the caged mind craves the comfort of home

day 2 (mildly nsfw) (private now bc a third person showed up sorry gang)

Halfway up the mountain is a plateau where the hot spring can be found. Originally a roughly cut circle in the rockface of the mountain, time and some work from the residents of the island has seen it become more inviting. The sharper edges have been smoothed down and some steps have been carved into the rock, although these can still be slippery. A pathway had previously been worn into the ground but is now obscured by a combination of weathering and rockfall over the years the island has been abandoned. The water of the hot spring itself is still warm and inviting and is the perfect temperature to soothe aching muscles and bones after a long hike.
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almostinhuman
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the caged mind craves the comfort of home

#1

Post by almostinhuman »

((Jacob Winters continued from intersection))

Alone again. But it was better now. He'd gotten past that initial bout of panic, that initial need for closeness. The company he'd found had been exactly what he'd needed to pull himself out of that hole, but now, to be frank, they were suffocating him a bit. There were too many of them and they were too loud and their presence was kind of stressful, even if unintentionally. He'd slipped out when everyone else was asleep, when his head had cleared just enough. He needed to be alone again, just for a while. He needed open air and solitude.

Hence him hiking all the way up here. Hence him happening upon these springs. Hence him soaking in the water, eyes half shut, practically falling asleep again in the comforting, intense heat. He was nude, his clothes stuffed into the bag sitting at the edge of the pool, aside from his boots, which lay beside it instead. His arm was hooked in and around the strap of it; it would be important to keep the bag close regardless, of course, but since his clothes were inside it was particularly important now. It would take a real idiot to let your clothes get stolen in the kind of environment they were in, after all.

Perhaps it was a little stupid to relax out here like this at all. But hey, he'd spent his first hours on the island getting high with a bunch of relative strangers (and Kathleen), so it wasn't like he was proving to be terribly smart to begin with. Besides, he was keenly aware of what his chances of going home were. Frankly he was lucky to have made it to the second day; from the sound of it, not everybody had.

He shut his eyes, sinking further into the water, feeling the near-burn of it envelope most of his bare torso. He didn't wanna think about that. Perhaps he should've smoked some of the weed he'd pilfered from Dawn, now laying in the bag beneath his clothes. He certainly couldn't do that now, and he wasn't about to get out to do it... but it might've kept those pesky thoughts at bay.
[+] V8
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Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
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Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
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Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#2

Post by AnimeNerd »

After stabbing her second victim until he stopped moving for the second time in two days, she had come to a realization.

She needed. A fucking. Bath.

NOW.

[[Enter, Jezzie Stark, new knife in hand, second bag over her shoulder and next to the first, and clothes thoroughly bloodstained.]]

It may have been cruel for that to be her thoughts at this moment, but fuck it. That guy-whatever his name was-was definitely trying to kill her. No exaggeration needed for this one. He was searching for her, knife in hand. If she hadn't acted first, she would've been the bloody corpse against a kitchen floor. Anyone thinking otherwise clearly didn't know enough about these things to deserve any say in them.

It was self-defense. And because of that, she had a right to throw guilt to the side.

And she deserved to, because her outfit was so fucking ruined.

Before, she could have maybe gotten away with it. The long sleeves of her jacked took the most of Steve's blood when Jezzie stabbed him, and that was really the only part of her that made contact with the now long dead boy. Maybe a little bit on the body of the jacket, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.

Now, though? The body had bloody, both inside and out, due to how Jezzie had sat on the second boy when stabbing him-the hem especially being blood-soaked. The blood pool had reached her legs before she stood up again, staining her leggings as well as send a shiver down her spine. The skirt had blood on its inside as well, and while she could hide it more easily, it made her skin crawl. Not even her turtleneck had been spared, the initial jumping stab sending a stream of blood that managed to miss her jacket entirely, landing squarely in the center of her chest and down her front, ending just above her belly button.

And don't make her think about her boots. Just acknowledging them was painful enough as it was.

It was clear at this point she needed to change. But she had more blood on her than just what touched her clothes. If she wanted to feel anything even close to clean, she either needed a shower or a bath, and she'd bet running water wasn't exactly a commodity in this Hell hole, and she wasn't about to waste a drop of the bottled water on this. Jezzie'd already emptied one out for the first day, using the second just to induce hypothermia would've been stupid, if not complete suicide.

