#the first three lines are very literally about my chosen name

[eleilinnrallin]

I named myself God when I looked and chose a name of dreams, of songs and of starlight. When I looked at a heart, broken but beating, and said "This is mine." I named myself God when I looked and found myself made to last, to love and to linger. When I looked at my body, mismatched with memory, and said "This is mine." I named myself God when I looked and loved outside lines and lived outside lines and let myself be. Just be.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

So there’s something about Pekka Rollins that has bothered me literally since I first read the books and I think about it every time I read them okay and it’s this line:

“Who is Pekka Rollins?” Matthias asked, turning the ridiculous syllables over in his mouth. Kerch names had no dignity to them.

And this catches me out every single time because Rollins is Kaelish. As far as the reader knows for definite, “Pekka Rollins” is a Kaelish name, not a Kerch name.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re of course aware that Matthias is very sheltered from understanding the global scene and may simply have assumed that Rollins is Kerch because he lives in Ketterdam and runs the Dime Lions (this is the only piece of information he knows about him at this time) but I think this is unlikely considering that it was on a mission to the Wandering Isle that he met Nina and we know that, although he doesn’t speak Kaelish, he knows how to recognise it well enough that he knew Nina was speaking Kaelish and not Kerch or Ravkan (at the time he was monolingual, as he would later only learn Kerch by necessity in Hellgate).

And thinking about the name “Pekka Rollins” it doesn’t sound all that Kaelish… does it? Our examples of Kaelish names include “Fianna” (Nina’s Kaelish pseudonym at the Ice Court), “Colm”, “Eamon” (Dime Lions member), and “Harshaw”, but not many others to my recollection. Kaelish names are inspired by Celtic languages and Celtic names, as far as I can tell usually with more Irish and Scottish Gaelic influences than Welsh, Cornish, or Breton (but please note I am by no means an expert and I sadly do not speak any of these languages), and we can see this trend in our examples. But can we see it in “Pekka Rollins”? Or does this name favour the structure of Kerch names? “Kaz”, “Per”, “Wylan”, “Alys”, “Hiram”, “Gert”, “Henrik”, “Jellen”, and so many many more examples, we are overflowing with examples of Kerch names (if you are wondering about more examples I’d recommend checking out the Grishaverse wiki there’s a full list on there of all the characters mentioned from each country, but note it doesn’t include any pseudonyms as far as I’m aware), that tend to favour more separated syllables and harsher consonant sounds than, say, “Fianna” where the name runs quickly together, pronounced to have two syllables when it would probably be said with three by someone Kerch who only saw it written down, with more emphasis on the “yah” sound of the “ia” than the double “n”?

So is it, in fact, possible that “Pekka Rollins” is a Kerch name? A chosen name, by a man who fled his home to restart his life in a new city, with a name that matched it? Is this supposed to imply yet another parallel between Pekka and Kaz?????

I have no idea, this is purely theoretical, but considering that they are narrative foils and we can draw many, many parallels between them and this line is always on my mind, it’s personally my favourite solution. If you agree/disagree or have a different theory, let me know! I love stuff like this so much, it’s so interesting to see what different people think or how we might have read certain details differently

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi , miss Raven

Their is something has been on my mind for while ;

In rook suitor suit vignette he Compose a flattering poem about Crowley

While Ace and Epel was talking about how rook would compliment anyone , rook insisted that he mean every word he say .

And there's this specific weird line

"if it weren't for your presence , I wouldn't be here"

Like what do you mean?????!!

Do you think this line is hinting at the fact that rook didn't join NRC via traditional way or he wasn't chosen by the dark mirror , since he is one of the light trio

Or To the fact that he transferred to another dorm smoothly without any problem?

For some reason I started suspecting rook recently 😭

The fact he was one of the reason vil overbloted by convincing him to watch neige performance and also he is the one who convinced vil to add Ace and deuce as part of VDC team while I thought lilia and cater was a better option

I would like to hear your opinion about it 👀

Ah, so if I'm understanding you correctly... You're theorizing that Rook might be an outside agent of some kind? One that Crowley intentionally brought into NRC to facilitate triggering overblots??

I’ll try to respond to one question at a time; hopefully this will make it easier to follow along! The post got quite long, so it's all below the cut~

Beginning with Rook’s poem, and, more specifically, “If it weren’t for your presence, I wouldn’t be here”. It’s funny that you mention this line, because when the vignette first came out (in JP; the terminology used is similar to “I would not exist/be here”), people interpreted it VERY literally. As in… “Rook is Crowley’s son because he literally could not be conceived without a father! They’re even both named after birds! They have to at least be blood related somehow!” Strange how in 2020, Crowley was suspected of being Rook’s father but now in 2024 Crowley’s being suspected of being Malleus’s father. The poor headmaster just can’t catch a break 😂

Personally, I don’t think that line is implying anything strange about Rook’s enrollment. As far as we know, he did not join NRC though any abnormal means, and nor did Silver. Of the “light trio” (a label that I must stress exists within the fandom but is not endorsed by TWST), only Kalim fits the bill. Kalim was originally homeschooled, but received an acceptance letter to NRC a month into the school year. Another month later, he transferred in. As far as we know, all students at NRC (save for Yuu and Grim) were chosen by the Mirror of Darkness, even the light trio. Again, I want to emphasize that TWST does not use “light trio” or a similar term to refer to or to characterize Kalim, Silverc and Rook. We’ve gotten no formal in-universe explanation as to why those three in particular have light cosmic magic instead of everyone else’s dark cosmic magic. (This is entirely separate from meta theories, which are out-of-universe explanations for why the “light trio” exists. The popular meta explanation is that it’s because Silver, Kalim, and Rook are not twisted from Disney villains but rather “good” characters like Aurora, the Sultan, and the Huntsman.)

On the subject of transferring dorms, the option is always on the table. We see mob students talk about transferring dorms as early as 1-14:

In 6-67 (part 20 with the Pomefiore group), Vil describes the transfer process as being tedious and involving a lot of “complicated paperwork and ceremonies”. Crowley also says the process is “burdensome” in 1-20, but this phrasing is quite vague and could mean any number of things. (Burdensome to whom, the staff or the students? Why exactly is it burdensome?) Overall, it seems like transferring dorms would take a long time and require various formalities, but not necessarily be full of problems.

As long as you’re dedicated and consistently complete what is asked of you to complete the process, transferring should be no issue. I don’t think it’s a given that you’d normally experience troubles in trying to transfer. It should be smooth by default (unless the student backs out, is uncooperative, and/or fails to complete the required steps). So following that logic, I don’t think the poem line is saying anything about Rook’s dorm transfer either.

While it’s true that Rook encourages Vil to watch Neige’s performance and advises that Vil pick Ace and Deuce for the VDC/SDC Tribe, I do not believe there was malicious intent behind these actions. It’s hinted throughout book 5 that Rook’s reasoning for doing these things was to help Vil recognize the value of his “beauty” is something he gains from himself, not from the approval of others.

This is most likely Rook’s motivation for suggesting Vil observe the competition or to consider freshmen for the team. It’s exposing Vil to the contentedness that can come with imperfection or not being at the very top, something Vil fails to recognize in himself until the end of book 5. Being as perceptive as he is, Rook would have realized that outright telling Vil the moral of the week would not sway his strong-willed friend’s mind. Thus, Rook devised a more roundabout plan and involved Yuu (who, at this point, has a reputation for settling dorm-wide disputes) and co. (unpolished and clumsy underclassmen that Vil could shape as well as potentially also learn from in a reciprocal manner). Maybe Lilia and Cater would have been more technically skilled, being members of a club band and all, but they wouldn’t have provided the same opportunity for growth that Yuu and Adeuce did.

Rook is someone who has always been portrayed as a supporter of Vil’s, a good friend and a trusted confidant. He does have a nefarious side and is 100% capable of deception (like the time in Endless Halloween Night when he quickened his heartbeat to convince Sebek he was also scared and therefore was not a traitor). However, I don’t think Rook would want to betray his friends by actively harming them and putting their lives in danger (both during book 5’s overblot and immediately after in book 6’s rescue mission); he truly cares for them and wants to see them happy and healthy. (One could argue he should have voted for NRC instead of RSA to help Vil achieve his dream instead of betraying him, but that’s another discussion entirely.)

There’s no reason why Rook would go out of his way to do innocuous things like helping Epel with his UM or imparting wisdom to Deuce unless he actually cared and wanted to see them develop. Beyond the scope of book 5, why would Rook do even more innocuous things like trying to make Epel feel welcome and assisting him with learning table manners? Why wouldn’t he go out of his way to provoke Vil more often? Did Crowley hypothetically have even all of these little details down and instruct Rook to do (or not do) these things??? It sounds too far-fetched to attach a hidden motive behind everything Rook says or does. It could be as simple as “he wants to be there to support his friends”.

Before we wrap up, I’d like to quickly touch on the suggestion that Silver and Kalim too were catalysts for Malleus and Jamil’s OBs, respectively. It’s true that they were, but I doubt Silver or Kalim were aware and did so intentionally. Both seemed genuinely ignorant as to the true stress that Malleus and Jamil were under, and Silver + Kalim do not present as toxic people who would want to inflame their friends’ negativity. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Puppet Master Crowley (™) is orchestrating everything from the shadows (but I’m not going to get into the “time loop to gather all the necessary information and learn what the correct choices are” theory here www). I just don’t think Rook is Crowley’s accomplice in all of this if the time loop + intention overblots theories overlap.

