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Cecilia Cecilia fidgets a bit, clearly growing uncomfortable with where the conversation is heading. "No... not quite... Different problems, I guess. Writing, I, uh, don't do it anymore. It's why I'm here." You can roll a pop culture check if you want, Cecilia was big news about a year ago, "teenage writer/murderer kills dozens" or something along those lines. Media circus, not linked to mutant power, at least in the mass media.
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Aug 6, 2012 10:00
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 22:30 |
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DC22 for that
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Aug 6, 2012 10:08
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[05:42] <Bieeardo> !r 1d20+6 [05:42] <Maidbot> Bieeardo, 19+6 = 25 [05:42] <Bieeardo> Well, gently caress. Anna It doesn't take a telepath to tell Cecilia's getting flustered. It's pretty obvious her power isn't walking through walls, or she'd probably be in the basement. Anna shrugs, bobbing her head and taking a step back, offering some space to the other girl. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to put you on the spot. I kind of got sent here because of something I liked to do too, if that helps any." Still, who gets sent to prison --well, prison in America-- for writing something? And who has powers that work like that, outside of educational shows where the Word Wizard writes 'C-A-T' in the air and a confused-looking marmalade kitty appears in a puff of smoke? Thoughts of writing-powers bend over the fresh memory of seeing herself in the papers like a lever and fulcrum, dislodging months of accumulated trivia. There is something, something familiar about Cecilia, that look of bewilderment that stared out from the TV and made her think that is not the face of a serial killer. Click! A bare bulb goes on in the disused spaces of Anna's memory. "Holy poo poo," she whispers, then furtively raises a hand in a stopping gesture. She draws the back of a fingertip across her lips.
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Aug 6, 2012 11:02
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Sarah A couple of the other girls disappear of up to their rooms once it's clear that the House Mother isn't around - Sarah joins them. Her room wasn't exactly well-furnished though - apart from the provided furniture there were just a few changes of clothes, her iPod, a few pens and some paper, and... Huh. Was that really all she'd brought? There hadn't been much use for bringing the tent, so she'd left that with the Camp. Ditto the pots and pans, and all the accumulated junk. Apart from her music and some basic stationery, that was more or less the entirety of her room. Feeling slightly annoyed, she returns to the communal area. Seeing that it was apparently English Lit 101, she scans the bookcase. The first title to jump out was Of Mice and Men - she vaguely recalled that title from an actual English Lit class, and so slid it from the shelf. Dropping onto an empty chair, she manages a weak grin for the others. "Unpacking went quicker than I thought it would. Figured I'd catch up on some -" Quick glance down at the book. "- John Steinbeck. Should do until we get the TV anyway." VVVVV D'oh. Edited, etc. Think iPod classic - last one before the touch/phone, so not even wifi. Just music and vids. VVVVV Staggy fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Aug 6, 2012 |
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Aug 6, 2012 15:14
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Phone so wouldn't be allowed. iPod, so long as it is one of those music only ones, would be fine though.
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Aug 6, 2012 17:29
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Crystal That's unpacked enough. All the important things. Almost feels like home. Maybe. A little. Okay, not at all, but there are enough trappings to let Crystal pretend. She leads her room and arrives back downstairs just behind Sarah. "Something like what?" she asks, picking up Anna's thought. "Holy poo poo?" she asks. Crap. Something happened and she missed it. Probably something stupid though. Crystal drops her full weight onto the couch, sinking deeply into the cushions.
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Aug 7, 2012 04:34
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Rickie The mutant painter comes down the stairs, dressed in a fresh t-shirt and slacks, and plops onto the couch next to Crystal. Compared to the southern belle, she barely makes a dent. "I'm gonna need to ask about laundry. It feels a little weird, like, there's mutants out there destroying their clothes every time they do their thing, and I'm complaining about having to do laundry more often. You know what I mean?" She pauses, aware that she missed a few conversations, but not reading the uncomfortable silence that meant a bomb had dropped.
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Aug 7, 2012 04:48
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Cecilia Cecilia relaxes as Anna backs off the subject, but then something in her freezes as she sees the winged girl's face twist in a moment of recognition. Then it turns into something else, hatred, anger, indifference, fear. Cecilia had seen that face before, all too often. It had always been directed at her, from her friends. From her family. And now, in the face of somebody she was going to have to spend a lot of time around. Cecilia grabs her book and dashes upwards, making to leave the room. Quickly, she bursts out in apology, "Sorry, I, uh, I should go."
