The BlackJack pirates 5
#5 of The BlackJack pirates
The BlackJack pirates 5
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-I know it's been a long time since you've heard from me, but I've been kinda busy lately. Sorry about that, but I finally got around to finishing this and uploading it. Sorry for the wait, but I'm back for now.
-as with all my other series, I'm converting the changes of character and time to this series of dashes. - - - - -
-in the first chapter of this series, it said that there was a king of clubs in the teeth of the flag on the BlackJack ship. That was something I forgot to change from the original draft of this story. It was supposed to be an ace of spades. I edited the first chapter and fixed it, but for you who's already seen it, it's an ace of spades on their flag, not a king of clubs.
-as you may have noticed, I haven't actually given the name of the BlackJack ship. That's because I can't come up with a good name for it. One that fits.
-in the spirit of collaboration with all you reader people, I propose this idea. You all help me name the ship, because I'm horribly incompetent.
-I'd offer a prize or something, but all my money goes towards buying beef jerky, so if you want a reward of some sort, we can negotiate it in the comments, or in a pm.
-mmmm... Jerky...
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"Wow... Orville really loved you Pat. I'm really sorry about what happened to him." I said, my voice sad. It's unfortunate that Orville died. I know that he almost killed us all, but I still felt bad that he was dead. "I'm sorry too, and every cell in my body is screaming with rage right now. I don't know why I'm not flipping out. Maybe I'm just too exhausted right now. I just... I need something to take the edge off..." He sighed. "Joslin, your strongest drink." He muttered to the waitress woman. She looked at him strangely.
"Captain BlackJack, you've been coming down to this bar for years, and I know you. You don't handle alcohol well, and in fact, the strongest thing I've ever seen you drink is rum that was half water." She said to him. Wow. He really doesn't like alcohol. "Please Joslin... Not now. Just get me your strongest. I need to drown my pain..." Pat muttered, with a sobered "dead inside" look. The waitress sighed and went and grabbed him something. It was dark brown, and it looked like muddy water.
I grabbed the drink that Joslin brought me, and I took a big swig of it. I almost vomited, and it felt like my throat was melting. It settled, though you can hardly call it settling, in my stomach. Warmth spread throughout my whole body, like liquid fire in my veins. I could feel my thoughts getting foggy and slow. I sighed and chugged half the mug, and this time it was even worse, along with the fog that clouded over my mind. I didn't feel any better.
It's been half an hour since the captain started on the strong stuff. He asked for their strongest drink, but thank god Joslin didn't give him "the ragged dragon". That would have ended badly. The ragged dragon is a special concoction of one of Joslin's ancestors. It's the strongest stuff in the world. If you need help understanding how strong it is, I'll say only this: Some of the men in the crew even have a tough time drinking it.
The captain drank enough to put himself into a stupor, but he's been handling the alcohol better than I expected. He's not wobbling around running into things. He's been one of those depressed drunks, who sit at a counter and mope. He hasn't stopped drinking since he started, and he's having a hard time keeping his eyes open with all the alcohol in his system. If you ask me, he's on a path to destruction. After what happened to Orville, he's trying to drink away his pain, but there's no amount of alcohol that will make that kind if pain go away.
I feel bad, that he's messed up enough to turn to drinking. "Carmine." The captain muttered, looking up from the tabletop. "Yes, sir?" I asked, sitting across from him. The men were concerned for him, so they had me watch over him. "Can... Can you help me to my bed. I don't think I can get there like this." He muttered, in a depressed tone. His words, for all his drunkenness, weren't slurring. Strange. "Yeah Pat. I'd be happy to." I smiled. I don't know why, but I'd called him Pat. It was a friendly gesture, but it was out of character for me. I went around to him, put his arm over my shoulder, and helped him to his feet.
"Holy crap." I grunted under my breath. Without him holding himself up, he was heavy as an anvil. Or three... I helped him stumble over to his bed, and he dropped into it, like a rag doll. He looked up at me. "Thank you Lucas." He said, but that look of depression didn't falter. I didn't take it personally. "You uh... You've never called me that before." I said. I was somewhat surprised. People have always called me Carmine, so it was sort of strange. "Well, that is your name, isn't it?" He said. "Yeah, but people never call me that. The only one who ever really did was my mom. My father's name was Carmine, and his father, and so on. It's family tradition, that the first born son is always named Carmine. My mother was dead set on naming me Lucas, so my father gave me the middle name Carmine. But yeah, it's a family tradition. It's a strange tradition, but it's ours." I chuckled. The captain looked at me with that depressed look still on his face. He didn't say a word, and he didn't move. It took me a minute to realize that he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. I chuckled and closed them for him.
