private A personal letter for the one I have wronged 1x1 RP with Illiad Easle

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

"oh, I have a quick thing to say to you" she ignored all others in the area and walked a little to Jigsaw, trying to ignore the pain "If I were you, I would want to make sure to look out for your sides, he likes to strike there. Also I hope to see you in hell; what am I saying, your going to hell no matter what" she looked to the others again "I'm not holding back anymore" she gets in the defensive position again looking at the others.

 

"they didn't hurt me at all, there to brain dead to do so" he said not even noticing the nervousness in her voice "we need to get out of here...got any plans?" He realized she had no weapons "have this bat and blue syringe" he gave them to her and smiled a kind of creepy grin with the blood "it wouldn't be fun without you able to protect yourself"

 

(its kind of fun to do this on purpose)

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

Jigsaw continued to laugh, "Oh I don't doubt it, but I intend to put as many members of your family down there as I can before I arrive." With that he turned away and started down the stairs. With a smirk he prepared his shield spell, adjusting it from frontal to also protect a bit of his sides. The griffon followed him down the stairs, prepping his repeating crossbow as they moved.

 

Selena was a bit off put by Jade's choice of words and his overall appearance. As she was about to respond she heard the sounds of somebody coming down the same stairs she had. She turned to Jade, "We need to get moving, they've probably killed Amethyst and are on their way to kill you too." She looked around the room, but could not tell which way would lead out.

 

Jigsaw heard the sound of Selena talking and recognized the voice. He stumbled a bit before stopping, the smile on his face gone. He turned back to the griffon and cast a stun spell on his crossbow bolts, making them non-lethal stun bolts. He proceeded down the stairs with a bit more caution, knowing that Jade had likely escaped and had likely killed Scout and Soldier. He crept to the corner and waited for his shield spell to charge fully.

 

The thestral was a bit surprised that Amethyst hadn't retaliated, he took the opportunity to pull out his blowgun and load in a sleep dart like he used on Jade.  "How's about ya call it a day?"

 

The changeling was disappointed that Jigsaw hadn't come to heal him, but he shook it off. He wasn't hurt badly and the bleeding had already mostly stopped. He used his cloaking spell and made his way around the thestral and Amethyst. preparing to strike at her from behind. (Amethyst could not determine where the changeling went after it cloaked.)

 

(Amethyst continued to bleed for a bit before it subsided. She is at about 60% health)

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

"oh before I go to bed could I run around a bit? It would get me nice and tired" she spreads her wings "I mean, we can play tag as well if you want to be 'it'" she flew up and around the whole room, changing her flight pattern every few seconds.

 

"he killed...Amethyst?" He was shocked in more ways than one. She came here with Selena for one and now she died trying to save him "that...bastard" is all he could get out without going over bored "Goldie is going to kick his ass for this and so will her parents" his rage subsided a bit for what was happening now "lets go over here" he flew to the southeast hallway and hoped for the best.

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

The thestral sneered as he readied his blow gun, "Hold still you bloody feather-brain!"(Take that!) He couldn't get a clear shot so he waited for her to get close or tire herself out, the loss of blood would cause her to tire quickly.

 

The changeling realized that he could be of no use her, but he had seen and heard enough to imitate her almost perfectly. He turned and went through the doorway the griffon came from, disguising as Amethyst as he made his way down.

 

Selena hurried over with Jade, "It's only possible that they've killed her, it hasn't been long she could still be..." As they reached South East hallway entrance Jigsaw and the griffon came forward from the opposite corner of the room.

 

The griffon prepared to fire his crossbow, "I'm coming for you!" 

 

Jigsaw moved next to the griffon, his horn glowing brightly, "If you both surrender now I promise not to kill you."

 

As Jade and Selena looked back down the hallway they were understandably surprised to see Amethyst, they could see she was injured, no doubt from the fight upstairs, but she looked little worse for ware. She pulled them into the hallway, putting herself between them and Jigsaw. "You guys get out of here, I'll hold them back as long as I can. Be careful though, they may not be entirely dead up there." With that she turned towards Jigsaw and the griffon, taking her familiar defensive stance.

