Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas!

[Fox]

In the dingy brig of an even dingier ship, Yukiko sat with her back pressed against the hull of the ship, staring up at the ceiling. Her usually pristine blue and white kimono was stained with dirt, blood, and sea water. How had it come to this? After leaving Bravo Bravissimo on a ferry, she’d arrived at Kabukimono, the next step on her journey across the Grand Line to the Sabaody Archipelago. Kabukimono, unfortunately for her, happened to be a hive of scum and villainy. When she’d seen a scuffle and tried to intervene, she’d been attacked from behind and captured by slavers of all things.

She let out a soft sigh and glanced down at herself. Her sword had been taken away - probably in the hold to be sold off on the black market if it wasn’t already gone. Her kitsune mask was also gone. Probably fell off when she’d been smacked on the head, and also probably how they figured that they could sell her as a slave. Her head was still pounding painfully. It made it hard to focus her thoughts. She couldn’t tell how long she’d been out either.

Yukiko cast her gaze around the brig. Rusted metal bars embedded into weathered damp wood blocked her from venturing further than a few feet. It was dim, bordering on dark, only faintly illuminated by a swinging lantern hanging from the ceiling. Her ears flicked forward as she closed her eyes to focus on the noises. She could hear the heavy thuds of several footsteps on the decks above, but not as many as she would have expected for a ship that was just getting underway. The slight creaking of the chain that the lantern was hanging from also registered on her senses. Things rolling around gently in time with the waves. And… Yukiko opened her eyes and took a better look around her cell. Someone else?

“Hello?” She croaked softly, the effort of speaking sending her into a brief and extremely painful fit of coughing. “Ack… who… Who’s there?”

Yukiko’s blue eyes tried to pierce the relative gloom around her. A white fox Mink, she stood out like a sore thumb even covered in grime and surrounded by darkness. She was likely easy to pick out. Even in the cells across from her own. She moved to stand but found her hands were bound in heavy shackles. She stared down at them and huffed softly. Now, this really was a pickle.

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Yukiko | #b0c4de | Post Count: 1

Tags: Blushing z0ro

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

This was… a bit of a situation. Sure, Linus had hear Kabukimono was a rough island to be on but he didn’t expect to be jumped in an alley and just tossed on some slave ship to be sold off. If anything it was almost insulting, the thugs had captured Linus as random human fodder, had they actually known who they were grabbing the fact the bounty on the thief Masterkey was significantly more than that any old human could grab would have made them reconsider.

Well, Linus was and ability user which arguably could add value to his being traded however the thugs clearly had no clue this was the case, else they would have bound him in Sea Prism Stone not simple manacles that due to Linus’ specific set of skills as a Lock human were particularly useless.

Really the fact they had missed the fact the young man held the power of a Devil Fruit was a small blessing in this whole situation, it meant he was perfectly capable of freeing himself at any time he wished, though doing this on the opened sea could prove to be more of a problem than a solution, so for now the best course of action would just be to wait and see how things panned out.

For now they must have been barely out of port if they had left at all, it was hard to tell from the dark cells below the deck of the slave ship.

Eventually someone stirring and calling out grabbed the attention of the young man. The young man tried to focus his eyes in the little light that made it through the dark cells and just about made out a silhouette of a person in the cell across from his own, though not a silhouette of what one might call anything “normal”.

The figure had light, maybe white fur and an elongated face not unlike that of some canines, quite thin like that of some dogs or a fox. The white fur stood out even dark, making it possible to discern, unlike Linus whose mop of black hair and dark trousers and vest did nothing but hide him in the bedlam, only the white sleeves of his shirt under the vest contrasted his outfit. If there were a little bit more light Linus may have been a funny sight looking like he was only a pair of sleeves floating in the dark. Normally he would not even be that but the would be slavers had the presence of mind to search him for weapons took his daggers as well as all the throwing knives that lined his coat and jacket.

Linus leaned a little forward to get closer to his cell’s door and responded.