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Aug 7, 2012 04:53
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Anna "Wait, I didn't mean anything! I'm sorry!" Anna calls to Cecilia. The look she offers is genuinely apologetic, unlike the ones that get littered about after a casting call. "Please?" She ducks and swivels her head, frowning in frustration. "We're stuck here together. It'd really suck if we were all walking on eggshells."
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Aug 7, 2012 06:04
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Tara "Cecilia, wa--" She turns to face Anna, venomous spiders beginning to descend from her hair. "What did you do?!"
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Aug 7, 2012 06:53
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Seizing attention away from this very delicate moment, the blue door flies inward with a thud. As all of Blue House turns to look at what caused the commotion, they can see a figure outlined in the fading evening twilight. It's Tabitha 'Slider' Caida, her pixie cut blonde hair even more mussed than it was at the Welcoming Speech and loaded down with binders, papers and books. Seeing the girls in the living room, all staring at her and the door on account of the rather loud thud, she smiles and shrugs with just a hint of embarrassment. "Sorry, girls. Lots of last minute preparation going on today." She tells them, readjusting the stacked up papers in her arms. "This place and what it represents is hugely important to a lot of people." Kicking the door closed again in a somewhat impressive display of balance, she comes into the living room. Dropping her stacks of administrative materials into an empty chair, she takes a bit of a deep breath. "So, congratulations on being selected to be a student here. Hopefully you picked up the tidbit during the assembly that I and the rest of your teachers also ended up on the wrong side of law. So, in a way, we're all here together." She smiles, which looked like a very natural expression for the young woman. "Beats a cell, right?" "You can call me Tabby here." Tabby tells the girls first of all. "But some of the other House Mothers might be a little stricter in their classes and you can be docked points for being disrespectful and everything." She warns them in advance. "So when we're in class or on the grounds, it's best to just say 'Ms. Caida'. Even if it does makes me feel like my mum." Robodog fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Aug 7, 2012 |
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Aug 7, 2012 07:20
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Anna Anna's eyes go wide. Oh, what the!? "I didn't--" she protests, voice rising sharply. Thud! interrupts the door. Anna looks toward it, startled. She looks back to Tara, and whispers. "I didn't do anything! Swear!"
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Aug 7, 2012 07:43
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Cecilia She had already tucked her book tight into her chest, and was heading to the stairs to escape the whispers of her housemates when the doors slam open. Her Housemother. Does she know about me? Will she... hate me too? Cecilia stands at the edge of the room, listening with her head staring at her shoelaces, one of which is almost untied. She kicks with it, sending the loose laces flying outward. She sighs. She's trying to act like she's just like us. But if she is anything like me, she has no place trying to act like a mom.
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Aug 7, 2012 08:19
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And the whole room was deadly quiet, not exactly the response she was expecting. "Did I interrupt something?" Tabby raises an eyebrow and asks.
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Aug 7, 2012 08:27
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Rickie "Maybe? Come on, girls, sit down, sit down." She stands up herself, moving over and starting to move Tara by her shoulders, but stopping as she sees the spiders ballooning out of her hair. Instead, she tugs on Cecilia's arm.
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Aug 7, 2012 08:41
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Cecilia Rickie easily manages to guide Cecilia into a chair.
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Aug 7, 2012 08:58
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Tabby sits as well, sliding onto the arm of the chair she dumped her papers into. "I know today might have been a little much, but we are here to help and support you girls. And we're going to be here for each other too, like Ms. Frost said we're like a big blue family." She sounds quite earnest with it. "And I don't bite, you know."
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Aug 7, 2012 08:59
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Sarah A big blue family? Sarah doubted that was quite the best simile, given the number of horror stories she'd heard about mutants being disowned. Still, it sounded sincere enough - not that it mattered, given that the group seemed to be tearing itself apart already. "So what's the goal here?" She raises a hand lazily into the air as she asks the question. "When do we get to leave? When we've got enough college credits? When we turn into model schoolgirls? I'd rather be here than in a cell, but at least there you know when you're getting out." It was an honest question. The hint of insolence was more habit than anything else.
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Aug 7, 2012 09:27
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Rickie ...promptly paints herself blue. After a moment, she starts humming an old, half-remembered pop song.
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Aug 7, 2012 09:53
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Anna Anna is more worried about Tara biting than Ms. Caida. She holds her breath as Cecilia seems to weigh her options, then grudgingly decide to follow Rickie. Eyes focused on Tara and her spidery hair, Anna still can't help perceiving other gossamer strands that coalesce from nothing, like sunlight glinting down a sharp edge. Strands that trace their way from Tara to places like the ceiling light fixture, and the peculiarly arranged mirror over the nearby entertainment center. The feathered girl closes her eyes with a snap and squeezes them tight as she ducks her head. "I did something by accident that made Cecilia upset, and I was trying to apologize when you came in, Ms. Caida."