(Jade notices that something seems just a little bit off about Amethyst, but is only about 55% sure about it.) Selena thanked Amethyst before moving up the hallway at a walk, being careful to listen for the sounds of anything hostile ahead. When she didn't hear anything she turned back to Jade "Let's get going! We need to get out of here!"

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

Amethyst was starting to slow down which got her to worry about dying more. After a few different pattern changes she was slightly near to the thestral. She charged without any warning hoping to disarm or knock him out.

 

"Your not Amethyst" Jade said with a dark tone looking at his 'cousin' "She has blue eyes and she would make sure everyone was dead up there. Selena I think there tying to get us back into the building, this might be the way to the exit" she turned to Selena "I still think we cant take all of them so lets go" she followed Selena "keep your weapon ready"

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

(Here's where it gets interesting AKA why you don't turn your back on a changeling.)

 

As soon as Jade turned away the fake Amethyst leaped into action, deftly landing a strike with the stunning end of his knife on the back of Jade's neck. "You fell as you lived: running away!" Jade collapsed unconscious with a short groan. The changeling shed his disguise and attempted to strike Selena as well, but missed.

 

Selena was shocked at the events, she hadn't noticed anything different about Amethyst, and now Jade was unconscious before her. Her trust had harmed Jade again. "You monster!" When the changeling missed his attack she spun in a counter, striking him square in the face with her rear hoof. The changeling was sent flying to crash into the wall behind them with a loud splat before falling dead to the floor.

 

As Selena attempted to drag Jade's body up the stairs, the griffon arrived at the stairway entrance, "You are no match for me." He raised his crossbow and fired, Selena managed to dodge the first two but in carrying Jade she was unable to dodge the third and she too collapsed to the floor.

 

Jigsaw approached the two unconscious ponies and, after ensuring that they were still alive, placed them on the griffon's back. "Anuhza successful procedure!" With that the griffon began to carry the bodies back to the room Jade started in, as Jigsaw inspected the body of the changeling. "She sure hits hard, doesn't she? We'll have to prepare for that."

 

Amethyst managed to hit the thestral, knocking the blowgun from his hoofs and him to the floor. "You bloody fruit shop owner!" The thestral managed a halfway decent recovery roll and got back on his hoofs, retrieving his knife once more. "You prancin' show pony! This is just getting started."

(Amethyst similarly manages to recover from her strike, she hears a commotion coming from a doorway to the northwest. The thestral looks injured from her attack.)

 

The deer looks over at his clock and leaves his sleeping area. (Amethyst hears a door opening to the south west.)

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

"shit, what's going on down there" Amethyst was worried that something had happened to Jade and Selena but had to focus on the pony trying to kill her. She grabs on of the blowgun and tries to use it on the thestral "I swear I will kill you, at least you!" she yells after shooting

 

"not...Selena" he mumbles in his unconscious state

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

(Alright, to speed up the story so it ends faster I wont be rolling anymore and instead I will do the Ideal situation. This one is long as Jigsaw will monologue for a bit.)

 

 As Amethyst had no skill in blowguns she hardly blew hard enough to launch the dart, it fell to the floor only a few inches away, missing the thestral completely. The thestral was quick with a counterstrike, pulling another dart from his vest and stabbing it directly into Amethyst's neck. As she collapsed he said, "See you in five minutes. It's only gonna get worse, mate." The thestral then picked up Amethyst and his blowgun, and proceeded to carry her downstairs.

 

When the griffon entered Jade's first room he was surprised to see the two dead bodies in the corner, "Doctor! Scout is Dead! Soldier is Dead!" With that he proceeded to the chair, placing Jade in it. Jigsaw came in lifting another chair with his magic. He placed it next to Jade's chair and quickly bolted it to the floor. The griffon placed Selena in the chair with significantly more care. Jigsaw bound them significantly tighter this time, remembering to bind Jade's wings in the process. He then took some time to reorganize the tool tray as Jade had messed it all up. He plotted how he would go about ensuring Jade would be punished for his crimes, a sadistic grin on his face the whole time.

 

The deer had a toolbox on his back as he made his way downstairs, he too was surprised at the carnage that Jade had managed, and was glad that he had been contained, when he saw Selena his heart beat a little bit faster. He carefully set his toolbox in the corner and relieved the griffon of guard duty, coming to stand behind and to the side of Jigsaw. Silently watching for now.

