Sympathy for A Spider Lord (Lord Recluse's Story)

For a moment, he holds her. He breathes in the scent of youth, of innocence. He remembers what it was like to be young, human, and loved.

Then he snaps her neck.

The body of the little girl slips from his hands and lands on the floor with a heavy thud.

“I’m sorry, Monica. But I cannot change what I am or go back to what I had been. I am Lord Recluse. My feet are forever set on the path of conquest.”

The body of the little girl shimmers and the chimes make a mournful sound.

He watches it disappear and turns his back.

“Not so fast, Stefan.” The laughter chimes again, but it has a sad tune this time. “You don’t really think you can kill a dead woman, do you?”

She’s Maiden Justice when he turns around. “Must I kill every one of your incarnations to be rid of you, sister?”

“I can’t stay much longer, Stefan, so you’ll soon be alone again.” She sighs. “But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Yes. Yes it does.” He laughs then. “Did you think that I took the name Recluse because I like company?”

“Look around you, Stefan. You have ruled the Rogue Isles for decades, and what have you created? Nothing but ruin and misery.”

“The strong survive. The weak perish. That is as it should be.”

“You rule an ash heap, Stefan. Is that the sort of world you wish to create?”

“Once I have achieved control, I will create order out of chaos. I will make this world a paradise.”

“Any world where the strong crush the weak will never be a paradise. You used to know that. Father taught you better than that.”

“Do not speak of him!”

“Why not? Because you remember killing him?”

“It was necessary!”

“How many decades have you been telling yourself that, Stefan? Do you believe it yet? I don’t think you do.” Maiden Justice looks at her brother and shakes her head sadly. “You could have been so much more than this, Stefan.”

“I was born to rule, Monica. The day is coming when I will rule all. I have schemes and plans that you do not know of—“ He stops. “Or do you know of them? Is that why you are here?”

“I know what you have planned, Stefan. I know your intentions.”

“Have you told Marcus?”

“I can’t. I’m no longer a part of the mortal world, Stefan. I am not allowed to interfere. Marcus will have to defeat you without any help from me.”

“He will not win this time, Monica! This time it will be different! I have worked for years on this plan. Nothing will go wrong! Nothing!”

“Don’t you say that every time before Marcus stops you?”

“Enough! I have heard your plea and rejected it, Monica. Begone! Trouble me no more, ghost!”

“Oh, Stefan. You still don’t know what I am, do you?” She laughs. “I am not some Earthbound spirit like your poor Ghost Widow. I am something much more …”

“And just what are you, Monica?”

Her uniform disappears and is replaced by a pure white robe. A circle of light appears above her head. A mighty silver sword materializes in her hands. “Do you know me for what I am now, Stefan Richter …?”

The tips of his limbs glow red with power. He tenses himself for combat. “Ghost or angel, you will not cow me, woman! Leave now or not even Heaven itself will protect you from my fury!”

The spirit of Monica Richter looks at him and laughs.

And with a wordless cry of rage, Lord Recluse hurls himself at her throat.

---

My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

[ QUOTE ]
And with a wordless cry of rage, Lord Recluse hurls himself at her throat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whenever I read that, I can only hear Recluse going "RARGLE SNARGLE FARGLE!"

It makes me lol so.

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Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.

Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.

NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.

He flies through her immaterial body and lands flat on his face.

“Ah, Stefan. For a man who’s always prided himself on his intellect, you have a distressing tendency to think with your fists.”

He spits another curse as he uses his limbs to right himself. “I am Recluse! I will not suffer your presence a moment longer!”

“Just a few more minutes, Stefan. Please.”

The “please” is what stops him. Pleas for mercy are nothing new to him, but something about that word reminds him of the innocent days before he went into the trenches of war. “What now?”

“You will not reconsider?”

“No!” He pauses and then speaks more softly, more humanely, than he has in a long time. “Monica, can’t you see that this is of no use? I have killed countless thousands. I have murdered children in front of their mothers. Even if I did repent—even if I did wish to change—it’s far too late for that. Some things cannot be forgiven.”

