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To his relief, between the combined effort of both of their Pokémon, the injured Staraptor started to relax further. Between how tired it looked and the fact it looked tired, Ever speculated that it wouldn’t try to fight them anymore if either of them approached, so he indicated that the young woman should use her potion on the wild Pokémon.
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Just as he thought, despite using the potion and despite their combined efforts, the Staraptor wasn’t fully healed yet. “I was afraid of that. Whatever injured it really did a number on it. Not to worry though, my superiors will take care of the rest,” he told the teen before taking out a pokeball and turning more fully towards the teen.
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“In order for us to transport it, we have to temporarily catch it. And the best way to CAPTURE it is to use a pokeball. When it’s fully recovered, we release it back to the wild. We do it this way because it’s easier to prevent it from worsening its injuries,” he told her before moving closer to the Staraptor, making sure to appear as non-threatening as possible.
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Once close enough, he would talk softly to the staraptor to keep it calm before getting the staraptor into the Pokémon. Once that was done, he would turn back to the teen. “Thanks for the help. I can’t say I’ve come across many civilians trying to do our job. It’s for reasons like this that I often go on patrols even when I don’t need to. Anyway, my name’s Ever.”
[break] Thea Naito

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At the question, he stiffened. “How would I know something like that? My mother died during childbirth, and her parents gained custody of me when I was sixteen,” he said, somewhat evading the question while sticking to the truth.
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His father had never been a nice man, and he’d never met anyone from that side of the family, so it wasn’t like he wasn’t being honest. If anything, it bothered him that his grandparents could care for him even though he had taken their daughter from them. His father hadn’t been able to see past that, so why had they been able to?
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Mentally shaking himself, he followed the other into the spacecraft. Of course he knew he wouldn’t be forced to do anything he didn’t want to. But he has to see it. He needed more proof of how messed up the world was. Or maybe he just likes making himself suffer. Because yeah, that made perfect sense. Just the idea of that even being a reason made him want to roll his eyes.
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Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he slipped past the older male just enough to look at the fate of the crew. Just like Razz had said, it wasn’t a pretty sight. And yet, at the same time, it wasn’t as bad as he had thought it would be. Maybe because he hadn’t bore witness to the crew dying. Sure, they had found their bodies, but there was something about seeing a gruesome death scene that differentiated from watching a gruesome death actually happy.
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Both vastly different, but both brought up the same turmoil of feelings. A feeling of weakness being the strongest. He hated feeling weak, but an inability to prevent stuff like this from happening made him feel just like that.
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The sound of fighting is what would draw him out of his thoughts. Turning, he would immediately make his way back to the exit. Seeing the tower like a beast, he friend. Weren’t those the things they had fought last time? Before he could think too much on it, Razz had his Buzzwole use a move that would have knocked those ultra beasts out or at least gotten them to back off.
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Not bothering to see the outcome of the battle, he would turn back to the older male when he mentioned leaving, with a nod. Yeah, he was over his place at the moment.[break] Raziel Beckett

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Luckily for Airi, Ever was actually in Slatesport on other business when he got her call for aid. Despite being fairly close, he hopped in the back of his Corviknight before taking off in the direction. Upon looking down, he was relieved he had made the call to use Rook to get to the beach; getting through that panicked crowd just to get to the beach would’ve been a nightmare.
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As he neared the beach, he didn’t even wait for the great steel bird to completely descend before jumping off. Luckily he wasn’t too high up, so he didn’t even stumble from his little stunt. "Rook, keep an eye on things above,” he told the Corviknight, getting a nod in return before the steel type took higher to the skies.
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Trusting Rook to do as he was told, he made his way over to the fellow ranger. “Anything more you can tell about the situation,” he asked as he studied the cruise ship. It was a bit weird that Silicobra had ended up on the beach led alone on a cruise ship. Perhaps they had been looking for shade. It had been pretty hot lately after all. Even hot for Pokémon who preferred the heat.
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Rather or not, she answered, he would head on top the cruise ship, releasing Flash from his Pokéball, trusting the feline Pokémon’s hearing and sense of smell better than his own. Once they found the snake Pokémon, he would replace Flash with Celestia or one of his other pokemon, considering an electric type wouldn’t really do well against a ground type in case they ended up getting attacked.[break] AIRI WATANABE

