Same Broken, Same

Pesky bee

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Snif

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PARANOID BELOVED AAAAAAAAA

Little Voices

tw: body horror, blood, injuries, eyes, limbs

Chapter 7: The Doctor

(A voice is muffled. Tucked away somewhere in a dark, dark place)

A knight is on a path in the woods. And at the end of the path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a doctor.

"Hey."

The knight stops in his tracks to turn and see the barbarian, standing a short distance away from him.

He sighed "Look, you need to understand-"

"Oh, I do understand," the barbarian grumbled. "You've got people to save... I'd keep going too if it means pushing my body to its limits.

But I can't leave you anywhere here alone. You could barely stand on your own after dealing with that beast."

He barely dealt with it himself. But that was a one time thing. It's not like he was expecting a big cat in a basement waiting for its meal.

"I appreciate you coming for me after those other three refused to. I really do. But...

I'll be honest, I am more comfortable just meeting the prisoners on my own. I don't want to overwhelm them with you all, no offense."

The barbarian crossed his arms. "I guess you are good at convincing people. But I am still not going anywhere."

He leans his shoulder on a nearby tree, "I am staying right here, right now until you come back.

Don't you die on us, alright?"

That's a compromise. A bare minimum, actually, after all this time. With a bit of motivation too.

"I'll be fine. Hopefully, this won't take long."

----

Oh, this will definitely take long, alright.

The interior of the cabin looked plain. Too plain. It shouldn't be too threatening. But two things say otherwise. A table that has been flipped over... And an open doorframe. Not an open door. A doorframe. It's an incredibly dark entry way to what it is definitely the basement.

This is not good. Oh dear, this is gonna be worse than the survivor's cabin. Or the barbarian's cabin. Or anyone's- his own cabin isn't even like this.

He shook his head, trying to free himself from the shivers he is getting. If he's that scared already, imagine how the prisoner is feeling right now. It's gonna be so much worse down there, isn't it?

He immediately walked to the doorframe, not acknowledging about the mirror beside it. He then stopped at the frame, realizing how dark it actually is. If only he had a light source of some kind. And if only the static noises he can faintly hear isn't in the dark. And... If only he let the barbarian with him. But he doubt he'd be ready for this either.

He cautiously walked in. He can only see his feet and hands reaching out into the dark. But not the walls, the ceiling or the floor.

If there is any-

Shock runs through his body after he is now holding onto a ledge he can't see. He doesn't know what happened but he definitely fell down. Luckily, the terror ended when he hears a familiar metal clank hitting something wooden in a struggle. He look down to see his boot scraping along a wooden step. As careful as he is letting go of the ledge, he still stumbled on the step, trying to keep his balance.

It's like the whole staircase is floating. Not moving or wobbly but there are no walls, railings or anything structural. They're just suspended in darkness. There's that static again. It seeps from below like some kind of electricity emitting from it.

If anyone lives here, saving them is the right thing to do.

He can't hear a voice again. But he is certain that someone is here. Seeing the nature of this cabin, maybe it would make the prisoner's situation worse. He continued down, trying to balance on the steps as he is not used to not having any support near him. The increasing tingling of the static is threatening to throw him off but he won't let that happen.

The room is structured with loose wooden planks floating in darkness as walls and scattered cobble stones for the knight to step on. And in the far opposite, there is a piece of a room- like the one in his own basement- floating, with just a wall and a floor. There's a huge hole on the floor, and a chain emerging from it.

This must be where the prisoner is. While it's muffled, the knight can hear a voice with a shaky breath, hopelessly clawing up the hole,

"Help..."

It sounds so scared. It's scared.

The knight rushed to the hole to assist the poor thing. Being chained up is one thing, but being stuck in hole? That's a nightmare.

"Help me..," the voice repeats in a whisper.

It didn't sound like it is directed at the knight. It sounded aimless. Judging from a tone of exhaustion, it must have been calling out for hours.

The knight tries to lean over, about to call out, but he lost his balance and catches himself by grabbing onto the chains. The sudden movement and the knight's clutches made the prisoner below scream in terror.