 

Jigsaw moved over to Selena, a softer smile on his face as he caressed the faucets of her face. "Finally, we are together again my daughter." He stepped back and cast a spell to counter his prior stun. Selena awoke within moments, she looked confused for a moment, but as she looked around her face changed to one of fury. "Jigsaw! What have you done to Jade!?! If you hurt him I'll..."

She lost here steam as she saw that Jigsaw was not in the least frightened by her outburst, in fact he was still smiling. "Oh, Selena. Don't worry, I haven't harmed your precious Jade, yet." He began to pace in a slow circle around the two chairs, "You know, Jade has done some pretty horrible things in his life, the most of which was trying to kill me and forcing the two of us apart for so long. You couldn't even remember me because of what he did. However, you refuse to balance his karma. I can see you struggling against your very purpose in not beating him down for the wrongs he has committed, it weakens you to do so. Well, I will make you strong again, by balancing his karma for you!" He moved in front of Jade, tying a gag in his mouth to keep him from talking too much, before casting a similar spell to wake him up too. He stood back so he could watch Jade's reaction. 

 

Selena was shocked and utterly distraught. The worst part about Jigsaw's words is that he was right, she was repressing her responsibility to balance Jade's karma because... frankly she cared too much about him to see him suffer any more. There was no sense talking as Jigsaw was far beyond reason at this point. He's caught us, I'm sorry. She felt only an immense sadness in return, it was all she could do to not start crying as well.

 

When Luna felt Selena's thoughts she sat down hard. A few tears moved down her face as she stared towards the building. Her gaze shifted to the box, she knew it that now was the time. When she opened the box she was surprised to find a replica of the device she had used to communicate with the team back when they were active. Paired with it was a speaker and a note, the light on the microphone was off, signifying that the other side's speaker was off. She opened the note,

If you're reading this it is likely that Jigsaw has captured Selena and possibly Jade as well. Don't worry, I have a plan to save both of them. I'll call you when I am ready.

Luna turned to face the microphone more directly, she waited intensely for word to come.

 

(So, I expect you'll need to post at least 3 more times for the story to reach an end point) 

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

"mfff!" is all got out from the gag being on him. He glared at Jigsaw but felt like he couldn't win from this. Its hopeless, I lost. He looked over to Selena and got wide eyed. Selena...I lost and now I will lose you...this all stated with that stupid box! If I just never did any of that I would have been fine! Selena would be safe and I would just be stuck with Topaz. He stopped mopping for a second and turned to Jigsaw "tahke off hea gag" is what he got out wanting to say a few choice words

 

Jade's family how knew were ready for the signal to go in and try and save Jade/Selena but got no such signal which made them worry.

 

Silver was still being silent about the hole thing to the rest of the family at the Hay tower.

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

 

Luna used her LTF communicator, "Tell Jade's Family... They've both been captured."

 

(Be aware, Ideal situation will prevent the family from entering the building before the plot twist.)

 

Jigsaw moved in close to Jade, the manic smile there again. "Take off the gag? Now why would I do that when I can hear you scream just fine with it on?" With that Jigsaw stabbed a knife into Jade's chest, exactly the same way Jade stabbed him years ago, but with a twist. Jade screamed involuntarily as the knife moved in his chest, but as quick as it started the pain subsided as ze healing flowed through him, sealing the wound as the knife was removed. "Oh, did zat hurt? SAWry!" he exclaimed as he retrieved the bonesaw from the tray. He began to laugh a bit in a similarly maniacal way, Jade's blood was splattered a bit on Jigsaw's coat. Jigsaw stood on his hind legs, "I'm going to saw through your bones!" As he prepared to plunge the saw into Jade's chest the deer spoke up, a disapproving look on his face. "Now I think you're taking this whole thing a bit to far...""SILENCE" Jigsaw exclaimed, whirling on his ally with a back hoofed swing. The deer was knocked back and to the floor, having taken a direct hit to the face. His antlers sputtered with magic attempting to heal the wound. Jigsaw turned back to Jade, "Now where was I? Oh Yes!" And he stabbed the saw into his chest. "That is for letting my daughter get hurt defending your wretched family of no good thieves."  He turned away to face the deer, "I think I'll let that sink in for a bit." The deer's antlers were still sputtering with magic, "Oh, you picked the wrong time to betray me, How much longer till you have no more magic hmm? Soon enough you'll be worse off than them." Jigsaw turned his back on the deer as he began laughing again, he was about to push the saw deeper into Jade when the deer spoke again. "It will last long enough... to stop you." Jigsaw turned to see the end of the deer's miniature crossbow. His antlers were no longer sputtering but they glowed weakly. Without a word the deer shot Jigsaw at point blank range. Jigsaw fell dead to the floor.

