that he was the true key to the entire storyline. In reality, he was just a random muggle kid who was never seen again.
* In the second book of the [[Foundation]] trilogy it is revealed that the Mule is {{spoiler|Magnifico the clown}}.
* In ''[[The
* In the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] series ''[[New Jedi Order]]'', an evil alien race called the Yuuzhan Vong invades. Their leader is [[Evil Overlord|Supreme Overlord]] Shimrra, a God-King who truly looks the part. The last novel in the series reveals that {{spoiler|he is actually being force controlled by his jester, Onimi}}, a being so far below Shimrra that he was considered as little more than a pet.
* In the ''[[Star Trek: New Frontier]]'' novel "Stone and Anvil", the Excalibur crew needs to find the man who created Janos' intelligence to help him extend it. To bad he doesn't exactly know how to do that...the real mastermind is his pet Gribble, a small animal no larger than a rat. {{spoiler|Before the Gribble can do anything, though, Janos eats him.}}
* In ''Accelerando'' by [[Charles Stross]], everything that happened turns out to have been masterminded by {{spoiler|the Macx family's robotic cat.}}
* Occurs in Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''[[The Egypt Game]]'' -- the murderer is {{spoiler|not a suspect and is only mentioned once ''in passing''}}.
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* In the book version of ''[[The Bone Collector]]'', the main villain was {{spoiler|the doctor}}, also seen only briefly at the beginning and end.
* In Isaac Asimov's ''Lucky Star and the Moons of Jupiter'', while there is a human villain, it turns out the real bad guy is {{spoiler|a robot dog who served as a Seeing-Eye dog for a scientist.}}
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Bridge of Birds]]'', {{spoiler|the true identity of the tyrannical Duke of Ch'in turns out to be the meek, perpetually scared Key Rabbit. Oh, and his greedy peasant wife is a long-lost goddess}}. It actually makes perfect sense once Master Li explains it and there are many hints dropped throughout the novel, especially for the latter part, but it almost certainly stunned many first-time readers.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' this is Molly's reaction when she {{spoiler|is shown a photograph of the traitor on the White Council}} in ''Turn Coat.''
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== Live-Action TV ==
* Good guy version: In the ''[[
* ''[[Sherlock]]'' has already pulled it twice. In "A Study in Pink", the serial killer turns out to be {{spoiler|a cabbie, seen earlier when Holmes and Watson chased down his cab because they thought the passenger might be the killer.}} In "The Great Game", Moriarty is revealed to be {{spoiler|Molly's boyfriend Jim, who showed up briefly earlier in the episode.}} (Though this last {{spoiler|was guessable, considering "Jim" is a nickname for "James."}})
** The second example also incorporated a subversion--for a minute or two, before the real mastermind appeared, the audience is led to believe that {{spoiler|''Watson''}} is Moriarty.
* Many made for TV cop shows have this but it was especially noticeable in ''[[Murphy]]''. The killer is the bloke who is in the background of scenes. If most of the suspects are interviewed in a club it's the barman - also expect him to be a long lost relative of victim or chief suspect.
* Mr. Yang in ''[[Psych]]'' is revealed as this through flashbacks when Shawn meets {{spoiler|''her'' at the end.}}
* [[Community
* In an episode of ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' the killer was, {{spoiler|of all people, a ''pig''}}. It was an accident, so the characters promptly {{spoiler|adopt him as a pet.}}
* One episode of ''[[Bones]]'' has the killer turn out to be the father of a friend of the victim, who was seen once in the beginning of the episode and had no lines whatsoever.
* {{spoiler|Quite literally applied}} in an episode of ''[[Married...
* Another example occurs in the ''[[Star Trek:
* On the ''[[Angel]]'' episode "[[Day in The Limelight|Harm's Way]]," Harmony wakes up after a one-night stand to find the guy dead, and though she doesn't quite remember what happened, she eventually realizes that she was set up for the murder. It turns out the real killer was...[[Unknown Rival|some random other vampire chick named Tamika]] working at [[Amoral Attorney|Wolfram and Hart]], whom Harmony had bumped into earlier. It turns out that Tamika was upset that Harmony was on "the fast track" just from knowing Angel and his friends, and framed her so that she could take her job.