This is one of those instances where I see Rook as being very honest with his intentions and because of his… generally strange character (?), his peers and players alike still suspect there is a deeper meaning to his words. I interpret his poem as nothing more than waxing poetic to expressing gratitude to the one man that makes it possible for him to be at NRC as a student: Crowley. Rook states that he wanted to give an exemplary poem using a subject that both Ace and Epel were already familiar with, so he went with the headmaster. Furthermore, we know that Rook is able to witness many wonderful and beautiful things at NRC, as well as make meaningful relationships with interesting people like Vil. He would not be able to do any of these things were he not extended an invitation to NRC—and it is for this reason that it would make sense for him to genuinely be appreciative of Crowley.

Those are all my thoughts on this matter all for now ^^ Hope it was an interesting read!

[sun-undone]

okay so i'm rereading the poppy war for the sole purpose of trying to squeeze all the chaltan content i can get out of it and my god is it delivering already

this first one is something that i completely breezed past in my first reading cause i didn't even know who tf chaghan was yet but on a reread????? GAY (pg. 226):

you're telling me that chaghan and altan just happened to be together when chaghan felt tyr's death? in the middle of the night??? mmhmm yup for sure

now as willing as i am to fully chalk this up to a late night chaltan tryst, i will be fair and admit that i'm not super clear on how exactly chaghan got the tyr info here. it kinda seems like he's doing his monthly meeting with the hexagram goddess (in the dialogue he literally says "there has been a hexagram" and then he interprets 3 things from it), but first off, it seems too coincidental for him to just happen to be doing that at the very moment that tyr dies, and also why tf is he doing it in the middle of the night?? is he just being extra dramatic and making up some "we have to do it at midnight" bullshit to see what he can get away with (a la the infamous kitay horse piss incident) or is there an in universe explanation for that that i've completely forgotten?

OR is it a secret, gayer third option: altan and chaghan were already together when he felt tyr's death, which then prompted him to convene with the goddess and get the hexagram. and we just don't see the full process or really get much of a proper explanation cause we're in altan's pov and it's all mysterious and shit at this point in the book. that's the one i'm going with and i cannot believe that this is their first scene together. the intimacy is already so palpable and we don't even know chaghan's name at this point in the book.

and then of course there's THIS (pg. 227):

absolutely fucking bonkers i'm spinning on my head

is anyone else this gentle with altan ever????? i'm genuinely asking. who else in the cike would even THINK about pulling a move like this? also the added layer of chaghan originally being next in line for commander before altan took him out to the fucking valley for THREE WHOLE DAYS and then THIS is his reaction to altan officially inheriting said title??? we know from a later conversation that chaghan has with rin (pg. 337) that he's very aware of how unprepared altan was to assume leadership over the cike, which just makes this gesture from him even more meaningful and tender. "we are yours to command. i am yours."

this next one just made me giggle and idk if it's just my brain being broken from scouring source material for gay crumbs or if it's actually intentional but (pg. 285):

i mean. i mean. if anyone knows the extent of chaltan, it's most definitely qara, and a lot of these crumbs involve her so i'm taking it as more evidence and no one can stop me

speaking of qara being an icon (pg. 317):

i actually forgot how much she's in this book i am so sorry queen

so unegen also has a strong reaction to ramsa's dialogue, but if i may be incredibly nitpicky about it, i'd argue that qara snorting implies a sense of "yeah right now that's funny", while unegen spitting out his wine implies more pure shock than anything else. i'm sure the cike have some idea about chaghan and altan's relationship going deeper than meets the eye (if it's this obvious from the crumbs we get over the span of a handful of scenes i can only imagine how sick and tired they must be after an entire year of it), but once again, qara is likely the only one who really KNOWS. for obvious reasons.

then we have the iconic dramatic entrance where chaghan is officially introduced, and even before zooming into a specific piece of it to prove my chaltan agenda, just the very existence of this scene is so fucking insane to me. rebecca could've chosen any way to properly introduce us to chaghan, and this is what she decided on. you could argue that it sets up chaghan's dramatic and obnoxiously proud personality, and that him being hurt is so we can see how it affects qara (and also just to up the tension and stakes) BUT how coincidental that on top of achieving all that character and narrative stuff, it also succeeds in showing us a completely different side to altan. one that is specifically brought about by chaghan.

would altan rush out into a sea of federation soldiers to help any other member of the cike? yes. but rebecca chose to show him helping THIS member of the cike. in THIS dramatic of a fashion (and it's literally on a horse like that is so fractured fairytale romance of her actually). and it's also the aftermath that really clues us into something deeper between him and chaghan in particular (pg. 373):

along with qara, who is SOUL BONDED TO CHAGHAN BY THE WAY, altan is screaming at him for being reckless and how he could've gotten himself killed. intentionally or not, rebecca is clearly aligning altan and qara here, and i LOVE how it's shown in the way their dialogue is formatted. you don't even know who is saying which fragment. they are one in the same when it comes to the level in which they care about chaghan's wellbeing. and also when it comes to yelling at him for being an idiot! and if that's not love then idk what is

[vivalas-vega]

new perspectives / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader / part three

things are happening !!!! jupiter meets the gang !!! things are starting to line up but I just hope they can make it work...

drops of jupiter is literally her and jake’s song, I don’t make the rules I just enforce ‘em. as always lmk what you think and if you want to be added to the taglist!

new perspectives / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader / part three

add yourself to my taglist

prologue - one - two

word count: 4.4k

warnings: language, drinking, a smidge of jealousy, a very cheesy moment at the piano but I could not help myself

The days were passing by in a blur, a monotonous blend of the same thing day after day… You were fighting to stay focused but a few days of mild cases and routine patients had you double and triple checking each chart before entering a room to make sure you were keeping everybody straight. You were officially entering the lull period of your residency where attendings gave you a long leash and let you take the lead, and you were even getting out of work at a decent hour which allowed you to start up a workplace romance with the hospital's forensic pathologist. You’d met him in the bar a few weeks ago and he didn’t take offense to the fact that you didn’t call him by his name, which was Blake, but rather Dr. Death, and he simply thought it was cute when you said he was the reaper and forced him back down to the basement anytime he tried to visit you during the day for fear his energy would affect your patients and send them circling down the drain. At first you’d tried to find something wrong with him, like really truly searched for red flags but there just weren’t any. 

He was supportive and encouraging, definitely wasn’t hard on the eyes, and was endlessly understanding of your work schedule because he endured the same difficulties. You’d sneak out of the hospital late at night and go to that 24 hour diner a few blocks away where you would load up on fries and milkshakes, meet for lunch over soggy cafeteria pizza and surprise each other with a cup of coffee when you could. He waited until the third date to take you home and for some reason you’d hoped he would be terrible in bed because then at least you would have a reason to call the whole thing off but he wasn’t and all of your friends got along with him if they overlooked the fact that you were slumming it with a basement dweller… a fact that never went unchecked by either of you with the reminder that he did in fact go to medical school like the rest of you. 

He was good, and you were seemingly happy yet you couldn’t really figure out why you hadn’t told Jake about him… you’d been seeing each other for two months now (you wouldn’t go far as to say you were in a relationship yet) and it was something you had chosen to leave out of every facetime or phone call. It just never felt like the right moment, talking about your dating lives was really the only thing you two struggled with, it always felt awkward and in a way you felt like you were cheating on Jake. Logically you knew you weren’t, logically you knew (through Coyote) that he was a bit of a ladies man and made his rounds wherever he was stationed that month but it just wasn’t something you ever talked about. Which was why as you sat in the Chief of Surgery’s office early one morning you felt a pit develop in your stomach when he let you know you’d be headed to San Diego for the day.

“UCSD got your fellowship application and they were very impressed… I spoke with their Chief and they’re requesting you for the day, I reckon they’re about to woo you,” he chuckled. “You’ll take the hospital’s charter and return tomorrow evening, you leave in an hour,” he said and you just stared at him in shock.

“Woo me, sir?” you asked and he nodded.

“You’ll spend the day in their facilities, get the lay of the land and meet the Head of Trauma, they’ll likely let you scrub in on something cool… they’re putting you up in a nice hotel in Coronado on the beach and giving you tomorrow to explore the city, likely in hopes of you falling in love with the San Diego lifestyle,” he said and you were still looking at him skeptically. “This is the part where all of your hard work starts paying off, Jupiter. This isn’t going to be the first hospital that tries to get your attention but they’re certainly hoping to be the last,” he said.

“But sir, I have patients… I’m supposed to take Mrs. Murphy in for her-”

“You’ll still have patients when you get back, go… maybe have a little bit of fun,” he said with a smile and you nodded as you left his office. Having fun wasn’t something you really did often, your life existed within the walls of this hospital. For you, fun was cutting people open and maybe you could constitute what you were doing with Blake as fun but you really thought of it as more of a time filler.

