deercountry | And I will wait, I will wait, I will wait

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And I will wait, I will wait, I will wait | Open

Who: Ryan Akagi [

chickenchoicejudy] and you! Open to all.
What: Catch all for September + events! Ryan discovers his omen, starts busking while the Raccoon Room is being spruced up, and all the while misses Min-Gi terribly.
When: September!
Where: Various places, but most of them are in Cellar Door

Content Warnings: Minor blood ritual, possible mentions of past self harm

A. TOMO [CELLAR DOOR; EARLY SEPTEMBER]

All things considered, Ryan is settling in okay. Maybe even alarmingly well, considering he wasn't in that town the others came from - Deerington? He's pretty sure they said it was Deerington.

It takes him a few days to really notice some of the changes. Some things stuck out immediately, like the sharing of thoughts he doesn't want shared, or the apparent ability to show memories to others. He...still hasn't quite figured that out, but it's somehow one of the less weird things to happen to him here. Being reborn as some sort of squid is up there, but now he has more bizarre things to add to the tally.

Apparently he's something called a paleblood, and it turns his blood milky in the light of the moon. He's noticed that if he's outside for long enough at night his veins will start to look white, standing out against his tan skin as though someone drew on his arms with White-Out. On top of that, his entire sleep schedule has gotten out of control - he's at his most awake in the early evening, and has been crashing until at least three in the afternoon, but he feels...good? It feels like that's what he's supposed to be doing, so he hasn't fought it much. Maybe he's just a vampire now. A telepathic vampire, soaking up the emotions of others.

One night, he was wondering to himself what Min would be if he were here. The thought creeped into his head and left him a little lonely, but he didn't have much time to reflect on it or let it spiral, because a smoky otter leapt from his chest as soon as he started to process that thought.

Their name is Tomo, and they have not left since then. They even stuck through the ridiculous amount of screaming Ryan did when they first turned up. Since then they've become more solid and they've taken to climbing around on Ryan, getting tangled up under his feet and making them both trip, and pushing their whole head against Ryan when they want attention.

And they want a lot of attention.

Right now, Ryan's been sort of idly feeding them some sort of fried fish sticks he got as a to-go order from somewhere. He's had one or two himself, but he's mostly been picking at the fries that came with it and trying to work up an appetite. Tomo chitters at him in some sort of a fuss, stamping their feet on the bench they're sharing and Ryan boggles at them.

"What? There's no more fish sticks!" he says, exasperated. "Do you even need to eat? You're like, made of smoke or whatever!"

This is his life now. He has telepathic powers and he's arguing with an otter in public, out loud. He probably looks like a basket case to anyone walking by.

B. BUSKING [CELLAR DOOR; MOST OF SEPTEMBER]

The Raccoon Room isn't ready yet, and even though Ryan knows he'll have a standing gig there with a real stage and a real audience he's still itching to perform. Plus bouncing around with his guitar is a good way to burn off some of that weird fighty energy everyone seems to be feeling.

So, he's been busking in Cellar Door. He's gotten the hang of what people wear so that he won't be ragged on for his exposed knees by the locals, and he's playing...well, whatever he feels like playing at that given moment. His lunar orb is attached to his amp with a decorative macramé holder like a gigantic keychain (since it's not like his house needs electricity without him in it right now), and he's putting on a show for anybody who feels like standing around and listening for a few minutes. His guitar case is open on the ground in front of him, and locals have dropped a number of small shiny things, which he's learned are not insults and can in fact be exchanged for goods and services! Wow!

His set list is wide and varied - sometimes he's just messing around with new chords, sometimes he's singing about dressing a dog in a toque, and sometimes he's playing around with covers of songs he's recently learned exist. He avoids the more recent Chicken Choice Judy songs though, since they don't sound right without Min-Gi. His previous solo career songs all have a lot of baggage as well, so...he really needs to get cracking on writing more songs. But for now, just to have something to do, this is fine.

Tomo is with him, but the entire time he's performing they're curled up on a nearby ledge - more content than they've ever been. They look like they're cozy enough to just take a nap there while Ryan does his thing.

It feels great to be performing for a crowd again - he just wishes Min was by his side on synth, and he can't make that little heartache fade every time it slinks back into his thoughts.