* In ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'': {{spoiler|Mr. Smith is a supporting character who gives information on aliens that land on Earth. It turns out he's a Xylok (sentient crystal) who created the computer as a host - and the most important thing to a Xylok is their purpose. Mr. Smith's purpose is to destroy the Earth's crust to free his kind - they were trapped there after their ship crashed to Earth (wiping out the dinosaurs). Mr Smith escaped in the eruption of Krakatoa.}}
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== Video Games ==
* In the game ''Art of Murder: FBI Confidential'', the killer turned out to be {{spoiler|Raches, a character briefly mentioned in a newspaper article and supposed dead.}} Although this is minorly subverted due to the fact that {{spoiler|Raches is- in fact- your boss, Leon Chaser. Actually pretty obvious when you compare the two names.}}
* In [[
* In this case its played both both metaphorically and literally. In ''[[Deadly Premonition]]'' {{spoiler|the happy go lucky Forrest Kaysen turns out to be the Red Seed Killer the whole time- and his faithful companion Willie? He INTRODUCED Kaysen to the Red Seeds... yeah, chances are if you search his underbelly you'll see a 666 and a Willie + Cthulhu Forever tattoo.}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUDcSeUvkOw The Dog ending] from ''[[Silent Hill 2]]'' is a literal example, although it's really a parody. Said dog (named Mira) makes cameos in future joke endings.
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* In endings of ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' where the Ankaran Sarcophagus is opened, the whole affair is revealed to be a massive practical joke orchestrated by Jack and the cab driver (who may or may not be {{spoiler|Caine}}).
* In ''[[Heavenly Sword]]'' it's revealed that {{spoiler|King Bohan's bird is actually The Raven Lord; a demonic warlord from [[All There in the Manual|the sword's backstory]]. The final battle is against a fused version of the two.}}
* In ''[[Heavy Rain]]'', the Origami Killer being {{spoiler|Scott Shelby}} is a big surprise even to {{spoiler|Lauren, who spent half the game in his company. The Player does especially not suspect Scott since he [[Pet the Dog|rescues cute widdle Babies]], saves a man from a shoplifter and helps a [[Hooker
** The creators did kind of cheat though by secretly inserting a time skip. During one of the murders, he was only offscreen for around 30 seconds, while the actual murder took much longer.
* In ''Taz: Wanted'', {{spoiler|TWEETY}} is the mastermind behind it all. This is especially mind-numbing when you consider that {{spoiler|he's been your tutorial and hint provider for the ENTIRE GAME, including the final level.}}
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** Until the reveal from a Drama CD revealing that {{spoiler|Saya was brought forth to Relius shortly after her kidnapping and Relius made a cryptic comment that she's going to be a vessel for something, meaning Imperator Saya, for all means, could be a [[Puppet King]] manipulated by Relius and Hazama, therefore the mastermind may have been both of them since the very beginning.}}
* One that's really only known in Japan is the culprit in the old mystery game ''[[wikipedia:Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken|The Portopia Serial Murder Case]]'' (although some may have heard about its [[Shout-Out]] in [[Haruhi-chan]]). The culprit is quite literally the one you'd least suspect, since not only is he your assistant, he's also (since the main character is an unseen [[Heroic Mime]]) ''the guy executing the player's commands and speaking for the main character''. The revelation was so out of left field that the phrase "Yasu is the culprit" is something of a [[Memetic Mutation|minor Japanese meme]] for this sort of trope.
** This meme gets used in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
* In ''[[
* In the open-world [[First-Person Shooter]] ''[[
* Played with in the "Killerman" event in ''[[
* In ''[[Ghost Trick]]'', it turns out that the course of the entire game was orchestrated by {{spoiler|an alternate future version of seemingly-irrelevant-to-the-overall-plot character and literal dog Missile, trying to prevent the death of Lynne and Kamila that would have happened if he had not convinced Sissel to interfere -- in the original version of events, [[The Bad Guy Wins]].}}
* Played very straight in ''[[Discworld Noir]]''. The serial killer who has been ritually murdering the citizens of Ankh Morpork (including the main character Lewton) is revealed to be the god Anu-Anu. When his worshipers are all gathered in church praying to him, his power grows and he transforms into a large bestial monster... but the rest of the time, he's trapped in the form of a small dog, which Lewton sees outside the Guild of Tomb Evacuators shortly before he is killed.
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* In ''[[The Last Express]]'', it turns out the thing that killed the main character's best friend, Tyler, was the very [[MacGuffin]] he was hiding: a gorgeous golden egg covered in gems. When a certain sequence is entered and a whistle is blown, it turns into a mechanical falcon that comes to life and kills everyone present.
* The first case of ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]] 2'' involves the attempted assassination of a visiting president. It ultimately turns out to have been orchestrated by {{spoiler|a clown at the local circus}}.
* In the [[Stylistic Suck]] "movie" ''Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective'', which is an episode of ''[[Strong
* On the Homicide Desk in ''[[LA Noire]]'', you are tasked with solving a string of murders, all seeming connected to the real-life Black Dahlia case. At the end, you discover the killer...{{spoiler|Garret Mason, a bartender you had interviewed as an incidental witness in the first case, and had likely forgotten about by the third.}}
* DS [[Visual Novel]] ''[[
* [[The World Ends With You]]: Okay, on the one hand, something was seriously wrong with Joshua. On the other hand, I don't think anyone was expecting him to be {{spoiler|the composer}}.