And that's why Jezzie came back here. As much as she didn't want to risk walking in on another guy streaking and shrieking about fucking somebody's parents, this seemed like the one place she might get to clean herself off. She just needed to be there when no one else was...around...

Jezzie stopped her footsteps as she stared at the second naked boy she's discovered near these hot springs while wearing bloodstained clothes in two days.

If this was take two of the same God Damned scene, she at least felt less annoyed that this guy wasn't screaming about Shawn's mom and wanting to fuck her.

It was minor, but it was something.
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#3

Post by almostinhuman »

Jacob's eyes opened just a little at the sound of someone approaching. He could make out the hazy shape of a classmate of his, a blob of moving, breathing color. Great. At least they weren't sneaking up on him or anything. He was dimly embarrassed at someone seeing him naked, but it was far from the worst... possible...

His eyes opened a little wider, casting a scrutinizing gaze at the intruder. The red he'd assumed to be part of an outfit now looked suspiciously like something else entirely. Almost like...

His eyes were properly open, scanning the girl in full. Yeah, she was definitely covered in blood, all right. Carrying a knife, too. Suddenly, modesty was the least of his concerns.

Jacob locked his eyes to hers now, alarm plain on his face. His arm slowly unsnaked itself from his bag and slipped into the water, prepped to let him push himself up if she lunged for him or something. Admittedly, she looked almost as surprised to see him as he was to see her, but only one of them looked like they stepped out of a fucking slasher movie right now.

"Can I... help you?" He inquired, on edge. "Like... are you okay?"

The answer was pretty clearly no, but a more specific kind of no would at least tell him if he was in deep shit or not.
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#4

Post by AnimeNerd »

She wasn't a fan of remakes. Didn't particularly hate them, but no general love towards them either. But if yesterday's comedy was replaced with today's nitty gritty, she'd act her part nonetheless.

As the boy asked his question, Jezzie only raised her hands. She would've given the Don't shoot! gesture if her right hand didn't have a death grip on the twisted knife. So it was more of a Don't shoot? gesture.

"I don't want trouble," Jezzie said, trying to keep her voice steady and mostly succeeding. "I just...I just want a bath."

It didn't answer the question, technically. But she thought the implication spoke for itself.
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#5

Post by almostinhuman »

"Ah."

The shock fell from his face, the tension in his back and shoulders eased. Girl was just here for the same reason he was, and seemed to need it more besides. No need to kick up a stink, then.

"Okay, good. Just kinda... startled me, is all."

He laughed, still a bit nervous. He believed her when she said she didn't want trouble, but it'd still seemed to have found her. It was a bit of a shock to the system, seeing even this snippet of what must've been happening while he was goofing off down below. It made things just a tiny bit too real.

"Well, uh..." He leaned back, eyes shutting again; hopefully enough of a signal that he believed her. "Be my guest. I don't own the spring or anything."
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#6

Post by AnimeNerd »

He didn't freak out. He didn't start screaming. He didn't raise a weapon or anything. Not even a tiny threat.

Jezzie let out a breath she hadn't realized she had held in as her hands dropped to her sides.

A part of her was tempted to just drop her bags and walk straight into the water, not even shedding any clothes before jumping right in. That part of her was just so exhausted already that she wasn't sure she would've even minded them getting so thoroughly soaked. She had spares, after all.

But a bigger part of her realized the flaws in that plan, most notably two specific pieces of clothing. Jezzie hadn't had underwear in the backpack she chose as her carry on for the bus trip. Make up, yes. An extra outfit to dazzle the class with if they went skiing immediately, of course. But an extra bra and panties? Not so much. So she'd have to get naked completely if she didn't want any wet clothes to freeze in this weather.

And stripping in front of anyone actually present on Murder Island was not an option. She could accept the cameras, since trying to take them out meant death last she checked, and she could for once feel grateful that the psycho terrorists were more focused on bloody bodies than naked bodies-unless things were very slow at this moment, they were probably featuring some guy's last moments before he bled out or something equally morbid and depressing.

