Shipping from Massachusetts in a Mighty Mailer
Shipping is $5 flat.
MF DOOM/Trunks: Unicron (SPLATTER) $40Quasimoto: Yessir Whatever (GREEN) $35
Mr. Len – Class-X (Tribute To Company Flow) (TEST PRESSING) $50
Common: A Beautiful Revolution, Green Fat Beats version, $15
Roc Marciano: Marcberg Picture Disc, $20
MF DOOM/Trunks: Unicron (SPLATTER) $40
Quasimoto: Talkin' Shit, $40
Esoteric: Egoclapper, $20
Curren$y & Harry Fraud: Director's Cut (Heatseeker with Flexi Disc) $30
Premrock: Load Bearing Crow's Feet, $35
Meyhem Lauren: Glass 2.0 (Splatter), $20
Gensu Dean: Lo-Fi Fingahz, $15
DITC: The Official Version (Gold) $35
Gift of Gab: Rejoice, Rappers are Rapping Again (Splatter) $30
Kurious: A Constipated Monkey (Amalgam Release) TEST PRESSING: $50
SeanH/Sade/MFDOOM: Sadevillain $30
Bronze Nazareth & Roc Marciano: Ekphrasis, $15
Estee Nack/Ice Lord: Burt Offerings: $35
Big Ghost*, Cousin Feo & Lord Juco – Ghost At The Derby (GREEN OBI) $25
Marlon Craft: Funhouse Mirror (TEST PRESSING) $50
Al Doe/Spanish Ran: Michelin Stars (OBI CLEAR SPLATTER) $40
Josiah The Gift: TOGO (WHITE) $40
Smoovth: Young Smoovth 1 & 2 (Deluxe, Beer & Electric Blue) $40
Al.divino: Fishscale: $35
Hus Kingpin: Gunpowder: $25
Juggaknots: Use Your Confusion (TEST PRESSING) $50
Rahiem Supreme x Al.Divino* – Splash Bandicoot (BABY BLUE) $30
DJ Muggs the Black Goat* – Dies Occidendum (GOLD w/ Zine) $30
Klaus Layer: Lost Track (orange) $20
John Creasy x Ol Man 80zz – Teflon (Red/White/Black Splatter) $25
Klaus Layer – Restless Adventures (Mint Green Repress) $20
Y Society – Travel At Your Own Pace (Green in Blue Reissue) $20
Cousin Feo: Patat (Dutch and/or Orange) $20
Da Musalini x 9th Wonder: The Don & Eye OBI: $50
CRIMEAPPLE: Sancocho, $30
Baker's Dozen XIII, $15

El río no tenía agua. Era ancho como una calle y estaba lleno de piedras de muchos tamaños. La luna hacía brillar el suelo y nosotros nos sentíamos explorando otro planeta. Estirábamos los brazos y las piernas, y caminábamos como los astronautas de las películas.
Ramiro me contó el secreto para hacer torres de piedras. Las más grandes, con forma de huevo, iban en la parte de abajo y las más chicas arriba. Era un experto. Me dijo que su papá se lo había enseñado; que su papá sabía hacer un montón de cosas y que tenía más fuerza que un policía.
Plutón era muy gracioso, cada tanto se iba para un costado persiguiendo a los grillos. Se agachaba con las dos patitas de adelante juntas y movía la cola para prepararse, y daba manotazos.
Yo le mostré a Ramiro cómo tirar y hacer rebotar piedras. Le dije que lo más importante era el movimiento de la muñeca, como me había enseñado mi tío pablo, en un río con agua, en la casa de mis abuelos. Él era mi padrino y me había regalado al Tomy, un perrito que se había mudado al sur, al país de los perros, o algo así había dicho mi mamá.
Acomodamos las mochilas como almohadas y nos acostamos contra una piedra grande, con los brazos atrás de la cabeza, mirando las estrellas y buscando formas. Plutón caminó arriba de mi panza hasta mis piernas, dio un par de vueltas y se acostó cerca de mis rodillas.
Yo había visto en la tele que varias estrellas juntas formaban constelaciones y que tenían nombre, pero no me sabía ninguno, así que nos pusimos a inventar.
En un momento Ramiro se puso serio. Me dijo que allá arriba, en algún lugar de las estrellas, estaba la gente que se moría; que su papá estaba ahí, pero era tan lejos que nadie podía llegar. Yo no sabía que los papás y las mamás podían morirse, ese sí que era un asunto.
Me contó que su papá trabajaba mucho, y que un día se había quedado dormido mientras manejaba y que su auto se había salido de la ruta. Desde ese día su mamá casi no estaba en la casa y, cuando estaba, se la pasaba llorando en su pieza. Me dijo que creía que ella ya no quería ser su mamá, que a veces se olvidaba de buscarlo por el colegio.
Dijo que los papás y las mamás en un momento se cansaban de sus hijos.
Nos quedamos callados un rato largo. Creo que Ramiro se largó a llorar, pero yo no quería mirarlo, me daba vergüenza no saber qué decirle. Así que inventé una constelación nueva para levantarle el ánimo.
-Mirá, ese es el culo del profesor.
Él levantó la cabeza sin mirarme y sin hablar. Al rato dijo:
-Y ahí está la caca del caballo.
Nos largamos a reír y a mover las patas contra el suelo de la montaña gris.
Plutón dio un salto y se acomodó cerca de las mochilas.

Thought I would share the macros I use on my Preservation evoker. Some of these are really useful, some of these are just me trying to have the most streamlined, efficient, minimalist action bar setup. Some are just silly but I thought they were interesting, so I hope you might too. None of these are going to make you an epic 3000io player on their own but I do find that lessening cognitive load can really help during the M+ grind.
I would love if people shared any macros or ideas or improvements! I could spend hours making silly little buttons.
Here is a picture of my UI and keybinds if you want to have a look what my screen/setup looks like. I put as much keybound stuff on a hidden bar at the bottom (like Living Flame and Hover). I also use Opie! The best add-on ever. https://imgur.com/a/HuQetnp
Damage/Kick/CC
Casts "Azure Strike" on your mouseover target without modifiers, "Quell" with Shift modifier, and "Sleep Walk" with Ctrl modifier on mouseover targets. Good bind on my mouse button for easy spam.

#showtooltip /cast [nomod,@mouseover] Azure Strike; [mod:shift,@mouseover] Quell; [mod:ctrl,@mouseover] Sleep Walk 

Deep Breath/Fire Breath
Description: Simple shift modifier to put Fire Breath and Deep Breath on the same button. You could create a WeakAura to show you when Deep Breath is almost off cooldown though you eventually can just sense when its coming back (or just check by pressing shift).

#showtooltip /cast [nomod] Fire Breath /cast [mod:shift] Deep Breath 

Emerald Communion Helper
Cancels "Emerald Communion" if active and casts "Emerald Communion" if not active. This means if you Communion and get locked in place, then a swirlie appears beneath you, you click it again to be able to run away. Lifesaver.

#showtooltip /cancelaura Emerald Communion /cast Emerald Communion 

Fury of the Aspects/Visage
Casts Lust with left-click in combat and Visage with right-click out of combat. Stops you casting Lust out of combat, just in case, though this means I sometimes have to throw an Azure Strike on the mobs before I can lust.

#showtooltip Fury of the Aspects /cast [combat, btn:1] Fury of the Aspects; [btn:2] Visage /cast [nocombat] Visage 

Sneaky HoveSoar
This ones fun. It uses Hover in combat. Out of combat, it will first try to put you into Visage form first, otherwise cast Hover. This is a stupid workaround for the fact that Evokers always get put in dragon form which means you’ll spend much more time in your Visage form! In combat it will just Hover, so you don’t have to worry about it messing with encounters. It also uses the Highborne Soul Mirror which leaves a translucent copy behind you which can be useful in PvP. While holding shift it casts Soar, to save you a bar slot.

#showtooltip [mod:shift] Soar;Hover /stopcasting /cast [combat] Hover /cast [nocombat, mod:shift] Soar /use Highborne Soul Mirror /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear() /stopmacro [combat] /castsequence reset=nocombat Hover, Visage 

Mass Return Alert
Sends a message to your party or raid when you Mass Rez. Doesn’t work in combat which prevents you spamming the message when you’re waiting for the last mob to die. I dont use normal Rez anymore, even though I know it would save me 1s of cast time. You could do a simple shift modifier if you wanted that option.

#showtooltip Mass Return /cast Mass Return /stopmacro [combat] /script if IsInRaid() then SendChatMessage("Casting Mass Return. Don’t release!", "RAID") elseif IsInGroup() then SendChatMessage("Casting Mass Return. Don’t release!", "PARTY") end 

Damage Reduce/Self Healing
An all-round damage reduction button. Left-click uses Obsidian Scales, right click uses a Healthstone, shift-left-click uses a Refreshing Healing Potion. You could put Renewing Blaze in this macro on a shift-right-click, but I prefer giving it its own button so I can easily see the CD.

#showtooltip [mod:shift] Refreshing Healing Potion; [btn:2] Healthstone; Obsidian Scales /cast [mod:shift] Refreshing Healing Potion /cast [btn:2] Healthstone /cast [nomod,btn:1] Obsidian Scales 

Rescue/Oppressing Roar
Description: Casts "Rescue" if known at the cursor location, or "Oppressing Roar" if known. I swap between a Rescue build in raids and a Roar build in M+. This just means the button changes automatically when I swap specs.
The Rescue function is a must - you click an Ally then Rescue to your cursor point. Big timesaver when every second counts.

#showtooltip /cast [known:Rescue,@cursor] Rescue; [known:Oppressing Roar] Oppressing Roar 

Rewind/Favourite Pet
The most important macro on this list. Prevents you casting Rewind when out of combat (I have a real problem of blowing my cooldowns because of twitchy fingers. When you right click it out of combat it summons a Random Favourite Pet :3

#showtooltip /cast [nomod,combat] Rewind /rfp [nocombat, btn:2] 

Time Dilation/Landslide
A space saver. Casts Time Dilation on my mouseover, or Landslide at my cursor point when I shift-click the button.

#showtooltip [mod:shift] Landslide;Time Dilation /cast [nomod,combat, @mouseover] Time Dilation /cast [mod:shift,@cursor,known] Landslide 

Dream Breath & Trinket
Description: Simple trinket to auto-use a trinket with my Dream Breath whenever its off cooldown for a little burst. This is unsuitable if your trinket requires more specific timing.

#showtooltip /cast Dream Breath /use 13 

Use Trinket or Follow
Uses your 2nd trinket on your mouseover target when in combat. I also made it so that out of combat, pressing that button follows my mouseover target (if I can), which has felt surprisingly good to have on an easy keybind.

#showtooltip 14 /use [combat, @mouseover] 14 /script if not UnitAffectingCombat("player") then FollowUnit("mouseover") end 

Eat & Drink
Simple space saving WateFood macro. Replace the names with your specific items (which could be Conjured Mana Buns). Uses food on left button click, water on right button click.