“I don’t believe that, Stefan.”

“It’s the nature of angels to believe in hope, is it not?” Again he wishes he could smile beneath his mask.

“I am an Envoy of Light, Stefan. You remain in darkness because you choose it.” She smiles softly, and then lays a hand on his heart. “Remember me, Stefan.”

“I have never forgotten you, Monica. I never shall.”

“I have to go now, Stefan, but I will always be with you in spirit. I still love you, my brother. I will always love you. And I will hope that someday you find the strength to turn from the darkness. Goodbye, Stefan.”

“Farewell, my sister. Farewell.”

And only silver chimes mark her passing as he is left alone … again.


“My Lord Recluse, are you awake?”

A dream, he thinks. Of course it was nothing but a dream.

He raises his head and looks at his throne room. He gazes at the shattered console. Or perhaps it was more than a dream … “What is it, Leon?”

“What is it, Leon?”

“I have brought Ms. Vines, my Lord. She’s waiting outside. Shall I arrange her ‘accident’ now?”

For a long moment, he says nothing.

“My Lord?”

“Bring her in, Leon. I would speak with her.”

Flanked by two massive guards, Amanda Vines looks frail, frightened, and exhausted. “Good morning, my Lord Recluse.”

“Good morning, Ms. Vines. I trust you slept well?”

Her lips quirk in a smile. “In truth, I have had better nights, my Lord.”

“Indeed.” He stares at her. She’s so young. She knows that I hold her life in the palm of my hand, but she does not beg or plead. She does not try to bewitch me with feminine wiles. She is afraid, but she is ready to die on her feet. “Leon.”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Have Ms. Vines escorted to my private dining quarters. I will be there momentarily.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Marshall Brass glares a command at her Guards who gesture for Amanda to follow them.

“Wait here, Leon. I want to speak with you.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Amanda says nothing to either of them. She doesn’t look right or left or make any move to escape. She walks away with her head held high.

“You will see to her passing personally, my Lord?” Brass asks him, looking slightly queasy.

“She is not going to die this day, Leon. I have decided to let her live.”

“My Lord—! The danger!”

“I rule the Rogue Isles with an iron fist, Leon. I care little for public outcry. The people know they live on my sufferance. If Arachnos cannot survive the prying of one lone reporter, then we are not fit to exist ourselves.” He ***** his head in an inhuman way. “I am sure that you will continue to manage her as adroitly as you already have. In fact, I insist that you do so.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Leon Brass till tell him what he does not wish to hear, but he is not fool enough to argue.

“Make sure that all records she might have that might prove … problematic are destroyed, Leon. You can do that while Ms. Vines and I share breakfast.”

“Yes, my Lord. I will see to it at once!”

“Very good, Leon. I leave it in your capable hands then.” He turns and leaves without another word.

Amanda Vines is waiting for him when he reaches his quarters.

“Ms. Vines, please be seated. I will have breakfast brought to us. After we have eaten, I will see to it that you are returned safely home.”

“Home--?”

“Yes. I regret that I do not have time to conduct an interview with you today, but my duties demand too much of my time for social pleasantries.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Amanda sits down. She’s still trembling, but she understands now that she is not going to die this morning. Her eyes are alight with curiosity.

Recluse walks to the window and looks out at the city. His city. “Ms. Vines?”

“Yes, my Lord?”

I do this for you, my beloved sister. This one thing—this one act of mercy—I do in your name. Amanda Vines will not die at my order, Monica. I do this one thing, but I will not alter my plans or repent my deeds! I am Recluse! This world is mine for the taking!

And someday, your precious Marcus will lie dead at my feet …


“Let me tell you about my sister …”

---

My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

I've always found the villains who struggle with themselves to be far more interesting than the ones who have absolutely no shred of humanity or personality to them. Even if Stefan Richter were a typical cold-blooded ranting screaming megalomaniac, even if we were to throw out the novels as 'canon', the officially sanctioned CoV CGI trailer has him refer to Marcus as "my old friend."