“... Hello. My name is Linus.”

Talking with people had never been Linus' strong suit and he did not really know what to say, especially in such a situation. After a brief moment he added.

“So… how did you get here?”

---

Tag: Fox
Words: 501
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

Yukiko’s ears flicked forward as she picked up the sound of movement and clothes rustling in the cell in front of her. She lifted her eyes, just able to make out a vaguely humanoid shape in the relative gloom. A voice called out, introducing themselves as Linus. There was a brief pause. Yukiko couldn’t say that she didn’t understand. It was a… difficult situation to be in. She chuckled mirthlessly at his follow up question.

“Have you ever heard the saying that no good deed goes unpunished?”

She shook her head and chided herself. Now, now. That was no way to be. Pessimism wouldn’t help her get out of this predicament. Yukiko shuffled toward her own cell door, coming into the light just a little more. It further defined her very clearly not human features. Her icy blue eyes set on Linus.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean to be gloomy. I am Yukiko. It’s nice to meet you, Linus… despite the circumstances.”

She paused briefly, considering what to say. In the end, she decided to turn his own question back to him.

“I was jumped from behind. I presume it's much the same for you?”

Yukiko tested the shackles, pulling at them. Hm. They were very strong. It wasn’t likely that she was going to be able to get out of this one with her fleeting strength alone. She glanced over to Linus.

“I don’t suppose you have some magical way of escaping and freeing me, do you?” she joked, half-heartedly. No, no, she’d have to come up with some sort of plan. Maybe during one of their meals, she’d jump the jailor and attempt to steal the keys? That was as good a plan as any. When and if they decided to feed them. She could also cause a commotion if need be rather than wait for mealtime. Hm.

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Yukiko | #b0c4de | Post Count: 2

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Hmmm… no the figure which introduced itself as Yukiko was most definitely not human, maybe some sort of canine ability user or… weren;t there stories about beast people that lived on the Grand Line? Possibly, it would be quite rude to ask however.

“Yes, very much the same.” Linus acquiesced to Yukiko’s question regarding the circumstances of his own capture.

“It was quite rude I thought.” While true this was more of a simple attempt at humour to try and alleviate what was really a fairly precarious situation they had found themselves in. It was a decent enough attempt in Linus’ own opinion as he himself shuffled closer to his cell door and sat down cross legged.

Then the canine woman asked a truly magical question. What were the odds that someone would ask such a specific question to this particular individual? Was it some sort of trick? No, Linus did not sense any kind of deceit from this Yukiko. Hmm maybe just a fortuitous sign of fate or destiny? Some would think so, but Linus did not really believe in such things.

What he did believe in was careful and well executed plans, and for that everyone involved needed to know everyone else’s capabilities.

“Well now that you mention it.” Linus said as he briefly focused on his shackles which just… popped open. Then the young man just let his bindings drop on the ground as he stood up and placed his hand on his cell door and with a bit more focus, pushed it open nonchalantly.

Looking straight at Yukiko Linus then asked his own question.

“What about you? Any magical powers to get us off a slave ship in the middle of the sea?”

---

Tag: Fox
Words: 288
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

Linus’s attempt at humor worked to a degree, earning a soft chuckle from Yukiko.

“Yes, quite rude, indeed,” she replied dryly. She could see him a little bit better as he shuffled up to the front of the cell door and sat down. A human, to be sure, though she was a little surprised that he hadn’t yet balked at her own appearance. Maybe he was used to some of the strangeness on the Grand Line. Or maybe he was just willing to take anything at face value. Her ears perked up when Linus spoke again, causing her to look up just in time for his shackles to pop open. Her jaw dropped.

What? What?! Whaaaaaaaat?! It was actually her turn to be the bamboozled one. What were the odds? Her amazement was only further increased by him nonchalantly pushing the door open. What sorcery was this?! Her tail puffed up in sheer disbelief. That question had been rhetorical. It took her a moment or two longer to recover from her sheer befuddlement and a moment to put it into place that Linus might be a Devil Fruit user, which was the only thing that made sense, but to have an ability like that in this sort of predicament felt like some twist of fate.