C. GROWING PAINS [CELLAR DOOR (RYAN'S PLACE); SEPT 21ST]
Throughout town he's heard news of some...new beginnings ritual, and even seen people carrying around flowers. It seems harmless enough, and they're all magic now, and perhaps more importantly Ryan can't sleep. The sun is well in the sky now, so his body is insisting that it is actually very, very late. What else is he going to do, stare at a wall? Might as well play with this magic stuff, especially if it's just going to make a flower grow.

The locals are all about not being stuck in the past, right? ...Sounds nice.

He digs in a tiny patch of aesthetic earth in front of an absolutely decrepit-looking townhouse that he's been crashing in - the kind of dirt that isn't really a yard but is a place a tree could theoretically grow if it wanted to be a tree-lined city street. He's not sure if it's enough, but he decides to bury an old guitar pick. There are other things he could probably go with, but...it feels like it should be something small. It should be something small, and he doesn't want to bury the Chicken Choice Judy shirt.

(Maybe that should have been his first clue that this isn't a great impulsive thing to do at 8AM.)

He steels himself, still sitting in the dirt. It just needs one drop of blood. That's nothing. That's like, a pin prick. It won't even leave a mark.

It isn't until he feels a weight on his knees that he realizes he's just been sitting there for a few minutes now. He blinks, and Tomo is looking at him, staring directly into his soul.

You don't have to rush yourself.

For a second he stares, dumbly. Tomo hasn't spoken very much to him - this is one of very few full sentences they've said, and they say it directly into his mind. He can feel something pricking at his eyes, but he wipes it away before it can get out of hand.

"I just...really miss Min," he says. He speaks out loud, still not quite comfortable with his abilities.

Then miss him.

"It's not like it would...I dunno, make me forget or stop caring," he goes on. "But it still feels...wrong? I guess?"

...Then do what feels right?

Tomo climbs up onto Ryan's shoulder, curling up there like a living fur scarf, and nuzzles his neck. He takes a deep breath and...starts digging in the dirt again, desperate to unearth the guitar pick.

It's probably an odd sight in the middle of a heavily populated district first thing in the morning.

D. WHATEVER [WHEREVER; WHENEVER]

[Got something else in mind? Hit me up and I'll make a top level! Also I'll match format to either prose or [brackets]; I'm not picky.]

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Wu's out and about, looking for some more supplies for the Raccoon Room. It's nice to be able to really dedicate himself to a project. He's actually enjoying using his hands and creating something, even if Mako is doing a lot of the heavy lifting (literally). He hasn't worked this hard on a project since that one semester of college, when he threw himself into a history project about Avatar Aang's defeat of Firelord Ozai (he got top marks, probably due to his very emphatic presentation).

He hums softly, Fritter on his shoulder, her fuzzy tail tickling the back of his neck. He's looking for glasses and lamps, both pretty important to the general ambiance of the theater, and his bag is full of rocks, dragging his other shoulder down. Really, who decided rocks are a good currency? Yes, he can just pick them up off the ground, which is nice, but-- still! They're heavy!

He's lost in thought about rocks and lamps when his eyes land on Ryan, kneeling there on the ground in front of a pretty awful looking building. Maybe Ryan would want to go look at lamps with him (and maybe he could carry the rocks..?)!

"Ryan!" Wu skips over to him, even if it's a little less springy than usual with all the rocks. He stops by him, frowning at Ryan's hands in the dirt. "Oh, are you doing the flower thing?"

Luz had, in the later part of the month, frequented Cellar Door from time to time. Most of her time was spent in Earworm, but there were times he just wanted to walk Cellar Door itself to get an idea of what it was like. It was on one of these days that she happened to overhear someone playing in the streets. Her ear perked up and she walked over, finding herself oddly entranced. When he was done she joined in on the polite applause, then noticed the curled up animal.

"Oh gosh! It's an otter! I remember when I had one! as a guide, not a real pet! Pretty sure there were laws against that back home."

Varian's still not doing any better than his weirdo message to Ryan in the wee small hours. Sleep is still an elusive beast and the growing anxiety he's feeling is only making matters worse. Exploring their new home is at least helping take the edge off- letting him walk and explore if nothing else. He hears Ryan's music before he sees the guy himself, heading off in that direction.