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Aug 7, 2012 10:23
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Cecilia Cecilia pulls her knees up onto the chair and hugs them, staring out at the strangers that are now her family.
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Aug 7, 2012 10:48
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"Well Sarah, I'm sure you've figured out that even though the school is beautiful and all it's still a prison. And we're all prisoners here, only Ms. Frost has free rein to come and go as she wishes, there's no getting around that. But we're not here to slap a nullifier collar on you and lock you away forever, we want to give you girls the opportunity for a second chance." "The theory we're testing out is that most crimes committed by young mutants are a result of those mutants having been tormented by their non-powered peers; or just not having good control over their powers, leading them to lash out in anger or fear. Some even commit crimes because having these powers almost acts like a drug and pushes them over the edge." "By training you, the House Mothers are doing a form of community service and you girls are learning how to fit back into society as mutants. If this school experiment works, it could become the model for how new mutants are treated. You get your powers, you come to this school to train them while getting a top notch education, move back out into the world. Or, if it works out, segue into the X-Men or Mutantes Sans Frontiers for aid missions to war torn areas or disaster zones." Tabby explains in one long spiel, her head lolling back once she had finished. "It's a little long for a mission statement, but we're basically all here to learn from each other and help make up for our mistakes." "At the end of the school year everything is being reviewed, including how you girls have progressed and reacted to the programme." She lifts her head back up to tell Sarah. "If you've reacted well and displayed a clear improvement over the school year, and Ms. Frost thinks you're no longer an active danger to society, you'll be given the option to move out if you want to. If you haven't, you'll probably stay on for the next year. And this is all presuming the school isn't reduced to rubble halfway through the year." Tabby might have been joking with that, but the way she shakes her head and sighs kinda points to the opposite. "You don't want to know how many contingencies we have for the school being reduced to rubble." Watching Rickie paint herself, Tabby's mood lifts at the sight. "That's the attitude." She smiles. "I like your enthusiasm, Rickie. There's going to be a lot of inter-house competition, so the sooner we can get into the spirit the better. I want Blue House to win!" Tabby nods at Anna's explanation, looking over to the shy Cecilia. "Is this about your powers, Cecilia?"
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Aug 7, 2012 11:02
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Cecilia Cecilia peeks out over her knees, letting out a timid, "Yes."
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Aug 7, 2012 17:03
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Crystal Crystal breaks her silence to look over at Sarah. "Never. We're political prisoners," she says, crossing her arms defensively, "We stay here as long as we're inconvenient." No surprise that in her mind, that means forever.
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Aug 7, 2012 17:41
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Tabby slides off her chair and walks over to Cecilia, sitting down on the arm of Cecilia's chair so she can look her face to face. "This is the last place you need to be scared about your powers, honey." She tells her quietly, putting a reassuring hand on her hiked-up knees. "The whole point of the school is to help you learn about your powers and understand how they work. We're going to help you get some control over your powers so you can use them the way you want to. Okay?"
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Aug 7, 2012 17:49
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Cecilia Cecilia nods, "I almost used my power earlier. I don't want to hurt anybody. You all seem really nice..."
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Aug 7, 2012 17:55
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Sarah "Right. So we stay here until Ms. Frost says we can leave. I'm with you -" Sarah nods her head towards Crystal, a fellow soul. "We're here until we're all good little girls - and it's not like we can fake that in front of Ms. Frost." 'Tabby' seemed honest enough, but that didn't help matters. 'Community service' or not, she was still a jailor.
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Aug 7, 2012 23:10
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Crystal So she and Sarah are on the same page. Yeah. Good. "Not enough foundation in the world for me," she says. She scoots over on the couch to make room for Sarah. "So there's another solid stone girl who shoots light around like a loving disco ball?" she asks, clasping her hands together and putting on a fake-perky voice, which makes her accent event more pronounced. "I'm every so happy!"