Yukiko rose to her feet, the shackles restraining her jangling softly. She felt like she was in line at some sort of freedom buffet, waiting her turn for her shackles to be magically popped off. Yukiko tilted her head at Linus’s question and smiled wryly.

“I can swim,” she answered smartly before glancing down at her hands and forming an electric ball of blue energy briefly, “And I have some other tricks of my own. Mostly, I’ll need my sword though.”

With it, it was likely that she could overpower the majority of the crew. At least, if she was fast. Her stamina being what it was, they could end up in an even worse position if things were drawn out into a long conflict. Thinking about it, they may not even need to escape - depending on where the ship was going.

“But before we dive into performing a little mutiny of our own, perhaps a little reconnaissance would be in order. Figuring out our heading would be a good start. They probably have an eternal pose that they’re following.”

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Yukiko | #b0c4de | Post Count: 3

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Linus listened as Yukiko spoke about her abilities and tried to think of a way to make best use of all they had on hand.

“I see. I’d need my daggers and throwing knives back ideally as well.”

But for now it would be best to get a good idea of what they had to face, so yes, scouting was the best course of action.

Linus approached the locked door of Yukiko's cell and placed his hand on the lock, the sound of metal clicking following a couple seconds after. The young man effortlessly opened the door and reached for the definitely-not-human-more-lke-a-dog-fox-wolf-person shackles and opened them much like he had done on his own and the cell doors.

“Alright then, let’s see what’s ahead and if we can get our weapons back. As for the escape though… I can’t swim… anymore. So let’s be quiet for now.”

This was like… a reverse heist, or maybe it was just a heist and Linus himself was his own treasure, that was almost poetic.

For now he would keep his head low and start to make his way to the heavy door that separated the brigg from the rest of the ship, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once at the door the young man put his ears against it and began listening.

There were some voices coming through, muffled by the thick wood and metal bands of the door. Two, maybe three men. Linus looked back to Yukiko, they had to be sure of what they would do next, a wrong move could alert the entire ship.

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Tag: Fox
Words: 266
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

Yukiko simply nodded at Linus’s admission of wanting his own weapons back. They’d still need to be careful once their weapons were retrieved, but she felt a lot more confident about fighting with someone to watch her back. Linus approached the door of her cell, simply touching it to make it click open. Yukiko shook her head in disbelief. What a strange world to live in. He did her the courtesy of unlocking her shackles as well. Observing the power up close and personal still baffled her, but she was free now. Well, perhaps that was premature to say.

To his suggestion, Yukiko simply nodded. She’d guessed as much. She’d have to take care once they were up on the top deck to watch for him being thrown overboard. Yukiko let Linus lead the way, trailing after him. Unfortunately, her snow white fur wasn’t exactly stealthy, and her long clothes softly dragged across the wooden floor. She winced at every sound, eventually deciding to take off her kimono for the moment and tucking it into her waist. She wasn’t wearing much underneath, just a small halter top bound tightly to her chest with bandages. It was, however, much quieter. The shifting of fabric wasn’t quite so loud anymore.

As they reached the door, Yukiko’s ears flicked forward, trying to catch the sound. She could hear voices, somewhat muffled. Probably about two or three people. She slunk a little closer, pressing an ear up to the door. Hm… two they could probably take out without an issue. Three was a little dicey. She paused just a moment longer to confirm before nodding. She held up two fingers to Linus before moving behind him.

“You take the near one, and I’ll take the far one. Count us down when you’re ready,” she whispered softly.

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Yukiko | #f0ffff | Post Count: 4

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Linus watched carefully as his companion of fortune, or misfortune one could argue, put her own animal ears to the doors and lifted fingers confirming the two people behind the doors. One had to assume canine ears to be more effective than human ones.