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He had been out and about since the early hours of dawn. Not that that was too surprising. As someone who usually didn’t really sleep, he didn’t really have anything to do but get a head start on his day. Unfortunately, this being one of his rare days off on his ranger duties, he had nothing better to do than spend the day on his second job, which wasn’t near as kind-consuming as his ranger duties.
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It was so easy to distract himself when it came to his ranger duties. When it came to his photography, sometimes his mind just wandered. And a lot of times his mind would wander to dark places. Which wouldn’t be so bad if it was just memories of living with his father he had to worry about, but now he had to worry about other things, like the time he had been abducted, among other things.
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Mentally shaking himself, he refocused on the task at hand. Snapping a picture of Flash standing in a small field of flowers, he almost smiled. There was just something so serene about seeing a Pokémon in a field of flowers. After snapping a couple more pictures, he called the feline Pokémon over to him.
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Once the Zeroara was by his side, he looked around for Rook. Finally spotting him enjoying himself in the sky, he relaxed. Not wanting to get in the way of his fun, he didn’t bother calling out to him. Besides, he trusted the Corviknight to follow if he decided to go somewhere else.
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But before that...
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He had just pulled up the pictures on his camera to browse through them when he thought of hearing something. Frowning, he looked around but didn’t see anything. Before he could decide what to do, Flash was walking off, presumably in the direction he had thought he heard something.
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Huffing he followed after the electric type. To his surprise, they would come across someone he knew. Figuring it was too late just to go back, he waved the larger than average Zeroara back before speaking.
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“Anastasia, how unexpected to see you here.” [break] Anastasia Harmon

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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Ever looked at him for a few seconds before looking away. “My grandparents,” he said but didn’t elaborate. Opening up wasn’t exactly his forte. Especially when it came to stuff that connected to his past. He had opened up to Josh Devlin and Nikita Sokolov, but both instances had been different. The detective had already known, and he had been dealing with a lot of stuff when it came to the gym leader.
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Glad to have something else to do, he followed the older Ranger down below on Rook. The spaceship that greeted them caused him to stiffen. He could’ve gone a lifetime without ever setting eyes on another spaceship. Just the sight of one, even if it looked different, made him think of the ordeal he had been in where he and many others had been abducted.
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“Do you want to check out the inside?” he asked, ignoring everything in him that was telling him to stay far away from the ship. He wasn’t going to run away just because of a few bad memories. Besides, putting aside his feelings was what he was used to.
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As wrapped up in his inner turmoil as he was, unlike Razz, he didn’t miss the stomping in the distance. However, with the older ranger not reacting along with the memories the spaceship had dredged up, he dismissed the stomps in the distance as his mind played tricks on him.
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It wouldn’t be the first time his mind had played tricks on him. It had happened a lot when he had first come to live with his grandparents.[break] Raziel Beckett

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His arm still wasn’t completely healed, but due to his persistence in asking to be allowed to work, his superiors relented, on the condition that he take it easy. So basically, no throwing himself in harm's way. It wasn’t like he did it on purpose. He was still sticking to the story that trouble seemed to find him, so he would put his own life on the line for someone else’s who wouldn’t? Apparently trying to make himself a target to keep someone else safe or throwing himself in the midst of a fight to keep someone else from being hurt made him too reckless.
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Just the thought of having to limit what he did when it came to his work made him huff in annoyance. However, he would grudgingly accept the terms put in place in order to return to his ranger duties. It was better than nothing. Better than having to sit at home alone with his own thoughts. Anything was better than that.
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When he finally received his first mission after his return to duties, he was relieved. He didn’t even care if it had to do with stopping Pokémon or if his superiors reminded him of the stipulation in place.
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Yeah yeah yeah, he got it. He would keep one of his Pokémon out at all times and make sure he didn’t get in the middle of any Pokémon battle that might start up. He wasn’t stupid.
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Taking Corviknight to Fallabor, he would get off and return the steel bird to his pokeball, replacing Rook with a shiny Galarian Rapidash. Knowing the meaning of being quiet, the prideful horse followed after the ranger as he made his way to where people had seen the Passiman. To his surprise, he would run into someone en route.
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“What are you doing?” he asked rather bluntly.[break] Yvaine Varron