#showtooltip [mod:shift] Cup o' Wakeup;Thrice-Spiced Mammoth Kabob /use [btn:2] Cup o' Wakeup; Thrice-Spiced Mammoth Kabob 

Mana Potion/Invis Potion
General space saver and a reminder to always carry Invisibility Pots.

#showtooltip /use [nomod] Aerated Mana Potion /use [mod:shift] Potion of the Hushed Zephyr 

Renewing Blaze or LFG
Just putting this here as inspiration for other space-saving/efficiency macros. In combat it uses Renewing Blaze, out of combat it opens up the Group Finder (straight to premade groups!). Could free up a button for someone.

#showtooltip Renewing Blaze /cast [combat] Renewing Blaze /script if not UnitAffectingCombat("player") then PVEFrame_ShowFrame("GroupFinderFrame", LFGListPVEStub) end 

Bonus Macros:
Crest & Chest Cleaner
When I click this it attempts to combine Crest Fragments or open the most common type of treasure its (Weekly quest box, Professional skill-up items, etc) so I don’t have to go digging through my bag. This is just a random list of the items I use it for, but its here as inspiration if you want to make your own. Currently it shows me how many Aspects Crests i have on the button.

#showtooltip /use item:204078 /use item:204077 /use item:204075 /use item:204076 /use item:200454 /use item:198964 /use item:200677 /use item:205226 /use item:198608 /use item:205247 /use item:205423 /use item:199115 

Quick Fire
When you use your cooking fire it sets it at your feet, instead of requiring a second click. The game is literally unplayable without this.

#showtooltip Cooking Fire /cast [@player] Cooking Fire 

Dismount
Just put this button your Dragonriding Action Bar for an easy dismount. Used to ease my anxiety when doing Nokhud.

/dismount 

Background: In our 30's. Together several years, married 1 year. We had a big fallout when dating, but decided the relationship was worth repairing (we're wonderful together, really!). We went to counseling together, rebuilt, and ultimately married. The past few months have gotten rough - we argue frequently and neither of us felt heard - and we're in counseling again to try and improve the ways we interact when we are stressed or frustrated.
A couple days ago, near the end of a vacation, we were talking over dinner about plans and priorities for when we returned. She shifted the conversation and said she wants kids. This isn't a new topic, we've both talked about wanting to build a family. I agreed, then said I want to keep rebuilding our relationship first. "Let's make sure things are stable between us, because if we keep arguing every few days it won't be the best environment for raising kids." Yes, I'm certain I made my point poorly. She took it very hard. "Ok, I'm just an awful person then." I attempted to reassure her that it's not at all what I meant, and quoted our therapist who said the relationship is the real client. Neither of us are bad people, we're just improving the relationship between us.
The conversation devolved quickly and I can't quote much of it directly. It continued as we left dinner and went back to the hotel. We had both been drinking (significantly more than normal - it was the only day of our vacation that we got actually drunk). I remember she was being very hard on herself and turning everything into a statement that she was awful, while I repeatedly reassured her that was not at all what I meant, felt, or intended to communicate. I'm sure that I phrased things badly. I'm sure that I didn't handle the conversation as well as I could have. I'm also sure that I did not raise my voice, insult her, or demean her.
Basically, I tried my best (which I'm sure wasn't very good) to calm her and de-escalate while she had a mental breakdown. She ultimately handed me her ring and said she's done. She said we'll pack up, go home, she'll find a place to stay, and we'll figure out how to divide things up. I didn't know what to do. I said that's not what I want - I want to work things out. She told me to go away. I tried to clarify whether she wants me to sleep somewhere else, and she said she'd be fine, she'd get a different hotel room. I said she didn't have to do that. That I wanted us to stay together and work things out, but if she really wants me to leave then I'd find a place - she didn't need to go find another hotel room. She curled up and sobbed - wailed, really, I don't know how else to describe it - while chanting "I'll be ok I'll be ok I'll be ok" on repeat. I didn't sleep much that night. I didn't know what to do. I set her ring on her bedstand next to her phone, and she fell asleep.
Next morning I asked if she still felt the same way. I didn't get a clear answer and tried asking another way. She asked for a hug. I tried to clarify: "Last night you handed me your ring and said you were done. Do you still feel as though you are done?". She told me she had - just now - asked for what she needs and was being told why she couldn't have it. I told her I'm just trying to figure out where I stand, then offered that hug. Eventually she said she loved me. She kinda acknowledged that she had been drunk and frustrated and was hard on us. That is her form of apology, so I took it as one.
Since then she's been warm and loving and we haven't talked about it. Part of me wants to say "Hey, that was really painful. Can we talk through it to help make sure it doesn't happen again?". The other part of me is scared that if I bring it up we'll have another big argument, and I should just focus on keeping things warm between us. The third option is to try and revisit it with our couple's counselor. If I do that, I need to bring it up to her very soon to prepare her for the conversation, because it would be pretty crappy of me to spring it on her by surprise in the therapist's office.
Uh, how would you navigate this? It seems serious enough that I shouldn't just let it be and hope things remain warm. I also know that if I do a poor job revisiting that evening it could blow up into a big fight.
TL;DR a drunken argument turned into a mental breakdown with my wife very clearly saying she's done. Since then she's been very warm, says she loves me, and we're trying to go back to normal. How do I have a conversation about that night and talk about how to avoid having that happen again?

