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Dec 15, 2019 9:24 PM
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Dec 2019
114
I tried this show and it was really hard to get through. I ended up dropping it after Episode 11 or so.

That being said... this episode was a standout.

The theme of this episode was explored super well, the twist with Arisu/Alice was great, and we got to see a side of Lain caring about her friends that we don't see that often.

5/5.
Apr 28, 2020 10:15 AM

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Feb 2019
3457
Arisu's fears are very real. Lain went through a lot in this episode.
May 15, 2020 7:52 AM

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Dec 2013
2618
It was really creepy to see Lain's sister just mumbling around, she completely lost her mind and also her parents just sitting there in the dining table. I read the above posts about metaphors and stuff and it was really nice to know about them. The third Lain was too sinister. The dolls are creepy too but in the end, I feel bad for the Real Life Lain especially when she's touching her Navi and asking if she's the real Lain.



★━━─
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵?
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺?


May 26, 2020 6:27 PM
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Mar 2019
30
Oof , one hell of an episode i honestly cant see how this all ends but its interesting as hell
Jun 20, 2020 11:32 AM

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May 2016
12403
Real World Lain might have had the power to erase the Wired Lain's voyeuristic actions from everyone's memory but she wasn't able to specify which "Lain" she wanted to erase and it looks like it immediately bit her in the butt. She already had a really hard time determining on whether she's who she thinks she is so a setback like this is the last thing she needed.

Evil Lain watching people get it on reminds me of how privacy in the internet is almost never a thing you're certain to have nowadays. There's always something watching...








Aug 3, 2020 2:22 PM

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Feb 2020
1326
Wow, Lain has serious identity issues... And she's also more and more lonely.
Looks like I was right about loneliness being what provoked Lain's disorder, however is she really being neglected and pushed aside for no real reason, or has she always been a bit unhinged ?
I mean, a lot of info has been given in this episode. What happened between those two versions of Wired Lain is definitely interesting.

Apparently, the version of Wired Lain we've gotten used to isn't the actual "Other Lain" everyone has been talking about... At least not entirely. Because the Wired Lain we know seems to actually believe herself and regular Lain to be the same person, and they actually seem to be the same. Simply, Wired Lain is expressing what regular Lain cannot. However what's confusing is that regular Lain still doesn't seem to see Wired Lain as the same person as her, she knows her existence and she sometimes seems to be consciously using this "persona" (if we can even call her that at this point) in order to get to the Wired, but overall it doesn't look like she sees herself in her.
And what's even more interesting is that once again, Lain seems to alternate personalities when in shock. Here, Wired Lain questioned her identity, and she reverted back to regular Lain who didn't seem to fully realise what just happened.
And the final detail that makes it hard to know if whether or not those two are the same person is definitely how similar yet so different from each other they are.

But now let's talk about the third Lain, who I'll refer to as Creepy Lain because she's absolutely terrifying. This Lain seems to be another version of Wired Lain, one who isn't at all righteous but simply... Well, cruel, that's the word.
I'd even say sadistic. But who is she ?
What's important to note is that I'm pretty sure we've already seen her before.
In episode 4, for exemple. When I thought we were dealing with the usual Wired Lain who somehow "possessed" regular Lain, now it looks like this one actually was Creepy Lain, given her behaviour. After all, the Wired Lain we know is always dead serious, which contrasts with the somewhat mocking attitude of the one from episode 4. However, it definitely goes along with Creepy Lain's maliciously playful one.
We can argue episode 4 Lain seemed calmer, saner and less scary than Creepy Lain, but given what we've seen with Creepy Lain being Arisu's friend, it seems like she is fully capable of hiding her true self behind a simple outgoing and friendly facade.