 

The deer got up and removed the saw and gag from Jade, using the gag to bandage the chest wound. "You'll be alright if you get medical attention soon, but this isn't over yet." He turned to Selena. "I don't have any grievances against you two personally, but against your mother. Let's hope she cooperates and everyone will be just fine okay?"

 

(And there's the twist, I thought it was further away.)

Edited November 19, 2015 by Illiad Easle

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

A volley of bolts and rockets came from the cloud that the family hid in. The bolts were aimed much before hand and took the dragon out with paralysis and the turret got destroyed with the rockets which they swear got some ponies at the entrance as well. They all rushed out of the cloud and into the building where if they saw anypony that was not Jade or Selena, they would be dead from sheer amount of firepower "Give us are son you freaks!"

 

"did anypony else hear the sounds of unrelenting fire from above? Yeah my family is here isn't it?" he asked rhetorically "lets get out of here...wait where is Amethyst?" he looked at Selena "even if its just her body I have to know what happened to her before this place is ruble"

 

(I want this to go fast)

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

(I could just kill you, fast enough? But I wont, don't worry this will all be over soon.)

 

It was then that the thestral walked in, seemingly unsurprised by the dead bodies. He dumped Amethyst's unconscious body to the floor.

The deer looked off into the distance, "Sentry down." He turned back towards the group with a slight smile on his face. "Unexpected, but I'm sure we can handle it." He pulled an old box off the wall and placed it on the floor, blowing the dust off as he opened it revealing a fairly old machine. "Teleporter going up." He then opened the toolbox he had brought down, slowly it unfolded into a new sentry gun.

"If they get too close I'm afraid you'll have to die." He turned on his communicator.

 

Luna was surprised by the light on the mic turning on. "I have your daughter and Jade safe, for now, but I can't keep them safe for too much longer as the building will collapse soon. I have a teleported that can get one, maybe two out but I need something from you first."

"Name it,"

"The minostralium, you know the stuff you had us fighting for out on Minos? I want a briefcase full of it, compared to all we collected it shouldn't be too much for you."

"And you can ensure my daughter's safety?"

"You get me the Minostralium and I'll ensure that you are safely reunited with your daughter. You better hurry, this building won't last much longer."

"Fine."

Utilizing her magical strength she warped her way directly into the royal vault, quickly filling a briefcase with the precious metal.

(There would be a confrontation with Celestia here)

The deer smiled as the briefcase materialized in front of him. He inspected the contents before placing it on his back. The teleporter had finished spinning up.

(The griffon was killed, but not before killing four members of Jade's family)

The thestral stepped through the teleporter as he waved with a grin on his face. "G'day!"

The deer moved to stand on the teleporter as it spun up for a second teleport.

"You have what you wanted now give me my daughter."

A slightly evil grin came to the deer's face as the teleporter spun up.

"You know, I remember an agreement we had earlier, You said that my daughter would be safe if I went and got you this very minostralium. And when I returned I found my village had been burned to the ground soon after I left, my daughter missing, likely killed by the very ones you swore to protect her from."

"Now, you get to suffer as I did."

The deer began laughing as he teleported away, the teleporter bursting into flames moments later.

The ground shook as small pieces of the roof began to fall.

 

Selena looked over at Jade, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry Jade. I got you into this mess and now you're going to die for my mistakes. I shouldn't've..."

 

At that moment Amethyst began to stir into wakefulness.

 

(This ending would have been more impactful had I had more posts to spread it across, indeed rushing condences the story, but I really liked that history twist. Lets see what you do next, it might be the last thing you do.)