We are Azure Infinitum
Visit us at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/)
You may have seen us in the Aether data center's party finder during our weekly events, or may have seen our recruitment shouts around the realm in-game in Midgardsormr, but there just isn't enough space in those places to really explain everything wonderful about what our Free Company and community is.
Azure Infinitum is an LGBTQ+ friendly community, and welcomes players of all experience level, play style, and availability. We're a warm home with a balance of online players, weekly optional activities, and flexible ranks from our membership, to our support & leadership categories. We have a 24/7 Support Team, a Councilship that governs each tier, seasonal events of our own, and many resources between the games we support and online services.
Who We Are
We are an established 9-year old community who's home is in Midgardsormr Server of Final Fantasy XIV. We are a structured, well-rounded, welcoming, friendly, and organized community that hosts daily events (check out our calendar: https://azureinfinitum.com/events/ ) that provide opportunity for members to excel. We work to provide an arena and opportunities to establish strong bonds and camaraderie between our members. As a community we are driven, we carry each other forward, and we are proud.
Our Name & Philosophy
Learn more about our global community here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/aboutus/)
Learn more about our FFXIV Free Company here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ourffxivfc/)
Azure Infinitum means "Azure/Blue Infinity or Infinite Blue/Azure" and there is some mythos behind the name that stems from our guild-wide philosophy of kindness, freedom, vigilance, diversity and activity. We promote positive fellowship among members in an organized guild, with our sights open to our unending endless skies, full of possibility and success together.
Our motto is "As Free As The Azure Sky!" which stuck well when our FC was restructured from an old guild in 2014 as Azure was founded, and it was first shouted as we looked out at a clear blue sky above. has continued to be our electric victory as we continue to snowball in success and activity, our members soaring high through the Azure Sky, flying together!
Ranks
Click here to learn more about our community ranks: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/ranks/)
Our community has an organized ranking structure beginning with Members who comprise the majority of the roster. Scouts are our support team of Members who've stepped up to more officially support the FC, some work on obtaining a future leadership rank. Lieutenants and Officers comprise the proud Azure Council, a diverse group of players of different specialties and services to the FC, making up lower and higher tier leadership, seeing over the Scouts and the FC weekly events, aside from being admins. The FC Infinitum Master oversees all and leads the Azure Council and the company forward while always keeping the heart and vision of the community alive and in sight. Currently we are re-assessing ranks in the free company, giving more support permissions and duties to our Scouts, while the current council operates as a small team of Lieutenants lead by the FC Master.
Everyone Welcome and Who Fits Best
We have an open door policy. Whether you're casual, a returning player, a veteran, or a newbie, we have a vast array of players in our member roster. Our weekly schedule is organized and provides an array of activity for players of most levels, however we like to ask players who're pretty new or under the level cap, to be extra vocal about their needs while they're still unable to attend some daily events or higher level content that most of our weekly lineup focuses on. We want everyone to have as much fun as possible and have the most success. We find that most players enjoy Azure Infinitum, many have stated that they subscribed to FFXIV much longer than they ever would have imagined after they have been around in our community, as they've gotten involved and experienced all that we offer.
Our FC keeps a daily schedule (see here: https://www.azureinfinitum.com/events/) of events that are hosted by permitted Scouts and Council ranks, these range from 8-man and 24-man raids and map parties, to WT journal groups and trial clear parties or farms, and more- and attending anything isn't mandatory at all here. We're happy to have you, and its up to our members how much they'd like to get involved. Attendance is optional! There's never any stress to attend FC functions.
Savage Raiding Statement
We find that some hardcore raiders looking for free companies just to join their statics who don't already have one, might not fit well if savage raiding is their only or greatest focus, because traditionally Azure does not have a Savage Static, but focuses more on allowing members to organize their own groups and also provides resources to do so. Despite not supporting an official static for the FC, we hope that hardcore raiders enjoy the wealth of our community's wealth of harmony and overall fun, and that everyone may take initiative to seek out or build a raiding static within our community if they are interested, as opposed to missing out on experiencing Azure. Depending on the content season, we may have an Unofficial static lead by a leader, and routinely offer limited time Savage-learning events that may run for a number of months.
Rules and No Drama Policy
Please take a moment to look over our Rules Page at (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/), we find that rude individuals and people who create drama are the outsiders here that don't fit well. We know its a big page, so at least visit the General Rules section before joining.
Recruitment Care & Activity
People of Azure Infinitum are often if not always good natured players who found their way to our community looking for a place with structure, friendliness, organization, and great activity, or they've been scouted during recruitment drives and have been well screened. Its a place where one can be social and attend everything, or relax in the background and enjoy the services and facilities of being in an active, organized, and friendly FC. We actively recruit periodically to assist with upkeep of community activity levels, and to meet new comrades. A community that closes recruitment can be doomed to stagnation. Its normal for a community to have an inner core of die hards who log in daily regardless of content releases, and also have an outer core of individuals that range from those with less availability to those who check in during Patches. This is why we take extra care in keeping the fresh blood flowing into Azure, cautious recruitment, and support our active model by always staying welcoming and sometimes running recruitment campaigns and other services. Like this ad!
Handling Online Drama
Because we keep a no-drama policy and have a strong communication network, it is leadership's ultimate priority to handle any issues that may come up as soon as possible, and most people appreciate our problem solving which has inspired many other communities. Between our Support & Leadership ranks, we use a number of report and resource channels to handle situations, and perform problem solving protocols & tactics to fairly address issues as possible. Drama is inevitable at some point for any online community, so its important to have a large and strong list of moderators (currently around 60!) and a council of leaders (15+) to quickly handle any problems. Luckily, we don't have a lot of drama, but we're always very well equipped and very prepared. Our community has been commended by game staff in the past for our methods, and we have worked with the FFXIV Special Task Force to ensure as much safety to our community as achievable. It should be stressed that it is up to our membership to report to GM's in-game, and to Azure Leadership should any issues or concerns come up. Its also highly recommended that our members appropriately document evidence that can be used to help us assess situations and make proper decisions. Documenation such as screenshots of harassment is a great example! Our members online safety is greatly important to us and is a number one concern of our leadership team. Our Rules Page at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/rules/) describes a bit more in Chapter 3, including other entries on avoiding/ignoring trolls, playing while intoxicated, depression, and more.
Our Philosophy
We believe in our community and its people, how far we can go, how much we can do for each other, being an experienced community who's core values are positive fellowship, formation of bonds, and indomitable unity.
Azure Infinitum tightly grasps success and masters a casual and lucrative weekly play schedule while inspiring motivation and providing avenues for further success, friendships, and camaraderie among all who freely fly together among our Azure skies.
Founding on the principles of intricately forging a generally drama-free experience with keen leadership and a zealous and mighty membership, Azure has striven to guide and support many hundreds of players through every era of Final Fantasy XIV.
With an illustrious history, company lore, impressive statistics, and a model that is adaptable and blessed with innovative ability, Azure Infinitum claims a dominant presence of excellence and player growth that is possible in our community and extended services.
Estate Organization
We have the entire set-up at our estate, from gardens for members and Krakka Root production (free for members' chocobos), to our stables, nicely uniform clean lawn with hangout spots that are popular, with crafting stations, all available NPCs for simple mats and repairs, cut-scene viewer, toybox, triple-triad board, a fully operational and geared fleet of airships and subs, and our Azure Infinitum Assembly Chamber on the top floor for our meetings where announcements are made at our Grand Assemblies. Check it out if you like at Mist Ward 7 Plot 1.
We also have an organized form of gathering for weekly events in the yard, places to relax, food that is always available on tables at our Cellar, and hold a lot of special events and social games at our Hall. We're also conveniently located next to a Market Board and a Retainer Bell outside of our estate.
Communication and Extended Azure Services
We have multiple services of which none are mandatory, but we provide being (azureinfinitum.com) where our Forums, Event Calendar, News, Company Meeting Summaries, Seasonal Merch Giveaways, Contests, Rules Page, and more take place and can be found. We also have a popular and active Discord Server.
We also have a Facebook Group, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Steam Group, (Look us up! Or visit: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/socialmedia/) and Linkshells like our Infinitum Alliance LS for contact and aid from our allies if needed, our Azure Hunters LS for Hunters, and our Azure Industry LS which connects our members to our inner crafting/gathering community for newbies to pros.
Also worthy of mention is our big Company Meetings in-game, known as Azure Infinitum Grand Assemblies. Even though we have several avenues that keep people connected, our live assemblies gather the FC in unity where announcements are made first, and all proposals, ideas, and more, can be decided together live with the Azure Council present.
This network ensures a lot of information and communication gets around and has been exceedingly useful to us.
More On Events
One part of our reputation that often precedes us is our event crafting and hosting.
First, let me make sure its clear that attendance is never mandatory, but those who can make use, when possible, of what we provide each day, benefit from our events each week.
Since our beginning, traditions like our Thursday Treasure Thursdays events have run each week. Our weekly line-up presently begins on Tuesdays post-weekly reset, and consists of Raid Tuesdays, Wondrous Wednesdays (WT Journal Parties, often doubles as Trial Clears and Pony Drops), Treasure Thursdays (Endwalker's timeworn maps with groups of 8 doing up to 3 rounds of maps allowing for up to 24 maps ran), 24-Man Tuesdays (full pre-formed Azure 24-member alliances are made and raids are cleared, will be returning upon the release of EW's 24-man), Super Azure Slayer Sunday (our weekly meetup to do all sorts of PVP content be it Rival Wings or Frontline), and Monstrous Mondays (helps clear the current and previous patch extreme trials).
Special, Seasonal, and Quarterly Events
More info here: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/azureday/)See the latest event news & more at: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/news/)
We also have what we call Special and Quarterly Events. These types of events are Weekend-Long-Events that usually consist of a theme or celebratory social events we craft. During these events we hold big Riddle Races, Costume/Glamour shows and contests, 3-Story Mansion Maze Races, Speedrun Dungeon Races, Hide and Seek games, Custom Quest Events, Discord events like Cards Against Humanity nights, Comedy events, PVP Tournament Circuits, and more.
Our Special and Quarterly events are Azure Day Weekend (Takes place 3 times a year across a weekend, celebrates the FC), Azure Summer Festival (3-days at the end of August in partnership with Child's Play, raises money for children in long-term care, anniversary of historic FC event called the Lunar Rebellion), Anniversary Azure Day (a big weekend event in November that celebrates our Founding), Azure Day Saint's Wake (celebrates Halloween/All Saint's Wake), Azure Starlight Day (celebrating Starlight Day/Christmas/December Holiday Season), Azure Grand Melee and Duel Tournaments (PVP Circuit series crowning our PVP Champions) and more.
Azure Day Weekends
If you've been around our server you may have heard of our Azure Day Weekends. Our Azure Days take place quarterly as mentioned just above, with four evolved editions called Azure Summer Festival, Azure Day Saint's Wake, Azure Starlight Day, and Anniversary Azure Day. With Azure Day Weekends and related events traditionally occuring quarterly our members are always excited to see the next big weekend of crazy and fun social games, and our showering of the free company in gil and prizes galore. We go all out when we celebrate the free company, and Azure Days are another way we find for leadership to give back to the community. 2023 and beyond is now host to additional seasonal Azure Day events!
We're always giving our members a chance to have fun, win big, and make some great memories in the in-game family we've become. Something fun is always on the horizon in Azure.
Community
I almost can't stress enough how friendly our community is. We have a vast variety of members from hardcore gatherers and crafters, social butterflies, chill veterans, experienced raiders, level grinders, support teams, PVP aficionados, mechanic specialists, and mentors. We're also very friendly to all casual players as well and we keep an open door so long as recruits are always aware that we have a no-drama tolerance here.
​Evolution into a Gaming Clan & Network
Plans are in the works and foundations are being laid that is slowly turning our community into a larger gaming network, with our first established Azure Wing with regular occurring activity being founded in Monster Hunter World, this has led to a successful Destiny 2 clan and more. Becoming a member of our Discord and/or Free Company now means access to things like our huge discord, Azure Wing membership in other games, and being able to join in on any of our other activities in the general community. Azure Network as its being called at the moment, is growing with an all-new website and community features for playing together across Final Fantasy XIV and to Azure Skies beyond!
Activity
We rank high as one of the top FC's in Worldwide Activity on lodestone, and have for a long time. Most of our players are divided between the US East and West Coasts, members in East and West Canada, and a few outside the US or in EU or Aus zones. Because we do have an activity policy (mentioned below) we keep a standard flow of people, and have crowds in the early morning, late morning, early afternoon, afternoon, evening, and late night crowds.
Elitism isn't our style. Our community boasts a broad range of characters, great personalities, the proud, and also some silly goofs. But elitism isn't welcome, no matter how successful we are or how large we grow. We're always welcoming towards fresh faces interested in joining our guild, and the in-game activity ranges between 30-60+ online at once during prime time hours, sometimes around 70+ on patch days, and usually always with half the roster logging in throughout a 24 hour period, and around 15-30+ during the night.
Activity Policy
We ask that our members do not go missing without logging in for more than 60 days straight. If we hear word from someone or have some kind of decent excuse, we place our members on our On Vacation rank, which lasts presently until 90 days have passed. Exceptions are made for military deployments, hospital stays, financial issues, disability/health related issues, moving, or other reasons that might fall on a case-by-case basis.
All members not heard from in 60 days (roughly 2 months) or currently 90 days (roughly 3 months) are discharged. We allow 3 joins to Azure Infinitum in total, but exceptions can be made due to reasons listed above. If removed for inactivity, or you've left our FC for another reason and haven't already joined 3 times, you're always welcome back, but please remember, we are not a revolving door.
Keeping our roster full of members who have been online and presently play the game actively ensures an active environment for our players who play often. It also keeps our credits and clerical processes balanced across our network, and allows space for new faces to join our big happy in-game family of comrades.
How to Join
Quick Instructions here for joinin us in FFXIV & more: (https://www.azureinfinitum.com/howtojoinazure/)
If you are interested in joining our Azure Infinitum free company, please register an application at our site and/or FC in-game. You can also seek any of our Scouts, Lieutenants, Officers, or the Master of Azure Infinitum in-game and ask for an invite. You can find their names on the roster page at our website.
If you read everything on this page, you are awesome, and you should let anyone you talk to who recruits you know that you read everything on this page which will greatly expedite your invitation to join.
If you have any questions whatsoever feel free to send a /tell in-game to me or any of our Scouts or Lieutenants listed on our official roster here: https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/freecompany/9232519973597911137/membe
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I’m buying a home and looking into home+auto insurance for the first time, going off my parent’s policy. Bear with me, I’m new to all of this.
I got several quotes, some from local independent agencies, and some from the big insurance companies from the commercials. With the same deductibles and mostly-similar coverage to the others, progressive was the least expensive by a huge margin. However, I’ve heard anecdotally that they can be stingy when it actually comes to filing a claim, but I don’t know, I’ve never had to. (Currently have car insurance with progressive under my parents)
Is this true, or is it a “scale bias”? Is it worth going with a big insurance company for the price or is there a catch?

Hello, kpopthoughts! Originally this was posted in twice but one of my friends said I should crosspost it here — so here this album review is.
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Intro

To preface the review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very long read. Going through it myself for the fun of it takes around 30 minutes — it's almost 7k words, including lyrical references. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this, play the album while reading, and set a good amount of time aside.
And yes, this is 9 months late 😭 I'm not sorry — when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
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Between 1&2 💞

Album Review
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TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
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Talk that Talk 🎙

Producers by collapsedone and MRCH
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One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICE’s best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths — the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like, Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if they’re some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyun’s voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references — these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
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Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
A to Z da malhaebwa
But shijageun ireoke have
Talk that Talk ttak han madi
Talk that Talk L-O-V-E
deullyeojweo ooh
Now now now now now yeah~

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During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines there’s this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo ooh…
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoung’s part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely — although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON… Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect — the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable “pop” voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that shouts out loud that this is THE chorus. This is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. The production also helps with this effect, cutting out during what you to emphasize Nayeon's voice before crashing back down, double the pause at Jihyo's intro.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
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The simple words “I love you”
That’s all I wanna hear
Without hesitation, I’ll go up to you
I’ll make it simple
And just tell you I love you

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The word “love” is said for the first time in the song. There’s a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoung’s part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-résistance: this final double chorus is exceptional — 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery Talk that Talk, Momo comes out of nowhere with oh yeah it sounds so good! — you’re damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
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han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~

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Nayeon outright shouts Tell me what you need and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Tzuyu and Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh!
What a party. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• The synths of all time
• The chimes during Talk-that-talk~
• Jeongyeon’s pre-chorus going into Nayeon’s chorus
• Rich harmonies and fun ad-libs
• The entirety of that magical final chorus and outro

Needs Work

• The opening hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be “catchier”

