| Quintaped
Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: in my head [GMT-6]
Posts: 58,799
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Amelia Adara
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Emma Montmorency (#301199)
Hufflepuff Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Kartik Ishaan Joshi
Ravenclaw Sixth Year Gryffindor Second Year Slytherin Third Year
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|  YesJess! | Captain Goggles | Mama Badger | Eva's Soul Sister | An OG™ | It's all in the Numbers
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Originally Posted by Lottiepot  The list of brooms seemed to be getting longer and longer and Caolan listened to his classmates keep rambling on until they came to a stop. He hadn’t written anything down yet and glanced around to see whether anyone else had, glad that he didn’t seem to be the only one. The Professor moved on to explain what they were going to be doing in class. His eyes glanced over the brooms that were in front of him of all different shapes and sizes. He had only ridden one type of broom before, in fact he had only ridden ONE broom at all and that was the one that he had written about in his assignment. They were released to do their activity and he waited a few seconds for someone else to move before he did, not wanting to look too eager or anything.
The first broom to get his attention was the Oakshaft 79. This time he actually bothered to get his notepad and pen quill out to make notes rather than talk to anyone else. The handle seemed to be made of oak, the first observation he wrote down, and it was pretty crooked too. From first observation it looked like a pretty hefty and chunky broom too, perhaps an indication of its lack of use as a Quidditch broom.
He moved onto the next broom in the list, the Cleansweep 30. It had a bit of a thicker handle too and appeared to be made of a similar type of oak to the other broom he had seen. He made sure to scribble down his notes before he moved on. You see the problem was that Caolan wasn’t naturally a flyer, he enjoyed it whilst he was out there but he didn’t obsessively follow Quidditch and so his knowledge was a little bit limited. He was going to move along but there was something about the Cleansweep that was begging him to stay. So it was the Cleansweep that he mounted and felt rise up that four foot into the air.
Awesome!
...
At least it was until a bludger came flying towards him and he had to narrowly avoid it with a quick lean to the left. That was close.
Ooopssss ... perhaps the bludgers weren't such a good idea??? At least he narrowly missed it but Amelia was definitely going to have to keep her eyes on the flyers.
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Originally Posted by Jessiqua Lists were a thing Hanna loved, so being able to do a compare and contrast activity in class was great. And with brooms! Even though they only flew a little distance, it was still going to be something interesting. Hanna had never really flown a broom with the purpose of describing what was good about it, and comparing it to something else. She'd just taken them for a ride and decided if she liked it or not.
Taking a fresh piece of parchment and resting it on a hard-back book, with a freshly inked quill, she wrote down the names of the brooms and began to note down the appearances. Step One.
With her quill carefully placed away, Hanna went towards the Jollyrocket, just as Professor Adara announced their next activity. It wasn't a bad thing that what she thought was the best broom was right in her hands. She hooked a leg over and kicked off, just as the bludgers and cotton balls were released. Both trying to dodge the bludgers and get her wand out of its holster, she narrowly avoided being hit. She knew how to ride this broom, being that she owned one. Pointing the handle down, she dove away from the bludger, then tilted it back up, easily avoiding a clash with the ground.
Her wand was still grasped tightly in her hand, and she flew towards one of the white cotton balls. "Colovaria," she said, her wand pointing at it. It turned a Ravenclaw blue! Ahhh sooo her task hadn't gone unnoticed, but perhapsss just maybe she could sneak a few colour changes in for her own former house. She'd have to wait for the opportunity but yes, good on Hanna. Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Hmmm, which broom did Nettie want to try? Her Nimbus was obviously going to be her favorite, because it was HERS. The one she was really hoping to try had been a Firebolt, but that hadn't been one of the options sadly. She'd never heard of the Jollyrocket before, so she decided to go with that one. She waited until it was her turn and then got on.
She examined the quality of the broom first. The seat was very comfortable - much more comfortable than the school brooms she'd had to suffer through during her first term. She also noticed that the broom handle was very slick - but was it TOO slick maybe? Perhaps not if she had her flying gloves on, but for everyday flying...
