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Friday, July 7, 2023

Sunday Post


 
So some of you know that I sorta ship Steff and Andie from Pretty in Pink. Well, maybe not ship... but I always wondered what their ending would be like. So... Check out this one. 

Pretty in Pink fanfiction Pride & Privilege   

In other news my story had issues with posting so I'm including chps. 17-20 below. Disregard it if so inclined. I know that this makes this post kinda super long  

Syfy do it 12 monkeys emily hampshire jennifer goines

Here is this week's lyric. 
Do we deserve a second chance  
How did we fall into this circumstance   

Here is the lyric f/ last week and the answer      

Opened my eyes to a new kind of way  
All the good times      
      

   Song of the week


PULP COVER OF THE WEEK: 

Image result for a sin in time book

  




"Welcome home," Mallory announced cheerfully. 

They had turned a corner and there it was- the secure command center. There were guards before a metal door and a blinking red light above it. 

Stella came over as they entered. 

"Welcome," she was all smiles. "And you must be Maia," she said, turning to Joon's companion. 

Maia nodded stiffly. 

"I see you armed yourself," she turned back to face Joon. "We'll need to debrief you on everything, naturally. After we scan you. Can't be too careful. We'll get you treated too," she waved at Maia's cut which had stopped bleeding but looked rough. 

Mallory ushered them over to a couple technicians as Stella returned to the command group. 

"I'm glad you made it," she whispered. "Things are bad. I want to hear about faux Mallory, but first..." She nodded at one of the technicians, who waved a wand like device at Joon and Maia. It clicked and whirred and then flashed green at the tip. Mallory thanked the terchnician and then took them aside. 

"Experimental scan for intruders. That's what we're calling them pending a better classification. Not that it's a sure thing. No one has really been out of this room since the collapse, so we're sure everyone here is clean, but there was real debate over whether you should be let in- especially since you encountered one."

"That explains a lot," said Joon. "When I got back to the command center I wasn't sure why everyone was gone."

"Right after you left for Ops we got word that the intruders were loose." 

"Loose?"

"Oh, dear."

"Speaking out of turn?"

"We heard rumors," Maia cut in. "A birthing pool, something about a super soldier program. Soldiers who could shapechange, be anyone."

"You heard that?" Joon and Mallory asked at the same time. 

"Well, I have information too," she replied. 

"I hadn't heard that," Joon said rather sullenly. 

"At any rate, forget that." Mallory. "The technicians are working on an inhibitor collar- you wear it and it keeps you from being duplicated."

"She did touch me."

"Yes, I know," Mallory replied. "That's what we're worried about. We don't really know if that means there'd be a Joon running around- you shot her- or if they're alternate versions of us. Now that the Gate is open things have come through- some of the things they're working on are extensions of things we stumbled on coming through the gates or were captured." 

"Gates- plural." 

"Oh. Well, I know you saw the GOA- gate observation area- but most of those are offline, not ready yet. A few experiments. But the Gate in Ops is the only one really live." 

"Wait, go back," interjected Maia. "So... are the intruders alternate versions of us, or are they being grown in a vat?"

"I don't know," Mallory admitted. "Stella knows but she can't really say."

"Maybe it's both," said Joon. "They captured intruders who come from... an alternate reality. It doesn't surprise me they'd try... reverse engineering them."

"Oh, we gotta go," Mallory interrupted. Stella was waving them over. 

"You green?" she asked tightly as they came over. She had a hint of a smile though. 

"They're good," assured Mallory. "I mean, as long as those scanners are legit." 

"Well, here's the situation. We can't close the Gate from here. Ops is ours but there are things on the loose. Our containment system went down and the intruders are on the loose. Could be anyone. We're going to need to get to the Hub and manually shut down the Gate." 

"What about the squatches?" Joon wondered. 

"Still on the loose." 

"The Hub is a ways."

"It is a ways," Stella agreed. 

"Who are you going to get to make that journey?" 

She kept looking at him. 




"Wait a minute," Joon said. "You're not serious."

"I'm deadly serious. Who else can I send?"

"Anybody." 

"Wrong. I need someone I can trust, and you've already shown me you can survive out there." 

"I'm expendable, you mean." 

Stella was getting irritated. 