Core Memory

• Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played at a K-pop club

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Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICE’s last comeback, they’ve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This song’s chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish, there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering What is Love? and imagining their crush responding with Yes when asking them out — and now concluding with the phrase Talk that Talk, [Talk that] L-O-V-E, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults — to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonet’s vocals and the song's production. This is the third draft I’m writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICE’s roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger that’s easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
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WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
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Queen of Hearts 👑

Produced by LDN Noise
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If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
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You ain’t ready for it
Watch me go~ watch me go~
Rule the world
Know you never doubted baby
I’mma go run the whole universe~

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Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
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Baby I was born to rule~~
Yeah I’m the Queen, I’m the Queen
And it’s all because of you~~
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps — it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line And it’s all because of you. But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
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And now that I’m surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls

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It sounds really lovely — in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should — the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
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Screaming out my name
See it in the stage lights
Feel so lucky just to have ya
Cause I know deep down I was meant for something bigger! Greater!
I know you’re seeing what I see
Yeah I’ll be everything you need
I know I’m gonna walk the walk
And talk the talk to be~ [the Queen of Hearts]

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This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. It’s meant to be loud. It’s meant to be unapologetic. It’s meant to be sappy. And it’s all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centre stage in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
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So thank you for the memories
You’re all the ones who made me~
So thank you for the memories
That I’m the Queen of Hearts

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I still can’t believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
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THE GOOD

• Adorable fucking lyrics
• Unrelenting, roaring chorus
• English and vocal flex
• Intoxicating guitar riffs

Needs Work

• Chaeyoung rapping in English in their Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in their English songs, nonetheless, in QoH, it fits with the sound of the song

Core Memory

• Walking home from a K-pop festival with this song playing, felt like a Queen of Hearts

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I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I don’t love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyo’s final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICE’s other rock songs — it’s a 9/10 for me.
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I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
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Basics 🌈

Lyrics by Chaeyoung
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Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself — an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020’s silky Handle It — Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
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dareun aedeulgwaneun dalla
Ain’t beggin’ for love
nappeun geon anijana ige naraseo
eodiro twilji molla
Like rainbow bubble gum
geureoni nal kkwak butjabadweo

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Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English — this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoung’s bag. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
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I wanna wanna wanna take it to the Basics
da weonhae weonhae weonhae? seodureuji ma Baby
ppeonhae ppeonhae malhae mweohae da al tende
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah

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That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: wanna, weonhae, and ppeonhae all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding ah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeah comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
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taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende

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Translating to:
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Above the hot, burning desert
It’s like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously

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The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesn’t let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, it’s just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
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THE GOOD

• That sweet summer vibe of a chorus
• The spaceship post-chorus is killer
• Chaeyoung devoured this song
• Sure-footed, confident lyrics

Needs Work

• Perhaps an alteration of that ah yeah ah yeah line
• The way Jihyo did her pre-chorus line is good, but Mina’s is great

Core Memory

• After donating my hair, walking down the rainbow-coloured areas of downtown Toronto with this song playing was very… fitting

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This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. It’s dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning spaceship post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, it’s an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic — it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and I’m happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
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BABY WE’RE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
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Trouble 💃

Lyrics, vocal direction, and background vocals by Jihyo
Produced by Jihyo and earattack
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One of the most enjoyable songs I’ve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces Let’s go, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasting with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat mixed with a sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
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• Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
• The blooming of the house piano takes centre stage and the song ascends into euphoria
• A random drum roll capped off by a cymbal crash
• Jeongyeon’s growling pronunciation of the word Trouble
• Chaeyoung slyly admitting I like this Trouble
• The entirety of Tzuyu’s tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
• Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
• Jihyo leading the vocals during the synchronized T W I C E chant

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This chorus is perfect. Toronto’s residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
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gamchweo bwatja geugeon Fake
ppajin hamjeongeun Sweet cake

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During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
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You cannot resist this
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
Ima put it down down
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss

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Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, I’m not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where it’s:
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Triplet-triplet
Quadruplet-triplet
Quadruplet-doublet
Doublet-quadruplet

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Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isn’t groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice — if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, it’s this. The addition of that first quadruplet for cannot miss this in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG ‼
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words they’re saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all — with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
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Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble be-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-beh
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trou-ble

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Like, come on, Nayeon’s imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• The theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
• Sana and Mina’s melody in the pre-chorus
• Whole neighbourhoods full of house
• You cannot resist this, cannot miss this, such a bliss
• Wees and woos

Needs Work

• Mina’s line of falling down, falling down, falling down low in verse 2 feels a bit too abrupt of a change

Core Memory

• While writing Trouble's review I had this song on repeat for my whole subway commute and I must've been so distracting, just head-bopping and being so invested in my enjoyment

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Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best “international” sounds they’ve put out. Actually, I haven’t listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work they’ve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019’s Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well you’d think that this is TWICE’s bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyo’s magnum opus. What a song.
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BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
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Brave 💖

Produced by Slow Rabbit
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I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members — this song is PRETTY.
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The night that was unusually dark
Above this terrifying world, felt so lonely
The world has grown in the time of wandering
So hard to breathe

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Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely, that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet — I was not expecting the song to become this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them Brave that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added — there’s even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of the chorus, acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
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Oh na na na neon nal naige hae
On and on and on
Brave Brave Brave for ya
Oh na na na neon nal sum shwige hae
On and on and on oh trust me babe

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Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
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THE GOOD

• Special lyrics
• Pleasant sound to vibe out to
• That gentle break after the first chorus
• 3MIX poppin' off at the end
• Just very pretty vocals throughout

Needs Work

• Potentially hard to comprehend without translating the Korean lyrics

Core Memory

• Form of Therapy’s life motto revolves around the word “brave” — I don’t know where I got that from, but I remembered it right before watching his album reaction (yes, this is very random)

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I’m actually spoiled with the TWICE members’ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases don’t do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I can’t help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart — we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:

• 7/10s are songs are ones that are simply good throughout or great songs with apparent flaws
• 8/10s are great songs with distinct killing parts
• 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes can't comprehend how great they are
• And 10/10s are the best of an artist's discography, songs that encapsulate their ethos perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way

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I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
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Gone 💨

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
It’s getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt as of this review, they’ve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020’s Go Hard is. So it’s surprising to see they’ve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing what’s yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build, but — it doesn’t. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, until…
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I see the LIES on the top of your tongue

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The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
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All the fate I had towards you
Fades like a fog, Gone, Gone
Your flipping mind of doing this and that
I’m tired of it, it’s meaningless
In the beginning, it was hard to believe
With that, hatred increases

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The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort they’ve put in since the beginning, but their “partner” is so unconcerned that they’ve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyun’s thing since 2020’s Bring It Back, 2021’s Cruel, 2022’s That’s all I’m saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me — emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if she’s survived through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do try to do your job better.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus — a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, it’s Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
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I can’t stand it anymore
My patience, invisible
I can’t find it, it’s all Gone
Even if I try to turn back, it’s too late
There’s no use anymore
It has left, it’s long Gone
You, with flipping mind, you are out
I know that you know what I’m talking about
Nothing you could say that could turn this around
I’m Gone

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Building upon the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that she’s finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that there’s no point salvaging what love was once there. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that there’s no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and there’s no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoung’s rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the Gone in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, there’s no way I’m not going to talk about Momo’s vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeon’s belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
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THE GOOD

• They’ve still got their surprises
• Thundering chorus
• 2nd rap and bridge combo
• A bitter, crumbling relationship theme

Needs Work

• I’m not a huge fan of the mixing during the first post-chorus, where Momo's vocals were fighting with the production, which is disappointing because Momo is capable of an insane flow
• The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens

Core Memory

• Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between GOT7's Not By The Moon, BLACKPINK’s Love To Hate Me, and Dahyun’s Bring It Back. I don’t know where I got this thought came from, but it stuck

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Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me — see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyun’s light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, I’m happy they’re still finding new ways to explore what they’re capable of. And for that alone, even though I’m not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding “big”, Dahyun’s lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
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INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
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When We Were Kids 🧸

Lyrics by Dahyun
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Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. I’m totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I don’t know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song — this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, it’s one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in:
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Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world

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The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies pour in.
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Remember When We Were Kids
When We Were Kids, we didn’t know
If we could go back
I will love it even more
Remember When We Were Kids

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Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production — if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeon’s — this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount and range of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so textured, stable, and projected — but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
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I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me

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Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus — this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs don’t want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeon’s high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize — a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
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Oh, we were kids

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Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
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THE GOOD

• Heavenly vocals throughout
• Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
• Euphoric chorus
• Great closer to the album

Needs Work

• Refrain after the last chorus, Back When We Were Kids, could’ve been executed better

Core Memory

• For an album titled Between 1&2, I don’t think anything hits harder than finishing the song reviews, with this song in particular, during your 21st birthday

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I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didn’t want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me — I didn’t want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing life’s obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICE’s original meaning was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-pop’s all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers — it was about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICE’s 7th anniversary, I don’t think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. It’s these nine women or none — 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable — Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
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Epilogue

And finally here is the end. If you made it in one sitting then I commend you, because I could not write this mess in one sitting. As alluded to, I started writing this album review sometime in October, after a series of edits the first draft was finished in March, and now here's the final draft in June.
I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter — there's such an eclectic mix of pop music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close — it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs — I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and here is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.

Part 4
Day 14

**Chloe and Fred stood guard by the doorway to the stairs, their guns trained on it. Multiple screeches could be heard upstairs and slowly carefully they both started going up. SCREECH! One of the hounds appeared** **Fred looked like he was going to argue but he lowered his head and nodded.** **“Wait, where's mom?” I asked the worry heavy in my voice.** **Fred looked down somberly and Gretchen started sobbing.** **“N… no sh… she’s… she can’t be dead.” I stammered out.** **“I’m sorry Joey, if I could’ve done something I would’ve.” He apologized.** **I looked down in despair beginning to fill my very soul. My mom, the person who’d raised me, was gone. She was gone forever. I felt the tears begin to pool in my eyes and Chloe gave me another tight hug.** **SLAM! The pile of junk against the door rattled and one of the boys screamed. Chloe let out a small yelp and then we all stood there in silence. SLAM! This time it was followed by a cracking sound.** **“They’re going to get in,” Fred growled, “We all need to be quiet.”** **We all sat there for a moment as the things tried, again and again, to break through, but finally, they stopped. Fred turned back to us and his eyes went wide.** **“Y’all need to get patched up real quick.” He said.** **The next few minutes were a stress-filled roller coaster. Chloe sat me down on the couch and ran to the bathroom to get the medical supplies, and she also got the sewing kit. I thought getting my back and leg stitched up while still conscious was painful, but what I felt that day I never want to feel again. I felt the needle go in and out of my face. I felt my face slowly begin to pull back together, and it was all excruciating. While Fred did his work Chloe had to sit there and cover my mouth to hold back my screams. Even through the pain and the tears in my eyes, I could see she was also crying. Finally, after what seemed like an eon he finished the last stitch and was done.** **Then he started with Chloe. I was too weak to sit up, but I held her hand as he quickly stitched up her shoulder. With each stroke of the needle, I saw the pain in her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks as he finished his work. We were all patched up, but oh I wish that could’ve fixed the sorrow we felt.** **Chloe helped me walk to our bedroom to finally get some shut-eye. My whole body hurt and ached and it all felt broken. She sat me down on the bed and gave me a grim look. She looked tired and worn. Her normally straight hair was a curly mess and little specks of dried blood were about her face.** **“I suppose you need to get changed.” She said, looking at me.** **I looked down at my still blood-soaked clothes and then back at her.** **“I suppose I do,” I said, a little embarrassed that she would have to help me.** **Once we were both settled I finally laid down with Chloe crawling into bed next to me.** **“I’m so happy you’re ok,” I said, leaning forward and kissing her.** **She smiled but it quickly faded, “Joey I’m scared.”** **“I know, I’m too, we just have…” I started but she interrupted me.** **“It just… I don’t know what’s going on. It shouldn’t be snowing still. It's almost May.” She said, her eyes tearing up, “I’ve been trying to stay strong, but I just can’t anymore. I'm scared.”** **“Chloe, it’s ok to be scared. I’m terrified.” I told her.** 