And they’d done exactly what he said they would… you were given a tour of the hospital by an overly eager resident (who had a million questions for you about the clinical trial you’d worked on with your Head of Neuro during your second year) and you learned cutting edge trauma techniques during a GSW surgery that you’d only read about in medical journals all before they sent you packing while the sun was still out to get settled in your hotel and see everything San Diego had to offer you. Jake was still here, he’d returned from his mission a few weeks ago and there was talk about keeping him and all the other pilots that were recalled for the detachment here permanently as a squadron while teaching new recruits at Top Gun. You changed out of the scrubs you’d been wearing since Boston and showered, throwing on a sundress and sandals before walking out of your hotel and strolling along the beach… Following your phone's maps you knew you were only a few minutes away from the bar where Jake told you he spent most of his time nowadays and you dialed his contact, hoping he was around and not up in the air somewhere.

“Hey angel, perfect timing. I just got to the bar, man it was a crazy day at work today,” he said and you could hear the chatter in the background as he greeted Penny and ordered a beer.

“Yeah? Tell me all about it,” you said and you listened as he went on about a new recruit who reminded him a lot of himself but not in a good way, mentioning something about almost losing total control of his jet and taking Phoenix out and you shuddered as you imagined it, stopping right in front of the entrance and taking a deep breath. “Hey, what was the name of that bar you’re always at?” you asked, a soft smirk playing on your lips as you walked in and recognized the group of pilots around the pool table from the photos he sent you.

“The Hard Deck, why?” he asked as you made your way through while praying you weren’t in his line of sight and you saw him leaning against the bar with his back to you and you leaned against a beam a few feet away.

“Huh, that’s weird… I just walked into a bar called the Hard Deck, must be a coincidence,” you said, doing your best to sound nonchalant.

“The Hard Deck? In Boston? That doesn’t make any… are you fucking with me?” he asked and you stifled a laugh.

“I don’t think so? Yeah, there’s this red neon sign out front, a lot of coffee cups hanging from the ceiling which is an interesting design choice,” you said as you watched his head tilt upwards, “a lot of people in khaki. Actually… there’s this guy at the bar wearing the hell out of a khaki uniform that I think might be cute but I can’t really tell, he’s got his back to me… do you think I should make a move?” you asked and he turned around slowly as if he was in a horror movie expecting the killer to be right behind him and you were worried his face was going to split in half from how wide he smiled when he spotted you. He was crossing the distance in an instant, wrapping his arms around you and lifting you off the ground as you giggled.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, squeezing you tight. 

“I was at UCSD for the day getting the star treatment,” you said a touch dramatically as you threw your hair over your shoulder. “Thought I’d surprise you.” 

“Well I am certainly surprised, what do you want to drink?” he asked and you shook your head.

“In a minute, I’m quite liking this surprising people thing…” you said, walking over to the pool table where Coyote was so thoroughly invested in the shot he was lining up he didn’t even notice you.

“What’s a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?” you sighed, leaning against the edge of the table and ignoring the confused looks from the other pilots… 

“Well, give me a moment here darling… I’d be happy to oblige once I win this game,” he replied and you chuckled at the suave voice he’d put on to try and impress you, still not realizing who you were. “Holy shit, Jupiter?” he said after he sank his shot and you laughed as he pulled you in for a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d come see what all this Top Gun nonsense was about,” you replied and he brought his hands up to cup your face and squish your cheeks.

“It’s been far too long, what are you drinking?” he asked, already halfway to the bar and you called out beer after him. 

“The Jupiter?” the dark haired woman you recognized as Phoenix said, sticking out her hand and introducing herself. “Those two talk about you so often I honestly thought you were a myth at this point.” 

“I’ve heard a lot about you too… thank you for keeping this one’s ego in check,” you said with a laugh as you gestured to Jake and he just rolled his eyes at you.

“Someone has to,” she muttered before going around and introducing you to everyone else and you smiled as they all eagerly hugged you, seemingly you were already a part of the family with how often Jake and Coyote mentioned you. “Rooster’s around here somewhere, you’ll meet him eventually.” 

“Okay, tell me all about UCSD,” Jake said, directing you to a chair and you filled him in on all the details… maybe leaving out a few about the surgery at first but Bob had appeared out of nowhere and expressed an interest in the gory details which you were happy to share, and Jake took that opportunity to excuse himself when Coyote brought you your drink and challenged him to a round of pool. His friends were great, they asked a lot of questions and hung onto your every word when you answered and they were thrilled to tell you all about their lives as pilots.

“This could be good for you two,” Phoenix said when the two of you found yourselves alone standing by the window overlooking the beach, “did Hangman tell you we might be getting permanent stations?”

“He mentioned it, but definitely downplayed it,” you answered and she nodded.

“It’s looking more like a serious possibility now,” she said and your eyes brightened, “this is the best squad I’ve ever been a part of… if you overlook half of what Hangman says,” she said and you chuckled. “Turns out the bigwigs feel the same and want us to instruct at Top Gun permanently in between deployments.” You tried to temper your excitement.

“I’m sure you’re all loving that idea… might be nice to officially call someplace home,” you mused.

“We’re all excited… besides, the last mission really bonded us, I don’t know if I could just go back to my old squad after that.”

“He didn’t tell me much, assumed he couldn’t, but from what I hear it looked like a few of you weren’t going to make it back for a minute?” 

She nodded, “Rooster and Maverick, Hangman is actually the one who went after them and saved them,” she said and you turned to look at her with wide eyes. “Disobeyed orders too, surprised the hell out of all of us. He’s a jackass but if you ignore all the bravado he’s kind of a good guy,” she said, “but don’t tell him I said that.”

“Your secrets safe with me,” you chuckled before excusing yourself to grab another drink. You knew from Coyote that Jake had a bit of a rough exterior when it came to work and was often off putting to a lot of other pilots and you were happy to see that he was finding a place here, dropping some of the ego and making real connections. You met Penny who gave you your next round on the house despite how you tried to protest and just as you were about to rejoin the group you came face-to-face with a tall redhead who had an annoyed expression on her face.

“You’re Jupiter?” she asked and when you nodded tentatively you could have sworn she scoffed. “Look, I’m just going to be blunt… Do I need to be worried about you and Hangman?” she asked and you were truthfully stunned and glanced at Penny who gave you a look that seemed to say tread lightly. 

“I’m sorry, you are?” you asked.

“Hannah, he and I are kinda…” she trailed off and you nodded in understanding. You looked her over once more and felt your heart twist as you did, if you looked past her somewhat aggressive disposition she was absolutely stunning. 

“Got it, no you have nothing to worry about… just childhood friends, I’m actually seeing someone back home,” you offered, hoping it would appease her and it seemed to because she disappeared back to her friends and you shook your head in disbelief, tossing back the tequila and smiling at Penny who was already pouring you another. “Thank you,” you said.

“No problem… that happens all the time, there’s always some kind of turf war happening in this bar over the pilots… especially Hangman,” she said and you nodded softly as she went to serve other customers. This shouldn’t hurt, you knew this already but it didn’t do anything to ease the sting or stop the nauseous feeling that took hold in your stomach.

“You’re seeing someone?” You heard Jake ask from behind you and you turned to meet his eyes, letting out a sigh as you did so.

“Kind of? It’s not serious,” you shrugged and really it wasn’t a lie… you weren’t exclusive with Blake, you knew he might want to get there eventually but you weren’t yet. “Didn’t know you were seeing someone,” you added.

“Kind of… it’s not serious,” he repeated your words and you nodded, taking your next shot and looking over to Coyote.

“Your pool partner is beckoning you,” you said and he looked you over, trying to decipher if you were mad or not but he couldn’t tell and honestly neither could you. You had no room to be jealous, you were doing the exact same thing he was. Maybe you were jealous that he wasn’t confronted with it, Blake was just an idea all the way across the country while Hannah was just a few yards away shooting daggers in your direction… you nodded encouragingly, silently telling him to go back to his pool game and you watched as he did so as you leaned against the bar. 

The rest of the group was smiling and laughing, playing darts or engaged in conversation and you thought about how easy it would be if you could just slip in here… you knew you still had to entertain the offers from other hospitals but choosing San Diego just seemed natural and obvious. Your ears perked up as you heard the jukebox suddenly cut out and the sounds of someone tinkering with the keys of the piano and you followed the noise to the end of the bar where you saw a man with a questionable mustache and a rather loud Hawaiian shirt sitting. “You must be Rooster,” you observed and he looked up at you slightly.

“You must be Jupiter,” he shot back, “the girl who has captured everyone’s attention tonight,” he said as you smiled and leaned against the piano.

“I have a tendency to do that,” you chuckled, listening as he switched gears and you recognized the opening notes of Drops of Jupiter, and you let out a loud laugh. “Oh, don’t do it...” you said, trailing off and he just smirked at you, one that you were sure had reeled in a lot of girls before, and it even would have worked on you if you didn’t have Jake to worry about on the other side of the bar.

“Now that she’s back in the atmosphere with drops of Jupiter in her hair,” he started singing and you couldn’t keep the smile off your face as he looked up at you with mischief in his eyes, nudging your leg with his and encouraging you to join in but you just shook your head. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging,” he said before starting the chorus and you begrudgingly sang along with him, maybe a little out of key but it didn’t seem to matter. The rest of the bar had started to move towards the piano and you had an inkling that this was a regular occurrence in this bar. Rooster seemed to have this natural pull to him, almost like gravity as your new friends circled around you and joined in.

