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[secretingredients]

[ come here for all your screened ic threads! who doesn't want to take the highway to the danger zone? ]

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[ He's so much easier than Starshine, y'all. ]

It was...

[ His voice chokes up a bit at his response, though. ]

My son.

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[......................]

...Seriously?

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Yes, seriously!!

[ Wow, he's offended you doubt him, Shintaro!! ]

Is that all you came to talk to me about? What made you ask, anyway?

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Because there's Latvian stuff in this place, actually.

You probably already knew that though, didn't you?

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...Oh. You found some of my books, huh?

Guess I sorta lost track of those.

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[No...But.]

Yeah. What kind of books are they? Can't tell, because, y'know, Latvian.

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Oh, I used to have a lot of 'em, but I think they're probably all gone by now.

I'm surprised you even found one.

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If the books and stuff are here, does that mean your son used to be here, too?

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No.

[ He shakes his head vehemently. ]

God, no. That would be... that would be awful! I would never want him to wind up stuck here, too.

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What's up with the Latvian Kids First Aid Kit, then? Seems like it must've been for him, yeah?

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This place pulls in stuff for everybody, you know? It's not just you guys.

Those are things from home. I used to get presents from Santa too.

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You used to get things under the tree, the way we do now?

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Yeah, exactly. It's been a while though, so we mostly lost track of that stuff.

[ He sighs. ]

I hadn't thought about my son in a long time. I hope he's doing okay.

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...Sorry.

. . .

[Pats him on the back again...]

I miss my family too.

How long has it been since you've seen him?

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[ He shakes his head. ]

I don't know. I really don't. We've been here for so long...

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[. . .]

So long...

Long enough that you don't age anymore, right?

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Oh, yeah. Obviously.

[ He pauses. ]

Actually, it's probably because time doesn't really pass in here. If you go home, you'll show up at the same time as you vanished.

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If!?

[Shintaro's whole composture changes, grabbing Thug's shoulders.]

The people from before...they were able to go back?

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Uh... yeah. [ Calm down, dude. ] We told you guys, remember? Once the storm passes and your time here is over, you can go home.

What, did you think we were lying?

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N-No, I just...

[He'll let you go, Thug. Sorry about that buddy.]

Is that how it worked before? The murders stopped, and people got to go home?

[ . . . ]

Brasco and the Princess already told me.

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Basically, yeah.

[ It's cool, kid, he's mostly just a little surprised. ]

We never said you were gonna be stuck here forever.

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It's just...the storm kept you here all this time.

I would figure...we'd all either die, or...

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Oh, well, we live here. Someone has to take care of the house.

But you guys are just guests, you can leave no problem. Once your stay is over, anyway.

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Brasco said you couldn't leave because of the storm.

You're not allowed to leave because you have to take care of the house?

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[ Somewhere Brasco is probably sneezing. Dammit, Thug! ]

I mean, the storm is keeping us from leaving. It's just, uh, a little more complicated than that....