She then rose in to the air slowly. It turned very smoothly, just as her Nimbus did. She was able to rise and lower with ease, although with the slick handle she felt like she had to grip extra hard to prevent herself from sliding up and down.
Alright, that had been...fun. Interesting. Still didn't hold a candle to her broom! She lowered the broom and disembarked, handing it off to the next person.
And Nettie was getting to exploring the flight pattern of her new favorite broom but a glance at her parchment, well, perhaps the sleekness was something that she would appreciate as she got older?
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Originally Posted by Felixir Okay, now he was all set with the visual comparisons, Abra was gonna start giving these brooms test flights. Aka the fun part. But no sooner had Abra reached the Oakshaft than had Professor Adara declared the next part of the activity.
Avoiding... bludgers.
Abra looked doubtfully at the Oakshaft 79 in his hand, wondering if it would actually be any good at helping him do such a thing. Somehow, he seriously doubted it, but he still needed to test ride the broom, so...
... Okay. OKAY. He would fly it for THIRTY SECONDS, and then switch brooms. That ought to be enough. As for changing those cotton balls different colours, Abra was going to pass on that, just while he was on the Oakshaft, because he felt like he'd need to put all his concentration into avoiding the bludgers. AND making sure the bludgers didn't hit the broom. Honestly, wouldn't that just actually be his luck.
So, now in a bit of a hurry and wanting to get this part over with, Abra swung his leg over the broom and kicked off into the air. Adara hadn't been kidding; these brooms didn't exactly reach impressive heights. The Oakshaft did seem sturdy enough, and now he himself had experienced getting it into the air, he no longer doubted its flying capabilities. It really didn't feel very agile, though, which was worrisome, given the current activity. Abra urged it onwards as fast as he could, but it didn't reach very spectacular speeds either, not like a racing broom. Dodging the bludgers was a stressful situation, Abra really had to tug the broom this way and that as he heard the heavy iron balls eeeeEEEEEeeeeeing towards him from either side. Maybe it was just that he was so used to his own broom, built in the last few years and finely tuned to him, and extremely expensive (but not because it was an antique).
The thirty seconds were up, and Abra wasted no time in dismounting and setting the broom down in order to exchange it for one of the Cleansweeps. He mounted the newer broom, drew his wand, and kicked off into the air again, this time aiming to change the colours of the cotton balls. After this, he would take a quick break to add to his notes, just in case they were to be handed in at the end of the lesson or something. Amelia had literaaalllyyyy no doubts that Abraham Botros would be efficient at dodging the bludgers. SORRY but just cause HE lacked the self confidence, she knew of his history with flying and that he did fairly well seeking. Soooo she wasn't surprised that he did well.
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Originally Posted by Bazinga Why was she having a hard time following what was going on? She knew they were to be comparing the brooms, but that seemed really... boring? Maybe that was why she was struggling. Looking at the broom in her hand she could tell the difference a little, but she wanted to just get on and fly, so could they just do that?
She wrote down more notes about the broom in her hand before going to the next one. This was lighter in color but felt heavier than the first. Honestly, she didn't really think she'd like flying this in a match. It seemed too heavy to zip around quickly after the snitch.
Looking up with the professor spoke again and Chloe jumped on a broom. She was ready for this part! What broom was she trying out again? Oh yes the Jollything, moving around she dodged a bludger before raising her wand, "colovaria " she watched as a white cotton ball turned blue. Was the young McCarthy girl having trouble focusing? If so, honestly, Amelia had zero clue because she did NOT read minds, sadly. But she was going to keep an eye and it seemed she was flying sooo for that she got a nod of approval as another cotton ball changed blue. Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Thankfully, Nettie had been able to avoid the bludgers as she'd been testing the Jollyrocket. Thank goodness. As she got on the Cleansweep, however, and started to take off, she could see one coming out of the corner of her eye. She moved quickly to the right, narrowly missing it, because the broom wasn't nearly as smooth as the Nimbus. Perhaps she was just super biased, but it seemed like ALL these brooms just couldn't hold a candle to her perfect, perfect broom.
What was the point of the cotton balls again? She'd been so focused on taking notes on the Jollyrocket that she'd missed the importance of it - but she did hear the bit about changing the colors. "Colovaria!" she exclaimed, pointing her wand at the cotton ball that flew past her. This was kind of hard to do while flying around...good thing Quidditch didn't require any spell casting.