“I… I have to be the brave one,” She said.
“No, you don’t, you can just be the wonderful person I love. I don’t care if you’re scared or afraid I love you.” I said, pulling her into a tight hug.
She started crying, totally sobbing is probably a better word.
“I don’t want to lose you,” She sobbed.
“I’ll be ok, I promise.” I tried to say but she wasn’t hearing me so I just held her tightly while she sobbed.
Finally, after a long while of crying, she pulled away and looked at me.
“Can I tell you what happened?” She asked shyly.
“Yes of course,” I said, knowing that venting always helped.
And so she finally told me what had happened that day in the Garrison’s house. Every little detail. When she finally finished I felt a shiver go down my spine.
“I’m sorry,” Was all I could manage to say.
She didn’t say anything else, she just cuddled up next to me and cried softly into my shoulder. I gently ran my hand through her hair and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Day 15

**We spent the early morning preparing supplies and everything we needed then finally around noon we loaded the jeep.** **“Chloe, I’m going to get the snowplow you stay here and keep everyone safe.” He said quietly.** **“Ok, be careful,” She said, all too happy that the man wasn’t expecting her to come with him.** **Fred slowly made his way upstairs quietly and carefully creeping one step at a time. Each step he took felt like a marathon. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst. One step, then another, then another still, and despite his fear he finally made it upstairs.** **It looked just the way he’d seen it the evening before. Thrown around with the creeper’s large body lying near him. The massive amounts of blood around it had frozen making a large icy sheet on the carpet.** **He couldn’t help but look at the body. Its black exoskeleton reminded him of beetles. It was smooth with no color variation. There were small gaps around the joints and the legs had more exposed flesh than the exoskeleton. He looked at the small gap where the back met the thighs. He drove his fingers into the gap and started peeling the section of the exoskeleton off. It peeled nicely until he got to a certain point where it wouldn’t budge. Annoyed, he walked away and towards the front door. A frozen trail of Gretchen’s blood was still visible and partially buried in snow was my mom’s body. Fred grimaced at the sight and hurriedly continued onward. The quickest route to the snowplow lot was through a few backyards.** 

The fences were mostly buried and at this point only stood 6 inches or so out of the snow. Stepping over them was easy, and they hardly hindered his path. What did begin to hinder his path was the storm. It howled and screamed at him throwing all the snow and wind it could at him. It reminded him of an angry toddler throwing their food at you. It was odd but that was the best way to put the storm. It was angry, very angry, and he didn’t know why.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Fred stopped and slowly scanned his surroundings to see where the sound had come from but he saw nothing. He wasn’t sure why he looked; he could barely see his hand if he held it out. He guessed it was out of instinct but he wasn’t sure. He stood there listening but whatever had made the sound seemed to have also stopped. He was somewhat confused because that wasn’t really what the creatures sounded like on snow. Nor did it sound like other animals he knew. Suddenly a thought crept into his head, and in a either very dumb or very intelligent move, he spoke.
“Who’s there?” He asked in as loud and as stern of a voice as he could muster.
There was a small pause of silence and right as Fred began to worry he’d made a mistake he heard something on four legs sprint off in the other direction. Must’ve been a deer he thought a little annoyed that he’d thought even for a moment that it was a person. He continued onward with even more caution. He kept the shotgun up constantly now worrying something would sneak up on him. He couldn’t control his now-shaking body despite how much he tried to calm himself.
He stopped walking and started taking deep breaths. In and out. In and out. He said to himself as he did the breathing exercises. After a minute he pulled himself together enough to continue. He walked on and on for what seemed like an eon before finally he arrived. He saw the large building ahead of him. It was a large warehouse-type building with multiple massive garage doors on the sides.
He saw a normal-sized door the size of the building and pulled at the handle. Locked! Of course, it was locked. Slam! The first kick shook the door. Slam! The second it started to cave slightly. Slam! Crash! The door toppled onto the ground and Fred walked into the building, gun raised and ready for a fight.
Chloe sat on the couch eyeing the stairs to the first floor. The responsibility to keep everyone safe was now on her, and she was determined to do that. All she could think about was the monsters outside and likely right upstairs. For all, she knew they were right upstairs conspiring to kill them. She didn’t know how right she was.
CRASH! The window in the window well next to her burst open sending shards of glass all around.
“What’s going on?” Gretchen asked from the other room.
“Babe?” I asked in a worried frenzy.
She pulled herself from the ground in a daze. She felt odd then she felt a wetness begin trickling down her face. She’d been cut up pretty well in a few places on her face. Before she could think of anything else SCREECH!
She looked over and saw a hound crawling in through the now-shattered window. Shoot where’s the gun? She thought scanning the room. Her eyes scanned until they met the semi-automatic. She’d set it on the couch right where the hound was crawling through. She dove for the gun but its large clawed foot slammed onto the gun pinning it under the beast. Darn, it! Slowly she eyed the creature as it pulled itself in. It was just standing there watching her, it seemed very odd and not normal behavior. Then a faint ticking sound came from outside. SCREECH! It charged for her and she pulled her knife. BANG! The blast threw the hound off balance slamming it into the ground. She found herself looking over to see Gretchen wielding the smoking shotgun.
Chloe was about to thank her when the thing got back up changing its course for Gretchen. BANG! The second shot hit the thing square in the face and it screeched in anger and pain. Chloe took the opportunity and jumped atop the thing plunging the knife deep into one of the eye sockets. It screeched again and jumped up, throwing Chloe off with the knife still wedged in its eye. In the meantime, Gretchen reloaded the shotgun BANG! She shot it in the face again, but it only seemed to anger the thing.
“LEGS!” Chloe screamed, pulling herself off the floor.
At the same moment, Gretchen pulled the trigger and two more hounds started their way through the window.
The shot hit the first hound square in one of the back legs, shattering it, and the two hounds were already halfway through the window.
Fred walked into the building relieved to see it was nothing more than dark and empty. He scanned the room he’d entered. It was a small office area. His eyes fell on the small cupboard near the door. Each drawer was small and numbered 1 to 4. He pulled one open and saw keys on a hook. His heart leaped with excitement and he took his eyes and turned around. There was a small door that looked like it would be to the garage so he popped it open. Inside the garage were four large snow plows with big numbers painted on the side of them. He checked to see he had 4 so he ran to the other side of the garage to snowplow 4. Fred climbed up the door and tried to pull it open. Locked. He put the keys in and unlocked the door then hopped in and started the vehicle. It roared to life sounding like he’d woken a large sleeping lion. On the dashboard were a few bobbleheads and a small remote. He grabbed the remote and pressed button 4. Slowly with the sound of breaking ice accompanying it the garage door in front of the plow began to lurch open.
He scanned around the mess of levers and buttons until he found the truck's lights. He switched them on and then slowly put pressure on the gas. The massive plow immediately began to roll forward. He’d have to be slow as even with its powerful lights it was still extremely hard to see. So with much caution, the plow pulled out of the garage pushing the snow out of its way and making its way for the road.
The two hounds hissed and growled as they both pulled themselves fully through the window. Then in a quick move one made for Gretchen while the other charged for Chloe. Gretchen finished putting in the new bullets. BANG! The shot was aimed at its leg but hit it on the side. Chloe looked around and realized they’d kicked the semi-auto onto the floor. She reached for the gun, grabbed it just in time, and turned around. RAT-A-TATATATA!! Its two front legs were instantly shattered, toppling it over, causing the rest of the shots to hit it square in the face. BANG! Gretchen's second shot broke one of its front legs, but the creature unfolded its mantis arms and continued on those. Chloe didn’t even think she saw the hound going for Gretchen and pulled the trigger. RAT-A-TATATATA!! She nailed perfect shots. She hit all six limbs right at the joints causing them to collapse to the ground.
They both looked around at the three broken hounds. All three still growled in pain and tried to get up, but each attempt just seemed to break them more. Chloe walked over to the first one and pulled the knife out of its eye. SCREECH! It continued letting out progressively weaker screeches until as blood poured from its eye finally, it was silent. Silently and efficiently, Chloe opened the mouths of both the others and stabbed upward piercing the brain instantly killing them.
The plow soured through the snow pushing all of it aside leaving mountains of snow on both sides of the road. Suddenly there was a loud metal scraping sound and something big was thrown over and to the side. Fred stopped the plow and looked out the rearview mirror to see a now-destroyed car lying in one of the snow piles. He couldn’t help but be impressed; he didn't think the plow would be so powerful that it could hurl a car like that.
He continued on and then he slowly turned onto the street the house was on. He now drove down the road and noticed as he got close to the house a large creeper standing outside. It stood there menacingly, looking down into the window wells. Worry shot through him and in an instant, he turned the plow toward the creature and rammed straight into it. He pulled forward pinning the creeper between the plow and the brick wall of the house. It lay there pinned screeching its lungs out in pain. Slowly and nervously Fred stepped out of the plow shotgun gripped tightly. SCROAr! Its call becomes much weaker. Its body was a twisted broken mess and its head only barely poked out above the plow. He walked over to the creature looking into its eyes.
Jess. He thought staring into the brown eyes he’d once loved. BANG!!! The bullet tore through its already broken exoskeleton and its head exploded onto the brick wall next to it. Tears rolled down his face and he fell to his knees.
“I love you, honey,” He said to the dead creature. “I’m sorry.”
He hoped in his mind that she was free now, or better yet that she was already dead. Although, those eyes, those eyes, it seemed that until the moment he’d shot her she was still inside there somewhere. He started sobbing, dropping the shotgun and collapsing onto the snow.
The flow of snow finally stopped and Chloe pulled herself off the ground. She looked around to see the entire basement had been partially flooded with snow. She helped me up and Gretchen hurried her kids and the dogs out of the basement. Slowly and patiently she helped me up the stairs and onto the first floor. My eyes landed on the corpse of the creeper; it was covered in icy crystals made of its own blood. I looked out the window and saw the snowplow right next to the house except it was missing a driver. Chloe sat me on the couch and hurried outside.
After Fred collected himself we all packed the jeep and snow plow. Me and Fred got in the plow while the others got in the jeep. Slowly the plow lurched forward and the jeep pulled out of the driveway and followed.