The black hair of head of hair bobbed in acquiescence to Yukiko’s plan. Linus wasn’t much of a fighter, especially without his weapons, but a single target, taken mostly by surprise should be fine.

The only left to do in preparation was for both the escapees to position themselves by the door. Linus put himself on the left side, nearest to the lock and placed his hand against, a single moment of focus and the mechanism clicked in place and the door was unlocked.

The thief looked at his companion and raised his own three fingers to begin a silent count down.

The ring finger went down as the young man tensed his legs.

The middle finger went down as he turned to face the door.

Finally the index came down as he slammed against the door.

The heavy wood and metal bands creaked as they were pushed open with force and the would-be escapees rushed in. There were indeed only two men in the room, casually sitting on barrels of what looked like a small storage area that also served as an extra room to separate the brig from the rest of the vessel.

The man closest to Linus, a heavy set pirate with olive skin and bandana over his head, began to shout a curse as he pulled out his pistol. These men had to be stopped before they could raise an alarm.

The thief rushed towards his own target, decided to place his trust in Yukiko to do the same on her side. Linus was fast but so much so that he could close the distance before the man pulled his weapon and pointed it right at the young man. Not that it would do him much good.

Linus had learned not to fear firearms in close range for all he needed was to grab hold…

The thief known as Masterkey reached out and rested his hand on the gun, the barrel of which pointed straight at his own face and then… nothing.

No boom, no click of misfire. The slaver tried hard as he could to pull the trigger but the mechanism resided him, locked in place by Linus’ powers. Before the slaver could even finish his shout and realise what was happening the young man bore on to him and with one closed right fist, slammed into the captor’s throat, causing the heaviest man to let out a muffle croak of pain.

This would at least shut him for a bit.

As his opponent dropped his weapon to reach for his own throat while gasping, Linus grabbed the man’s stained white shirt in both hands and twisted his own body using his opponent's mass to shoulder throw him over himself, leading the slaver to crash with all his weight on his head.

With that he should be out for the count. For a while at least.

Linus then looked up hoping that Yukiko had succeeded in her half of the fight.

---

Tag: Fox
Words: 540
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

Yukiko tensed as Linus counted down with his fingers. One. Two. Three! The door flew open, and the two escapees like bats out of hell. Linus bore down on his target, but Yukiko couldn’t pay him any mind. She had to take care of her part. Darting across the room, her target was a lithe looking human with dark skin and darker hair. He rose up to draw his cutlass, but she was already at his throat. His eyes bulged, going wide as she delivered a swift chop to his throat. He started to tumble backwards. Yukiko clenched her hand into a fist and swiftly followed up with an electrified blow to his jaw.

His eyes rolled back, his mouth slightly foaming due to the electric shock. He collapsed onto the floor, passed out. As he fell, Linus’s man flew across the room and landed on his head, knocking him out. Yukiko let out a short, soft sigh of relief before feeling a painful itching in her throat. She covered her mouth to muffle the sound and coughed, hacking up a small bit of phlegm mixed with blood. She couldn’t afford to go into a fit right now. Choking down more coughs and clutching at her throat, she managed to suppress it.

“Alright…”

Her ears flicked up, but there weren’t any sounds of alarm coming from the decks above. Oh, good. Maybe they were contending with something on the upper decks. Maybe it was mealtime for them. She wasn’t sure, but she was just grateful that they weren’t being attacked. Breathing slowly, Yukiko looked up to Linus.

“Do you think we should throw them in the brig?”

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Yukiko | #f0ffff | Post Count: 5

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Linus took around his surroundings making sure there were no more immediate threats. This area seemed clear for now and no alarms came. Good they were safe for another moment.

Linus turned to look at Yukiko as she enquired what they should do with their would be captor. The canine woman did not look like she had suffered damage in the quick scuffle but the muffled cough and the way she rested her hand on her throat betrayed that something wasn’t entirely right with her. Some old injury or a disease perhaps? However, now was not the time for such questions. As long as it would not interfere with their escape, whatever his companion wanted to keep private was her business.