She finally landed and got off the Cleansweep. Meh. Under impressed. She wrote some more notes down on her parchment before looking for the next one she was going to test.
And Nettie was moving right along and onto the Cleansweep. Nice reliable broom manufacturer that has definitely been around for decades. Quote:
Originally Posted by natekka SPOILER!!: Greeting/Assignment + Question 1 During Tessa's month-long punishment for taking Polyjuice potion as a prank, the flying lessons had become some of her favourite lessons because it meant being outside!!! She had been confined to the Gryffindor Common Room, with the exception of mealtimes and lessons, which she had been escorted to, and being inside for so long really, REALLY drained her energy. If the punishment had been good for anything (aside from giving her time reflect and regret, of course) it was that it gave her more motivation to study. She was on top of all her homework and studying!
But still felt guilty about the Polyjuice incident, so she kept her head lowered as she walked across the pitch, only looking up to offer the Professor a small smile and a greeting. "Good morning, Professor." She then dropped off her assignment in the box.
When Professor Adara asked them to name different broomstick models, Tessa raised her hand, the Firebolt in her mind. But then Abra said that one so she dropped her hand again and kept thinking. She wracked her brain - like, really wracked it - for a model that hadn't been said, trying to remember what was written in Quidditch Through the Ages. "There's the Twigger...Twigger 90, I think?" That was an old one and she didn't think it was that good, either.
They soon moved on to an activity, which Tessa thought sounded very easy and...a little boring. Before she even tried out any of the brooms, she jotted down a few notes about the different brooms' appearances as well as a few general notes.
Then, as she was about to mount the Oakshaft, Professor Adara decided to mix things up a little by releasing two bludgers. Was this really necessary? Boring wasn't bad! The task had been to compare and test out the different models. How were they supposed to properly think about that while avoiding getting hit by bludgers? And some of these brooms were really SLOW, too. Sure, there were only two bludgers and a larger number of students but....still....
Tessa mounted the Oakshaft - oh, how she wished she had been nearer a different broom - and kicked off the ground, flying a measly four feet into the air. This suuuuuuuucked. She took her wand out its holster and turned it on one of the dumb little cotton balls. "Colovaria!" Pause. "Colovaria!" Both of the targeted cotton balls turned red. Now, could she get off this broom now? She knew everything she needed to know about it. It was reliably TERRIBLE, especially at manoeuvring, she noticed when she just barely managed to avoid a bludger. Slowwww did not mean BAD though and surely Tessa would understand this. And also the bludgers were just a distraction but fortunately Amelia had charmed them to not act like normal bludgers and while they might get close to a student flying, the students might soon see that the bludgers acted almost as an opposing magnetic force and came close but wouldn't actually hit. Because she hadn't prepared them with beater's bats and last thing she wanted was broken bones on her watch that she would have to heal. So yea, non-harming bludgers ... just a distraction.
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Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Which one did she want to do next? Nettie tapped her chin, looking over the rest of her options, and then decided to go with the Blasting Star. A lot of these brooms she'd never heard of before - granted, her research of brooms hadn't been THAT extensive when she'd gotten hers.
Grabbing the Blasting Star, she got on the broom and kicked off. She rose in the air, testing the turns and dips while also keeping her eye on those bludgers. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be headed towards her any time soon. She DID spot a cotton ball flying nearby and raised her wand. "Colovaria!" she exclaimed, watching as the cotton ball turned blue.
Eh, the Blasting Star had been NICE, but didn't blow it out of the water. She did appreciate the way it turned so smoothly, and it rose and fell in height very quickly, which was good for those tricky situations on the Quidditch pitch.