He smiles, listening to the song- it's...genuinely nice to hear. Music was the background in Corona- people sang all the time and he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss it sometimes. He doesn't interrupt, waiting for Ryan to finish before wandering over with a smile and a hand raised in greeting.

"Hey. That sounded great. Eddie would absolutely lose it if he knew you were playing Taylor Swift. In a good way."

Both Ryan and Tomo startle at this, but Tomo actually recovers a beat sooner. You can almost see the light switch flip in their head at the sight of Wu - a friend! They leap right off of Ryan's shoulder and run a little circle around Wu before standing right up on their hind legs and putting their paws on Wu's pant leg, like they're trying to figure out how to climb up him.

"Oh! Uh. Hey, Wu!" He waves a dirty hand nonchalantly (or at least, he tries to be nonchalant about it). "I, um. ...I was thinking about it? But..."

He trails off and shrugs without explaining very much at all. By this point though, Ryan has processed what Tomo is up to and he flushes - pink, now that the sun is up.

"Tomo! Cut it out! Wu's got his hands full!"

Tomo does not. In fact they are so put off by Ryan trying to tell them what to do that they double their efforts, pat pat patting the side of Wu's leg with teeny paws.

Ryan's still taking some dramatic bows when she speaks up, and he laughs a little and heads over.

"Yeah, same here I think?" He has no idea, but it does feel kind of illegal. "That's Tomo. They're my...Omen, I guess? They can do the smoke thing, but they mostly hang out like this."

Tomo, sensing that they are being spoken about, tilts up their head curiously at the new person. They then lean forward with their head a little, indicating that yes, they are accepting pets and scritches and affection at this time.

"So...you had one as a guide?" he asks. "That sounds pretty cool."

Heh, what a ham. Luz liked him already.

"I guess you're supposed to leave them be to do...their otter stuff. Swimming and eating sea food and whatnot. He's adorable! My omen's different now though. I could probably ride my omen, if she allowed it."

Luz doubted it though. She can't even imagine the face Tempest would make if she suggested riding the wolf.

She eagerly pet Tomo though because OF COURSE Luz is petting Tomo, she'd never pass up a chance to pet an otter. She loved them.

"I guess the omen's supposed to represent inner you? Maybe?"

On the upside, Ryan has pants on today!

He recognizes Varian from the beach, and from the bizarre 3AM messages, and he waves him over. Tomo also looks up curiously.

"Thanks, man! Ha, he's how I heard about her in the first place," he says. "He would totally lose it. I kinda hope he turns up."

He's pre-Taylor Swift, but not pre-"lose it" as slang, evidently.

"So, you hanging in there after your bad trip a few nights ago?" He asks very conversationally, with no judgement but just a little amusement - he's pretty clearly teasing him.

Ryan leans against the same ledge Tomo is curled up on, guitar still in hand. He's still idly picking at notes here and there, but the notes are more gentle - background to conversation instead of screaming chords.

"Yeah?" He feels like he's heard that before, but he didn't actually put much thought into it at the time. "So...what would an otter say about someone? It sounds like you're totally an otter expert, so you'd probably know."

If he's being honest, Tomo has been kind of frustrating since they turned up. This is actually the calmest he's ever seen them so far. He...really has no idea what that says about him, but thinking about it for more than a minute or two makes his brain itch.

Tomo, meanwhile, is enjoying all of the attention. They nuzzle right into Luz's hand.

It was nice to hear the busker play quiet background noise now, the kind of thing that you'd hear when someone was playing to ease you into something more relaxed.

"If I were to make a guess? I'd say that the person has an curious personality, that they tend to be friendly and really fast on their feet! I'm spit balling though, although I might be a little biased. I always loved otters."

The way Luz figured, it was very much a lot like Tarot, and figured her own shift from an otter to her wolf now meant she'd undergone a change.

Also, Luz really liked just gently petting someone's omen, especially if it was an otter!

"You've been doing this long?"

Wu just laughs, dropping down and letting the bag of rocks fall off his shoulder with a loud thud. Some of the rocks drop out, but Wu doesn't notice, reaching down to pet Tomo with a bright grin.