"Is the captain okay?" I asked Carmine. "Yeah, he passed out. I put a blanket over him. He's sleeping just fine. My only concern is... He's seriously depressed. He's just frozen in a sad state." He muttered. "I'm sure he'll get over it. He just needs time." I said, and went back to work. I'm the doctor, but on occasions when there's no medical stuff to do, I handle the manifest.
Lets see... Three barrels of coconuts from the island. Fifteen kegs of rum, and forty of other assorted alcohols. Two crates of oranges, for vitamin c. Prevents scurvy and whatnot. We also have six barrels of water. Four crates of pineapples. Some crates of assorted vegetables. A couple crates of preserved meats. The pineapples are for the captain's piña coladas. We also have some pure alcohol for addition to assorted things, though it's mostly used for cooking. We've also got twenty bottles of wine, also for cooking, and emergency alcohol. Of course, the captain's personal stash is the best stuff. It's just five bottles, but they're all aged for at least fifty years. The oldest is six hundred years old, if you believe the captain's word, and it's some BlackJack family specialty, made by the family itself. The captain doesn't drink much, but he keeps them for special occasions. Next on the manifest is... Something written in Arabic. We use Arabic on the ship when referring to illegal cargo. I sighed. Handling the manifest in a pirate ship isn't an easy task, since anything can be used as evidence against us by those crooked navy men. That reminds me of the day I first joined the BlackJacks...
I was the doctor on the "rickshaw". I was the most reputable doctor in a thousand leagues, but one day, the navy saw that we had a painting of some famous pirate in our cargo area, and so they had the captain hanged. We weren't even a pirate ship. We were just a merchant vessel, transporting things from one place to another. It didn't matter. The whole crew was put to death as "pirate sympathizers" or something. Before they could hang me, I didn't even think, I just acted on instinct. Everything slowed down. I grabbed a flintlock, and I shot the navy ship's captain point blank in the head. Then I ran and jumped overboard. I swam for hours before I passed out. I don't know how I didn't drown, but I woke up on a pirate ship. Of course I didn't know at the time that it was a pirate ship. I woke up with some wolf guy staring down at me, with a wide grin on his face.
"Well hello there." He said to me, with that smile of his that I've grown to love. "Uh. Where am I?" I asked, my voice raspy and choked. I looked around, and there was a redhead woman sitting in a chair, watching me. Most likely a guard of some sort. She was muscled, and looked like she could break my arm with just her grip. "You're on my ship. I'm captain Pat 'BB' Blackjack, but everyone just calls me the captain, or if you want, BlackJack. And what do I call you?" He smiled again. "I'm Aloe Vera. My name is that of a plant, I know, but my mother was an insane botanist. People just call me Aloe." I told him.
He ordered me some water, and showed me around the ship. It was nice. The crew seemed nice enough, but they were all drinking. Of course, that's not too strange for a merchant crew. I've worked with some weirder ones. "So Aloe, what is it that you do?" He asked. "I've had a variety of jobs over the years. First I was a teacher of medicine at a school in Europe, and then I got fired and ended up on a merchant ship managing finances. Then I was a doctor on the 'Lockjack', and then a doctor on the 'Rickshaw'. Until the Rickshaw got hit by the navy, and we were all hanged because of a freaking painting. With the exception of me of course." I sighed. "I shot the navy captain, jumped overboard, and swam till I passed out. I woke up here." I muttered.
"Wow. That sucks. I despise the navy. Always cutting in and telling a man what he can and can't do." He scowled. That seemed strange, but I didn't push the issue. Some people don't like to talk about their life, and I'm fine with that. I've got my own secrets. "So, go ahead and talk to the crew, have some conversations, drink if you want to, and whatever it is you feel like doing. Just make sure you don't destroy my ship. I built her with my own two hands you know." He smiled. I found that a little hard to believe, but, again, I didn't push it. I looked around, and watched some of the crew. They went about their duties with a "this sucks" attitude, which isn't too unusual. A lot of people don't like doing work.