The blasting star. A clearly novice broom and would no doubt be boring for the third year but yet Amelia was impressed with her determination to try the different brooms regardless. Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Oh, so they were going to test drive the brooms? Tina smiled to herself, barely able to contain the rush of excitement as Professor Adara explained the activity. *Being right and flying were two of her favorite things, so putting the two together made this the best class ever! Her smile faded slightly when she heard the brooms would only fly four feet in the air. That was no fun! She wanted to fly high, but she supposed she could She reached into her bag for a quill and her notebook and neatly wrote down the name of each broom model present, organized in alphabetical order. She paced in front of the brooms, taking careful note of their length, twigs, and overall appearance. Then she picked them up one by one to test their weight and feel of the handle. When she was done examining each broom, she wrote her preliminary descriptions in her notes.
Now which broom should she fly first? Tina's dark eyes raked over the brooms once more. Definitely not the Oakshaft! As curious as she was about the antique broom, it seemed to be the most popular option so far, and there was only one of it. She didn't feel like vying for a chance to ride the Oakshaft, thank you very much, so she was just going to let her classmates go first and come back to that one after testing the others. The Cleansweep and the Jollyrocket caught her eye, but in the end, she decided to stick with alphabetical order.
Tina mounted a Blasting Star. It was a little hard to get on - her gangly frame and the broom's shorter handle length were not a good combination, but she managed by scrunching up as small as she could. So far, so good. The takeoff was smooth, and it was fairly comfortable to sit on… though Tina could feel a few bumps here and there. Nothing too distracting though. It wasn't as fast as she would've liked, but it kept a consistent speed… until she came to the turns. *There was a slight lag. Overall, it wasn't bad, but not quite Tina's cup of tea.
She put back the Blasting Star and picked up a Cleansweep to try next, but before she could take off, Professor Adara released the bludgers and cotton balls. Huh? She was only doing this now? Why not at the start? Now Tina's findings for the Blasting Star were probably inaccurate because she tested it before the bludgers were added, and she doubted she'd have enough time to re-test it. But there was nothing she could do about it. Feeling slightly annoyed, Tina mounted the Cleansweep and took off. Takeoff was a bit faster than the Blasting Star, and the ride was much more comfortable. She hardly felt any bumps! The speed was better too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bludger coming toward her and nudged the broom to the right. Okay, turns were a little harder to negotiate on this one, but she still liked this broom. It reminded her a lot of her old Comet!
Two brooms down, three to go. Tina looked at her list, taking a quick moment to jot down her findings for the brooms she'd tested so far. What was next on the list? The Jollyrocket, awesome! This was the one Tina was most excited to try. She eagerly picked up one of the brooms and mounted. Takeoff was even faster this time, and in almost no time, the broom picked up a lot of speed. Tina whizzed past a couple of the cotton balls, aiming a quick “Colorvaria!” as she went. She looked back just long enough to see them turn blue before turning the broom around. Nice, smooth turns, no lag in speed… Tina liked this broom! Maybe even enough to consider a Jollyrocket instead of a Nimbus for her new broom.
There were only two brooms left on Tina's list after she wrote her findings for the Jollyrocket: the Oakshaft and the Shooting Star. Breaking with alphabetical order, she went for the Shooting Star next, as there were more of it to go around than the Oakshaft. The broom looked cheaply made compared to the others, but Tina supposed you couldn't judge a book by its cover. She mounted and kicked off; the takeoff was so-so, faster than the Blasting Star but nowhere near as fast as the Cleansweep or the Jollyrocket. The ride was a lot bumpier too! She flew along at the top speed the broom would reach - which was still not fast enough for her liking - but as she turned to avoid a bludger, the broom lost a lot of speed. In fact, it seemed the more she tried to urge it to go faster, the slower it went. And was it just her or was she flying lower than when she started. It was safe to say this was her least favorite of the available brooms!
Tina dismounted the Shooting Star and took a quick moment to write down her findings. Now only the Oakshaft was left to try; she was pleased to see it vacant. Looks like it was a smart idea to save it for last! Tina just stared in awe of the piece of history for a moment, admiring its craftsmanship. It must've taken someone a lot of time and effort to make it! She was almost afraid to try it out; she didn't want to break it! She mounted and kicked off much more gently than she had the more modern brooms. This one was not very comfortable to sit on, but despite the lack of cushioning charms, it was a pretty steady ride. The takeoff was smooth, and it kept a consistent speed. *Tina wasn't even going to try going fast on this broom! She coasted along, casting a “Colorvaria!” at a cotton ball on her left to turn it blue. She'd just aimed her wand to do the same to another ball ahead on her right when she saw a bludger coming straight for her. Yikes! She tried to turn, but this broom was harder to maneuver than she'd expected. Oh, no! She did NOT want to be the person to damage a priceless antique. So the broom couldn't go very fast, and it was hard to turn; there was no way to go but… UP!