Part 4
Day 14
Chloe and Fred stood guard by the doorway to the stairs, their guns trained on it. Multiple screeches could be heard upstairs and slowly carefully they both started going up. SCREECH! One of the hounds appeared
Fred looked like he was going to argue but he lowered his head and nodded.
“Wait, where's mom?” I asked the worry heavy in my voice.
Fred looked down somberly and Gretchen started sobbing.
“N… no sh… she’s… she can’t be dead.” I stammered out.
“I’m sorry Joey, if I could’ve done something I would’ve.” He apologized.
I looked down in despair beginning to fill my very soul. My mom, the person who’d raised me, was gone. She was gone forever. I felt the tears begin to pool in my eyes and Chloe gave me another tight hug.
SLAM! The pile of junk against the door rattled and one of the boys screamed. Chloe let out a small yelp and then we all stood there in silence. SLAM! This time it was followed by a cracking sound.
“They’re going to get in,” Fred growled, “We all need to be quiet.”
We all sat there for a moment as the things tried, again and again, to break through, but finally, they stopped. Fred turned back to us and his eyes went wide.
“Y’all need to get patched up real quick.” He said.
The next few minutes were a stress-filled roller coaster. Chloe sat me down on the couch and ran to the bathroom to get the medical supplies, and she also got the sewing kit. I thought getting my back and leg stitched up while still conscious was painful, but what I felt that day I never want to feel again. I felt the needle go in and out of my face. I felt my face slowly begin to pull back together, and it was all excruciating. While Fred did his work Chloe had to sit there and cover my mouth to hold back my screams. Even through the pain and the tears in my eyes, I could see she was also crying. Finally, after what seemed like an eon he finished the last stitch and was done.
Then he started with Chloe. I was too weak to sit up, but I held her hand as he quickly stitched up her shoulder. With each stroke of the needle, I saw the pain in her face. Tears rolled down her cheeks as he finished his work. We were all patched up, but oh I wish that could’ve fixed the sorrow we felt.
Chloe helped me walk to our bedroom to finally get some shut-eye. My whole body hurt and ached and it all felt broken. She sat me down on the bed and gave me a grim look. She looked tired and worn. Her normally straight hair was a curly mess and little specks of dried blood were about her face.
“I suppose you need to get changed.” She said, looking at me.
I looked down at my still blood-soaked clothes and then back at her.
“I suppose I do,” I said, a little embarrassed that she would have to help me.
Once we were both settled I finally laid down with Chloe crawling into bed next to me.
“I’m so happy you’re ok,” I said, leaning forward and kissing her.
She smiled but it quickly faded, “Joey I’m scared.”
“I know, I’m too, we just have…” I started but she interrupted me.
“It just… I don’t know what’s going on. It shouldn’t be snowing still. It's almost May.” She said, her eyes tearing up, “I’ve been trying to stay strong, but I just can’t anymore. I'm scared.”
“Chloe, it’s ok to be scared. I’m terrified.” I told her.
“I… I have to be the brave one,” She said.
“No, you don’t, you can just be the wonderful person I love. I don’t care if you’re scared or afraid I love you.” I said, pulling her into a tight hug.
She started crying, totally sobbing is probably a better word.
“I don’t want to lose you,” She sobbed.
“I’ll be ok, I promise.” I tried to say but she wasn’t hearing me so I just held her tightly while she sobbed.
Finally, after a long while of crying, she pulled away and looked at me.
“Can I tell you what happened?” She asked shyly.
“Yes of course,” I said, knowing that venting always helped.
And so she finally told me what had happened that day in the Garrison’s house. Every little detail. When she finally finished I felt a shiver go down my spine.
“I’m sorry,” Was all I could manage to say.
She didn’t say anything else, she just cuddled up next to me and cried softly into my shoulder. I gently ran my hand through her hair and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Day 15
We spent the early morning preparing supplies and everything we needed then finally around noon we loaded the jeep.
“Chloe, I’m going to get the snowplow you stay here and keep everyone safe.” He said quietly.
“Ok, be careful,” She said, all too happy that the man wasn’t expecting her to come with him.
Fred slowly made his way upstairs quietly and carefully creeping one step at a time. Each step he took felt like a marathon. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might burst. One step, then another, then another still, and despite his fear he finally made it upstairs.
It looked just the way he’d seen it the evening before. Thrown around with the creeper’s large body lying near him. The massive amounts of blood around it had frozen making a large icy sheet on the carpet.
He couldn’t help but look at the body. Its black exoskeleton reminded him of beetles. It was smooth with no color variation. There were small gaps around the joints and the legs had more exposed flesh than the exoskeleton. He looked at the small gap where the back met the thighs. He drove his fingers into the gap and started peeling the section of the exoskeleton off. It peeled nicely until he got to a certain point where it wouldn’t budge. Annoyed, he walked away and towards the front door. A frozen trail of Gretchen’s blood was still visible and partially buried in snow was my mom’s body. Fred grimaced at the sight and hurriedly continued onward. The quickest route to the snowplow lot was through a few backyards.
The fences were mostly buried and at this point only stood 6 inches or so out of the snow. Stepping over them was easy, and they hardly hindered his path. What did begin to hinder his path was the storm. It howled and screamed at him throwing all the snow and wind it could at him. It reminded him of an angry toddler throwing their food at you. It was odd but that was the best way to put the storm. It was angry, very angry, and he didn’t know why.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Fred stopped and slowly scanned his surroundings to see where the sound had come from but he saw nothing. He wasn’t sure why he looked; he could barely see his hand if he held it out. He guessed it was out of instinct but he wasn’t sure. He stood there listening but whatever had made the sound seemed to have also stopped. He was somewhat confused because that wasn’t really what the creatures sounded like on snow. Nor did it sound like other animals he knew. Suddenly a thought crept into his head, and in a either very dumb or very intelligent move, he spoke.
“Who’s there?” He asked in as loud and as stern of a voice as he could muster.
There was a small pause of silence and right as Fred began to worry he’d made a mistake he heard something on four legs sprint off in the other direction. Must’ve been a deer he thought a little annoyed that he’d thought even for a moment that it was a person. He continued onward with even more caution. He kept the shotgun up constantly now worrying something would sneak up on him. He couldn’t control his now-shaking body despite how much he tried to calm himself.
He stopped walking and started taking deep breaths. In and out. In and out. He said to himself as he did the breathing exercises. After a minute he pulled himself together enough to continue. He walked on and on for what seemed like an eon before finally he arrived. He saw the large building ahead of him. It was a large warehouse-type building with multiple massive garage doors on the sides.
He saw a normal-sized door the size of the building and pulled at the handle. Locked! Of course, it was locked. Slam! The first kick shook the door. Slam! The second it started to cave slightly. Slam! Crash! The door toppled onto the ground and Fred walked into the building, gun raised and ready for a fight.
Chloe sat on the couch eyeing the stairs to the first floor. The responsibility to keep everyone safe was now on her, and she was determined to do that. All she could think about was the monsters outside and likely right upstairs. For all, she knew they were right upstairs conspiring to kill them. She didn’t know how right she was.
CRASH! The window in the window well next to her burst open sending shards of glass all around.
“What’s going on?” Gretchen asked from the other room.
“Babe?” I asked in a worried frenzy.
She pulled herself from the ground in a daze. She felt odd then she felt a wetness begin trickling down her face. She’d been cut up pretty well in a few places on her face. Before she could think of anything else SCREECH!
She looked over and saw a hound crawling in through the now-shattered window. Shoot where’s the gun? She thought scanning the room. Her eyes scanned until they met the semi-automatic. She’d set it on the couch right where the hound was crawling through. She dove for the gun but its large clawed foot slammed onto the gun pinning it under the beast. Darn, it! Slowly she eyed the creature as it pulled itself in. It was just standing there watching her, it seemed very odd and not normal behavior. Then a faint ticking sound came from outside. SCREECH! It charged for her and she pulled her knife. BANG! The blast threw the hound off balance slamming it into the ground. She found herself looking over to see Gretchen wielding the smoking shotgun.
Chloe was about to thank her when the thing got back up changing its course for Gretchen. BANG! The second shot hit the thing square in the face and it screeched in anger and pain. Chloe took the opportunity and jumped atop the thing plunging the knife deep into one of the eye sockets. It screeched again and jumped up, throwing Chloe off with the knife still wedged in its eye. In the meantime, Gretchen reloaded the shotgun BANG! She shot it in the face again, but it only seemed to anger the thing.
“LEGS!” Chloe screamed, pulling herself off the floor.
At the same moment, Gretchen pulled the trigger and two more hounds started their way through the window.
The shot hit the first hound square in one of the back legs, shattering it, and the two hounds were already halfway through the window.
Fred walked into the building relieved to see it was nothing more than dark and empty. He scanned the room he’d entered. It was a small office area. His eyes fell on the small cupboard near the door. Each drawer was small and numbered 1 to 4. He pulled one open and saw keys on a hook. His heart leaped with excitement and he took his eyes and turned around. There was a small door that looked like it would be to the garage so he popped it open. Inside the garage were four large snow plows with big numbers painted on the side of them. He checked to see he had 4 so he ran to the other side of the garage to snowplow 4. Fred climbed up the door and tried to pull it open. Locked. He put the keys in and unlocked the door then hopped in and started the vehicle. It roared to life sounding like he’d woken a large sleeping lion. On the dashboard were a few bobbleheads and a small remote. He grabbed the remote and pressed button 4. Slowly with the sound of breaking ice accompanying it the garage door in front of the plow began to lurch open.
He scanned around the mess of levers and buttons until he found the truck's lights. He switched them on and then slowly put pressure on the gas. The massive plow immediately began to roll forward. He’d have to be slow as even with its powerful lights it was still extremely hard to see. So with much caution, the plow pulled out of the garage pushing the snow out of its way and making its way for the road.
The two hounds hissed and growled as they both pulled themselves fully through the window. Then in a quick move one made for Gretchen while the other charged for Chloe. Gretchen finished putting in the new bullets. BANG! The shot was aimed at its leg but hit it on the side. Chloe looked around and realized they’d kicked the semi-auto onto the floor. She reached for the gun, grabbed it just in time, and turned around. RAT-A-TATATATA!! Its two front legs were instantly shattered, toppling it over, causing the rest of the shots to hit it square in the face. BANG! Gretchen's second shot broke one of its front legs, but the creature unfolded its mantis arms and continued on those. Chloe didn’t even think she saw the hound going for Gretchen and pulled the trigger. RAT-A-TATATATA!! She nailed perfect shots. She hit all six limbs right at the joints causing them to collapse to the ground.
They both looked around at the three broken hounds. All three still growled in pain and tried to get up, but each attempt just seemed to break them more. Chloe walked over to the first one and pulled the knife out of its eye. SCREECH! It continued letting out progressively weaker screeches until as blood poured from its eye finally, it was silent. Silently and efficiently, Chloe opened the mouths of both the others and stabbed upward piercing the brain instantly killing them.
The plow soured through the snow pushing all of it aside leaving mountains of snow on both sides of the road. Suddenly there was a loud metal scraping sound and something big was thrown over and to the side. Fred stopped the plow and looked out the rearview mirror to see a now-destroyed car lying in one of the snow piles. He couldn’t help but be impressed; he didn't think the plow would be so powerful that it could hurl a car like that.
He continued on and then he slowly turned onto the street the house was on. He now drove down the road and noticed as he got close to the house a large creeper standing outside. It stood there menacingly, looking down into the window wells. Worry shot through him and in an instant, he turned the plow toward the creature and rammed straight into it. He pulled forward pinning the creeper between the plow and the brick wall of the house. It lay there pinned screeching its lungs out in pain. Slowly and nervously Fred stepped out of the plow shotgun gripped tightly. SCROAr! Its call becomes much weaker. Its body was a twisted broken mess and its head only barely poked out above the plow. He walked over to the creature looking into its eyes.
Jess. He thought staring into the brown eyes he’d once loved. BANG!!! The bullet tore through its already broken exoskeleton and its head exploded onto the brick wall next to it. Tears rolled down his face and he fell to his knees.
“I love you, honey,” He said to the dead creature. “I’m sorry.”
He hoped in his mind that she was free now, or better yet that she was already dead. Although, those eyes, those eyes, it seemed that until the moment he’d shot her she was still inside there somewhere. He started sobbing, dropping the shotgun and collapsing onto the snow.
The flow of snow finally stopped and Chloe pulled herself off the ground. She looked around to see the entire basement had been partially flooded with snow. She helped me up and Gretchen hurried her kids and the dogs out of the basement. Slowly and patiently she helped me up the stairs and onto the first floor. My eyes landed on the corpse of the creeper; it was covered in icy crystals made of its own blood. I looked out the window and saw the snowplow right next to the house except it was missing a driver. Chloe sat me on the couch and hurried outside.
After Fred collected himself we all packed the jeep and snow plow. Me and Fred got in the plow while the others got in the jeep. Slowly the plow lurched forward and the jeep pulled out of the driveway and followed.