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

(well there's Pearl, Emerald and Ruby attacking because apparently they had to keep it secret...so they killed more than Jades family? Do you think more could be incorporated in the story? also I would sacrifice logic for less death on the hero's part because its not cannon fodder, its lives and there lives should be spared for a story as they are the people to root for. P.S. You think they cant fight? They do training with a multitude of weapons just to survive in situations if they needed it, hell I bet one smoke bomb in a room with one of Jades family would equal everything in the room to be dead when it clears. I mean I could have had an objection with the dart thing but I didn't bring it up)

 

"You should stop crying, we will get throw here" "Hell yeah!" Amethyst chimes in realizing whats happening around "so do you know an exit?" "I think, I hope" Jade picks up Selena on his back "Amethyst just follow my lead" "yeah, I don't want to die" Jade goes the way that was blocked from going to before from Jigsaw and keeps following it to the very end hoping the crumbling building would hold out just a little longer. "please, please, please just work" "Jade, pay attention, your family is right there" Jade loses his hyper-focused on not crashing, terror filled eyes and sees quite a few dead bodies, thankfully non of his families, on the ground near them. "Jade?" The rest lower there weapons "get outside now!" Jade and Amethyst gladly take the suggestion and fly out as fast as they can before the building inevitably collapsed. Jade was gasping for air from all the flying "thanks for coming" "we would never leave you dude" "your part of the family...dare say Selena is too" Amethyst finally catches her breath to say something she wanted to ever since she woke "why do you have a gag covering a wound?" "yeah, I need some medical attention right now"

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

(Two things. One, I had no idea how many family members ended up attacking, just that there were more than four possible. And two, you wanted this to be over fast so a lot of things get glossed over. A twist third, people die in battles, it wouldn't be interesting if you knew every named character was impossible to kill. PS, I never said they couldn't fight, but the members of LTF Bravo Luna Unity have trained and fought in actual war for at least a decade. The reason some of them got locked away in the end was because they were too good, no movement of guards short of a full platoon could stop them, and combined it would be a bloodbath. Their imprisonment did weaken their skills and unity, but they are nonetheless strong fighters. In the story since there are only three they will at the very least be injured to some degree. I could have had an objection to your sudden sneak attack but I similarly didn't.)

 

(I am going to say that Amethyst unbound them then so they can actually move. But now for a conclusion before you have an opportunity for some concluding remarks.)

 

Selena hardly noticed what was happening as she was carried to safety, the deer's words had struck her in a unique way. She remembered a young deer many years ago, she used to lay with her on occasion. Her name escaped her, but she looked quite similar to the deer from before... What happened to the deer's daughter? I... She went... She simply disappeared one day after I brought her here to Manehatten to keep her safe soon after her village came under attack but before it was burned to the ground. To this day no traces of her have been found. I couldn't bring myself to tell him so I let him assume she died in her village. Clearly it was not a good idea. Oh... Worry not, I am on my way to assist.

Selena didn't know what to think about the whole situation, three people now twisted by grief into things different than they used to be, worse. Of the three the deer was the least twisted, he had likely come to terms with his daughter's death, but the others...

Selena didn't know if she should feel sorry for them or not. So she decided to leave it alone for now, and turn back towards the present.

When she realized where she was she was surrounded by members of Jade's family, she remembered what they had said. It touched her that they would consider her family, but she wondered if that shouldn't be the case. After all, bad things had happened to them ever since she and Jade had interacted on the bridge, maybe it would be best for them to go their separate ways.

Luna arrived, landing on the opposite side of the group from the building with two LTF medics in tow. "We must thank you for saving our daughter, I am impressed that you managed to succeed against BLU team, they only grew more ruthless with age."

One of the medics moved to better treat Jade's chest wound, and recommended stitches to seal the hole as he did his best to bind the ribs back together. The other medic moved to treat the wounds incurred by the rest of Jade's family. Luna drew Selena into a tight hug. "Don't worry, it's all over. You're safe now."

 

Meanwhile...