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“It was a nice thought at a time before I truly realized just how deep his hatred was. It’s not as simple as him having anger issues. My mother died giving birth to me, and he can’t get over the fact I survived when she didn’t. Just being thought of as a killer hurts worse off. I can take the beatings; it’s the words that cut deep, as silly as that is.”
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Seriously, it was just some words. Was he really that much of a crybaby? In reality, he knew he hadn’t really cried over anything since he was like six or seven. That had been around the time he realized crying didn’t actually solve anything and often made things worse.
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“Probably not, but it’s not like I have a cellphone,” he pointed out, almost like he was reading the others thoughts. Or maybe it was easy to figure out that’s where someone’s line of thinking would go. “My father wouldn’t waste that kind of money on me. And he’s confident enough that I can lie my way out of a situation that may have people looking closely at him,” he told him.
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That, and he was pretty sure his dad had eyes on him. Sure, his dad wasn’t the nicest towards him behind closed doors, but he was charismatic enough to have garnered some friends.
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Glaring down at the table, he let out a huff. “You’ll be surprised at how many people turn the other way if you throw enough money at them. That’s besides the point,” he said with a shake of his head. “I didn’t even make it to the next town. Perhaps a neighbor saw me and mentioned it to my father, or even back then he had eyes on me. I sometimes notice people following me; they always seem to disappear when I come in here.”
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Almost like they didn’t want to be seen. Who would’ve figured?
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He noticed way more than his father gave him credit for. He could actually shake his father's friends or whoever they were to him if he really wanted to, but that would tip his father off that he was smarter than he seemed. No, it was actually best to just play it safe until he actually had a plan. And now it seemed he finally had one. Or at least the beginning of one.
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Simply nodding, he downed the rest of his coffee before throwing the cup away. Making sure he had everything he was about to make his exit when the older male spoke once more. “Don’t remind me, not looking forward to admitting what’s been going on,” he said with a small sigh before leaving and making his way back home.
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Once there, he would make sure his father was still gone before making a beeline for his room. Once in his room he would pull up some loose floor boards where he had stored things just in case he got the chance to run again and would gather it together.[break] Nikita Sokolov

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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The urge to snap that not everyone had a good childhood was strong. Biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from snapping at his friend. He must really be suffering from the lack of sleep to be so tired. Usually he was able to wave us most stuff that would be annoying. It was taking everything in him not to come off like he was overreacting to a simple comment.
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He had to keep reminding himself that most people felt that way. That not everyone had a messed up childhood or knew he had one. Of course he knew that was his fault for not talking about it. Trust just didn’t come easily to him.
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And yet…
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Josh had given him every reason to trust him. His grandparents words rung in his head, and he had to resist the urge to sigh.
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Damn it, he hated when they were right.
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Glaring off into the distance, he finally spoke. “This war is actually a step up from my childhood, as sad as that is. My father wasn’t a nice man and always resented me for surviving when my mother didn’t and took it out on me. Our last mission brought up some painful memories about what it was like living with him. That’s what had me so distracted when I was cooking,” he admitted.
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His grandparents had said this would make him feel better, but he wasn’t sure if that was the case. It probably took more than that.
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As the subject moved on, he relaxed a bit. “Sounds good to me. Hmmm, I’m not terrible busy on most days. I’m pretty flexible with hours for my other job. I don’t think I have anything on my schedule for my other job, but I can look,” he said as he took out his phone to look over his schedule. "Nope, nothing planned, so whatever day works best for you works for me.”[break] Josh Devlin

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Oliver could say that again. No two people were the same. It was those differences that set people apart, though. The world would be a pretty boring place if everyone was the same. That said, it was good to find a middle ground. To stand together against their enemies, setting their differences aside. Even he could see the value of that, even if his trouble in trusting others conflicted with that ideology.
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And as much as he hated to admit in this day and age, if you weren’t strong, you wouldn’t last long. It was basically the strong versus the weak. He didn’t like it, but it was just the way things were.
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Seeing as how the people were back on their side, he remained quiet. There wasn’t much more to say. So he just melted quiet and watched the rest of the proceedings, including the departure of the three troublemakers, his gaze remaining fixed on them until they had left his field of vision.
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Next followed a bit of a response, which he only gave short answers to whenever he was asked a question. It was clear he was done with being social. He had said a lot more than he normally did when dealing with those troublemakers; he was worn out from talking, not that he really showed it.
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“That’s one way of looking at it,” he grunted. "Thanks, though I wouldn’t say I’m too eager to do anything like that again. I’m actually not used to talking that much,” he said with a sigh as he followed the other to a restaurant that was affordable for the both of them.[break] Oliver Shrakes