But tell me, did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded, and that heaven is overrated? And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? One without a permanent scar and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

Across the bar Jake was watching you with an unreadable expression on his face as you danced and sang with his friends, and while you were lost in the moment as you lead the bar in song with Rooster he was abandoning his conversation with Hannah mid-sentence and walking towards you on no accord of his own… you had your own gravitational pull, and when you met his eyes he felt like nothing else in the world truly mattered. Not when you looked that beautiful, not when you and Rooster had the whole bar eating out of the palms of your hands. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, and you couldn’t take your eyes off him as he leaned against a beam and smiled that classically Jake smile at you. When you looked away it was to laugh with Phoenix as Rooster really played up the moment and put his whole heart and soul into it and you thought to yourself that this was what you wanted.

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken? Your best friend always sticking up for you, even when I know you’re wrong? Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, five hour phone conversation, the best soy latte that you ever had and me?

These were the moments that you were missing… and it wasn’t because you didn’t have the time back home, you could make it if you wanted to. It was because you never felt like you could truly let go of yourself until Jake was around, you didn’t know how to relinquish control and go with the flow unless you were in his orbit, knowing that he was watching over you and these were the moments you craved. You wanted more nights in this bar, with these friends and with those green eyes watching you.

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet? Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day, and head back toward the Milky Way? And tell me, did you sail across the sun? Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded, and that heaven is overrated? And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? One without a permanent scar and then you miss me while you were looking for yourself?

The bar was trying to stay in time with Rooster as he ad-libbed the ending but truthfully it was just chaos as you danced with Phoenix and laughed with Coyote as somewhere Bob was recording the whole thing. You wrapped your arms around Rooster’s shoulders as he finished and placed a kiss to his cheek, “thank you,” you whispered into his ear and he nodded after giving your arm a squeeze. You lifted your head to see Jake still looking at you and you made your way through the throng of people, giving him a look that said are you coming? as you slipped out the doors. You kicked your shoes off and set them beside one of the picnic benches before walking out into the sand and you heard the bar doors open and shut behind you… you didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked and you chuckled.

“I didn’t fly all the way across the country to not get my feet wet,” you answered, turning around to face him as you continued walking backwards. “Gonna join me?” you asked before running towards the water and he just watched for a moment.

“Ah, hell,” he muttered, pulling his boots off and abandoning them in the sand as he rolled his khakis up as high as they would go and chased after you. The water was biting on your ankles and you laughed as Jake caught up and wrapped your arms around your waist, lifting you off the ground.

Inside the bar the jukebox had been turned back on and the group had gone back to their usual spots before catching a glimpse of the two of you out there splashing around in the water and laughing under the moonlight and soon they were crowded around the window to watch.

“You mean to tell me that’s Hangman out there?” Payback asked in disbelief.

“Can you blame him?” Rooster asked, “if she wasn’t the Jupiter I’d be doing anything I could to get her to look at me like that,” he said, overlooking you beam up at Jake.

“The real question here is how are they not together?” Phoenix asked and Coyote shrugged.

“They were a long time ago… They broke up before college because they knew it was going to be impossible to stay together.”

“What a load of shit, they are so in love,” she replied with a faux-gag and Hannah scoffed behind them, coming to see what they were all looking at.

“I knew it,” she muttered and Phoenix shot her a glare.

“Just go home already,” she said exasperatedly and the boys all stifled their laughter.

“Oh come on, you guys are shameless,” Bob said as he returned from the bathroom. “Let them have their moment.” 

“I’m sorry about Hannah,” Jake said as you settled in the sand and you just shrugged.

“It’s okay… I’m sorry about Blake,” you replied and he shook his head.

“I want you to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy, too,” you said, turning your head to face him.

“Are you?” he asked and you pondered this for a moment. 

“I don’t know… I’m happy right now,” you offered and he nodded. “I really like it here… and you might be stationed here permanently?” 

He sighed, “maybe… I don’t want you making any career decisions on my behalf,” he said and you looked back to the water.

“I know.” It fell silent between you two as you both watched the waves. You really were happy right now, you’d known the other pilots officially for a handful of hours but you felt like you were better friends with them than Holly or anyone else back in Boston… you’d come out of your shell and you felt like you were at home. You knew he was going to encourage you to at least hear out any other offers from other hospitals, and you knew that you should but you just didn’t want to. Even if Hannah was someone permanent and even if you didn’t really know where the two of you stood you wanted to be here. “Would it be such a bad thing if I did choose San Diego because of you?” you finally asked.

“I don’t know… I just don’t want you missing out on other opportunities,” he answered.

“They made me a really good offer,” you said, turning to look at him and he raised his eyebrows questioningly. “The salary is way above a standard fellows, they basically greenlit my rural health initiative, and offered to cover my relocation costs, a mortgage allowance and to absorb all of my loans,” you said and his eyes widened. “Even if I consider other hospitals all they’ll be able to do is try and match that, and it’s a really good hospital… you being here is just kind of the final thing that makes it perfect.”

“If you took me out of the equation and another hospital offered you the same, would you take it?”

You shrugged, “I don’t know. San Diego was my number one before I even knew you might be here permanently.” 

He nodded, “don’t get me wrong, I want nothing more than for you to be here but I just want you to consider all of your options.”

“I know,” you said, refocusing on the water. “But I just don’t think making a decision because of you would be a bad thing.”

“I didn’t say-”

“You kind of did.” you cut him off, “and I get it… I wouldn’t want you doing the same for me but… Hannah? That sucked, and I know it didn’t feel good hearing me say I was seeing someone,” you said. “I just… I’m tired, Jake. I had more fun tonight than I’ve probably ever had, I can see myself living here and I just don’t want to have to justify that to you because you think I should keep my options open.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and you leaned into him. 

“Everything has been hard… the last ten years of my life have just been hard and I’m finally in a position where I can do something that would make everything so much easier so if that’s what I decide to do just… let me, okay?” 

“Okay,” he said, holding you tight as you let your eyes drift closed. “I’m really proud of you, Jupiter.”

“I know…” you said, twisting your neck to look up at him. “I’m really proud of you too...”

previous part / next part

taglist: @mamaskillerqueen @clancycucumber230 @the-romanian-is-bae @dempy @alldaysdreamers @zzsloth @emma8895eb @novagreen04 @classyunknownlover @olliepig @purplevortexx​ (if your username is struck through, it wouldn’t let me tag you -- sorry!)

[simpforchuchu]

A HELPFULL GUIDE TO THE RAMPAGE FROM EXILE TRIBE BY CHU-CHU

Hi Guys! I see that there are many new Rampage fans - Ravers - among us and I would like to introduce the members to you. Other than formal group information, some of it will be my own opinions. You can easily find other official informations about the group on the web. Rather, I want to share with you how I see each member, what impression they made on me, and what I liked or found interesting about them. So please keep in mind that these are my opinions. And of course, I'm not a very old fan either. There may be things I don't know or misunderstand. You can share with me what you want to add or correct 💜

-I am also sharing with you some blogs that I know who is posting about Exile Tribe/The Rampage. You can check them out too 💜I will continue to introduce the members when I have time :') I hope you like it :D 💜

@ataryutaro @banqanas @elenilote @fextsubs @rainisawriter @rowdyshogun @thistaleisabloodyone @zhaolusi (Hope I didn't forget anyone :( )

The Rampage

A Japanese dance & vocal boy group formed and managed by LDH JAPAN.

16 members: 3 vocalists and 13 performers. 

They made their major debut on January 25, 2017 with the single “Lightning”.

Fandom name: Ravers ( RAmpage loVERS)

Formation: September 12, 2014

Debut: January 25, 2017

Genres: J-pop, hip hop, dance pop

Leaders: Likiya and Zin

16 Members: Likiya, Zin, Riku, Kenta, Rui, Yamasho, Kazuma, Hokuto, Iwasho, Shohei, Itsuki,Kaisei, Makoto, Ryu, Takahide and Takuma

And yes they have a hip-hop sub-unit : Ma55ive the Rampage (Likiya, Kenta,Yamasho, Shohei, Takahide)

I also didn’t know this part;

At the beginning it was unclear how many and which candidates would be chosen for the group's final line-up, the members later described the time as a desperate, harsh and stressful "survival situation". According to Kawamura Kazuma, the three vocalists were especially tense and taking the situation very seriously, thinking that one of them was going to be cut, due to the fact that LDH only had a two-vocalist system for all of their boy groups at that point.

But luckily they were all chosen :’)

However, while they were training for their debut in the public eye, the members later revealed that the group had been struggling behind the scenes and actually went on a hiatus the year after they were formed until their debut. Several members mentioned that they considered quitting during that time as it was mentally and physically difficult.Also Fujiwara Itsuki revealed that the members had also been working as staffs of the company behind the scenes in that time period, for example as tour staff for senior groups, or in Fujiwara's case, as staff of EXPG schools.

June 16 had been chosen as "RAVERS DAY". This specific date was selected because it is the only month out of the year that does not have a member's birthday, and because the number "16" is important to the group :D

During the first five years, all members of the group lived together in a dormitory.There were four rooms, and four members lived in each room, sharing bunk beds. Each room also had a room manager.

-I don't plan to mention TV series, movies, awards, songs, albums or tours. I get most of the information from Exile Tribe Wiki, you can read more there :’)

MEMBERS

1) LIKIYA : Elliot Likiya (エリオット·力矢)

Born: November 28, 1990 (age 32)

Birth Place: Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Height: 170 cm (5 ft 6.9 in)

Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Emoji: 👨‍🍳

Leader and performer of THE RAMPAGE and a rapper in MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE.