So, that really only left one obstacle.

"I...think I'd rather wait my turn."

Jezzie shifted her gaze to the side as she spoke, towards the edge of a plateau. She bit her lip-not too hard, but applying a good amount of pressure.

"I'd rather not...have anyone see me, when I'm bathing."

She wasn't acting this time. Embarrassment wasn't an emotion one usually needed to fake when it came to getting naked in front of people.
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#7

Post by almostinhuman »

"... yeah."

He sank a bit into the water, blood rushing to his face. Now that he knew he wasn't in mortal danger, she'd gone and made him keenly aware of his nudity. It didn't help that the water was too clear to really obscure him at all, even with the steam coming off it; anyone looking at him could see everything. It hadn't really bothered him much until she'd pointedly refused to join him. The relaxed feeling of just a minute ago was pretty much gone. Now he was just some weird idiot sitting around naked in a death game.

He crossed his legs, as if doing so would make her magically unsee his dick. His arms too, though he didn't have anything to really hide there; it just helped him feel a little less embarrassed and exposed.

"I see you kinda need it more than I do." He said, pointedly looking away from her. "And I wouldn't mind getting out for you, but, uh..."

He shut his eyes again, sighing and running a hand over his dreadlocks. Fuck, this was humiliating.

"I mean, I kinda can't just... put my clothes on without drying off first? Especially given how fuckin' cold it is. And I'm pretty sure we don't really have any towels or anything, and I can't really, y'know, leave like this..."

He cleared his throat. He was babbling, belaboring what should be a pretty simple point. God, why was he being such an awkward fucking idiot?

"So like... I can get out, but I can't really go anywhere for a bit. Gonna just have to... kinda dry out in the open, I guess."
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#8

Post by AnimeNerd »

Well, at least Naked Guy #2 was able to acknowledge the awkwardness of being naked sooner than Naked Guy #1.

As he sank down and attempted to hide his shame, Jezzie's eyes stayed glued to that plateau's edge, almost like it was her mark for a show's first rehearsal. This was still not how she wanted to see a dick for the first time, and she was lucky enough to have let her gaze only reach the guy's Adam's apple before twitching back up to the bridge of his nose. It was best to keep her eyes on something else, lest she risk they went down even further the second time.

Naked Guy #2 spoke his thoughts. He was willing to get up and leave, but he needed some time before then. They didn't have shit to help them get clean, let alone getting dry. And he clearly had just as many problems with her seeing him naked as she did. It didn't leave many options.

Once he finished, Jezzie nodded before speaking.

"That's fair. I can...keep watch. Make sure no one else walks in and sees your-anything, sees anything."

That was reasonable, right? Gives him some privacy, and she wouldn't have to do that much in the end. What was the worst she could deal with, being bloody for a little bit longer? It wasn't the worst thing she'd had to deal with by now.

And it wasn't like he'd stab her in the back. He seemed like one of the few reasonable people, and even if he wasn't, she could handle herself just fine.

Steven and Kitchen Guy were proof of as much.
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#9

Post by almostinhuman »

"Right... yeah, okay."

Jacob pulled himself out of the water, lifting himself out of the spring and standing on the edge. Quickly he regretted it; the heat of the spring did not permeate as far up as he'd expected, and his upper body was immediately struck with the wintery chill of the mountain air. His bare feet, standing on the smooth stone surrounding the water, were the only part of him that still felt warm.

"J-Jesus f-fuck," he stammered, immediately dropping to a sitting position next to the spring. "Too c-cold."

He was probably gonna have to just sit here for a while; the weather was far too frigid for him to tolerate much else.

He started digging through his duffel, careful not to touch his own clothes for fear of getting them damp; instead he pulled out the provided windbreaker and draped it over his shoulders. It wasn't gonna do much to dry him out, but it'd at least mitigate the cold a little.

He also removed the weed, paper and lighter he'd taken from Dawn, quickly facing away from the spring with them to stop the spring's humidity from ruining them. Sitting cross-legged and mostly-unclothed on the stony ground, he started rolling it carefully. Long as he was forced to wait here and out of the water, he may as well indulge a little.