"Hey there, driftwood, welcome to the ship." Smiled a guy with a rifle slung over his back. He seemed nice enough. "Hi. And my name's Aloe, by the way." I said. He didn't seem to hear me. "Yeah, that's nice, driftwood. My name's John. I'm the head sniper." He grinned. Sniper? I suppose one of those could be useful for defending yourself from pirates. "So, what exactly do you do?" I asked. A sniper can be useful, but he has to have other jobs for when he's not shooting. "Well, I shoot people when the need arises, but aside from that I mostly help with the rigging. Right now though? Well I'm on break." He chuckled. Since when do sailors take a break? Oh well. Not important. Some crews are really laid back.
"Well, see ya later driftwood. I'm gonna go shoot some of these GOD DAMN SEAGULLS!" He yelled, shaking his fist at the birds circling overhead, and started climbing up to the crows nest. He stopped about half way, pulled his rifle off his back, and started taking pot shots at some of the birds. His rifle didn't need to reload for about six shots, which was impressive. Repeater rifles are very expensive. These merchants must be pretty well off. I went off to go meet the rest of the crew. I ended up talking to a man named Luke, a bartender named Reyez, and some guy named Phil or something. Then I came across a pink furred squirrel, which was extremely odd.
"Hello." I smiled and waved to her. She blushed and hid behind some really large, dark skinned, very muscular guy. His eyes were pearly white. He's blind. I realized. "Don't worry about her. She's a bit on the shy side. I'm Call by the way. Pleasure to meet you." He grinned. "I'm Aloe, nice to meet you as well." I smiled. "Well Aloe, I'm hoping you like your stay. I know these people can be a bit much." The big man laughed. He had an accent I didn't recognize, but it sounded like a sliver of Jamaican, buried by american. "Thank you." I smiled and moved on, though I noticed that pink squirrel following me from behind, hiding behind things occasionally. I got the feeling that this was normal.
So far the crew has been really strange. A guy with a serious hatred of seagulls, a blind guy, a pink squirrel too shy to talk to me, and some guy who might be named Phil or something. A really weird crew. They drink, they're lazy, and they spend a lot of their time doing absolutely nothing, but they were nice. They had a "rejects stick together" vibe going on, and it worked for them. After watching them for a while, I realized, they were a team. They had their squabbles, but they drank together, they worked together, and they joked together. They were more than just a team. They were a family.
"Hey Leroy, grab some bandages. This idiot hit his finger with a hammer again." Yelled that redhead woman from before. The one guarding me. Hit with a hammer? That doesn't sound good. I went over to see what was going on. That guy who might be called Phil or something was apparently the one they were referring to. His thumb was off at an unnatural angle. Bandages won't be helpful for that.
"His thumb is broken at the metacarpal. It needs to be set and put in a splint, otherwise it won't heal properly." I muttered, and everyone stared at me. "Uhh... Okay... I have no idea how to do that. Do you think you could lend some assistance?" Leroy asked. I almost had to laugh. I've got no idea how these people have survived this long. "Yeah, sure. Phil, you're gonna want to keep your tongue on your mouth, so you don't bite it. I'm gonna count to five on this. Everyone else, feel free to cover your ears." I muttered and grabbed the thumb, gently at first, but then I gripped it.
"Okay. One. Two. Thr-" I cut out and pulled the thumb into place, and Phil damn near broke my eardrums. I find that it works better to make it unexpected. It hurts less when you don't see it coming. It's a trick that pisses people off, but you can't argue with the results. "You... Ass..." He groaned. I apologized, and explained to him that it was better that way. He eventually calmed down enough to let me put it in a splint and wrap some bandages around it, just in case.
"You're pretty good with this medical stuff. We could use a guy like you on this ship." Leroy muttered. I laughed. They really could, if this is what they have to work with. A ship without a doctor is a ship with the plague. I've seen it too. The navy will end an entire ship up in flames, with everyone on it, if anyone so much as thinks the word plague. These people were nice. I'd hate for them to end up screwed over by the navy like the Rickshaw.
Half an hour later, I found myself sitting at a table in the main area, where the whole crew was gathered, the captain included. They were all in a serious discussion about a question written on a green chalkboard. "I disagree. It's obvious that androids are superior to robots." Leroy contested. "No way. Robots are better. They have that cold mechanical logic that makes them much better as war machines." Said John, with his rifle slug over his back again. "Androids can think independently and they can improvise, because they have a human brain. Robots can't improvise or think on their own, they just do what their programming tells them, and they're prone to glitches." The captain said, taking serious part in the discussion.