Tina nudged the Oakshaft upward just in time. Phew! Now it was time to get this broom back on the ground before anything happened to it! She gently touched down and dismounted, laying the broom down neatly where she found it. Then she returned to the towel where she'd been sitting at the start of class to record her final observations.
Text Cut: Tina's findings
Tina Dantes
Fifth year, Ravenclaw
Blasting Star: With the exception of the Oakshaft, the broom had the least compact appearance. The twigs are bushier than the racing brooms. The handle is much thinner than the Cleansweep and Oakshaft but feels a little thicker than the Shooting Star. It also looks a bit shorter than the others. Is this because it was designed to be beginner friendly?
The flight was mostly slow and steady. The seating was comfortably cushioned, though I felt an occasional bump. While this broom didn't reach the speed of the Cleansweep or Jollyrocket, it maintained a mostly consistent rate of speed throughout; the few lags I saw came at the turns. I tested this broom first, so it's possible my findings would've been different with the addition of the bludgers.
Cleansweep: This broom has a sleek appearance; good length, compact twigs, thick handle though not as thick as the Oakshaft. The handle appears to be made of oak, though it's darker in color than tye oakshaft. It must be a different type of oak (possibly Spanish oak?) In design, it somewhat resembles my own Comet. You can tell it was designed to be a racing broom.
In flight, this broom was one of the fastest of the ones tested. It has comfortable seating with no bumps - possibly due to a built-in anti-vibration feature. It handles well, though the thicker handle makes for difficult maneuvering. It appears to lose some speed at turns, though I don't know if it's because of the broom itself or the thick handle making turns harder.
Jollyrocket: This was the sleekest- looking model available for resting. The handle is nice and long, thinner than the Oakshaft and Cleansweep but thicker than the Shooting Star and Blasting Star, and it has the glossiest polish.
This broom performed best in flight. It had the fastest speed overall and accelerated quickly. It was easy to maneuver in turns, and it lost the least amount of speed while turning. This broom maintained a consistent speed and height throughout - no sudden lags or dips.
Oakshaft 79: This broom has an overall rougher appearance than the others. The handle is made of oak, a lighter color than the Cleansweep, and has a thick sturdy feel to it. Though long, it is crooked and knotted, and it lacks the polish typically applied to mass-produced brooms. The twigs are also more crooked than the others and stick out in all directions.
Flightwise, this broom is slow but reliable; it's easy to see it was meant for endurance flying! It picked up the least amount of speed, though it was the most consistent in maintaining the speed it did reach - no sudden acceleration or deceleration. Like the Cleansweep, *there's some difficulty negotiating turns. Is this a common thing with oak brooms?
Shooting Star: This broom has the general appearance of a racing broom -long sleek handle, compact twigs - though it looks less well-made than the Cleansweep or the Jollyrocket. Possibly due to the company's reputation for making the cheapest racing brooms? The handle is thinner than the Cleansweep and the Oakshaft - definitely not made of oak.
This broom was a mixed bag in flight. The ride itself was fairly comfortable; the broom has decent cushioning, but I felt a lot of vibration. It takes off smoothly and handles turns better than the Cleansweep or the Oakshaft, but it started losing speed and height halfway through.
Why she didn't release the bludgers and cotton balls at the beginning? Because she wanted to get the students used to flying on the sample brooms first. Can't have too many variables. But she nodded at the older Ravenclaw, as she was moving right along with the trying of the brooms. Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir See, this broom was nipping about a bit. This was much better, but it was a shame they couldn't go very high. Abra didn't really see why they weren't allowed to fly up high, unless it was to protect the brooms somehow, but he didn't say anything of the sort. Just flew and dodged left and right to avoid bludgers (there didn't seem to be much point in trying to rise and dive), and turned those cotton balls red whenever he passed one.