"I need someone who can pull this off, Joon," she said. "Not expendable. And..." she turned to Maia, "I've been looking into your background while we were waiting for you two to show up. Do you think you can work the Gate controls?"

"Maybe," Maia replied. "I've never been to the Hub. I'm level three but I work with artifacts, samples..."

"Yeah, I know. We'll get you to speed. I'm sending a couple experts with you. You'll only have to do it if they fuck up."

"Stella, how many intruders are there?" Joon wanted to know. 

"That's classified."

"Well, it would be helpful to know," Joon mused, "considering we may encounter them between here and the Hub. And how far is the Hub?"

"There are... temporal distortions between here and there, so it could be three hours or three days."

"DAYS?"

"Joon, are you just now remembering what we do here?"

"There are a lot of creatures running wild."

"I know. As to the intruders, there should be less than a few hundred."

"Oh, is that all?"

"Mallory will  be your contact. You can rest and get that treated," she said, gesturing at Maia's cut, "but I need you to go quickly. We are holding Ops but the yetis running around are a pain, and now we have..."

"The intruders," Maia finished. 

"They're not technically yetis..." someone nearby commented. A withering glare from Stella and the person went back to what they'd been doing. 

"What if I get a fake Mallory on my comms?""

"Well, let's have a code," replied Mallory. "How about... a roly poly?"

"A roly poly?" Joon asked. 

"It just came to mind." 

"I have a question," said Maia. "We've encountered robots, Gaxians?" she looked at Joon for confirmation, "intruders who are shape changing versions of us, and cryptids. Anything else?" 

No one answered. 

"Just checking." 

 
 
Joon. I've been thinking." Maia broke the silence. 

"Yes?" 

"You know Stella mentioned temporal distortions, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what exactly does that mean? You know, all this time we've been working on interdimensional gateways, tech we've gotten from otherwordly contacts, but... this? Is she talking about time...?"

"Look," Joon interjected. "Could be. I keep getting surprised with how much I don't know about what's going on."

They walked on in silence. It had been a couple hours since they left Command. Joon still couldn't comprehend how big this place was, and he'd been here two years.   

They were approaching the Habitation area now. This was where everyone lived, more or less. The tube stopped here to let some people off- most non essential staff were being sent here to hunker down until further notice- but systems were still offline and the tube was not functioning past Habitation. They were going to have to walk from here on out. 

Habitation was huge. It was an enclosed world, with subdivisions and blue sky- simulated, of course- people had houses, and there was a monorail to get around. A city within the complex. Highly secured, with several entrances and exits, but it could be locked down, and that was the plan once they got everyone there. 

Joon and Maia, however, had other responsibilities. They were heading for the Hub- to shut down the Gate, if they could. 

"Ever wonder why the Hub is so far away?"

"Yes. You have a lot of questions."

"Well, I've never been good at just following orders and not thinking." 

Was that a dig? 

He stopped and looked at her, and the two guards with them stopped as well, keeping a respectful distance. After a moment they started walking again, down a white corridor lit at intervals with recessed lighting. 

"I'm just saying..."

"Have you heard of quantum mechanics? I mean, I know you have. And the idea that time is like a tree- and that maybe every time a decision is made, an alternate reality is born. An infinite number of universes, populated by alternate versions of us who picked a different major, went out with this person instead of that one, took a different job. After everything we've seen... it's not so hard to believe, is it?"

"No," she admitted. "I mean, it would be weird if it weren't true. After all, we know we have recovered technology, a gateway to another world..."

"Right. And I can't help wondering," he lowered his voice, "what it is we're really doing here." 

"Sir," one of the guards interrupted. "We have a problem." 

They turned a corner to find the passageway blocked by rubble. A ceiling collapse. They knew the complex was unstable, but what had caused this? 

"Mallory, we need a detour," Joon spoke into his comm. 

"Why? Did you get lost?" 

"Cute. No, there's a tunnel collapse here. Next best route?"

"I'll get back to you." 

Sighing, Joon switched off. The guards took up positions while they waited. It was very quiet. 

"Do you ever wonder what goes on in these parts of the complex where there's... nobody?"

"Yeah. Like... what is all this for?" Joon agreed. 

"Joon," Mallory's voice on the comm. "Go back to the last intersection, go left. You can get around the blockage there."

"Does it link up to 24C?"