The hole is dark but the prisoner is clearly struggling and pulling against the chains. The knight scrambled back to his feet on the ground and let go of the chains. The chains slowly stopped moving as the prisoner below began hyperventilating.

This is awful. The knight should have been more careful. He shakily sighed as he knelt down. The voice eventually cried out to him,

"W-Who are you?

What do you want? I-I didn't do anything!

Shit. Why did I said that?" It whispered so has quickly and hastily.

This is too much. The knight can't take it anymore.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

A yelp is heard. Then silence, though the prisoner kept hyperventilating. The knight gripped on the maw of the hole as he continued,

"I am so sorry- I didn't mean to grab the chains like that. I almost fell in."

"... Oh. You're not... You're not my captor?"

"No. Can you see me..?"

The chains then shifted for a moment. Sound of a thud on dirt can be heard.

"I-I can see now... Oh... You're- You're a knight!"

The knight nervously chuckled, "Yeah. I guess I am now..."

"Now?"

"Uh... I'll explain later-"

"Later?! Why? What are you going to do with me?"

Oh dear. Maybe he has to be more cautious with this one.

"I'm here to help you!"

"... What?" The chains shifted back, like the prisoner is holding back. "You're here to help?"

The prisoner gasped as he switched to a more accusing tone, "No! Y-you're bluffing! You're one of them, aren't you? I know what you're doing and I am not falling for it!"

"Wait- Listen-"

"O-or... You're going against them to help- Maybe you're doing this to do what's right! But- But you'll get caught! I'll get caught and then we'd both be..! Both be..?!"

The prisoner went back to his panicking state. It hurts for the knight to listen. This is why he can't rest yet while this guy is going mad.

He sighed. He has to stay calm... For the prisoner's sake.

"It's not that. I am not working for anyone..,"

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I was captured too..."

"... What- What happened?"

The knight sat down as the prisoner slowed down his breathing, "I'd rather explain it to you up here. You just have to trust me..."

Silence fell for a while until the chains shifts again. There are grunts, scratches and some gasps for air. Then hands came into view.

The knight looked on in horror as he sees that those arms are... Deformed. Like melting tar on his arms as the incoming prisoner struggles to dig his fingers into the steep dirt without slipping. A face came into view. His head is round but it's kind of melting like sweat. The knight can tell there's fear behind those fogged up, circular glasses. The prisoner grits his teeth and furrow his brow as he hesitated to raise his left hand, the one in chains.

The knight grabbed his hand, but it made a squelching sound and the prisoner winced in pain. The knight then grabbed his arm, with the clamp keeping his hands from slipping away. The knight pulled harder despite the prisoner's cries, digging his feet to push himself away from the hole until the prisoner is finally out. They watched as the hole suddenly disappeared, leaving an empty wall.

He quickly pulled his hand away from the knight and clutched his muddy hands close to his chest as he gasps for more air up here. Looking at him closer, he looks like a doctor or a professor of some sort. He has the same foggy glasses with pearly eye holders floating around him. His neat little bow and dress shirt seemed to be stained with ink and... Blood?

The doctor, shuffling back into a wall, looked at the knight in disbelief and distrust. But that distrust melts away as the knight reaches out, watching not in pity, but in worry.

The knight crawled towards and sat beside the doctor, who flinched. But he knows that this kind man won't hurt him. He wouldn't even mean to.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be so rude-"

"I know. It's okay," the knight gently puts his hand on his shoulder. Aside from the metal, it felt nice. The doctor sighed, loosened his clutching hands and looked around the room.

"... Where am I?"

"You're in a basement in a cabin. On a hill over the woods."

"... This is not a cabin..," the doctor's voice deepens but it's still apprehensive.

"Yeah, well... The other cabins don't looked like one either."

The doctor whipped his head to the knight in confusion, "There are other cabins?"

"And other prisoners like us. One more different than the other, and your reaction to this hellscape is the most reasonable so far-"

"Hold on, back it up-" The doctor waved his hands around as he shook his head. "There's more of us? Here? Why- What-

What the fuck are we doing here?"

Okay- Language. The knight may dropped some unpleasant words too, but that was unexpected for a doctor.