"Colovaria," he cast, as he nipped past yet another of the little cotton balls. He focused on the colour red and, lo and behold, it turned red as he tapped it with his wand. Abra supposed he should really be trying to cast the spell non-verbally at this point, but he was already test-riding a broom, dodging bludgers, and changing the colour of those cotton balls, which seemed like enough to be getting on with in one go. "Colovaria." Another cotton ball turned red.
He'd spent plenty of time on the Cleansweep, so Abra flew back to where his things were, dismounted the broom again, and went back to note down a few more things.
SPOILER!!: Parchment
Oakshaft 79: Looks difficult to ride, like an actual antique, which I suppose it is. Doesn't really look like it's fit for much more than sweeping the floor, let alone a long flight, but I suppose that's because I'm used to racing and Quidditch brooms being nimble and everything. (AFTER TEST RIDE) It definitely flies, and it feels sturdy, but maybe a little too sturdy, it doesn't feel very agile and I do not recommend it for avoiding bludgers. It definitely feels like a travelling broom, which makes sense, because that was what it is. Was? Is???
Cleansweep 30: More nimble-looking than the Oakshaft by far. Looks like you could really trust it when zooming about playing Quidditch. If I didn't have my own broom, I'd probably give one of these a go while playing Seeker. (AFTER TEST RIDE) A MUCH better flight than the Oakshaft, especially while trying to speed about and avoid things. Responded well to touch when turning and braking, and really feels like a racing broom.
Blasting Star: Not my kind of broom. Looks pretty basic but still more adaptable than the Oakshaft. Apparently a good broom for starting out. Looks like it.
Shooting Star 4000: Sleekest looking tail twigs, from what I can see. That kind of thing is good for speed. In fact, the whole broom looks really sleek and agile.
Jollyrocket: Definitely a broom. Looks like it flies well and has been well-maintained so should be a relatively smooth flight. Probably better for recreational flying than the Oakshaft but I think it has that in common with the Cleansweep and the Shooting Star.
Why weren't they allowed to fly high was to protect them and alsoooo because it wasn't necessary for THIS lesson. Other lessons, definitely but this was more about learning speeds of the brooms and how well they seemed to traverse over distances. Of course not that Amelia would share that explanation because Abra hadn't voiced his concerns and again, not a mind-reader. Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Now for the next one...hmm. Shooting Star seemed like a good one to try, since she'd just done the Blasting Star. Might as well keep up with the trend. She walked over to the Shooting Star and picked it up, looking it over and taking mental notes on it. The handle wasn't as shiny and smooth as she would have liked. The twigs were all nice and neat, though. That was good.
She got on the broom and kicked off, just in time to see a bludger coming RIGHT at her. She ducked and pushed down on the broom, which dipped immediately. That was good - the reaction time was fast. She then took off, finding it surprisingly agile and also REALLY fast. Much faster than she had expected!
Spotting a cotton ball nearby, she waved her wand and muttered "Colovaria!" as she passed it, watching with a smile as it turned blue. Dodging one last bludger, she landed the broom, handing it off to the next person in line and making more notes.
At yet another blue cotton ball appearing, Amelia couldn't help herself but non-verbally using the spell to change a cotton ball or two (or three) to yellow. And even though Hufflepuffs wouldn't be winning this small mini challenge, she got satisfaction in seeing the yellow color regardless. But alas, time was up.
"Right soooooo it seems we're out of time so finish up your flight on your current broom and bring it in." Amelia announced loudlyyyy enough for anyone to hear much thanks to the use of a sonorous charm. Flicking her wand she reigned the bludgers in and wrestled them into their box, making mental note to return them back to their usual state before the first quidditch match. "A few last minute thoughts, is do you agree still on your aforementioned favorite broom? Do you think any of the brooms I've brought today are better after having the opportunity to fly them? And any last minute thoughts or questions on the different brooms?"
"Ravenclaws, as a reward for most color changes, if you wish to stay longer and fly an extra thirty minutes, you may. Everyone else, class is dismissed." ooc: I'll close the thread in 12-15 hours but some final questions for you to answerrrr and lesson is basically over. Thank you for coming and bearing with me <333
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