"Checking. Yes. You literally just go around the blockage and you're on your way." 

"Alright. How are things?"

"Bad. We have people in the ops center but there are still squatches running around and the Gate is unstable. We're seeing weird things. Different worlds... but thankfully nothing has come through, yet." 

"It's pretty quiet here," Joon replied. 

"Good. Hopefully the squatches haven't gotten that far. The shapechangers are a problem. Fake Stella has people running in circles. Be careful." 

"Acknowledged. You also." 

He clicked off. 

"Let's go."

They retraced their steps and soon they were on the way again. They hadn't gotten far when the lights suddently went out, only to be replaced by emergency lighting after a few moments. 

"Now what?" Joon muttered. 

"Sir, we have contacts. Dead ahead," one of the guards warned. His handheld proximity scanner was beeping. 

Joon lifted his rifle, taking a position in front of Maia. She was armed too although she'd had little training. 

The beeps were getting more insistent. 

"15 meters," the guard intoned. "Ten. Five. Sir, maybe we should..." 

The beeps were constant now. Around the corner came a procession of spherical floating things... Gaxians. They were covered in eyes, each a different color, with antennae and waving tentacles. There were a lot of them.


 
The Gaxians floated silently by. They were beautiful, in their own way. All the eyes. Each one a different color. Joon had heard they were peaceful, as long as you left them alone. They fed on energy, so some of the laboratories were using them as energy dampeners. He had no idea why a pod of them were just floating along, but hadn't someone said the containment fields were down, so maybe they just... floated out? 

"Hold your fire," he instructed the guards. Maia reached out a hand, as if to touch one, and he almost said no, but he waited. The orb nearest her shied away. 

There didn't seem to be any hurry. The guards kept a nervous eye on them but otherwise there didn't seem to be any problems. The orbs continued on their way. 

All except one. 

As the pod moved around the corner one hung back. It stopped, moved forward, then turned and came back their way. The guards immediately raised their weapons but Joon shouted "No!" and held his hand up. He waited as the thing approached. 

Was this the one Maia tried to touch?

The Gaxian came close and then stopped. He could see the eyes blinking and the creature turned, as if giving different eyes a look at everyone. Maia came closer and looked at Joon, then the creature. 

"Do you think it's friendly?"

"I'm not sure what it's doing," Joon replied. "It doesn't seem hostile."

"Sir, we should keep moving," one of the guards pointed out. 

"Yes, I'm aware." Joon had to admit the creature was fascinating. About the size of a soccer ball, maybe a little larger, and all those eyes! 

"Alright, let's go," he said and they resumed their march towards the Hub. The Gaxian remained where it was, then began to follow as they rounded the corner ahead. They were in 24C according to the marker on the wall. 

The guards clearly weren't happy about their new companion. Maia kept looking back. It stayed about ten feet back, more or less. Joon flicked on his commpiece. 

"Mallory. What do you know about the Gaxians?"

"Kinda busy at the moment. Lemme get back to you."

"Alright."

They proceeded along and were soon in an area of the complex that Joon had never been in. The hallways seemed to go forever, but occasionally there would be cavernous chambers or great arches leading into other areas. They passed another tube nexus but unfortunately the tube was still down in this quadrant. 

The Gaxian continued to follow. They could hear a sound coming from it now. Almost a cooing? 

"Whatcha need, Joon?" Mallory's voice came through the comm. 

"Gaxians. What do you know about them?"

"Why?"

"Becaue we have one following us."

"Oh. That's... hmm. Let's see. Extradimensional. We have between thirty and three hundred in confinement. They're energy dampeners. We have some in the Gate Observation Area, in fact. When those experimental Gates get dangerously high in energy output, our little Gaxian friends feed on the excess and the temps go down. We haven't really found a way to communicate with them yet. Origin world unknown." 

"Thirty and three hundred? How can you not know?" asked Maia. 

"Listen, missy. In case you missed the memo, we're in a crisis right now and systems are down. I'm going from memory but we have multiple species we're investigating. I don't remember what we have of every species, alright?"

"Well, we had thirty just pass us, so unless that's all of them you probably have more than that."

"Let's just relax," Joon interjected. 

"Well, that's all I know," said Mallory. "They are kinda cute." 

"I agree," replied Maia. "On at least that." 