Although when Monica refers to herself as the Envoy of Light, I was wondering if the Envoy of Shadows would show up.

Still very much enjoying this.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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That was an interesting conclusion. I'd say you managed to thread the needle. Nice work!

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There isn’t much that can surprise DJ Zero.

He’s aware when the Envoy of Light enters Pocket D, of course. There isn’t much that goes on in the D that he doesn’t know about.

He is surprised when the Envoy of Shadows also enters the D, though.

DJ Zero’s face doesn’t change expression, but he does swallow nervously. He’s had gods and demons in Pocket D before, but the Envoys are something else entirely. Of all the joints in the multiverse they had to walk into mine …

Everywhere Monica Cole looks she sees heroes.

She doesn’t know any of them. Her time has long past, and even the immortals that she sees did not know her, do not remember Maiden Justice as anything other than a legend. Because of that, she allows herself the luxury of appearing with her true face—if not her actual costume.

But she sees men and women—and creatures that are neither and sometimes both—who have dedicated themselves to making the world a better place.

It feels like home.

And then a darkness that only she can see and a coldness that only she can feel makes itself known to her. It is hatred, violence, and greed. It is ice and shadow, and a fire that exists for no other reason than to consume what it touches.

It is the Envoy of Shadows.

“Hello, Monica. It’s good to see you again.” The Envoy of Shadows settles down into the seat next to her. It’s come as a succubus this time—no different from any of the creatures that serve as bouncers for DJ Zero in the Rogue Isles. The eyes—the eyes though give it away.

“Hello—“ And she says the name of the thing in front of her.

The Envoy of Shadows winces, but has no other reaction. For a moment, the two of them sit there and look at each other. “You didn’t really think you’d redeem him, did you?”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” Monica says as she takes a sip of her drink.

“Does it hurt to know that your own flesh and blood is bound and determined to destroy the man you loved, and your descendents?”

Monica simply looks at her. “Does it bother you to know there is still one spark of goodness in a man that you have cultivated as an avatar of destruction?” She sips her drink. “Stefan loved me. He loves me still. For all the horrors that he has done—all the evil that he has wrought—he still possesses the capacity to love.” She smiles. “That means that not all of him belongs to you—and that means that there is still a chance.”

“You think that one act of mercy will change destiny?”

“Why not? It’s done so in the past.”

The Envoy of Shadows laughs. “He is mine, Monica. And through him, the world will yet belong to us.”

“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” Monica stares into the eyes of the not-succubus and offers a steely smile. “Now if you don’t mind, I want to enjoy my drink in peace. Leave. Now.”

The Envoy of Shadows stares at her for a moment, and for a moment she threatens to swell into her true form.

“Good evening, ladies. Do we have a problem here?” DJ Zero does not walk over. Space simply accommodates his presence where it is needed.

“Oh no. My friend here was just leaving.” Monica smiles sweetly at the Envoy of Shadows. “Weren’t you?”

The Envoy stares at Monica, and then at DJ Zero. “Another time,” she says at last. “Another time.”

“We have all the time in the world, you and I.” Monica finishes her drink. “But for now, this meeting is over. Go.” And her eyes begin to glow with a pure white light. “Unless you feel like facing both DJ Zero and myself, that is.”

DJ Zero swallows again, but nods his head.

The Envoy of Shadows gets up and walks away without another word. She disappears in a cloud of brimstone before she’s walked five feet.

DJ Zero exhales. “Thank—“ He grins at Monica. “You know.”

“Yes, I know.” Monica stands up. “I suppose I should be going too. I know that you’re not allowed to take sides.”

“I’m afraid not.” DJ Zero pauses and then curiosity overcomes his manners. “Was It right?”

“What?”