"Sorry, sorry- I just don't understand! Why are we here? Why am I here? In a hole of all places?" The doctor raised his hands in frustration before quickly holds them again for some reason. The knight wished he could answer if it means reassuring the doctor. He sighed as he scoots over,

"I don't know. I was in a basement too. It's awful and I don't even know why I am there...

It's just us though, a bunch of strangers, with no one watching over us."

"... Then what are those eyes doing?"

"Eyes?"

"The eyes! Do you not see them?!" The doctor whispered harshly. The knight looked around and he saw them... There are indeed eyes. Hundreds. Scattered around the dark. How come he never saw them the first time? Well, now he wished he never did. But it's not going stop him from his mission.

"It's okay,

They're just eyes. They can't do much of anything other than staring. Besides...

I'm with you now. Whatever happens here, I'll try my best to get you out. "

"And... Where would we go?"

"Literally anywhere. In the woods is where we best stay in right now."

He's too kind. Too hopeful. It's honestly sweet but it's too much in this hell.

The doctor looked at the knight's left arm and gasped. It's dented. Too dented. It left the shape of a clamp he is wearing. He reached to touch the arm, in which the knight pulled away.... But then placed it forward. The knight noticed a hole in the doctor's chest.

"Wait... What happened..?" The knight asked.

The doctor looked down and flinched to see his heart. Exposed. Beating. In a hole in his chest formed by scratches and tears. Paranoid bit his lip and covered his racing heart while clutching the knight's arm. It's hurting again, but the knight doesn't care.

The doctor said nothing and looked away, almost like he's about to cry. The knight can't help but feel awful, as if he doesn't feel awful already.

It's like... He sees himself in this doctor. The scared little knight trapped in a room calling out for help. But no one heard him. No one came to save him. Now, there's a scared little doctor trapped in a hole who called for help. This time, someone came.

The knight puta his arm around the doctor's shoulders and pulled him closer into a cuddle. The doctor whimpered and squirmed as he does this. But it felt nice. Warm and gentle. He can't help but weep quietly as the knight rubbed his back to soothe him.

"W-wha... What happened to you?" The doctor asked back, choking a little.

The knight sighed, "I called for help too. No one was there to save me but myself..."

The doctor, realizing the ordeal that the knight has dealt with, leans onto his shoulder. This is a nightmare. He wanted to wake up- To believe that this isn't happening. But now, he hopes that it's not a dream. The knight is here. He's real and he's here to save him.

"Could you maybe... Pull the clamp off?"

The doctor finally speaks up. "As... Absolutely messed up as my arms are right now, I think it's slippery enough to just slide it out."

Sounds perfect. Bashing it would be rather difficult. "Alright, but... Wouldn't that hurt?"

"I don't know- A-anything to get me out of here. Please," the doctor sniffled.

The knight took a deep breath. He hates seeing those arms- It looks gross, painful and uncomfortable. But he doesn't blame the doctor for having them.

The knight began pulling the clamp slowly, inch by inch. He noticed the doctor's wincing and breathing heavily. Knowing this will hurt, the knight grabbed his cape and hand it over to the doctor. The doctor was confused but then the growing pain caused him to bite a handful on it. He gave a thumbs up so the knight can continue. The more he pulled the clamp along the arm, the more the doctor has to stifle his screaming, chewing the cape. The worst part is when the knight had to push the thumb down to forcefully slide the clamp along.

Finally, it's over. The chains fell, the doctor opened his mouth to scream and held his arm in pain, and the knight shuffles away for a minute to take a breather. That one's the worst so far. But at least, he's free now and they can leave-

"Oh my god- I'm free! Oh, thank You- Thank you, Thank you!" The doctor, despite the agony, rushes to the knight to hug him and laughed hiysterically until he began to weep. Despite the exposed heart beating in his chest, the knight hugged back, comforting him as best as he could.

It's okay. They're okay.

"... The eyes..," the doctor suddenly whispered. Almost gasping.

"What?"

The knight lets go of the doctor just to see the eyes. More eyes as they appeared rapidly around them in the dark. The static grows so loud that they can both hear and feel it.

The doctor's breath quickens the pace in a panic, while the knight kneels and turns to shield him with his left arm. It's no doubt that the knight is growing anxious, but he kept it silent just so the doctor feels safe.

