Finally finished a certain birthday post.. Think this is the first year I’ve actually prepared posts way in advance for days like these? And I feel weird because I put wayyyy more effort into Eric’s than I ever do Dylan’s.

The update of my about-page is finally complete! It details some of my blog’s journey and also links to the stuff I love when I’m not busy with thedragonrampant, so I hope you’ll like it!

Before You Ask..

Last year, I made a decision that I would no longer be answering everything that makes its way into my inbox. I have occasionally strayed from that by answering a few things here and there that I would otherwise have refused, but I really do wish to go back to a part of the original decision from here on out. This will allow me more time to put some things in order information-wise and hopefully also allow me to write the same quality content for this blog I hope I have given you so far.

I will no longer be answering anything pertaining to the following:

• Questions about how Eric and Dylan would be as boyfriends, what a
  relationship with them would be like, what type of girl they would like,
  and all variants thereof. My archive features plenty of
  posts that relate to this subject and should be comprehensive enough to
  form the answer you seek.
• Any and all sexual questions you can
  think of. The only sex-related things I will answer and address in my
  posts are the ones that directly relate back to their respective journal
  mentions of the subject.
• Questions regarding if they would like a certain
  book, movie, tv show, videogame, or music artist. Both of their likes
  and dislikes in terms of pop culture are very well-documented in the
  available evidence, which should be enough to help answer your questions in this regard.
• Questions that will literally take
  no more than half a minute on Google to find the answer to. You will get
  the answer a hell of a lot faster if you type it into that magical
  searchbox, because it often takes me a day or more to get back to my inbox and find the time to answer things in peace.

I encourage you to use the links I’ve gathered on my resources-page as well as the search function on my blog if you’re in need of information that falls under one of these categories. I realise that a lot of you ask me things because you’re genuinely curious as to what I have to say about it, and I do hope you’ll continue doing so in future, but I have to keep things workable and interesting for myself here as well and this decision is one that has worked well for me in the past. (Observant people will notice that it’s one bulletpoint shorter than the original PSA was, so consider that a little gift from me to you.. kudos if you figure out which subject I left off this time. ;))

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and the lovely comments. It’s been heartwarming to open my inbox today to nothing but good vibes. Having so many react and take the time to write to me today is something I didn’t expect. This is the best of you, Columbiners, and I hope to spend many more birthdays with you!

Please have a piece of virtual cake on the house.. 😉

That moment when I make one tiny change in the coding for the resources-page and it deletes the CSS by accident too just as I click ‘save’.. I think that was the fastest code-fixing I ever did in my life, lol. All links should be functional by now, though, and the look of the page has been restored.

Now, onto an about-page and some actual research..

Exactly 3 Years Ago..

.. I began this blog about Columbine. I had already done about a year of research and lurking in the community prior to this, so we’re talking 4 years of almost non-stop engagement with this case. It was very strange to receive that blog anniversary email today and realise that, yes, it’s really been that long a time of dedication and interest.

Of late, as I’m certain most of you know, I have struggled to define the exact form I want this blog to take in future. I’m not out of the woods in that respect yet. There have been recent times when my finger was poised over the delete-button – I suppose, today, I’m finally grateful that a certain something stayed my hand long enough to keep the blog in the air. Too much work has gone into it to say my goodbyes. Too much of my life is entangled with the work I do here – too much of my heart is forever bound to aspects of it. I suppose that is part of the reason why I’m even observing this blog anniversary.

Most of all, though, my gratitude goes out to everyone who’s stopped by this blog over the past three years. The response from followers and occasional readers has been overwhelming and engaging. If you had told me three years ago that I would still be here and that I would receive such deep respect and friendship from people, I would not have dared believe it.

I began blogging simply to keep my own research and opinions straight. I began blogging because I wanted a place of my own to talk about Eric and Dylan. I began blogging because this case permeated every waking second of my life and it needed an outlet like this one to help me balance it all. It has grown way over my head since. It has been a source of amusement, frustration, engagement, and interest throughout this time.

And I could not have been here without all of you, so thank you for your presence and your comments and your messages and all the other things you have shared with me over these past three years. Dare I say.. here’s to many more?

I was tagged by @prophetofslaughter for this a little while ago, thank you! I’m supposed to tag 2 new people for this, so go ahead @nbkgodlike and @everlasting-contrast. ^^

5 Positive things about myself.

1. I have a really good memory that can be a little scary sometimes.

2. I think I’m a decent writer.

3. I’ve been told I’m a good listener who gives great advice, so I guess that’s pretty awesome?

4. It takes a lot to piss me off (conflict-avoidant plus Aquarius) so I’m generally really easygoing with people.

5. I always have book/movie/show/music recommendations on hand for people, lol.

I was tagged by @nbkgodlike, thank you! ^^

Rules: tag some people you know or want to know better

Countries I’ve lived in: the Netherlands

Favourite fandom: the Daredevil one is pretty cool tbh

Languages you speak: Dutch, Dutch dialect, English, German, some French, tiny bits of Spanish, and I’m attempting to learn Russian

Favourite films of 2016: Zootopia, X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War, Deadpool, Legend

Last article I read: Are You Hanging by a Thread? and an article on Dutch counterterrorism measures.