DAD of the group

He may look serious but he is literally a cinnamon roll

I love Likiya, with his style, personality, sweetness and everything

Someone who is frequently teased by other members

When group members were asked who they would like to date, most of them chose Likiya.

Also, Elly from Sandaime J SOUL BROTHERS is his older brother. That's why he said that he was often compared to him and that he was flustured.

According to Wiki;

He participated in the EXILE PERFORMER BATTLE AUDITION, but did not make it to the finals.

LIKIYA's father is Carlos Elliot, a former professional boxer and LIKIYA started practicing boxing as a hobby.

He loves basketball and cooking. That's why his emoji is a cook. 👨‍🍳

Described as a calm, quiet and very reliable person with a strong sense of leadership. According to his members, he also has a mischievous side and occasionally makes a joke to calm the mood.

In charge of the choreography of THE RAMPAGE.

He is very good at cooking. His skills are so good that he even invented his own curry, "Likiya-man's Indian Spinach Curry" (リキヤ～マンのインド風ほうれん草カレー), which is actually sold in Japan. In 2020's first broadcast of "RMPG DOPE STATION", he talked about his dream of appearing on a cooking show.

His favorite color is white. He collects white clothes and white things, and most of his furniture and accessories are white.

2) ZIN : Sakamoto Zin (坂本陣)

Born: April 28, 1994 (age 29)

Birth Place: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

Height: 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)

Zodiac Sign:  Taurus

Emoji:🐴

Leader and performer of THE RAMPAGE

MOM of the group

I LOVE HIS SMILE <3 HIS SMILE IS SO PRETTY <3

He is really like a mom even to the older members. He is fun, funny and really so cute. And I really love when he talks :’)

Probably the one who gets bullied the most

He is one of the tall members

According to Wiki;

He participated in the EXILE PERFORMER BATTLE AUDITION, but did not make it to the finals.

Described as a good talker, mood-maker and hard worker. His members appreciate his cheerfulness, responsibility and communication skills.Additionally, he is also described as compassionate, tearful and a bit clumsy. Because of his friendliness, he is often teased even by the younger members.

Usually takes the lead when it comes to interviews and has a natural talent for hosting live performances and events

Didn't like his smile very much for a long time, but after he joined THE RAMPAGE, people started to tell him that he has a nice smile, which changed his view. :’)

Has a cat named "Luky".

Likes the manga Jujutsu Kaisen.

His favorite color is red.

3) RIKU: Aoyama Riku (青山陸)

Born: August 10, 1994 (age 29)

Birth Place: Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, Japan

Height: 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in)

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Emoji: 🐶

Maybe you think Rampage’s only vocalists are Kazuma and Hokum but no. This handsome man is a vocalist too and he has an amazing voice…

He is really good at teasing and annoying people and a bit savage.

He has that prince vibe and has a really charming visual.

His English is pretty good and wants to speak English to reach international fans &lt;3

IwaSho and him are close friends

He likes going GYM… really…

He loves playing soccer and really good at it 

He really loves children and A RIKU WITH KIDS ALL YOU NEED BELIEVE IN ME :’)

According to Wiki;

A very good dancer and known for his ability to dance with the same level of sharpness as a performer while singing stably.

Initially viewed his high-pitched voice as a complex. He is often jokingly imitated and teased by the members for it and he consciously keeps his voice low in magazine interviews.

Taught himself how to play the piano.His first keyboard was gifted to him by SHOKICHI.

Often compared to a golden retriever due to his cheerful, communicative, clumsy and soft nature and muscular physique.

Went to an all-boys high school for six years.

Always keeps a list of restaurants that interest him on his smartphone.

He has a friendly rivarly with KAZUKI and Sato Taiki, who attended EXPG Tokyo at the same time as him.Initially, he felt inferior to KAZUKI, which motivated him to practice harder.

His favorite color is pink.

Used to be the centre of the group, but the position was reappointed to Kawamura Kazuma.

4) KENTA: Kamiya Kenta (神谷健太) 

Born: May 27, 1995 (age 28)

Birth Place: Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Height: 170 cm (5 ft 6.9 in)

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Emoji: 🐿️

Performer of THE RAMPAGE and a rapper in MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE.

Even though he is a performer and rapper, he has great vocals. And I'm so happy ma55ive used him as vocals &lt;3

He's funny, sweet and entertaining

I think he has a flirty personality

He and Rui are childhood friends and very close friends. (But he'll never admit it)

He has interesting and funny drunk memories...

He has a lot of questionable (in a good way) behavior and always makes me laugh

He's one of the oldest members but he definitely doesn't act like one :D

When he was a kid, he wanted to be a FBI Agent but I think he still does :D

According to Wiki;

He participated in the EXILE PERFORMER BATTLE AUDITION but didn't made to the finals.

In 2013, he was introduced as a member of the trainee group EXILE GENERATIONS.

He has a childhood friendship with fellow group mate Yonamine Rui

Him and Yonamine Rui together are called the "Haisai Duo" or "Haisai Combi". They are from the same hometown and the first students from EXPG Okinawa to join LDH.

Described as a mysterious and quiet person. He says about himself: "I'm not a loner, but I'm a free spirit and have my own pace". However, he also has a playful side characterized by strange moves, peculiar laughter, and eccentric worldview.

Has a curious nature and likes to try new things.

His favorite artists are Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.

In 2017, at the start of the group's first solo tour THE RAMPAGE LIVE TOUR 2017-2018 "GO ON THE RAMPAGE", he launched a video corner called "The Two Who Can't Talk" (しゃべれない2人) together with Fujiwara Itsuki in order to improve their talking skills. :D

According to his members, he is always late in his private life.

His favorite color is black.

[kiwiana-writes]

For the AU ask game: college AU where Alex is taking an art elective and Henry is the nude model for his life drawing class, resulting in Alex's bi awakening

Gonna really betray my complete lack of art knowledge with this one lmao

ONE: Alex didn't even want to sign up for the art elective, but he drops a class in the first week because the professor is a massive fucking racist, and by then anything he would have chosen to take is full. He's not bad at art, necessarily—he took it in high school for a couple of years before he started focusing more on college-appropriate subjects—but it's not where he was planning to spend his energy.

TWO: He doesn't even see 'life models' until after he's already committed. Which is fine, obviously. He's not a creep. Besides, he'll be so focused on the technical details of drawing that he's not going to start panting at the curve of a boob.

THREE: The guy is literally standing on a dias in the middle of the room, in a robe, and Alex still doesn't figure it out until the teacher introduces Henry to the class and Henry starts to shrug out of the robe. Henry has a jawline carved from marble and a shoulder-to-waist ratio most models dream about; he'll be great to practise body shots on. Lines. Body LINES. Why is he thinking about body shots?

FOUR: From his seat, Alex mostly has Henry in profile. He draws a curved line on his paper, the sway of Henry's back, the dip above his hipbones, the swell of his ass, and wonders what it would be like to trace his tongue down the same path his eyes are currently traversing and what the fuck—

FIVE: It's creepy to give the nude model your number, right? It's probably creepy. God, Alex has very literally spent the last however long staring at Henry's naked ass and Henry doesn't even know his name. It would definitely be creepy.

(He asks Henry out for coffee instead. Which would probably also be creepy, except that Henry's face lights up and he's saying yes before Alex can even finish the question. Henry orders a tea; Alex likes him anyway.)

[Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.]

[toaskello]

Ok, so people on Bionicle Discords are talking about Creeping in My Soul and Bring Me to Life. I think it's a common sentiment that the former is almost certainly based on the latter (though is a definite improvement IMO). But what if I told you that Bring Me to Life is actually way more relevant to Bionicle than its "copycat"? Specifically, it's a conversation between Mata Nui and Matoro at the end of 2007.

Going to need to go line by line for this

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?

Starting off a bit weak, but Mata Nui's eyes are quite literally doors. BA6 shows that Naho Bay is where the Toa Metru first arrived on the island above, and that's directly above one of the GSR's eyeholes.

Leading you down into my core

Matoro is being led to Karda Nui, which is often referred to as the core of the universe, by the return of Voya Nui.

where I've become so numb

The core is numb, the energy storms have stopped.

Without a soul, my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold

It's essential to the conclusion of 2008 that Mata Nui's spirit temporarily left his body.

Until you find it there and lead it back home

Pretty self explanatory, Mata Nui wants Matoro to use the mask to return his spirit to his body before he dies.

Wake me up inside

Again self explanatory, Mata Nui telling the beings inside him to wake him up.

Call my name and save me from the dark

Three guesses as to what the dark represents.

Bid my blood to run before I come undone

Either referring to the repopulation of Metru Nui (Matoran are often likened to red blood cells) or reactivation of the energy storms (Karda Nui is the heart).

Save me from the nothing I've become

A bit of foreshadowing for the twist ending of 2008. Mata Nui has realized that Makuta, who is often referred to as "nothing", has become the Great Spirit.

Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me

Mata Nui's character arc is about recognizing how he completely ignored his inhabitants. He took them for granted, and he recognizes that here.

Breathe into me and make me real

Ok yeah I got nothing

Bring me to life

Self explanatory.

Frozen inside without your touch, without your love

Another reference to ice, Matoro's element. This is starting to get into the importance of Matoro specifically, elaborated on in the next line.