As he did, he called out to his little accidental voyeur. Now that neither of them were facing each other, he felt a bit less self-conscious about his state of undress, and a bit more willing to engage her.

"So, like... you got a name? Sorry if we've, like, met before and stuff, I'm just not good at remembering people."
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#10

Post by AnimeNerd »

Naked Guy #2 agreed with the idea, and once more she felt like she could breath a little easier. She had a proper moment to just relax and talk with someone. The last time she got a moment to talk without any extra tension was either Naked Guy #1, or Jack from that creepy church cellar, and she wasn't sure the former counted when she walked in on him screaming the world's weirdest threat at Shawn.

Jezzie had turned fully away from Naked Guy #2, now. Just in time, considering the sounds behind her indicated he had stood up fully. Jezzie's eyes stayed toward the path she had walked three times now, ready to note any new visitors to the area.

Her gaze would dart to that edge every once in a while, though. Felt like something was drawing her towards it. The view, maybe? She never got a view like this back in Salem, and she doubted she ever would get one like this in the future. Getting to see it completely might be nice...

Naked Guy #2 spoke again, and she felt a little more grateful that he couldn't see her face. Another guy that didn't recognize her? Seriously? How could he not know her? Even if he had trouble remembering people, she wasn't just any person, she was Jezzie Stark! A popular girl at school! Had some of the best fashion among the student body! Was in every play since they had anything resembling a theatre class! She...

...was among the girls who killed on the first day. Stabbed a guy named Steven forty times in the chest. And had already added a second guy to her body count. A boy whose name she didn't even know before stabbing him in the back.

"...Miranda. My name's Miranda."

Maybe it was better to be someone else for once. Use Naked Guy #2's forgetfulness to her advantage.

"And you are?"
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#11

Post by DerArknight »

The way up the stairs was long, but nothing she couldn't handle. Camping in the woods every other weekend had given her lots of stamina. Bringing the cooler along was the biggest issue, and even that turned out to be more of an annoyance.

((Daenerys "D" Todd continued from Dare))

After leaving the house, Daenerys decided to head up and check out the hot springs. Despite getting barely any blood on her, she felt dirtied to the bones. Plus she still wanted to clean the khopesh. Rubbing snow on it had gotten most of it off, but she knew that weapons needed to be taken care of to remain sharp and usable.

Not that she was planning on using it again. But preparation for the worst case scenario was critical. Especially since her business with Roberta has resulted in her missing the announcement. For all she knew, anyone could be a killer now.

Almost at the top of the plateau, D heard a voice speaking.

"...Miranda. My name's Miranda."

Oh. Of course there were people at the warmest place on the island. Miranda was a name Daenerys didn't remember from school, but the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Maybe one of these classmates you sometimes heard on the hallways.

Once again, she could still leave.

Stopping for a moment, she gave it a thought, took a deep breath, and advanced.

Tomorrow, her own actions would be broadcasted. From that point on, she had to assume that anyone she met would attack her on sight. Meaning that today was the last day for D to have some peaceful conversations, say some goodbyes and tell each other that whatever happened next time they met would be nothing personal. She needed that after this shitty morning.

So she ascended the last few stairs.

On the plateau were two persons. One was sitting on the ground behind the other, so Daenerys couldn't see who it was. It had to be Miranda.

The girl blocking her view was Jezzie Stark. While not a friend, D had always felt some kind of bond to her due to both of them having a weird name often associated with GOT. In other words, someone she felt she could talk to.

Since Jezzie wasn't looking in her direction, Daenerys let go of the cooler to raise her hand and called out to her.

"Hey, Jezzie!"
V9
Judy Loxley
Ae-Cha Myo
Cynthia Jericho
Sarah Williams
V8
S007 Derek Caldwell [65/134]
S026 Dawn Montogomery [34/134]
S076 Daenerys "D" Todd [72/134]
S106 Ethan Kemp [132/134]
S116 Quentin B. Skinner [94/134]
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#12

Post by almostinhuman »

"Miranda..." he pondered, finishing the rolling of his little blunt. "Nah, that doesn't ring a bell, sorry."

Laying back against the duffel on the ground, he stuck the joint in his mouth and lit it. He hoped Miranda wasn't gonna whine about it or whatever, though frankly it wasn't gonna stop him regardless. He took a long, deep drag off of it before responding to Miranda's request for his own name.