“Did you really hope that you were going to be able reclaim Stefan Richter?”

Monica smiles sadly. “I won’t lie and say that I didn’t hope that he’d reconsider his goals, but I really didn’t expect him to.”

“Then why go to him? Why let him see you after all these years?”

“Stefan wasn’t the one I was sent to save.”

“Amanda Vines?”

“Amanda Vines.” Monica nods. “There is very little in the way of goodness in the Rogue Isles. She has no super human powers, no magical might, but Amanda Vines is one of the strongest forces for good in Stefan’s domain. The people see her and know that even in the hell that Stefan has created there is still good in the world. She gives them hope.

“And I was sent to try to keep that hope alive.”

“And you did.”

“Stefan did. I just helped him reach that decision.” She looks down. “Now I really have to go before someone sees me. Thank you for your hospitality, DJ Zero.”

DJ Zero smiles. “It’s what I do.”

She kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you again, DJ.” She pauses. “The next time you see Marcus or the girls—“

“Yes?”

She sighs. “Nothing.”

“They still love you too, you know.”

“I know. But they’ve moved on. Even Marcus—or at least he’s starting to. I won’t cause them pain just because I miss them. Goodbye, DJ.”

“Goodbye, Monica.”

She fades away like wind chimes in an autumn wind.

DJ Zero sits down at the table she had left. “I need a drink,” he says to no one in particular.

One materializes in front of him.

“Thank you.” He raises the drink in a toast. “To love and hope—and Maiden Justice.”

And he drinks.

---

My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

I was reading this with interest already, but doing the Amanda Arc today helped bring it together,

Also giving Zero a part was nice too

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Does not always detect CoH

Just my own opinion - I really think the story would have ended better if you'd ended it last chapter. Primarily because the focus of the story shifted from Stefan to Monica, but like I said, that's just me.

Unless of course there's more of the story to go, in which case, write on!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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[ QUOTE ]
Just my own opinion - I really think the story would have ended better if you'd ended it last chapter. Primarily because the focus of the story shifted from Stefan to Monica, but like I said, that's just me.

Unless of course there's more of the story to go, in which case, write on!

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[/ QUOTE ]


I understand, and believe me I gave serious thought to leaving the story with the prior chapter.

But in the end, I felt that I had to be true to my muse.

There were several things I hoped to accomplish with this story. As to whether or not I succeeded ... well, that's something for the reader to decide.

To begin with, I wanted to add some depth to Lord Recluse. Monodimensional villains who are all "Arrrgh! I'm evil for evil's sake and have no redeeming features whatsover!" bore me.

Hero 1 has said that the game is first in determining canon, but if you add in the novels and comics, this is what we know about him:

1. His father owned a newspaper. The Paragon Free Press. Monica worked as a reporter for the paper.

2. Marcus Cole and his brother Ezra were taken in by the Richters after the death of their mother. (Their father was a hopeless alcoholic incapable of taking care of them.)

3. Marcus and Stefan went off to World War I together. After the Great War, they formed a gang of thieves. (Web of Arachnos says that Marcus was the leader; in Freedom Phalanx Recluse said that Marcus had been his "right hand man." Given Recluse's personality-- and the events of Web- I believe Marcus was the actual leader.

4. Monica Richter was 7 years old when they went to war. She did not see either of them again until after she was an adult.

5. Recluse killed his father and Ezra Cole as a ploy to have Marcus return to Paragon City and tackle Nemesis for him. He did not, however, kill Monica even when he had a clear chance to do so. In fact, he admitted to stealing the letters that Marcus and Monica had been writing to each other.

6. In Freedom Phalanx he goes to rather elaborate lengths to send Monica flowers while she lies on her deathbed and sends a handwritten note where he refers to himself as "Stefan" instead of Lord Recluse.

All in all, I feel that if there was ever anyone in the world that Stefan Richter loved, it was his sister. (The game does hint that Recluse had strong feelings for a woman named Red Widow but we really don't know a lot about her.)