"What are you going to do with it?" Mallory wondered. 

"I don't know, actually," Joon replied. 

"It needs a name," said Maia. 

"Ooh, what are you going to call it?" 

"How about Howard?"

"Howard?"

"Yeah, like Howard the Duck. You know, Nexus of All Realities. From Man-Thing. Howard showed up in that comic." 

"I read Man- Thing," one of the guards added helpfully. 

"Okayyyy," Maia said, turning to the Gaxian. "Going forward we're going to call you Howie."

49 comments:

  1. I've never seen Pretty in Pink! I've seen The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles. I guess I need to brush up on my Ringwald films.

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  2. The story is becoming intense again. Joon seems to be quite defiant with authority it seems. Suspense is becoming more evident now.

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  3. Ahhh I never thought of them together. I kind of love it.

    Ash @ Essentially Ash
    Bookstagram | Personal Insta | TikTok | Goodreads

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  4. Oh my, the mega weekend post! I promise I will get back to you on those chapters! Love that cult classic paperback cover! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

    I bet there would have been some REAL Conversations with Steph & Andie. Although, I never thought Ringwald was as good as she could have been. But I think Wild Horses came close to her best movie..of course, I started to remember They Shoot Horses Don't They which is really getting off the subject. But my favorite teen film was The Chocolate War (1988 with the best soundtrack!) which many did not like, but it had some great dialogue and Spader would have fit perfectly with those Catholic School boys. But it Ilan Mitchell-Smith that won me over and his THE WILD LIFE with Eric Stoltz has to be my all time favorite teen movie. It was an early Cameron Crowe film.

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    1. Glad we are back to Howie💗 You definitely are out there on your own..in spite of Mal who is always busy! Oh, the journey is tense. Lets hope Joon can keep the faith and Maia could be a wild card after all. Keep Writing! Happy Weekend. I have to go in for a couple of hours at work. We got in Seasons 1 & 2 of SeaQuest 2032 as a donation. Did you ever watch it with Roy Schieder and Jonathan Brandis?

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    2. Some Kind of Wonderful - mary stewart matheson Yes, I loved that movie because of her.

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  5. Me encanta tu novela. Geniales fragmentos. Ten un buen fin de semana.

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  6. Oh wow, now you're making me want to go back and watch Pretty in Pink. I don't think I've watched that since I was a teen.

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  7. Steff and Andie, huh? You know, I can kind of see it. Blane the major appliance was dull and Duckie was a bit stalker-ish (and totally in the friend zone). Steff was a jerk, but he could have sought redemption. They would have challenged each other. Now I'm slipping down a Pretty in Pink rabbit hole...

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  8. The story sort of made sense even without those chapters, but I had no idea who Howie was LOL.

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  9. Thanks for reposting all these chapters. I'm very happy to get caught up. Although I'm with Joon...so many questions about what's really going on there, and so few answers. ;D

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  10. I love Journey! Now I need to revisit Pretty in Pink! Have a great weekend.

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  11. Looks like it's a lot of fun writing sci fi. So many ways to use your creative imagination!

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  12. Interesting insights, LOL! Have a great week!

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  13. I must preface this by saying Pretty in Pink is my all-time favorite movie. Awesome movie, amazing soundtrack, and I coveted all these clothing. Stef? No. It should have been Andie and Duckie.

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  14. I saw Pretty in Pink so long ago I really don't remember much about it - with all these comments, I'm thinking it's worth a rewatch.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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  15. All I can remember about Pretty in Pink was the song at the end dragged on and on....and...on

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  16. I loved Pretty in Pink! Have a great week!

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  17. Olivia Newton-John! Heaven Can Wait! Yes, I got it! Have a great week :)

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  18. Stef was one of those love-to-hate characters. Not sure I can see he and Andi together. I think I'm with Sam... it should have been Duckie. :)

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  19. Sunday review is always an opportunity for me to catch up :)

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  20. It has been so long since I watched Pretty in Pink that I remember exactly nothing about it beside the fact that Molly Ringwald is in it. It sounds like I need to watch it again somehtime soon!

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  21. I too have never seen Pretty in Pink, although I'm old enough to have seen it in the theater. I'm going to have to watch it. So far this week I'm rewatching Major League because I've really gotten into baseball and I'm going to watch Pretty in Pink.