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[
* In ''[[RPG World]]'', after Galgarion disguises himself to infiltrate the heroes, we get an extremely elaborate [[Red Herring Mole]] in the form of Eikre. Galgarion's actual disguise? {{spoiler|A ''flower'' that Eikre had bought and attempted to give to Cherry.}}
{{quote| '''Eikre''': "Galgarion is {{spoiler|Cherry's ''butt''}}?! [[Crowning Moment of Funny|This is gonna be the coolest boss fight ever!]]"}}
* One ''[[
* ''[[
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* In episode 86 of ''[[Bonus Stage]]'' it was revealed the second version of Evil was {{spoiler|MALCOLM, a very minor character who only appeared in one episode prior and never showed any signs of being evil}}.
* Occasionally happens in ''[[Shadow Unit]]''--due to the nature of the anomaly, the gamma could be ''anybody'', including the sweet little old lady, the shy teenager, {{spoiler|a member of the team}}...
* Used/Parodied by [[Atop the Fourth Wall
{{quote| '''Linkara:''' You! You're the secret manipulator behind everything! ''*pulls out a stuffed bear*'' BEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!}}
* The "DNA Evidence" arc of ''[[
* In [[Becoming Human]], it turns out the killer is {{spoiler|Mr. Roe, the mild-mannered teacher, helpful teacher who was the only character to never be a suspect.}} A second more minor example is {{spoiler|the janitor, who spent a lot of time in the background before being believed to be an accomplice, but eventually turned out to be a [[Red Herring]]... or was he? }}
* In [[Greek Ninja]], the one behind the attacks at Ariadnio and the danger unlike any the world had ever faced before, turned out to be {{spoiler|none other than a weak and bitter man from Sasha Hunter's past}}. [[Makes Sense in Context|Really really past life...]].
* The [[Twist Ending]] of [http://gegenschein17.deviantart.com/art/Sliding-Scale-of-Evil-299292851 this] one-off [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* [[Phelous]] has some fun with trope while reviewing The Amityville Horror 4. Why? The big villain is a demon possessed lamp. No, really.
{{quote| '''Lamp:''' NO ONE EVER SUSPECTS ''THE LAAAAMP''!}}
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** The two-part episode ''Who Shot Mr. Burns?''. {{spoiler|The culprit was ''Maggie''.}}
** ''"Nobody suspects the butterfly..."''
* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "About Last Night...", Kyle's toddler brother Ike was the key player in Obama and McCain's ''[[
** A variation occurs in the Mysterion Trilogy (''Coon 2: Coon and Friends'', ''Mysterion Rises'', and ''Coon vs. Coon and Friends'') when [[Late Arrival Spoiler|Kenny as Mysterion]] tries to find out the origin of his immortality, learning it has something to do with the Cult of C'tulu. When a [[Superman|Jor-El type]] [[Makes Just
* In the ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]'' episode "Cat Man Do", the girls defeat a villain and adopt his [[Right-Hand-Cat]] -- only the ''cat'' was the real criminal, using hypnosis to make his "master" do his bidding.
* [[Invader Zim]]: It was me! I was the turkey all along! MEEE!!
* In ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'', one episode has the Eds track down someone who went to great lengths to frame them for various crimes. {{spoiler|It ultimately turned out to be Jimmy, who was angry at Eddy for casually giving him a wedgie.}}
* ''[[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]]'' uses this a fair bit - usually, of the named characters, the culprit is the one who seems secondary, is introduced completely outside the course of the mystery, and doesn't seem to have anything to do with it at all.
** Appears in an episode of ''[[What's New Scooby Doo]]?'' that took place in Greece involving a series of centaur attacks. At the end of the episode, Velma explains all the evidence that suggested that the criminal was the archaeologist, then unmasks it to reveal... a woman that she doesn't know. The mastermind was {{spoiler|the archaeologist's partner, who appeared ''in the teaser'' before the gang showed up.}}
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* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Mucha Lucha]]'s'' [[The Movie|movie]] is {{spoiler|a random girl that appears at the beginning.}}
* The three-parter "Brainwashed" of ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' has several false leads behind the mastermind heading the plot to dumb down the world. Turns out it's the cat belonging to the scientist responsible for genetically modifying the eponymous mice.
* {{spoiler|The deer}} in the ''[[
* The climax of the ''[[Futurama]]'' movie, ''Into the Wild Green Yonder,'' involved Fry trying to figure out the identity of the Dark One, who was the only individual whose mind Fry wouldn't be able to read. After he's able to read the mind of seemingly everyone else there, he comes to the conclusion that he himself has to be the Dark One. He isn't. The Dark One is {{spoiler|the leech that Leela saved at the beginning of the movie, and which has been attached to her neck more-or-less ever since}}.
* At the end of ''[[Johnny Bravo|Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood]]'', it turns out the mastermind behind the whole evil plot was {{spoiler|Johnny's helper monkey Jeeves}}.
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