"I'm Jacob... Winters, not Lang. I didn't... y'know."

Given what the other Jacob had apparently gotten up to, he needed folks to know for certain who they were dealing with.

"I j-"

"Hey, Jezzie!"

The sudden arrival of a new person scattered his train of thought, making him shoot back into sitting straight up again and drawing his knees to his chest in a fruitless attempt to cover himself. He didn't even really process that she'd just used a completely different name for the girl he'd been talking to. Like it wasn't bad enough to be caught naked up here once, now he'd have two people seeing him like this, and getting high besides. His view of the other girl was blocked by Miranda-Jezzie, so she probably couldn't see him yet either, but it was really only a matter of time.
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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#13

Post by AnimeNerd »

Just fuck me, am I right?

Were people mixing up their fucking scripts?! We already did 'Jezzie gets recognized at a horrible time!' Yes, they were currently also doing yesterday's 'Jezzie finds a naked guy at the hot springs,' but reshoots and reimaginings are things that happen! Not combining two scenes into one shooting time!

She had enough time to process Naked Guy #2's name and remember 'Oh yeah there was a Jacob that murdered someone yesterday' before someone shouted her name just out of shot. Jezzie's gaze snapped to the steps and was met with the sight of someone she recognized for once-D Todd, another girl who had to deal with a weird first name and had a name connection to those Game of Thrones books, her own being a two-for-one.

A girl who was currently waving at her, blowing whatever cover she had had for about five seconds.

At this point, she couldn't even care about the new smell being in the air. Jezzie just put all her focus in acting like she didn't want to scream at the heavens.

Jezzie's hands went up and forward, keeping a looser grip on the twisted knife's handle. Unlike last time, it was less of a Don't shoot! gesture, and more of a Don't come closer! gesture. Her face was alert, but not panicking. Her voice firm, but not rude.

"There is someone naked behind me. If you don't want to see that, maybe don't look that way."

Though she wasn't sure how much that could deter the other girl. If she would so readily greet Jezzie when she was already a labelled murderer and now covered in blood, a naked person might mean nothing to D.
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#14

Post by DerArknight »

"Thanks for the warning."

Someone being naked at the springs was nothing to write home about. In fact, Daenerys was here for that very reason.

What was odd was Jezzie's tense expression. She wasn't the one about to be seen nude, so there should be no reason for her to-

It was at this point D realized that Jezzie's coat wasn't red for stylistic reasons. She squinted her eyes, but could see no signs of pain or bandages on the other girl. This probably wasn't her blood.

"What happened to you?"

The grip around hee khopesh tightened a little.
V9
Judy Loxley
Ae-Cha Myo
Cynthia Jericho
Sarah Williams
V8
S007 Derek Caldwell [65/134]
S026 Dawn Montogomery [34/134]
S076 Daenerys "D" Todd [72/134]
S106 Ethan Kemp [132/134]
S116 Quentin B. Skinner [94/134]
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almostinhuman
Posts: 228
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2020 3:20 am

#15

Post by almostinhuman »

"Oh right! Yeah," Jacob chirped, oblivious to the mood shift. "I remember you now!"

The girl's second name - her real name - was enough to jog his memory, even as the weed slowly threatened to cloud it. He wasn't sure he'd been closer to her than in just sharing a class or two, and he was certain they'd never spoken, but Jezzie Stark was popular enough that even a burnout like him had heard of her.

"Or at least I heard your name around. You were, like, in a bunch of plays, and..."

Of course, there was the matter of where else he'd heard her name.

"Oh."

Now the blood she was drenched in had a name, and a face. Now he knew she was trying to wash off Steve.

"... oh."
[+] V8
Image
Corbin Azinger
"I did everything I was supposed to, and it landed me here."
1 2 3 4 5
Image
Jacob Winters
"I'll be back. Once I splatter that motherfucker's brains over the ground. I promise."
A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Image
Ingrid Wilde
"Well, I'm glad not to be your fuckin' victim, too."
1 2 3 4
Image
Kiera Hayes
"This is some grim shit we're in, huh?"
1 2 3
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