He noticed that the doctor's breathing slows down into a more... Rhythmic pace. He can almost hear him counting. His heartbeat. He's calming himself down. Good. Because honestly, the knight is getting more than anxious.

"Okay," the doctor whispered. "You can... You move away now. I... I need to get up." As he clutched his chest, he used the wall on his back to slide up and get on his feet. He stumbled as he walks so the knight followed, and put his hand on his shoulder.

The doctor looked at the knight, and noticed the fear in his eye. He can stand on his guard for him all he wants, but he is clearly scared shitless. Alright, that's it,

"Hey."

"M-mhm?"

"Are you okay?"

The knight blinked, clearly not okay but he really needs to get him out of here. He needs to be strong for his sake, like always-

"Look," the doctor interjects. "This place is terrifying, I know. But right now, we need to be in a right mindset. This cabin is just tricking us! We can't let it get to us anymore."

It's nice to see some hope growing, but the knight is gonna need more than that with his chest tightening as he grows more and more on edge. Suddenly his hand is grabbed by the doctor, who clutches it with both of his hands close to his chest. The knight is confused and a bit grossed out, but he can feel his heartbeat again as the doctor hushed him.

"Just breathe. Breathe slowly- Give it five seconds."

"But-"

"You're fine. We're fine. Deep breaths, deep breaths..."

It took the knight a while to slow down his breathing. Especially with the eyes and the static around him. But eventually he gets to counting his breaths and calming his nerves. He leans his head on the doctor's, muttering a thanks. The doctor nods and pat his hand, alerting the knight to focus.

"Okay. Let's just leave," the doctor then nervously chuckled. "Like you said... They're just eyes. If anything, they're a nuisance."

He was a bit delighted when the knight chuckled back. Even in this nightmarish place, at least there's that.

The pair walked carefully down the floating cobblestones, as the eyes stare daggers at them and the static continues to buzz. As the doctor tries to count his breaths again, the knight draws his cape over him in an attempt to cover him.

"This place is so scary- You went down here? How did you managed to not fall over?" The doctor asked as they walked up the stairs.

"Believe me. It's as nerve-wracking as you think," the knight replied. There are more eyes on them and the static kept going even up here.

As soon as they reached the top step of the stairs and the invisible ledge up there, the static grew louder, more eyes emerge in rapid speeds... And the stairs are falling one by one.

"Get up."

"What?!"

"Get up!" The knight grabs the yelping doctor by the arms and hoists him up. The doctor scrambles on the supposed ledge, leaving a mess on the "floor", until he pulls himself up. The knight grabbed onto the ledge in time before the step eventually falls.

He tries to hoist himself up but the tar causes him to keep slipping. He panics and starts kicking at nothing below him as the static continues. Eyes kept staring at him helplessly flail at the edge.

As the knight is about to fall off, the doctor desperately grabbed onto his arms, despite the burning pain of the touch.

"You're slipping!" The doctor cried both in pain and in fear for the knight. "Grab onto my shoulders!"

The knight, with one big kick, hoists himself to grab onto his shoulders, gripping at the fabric. The doctor successfully pulled the knight into his embrace and on the "floor", away from the void.

Full of adrenaline, the knight gets off of him and kicks at the floor away from the edge while dragging the doctor with him. The doctor got himself up and pulls the knight back to his feet. The two ran back into the interior of the cabin and rushed to the door.

This time, it's either locked or blocked. The knight rapidly utters a "No!" As he begins banging his fists, then his shoulders and his whole body onto the door. Meanwhile, the doctor watched in horror as white, ceramic arms began emerge from the dark, along with more eyes and static. The doctor's terrified scream cause the knight to look over and see the arms crawling slowly on the floor and and up mid-air reaching for them.

"Little knight!" The familiar voice is heard from the other side of the door, so is the frantic knock on the door. It's the barbarian.

The knight desperately bangs on the door,

"Help us! Please!"

The doctor can be seen trying to break the window that formed a glass pane. It won't budge, much to the doctor's dismay. Not even the barbarian's punching at the other window is strong enough. Filled with both determination and panic, the barbarian rushes back at the door and yelled,

"Hold on, I'll be back! Fast!"