 

The deer stepped off the teleporter, finding himself in a damaged hut. He moved outside to fins himself back in the charred ruins of his village. The thestral was there too, already gathering supplies for shelter and food. The deer looked down at the briefcase and destroyed the tracking device. He set the case down and sat, staring up at the rising sun. "Well, guess that'l do."

[Yoshikupo 302]

@@Illiad Easle,

"Jade" a mare sat up from a poor condition mattress "where did Page go? How long has it been? Is Jade still alive?" she got up from the mattress and checked around the kind of clean room "always wanted to know what was in Page's journal" 

 

Did it again...made another pony go insane this time in a mansion. Plus while doing that you found out about Topaz, the new 'pawn' in my schemes. At least my mother would say that. Anyway Remember, the plan is simple, you've done it a million times. You go and meet this Jade person Topaz always talks about, mess with his life from the poor choices he will do and has done. Then write about how he brought this upon himself. (Oh and if everything goes to hell, make him pay with the bad luck spell. His bones might be sawed out by some stranger then which would make all of it worth it)

 

Topaz dropped the book "dammit Page" she picked out a book from Pages mother that was on the desk the diary sat "this is your fault" she throw it in the trash and left the secluded home of Page as she started thinking about her actions and the actions that Page along with how else might get caught in Jades bad luck.

 

I cant be a pawn again, I will have my own mind. Jade will be protected...even if it causes me hell in the process because I am better than those monsters that want to hurt him. Even if my own family disagrees...

[Illiad Easle 3,127]

@@Yoshikupo,

The Epilogue...

 

Selena crept from her room in Hay tower, by floating she was able to escape the floor without disturbing any of Jade's family. She left a note addressed to Jade and Luna before leaving the tower.

 

Jade...

 

I know this will be hard to say, but in a way Jigsaw was right. I am weakening myself by not balancing your karma, but I simply cannot bring myself to do any more harm to you or your family. I know if you go out and do good things, help ponies, your karma will be balanced in no time, and I will be able to be with you without fear of what I may have to do to you. I love you enough to hurt you, and I am choosing to give you some time to balance yourself so I don't have to hurt you any more. Jigsaw brought you close, you jut have to go a bit further, You'll know when you've made it, because I will be there.

 

Luna,

 

I am ashamed by what happened to Jade and I, two creatures twisted by grief into something much darker. I know Jigsaw was once a very loving pony who loved me more than I could realize. The EngiDeer loved his daughter in a similar way, and to lose what he loved most is the saddest thing I can imagine, I can't say I blame him for his actions.

I am your daughter and will always love you, but I cannot sit and wait for another of your mistakes to resurface. I will not allow you to follow in your sister's hoofsteps in this regard, I will right your wrongs in what ways I can. I have gone to find the EngiDeer's daughter, I know she is still alive out there, and I will reunite her with her father. In the mean time, I want you to consider what other mistakes you have made, and I want you to take care of them so they won't hurt anyone in the future.

 

I wish you both the best, ~Selena

 

Selena looked back at the tower for a moment, a single tear on her face, before she set out into the world. She knew exactly where to start looking.

 

(And now the Deer's ending.)

 

It had been a few weeks since they teleported back to his old village, and in that time they had built an impressive shelter and promised protection to the nearby villages. With the extra Minostralium he had built an impressive teleportation network between the villages. But without battles to fight and things to build, the deer was forced to confront his grief for the first time in years. He had avoided it, distracted himself with fighting and building, but he could avoid the pain no longer.

 

The deer sat atop his shelter watching the sun set. He remembered when he would watch it with his daughter atop his back. He sighed, but as he looked up he saw something glinting in the light of the setting sun. He knew who was coming for him, so he decided to go peacefully. With a bowed and antler-less head he waited for Selena to exact her revenge for stranding her.

 

"Dad?"

 

The Deer's head shot up, tears forming in his eyes as he saw his daughter standing before him, she had certainly grown since he last saw her, but he recognized her just the same. He drew her into a tight embrace, silently weeping. Selena approached quietly.

"I forgive you."

And with that she simply left, turned around and started walking the way she had come. The deer was unable to call out to her, but he silently thanked her.

 

(And that is the end, unless you think there should be more. I will start extracting the story once my winter break starts, so you have until then to announce any changes you want.)