G’day
I’ve got a Vox AC15C2 that I’m going to listing for sale shortly. It’s currently at a repair shop getting a clean up and once over.
It’s too big and loud with the 2x12” speakers for me. I’ve already got a fender Princeton reissue. It’s more the capable for what I need out of my amplifier.
The question is: how much do I list it for? I see brand new for 15-16. How much would you anticipate for a 2nd hand in very good condition? Reverb only lists based on US data, and I know for a fact our gear is more expensive then over there. Another factor is I live regionally. Much smaller market than Melbourne. Im open to postage if any aussies here are interested. Thanks for the advice people.

How Rory let the whole town think Dean was a jerk when they first broke up has been brought up a lot, but the episode right before Rory moves into her dorm at Yale has always really bothered me. Lorelai doesn’t go to Friday night dinner because she’s helping pack all of Rory’s things because Rory got the date wrong and has to move in a week before they thought she did. Instead of explaining the situation to her grandparents, she just tells them “she had errands to do” so Emily obviously gets upset and then makes Rory stay a super long time, forcing Lorelai to come get her. Conflict ensues, etc.
I just can’t wrap my head around why she didn’t just explain what was happening. For someone who is always trying to repair the relationship between them, she just lets Emily assume that Lorelai skipped dinner just to get the groceries? The only plausible reason I can think of (outside of writing just being inconsistent for drama) is that Rory didn’t want them to know that she made such a big mistake like getting the date of her orientation wrong. So she was really willing to let Emily get mad at Lorelai (again) so she didn’t look bad??
I don’t hate Rory but I think out of all of her traits, her lack of communication out of what just seems like stubbornness is the most infuriating to me.

I'm 40, married, 2 kids (11 & 10), single-income household. The economy the last couple years has made our finances pretty tight, and we've had a couple big expenses in the last year (heat pump needed replaced in my house, vehicle repairs, etc). I've already reduced my 401k contributions from 10% of my paycheck down to 5%, but I'm considering taking it to 0% and letting the balance just ride the markets for a while. This would free up enough money per month to more quickly pay off the loan I took out for the heat pump and would also help ease my stress of trying to figure out how to cover all of my family's expenses month to month. We've already cut out all of the unnecessary expenses that we can. My thought would be to start contributing when I can afford to contribute again.
I'm just wondering if this is an okay short-term strategy... maybe for a couple years. I'd rather not share my salary nor my 401k balance, but I will say that I make enough to support a 4-person household and I've been contributing 10% of my salary to a 401k for the last 18 years. My employer does match a portion of 401k contributions, so I realize I would be missing out on that free money.

The gods fear me.
​
Return of the Gangsta Thanksta
What if I just posted OutKast lyrics for my Part Three. KENTA’s back in the summer of 2016, and he vows to make it the Summer of KENTA because Fuck CM Punk. He wants his IC Title back, so we see him instantly target the fuckerman upon return, chasing him for a month straight. Legitimately. For a month of television, we see KENTA just sprinting after the afraid Miz. Miz has a match? KENTA’s chasing him out of it and costing him a countout loss. Miz has a backstage interview? KENTA’s right there to chase him away. Miz is asleep? Fuck that. KENTA’s there to mess it up because he wants the white belt back. During all of this, Dolph Ziggler has been trying to rekindle his career for the twelfth time since he lost the World Heavyweight Championship, but his attempts to spark a feud with the Miz seem to constantly be dashed by the Hero of Pain. With all this chaos surrounding the scene, the powers that be set up a triple threat for the gold at Battleground, but unfortunately Miz is able to sneak away a dirty pin on Ziggler following a KENTA G2S to keep the Black Sun away from his gold for just a little while longer.
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SummerSlam ‘16
The rage tantrum seen thrown by KENTA afterwards is unrivaled. Nobody is safe, everybody catches it, but despite all of this it doesn’t seem like KENTA is likely to be given an instant rematch for the gold. His anger-driven antics are used as a prime reason by SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan as a reason not to draft the international sensation to the blue brand, though there are a multitude of reasons that could’ve led to that decision. Once this all becomes apparent, KENTA switches his strategy up, choosing to instead chase after the biggest fight he can get. A backstage interview weeks away from SummerSlam sees KENTA proudly say the name he wants, and boy is it the biggest fish. “BROCK LESNAR!” The Beast Incarnate answers KENTA’s challenge with ease, and a clash between these two unstoppable forces is set for the big summer show.
This match is a true test of KENTA’s merit, as he’s able to survive the offensive onslaught put on him by the Streak-ender and dish out some stiff strikes of his own as well. Lesnar hasn’t been hit this hard since Overeem, and once he gets touched, there’s a genuine level of fear in his eyes. He knows KENTA’s a true threat, and he does everything he can to put him away, before he’s able to eventually interrupt a striking barrage with a succinct F-5 that should wrap things up here… ONE… TWO… THRE-NOOOO!!! KENTA KICKS OUT OF THE F-5, STAYING IN THIS MATCH! If one doesn’t work, two should get the job done, but as he attempts the second one, KENTA is able to spin out and dash off the ropes for the Busaiku Knee onto Lesnar, though the Beast is able to survive as well. Throughout the entire match, KENTA constantly attempts to heave Lesnar up onto his shoulders for the G2S, but Lesnar’s sheer size weighs heavily on that now-surgically repaired shoulder of KENTA, and when he fails one too many times we see Lesnar swoop down and trap KENTA in a Kimura. He tries and tries to survive, fighting like his life depends on it, but after surviving the hold for a hell of a lot longer than he should’ve, HE’S EVENTUALLY FORCED TO TAP! Heartbreaking for KENTA. A second straight failure for the Hero of Pain upon return, did he return too soon?
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Post-SummerSlam ‘16
Heading out of SummerSlam, we see KENTA compete on Raw for a few weeks after the show, handily defeating talent such as Curtis Axel, jobless Heath Slater, and Titus O’Neil merely with one good shoulder alone. After each match we see him fight away ringside doctors who attempt to ail his pained shoulder, but eventually we see backstage doctors refuse to clear him at all, sending him right back onto the dreaded injured list. Is this all that KENTA’s body will alow at this age? Do we think it’s time to hang up the boots? Spite is one hell of a motivator, and KENTA proves exactly that on…
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SmackDown After WrestleMania
Bang. The Miz thought shit was sweet when he got drafted to an opposing brand after Battleground, but a surprise entrant in a #1 contendership battle royal proves otherwise. Bitches and sluts, it’s KENTA baby. He runs in, fully recovered, and wins the whole damn thing, earning a shot at Miz’s IC Title THAT HE WANTS ON THE SAME NIGHT! And by god, KENTA does exactly that, beating Miz senseless for mere minutes before three back to back to back G2S’s end things for the couple, reuniting KENTA with his Intercontinental Championship once and for all. Return of the Gangsta Thanksta

Good day!
(I started this ramble as a feedback e-mail, but before finishing it found this sub-reddit where I heard the devs are active? Current game version as of writing: 1.5.4.)
A big thank you to everyone involved in developing and delivering Pickle Pete! It is easily in my top 10 most fun mobile games and I very nearly consider it a masterpiece of the genre. I've put in dozens of hours of playtime at the least.
I'll lead with critical bullet points, follow them up with elaboration and my experience, then end with praise bullet points for those that care to read it.
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Opportunities for Improvement:

1. There is no in-game method to replay the intro sequence.
2. Each playable character should have their own, even if very short, intro animation.
3. Intro animations / bestiary for enemies.
4. Add more bang for more bucks.
5. Honor those that spent gems on chests before additional rewards for cumulative openings was added.
6. No in game text tips.
7. Narrow preferable choices for mutations and equip-able active skill.
8. Weapon attachments
9. Farming the last available boss could be more rewarding.
10. "Blessings" is an awesome system, but isn't congruent with the game thematically.
11. Long animation delay on skill selection cards. Not an issue for new players.
12. Add weapon trade-in vendor.
13. Possible bug: when swapping apps and returning to Pickle Pete while playing Endless game play will continue, but pickles will refrain from dropping making points no longer acquirable until the run is terminated. Possibly intentional to reduce cheating.