"Wow, you're adorable! Ryan! You didn't tell me your omen was adorable," he picks Tomo up, hopefully with their permission, and cradles them close. Fritter looks a little put out, but instead of getting jealous, she decides to leap down and trot over to Ryan, looking up at him with her big, big eyes, also asking for pets.

"You are adorable! So cute and long. Yeah, you're so long!" That's a compliment, Wu supposes, too wrapped up in this adorable little creature to really think about what he's saying. The flower is completely forgotten for the moment.

Varian is so glad Ryan has pants on today. He's very proud of you, Ryan. You've done so very well, Buddy.

"That doesn't surprise me. He taught me about her, too. And well... a lot of future music, honestly. Maybe the sound of her dulcet tones will bring him running."

It's gotta be like setting off The Eddie Signal, right? Varian grimaces at the joke, tilting his head skywards to let out a pretty solid ugh sound.

"I told you I hadn't taken any drugs. It's apparently a coldblood thing this month. The no sleep. Though actually trying to make something to act as a sedative isn't something I've considered yet. Might be worth trying out. I think I have stuff in my lab that could work."

So hah, take that with your jokey jokes!!

Break was a ways away when he first heard the guitar. He has followed the sound to its source not out of curiosity, but because he is half convinced he might need to get in a fight here, given that something is clearly dying and no one has yet put a stop to it and honestly it's not at all uncommon for this kind of thing to somehow become Break's problem. Given that he is being stealthy, he remains just out of sight around a nearby corner, but he's certainly close enough that when Ryan pauses between songs he'll easily overhear him.

"-- an instrument? You mean to tell me someone's making that noise on purpose?"

"Boof," comes the firm reply, and if Ryan turns that direction he will find an omen staring at him with white glowing eyes. Detecting no threat here, the creature emerges from around the corner and prances closer. Break lets out a small "hey!" in protest, but it is too late. He wanted to investigate the noise and Baltus shall therefore investigate the noise.

Hello, sir. Prepare for a curious snoot sticking itself in your business.

Akechi hears the music before Ryan comes into view. When he does he actually slows his pace just a touch. It's a surprise in a good way to hear what he considers modern music again, even if it's not to his usual tastes. He's not about to outright stop but he'll definitely take a more leisurely stroll while the musician is in earshot.

Granted, it turns out that the musician isn't just playing modern music, but both the musician and his instrument look like they could have just arrived from any given street corner in Shibuya or Shinjuku; even the clothing isn't that out there when it comes to street fashion. It's enough of a unexpected development that Maurice, who's been placidly trotting along beside Akechi this whole time, suddenly splits off and trots himself right up to Ryan instead. He sits down directly in front of the guitar case, staring up at Ryan with his grey eyes wide and his tail curled neatly around his feet. With his cover already blown, Akechi doesn't see that he has much choice but to follow - though he keeps a more respectable distance than his Omen.

Both of them are quiet until the song is over, and though Akechi doesn't have any physical trinkets to toss into the case he does, at least, offer a polite round of applause.

"I must say, it was a pleasant surprise to hear contemporary music in a city like Trench."

It certainly is a strange sight to see. Not one Fern is expecting to see, and definitely not first thing in the morning. While he doesn't quite have the same nocturnal tendencies as Ryan he's still been having a heck of a time getting a full night's rest thanks to everything going on through the month, so he's tired enough to do a double take when he sees the other boy. That's certainly some gardening he's doing.

He is going to wander on over, running a hand through his hair. Should he be concerned? He isn't totally sure at this point, and he doesn't want to jump to any conclusions and freak Ryan out. He stops a couple feet away from the patch of dirt, looking bewildered. "Dude, you doing okay?"

There is no doubt that Wu has Tomo's permission. Tomo practically launches themself into Wu's arms and snuggles close. They are cute and long, thank you so much for noticing, Wu!

Ryan is a little unsure how to take this development, especially since he's still a little rattled from almost doing the flower ritual, but he eases when Fritter approaches him for pets.

"Ha. Somebody wants attention," he says, but he also immediately rewards Fritter with as much attention as she wants. He reaches out a hand and motions for her to come over so he can give her pets and scritches. It...actually helps more than he was expecting.

"That's Tomo," he explains. "They sort of jumped out of my chest recently? They've been lurking around me ever since. They sort of just do what they want?"