“Maybe, but I don;t think they will wake anytime soon, if it takes us so long these guys become a problem again we’ll have already failed on her escape.”

Linus looked about a bit more in this room and something of note actually caught his attention. A big chest, the thief in him instinctively knew to recognize something one would lock away valuables in, however as they were right next to a brig there was likely only one type of valuable in there.

The young man approached the heavy chest and as expected, it was locked. In most crews regular men were not trusted with keys to these things, only an officer or a captain would hold them, but this made no difference to the thief known as the Masterkey.

Linus rested his hand against the lock of the chest and… click.

Just like that, Linus was able to lift the lid of the chest which held exactly what he expected. The belongings of the prisoners and most importantly to him, Linus’ daggers and throwing knives. The thief rearmed himself, unfortunately his jacket wasn’t there so all the straps with his blades would remain visible around his body and sleeves.

“Are all your belongings in there as well?” Linus asked Yukiko, hopefully everything she might need would be there, in this situation Linus did not really fancy going for a full blown heist of a moving ship before they could escape.

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Tag: Fox
Words: 363
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

“Fair point,” Yukiko muttered, glancing at the prone men. Maybe they’d just toss them overboard after everything was said and done. Yukiko closed her eyes and shook her head. She’d partaken in Diango’s revenge out of necessity. Not because she wanted them to suffer. She looked down at them again. Then she reeled back with her foot and kicked him in his family jewels about as hard as she could. He’d feel that when he woke up again.

Feeling somewhat mollified, Yukiko turned to see that Linus had found a chest and was already at work opening it. Well, at work being just touching it. What a useful ability. And one with a terrible potential for misuse as well. Oh well, Yukiko wasn’t one to look a gift Devil Fruit user in the mouth. She stifled another cough as she kneeled down to check the chest, and lo, there was her sword.

She grabbed it, tying it back to her waist where it belonged. Yukiko felt a certain reassurance when she had her blade by her side. Drawing the multi pronged blade, Yukiko smiled and nodded at Linus.

“This is all I need for now.”

She turned her head up toward the ceiling. Hm. They could do this stealthily or try to end it quickly. To be honest, she wasn’t sure that she had the stamina for the stealthy approach, but perhaps Linus could make up for her own inability.

“How do we want to do this? The stealthy approach? Loud? Unfortunately, I don’t have the endurance to last if this becomes a long protracted affair. I… am ill, and it severely limits my stamina.”

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Yukiko | #f0ffff | Post Count: 6

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Linus looked about the room a little more before focusing once again on Yukiko. It sure seemed that she would not be physically able to carry on for an extended period of time.

“Hmmmm well… There are two ways we can go about this like you said. One would involve sneaking our way to lifeboats and making a run for it, that is, in one way the quicker way, but not necessarily safer, they will surely notice us once we are on the boat and they might choose to fire at us with cannons. So for us to even attempt such an escape, disabling the ship's weapons would be a necessary first step. Otherwise we could go the loud way and just fight our way out, but we do not know how many of these slavers are on the ship, so this could be a protracted fight.”

The thief took a few steps and leaned back against a wall, crossing his arms. It was important to take a minute to relax and figure out the situation sometimes, especially under high pressure.

“There is also one more thing we need to discuss.” This was probably the most difficult part of the conversation.

“How are we to behave towards one another? Let us say one of us gets surrounded but the other has a clear line to freedom, what do we do then? Do we risk each other’s freedom and only accept both of us escaping or do we cut our losses and settle on one escaping being better than none?”

This may sound like a horrible and pragmatic question but it had to be addressed. It wasn't like they were doing this in a true selfless manner, if they did so they would search other areas of the ship for possibly more prisoners. Avoiding such dilemmas was why the Masterkey worked alone. But this was not such a job so everything needed to be made clear before they went any further.

