490 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
490 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
label chapter_12D:
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#Let's all go to the Aquarium
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scene black with fade
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pause 3
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play music "audio/OST/west_coast_kicking.ogg" fadein 1.0
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"Every day after school for the next few weeks I would join Fang to help her practice."
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"Some days we would go to her place, and other days her father was home early."
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"Those days Fang would ‘politely ask’ Naser to drop her off at my place."
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"The bribes to keep it from her dad stopped being necessary after the third time."
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"The practice sessions themselves were long and arduous."
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"Sessions would go on until either her dad kicked me out or sundown."
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"Fang would play for hours on end, occasionally stopping to let me try and to take a break."
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"Despite my warnings, she’d play until her fingertips were red and raw."
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"I decided it was time for a real break once I ran out of band aids."
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"My great idea was to take out the map of the city I’d had since I moved in and throw a dart at it to decide where we’d go for the day."
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"There’s lots of neat places in the city for dates, the mall, the arcade, a local amusement park."
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pause 0.5
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"...And the dart landed in the ocean over the dock."
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"The look from Fang told me she wasn’t stepping anywhere near a tuna boat."
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"The Aquarium it is."
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scene aquarium with fade
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"So here we are inside after paying admission."
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"I’d suggested she wear some gloves, just to protect her hands."
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"I don’t think she understood the second part, because they were fingerless."
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"The Aquarium is a large marble building on a marina."
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"The various exhibits sprawl out to make the place turtle-shaped from a birds-eye view."
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"It’s a nice place, but I still need to make this entertaining to Fang."
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"She already looks bored."
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"Looking through one of the map kiosks, I try to make a mental plan for the trip."
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show anon neutral at aleft
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show fang neutral at sright
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with dissolve
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A "Uhh… {w=0.2}They got exhibits for the deep sea, the gulf of Mexico, the dopefish, tropical reefs…"
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A "... Eenie{w=0.15} meanie{w=0.15} mini-"
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F "Really?"
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A "Sea turtles it is."
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"I take Fang’s hand and lead her through the lobby into the chamber labeled ‘Sea Turtle Conservatory’."
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scene aquariumexhibit with fade
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F "Anon, are you sure you want to spend the day here? If you wanted to go to the mall or somethin- {cps=*2.0}omigawd.{/cps}"
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"A little sea turtle swims out of hiding in the tank right in front of us."
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"Immediately Fang breaks free of my arm and presses against the glass."
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F "Look at these cute little shits, I love them!"
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show fang adorable at sleft
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show anon neutral at aright
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with dissolve
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A "Yeah, I see them."
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"I peer into the tank and see a few more hatchlings bob out of the decorative grass."
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"The hype becomes contagious and I find myself pressed against the glass as well."
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Attendant "Please avoid touching the glass, it stresses the little guys out."
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A "Oh, sorry."
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A "Come on Fang, there’s more stuff to see."
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F "{cps=*0.75}Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno{/cps}."
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A "There’s more here than just those baby turtles, you know."
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F "Doesn’t matter."
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A "You’re just going to stay here all day then?"
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F "Yyyeeeep."
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A "What’ll you do for lunch?"
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F "Bring me something from the cafe."
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A "Allright, here I am going off without you."
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A "Oh look, a Dumbo Octopus."
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F "{cps=*2.0}Whereisit?{/cps}"
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"In a snap Fang’s moved from pressing her face against the turtle tank to pressing it against the octopus tank."
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scene aquariumexhibit
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show fang happy at sleft:
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yalign 0.0 xcenter 0.4
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with dissolve
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#confirmed that fang has autism
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Attendant "Ma’am, please refrain from-"
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show fang adorable at sleft with dissolve #at sleft
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F "{cps=*1.5}OmigoshAnonlookatit.{/cps}"
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F "It’s like a living egg yolk with button eyes."
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A "Is that the first analogy you can think of…?"
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#Fang has the zoomies
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F "And what’s over there? Are those seahorses{cps=*1.5} holy crap I have to take a video of this.{/cps}"
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window hide
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window auto
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#new method
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show fang:
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# yalign 0.0 xcenter 0.4
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block:
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parallel:
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ease_cubic 0.25 xzoom 1.0
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parallel:
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ease_cubic 0.5 zoom 0.75 ypos 0.1 xpos 0.6
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pause 1.0
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block:
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parallel:
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linear 0.25 xzoom -1.0
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parallel:
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ease_cubic 0.5 zoom 0.8 ypos 0.1 xpos -0.2
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pause 1.0
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ease_cubic 0.5 zoom 0.4 xpos 0.0 ypos 0.3
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pause 1.0
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block:
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parallel:
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linear 0.25 xzoom 1.0
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parallel:
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ease_cubic 0.5 zoom 1.0 xpos 0.2 ypos 0.1
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pause 1.0
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ease_cubic 0.5 zoom 0.3 xpos 0.65 ypos 0.33
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pause 1.0
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repeat
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pause 2.0
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"I shrug apologetically at the attendant who has given up entirely."