"Yeah, but androids have problems taking orders. If you force them to do something, their brain will fight back, and that makes a whole mess of problems." That Phil person retorted. This whole discussion has actually been very entertaining, though I haven't taken part myself. "I'll concede that point, but robots have glitch issues of their own. I'd say that about evens it out." Said Leroy.
"I believe it's time for the decision!" The captain announced twenty minutes later, and everyone got very quiet. I didn't quite know what was going on, but I sat and watched. "So far throughout this discussion, many fine points have been made, and many points argued. It is my duty as captain to make the decisions on matters of this nature. I have observed, and even taken part in the discussion, so I believe I am fully qualified to make the final verdict. Would anyone here disagree?" He asked. The whole crew was absolutely quiet, which was impressive, since they had all been so talkative a minute ago.
"Nineteen pro points were made for robots, and eleven con points. Of these, two pros and one con were argued and made null, leaving a remainder of seventeen pros and ten cons for robots, which, after some complicated math, leaves robots with seven." He said, and got a few laughs. He's not always funny, but he tries.
"Twenty one pro points and fifteen con points were made for androids. Of these points, four pros and six cons were made null, leaving androids with seventeen pros and nine cons. That leaves androids with eight." He said. It seemed as if the contest was over, but the crew was still in suspense, as if they were expecting a different result.
"Now, the matter of the final decision. As you all know, I, as the captain, have certain powers involved in these decisions. On an issue so close, there are certain executive decisions that I can make. However, I feel that there is no need for such a move in this discussion. I have decided. Androids are superior to robots." He announced. Half the crew cheered, and the other half booed, but all of them bowed to his decision.
After another ten minutes, the crew was in the mess hall, or whatever they call it, eating a meal. The food was better than what I was used to. Actual meat and vegetables, instead of the slop that most ships have. It was actually very nice. "So, that thing you were all doing, with the chalkboard and the question. Do you do that often?" I asked John the sniper, who I happened to be sitting next to.
"We do it all the time. It's actually very fun. The captain started it. Apparently it was a game he used to play with some chick he used to work for." He said, gnawing at some meat. He doesn't like forks, according to the crew. If it can't be eaten by hand, it shouldn't be eaten. He said at one point. John is a weird person.
"Well, it was certainly entertaining." I said around a bite of my own food. I had opted for extra vegetables. I like to eat healthy. Yeah, I'm a doctor that eats healthy. Sue me. "It's very entertaining. That's why the whole crew gets involved, and they have a lot of fun doing it." Said Carmine, who I met earlier. He's apparently John's apprentice or something. Not sure why you'd need more than one sniper, but whatever works for them I suppose.
"So, how are you enjoying the ship, Aloe?" The captain asked, appearing behind me suddenly. He tends to do that a lot, I've noticed. "Pretty good. I like it here. Though I've been meaning to ask, what're you guy's hauling? Spices? Rum? Art? What?" I asked, looking around. "Huh? We aren't hauling anything." The captain muttered, looking confused. "What's a merchant ship doing all the way out here without hauling anything?" I asked, even more confused than the captain was a minute ago. "Oh, we aren't merchants. We're pirates." He smiled. I sat motionless for a second. "I see."
"He still locked in the kitchen with a gun?" Collie asked. "Yup." I muttered. He grabbed my pistol and ran for the nearest room as soon as he realized we were pirates. I should have seen this coming, honestly. I mean, I expected him to be a bit more accepting after he got to know us but, as usual, I was wrong about that. If all the other pirates weren't total douchebags, maybe people wouldn't hate us so much. Pirates just go around pillaging and murdering, with the occasional addition of raping. They're all horrible. Except us. We rule.
*Addition by captain BlackJack
*Captain, please stop adding things to my journal
*No. It's fun.
*Sigh...
I sat in a corner of the kitchen with a flintlock I'd stolen from the captain. It was a really nice gun actually, with flourishes worked lightly into the metal of the barrel. The handle was rosewood, and it was extremely nice. I'd stolen an extremely valuable gun from the captain of a pirate ship. I'm going to die.