But now, really, who is she ? First of all, what's important is that she most likely isn't actually befriending Arisu and the others, but that scene is showing how her actions are leading for regular Lain to be all alone, since everyone sees her as the "Peeping Tom" who spies on people when they're doing something they don't wanna be seen doing.
But that makes the existence of Creepy Lain questionable. Does she really exist or is she just a metaphor ? Despite what it looks like, I don't think so, simply because Arisu actually saw her in her room. She didn't see Regular Lain, she didn't see Wired Lain, she saw Creepy Lain, which makes sense since neither regular nor Wired Lain would be this cruel.

But now let's talk about the confrontation between Wired Lain and Creepy Lain. Wired Lain said something very, VERY interesting : that Creepy Lain is behaving like the part of her she hates. That means there's actually deep down a part of Wired Lain, and by extension Regular Lain, similar to Creepy Lain... That's quite something, but what does it exactly mean ?
It becomes even more interesting when Wired Lain tries to strangle Creepy Lain. More than just trying to get rid of an intruder who's doing bad stuff on her behalf, she really seems to be trying to get rid of a side of her she hates. And I mean, just take what Creepy Lain said when that happened : "I'm committing suicide".
Basically, by trying to strangle Creepy Lain, Wired Lain is trying to strangle herself, because they are the same person. She tried to kill herself, literally.

Could all this imply that Lain hates herself and is deep down suicidal ? Looks like it at least... But at the same time, just like for everything else, she doesn't seem to be fully conscious of it. Wired Lain is the one who really expresses this self-hatred, which goes along with the theory about her being a manifestation of Lain's inner feelings, but at the same time Creepy Lain's enthusiasm when exclaiming she's committing suicide is also quite concerning given how she seems to be the most aware of what is really going on. And in the end, it is pretty clear that just like Creepy Lain said, "Lain is Lain". Regular Lain is Wired Lain who is Creepy Lain, while at the same time all three of them acting like a separate entity from the others.
Overall there's no doubt that Lain has a disorder... But to which degree ?

(Also, I found it funny how Creepy Lain has the entire behaviour of the typical creepy crazy girl from anime and cartoons. Given how old the show is, could she be one of the precursors ?)

Edit : I just read some comments and I realize I didn't at all think about how Lain most likely "deleted" Regular Lain which explains why she got replaced by Creepy Lain... Wow, I wonder what this will lead to.

Another edit : I just thought about something else that could confirm the theory about Lain's parents neglecting her since her childhood, and it is simply what Wired/Creepy Lain is doing. She observes everyone, but she is also seen by everyone, watched by everyone, and she doesn't give them a choice because she appears in front of their very eyes, whether through screens or in real life. It could really be a consequence of Lain being ignored, and internally wanting her existence to be aknowledged.
FafetteAug 4, 2020 1:05 PM
Aug 23, 2020 6:16 AM
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Oct 2019
219
Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck

Really intense episode, one of my favorites thus far, the "Evil/Wild" Lain taking over her life and meeting with her friends...t's not like she hasn't done that before, ever since the beginning of the anime we've heard of there being a similar girl, looking like Lain, but not acting like her at all, this is the first time the "real" Lain noticed her being detached from her body, absolutely creepy.

The evil Lain's grins and smiles are incredibly creepy.
Sep 19, 2020 10:34 PM

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Jul 2016
9384
"Cum on in!"

"Dementia" at its finest. Reality Lain sure went through a lot of psychological turmoil during this episode. Not to mention she also took the concept of "identity issues" to a whole new level.
So Lain was always an entity from the Wired, akin to a omnipresent god and it seems one of her many personas (the most mischievous and bitchy one of them in this case) took over her reality self. Causing in the process, lots of inner conflicts for Reality Lain (and Wired Lain as well, probably) related to which one of her many versions is her "true" identity.

Now, given the info about Lain "being everyone and everywhere" and considering just how weird most of the people in "reality" act... I'm really starting to wonder if said reality where her family and friends live is actually a projection of Lain's powers with her being the Creator/God of them all. I mean, that would explain why she knew about Alice's secret even though the girl never shared such thing in the Wired and of course, it would also explain the deal with her parents and classmates' behaviour.
SouthRzVaSep 19, 2020 10:40 PM
Nov 11, 2020 8:16 AM

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Oct 2013
4495
... I'm not convinced this anime is half as smart as it, or its fanbase, thinks it is, but...