Darling, only you are the life among the dead

Matoro is the Ignika's chosen bearer. Only he can hold it without being cursed. He's also about to be very much not alive, but Mata Nui reassures him that his spirit will live on. It's also a nod to the Kanohi Tryna that was given to him as a test of character. He would resurrect the dead, being the only life among them.

All this time I can't believe I couldn't see

Alright, Matoro lines. What has he realized?

Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me

Ah, he's realized the true identity of Mata Nui! The Great Spirit has been in front of him all along, just not in a form he recognized. Canon materials often used the phrase of toiling "in the dark" when describing the Matoran creating the GSR as a euphemism for being unaware that their home was the body of the Great Spirit.

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything

lol

Without a thought, without a voice, without a soul

Matoro is transforming into energy. He's beginning to lose his corporeal form.

Don't let me die here, there must be something more

Matoro regrets his decision to don the mask. This is something that explicitly doesn't happen in canon, but this isn't actually a Bionicle song and I'm doing my best here ok

Bring me to life

I've been living a lie

Matoro grappling with the revelation that Mata Nui is the MU.

There's nothing inside

Again an oblique reference to Makuta taking control of Mata Nui's body.

so there you have it, incontrovertible proof that this popular mainstream song that was released in 2003 was written about the plotline of a 2007 toy. i will not be taking questions at this time.

[doverstar]

Hey Doverstar. Fellow Christian here. :) What do you think about The Chosen? They just started releasing Season 4 eps in theaters this February in the United States. I really love this show. What about you? If you do...I think that would be groovy! If not...well. That would also be groovy too. ✌

Hi there! Woah, it's in theaters, that's crazy! Back in my day it was barely stream-able and we had to be in a specific person's living room to get it on the TV, how far we've come by matchbox twenty- I'm glad you asked, this will be long-ish!

I used to attend the church that the creator of the show had been attending at the time when we lived in IL (his name is Dallas, I think we had dinner with him? don't remember). That was before The Chosen was a thing. He had great ideas about what Christian media could be, but The Chosen in particular went downhill fast for me. I think it's an excellent show, but I also think that when you're using historical, real people in the content, you have to be very careful. Especially when it's biblical figures in history. Then you have to be insanely careful, and Dallas is not being as careful as one would hope. Because you don't want people who know nothing about Jesus to watch that show and have that expectation in their minds when they go to read the Bible. Jesus probably didn't talk like that, may not have looked like that, and may not have even smiled like that during His ministry here. But I've literally spoken with people who say things like if Jesus doesn't smile like Jonathan Roumie when they get to Heaven, "what's the point". That's dangerous. (And theologically the show is not sound.) I get taking creative liberties in order to make a television show more engaging for a modern audience, but not with the Bible. I get trying to make it easier to understand and follow for people who are just not brought up in the church and don't know the language. But I've decided for me, personally, not to continue watching The Chosen. For one thing, I don't want those actors/actresses in my head when I'm reading the Bible, and for another, I don't want to start being in a "fandom" for a show that's supposed to be portraying the events in the Bible. I don't want to start treating the Bible like it's fiction, like Peter's my blorbo (as the kids say), like it's just entertainment. It's not. It's real. It's all real, and I know me, and I know I have a tendency to over-romanticize the media I consume. I'm not going near that show with a 39-and-a-half foot pole anymore. It would be too easy to start thinking the wrong way about what I believe based on the way the show makes me feel. That, and I think the show is disrespectful and wrong. Great idea, good execution, went off the rails. And yeah, The Chosen is so good at making you feel things! I saw that first Season. I loved that first Season! Little ideas like having the Jesus-character laugh in bed while knowing exactly what the family of the lame man he cured is waking up to, literally able to see them rejoicing miles away? That's beautiful. When the Jesus-character cries with the woman at the well, and he tells her from now on it will all be about the heart, not about works? And she says "You promise?" And he cries and smiles and promises and she's so happy? That's beautiful. I cried too. And my favorite was the line when Mary says that before she met Jesus, "I was one way. And now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him." That's perfect. That's so good. That's what it's like, in three sentences. Excellent. Well done. Oh, and the music swelling at the end of each episode? Fantastic. Emotions everywhere. But like I said, I don't trust it. I got through about four episodes of Season 2 before I was like, okay, that's enough. This isn't good for me. Does that make sense? I could go into the discrepancies and how they often treat Jesus in the show as though He wasn't fully man and fully God (He was), and how they often make it seem like you can believe He was or He wasn't and it's all fine, when it's not all fine. But that would take a while! In a nutshell: I'm glad the creators had the right heart to start out with, and I'm pleased to see it proven that Christians can make excellent media, but not if it's like this, and I don't think the show should continue. If it does, I think they need to get their heads on straight and be super clear about the Truth, otherwise there's no point. I won't be watching it. Doesn't make you evil if you watch it! This is just what I think. Since you asked. Glad to hear from you! <3

[cleo-c-art]

✨ for stonearm turen?

Thank you for the ask!

How did you come up with the OC’s name?

Stonearm has a lot of names! Gnomes are very prone to give each other nicknames, so it’s not uncommon for one to be called something different by most people they are close to.

Originally, her birth parents nicknamed her Soolin, which was Gnomish for “Sun under the surface," since they live in the Underdark. The DM came up with that name instead of me, as she remembers nothing from before her birth parents died, but she was lucky enough to talk to her late father and learn some about her past. She does not know her official first name at birth, but she’s okay with that.

When her adopted parents found her, they gave her the first name Davhace. I picked that because I thought it sounded cool and I knew it wouldn’t be super relevant. Their family name was Turen for similar reasons. Her parents nicknamed her Cranta, which is Gnomish for complete, and her siblings nicknamed her Aithwen, Gnomish for sword. Davhace was the last of the three kids to be adopted, so she “completed” their family unit. As for her sibling's nickname for her, she was found with a sword and they were young so they weren’t very creative 😂 For a while her sister carried some resentment against Davhace related to the sword, so she called her Stonearm which was upsetting for her, both to lose the original nickname and because it reminded her of the rift in their relationship. Luckily that has been resolved though!

Other people outside of the family started calling her Stonearm because she was slowly turning to stone on her left side. It was only at her first knuckle when her parents found her, but as it grew it became more obvious. She hated the nickname because it was focusing her identity on something that was painful, took feeling and mobility from her, and was slowly growing without any explanation or foreseeable cure. It was very important to her that her family *never* called her this; that’s also part of why it was so rough for her sister to call her Stonearm. Eventually she got more desensitized to the name and accepted it, introducing herself as that to new people. Even though she’s okay with the name overall it brings up bad memories hearing it from her family still.

Her most recent nicknames are still from before the campaign started. Before she was arrested, her best friend called her Gravel. Anyone one else calling her that would have really upset her, but they got along well and were able to really test each other’s boundaries before crossing a line. She started dating someone from the same group, who called her Mea Petra, "my rock." The DM also surprised me with that nickname when she saw her ex for the first time.

All the nicknames were chosen to represent the aspects of her relationships and to embrace the Gnomish lore. They can be super literal, so I keep most of them in Gnomish. There is a whole section of her Google doc dedicated to Gnomish words and to organizing the nicknames people have for her and she has for others.

[until-another-one-comes]

I can't draw them at the moment but I want to share my two doorman OCs I've used so far for my fics. In my stories I have 3 doormans switching shifts, Henry, the other human doorman and one doppelganger.

(Herman = Cis Male. He/Him

Dory = Gender-neutral. They/Them)

The first one is Herman, the human doorman. I based him off what I think an actual person would behave like in this job. Since we're just players having fun with the game, we ask questions to get extra lines and play around and don't take things too seriously because none of this is real. But to Herman, its all obviously real so he doesn't do any of that. He fact checks every document three times and calls the apartments to make extra sure he's not letting in a doppelganger. He doesn't ask too much questions when he sees an obvious sign of a doppel because thats a waste of time and can put him in danger. His and the residents lives are in near constant danger and he does his job very well and diligently but is constantly on edge and in the verge of a breakdown. He cares about the residents but his job makes it hard for him to be too friendly with them, but he does try his best to be polite. Most of the residents like him but can sometimes get irritated with his work, but their overall opinion on him is positive. He IS keeping them all alive after all. Poor Herman, this job is stressful but he is one of the best doorman they've got in this town.

The other doorman is Dory, the doppelganger doorman. As a doppel, Dory obviously doesn't care much about the dangers of their own species and they're not in any risk of being killed even if they let in a doppel. The reason why Dory was chosen to be a doorman is because they're one of the rare doppels who are near indistinguishable from humans in terms of intelligence level. They're smart, they understand human behavior and can fit in almost seamlesslt with the residents. Unfortunately, they have a certain weakness which is that they're unable to shapeshift the way most doppels do. They cover their face with shades and scarf and no one knows what they look like. Personality-wise, I base off their behavior with how most people play the game, at least after they get used to it. Since they're not in danger the way Herman is, they treat this much less seriously. They ask snarky questions and point out the obvious mistakes in the doppelgangers' disguise. They're not afraid to provoke the doppels and is careless about the residents' worries. Despite this, they actually do still do their job well and able to memorize IDs, faces and information flawlessly. Most of the residents don't really like them because of their flippant attitude and think they're being careless because they zip through the checking unusually fast. Dory doesn't care. They're there for a different purpose and that was not to look after the humans.