So the sister that he loved was a reporter who was bound and determined to expose the graft and corruption that Paragon City knew in the 1930s.

Now, Amanda Vines is also a reporter determined to discover the truth. As I understand it, the Arc she appears in says that her popularity has made disposing of her problematic so Recluse prefers to keep her alive.

That excuse has never made sense to me.

Recluse is the absolute tyrant of the Rogue Isles. He doesn't have to worry about public reaction to his actions. He's an immortal unkillable dictator. Amanda Vines could be the Oprah Winfrey of the Rogue Isles and it still wouldn't save her from Recluse if he felt like killing her ... so why doesn't he?

So various ideas came to mind ...

Could he be in love with Amanda Vines?

No, that didn't make sense to me. Given how inhuman that Recluse is, I don't think that he has a lust for anything but power.

Could Amanda Vines be his child or grandchild? In addition to the above rationale, I try not to break game canon any more than I can help it. It's a pity, though-- I do like the idea of Recluse's offspring working against him ...

What if Amanda Vines was actually the reincarnation of Monica Richter? That idea had possibilities as reincarnation is a fact in the game, but again I thought that would be breaking canon too much ...

So I wound up going back to Amanda reminding Recluse of one of the few people that he ever loved.

That led me to thinking about a conversation between Stefan and Monica ... and how and why Monica would be having that conversation with him some 20 years after her death.

The rest you all know.

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My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

All that I'm fine with... it's just the shift in PoV from Recluse to Monica in the last chapter that 'broke' it for me. Everything else, I was totally behind you all the way with.

But be true to your muse - you're the one who has to listen to her.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

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Oh yeah.

I always listen to my muse.

Every story is a gamble. But that's what makes it fun.

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My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

If I may put on my critic's hat...

This is a good story. I say that despite my earlier reservations, because it treated the character of Recluse respectfully and it didn't violate the canon of what we know about him. Indeed, the raving, foaming at the mouth Recluse that some like to depict is, to my mind, the false one.

However, I'd agree with Dark_Respite/Samuraiko - I thought the story concluded perfectly before the Pocket D scene. I suppose I said as much when I complimented what I thought WAS the ending. *heh*

The true ending is more like an epilogue. Actually, it's more like the prologue to an entirely different story. Why the Envoy of Shadow? How did Monica become the Envoy of Light and what agency is at work here?

In short, if you wanted a story about Monica, she should probably have just had her own story.

It shifts the focus from Recluse to some kind of angels vs demons cosmic struggle, that ends before it even really begins. I don't know a lot about the Envoy of Shadow, but I don't think s/he is really some sort of generic Satan surrogate. S/he is pretty intimately involved with the CoT and Mu, which is only peripherally on Recluse's radar. It's a little strange to have hir representing The Powers of Darkness in some sort of struggle against the Power of Light.

I don't want to sound negative - it's a good story. If I was your editor publishing it in a short story anthology, I'd tell you to chop the last "chapter", that's all.

I think it's a bit telling, in fact, that your post describing your thought processes that inspired the story is a description of everything up to Pocket D. Maybe your muse just didn't want to admit that the story of Monica-the-angel would require a whole other story with the attendant blood, sweat, and tears.

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[ QUOTE ]
hir

[/ QUOTE ]

That word vexes me somehow... It almost seems to be deliberately used.

Anyway, I rather like the Pocket D cap. The Envoy of Shadows shows up at a lot of times in City of Heroes/City of Villains. It shows up in the 35-40 Cadao Kestrel arc (in fact, it's the focus of that arc), and it simultaneous appears in the Numina Task Force, as your characters fight their way through a Circle of Thorns cavern and suddenly "Ope! That Death Mage is called the Envoy of Shadows! Look out!"

I could have sworn I also saw the guy once on the Redside. I'm not sure where, but I'm certain it wasn't in the Scirocco arc. Essentially, it's everywhere, and it's always in arcs that are somehow "world-shatteringly pivotal."