Which Ryan finds kind of frustrating, in a way that shows a complete lack of self-awareness. But, he would be lying if he said they weren't growing on him a little.

"...Guess they are pretty cute though," he admits.

Fritter perches with her front feet on Ryan's knee, leaning into the pets. She's insatiable. She'll never get enough pets and adoration. She gets it from her dad, after all.

"Tomo! Well, aren't you handsome. You just couldn't stay away, could you? Yeah, you know Ryan's going to be so good to you, right, buddy?" Wu looks up from the otter to smile at Ryan. He can't imagine Ryan not taking good care of this little guy. He's completely forgotten about the flower ritual, at least for now. "Fritter did the same thing! It was so weird. She never used to do that."

Like it's a normal thing to happen which, he supposes, it is now.

"This is so great! You have your own omen now! I bet you two will be such good friends, right, Fritter?"

Fritter barely spares him a glance, too intent on receiving pets from Ryan.

"Oh cool, so Fritter was a regular raccoon before?" Ryan asks. "I have like...no idea where Tomo came from. Other than like--"

And he sort of awkwardly pats his chest to indicate 'in here'.

When Wu mentions that Ryan is going to be so good to them, Tomo actually huffs dramatically as though they aren't sure about that. Ryan scoffs right back.

"Tomo! You're going to act like I'm not good to you after all those fish sticks I gave you?! Seriously?"

They lazily blep in his general direction from their spot in Wu's arms. It's pretty clear that not only are they baiting him, but it's absolutely working. Ryan frowns and then finally reaches over and fishes the guitar pick out of the dirt, so he can give his full attention to Fritter.

"Someone told me Omens are supposed to say something about who we are? But I have like, no idea what means with Tomo," he admits. "...I mean, unless this place just wants to tell me I'm cute, but I'm pretty sure there are clearer ways to do that than putting an adorable otter in my chest."

That's the risk of performing on the street - hecklers. Well, that and someone running off with your profits.

Ryan looks up at the sound of complaints and is immediately rewarded with the sight of a big dog trotting his way. Tomo looks up too, from where they've been lounging - someone noisy is approaching and they're not sure how to feel just yet.

"Woah, hey there!" Ryan says, laughing a little. "You're so pretty you're going to wind up stealing the show on me!"

He crouches down a little and offers a hand to sniff. The interruption doesn't seem to bother him much. He's been here all day - he can stop and say hello to a dog.

"Aw, do you like my very on-purposes noises?"

Ryan's omen Tomo looks up before he does - they're the otter curled up on a nearby ledge. Neither of these newcomers seem like they're up to anything at a glance though, so Tomo settles back down in their spot.

When Ryan finishes his song he takes a deep, dramatic bow and thanks the small gathering of locals that turned up before giving his attention to Akechi. He either doesn't notice that Akechi didn't put anything in the guitar case or doesn't mind.

"Oh! Thanks, man," he says, all friendly smiles. "I've been hearing a lot of it, surprisingly? You'd think it would be all classical or something but someone showed me you can get all kinds of music on those Omni things. And it's been going over pretty well so far!"

At least, judging by the amount of people who have stopped to listen. Only a small percentage of them have been put off by the concept of rock and roll!

He looks down at the very fluffy cat and grins. "Is this your omen?"

Ryan is focused enough on what he's doing that he doesn't notice Fern at first and despite how careful he is, Ryan still startles. It definitely isn't Fern though - Ryan is tired and on edge, and seems a little like he would have startled at anything.

He's crouching in a patch of dirt, digging with his bare hands, with an otter on his shoulders. ...In other words, he has no idea how to answer that question.

"Yeah!" he blurts out all of a sudden. "Yeah, I'm totally okay. I'm just..."

Tomo looks up at him, like they can't wait to hear what stupid excuse he tries to give. They're already not buying it and he hasn't even said anything. There's so much judgement coming from this little otter.

"I.........lost something in the dirt!" he settles on, overcompensating a little too hard with the good cheer. "It's no big, I just dropped something and it got buried a little. Ha. ...Clumsy, right?"

He shrugs like this is some wacky sitcom-y happenstance, and honestly the more he treats it that way the more it sort of feels like one. Tomo, meanwhile, looks at Fern. He sees what they're seeing, right? They have this almost conspiratorial look, like, can you actually believe this guy? Since they're on his shoulders, Ryan can't actually see the incredulous faces they're making.