"Wait- No!" But the knight's cries fell on deaf ears as the barbarian can be heard running away. The doctor rushed to the knight's side as the arms comes closer. The knight musters up his strength and shields the doctor behind him. If they're gonna drag the doctor back down there, they'll have to go through him.

The arms can't reach them. Not even an inch to the knight's face. They all seem to be trying but they're twitching, itching to grab hold of them. The doctor notices it and slowly steps aside. Then, he slowly walks towards them, despite the knight's protests.

The arms, with their target closer, reached for his face. But their hands kept slipping, unable to hold the doctor.

Why? How is he doing this? The knight cautiously walked behind the doctor and inch his head to see his face.

The doctor looked terrified, but his breathing is slow and steady. He's not just terrified but also... Angry. At the arms. At the eyes. At what might be the ones that kept him down there.

The eyes around them are filled with fear as the doctor stepped forward, with the arms moving back.

Oh, they're not really in control, are they?

When one arm threatens to crawl and grab for his leg, the doctor raised his foot and stomps on it. The arm broke into pieces and black blood. The doctor clenched his fists, exposing his heart and kept stomping on it as he grunts with pain and desperation, ending off with a final stomp and a gutteral scream of a man who's seen enough. Who's suffered enough.

He stepped away from the unrecognizable mess of ceramic pieces and blood. The arms slowly slinks away and the knight, witnessing all of that, comes closer to the doctor.

The doctor, splattered in blood, begins breathing sharply and almost fainted as the knight catches him to keep him up. The doctor tiredly sighed as he covered his chest and leans onto the knight. As terrifyingly visceral the doctor proved himself to be, he's still a terrified prisoner who was stuck in a hole for long enough.

"You did it," the knight softly cheered on the doctor. " That was very scary, but... You did it.."

The doctor pulled a smile as he shakily sighed, "... Thank you..."

The moment was interrupted by an incoming scream. The knight immediately drags the doctor away as the barbarian barrels through the door off of its hinges and crashes inside. The arms emerge again and despite the knight's shouts, the barbarian managed to smash a few arms into bloody pieces, fought against the hold of them and crush their hands until they slink away into the darkness. The eyes and static disappeared.

The barbarian takes a few breaths and then he cackles proudly. He look at the worried expression on the knight's face and the shock and confusion on the doctor's.

"Are you okay?" The barbarian rushes to them, with the doctor slinking behind the knight. The barbarian looked worried when he sees the knight has spots and splashes of tar and dirt on his armor, signs of some kind of struggle that he'd rather not think about.

"Yeah. We're okay now. Thank you," the knight meant it. Damn, he really needs him now that he is treading into dangerous territories... Which happened to be a bunch of cabins.

The barbarian as he looked at the doctor hiding behind him.

"You." The conviction in his voice made the doctor yelped a little.

"What the hell was that? Why were there hands coming out like that?"

The doctor stepped aside and stammers in frustration as he crossed his arms,

"H-how am I supposed to know? I was stuck in a dark hole until he shows up! They just suddenly appeared, clawing and digging at us, now that I have escaped."

"Yeah, it was creepy," the knight sighed. "Look, let's just get out of here before the mirror does that weird thing again-"

"What- What mirror?"

The barbarian and the knight looked at the doctor and each other. The barbarian shook his head but the knight sighed and walked up to the grimey mirror.

"Okay. See this?"

The doctor nodded. Then he gasped when the knight went to touch it and it disappears.

"Yes, yes," the barbarian groans. "It disappears. Let's just go-"

"Where did it go?" The doctor asked frantically. "Does it do that in every cabin? Why? Why now?"

"Okay- Let's just calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down! Where the hell are we?!" The doctor rushes to the door, entering the outside world. He froze at the sight of the identical cabins and the pitch black sky. As soon as the other two approached him, he loses his balance and his consciousness.

----

The doctor jolts awake at the sound of a campfire, sound of two people bickering and the woods.

Shit. Where is he? The doctor sits up and looked around his surroundings, the nest he is resting on and felt a sense of relief when he hears that familiar kind voice,

"It's okay. I'm here. We're here now."