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  22. I love Pretty in Pink and Steff definitely liked Andy that's why he was so jealous. Thanks for posting your chapters here, I needed to catch up. The Gaxians sound interesting and I like Howard the Duck already lol. Will you be publishing your story?
    Happy weekend!

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  23. Thank you for posting your chapters - the story looks really intriguing:). And that pulp cover is both hilarious and a bit disturbing - if a man was living hard and fast, no one would blink! I hope you have a great week, Greg:).

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  24. I liked all of those indie movies, pretty in pink, the breakfast club, weird science etc. Even my daughter likes watching those movies. There's just something about the '80s movies that sets them apart from other decades movies.

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  25. Journey was one of the better concerts I went to in college. I am a Duckie fan but I agree Blaine was so boring. Hope you have a wonderful week.

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  26. Pretty in Pink is an old favorite of mine. I also love Andrew McCarthy, and I'm watching him now on Lipstick Jungle.

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  27. I think Pretty in Pink and that era is when I worked 12-18 hour days. I had about 20 years where I did that 7 days a week and took almost no vacations. I learned a lot though and I enjoy learning.

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  28. Oh Pretty in Pink!! such a classic! Have a great week!

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  29. The Enchanting Meditation is quite lovely! Thank you for sharing this.

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  30. I always wanted Andie and Ducky together but knew Steff liked her as well. I was just never a Steff fan.

    Have a great week and happy reading or writing!
    Stormi
    Week in Review

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  31. Loving the Zelda-inspired music. Sounds so pretty (I have it playing now in the background lol). Have an amazing week!! xo

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  32. Funny you should mention Pretty in Pink. Last week's episode of The Blacklist had a Pretty in Pink connection. Hope you have a great week!

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  33. Oh, my goodness. Now I need to go back and re-watch that movie, with a different perspective! I was a huge fan of those movies back in the day and Pretty in Pink is one of the best of the bunch! I have it on DVD. This does sound like it could have been a good enemies to lovers story. We need a sequel!! :-)

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  34. Oh yes! I definitely think Andie and Steff would've been way more exciting. They had loads more chemistry. Amanda Hocking nails the explanation! I'll have to come back and read your chapters. Have a wonderful week, Greg!

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  35. I went back and forth between between Andie/Duckie and Andie/Blaine. I hadn't given any thought to Andie/Steff, but I guess I can see that, especially after reading Amanda's explanation. I hope you have a great week, Greg!

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  36. Oooh! I'm loving your fanfictions! I haven't seen Pretty in Pink yet, so I don't really know about the shipping thing. Hope you have a great week!

    Here’s my Sunday Post

    Please join the Book Photo Sundays and Cover Spotlight

    Rabbit Ears Book Blog: WORLD’S WEIRDEST BOOK BLOG!

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  37. I love Pretty in Pink! Definitely going to check out the fan fiction😁

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  38. I've been playing a lot of Tears of the Kingdom, so the Zelda inspired ambient music is right up my alley. Thanks for mentioning it. Have a great week!

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  39. Long posts are good from time to time. Great work on your story. I haven't thought of Zelda since my son was little. Thanks for that memory. Hope you have a nice week.

    https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2023/07/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-and_0186212976.html

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  40. So IMO if it was a limited series on NetFlix, Steff gets a redemption arc and winds up with Andie. Duckie is Bi or gay and falls for someone else---heck give me Blaine and Duckie. I had a huge crush on Andrew McCarthy way back when. Wore out my VHS of St.Elmo's fire. Also Feeling that way-Anytime is the best Journey song!

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  41. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I have never seen Pretty in Pink! I need to fix that as it's so iconic. I hope you're having a great week!

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  42. Oh man, it's been years since I've seen Pretty in Pink. Should do a rewatch one of these days.

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  43. I do not know the lyrics this week :-(

    I've only seen bits and pieces of Pretty in Pink. I didn't see a lot of those movies but one of my favorites was The Breakfast Club. I still watch it whenever it comes on.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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  44. Pretty in Pink fan fiction? Yes, please! I loved that movie.

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  45. Oh, I'll need to rewatch Pretty in Pink, it's been so long!

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  46. I am so confused! Ha ha. Give me a minute while I figure out what I haven't read yet. 😯

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