(And yes, the name Dory is literally just taken from the word 'doorman'. The Head DDD agent pointed out how they need an actual name and they just nabbed the first word that came to mind)

[gorgonarcher]

9th Game - Daggerheart (Beta) - Epithet

As I watch (well, listen to) the Critical Role video on how to make a character in Daggerheart, I figure, I should make this my 9th gorgon archer (in this incarnation at least).

Now, as a caveat, there is certainly not a gorgon ancestry, nor are there any snake people. Also, as a game that is beta, there's not a lot of the usual options I'd lean into for making a full on gorgon, so this is going to be my first epithet character in this version of the Gorgon Archer blog.

So the first thing we're going to do is pick class. Well, first I'm going to pick a name, and I think I'm going with Cael, my playtest gorgon sorcerer for D&D 5e, and use the level 5 picture I have of her. And the first thing, we're going to do is pick a class.

I know, I said this would be an epithet... but I'm still using the literal gorgon portrait.

Step One: Heritage

So, we're now going to pick Heritage which is the combination of your genetic ancestry and your communal upbringing.

Since I went with Cael's picture, I'm going to go ahead with Elf since Cael is a wood elf. The options I was thinking were elf, human, or orc. Daemon was considered, and if the horns were considered less of a set-thing and you just had to do something inhuman pointing to demonic heritage (like the 2e tieflings, which didn't need to have tails), I'd have chosen that.

Actually, you know what, let's ignore the horns thing and the fact I'm using an elven gorgon for the portrait and let's go with daemon and say her inhuman trait is snakes for hair. (I am now officially crossing out the word epithet... but leaving it up there for historical purposes).

Oh..... I didn't even read this.

Dread Visage is so very much a gorgon thing!

Excellent.

Okay, next we go with their community which is where you grew up. What options we have include:

Highborn - A community focused on nobility, luxury, and prestige.

Loreborn - A community focused on academia, politics, and knowledge

Orderborn - A community focused on faith, discipline, and order.

Ridgeborne - A mountain community.

Seaborne - An ocean or otherwise waterborn community.

Slyborn - A community featuring a lot of criminal or shady activity.

Underborne - An underground community.

Wanderborne - A nomadic community.

Wildborne - A forest community.

Looking at my other gorgon archers, I've had things along the lines of Order, Wild, Order, and Lore. I think for this one... we're going to go with Wanderborne and say she grew up in a wandering merchant caravan.

Step Two: Class

Now, how to represent the archery. Rogue and Ranger both seem to fit this, but with the gorgon thing, I think I'm going to lean into the snake thing and go with Ranger.

And we're going to go for the predictable Foundation of "Beastbound" so she has an animal companion. Guess what kind of animal it is. Three guesses, the first two don't count... it's a python.

We're going to name this companion Euryale, Medusa's sister, and it would be "Yuri" for short. And we're going to mark two companion traits she has. The options are:

Sneak

Climb

Strike

Scare

Run

Fly

Leap

Swim

I think we'll want to pick Strike as a basic ability, and for the second one, we're going to go with Climb. Scare is very appealing, but I think it's a good idea to give Yuri some movement and attack options here. Now, I could have done a smaller snake to begin with and chosen Sneak and Climb. Something to think about. But I like the idea of an absurdly large snake-friend.

Now, we pick the traits, the recommended is Agility +2, Finesse and Instinct +1, Strength and Knowledge +0, and Presence -1... I think I'm going to play this up a little and take a +1 Presence, she's a likeable gorgon, and a -1 to Strength. If she needs to break something, she has Euryale for that.

The next part of Class is choosing starting weapons, and we're definitely going with a Shortbow. It is the recommended option, but also the Longbow in this session is cumbersome, which impacts evasion and I want her agile and slippery.

We also need a secondary weapon. Which... I see whip... I'm taking whip.

And for starting armor, we're going to go with the recommended and take Leather Armor.

For starting gear we have a torch, 50 ft of rope, basic supplies, a handful of gold and two choices:

A choice between a health potion and a stamina potion.

A choice between a trophy from your first kill and a seemingly broken compass.

I'm going with the Stamina Potion, I may regret that later, and the interesting idea of the seemingly broken compass. It has Jack Sparrow vibes to it.

Next we choose our character's "Domain Deck Cards" these appear to be class skills and the like. The Ranger's domains are Bone, which seems to be about strategy and battlefield control, and Sage, which is the domain of the natural world.

Every class features two Domains, so there will be overlap with other classes in some cases. Druid will have Sage, for example, and Warrior will have Bone. There are six cards available to this version of Cael as a starting character.

Deft Maneuver - spend Hope (liquid currency in the game) to move far very quickly.

Gifted Tracker - roll to track or ask the GM a question about a specific creature or group.

I see it Coming - spend hope to roll a die to add to your Evasion

Nature's Tongue - speak the language of the natural world

Nimble - passive add Nimble to Evasion while the card is in your loadout

Vicious Entangle - roots and vines restrain a target.

I think I'm going for Nimble, I do like passive increases.

And I want a bit of Sage too, so I'm going to grab Nature's Tongue, so she can talk to all the animals.

Side note, this version of Cael is a lot more happy and less suffering from terrible memory retention issues due to magical abuse.

Step Three: Experiences

This gets into your character's backgrounds. We start with description, and I'm leaning into this being an alternate version of Cael whose heritage didn't erupt out of trauma.

Well, I've found a bug on the character creator:

Anyway, answer the background questions hmmm.

Experiences seem to work a bit like Aspects in Fate, you name something like an occupation, skill, specialization, or catchphrase which are used to represent skills you earned from that background.

We are going to have two, one at +2 and one at +1. And I think I'm going to make it Pathfinder +1 and Friend to the Beasts +2 EDIT: I just realized that these Experiences are so much like Aspects that I could name one "Gorgon" so I'm going to change out "Pathfinder" for Gorgon.... and probably pickup Pathfinder later on.

And then you choose some ways you're connected to other characters in the party.

I'm actually going to leave this one blank for now, in case I get a chance to play this character.

And in the end this is what the character looks like:

I went ahead and filled out their survey, but didn't feel great about it since this was purely about character creation and the questions were assuming a full session being run. EDIT: I went in and marked her equipment active.

As a note, I haven't read the rules yet, just character creation. So I'm not sure how a lot of this will play out, but the use of Stress and HP reminds me of Legend of Five Rings' Strife mechanics a bit... just on the face of it at least, again I haven't played the game or read through it... It also reminds me of the language of Fate.

Now, there isn't much that's mechanically supporting the "gorgon" part of this... except for the "Dread Visage" thing, but still pretty happy with this.

[acourtofthought]

Hello!

All good? Good week!

I love the theory that Clotho is one of the Sisters of Fate and knows about Gwyn and Azriel.

She is named after one of the three moirai sisters.

Azriel's extra chapter is full of references and signs that I go crazy.

Azriel arriving at 7 and handing over the necklace which is the jewels and "threads". Clotho receiving it and saying Gwyn would be happy.

This parallel of the number 7 is very good. Cassian arrives at the beginning of SF at Nesta's apartment at 7 as well.

What do you think of these subtle hints and references? There's no way to say that Gwynriel stan is crazy. Things are so lined up for us (I'm Gwynriel stan to the end).

Hello there!! I'm good although I have a little vampire puppy who just bit my leg and it HURT! 😂 I just ordered a Pet Corrector spray which should be getting here tomorrow so I'm hoping that helps with the nipping behavior. When you squeeze the trigger, it makes a hissing sound that dogs don't care for but isn't at all harmful. Fingers crossed! You know, I never thought much of Clotho beyond what we've been told and I never before noticed the part that says he was going to return the necklace to the Palace of Jewels and Thread. But, your ask just triggered something for me. Threads is 100% a descriptor given to the Archeron sisters Mating Bonds. Feyre, Nesta, Elain and Lucien have all mentioned it as a thread. In SF, Nesta says this "Most males bought their wives and mates jewelry for an outrageous Winter Solstice present." Here's the thing. Az bought the necklace at the Palace of JEWELS and THREAD with Elain in mind but we all know that it was for the wrong reasons. Az is so desperate for love, so desperate for a Mate that he transferred his unrequited love for Mor into an obsession over Elain and is questioning the Cauldron itself (which is basically saying he's questioning a Faith that all the Fae seem to share) simply because he's struggling to understand how his two brothers got mating bonds with two sisters and as he's the third brother and Elain is the third sister, why was he not chosen to be with her? Not because of who she is but simply because it would have just made logical sense to him. And it makes him question his worth because he was the only brother not to get a bond. Again, nothing to do with Elain. But......he bought her jewelry, something usually reserved as a gift between Mates (Amren is a unique case) because he's fixated on having a Mate. And he was planning on returning the gift because Elain rejected it, basically signifying to the reader that he should have never bought her this Mate like gift in the first place. But something instinctual drive him to giving this Mate like gift to Gwyn instead. A gift that came from a shop with the word "Thread" in it. At the end of that POV, the gift of jewelry was making it's way into the hands of the rightful (most likely) Mate of Az. The one he'll share a Mating Bond "thread" with. Even aside from Clotho and anything related to the necklace, I think there are so many other clues that point us in the direction of Gwynriel. He shows admiration for Gwyn, remarks on an aspect of her personality that is charming, and mentions the growth she's had since he first met her. Gwyn notes that it was Az and only Az who first came to her rescue, got revenge on those who harmed her and offered her a jacket after she was violated. He believes in Gwyn's ability to handle herself in the Rite (very reminiscent of all the times Rhys believed in Feyre to stand on her own two feet), she's playful with his shadows, he feels calm around her which is HUGE for a character who is literally always feeling rage under the surface, and she is a bit flirtatious and is fine being alone with Az (also a big deal for her as it shows how comfortable she feels with him). She also has no qualms about wearing Illyrian leathers and enjoys learning to handle weapons (which is a big deal for anyone who's going to end up with with Az and remain in the NC).