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"But watching Fang zoom between the exhibits to gush over each oddly cute sea animal was just too much."
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"Subtly my phone finds its way into my jacket pocket, already set to record."
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window hide
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window auto
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show anonphone at scenter with dissolve # moveinbottom
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"She’ll probably kill me if she found out."
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hide fang adorable with dissolve
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"But it’d be a good death."
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pause 0.5
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"Wait, where’d she go?"
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window hide
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window auto
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hide anonphone with dissolve #moveoutbottom
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scene aquarium with fade
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show fang happy at sleft with dissolve
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"I round the corner to see the next room has a large group of school children hovering over a stingray touch tank."
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"That is, a large group of school children and Fang, towering above the rest."
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"She does have the act down though."
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scene stingray pool with dissolve
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A "Oh, cool, a stingray pool."
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A "You plan on touching one?"
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F "Touch?"
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A "Yeah, you can put your hand in and they’ll slide against it, watch."
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"I roll up my jacket sleeve and push my hand into the water, splaying it out."
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"Fang and the children lean in intently."
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"The water’s cold, but sure enough, a few of the playful things make their round and slide up right against it like a cat begging for scratches."
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A "See?"
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"Several in the crowd start jumping with excitement and put their own hands in the water to try for themselves."
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"Fang doesn’t seem completely convinced, though."
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F "You sure they’re alright to just touch like that?{w=0.2} Aren't those dangerous?"
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A "I mean, it’s a bit slimy, but there’s a hand sanitizer thing on the wall right there."
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F "That isn’t what I meant."
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A "Come on, I’ll make sure they don’t bite."
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"Fang reluctantly grabs my dry arm and I lead her to a spot not occupied by ankle biters."
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"I put my hand back in and motion for Fang to do the same."
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"She hesitates with her hand raised just above the waters’ surface, then plunges her hand down next to mine."
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"It doesn’t take long for a few rays to make the corner and brush up against our hands."
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F "Eep!"
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A "You alright?"
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F "Yeah, no, it’s just… You were right about them being slimy."
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A "Well, I have yet to hear of a dry fish."
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F "Shut up."
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"After a few more rounds of rays, Fang decides she’s had enough."
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scene aquarium
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show anon neutral at aleft
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show fang happy flip at sright
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with fade
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A "See, that wasn’t terrible, right?"
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A "Actually, you got all your fingers right?"
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F "I dunno, wanna check?"
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show fang flip off happy flip with dissolve
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"Her cheeky grin and raised middle finger confirm her hand’s integrity."
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show fang neutral flip with dissolve
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F "So uh…"
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F "Which exhibit are we checking next?"
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"I check the aquarium pamphlet to see where we haven’t been yet."
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A "Well… if we go outside we can see the dolphin pools. That way it loops back through the deep sea exhibits."
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"With Fang in agreement I lead her towards the exit marked with a large dolphin sign."
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stop music fadeout 3
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scene aquariumoutside with dissolve
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"Upon exiting the building my nose is assaulted by a mix of salty air and the smell of raw fish."
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"Somehow it’s even fishier than inside the aquarium."
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play music "audio/OST/Bayside Bumming it.ogg" fadein 1.0
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show fang happy at sleft
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show anon neutral flip at aright
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with dissolve
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F "Ooh, smells like lunch."
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A "It says they should be feeding the dolphins pretty soon."
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"The walkway circles around a large pool with several dolphins swimming around, and I can make out the trainer holding a hoop with a bucket of fish by their feet."
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"One of the dolphins jumps straight through the hoop and is rewarded with a fish caught out of the air."
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F "Would you jump through a hoola hoop for me if I had treats?"
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A "..."
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"I notice the trainer has traded the hoop for a large brush and is getting one of the dolphins to open its mouth."
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"The trainer starts brushing the Dolphin’s teeth and showing off the rows of neatly spaced cones."
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"I make a show of craning my neck down to get a view of Fang’s teeth from below."
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"She raises an eyebrow for a second and then realizes."
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"An elbow jams into my shoulder and her other hand covers her snout."
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A "So that’s how you brush your teeth!"
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show fang considering with dissolve
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F "...I don’t need someone to bribe me at least."