​
I've been playing Pickle Pete over the last few weeks and it's clearly a step above most mobile games on the market now. I had completed all main campaign levels and additional game modes just before the level twelve update. This was of course followed closely by multiple other updates which kept resetting my endless rank. ::MadNotMad:: After 3 committed attempts I've broken into the top one-hundred twice and top ten once. I did all of this without purchasing anything...yet, nearly acquiring all of the bonus blessing stats, and working up to a purple SMG for a starter weapon. I still have no legendary gear...yet.
I've loved video games since my grandparents let me load up games I can't completely recall on their MS-DOS computer. I don't always have as much time as I'd like to game, but I have been mashing buttons for nearly three decades. I believe there is some overlap between what makes a game fun and what makes a game well designed. What people find fun will vary, but I see good design as a more objective truth. Even though I'm no professional it's clear to me that Pickle Pete had/has at least a rock star or two infusing good design principles.
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1. First things first. The intro animation may have been added after I started playing for a bit. I can't recollect. In any event I skipped some of it. Sure I can and have viewed it on youtube, but it's still taking up space on my phone right? Can we get an in-game button to replay it?
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2. Speaking of intro animations.. each character should get one! Even if just a short one that plays when acquiring one. (And maybe also a replay button.) It could highlight or hint at the different bonuses that apply at the end of their roll moves.
**Mr. Peely** \- Running, slips into a back flip, beginning of slip flip face is surprised/worried, midway through flip face is determined/smug, animation becomes a blur, lands while doing a split and swinging upward with an axe cleaving an enemy in two.
**Corny McCob** \- A yellow cylinder is rapidly spinning on two squares of butter, butter drops are being flung away at various directions, the cylinder launches away, three point hero landing, camera panning up from feet reveals a maniacal cob of corn holding a pipe bomb, glancing left and right, I don't like that look in his eyes or that blinking red light.
**Willy the Wiener** \- Is that a rapidly disassembled picnic table riddled with bullet holes flying through the air? Camera pans down to a beach front while cinders and charcoal pieces are jettisoned from a barbecue grill. Willy is tanning hides with a quickness holding dual uzis. Arms and uzis are a blur until they snap into clarity between each volley.
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3. It's only fair that the enemies of the game get a little love. They're getting slaughtered out there! Something has to raise morale. Why not a little intro sequence highlighting their attack? And/or a bestiary somewhere in the menus. Descriptions with similar tone to what is found in the game Plants vs. Zombies would be fitting.
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4. I find the current monetization models most prevalent, specifically in the mobile market, shameful. If I could go back in time and kill baby Hitler - I wouldn't. I'd smoke the mofo that thought it was a good idea to make Candy Crush monstrously profitable. Just kidding. Ninety-Nine dollars is a big chunk towards the latest gen console or a kick ass graphics card. Or... a pile of in game currency that shaves off some time and possibly puts you ahead of fellow gamers... I know it's just the way of things currently, but the cliche gem crates for various prices including one for ninety-nine dollars is personally a huge annoyance. It is one of the first things I look for in a game and determines along with the obvious passion that was put into the games creation that determines whether I will spend any money within it.
Money is part of what makes life unfun for many, and now more than ever it's detracting from a core reason gaming is fun. In my opinion games should be as level as a playing field as they can be outside of 'real life'. Paying to win robs fledgling gamers of skill ceiling, feelings of accomplishment, and the bragging rights that come with leveling up without swiping a credit card.
So dump the uninspired gem boxes for money or at least throw in some extra cosmetics, alternate soundtracks, or the option for players to add their own content. Something to move the needle in the other direction and show appreciation to those who help fund access and development for those that can't. The move would ideally garner more appreciation and wind up netting more money anyway. Or I might need to see an optimismoptomitrist about adjusting the shade of my glasses.
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5. I haven't yet, but I will be spending some money on this game. It's too good not to. I'd like to at least craft a legendary starter weapon beforehand though. Just so I can say I did. It makes me wince a little inside knowing that if I had saved my marshmallows I would have spent enough gems on large chests by now to acquire a guaranteed legendary item. I opened three before the update was released that added the cumulative reward. Any chance a catch-up / credit can be implemented for all in the same boat?
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6. I must have missed the message that explains the way the uncollected pickles and the pickle jar interacts. It took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out what the jar was all about. Could we get this and other such game tips added? Maybe incoming update teaser message as well. They could be auto-cycling fade in/out text messages in the empty space underneath the boss picture on the stage selection screen.
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7. I've read some google reviews of the game suggesting that melee weapons need adjusting. I think they're just fine. They receive strong bonuses from the viking four-set. They're best used to supplement range damage as the timing of damage between melee and low fire rate range is staggered. If you want to up the difficulty of the game, try going for full melee builds. It's like a hidden difficulty slider. An active skill equip could be added to enable the player to throw their melee weapons for a duration, turning such builds into a challenging wave clearer, but a monstrous boss killer. If nothing else throw in some Lightsab...I mean... Laser Swords.
What I find simultaneously the most easily fixed and largest flaw of the game is the narrow preferable choice in mutations and equip-able active skills. Similar to my perspective concerning melee weapons this system could be viewed as a difficulty slider. I think it would instead be more fun to modify them to make them more compelling. The damage bonus to enemies on fire would be more viable if the active skill that set the enemies on screen on fire was on a shorter cooldown. Now that I'm thinking about it though this combo may be just fine if you want to build up larger health enemies first or do more damage to bosses. The cooldown and fire duration still seem kind of dissatisfying. Maybe add hidden bonuses that increase the draw rate of things like the fire mace while either or both are equipped.
The knock back skill is more underwhelming than the fire. The most viable use I can think of for this one is securing supply crates. The cd could be shortened on the skill or turn the skill into a time warping bubble that begins with a knock back. While the bubble is active increase player attack speed and damage taken, but any enemies or projectiles entering the bubble will have drastically reduced movement speed.
Maybe more diverse enemies could then be added so that occasionally what once was an optional item is near mandatory for a time. Urging players to try out new builds for success while making more items feel like they've earned their place in the game.
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8. One last item modification idea. Weapon attachments! Scopes, Stocks, Barrels, Carbon Fiber Axe Handles, stuff like that to modify 'Own' weapon stats. Maybe you have to collect pieces for them from specific bosses. Late game players would have a reason to return to earlier levels and in turn see the progress they've made as they rack up way more pickles than their first time through. This would also give a bit of a push/pull mechanic to the energy system. The energy system I suspect is just there to prevent supply crate farming abuse. I've rarely run out of energy while still wanting to play which I like. All attachments could be lost upon upgrading or resetting the weapon to keep the hamster wheel spinning, make the efforts toward building them more meaningful, and delay the realization of weapons full capabilities.
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9. The above change would make farming the last available boss more rewarding as well. The latest boss being the most difficult to kill and dropping the latest released weapons attachments would give successive runs more meaning.
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10. Another change that I feel should be done quickly is 86ing the blessing system. Not entirely. It is a win-win addition that makes watching nearly pointless ads more satisfying. But it just doesn't mesh with the Pickle Pete theme. Idea: 'Condiments' may not make sense for all of the characters, but thinking 'Hot Sauce' for the +25% damage boost. Visual effects for each can be added to the character to cement the system in the player's mind. "Aww crap my character isn't throwing off glitter sparks. I forgot to grab the the gold gain bonus."
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11. This change suggestion is more for experienced players that have earned their stripes. When doing long endless runs especially the animation delay after picking skill cards is slightly annoying. It's not major, but I wanna go fast! Make this delay toggleable after the player has cleared all the extra game mode levels or killed the final available boss or meeting both requirements. Let's gooooo!
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12. A change that would be good for players of all experience levels would be a weapon trader. Maybe you can set up a trade-in shop preference before level select. Should you find the merc vendor in a level you can trade one of your currently equipped weapons for an equal grade preferred weapon. Even if at an additional cost...gotta make pickles somehow.
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13. Possible bug: when swapping apps and returning to Pickle Pete while playing Endless game play will continue, but pickles will refrain from dropping making points no longer acquirable until the run is terminated. Possibly intentional to reduce cheating.
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Things that make you go 'Awesome!':

• Pickle Pete! is not another copy and paste code cash grab. ...I'm imagining a darty eyed programmer hesitantly grinning 'right' while slowly nodding. :D
• Viability of numerous gear and skill selections.
• Excellent sound design. I especially love the long battle track that only reveals itself as you progress to long lasting waves.
• Animations and weapon targeting is on point.
• UI and loading screen design.
• Creative additional game modes.
• Competitive Endless!?! This is a massive boon to replay-ability, keeps the game off the 'eh I may as well uninstall' list, and takes me back to playing Diablo 2. Yeah you beat the game, but how many people have you beaten that have beat the game? I love it. The only improvement I would consider for endless is implementation of a wave skip feature. You'll get more points faster, but only be able to skip as far as progress you've earned minus X amount. Skip too much and you might not be able to crush the wave with your relatively diminished gear. Maybe wave skip is only available once a day too.
• I'm Pickle Pete!

The scenery of Guo Wengui, in the ants touted, has become a Bodhisattva to save the suffering, why Guo Wengui can once brilliant, once cheated hundreds of thousands of ignorant masses, is in fact in his constantly wipe on a layer of "opinion leader" coat, let us pick his coat, see what ghost things hidden inside.
First, the material reprocessing of the big fudge
In fact, Guo Wengui wanted to present himself as a persecuted opinion leader from the very beginning. In the "two-stage communication" theory proposed by Lazarsfeld et al., information flows first from mass media to opinion leaders and then to the public. Therefore, opinion leaders, as intermediaries, undoubtedly become the "second in command" of communication, who "interpret and process" information into content that conforms to the characteristics of their own groups and continue to spread and spread. So obviously, Guo Wengui never talked about his debt collection, crime and other issues, it is always very good at shifting attention, through the processing and explanation of information, the repackaging of some well-known things, attached to the conspiracy theory, persecution theory, you can quickly assemble into a catch people's eye "Revelations". Unfortunately, lies can not stand the scrutiny of time, in order to maintain their own image, also caused now we see a lie of Guo Wengui.
Two, no faith powerless big liar
Why Guo Wengui can always have small ants to follow, from the root point of view, is the packaging and building of his own image, has the role of domination and guidance, coordination and interference. With the image of an opinion leader, he has become an important role in group and interpersonal communication. The object of ants' followers must have the characteristics of authority, credibility, or professionalism, have a unique view on a certain event, and be deeply trusted by the public or group individuals. So, from the earliest unknown old leaders, the New York Times, Bannon, etc., he is trying to spread a message to those who follow him that he has strong credibility. Through the so-called Revelations, he catered to the ideas of some people. In the case of the deconstruction of social values, the loss of rationality of the public and the weakening of their own judgment, he also effectively guided public opinion with the help of his own opinions and played a leading role in producing or coordinating or interfering with the existing information for a period of time. However, soon, his troubles, led to a sharp decline in credibility, he carefully created the image began to collapse, with groundless, illogical lies woven into the God of war Guo Wengui, will eventually be all people spurned.
Three, the big bastard pulling the tiger's skin
In Lazarsfeld's theory, opinion leaders have a wide range of social contacts, more information channels, and high frequency and quantity of contact with mass communication. Meanwhile, opinion leaders often pay attention to the events and news around them and timely express their views. Guo Wengui's press conference, global live broadcast and other practices coincide with the above theory, we can see its ulterior motives, is the so-called wine is not afraid of the alley, why he repeatedly emphasized his own and important people, heavyweight media "close" relationship, the reason is that he hopes to grasp some information, reflect their own energy, Thus creating a powerful virtual background wall for the continued proliferation and fabrication of lies, he hopes that by expanding his influence, he will be able to leverage public opinion and provide help for his political patronage. Unfortunately, Guo Wengui poor acting has made Americans disappointed, his final outcome is hopeless.
Want to borrow the opinion leader's coat, armed with public opinion, in vain to expect to obtain political asylum in the United States, lying Guo Wengui this trick seems to work, but abandoned the most basic principles of his life, how can continue to natural and uncool down, more and more people, began to see his true face, constantly shrinking ant help is the best proof, he has no way out.