Oooooh, I wonder if the seven of Nesta's apartment and the 7 (o'clock) that Az arrived to leave Gwyn the necklace have anything to do with SJM drawing parallels to Cassian and Az each having Seven siphons. Thank you for your ask! You got my mind working this morning 😊

[alliluyevas]

On the subject of prestige tv thank you for getting me rambling about the Sopranos and Big Love and Breaking Bad all at once because I’ve got an idea I’ve been sort of ruminating over in my head and i want to share it

I think all three of these shows have a kind of “original sin” that is deeply embedded into the moral framework of the show. this is a particular act that is sort of haunting the narrative, initially serves as a kind of barrier between the show’s nominal protagonists and antagonists--a line that the protagonist is not willing to cross. Until, of course, he is.

In the Sopranos, this line is filicide (and to a lesser extent fratricide). In the first season, Livia tries to kill her son and Junior tries to kill the nephew who is like a son to him. This positions Tony narratively as the victim of an atrocity, and it’s sort of the last huge taboo in a world where many characters commit horrible acts. Even in the mob, a mother should not kill her son. And this is a ghost that haunts Tony (and us) for the rest of the show. On the flip side, the mafia is set up as a band of brothers, and to betray your chosen family is the worst possible sin--except, starting with Pussy’s death, this fabric starts to further tear, until finally the narrative unravels enough to bring us to Tony killing Tony B (like a brother) and Christopher (like a son).

Breaking Bad’s ultimate evil is similar, but in some ways simpler. It’s killing a child. Not your own child--just a child. The murder of Tomas is initially what separates Walt and Jesse from Gus, but even from the beginning this is complicated by the parallel with Walt standing by while Jane dies--she’s not A Child in that she is not literally a kid anymore, but she is Someone’s Child, and her death has massive ramifications for her father. Then as the show goes on Walt further abandons his moral pretenses in this realm as he first poisons Brock and then allows Todd to kill that little boy whose name I can’t remember. It’s particularly insidious because when he poisons Brock he does so knowing that Jesse will blame Gus and not him because Gus would harm a child and Walt--Jesse thinks--wouldn’t. In the end, there’s still a dividing line in terms of this ultimate evil, but it isn’t between Walt and Gus--it’s between Jesse and Walt.

Big Love’s original sin is statutory rape/sexual exploitation of teenage girls. This is the evil that haunts that narrative, from the pilot episode where we are first introduced to Roman and Rhonda throughout the show. It’s in some ways the invisible ugly bedrock that their world is built on, and it’s not always the kneejerk in your face grossness that is Roman’s engagement to Rhonda but it’s very omnipresent. This is something that Bill initially uses to draw a fine line between himself and Roman--my polygamy is not abusive, I am not a pervert, etc, and obviously the show draws that majorly into question especially with season five--and this is one of the aspects of season five that really worked for me. Especially because it’s not necessarily Bill getting worse over the course of the series (tho I do think he does): it’s a revelation about something he did before the show even started. It’s always been there, even if you didn’t see it. And I think that theme really shows through in what I personally found one of the most compelling and chilling scenes in the show, where Margene deflects criticism of her and Bill’s marriage by pointing out that Joseph Smith married underage wives too. It’s always been there!

[biggestdev]

Cheap (kinda) DIY hormone testing

Hormone level testing is something that came became an issue during my transition; I am going through my doctor for HRT, and my health insurance bit me in the ass. Since my doc is a small practice, they ship my samples out to get tested, and insurance only covers hormone tests if they take place AT my GP's practice. Like, in the physical building the sample was collected int. A weird cutout, but I assume it's something meant to fuck me over intentionally, and I can't make them budge on it.

So, I switched to an at-home, mail-in hormone test. I'm putting my two cents out there, just in case it helps anyone, I assume the DIY-ers out there are already aware of stuff like this. The test I ordered is from ZRT Lab:

Specifically, I ordered the "Hormone Trio" blood spot sample. There is a saliva sample method available (spit in a cup vs wipe blood on a sample paper), but their own research papers indicate the saliva sample isn't as accurate for testosterone, so I went with the blood spot method. It's not CHEAP by any means, at $130, but it's certainly cheaper than the $500 I WAS CHARGED by the local university hospital to do the SAME TESTS!

There is a caveat in the fine print that you should be aware of: California residents still need a doctor's note for ZRT Lab to process their samples. I don't know why, it's stupid, but it's a clear line that they draw.

This is the cheapest test I was able to find for these hormones, everything else either left out progesterone, or cost close to (or over) $200. I don't know if transmasc people need any other hormones tested, but for me, a transfemme, the three in the Hormone Trio test (Estradiol, Progesterone, and Testosterone) were the exact 3 my doctor was looking for.

As far as how easy it is to use, I found it very straightforward: it includes a lancet to poke a hole in one of your fingertips (the instructions said to go into the side of the finger at a weird angle, but I couldn't get enough blood to take samples, so I gave up and went right in the middle of my fingerprint, that worked much better), then drip blood onto the indicated spots on the sample card. Let the samples dry overnight, then pack it up and ship as directed (it comes with a prepaid shipping label).

On top of that, I was surprised at how little information they require to process a sample. there is a form sent with the kit, and I only included my name (chosen, not legal), age, gender, email, and a list of current medications. I also had to fill out at least one "symptom" (since they didn't have "is trans" in there, I just chose "mild anxiety", literally just pick anything), I know this because I DIDN'T choose a symptom at first, and they actually called me after they received it, telling me they need at least one symptom in order to process the sample. The nice lady on the phone actually started reading out all 50+ possible symptoms, I took pity on her and stopped her pretty quick ("oh you said anxiety? yeah, sure, that one".)

All in all, it took about 10 days from when I shipped the sample, to the results being posted in their online portal.

All in all, I'm happy with how easy and cheap (compared to the alternative) this test was, and I'll probably be using them for the foreseeable future, unless of course my insurance gets it's head screwed on straight and actually starts helping me instead of just charging me to do nothing, but we all know they'd light themselves on fire before actually helping anyone 😊

Oh, yeah, and this isn't an ad or anything, I did my own research and paid for the test in full, it's just a regular old review.

[omgfloofy]

‘dal segno al coda’ update

hi. it’s been awhile since I’ve talked about my crazy FFXV fanfic that I’ve been working on for over half a year now.

I guess it’s time to provide an update to it. I also feel a lot more comfortable in giving the big outline for this story. As it comes from this prompt by @mypromptlair​.

But since my update gets a bit more spammy from hereon out, I’ll go ahead and toss in a cut to save you all on the wordiness of everything.

This was originally one giant fic, but has since been broken into three files, with a fourth supplementary file. It is written mostly from Noctis and Luna’s perspectives from start to finish, with prologues/epilogues breaking away from this. The fourth ‘section,’ called ‘Meanwhile, Elsewhere...’ (thank you, FFXIV) contains scenes that are retold from different perspectives. Some I can’t release until after the whole story is complete, unfortunately.

I named this after musical notation. ’d.s. al coda’ is at the end of sheet music, you restart to the symbol (segno), and repeat until you get to the coda, another symbol where you jump away from the music and continue on where it is written in this new section entirely. So I’ve chosen to lean heavily into this and name the sections after three bits of famous (or infamous) phrasing notes from scores.

Section 1 is attacca subito l'Allegro - this comes from the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, called “Pathetique”

Section 2 is molto pesante ma non tropo - this comes from Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, specifically from the section called Spring Rounds. It’s clearly one of those ‘you’ll know it when you hear it’ sort of moments.

Also, seriously. Look up the original Nijinsky choreography of Rite of Spring and read about the ballet’s story. It’s kind of a very interesting parallel.

Section 3 is Sotto dura Staggion dal Sole accesa - Wordy? Yes. Crazy? Absolutely. I love it and it’s from Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Instead of just using phrasing notes through the sheet music, I learned that Vivaldi wrote a literal story throughout the score.

This is the first line of notes in Summer’s score. Especially because I have a special connection to Summer III - Presto and Final Fantasy in my head for Reasons. That’s for another time, though.

Word Counts

The main three files currently total out at 67,125 words. (01: 37,133 - 02: 24,745, and 03: 5,247.) This does not include some stuff from the original file that hasn’t been carried over yet, snippets that I’ve already written, the text in Meanwhile, Elsewhere... and the Date Night (this title may or may not stay around) short I’m putting together to give people a taste of the setting that’s come together for this story.

I don’t intend to do any publishing of this story yet - not until all three sections are done and they’re in their editing phase. Especially in situations like this week when I realized I needed to add stuff to sections 1 and 2 to support stuff I’m working up for section 3. However, once I finish up with Date Night, people can have a little bit of an idea of what’s going through my head for this.