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A "Well if you ever need help I’m sure I can get them to lend me one of those brushes."
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show fang neutral with dissolve
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"And that gets me a jab to the ribs this time."
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A "Oh come on, you have to admit they look a bit like you..."
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F "Ehh, I don’t see it."
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"The dolphin beside her nods in agreement."
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"...Right then…"
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show fang happy at sleft with dissolve
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A "So, how bout we hit the last spot and then go grab our own lunch?"
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A "Unless you want to have some tuna with your clone there."
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"Fang rolls her eyes at that."
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"Her dolphin duplicate did too."
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A "You’re fucking with me,{w=0.2} aren’t you."
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F "What’re you talking about?"
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"Fang’s aquatic doppelganger makes a laugh-like chirping and finally swims away."
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"..."
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A "So Deep Sea then!"
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scene black with fade
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"We leave the dolphin pen, following signs back towards the building."
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"The floor slopes slowly until we reach a door labelled as the sub-level to our destination."
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"Pushing through, we find ourselves in an oversized hamster tube beneath the water."
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"Oh, I didn’t realize they had one of these."
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scene aquariumtube with fade
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"From within the glass walkway we’re surrounded by a myriad of colorful marine life swimming around us."
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show fang surprised at sright
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show anon neutral at aleft
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with dissolve
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"Fang’s eyes are wide as she tries to follow the different schools of fish that dart to and fro about."
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"I’m more mesmerized by the water filtered light cascading off Fang, casting her in a gentle glow that illuminates her white feathers."
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"God.{w=0.2} So glad I’m recording this."
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F "Recording what?"
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show fang neutral flip with dissolve
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A "The uh…{w=0.3} {cps=*2.0}The shark!{/cps} Yeah, that cool looking shark over there!"
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"I point to the shark that’s currently lazing about, casually drifting by the walkway."
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show fang adorable with dissolve
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"Fang turns to gush at the shark, giving me the opportunity to quickly stop my phone and see that my battery is near dead and storage near full."
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A "Ah, there’s the last exhibit."
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show fang happy with dissolve
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"I hold open another set of doors, the room within near pitch black."
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F "Is it closed?"
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A "Hm?"
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F "The lights…"
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A "Oh! Nah, the room is dark because the things inside aren’t used to light."
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F "O-oh."
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A "Wait…{w=0.2} are you sca-"
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F "No! I just…{w=0.2} Wasn’t expecting it, is all."
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show anon neutral at aleft:
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ease_cubic 1.0 xalign 0.5
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"I offer her my hand."
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"Despite her claim otherwise I can feel how tense she is by how her fingernails dig into my hand."
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stop music fadeout 2
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scene black with fade
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"I lead her into the darkened room, what little light there is coming from the various animals within."
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play music "audio/OST/Beach Chill Out.ogg" fadein 1.0
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"The aquariums within are packed with bioluminescent jellyfish, illuminating the darkened room with an ethereal glow."
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scene jellyfishroom with fade
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F "Whoa. This is…"
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A "Beautiful."
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F "Yeah…{w=0.3} that…"
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"I wasn’t referring to the exhibit."
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"Fang’s grip on my hand eases, and her fingers work to intertwine with mine."
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"With what little light there is I can make out Fang’s smile."
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"My eyes have adjusted enough that I can see Fang’s eyes locked onto mine, the gossamer light making them glow."
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"My lips press softly onto Fang’s beak-end in a chaste peck."
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F "Eep!"
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F "Oi! G-give me a warning next time!"
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A "Mmmm… Naaaah."
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"I laugh even as her hip bumps me roughly."
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"Our interlocked fingers prevent her from using her preferred elbow tactic."
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A "So…{w=0.2} had fun?"
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F "Mmmm… {w=0.2}Maaaaybe…"
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F "I’ll say yes if you delete that recording."
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A "Awwww, but you were so cute!"
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F "Sh-shut up! I’m sexy damn it! Not cute!"
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A "Why not both?"
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"She glowers."
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A "Feel rested?"
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F "A bit. I’ll feel even more rested after some lunch though."
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A "Sounds like a plan."
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window hide
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window auto
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pause .5
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scene aquariumoutside with dissolve
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pause .5
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"The rest of our rest day was spent just relaxing on the pier."
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"Snacks on the boardwalk."
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"A bad sunburn on my neck."
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"And a very relaxed girlfriend."
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"Overall,{w=0.2} mission successful."
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pause 0.5
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"Except the sunburn."
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"Ow."
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stop music fadeout 3.0
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scene black with Dissolve(1.5)
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pause .5
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"..."
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window hide
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window auto
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pause 1
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return
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