The last handful of episodes lean me into the notion I'm watching a bizarre, surrealist, weeb version of The Matrix.

Those "men in black" (was that last episode?) drilling Lain on her parents lead me to believe she is not who or what she thinks she is. A fabrication? The real world and the digital world (the "Wired") are blurring and I don't know what's what. Maybe Lain is a manifestation of a soul that lives in cyberspace. At the same time, her family has been acting strangely since the very beginning, which makes me wonder on whether they are what they appear to be as well.



Discord: the.path.to.pathos
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Jan 21, 2021 9:33 PM

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Mar 2018
245
berserker15 said:
Lots of development in this episode.
- This could all just be a metaphor for how people act differently online because there were tons of different kinds of Lains, there were business Lains and little girl Lains and all different kinds. The metaphor also symbolizes how those personalities sometimes consume them and change how they are in real life
-Lain's alternate wired version took over her body.


This is how I took this phenomenon as well, I felt it was taking on the idea of how the internet provides a place for many to reveal their inner selves, for better or for worse. Also covering the idea that these persona's could make their way to peoples daily lives subconsciously, forcing people to juggle multiple personas or faces in order to prevent issues with such persona's
Apr 11, 2021 4:14 PM
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Apr 2021
2
Uppwind said:
berserker15 said:
Lots of development in this episode.
- This could all just be a metaphor for how people act differently online because there were tons of different kinds of Lains, there were business Lains and little girl Lains and all different kinds. The metaphor also symbolizes how those personalities sometimes consume them and change how they are in real life
-Lain's alternate wired version took over her body.


This is how I took this phenomenon as well, I felt it was taking on the idea of how the internet provides a place for many to reveal their inner selves, for better or for worse. Also covering the idea that these persona's could make their way to peoples daily lives subconsciously, forcing people to juggle multiple personas or faces in order to prevent issues with such persona's


This is a good comment and I like it but there's no like button so *puff*
Apr 28, 2021 11:27 AM
Shalltear

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Apr 2018
36029
This episode was like watching a social study about 2010-2020 internet issues but during 90s, absolutely stunning.
Jun 25, 2021 5:18 AM

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Jul 2020
322
I am Totally Hooked Now
Jul 18, 2021 12:52 AM
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Apr 2018
55
So...either lain is an omnipotent entity with a split personality or there's a more powerful being in the Wired that's fucking her up.
Jul 28, 2021 11:22 AM

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Mar 2016
3684
Poor girl :( wanted to give her a hug.


just wanna feel wanted by someone other than the police 😫
Aug 4, 2021 9:49 PM

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Aug 2018
39523
Soooooo creepy wtf

ok, so there are multiple lains, not just 2.....

Sep 29, 2021 11:42 AM

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Nov 2016
32919
Nowadays we're omnipresent thanks to the internet. We can see others and likewise we can be seen by them. Not even our most intimate moments are safe. We invest more time in recreating online personas than on actively interacting with our rl environment.

This was one hell of a trippy episode.

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Oct 11, 2021 8:13 AM

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Aug 2020
695
Well, this show seems to be going somewhere... At least Lain is aware that she has multiple personalities.

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Nov 12, 2021 2:52 PM

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Jan 2021
16
Definetly the most unsettling and terrifying episode so far, I'm hooked! I reallllyyyy like where it's going but I'm afraid the ending of the anime will be depressing though .. :[
Jan 12, 2022 9:07 AM
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Nov 2020
2446
So in other words, every Lain from every episode was a different Lain, witch explains her often switching personalitys. Not a single one of the Lains we knew so far is real and this one probably isn't too. Losing herself online on different sides and with different personalities.
Jan 22, 2022 9:16 AM
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Aug 2021
848
Ok this now feels like dramaturgy with Lain losing her real self and this other personas of Lain just taking over her life:(
I despise this smile. It soo uncanny.