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Aug 8, 2012 00:18
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Anna "We were talking about books, and I recognized her from the news. It startled me, and I guess she thought I was going to flip out, but..." Wait, what? Anna swivels her head toward Occupy Loveseat and cocks an eyebrow. The other one isn't loaded. "Political prisoners?" she asks. Her other eyebrow goes up, this time just for show. "I--" she stops for effect, faking confusion as she sweeps her gaze back and forth across the room. "Don't tell me anybody here is into what that Magneto dude is selling. This is a guy who walks around in a helmet with the shape of a guy's parts cut out of the visor!" For emphasis she draws an outline best left undescribed over her facial features. --- He totally does! http://cybermancer.net/magneto.jpg
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Aug 8, 2012 03:05
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Rickie "Well, what do you expect? He's a dickhead." She pauses. "Um, Tabby, what's the school policy on swearing?"
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Aug 8, 2012 04:02
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"But you're allowed to use your powers here too." Tabby assures Cecilia. "If you try and hide them you'll never get to know them, and it's a lot easier to be scared of what we don't know than what we understand. You don't need to be afraid of your powers, Cecilia." She gives her a hopefully encouraging smile. The louder, more angry discussion of political prisoners kinda forces its way into Tabby's and Cecilia's talk. "It's mostly based on how you've progressed across the school term, Ms. Frost just has veto." She mildly corrects Sarah. "This is her experiment after all. And if she just rubber stamped everybody and then someone ran off to wipe Tucson off the map, it would look really bad on everybody. And kinda defeats the whole point of the school." "Actually," Tabby turns her head to Anna. "A couple of the House Mothers were with the Brotherhood, so yeah." She sort of shrugs. "Mutant supremacy in the face of discrimination and bigotry isn't exactly a hard sell, but feeding into the idea that it's all 'Muties vs. Flatscans' is only going to end up hurting a lot of people." Once again, Tabby sniggers as Rickie lightens the mood. "It's no skin off my nose, but it comes under 'poise'. Try to keep it PG-13 in class or you might lose points." 1 hero point to Crystal for spot on teenaged woe exaggeration! Robodog fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Aug 8, 2012 |
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Aug 8, 2012 04:24
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Cecilia Cecilia frowns at Tabby's response, But... how can I use my power without hurting people? The answer to that question will have to wait, though, as the conversation takes a left turn and ends up with all-too-accurate genital jokes. Despite herself, Cecilia cracks a small smile.
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Aug 8, 2012 07:23
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Sarah "Oh yeah, Magneto." Sarah sneers the name out. "Part of the population is inherently superior? A master race, maybe? Gee, that never goes badly." She shakes her head in disbelief. "I'm no nazi. The idea that only overt fascists take political prisoners just lets our government get away with it more." Well, at least Crystal seemed clued up. Sarah raises her hand for a high five - and hopes that she won't be left hanging.
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Aug 8, 2012 23:07
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Crystal Nope, Crystal wouldn't do that to somebody. She high fives Sarah solidly. "'Cause so many of us are blonde," she says. Not that that logically follows, and of course it discounts Tabby. "What is your power anyway?" Crystal asks Cecilia. 2HP now! WOO!
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Aug 8, 2012 23:39
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"We'll be getting to introductions and why we're heres in a little bit, Crystal." Tabby tells the Texan, but her attention is most decidedly taken by what Sarah said at the moment. "…you do know that he is a Holocaust survivor, right?"
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Aug 9, 2012 00:06
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Crystal That wipes the sparkle off Crystal's face. She stares at Tabby. "What?" she asks, dumbfounded.
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Aug 9, 2012 00:22
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Sarah "What, really?" That certainly caught her off guard. She frowns for a moment, thinking. Then: "Well that's even more hosed up. How the hell does he justify all of his crap after that?"
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Aug 9, 2012 00:23
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"Yes. Magneto's Jewish, and he lived through the Holocaust." The lack of that easy smile on Tabby's face just serves to confirm she wasn't making it up. "He was really there when the Nazis were rounding up Jews because the state dictated it, locking them up in concentration camps, and murdering them by the millions. And that's exactly why he's taken the actions that he has." She directs this almost entirely at Sarah. "He has seen genocide firsthand and believes that the only way to prevent the exact same thing happening to mutantkind is to fight back."
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Aug 9, 2012 00:57
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Anna One second Anna is about to thank Ms. Caida for the oblique warning not to diss Magneto in front of some of the other staff, and in the next things have unspooled far beyond the scope of her weird causality sense. "Only this time, both sides have nukes, some of which are walking around in tights, and there's probably some on both sides that'd be happy to just watch the fireworks from the Moon or something."
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Aug 9, 2012 03:17
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 22:30 |
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Crystal "Super hosed up," Crystal agrees. Her eyes dart and she pulls her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms about her knees casually. That, at least seems, to have gotten her to shut up.
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Aug 9, 2012 03:22
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