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“That’s fine, thank you,” he said as he took the bottle of green tea from her. Even after four years, thanking someone was weird. It definitely wasn’t something he had really done when he had lived with his father. He was getting better at saying it, though. The first time he had said it, he always said it kind of grudgingly; now it came out easily, like he had always been the type to show gratitude. Still, he did have a pretty abrasive nature overall, so he couldn’t come off as too grateful.
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Taking a sip of the tea, he relaxed minimally, which was saying a lot considering he always seemed pretty guarded. He was always alert, like he was always on the lookout for danger. Though considering everything he had been through in his life, that was to be expected.
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At the question, he frowned. “It’s all I can think about since it happened among other stuff. There isn’t much I can do but think on it since I haven’t been allowed back to work yet. Something about them worried about me aggravating my injuries,” he explained, waving his cast arm for emphasis, not that he really needed to.
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He hated it. I hated just sitting at home and taking it easy. It gave him too much time to think. Something he always hated since he always tended to think about stuff he shouldn’t. Like his father. Like what he had been through when he had been abducted.
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“My grandparents don’t really make it better. They want me to open up about what happened. I gave them an abridged version, so it’s not like I didn’t say anything at all, but that’s not enough for them. Don’t get me wrong. I love them, but I’m just not ready to talk about it, least of all with them.”
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’Arceus that made him sound like a horrible person, didn’t it?’ Especially since he was being pretty open with Elaine about it. Then again, she had experienced the same thing he had. It was different when it came to shared experiences. [break] Elaine Highland

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“True, but the Staraptor might try and bolt if we try to get close to it in that frenzied state,” he pointed out. That was the last thing they wanted. The Staraptor could ended up loosing a lot of blood and collapsing somewhere in that condition. Or it could end up running into whatever had injured it making things even worst.
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Learning that Wigglytuff could learn Heal Pulse was definitely a surprise. He wasn’t aware it was a move the dual type could learn. It was something he would have to look more into. Perhaps he could ask that kid.
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As the Wigglytuff started to use Heal Pulse on the Staraptor he was alarmed to see the bird Pokémon started to panic worsening the injury he had. Luckily it didn’t last long and the bird pokemon started to relax making him relieved not that he showed any of this maintaining his usual stoic expression. Still the Staraptor wasn’t relaxing near as much as he wanted and doubted it was enough for it to allow either of them to approach.
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With that in mind he took out a pokeball releasing a Shiny Galarian Rapidash from its contents. “Use your own Heal Pulse to help calm the Staraptor from a distance. We need them calmed enough to get close enough to give it a healing potion,” he told Celestia.
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Having her orders the proud horse Pokémon would add to the Wigglytuffs Pokémon with her own to help calm the Staraptor even further. Seeing the Staraptor calm even further he would turn towards the young woman with a nod. “Try and give the Staraptor the potion now. I’ll still probably have to take them to my superiors so they can make sure everything turned out alright, but I still can’t teleport them in that condition.”[break] Thea Naito

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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He just shot the other man an unimpressed look. Some might laugh even if a bit awkwardly at such a comment, but Ever wasn’t really the type. Of course, finding amusement in such a comment would mean actually having a sense of humor, which the young man tended to lack most of the time.
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Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he waited for the other ranger to get serious, his gaze only flickering briefly to the civilian woman when she had tried to refrain from laughing at the other man’s comment. Returning his attention to Scout when he spoke once more, he listened to what the other ranger had to say.
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“Okay, any ideas of how we could do that without riling the slaves up? I’d rather not get caught up in a battle if we can help it,” he said, looking resisting the urge for a sharp retort. At this point, it would probably be obvious he was testing him a bit. Testing him to see how he might deal with a situation without resorting to conflict. As rangers, their main job was to protect Pokémon and wild life, and while it was true sometimes a battle would be inevitable, sometimes it was their job to come up with a more peaceful solution.[break] SCOUT WILDER

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[attr="class","header"]EVERYDAY BY MYSELF I’M BREAKING DOWN

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His lack of any real reaction made him uncomfortable. Sure, he was well aware of the fact he wasn’t the best at showcasing his emotions, but it still made him uncomfortable not to really see a reaction out of someone. Growing up with a father like his, it was always good to have a sense of what his father was feeling; that way he got a sense of what he was thinking. Always good to know something like that.
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Instead of letting it be known, he was uncomfortable; because he couldn’t be seen as weak, he simply nodded. “Yes, I’d rather not run the risk of running late if I can help it,” he told the older male as he started them towards Lilycove.
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As they flew, he would keep an eye on their surroundings. Luckily, they would reach Lilycove without incident, but that didn’t mean he would let his guard down.[break] Remiel Calcifet

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