It would then only make sense that the forces of Light would have their own Envoy. It also makes sense that for this world, the game world, that Monica would wind up taking up the mantle, at least for a moment.

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My Stories

Look at that. A full-grown woman pulling off pigtails. Her crazy is off the charts.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
hir

[/ QUOTE ]

That word vexes me somehow... It almost seems to be deliberately used.



[/ QUOTE ]

It WAS deliberately used, by me at least. The Envoy in the story is a female. The Envoy in the missions is either male or demonic, which could be indeterminate. (Can YOU tell the difference between a male or female Behemoth?)

The Envoy is whatever gender it chooses to appear as. to confront The Envoy of Light (representative of the Prince of Angels?) it chose to appear female. I chose indeterminate pronouns to reflect its true unknown nature as opposed to its apparent nature.

My problem is not with Monica as the Envoy of Light, though I have my reservations about her dying and ascending to demi-godhood. The story works just fine with the epilogue.

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Well, the true ending WAS the epilogue.

Admittedly, I sometimes suffer from Roy Thomas complex. (For those of you who don't know, Roy Thomas is the man credited with coming up with the term "retroactive continuity" or "retcon".) Basically, once I had Monica show up to talk to Recluse I had to come up with a rationale as to why she did it now as opposed to any of the other times that he's been about to kill someone over the last 20-25 years since she died ...


The Envoy of Shadows wound up as being female as that was the only COT that I can recall ever seeing in Pocket D ... though the fact that you do see the Envoy in human form as well as demon form did indicate to me that the creature can probably be whatever gender it chooses to be.

I didn't want Monica to be an Earthbound spirit like Ghost Widow, and having her be a run of the mill angel also was problematic.

And honestly, the idea of a counterpart to the Envoy of Shadows really appealed to me.

Unfortunately, this is one of these things that I can only dabble around the fringes as it goes a bit too far from canon than I like to play.

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My COX Fanfiction:


Blue's Assembled Story Links

Writing around canon is a tough job. I've got a story that I'm going to finish one of these days where I finally just threw up my hands and said to heck with it. If I wanted to tell the story I wanted, I'd have to just deal with mucking about in "fan canon".

I understand the business of asking a question and having the answer generate more questions. I just spent several days building a pseudo-scientific rationale for something in my robot story that I probably ought to have just waved my hands around and pressed a magic button. The problem was that I couldn't just wave my hands about certain plot points without explaining to myself why and how those things could possibly have worked out that way. I don't know if the readers appreciated it but it at least put me in the position of being able to justify the things that follow. If Monica being a footsoldier in a war between angels and devils helps fix the story in your head, more power to you.

Anyway, Stefan's story was another interesting sideways look at the signature characters, regardless of which ending you prefer.

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great story, BB

where's the next one?

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most recent 50 - psy/mm blaster

First off - I enjoyed reading the story. I love reading about villains/bad guys who have those conflicts with themselves and have to question themselvse. "Straight" villains are like "ARRGG!! No mercy ! Kill everything!!!" Is just well..boring as hell.

Secondly - I personally am not an RP person or a story teller. I have read exactly zero of the hero comics or "canon" (Whatever the hell that is)

I mainly stick to the PvP section of the boards because that's what's fun for me.

*GASP!* You've got a PvPer reading threads in the RP Section! Stop the servers!!!

But I also enjoy reading, and I enjoyed reading this a lot. As some people mentioned, I personally thought the story ended when LR spared her life, and the pocket D scene is just an epilogue. I can see why you put it in, but ultimately in my head it ended in the previous chapter.

Edit-

Favorite line
“The strong survive. The weak perish. That is as it should be.”

BTW I loved the dialogue...particularly whatever Lord Recluse said. Instead of describing him through words, I'm able to get a better look of who he is by what he says. Probably pointing out the obvious just wanted to comment on how good the dialogue was .

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