Break isn't even a proper heckler, he's just an old man yelling at clouds. He subsides with a look of faint disgust as his omen elects to be a skanky flirt, his feathery tail lifting to wag a little at Ryan's praise. Baltus, like Break, has little use for being told by strangers that he is pretty. However, Baltus, like Break, knows that anyone who would do such a thing is probably a sucker, and suckers often turn out to be useful sooner or later.

As such despite not really being a dog, he certainly acts the part, giving Ryan's hand a polite sniff and then raising his head to greet his fellow omen with a similar gesture. But his real attention is on the strange guitar and Baltus returns to that in short order, tilting his head to peer at it this way and that. It does not seem so dissimilar from an ordinary guitar, just a box with strings on it. What is it that makes this one sound like an infernal hellcat screaming at the blood moon?

Curious, friendly, and quick on his feet? Hm. That doesn't seem too bad. He doesn't really know how he would describe himself in terms of animals, aside from insisting he's something really cool like a dragon or a lion.

"Plus that's what yours was before, right?" he points out. "You're probably all of those things."

Somehow it feels easier to turn it around as flattery for her than really absorb it for himself. Besides, she seems like a nice kid. Tomo evidently agrees - they are absolutely loving all of this attention, and if Luz takes her hand away at all they will make little whiny noises. Sorry Luz; you're here forever now.

"What, guitar? Yeah, since I was a kid," he says. "Unless you mean busking - I've only been doing that like, a couple hours? It's been going pretty okay though."

He gestures at all the assorted shiny things locals have tossed in his guitar case. He has absolutely no concept of what any of it is worth, but it seems like a decent haul to him!

"She was never a regular raccoon," he gasps, looking away from Tomo to shoot Ryan a playful glare. "She's a princess! She was born a princess. And she's half magic raccoon, anyways."

Wu pets over Tomo's stomach, cooing at the blep. That's cute. That's too cute, and Wu is weak to a cute animal, he can't help himself.

"An otter, huh? You look a bit like an koalaotter, mixed with a fire ferret!" Wu grins brightly down at Tomo, "you are very cute. And you are too, Ryan! They say something about who you are..."

Wu's gaze skips back to Fritter, leaning into the pets Ryan is providing her. "Well, I've felt like Fritter's a part of me since Raleigh gave her to me on my birthday! Except, ah, well. Then I died. It's a whole thing! And you-- saw that part. But that's not the point. She's a part of me, even before she was literally a part of me. Although, she has been more animated since we've been here, but that could just be because she's growing up! She's about nine months old now."

He shakes his head wistfully. "They grow up so fast! Maybe it's Tomo's personality instead of their looks? Or both! Because I know that on Earth, raccoon are seen as pests, and that would be very rude if that's why Fritter became my omen."

Luz was thinking of otters specifically, and not knowing this guy too well, she had no idea if the otter matched with his personality or not.

"Before, they weren't omens, they were more guides," Luz said. "In any case, changes probably shift your omen around too, so maybe I'm those things and a little more! That's the crazy thing about magic, you never know what's going to happen!"

Oh, you thought Luz was going to go away so soon, Tomo? Think again: it wasn't often Luz got to see an otter in the flesh, she was not about to let this opportunity pass her by!

"I meant busking, but clearly it works for you! You have a lot of nice things so far! Honestly, I just love watching people express themselves through creative means, even in a place like this!"

This is a very strange situation to come across, and Ryan's reaction to what Fern assumes should be a very simple question isn't helping matters. Yeah, Fern can be pretty gullible, but even he isn't falling for this. He isn't totally sure if he should go along with this or call the other boy out on the very obvious lie.

He raises an eyebrow, giving Tomo a small glance and picking up on his judgmental vibes. Don't worry, he gets it, he's just trying to figure out whether this is some kind of weird cry for help or what. Downsides to not knowing someone very well, huh?

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, and decides he should probably try and do the nice thing here. "Uh, sure, yeah. Do you... you need any help digging it up?"

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And I will wait, I will wait, I will wait | Open

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cw: joking about pot

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always and forever little stoner boy

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