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Tag: Fox
Words: 331
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

Linus laid out the facts, and Yukiko nodded along, pretty much in agreement with what their available options were. She put a paw to her snout thoughtfully, wondering if there was some third potential option that they were missing. As she came to a certain realization, Linus spoke up once more, causing Yukiko to tilt her head to the side, her big white ears at attention. Her brow furrowed at his question. Ah, that was… certainly something to consider, wasn’t it?

Yukiko considered the question. Her own circumstances were such that if she didn’t escape, her child would possibly be doomed to more suffering as a slave. She couldn’t allow that. While she couldn’t say she had any emotional attachment to Linus, Yukiko also didn’t want to abandon someone else to the same fate as her daughter. She didn’t expect Linus to have the same principles though. But, more than that.

“Escaping alone isn’t practical,” Yukiko said finally, “You get onto a lifeboat, and then what? You’re adrift on a tiny lifeboat in the Grand Line, which is notorious for its sudden weather changes, and treacherous seas. I’m ill and you’re a Devil Fruit user. Or, as you said, they shoot the one that ran away. I think our survival hinges on us escaping or not together.”

She didn’t need to spell out what might happen in the prior case.

“Besides, there’s another option that might work that minimizes conflict… We take out the captain,” Yukiko said with a smile, “I figure the crew will fall in line after that and we can take this ship… well, anywhere we like, I suppose.”

She held out a paw.

“What do you think?”

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Yukiko | #f0ffff | Post Count: 7

[Blushing z0ro]

LINUS
ACT I SCENE I

- Breakout! Slaves Shanghaied on the High Seas! -

---

Linus looked about the room a little more before focusing once again on Yukiko. It sure seemed that she would not be physically able to carry on for an extended period of time.


Linus to Yukiko in turn, she made a fine point, a single person out on the sea had little chance of making it back to an island, a normal person may have a slime shot but the physical condition of the white furred individual and the cursed condition of Masterkey left them both with much worse odds, one dip in water and it was all over for either of them.

It was also true that this particular crew did not seem the most organised or capable, usually that sort relied on strong leadership to keep them in line and somewhat efficient. Indeed, maybe taking out the Captain would allow them to take over the ship. This certainly made it seem like they will be going for the “loud” way out.

Linus looked at the extended paw that was held towards him. No real other option after all.

Linus held out his own hand and grabbed Yukiko’s extended one.

“The Loud way out it seems, either we take out the captain together or back in a cell for us.”

A handshake and a nod, that was how most such agreements were sealed, much less formal and a signature and it did not have the charm of a thief’s calling card, which was as good as a promise to the thief known as Masterkey, but here it would serve its purpose.

Linus gestured towards the wooden set of steps that would lead to the upper deck.

“Would you like to do the honours or should I?”

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Tag: Fox
Words: 254
Linus: a9b4be

[Fox]

With their plan decided on, Yukiko felt somewhat assured that they were in this together now. As he gestured toward the steps to the upper deck, Yukiko gave Linus a toothy smile. “Ladies first, of course,” she replied.

Up on the deck, it was the usual hustle and bustle of evening sailing. Some of the crew were milling about on deck, relaxing now that they were properly underway. Others were busy with their tasks, swabbing the deck or fiddling about with some of the rigging. The captain, Kazuo, stood at the helm near the stern, looking over the organized chaos with some boredom. He was an older man, tanned by the sun and covered in colorful tattoos. He didn’t bother wearing a shirt, leaning on his kanobo as he enjoyed the evening calm.

That calm abruptly ended when the doors leading down to below decks exploded in a burst of blue electricity. Out stepped Yukiko, brandishing her blade until her eyes locked onto Kazuo. She raced toward him, her fur arcing with blue lightning. Kazou didn’t flinch, grabbing a torch nearby that had been lit in preparation for the fading light and blew. The liquor in his breath ignited, sending a tongue of flame down at Yukiko.

Yukiko shielded herself with her sword, cutting the flame down the middle and away from her. The orange flame turned a pale blue on contact with her sword. “Linus, go!”

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Post Count: 8