"You do realize you're not the only one in here, right?" Said that muscled woman from earlier. I think her name is Janet. I scooted back further into the corner and leveled the gun at her. She just sighed and went back to eating a bowl of soup. "So, you found out we're pirates. I'm surprised you're acting all scared about it. You already hung out with the crew all day, and you obviously liked them all, so I've no idea what your problem is." She muttered, still slowly eating her soup. I... I hadn't thought about it that way.
"I didn't consider that." I said, slowly. "Clearly." She chuckled. Then it struck me. Why was she eating in here alone? It was a good question, and I asked. "Why are you eating alone in the kitchen?" I asked. It just seemed odd, for her to be in here instead of in the mess hall with the rest of the crew. "I can't stand half the men in there. Well, the men and Collie. She's even worse than they are." She shrugged, and went back to her soup. "Why can't you stand them? They seemed pretty okay." I said, and lowered the gun. She didn't seem likely to attack me.
"Because they can't stop staring at my chest." She sighed loudly. Wait, what? That was... Odd. "You're kidding, right?" I asked, somewhat bemused. "Not at all. This entire ship is full of perverts, with the exception of the captain, that Phil guy, and a few others." She muttered. Huh. I can see how that could get annoying. "Though, for what it's worth, I haven't seen you looking, and I'm very observant about these sorts of things." She laughed, and I had to join her. Maybe these pirates aren't so bad. "But uh... If you do, I'll kill you." She said. I don't want to die.
Yes, those were the days. It was on that day I started dating Janet. I still am, actually. It's not as big of a deal as you'd think. We pretty much act the same as we did before, just with a kiss here or there. It's a slow relationship, but I think it works for us. Obviously the rest of the crew doesn't know. We've been keeping it low key. It is for this reason, that I refuse to put anything about us in any of my journals. The captain has a habit of messing with them. He thinks he's being funny, but it can be annoying sometimes. I will admit, it's funny on occasion, but not always. I don't hold it against him. In fact, I don't really even think he's doing anything wrong. He's just him. It's complicated.
"So, you're pirates. I'm still a bit freaked out by that." I sighed. The captain just smiled, as he so often does. "Yeah, we get that reaction a lot. We're actually just fun loving nutjobs. We steal things, sure, and on occasion we've been known to confiscate people's booze." "BOOZE!" Yelled someone in the background. People sighed. "But we wouldn't dream of killing people or raping or anything like that." He laughed. I laughed with him. He's got an infectious personality.
"So, on behalf of the BlackJack pirates, I would like to extend an official offer to join our crew." He smiled and held out his hand. It was a big decision, the kind of decision that takes serious thought and and consideration. I accepted without any of that. These people, these pirates, were good people, and I would love to be a part of their crew. "Well BlackJacks, you know what that means. PARTY!" That Phil guy yelled, and everyone spontaneously started partying. They were singing, dancing (horribly), and drinking. A lot. You have no idea why you would want to be a part of this, but you just can't imagine a world without it. That's the BlackJack way, I suppose.
"So Aloe, what do you think." Janet asked, staring at the sky. We were sitting up in the crows nest, supposed to be watching, but we were in open waters. Nothing would bother us out here. Besides, it's the middle of the night. Who would attack us at this time of night? "I'm thinking that, with all those trillions upon trillions of stars, and all the planets orbiting them, there just has to be life out there somewhere." I said, looking at Polaris. It's always been my favorite, like many sailors. "That's beautiful." She said, with a smile. She pecked me on the cheek, and we just sat there, watching the sky. It's a simple relationship, but it works. "You really do have a soft side. Who would have guessed." I chuckled. "You realize if you tell anyone about it I'll kill you." "I know."
"Look, all I'm saying is, the captain is going to kill himself at this rate. It's been a month, and he's been hammered for every second of it. Not only that, but he's been high on something, something seriously strong. I really think we need to do something about it." Johnson said. Johnson almost never talks to anyone, and when he does it's usually just something stupid he's doing with the captain, but when he does talk, you know it's serious. "Well, much as I agree with you, there's just not a whole lot we can do about it at this point. If we cut him off, who knows what he'll do. Besides, whatever he's on has gotten him seriously messed up. If we cut him off of whatever it is, he could go through withdrawal and die." Said Tazzamen. Her butler, who's name I forget, agreed with her. It took some time, but eventually he started loosening up around here. At this point, he's a part of the crew. At least until something bad happens. His loyalty is to Tazzamen, not to us, and that makes him dangerous. Plus he's an ignorant prick, but that stays between us. If something were to happen, who knows what he would do.