(I think this smile's a meme as well)

It is absolutely true that you can pretend to be something you aren't on the internet. Damn this anime is so relevant.
-Facktack-Jan 22, 2022 9:23 AM
Mar 17, 2022 7:57 AM

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Jan 2021
171
damn did the thing that happened to her sister just happened to lain?? also it seems like lain got full control over wired, that she can do anything she want on it, so basically she's like the god of wired... or internet.. if you think about it, lain is really a dangerous individual, like what they said, they share a lot of information through wired, and if she has full control of it like we see, she can literally ruin a persons life..

but she got two personalities, the one in wired and the real world lain.. and wired lain is starting to takeover her real world life
Mar 22, 2022 8:10 AM

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Jan 2022
482
that bit with all the dolls was creepy as hell, I feel like I'm starting to understand more kinda- still just plain confused by the whole knights thing tho
Mar 29, 2022 10:29 AM

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Feb 2021
2731
This episode felt a bit different.
Jun 8, 2022 5:43 PM

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Mar 2021
22
What's the deal with her parents -- it's creepy. I also feel bad for Lain

Lain's character predicted that everyone is always on their phones in class lol.

So Lain is "god" and is able to delete people's memories, but by doing so she loses he identity. idk but that's what I'm getting.
Jun 30, 2022 6:03 PM
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Mar 2022
8
Luzifurr said:
This anime was lame :(
just admit it you aren't able to understand these types of psychological anime. Bro you lack brain cells.
Jul 31, 2022 4:05 AM

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Aug 2021
371
"If I am still aware of my existence, then I'm still real"

Portraying the feeling of loneliness, emptiness, and the feeling of betrayal, the use of camera shots and ambiance sound are wonderful. Lain "many personalities" could be metaphorical for people acting differently on the internet, when your fake personality got praised and your true self gets lost. While in Sayonara Eri, it's a movie in a movie, in SEL, It's just like living the real world in a simulation. A wonderful episode.


Aug 1, 2022 10:00 PM

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Jun 2022
23
SEL be like:

Episode 1-3: No bread crumbs to the story, but it’s intriguing

Episode 4-7: bread crumbs here and there

Episode 8: Fuck it, here’s the whole loaf of bread XD

Edit: I posted this before watching episode 9, but I’ll leave it up for everyone to laugh at lol
ClaireBear86Aug 1, 2022 10:39 PM
Aug 13, 2022 11:29 PM
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Aug 2020
1
this episode is the most creepy and unsettling of all the ones that i've watched, i don't even know where do i begin to talk about it...

so apparently lain is an omnipresent being, therefore she can see everything and everyone (hence the arisu scene)
also wild lain is so strange and creepy?? of course lain would be scared to see there is this other self that is absolutely crazy and different from her
lain's parents not answering her, her sister acting strange, so many things happening at the same time
and the ending scene, where lain sees the wired lain going to talk with her friends instead of herself... that was a lot of things for my mind to process
lulizJun 17, 2024 6:22 AM
Aug 14, 2022 1:30 PM

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Jun 2020
35
5 starts it was amazing
Sep 5, 2022 4:12 AM
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Aug 2021
12
hdfuoshuisjh so creepy
Sep 30, 2022 7:32 AM
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May 2021
24
Omnipresent huh... slowly we are revealed to the true powers of Lain.
Oct 12, 2022 1:57 PM
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Apr 2021
1
W H A T T H E F U C K I S G O I N G O N ? !
Nov 9, 2022 1:44 PM
scientia exitus

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Mar 2020
6365
The wired world is real, and the real world is fake! What is real? Who is Lain? Who am I? Is it all the same? Are there no boundaries between the real world and the wired? Is everything not on fire, but fire is on things??

I'm guessing that by the end, everyone will be sharing all the information ever with everyone else, essentially making the entire human race as one collective mind, individual humans will cease to exist, this new hive mind will become 'god', and then make their own species to toy around with, making their own reality, in which the delivery guy finally gets it on with lonely housewife.