The knight is sitting next to the doctor, rubbing his back to calm him down as he breathes again. So this is the place they take refuge in. In the woods, no less. But at least they're safe from that cabin.

Then another voice came in, clearing his voice, "Hey, boss?"

They both looked up to see the rogue and the cloaked man. "The spooky man wants a chat with you," The rogue gestures to the unmoving man. These two must be those bickering folks earlier, the doctor thought.

"Okay..? Just- Stay put here, okay?" The knight pats the doctor on the shoulder and gets up to follow the cloaked man. The rogue offers a make-shift cup made up of wood filled with water to the doctor.

"Here you go," the rogue politely said. "Fresh from the river and heated up just for you."

The doctor wasn't sure about the river water but he guess he was thirsty, so he hesitantly takes it.

----

"I hope you're not planning for a meaningful goodbye when this is over."

The knight stopped in his tracks as the cloaked man turned to face him after they walked into a part of forest, not far away from their camp.

"... Where is this coming from?" The knight asked.

The cloaked man sighed, "I've been waiting for a time to say this, but I see your eye everytime to look at them.

You're growing attached."

The knight furrowed his brow. And he cleared his throat,

"I know you're not the sentimental one, but what's problem with growing even a little attached? The worst thing it can come with that is the guilt of losing them."

"And I know how you react when things don't go the way you planned," the cloaked man resumed. "How much more when they won't be here for long?"

"... You're just looking out for me, are you?"

Silence...

"I just don't like your crying."

That's rude. He's not wrong, though. It's just the way he phrase it, like it's wrong to form some kind of bond with someone you rescued. Then again though, they're just prisoners. Strangers. Someone else.

The knight looked at the doctor, chatting uncomfortably but politely with the rogue. No... Even if they're strangers, there was trust that took time to form.

"It's fine," the knight sighed. "Once it's all over, we'll be on our separate ways. Maybe see each other sometime... If it means you having your own time and not with others forever."

The cloaked man looked to his side. Contemplating. And he just walked passed the knight, whispering to his ear,

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

The knight stood there for a while. But he shook his head out of it. Not now. He's got people he needs to save. But it's going to be more difficult now.

---

"Hey."

The barbarian turned to face the knight, after he interrupted his chat with the survivor.

"Wanna go with me?" The knight asked, which made the barbarian grinned.

"Already?" The survivor asked. "But you were in danger..."

"So are the prisoners left in those cabins."

"Come on..," the slave sitting on a rock caught their attention. "How many cabins does it take for you to realize you're only hurting yourself?"

"All of them, probably," the knight answered. "Besides, I got him on my side."

"Yeah," the barbarian stood by his side confidently. "Leave it to the pros."

"I-I can come too," they turned to see the doctor in the nest. Him?

"Uh, well- Sir," the rogue nervously gestured around. "I think the knight would rather have you safe here-"

But the doctor put down the drink and got up to walk up to the two. "I don't feel safe with you out there either. I don't know how to help exactly, but I feel like I should."

The knight nodded, glad to see the growing courage in him. The barbarian chuckled sarcastically, "The more, the merrier."

The doctor caught on and scoffed, "Okay, but... What about them?"

"I can keep them safe," the survivor answered. "As long as you three make it out alive."

"Actually!" The rogue rose to his feet. "I keep them safe first. As long as you bring a beneficial member as always."

"I'll just be here... Moping," the slave adds.

The cloaked man just stood there, nodding. The knight nods back.

"Alright... Let's go."

The knight and barbarian went ahead, while the doctor stays for while. He counts his breathing to ready himself.

Alright, he's ready.

---

Back at it again with my design sketches this time with the Voice of The Cheated

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Height comparison for these two if anyone cares

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I really like Laios can you tell

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OLANDY BELOBED

teehee i missed these goobers, silly doodle to celebrate finally getting a break from classwork (spring break 💕🪴)

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Alright, I'm back with this Idea

Just gonna post them here before I even lose them aaaa-

Continue down here:

That's... That's Hunted and Broken btw (I haven't drawn the rest yet dw-)

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Why hello jsabers, what's good,,

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Ahshhrhdndzj

the sillyyyyy

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