"But if we get attacked or something comes up, and he's drunk out of his skull, what are we going to do then?" Asked Jack, hopping lightly like he does when he's nervous. "Hopefully if we get attacked, the captain will snap of of his stupor long enough to keep us alive." Janet sighed. She didn't bother with sarcasm. That's a clear indication that something is wrong.
As if on cue. "NAVY FLEET OFF THE STARBOARD BOW, TWO KLICKS OUT. TWENTY SHIPS. TOO MANY CANNONS!" Kenmure shouted, and for an instant everything was silent. Then an explosion of activity as everyone ran looking for a job to do, but it ended up a huge mess of confusion. Without the captain giving orders, nobody knew what they were supposed to be doing. The admiral stepped in and started barking off orders. Much of the crew still didn't trust him, but in this sort of situation, they didn't have the liberty to question him. Besides, I think they were glad for the orders, regardless of who they came from.
"Half sail! Turn us around, now!" He shouted, and the men sprung to action instantaneously. Maybe it was their desperation to not get killed by the approaching navymen, or maybe it was the admiral's natural ability to lead, but they moved like lightning and did what was needed of them. After fifty seconds that felt like twice as many hours, the ship managed to turn around, and the admiral immediately called for full sail. The wind was with us, but it was also with them. "May the wind be with you. And also with you." the captain chuckled drunkenly, using a different voice for each half of that comment. Like a conversation with himself. "Shut up captain."
"They're gaining on us admiral. I think you need to get down in the prison room again and let us tie you up. That way, if they catch us, you were just being held hostage. You weren't one of us." Said Call. The admiral looked sad, but nodded and went downstairs with him regardless. They did the same with Tazzamen and her butler. It'd be better for them if they didn't get seen helping us. With the admiral down in the room we use to hold prisoners, it was up to the captain to command the men. We'd have done better gluing a starfish to the wheel.
The navy fleet overtook us in mere minutes, and tossed grappling ropes onto the ship from both sides, locking us to them. The men were prepared to fight to the end, but the captain spoke up at the last second, capturing the attention of both the crew, and the navymen who had boarded the ship.
"Men." He said somberly, with untold sadness in every breath. What's become of him? He's gone from fun loving vagabond to depressed alcoholic drug addict. He's reached a low that we didn't think was possible. "Men. Listen to me, and just give in. There are twenty ships worth of them. We can't fight them this time." He said, and stumbled to his knees. He couldn't even stand under his own power.
"So, you're surrendering then?" The navy captain in charge of the ships asked captain BlackJack. Captain BlackJack looked up at him, and he had this look in his eyes. This look of... Defeat. Complete and utter defeat. "I... I surrender." He muttered. The navy captain grinned and slapped cuffs on the captain BlackJack's wrists.
"Okay then pirates. Your captain is now prisoner of the navy, so I'll make you a deal, though God knows you wretches don't deserve it. Surrender now, and I give you my word that you will not be put to death." He announced. The men seemed to give the offer serious thought. One by one, they dropped their weapons and let the navymen put cuffs on them.
"No... No. NO! I'LL NEVER SURRENDER TO YOU NAVY ASSHOLES!" Shouted Denmure as he jumped at a navy man with his sword. The man's pistol fired off. Denmure hit the deck in a heap. He just laid there, in a growing pool of blood. "YOU BASTARDS!" Kenmure screamed, a scream full of anger, rage and agony, and attacked him, With his wrists still in chains. The man dropped his pistol and sidestepped Kenmure. Kenmure screamed again and went at him, over and over and over again, screaming, with tears on his face. He tried one last time, before he broke down onto his knees. He tried to move Denmure. He grabbed him, shook him, and begged him to get up. He didn't.
"Admiral Lock. The BlackJacks have fallen."
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- A depressing end to this chapter. I cried a bit writing it honestly.
-That sounds dumb, I know, but I take my writing seriously, and I give a part of myself to each of my characters. I become part of them. When they hurt, I hurt, and I carry their burdens with them.
-that sounded ridiculous, I get it, but screw you nobody cares what you think.
-because I care what you think, I ask you to leave comments with any criticisms or ideas for improvement, or just literally thing else you want to say or ask. I try to respond to all of you in a timely fashion.