Anyway, I'm cranking this sh*t up to 2x speed


NYANPASU
whiskey tango foxtrot

Dec 11, 2022 1:22 PM
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Apr 2016
4
My thoughts about Lain being Deus of the wired was accurate. Now there is an omnipresent Lain in the wired that found its way to the "real" world because the barriers between the two worlds are breaking?
Still not sure what Tachibana General Laboratories and the knights have to do with any of this.
Dec 19, 2022 4:05 AM

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Nov 2020
788
I finally understand

But the pacing is really slow and it's too boring
Jan 4, 2023 11:51 AM
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Oct 2015
174
YES! Best episode maybe? This just gets better and better.
Jan 4, 2023 12:47 PM
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Jul 2022
18
Things feel like their picking up somewhat. I'm guessing now, the goal is for Lain to properly be able to govern the Wired, and eliminate the rogue that seems to be taking her place as Lain. The visuals and imagery were on point this episode, particularly the school section where she was being stared at by everyone for no particular reason. Some things in this show you just have to accept, one such thing was why Lain isn't asking her sister what's going on, nor why she didn't find it suspicious that her parents are sitting alone in a quiet room with no food in front of them for example. And that's fine, what I like about the show is how the show itself sticks with the series theme of individuality and personas', by it being so unique and different itself.
Jan 14, 2023 2:48 PM

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Mar 2010
56402
Seems like lain has bitten more than she can chew, serves her right tbh.

Behold of my awesomeness~
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But my feels.
Jan 16, 2023 6:10 AM

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Aug 2019
3025
very interesting. and more mistakes in the finnish sub "tiedo" instead of "tieto"
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Jan 17, 2023 7:29 PM
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Aug 2022
11
vete a la verga fallesi
Jan 22, 2023 9:53 PM
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Jul 2018
561792
Craziest part about all this is the fact that she's still going to school, whether it's real or in a vision or whatever is happening.
Feb 2, 2023 7:17 PM

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Sep 2011
33907
This episode was a masterclass in creating an uneasy feeling of paranoia and schizophrania, the scenes of everyone staring at lain with disdain was so unnerving alongside the even more abrupt scene transitions to create a disorienting feel that made us really feel as confused as lain is especially with how they conveyed the information to us why everyone is so digusted with lain.

Immahnoob said:
Jizzy, I know you have no idea how to argue for shit,

tokiyashiro said:

Jizzy as you would call yourself because youre a dick The most butthurt award goes to you And clearly you havent watched that many shows thats why you cant determine if a show is unique or not Or maybe you're just a child who likes common stuffs where hero saves the day and guys gets all the girls. Sad taste you have there kid you came up to me in the first place making you look more like a kid who got slapped without me even knowing it and start crying about it to me

Feb 3, 2023 2:50 PM

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May 2013
121
This feels like a Matrix anime so far, I hope the end will be nice 

Mar 23, 2023 12:50 AM
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Oct 2020
10
deeply poignant episode
Mar 30, 2023 11:02 AM

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Nov 2022
177
So, from what I could understand, Lain is being used as an alias by anonymous internet users to spew their own toxic bullshit (I could be 100% wrong here and I fully acknowledge it)

And yes, the ending left me with even more questions. "Lain is Lain, and I am me.".... Maybe Lain has split personality disorder. Or the internet personas took the place of Lain in real life. I clearly don't know and just fidgeting with odds and ends. Let's see in the forthcoming episodes...
Apr 9, 2023 3:05 PM

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Feb 2021
18
Stuck in the backrooms.
Apr 17, 2023 6:41 PM
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Apr 2023
3
what is going on, i am so lost but also not at all
Apr 21, 2023 7:21 PM
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Apr 2018
4
Amazing abstract representation of duality of self, dissociation, depersonalisation as usual
May 16, 2023 1:17 PM

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Aug 2022
3620
I love that scene with the dolls.
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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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