Last thing you bought online: books, of course. 😉

Any phobias or fears: I am really, really scared of most bugs (praying mantis is the worst ugh) and lightbulb fish. Don’t laugh. Also, huge controlfreak issues over here.

How would your friends describe you? you’d really have to ask them, I think? I hope they describe me as intelligent, caring, and someone you can have a laugh with.. ^^

How would your enemies describe you? ice queen with a god complex bigger than fucking Mount Everest. Or so I’ve been told.

Who would you take a bullet for? my dog and my parents.

If you had money to spare what would you buy first? a house, probably.

Tagging.. @rebpayne49422, @deepestchildfury, @prophetofslaughter, @imperialray, and @klewolf-reb

Look at that milestone! What a terrifying number of followers that is – 1000 people?! Are they all real? *prods and pokes at the number* It’s hard to wrap my brain around that, haha. Unbelievable really.

Thank you all so much for the continued love and support you show thedragonrampant! I could not have dreamed of this when I first began blogging about the case, especially as I was just looking for a place in which I could express my own thoughts and get the facts straight for myself. The notion that so many have taken something of value from this blog and appreciate it enough to give it a follow means a lot to me. (I do usually follow you back as @crunchydragon, so if you see that blog liking your posts on Columbine.. it’s me!)

Here’s to continued blogging love! ❤

Blog change

Don’t worry, guys, I’m still here.. I am in the process of revamping thedragonrampant into something that will hopefully inspire me to write more about Columbine again. I know I’ve kinda been missing in action since the huge explosion of anon messages on my blog earlier this year. It’s been very hard for me to write about Columbine and the boys, to the point where I even contemplated leaving altogether or deleting most/all of my already-made posts. I haven’t been happy with a lot of my own content from most of this year and sometimes felt that wiping the slate clean would be preferable to continuing with things the way they were.

So, please consider this the slate-wipe. All of the old posts are still here and will remain here indefinitely – even the ones I am least thrilled about having up here and would love to put in the past permanently by never mentioning them again. The vital posts still exist as a snapshot of the posts I consider to be among my best work to date. I hope to take the blog back into their direction again. I push myself to deliver quality content, interesting content, and balanced content. That was the original goal of the blog when I started out and it’s time to return to those roots again.

Aside from the change in layout that hopefully looks very cool (I know I’m thrilled about it thus far!), I’ve also re-added the evidence project and will be writing separate pages with information about the case and the boys. You’ll likely see more of this sort of positive change pop up as time goes on. I hope you’ll stick with me in this transition period! And, as always, if you’ve got any burning questions or comments for me.. please ask! =)

PSA

As you have all probably witnessed by now, my blog has recently seen a massive surge of questions and answers. I have gone from making incidental posts a month to shooting out multiple posts a day. It has been a balancing act for me to try and figure out how to handle it best, as not every question asked pertains to the material my blog is about. I have taken every bit of feedback into account on where to take this next. And, listen up, I have it figured out.. 😉

Let me say, first and foremost, that I truly appreciate anyone wanting to get in touch with me and asking me for my opinion on numerous and varied subjects. It has been a blessing to speak with you both on and off the pages of this blog. I sincerely hope you will continue to visit this blog and interact with me in the time to come.

However: starting over the course of this weekend, I will not be answering any more questions that do not pertain directly to Columbine, Eric & Dylan, and the way the case has been handled over the years.

Want to ask me personal/varied things? I have a blog for that.

Want to ask me spiritual things? I have a blog for that, too. 

I want thedragonrampant to be Columbine-centric only. This is the idea that I began blogging with and this is the idea that stays. I want to stay as true to its core as I possibly can. I want this blog to tell the stories of Eric, Dylan, and everyone involved in this particular case. I want it to talk about future prospects, about education reform, about issues within society that inform such massacres, about the true fallout from the massacre itself. I want its energy to remain focused instead of scattered.

Will you help me do this? =)

It was about time for another tiny overhaul of the blog, so my sidebar and about-page have been updated/rewritten entirely. Another update that will hopefully be exciting to folks in future is the addition of the so-called Evidence Project page, which will feature my ongoing personal reorganisation of all the official evidence made available to us about Columbine in a way that will hopefully make sense to a reader/researcher. (Unlike, well, the mess JeffCo dumped into our laps..)

As some of you may have noticed, there’s been a bit of a layout change to the blog again and the sidebar info has been updated. I also took the time to rework the vital posts-list to include some of the works I’m planning to write, so that’s worth checking out when you want to know what I’ll be yakking on about in the time to come. =)

Also contemplating indexing all the questions you guys have ever sent me, so you’ll be able to locate specific answers of mine about a particular subject in future. Is this something you’re interested in seeing?

Decided it was finally time for an overhaul of the sidebar text and of my ‘about’-page. The latter is definitely worth the read.

Currently in the process of marking up the evidence files (orange segments are annotated with my own comments) so it’ll be easier to skip through them later to relocate important bits.. Bit of a trial and error, still, but it’s probably the easiest approach to tackling the mountain.

I am 3000+ words in on ‘Building Reb’ and I think I’m only halfway done at best? It’s a hell of a lot more work than I’d anticipated thanks to the way the evidence suddenly tied together to form new connections. I can’t foresee myself editing anything out in the future (yay for structure?) but with one of the basement tapes and the suicide left to deconstruct and half the journal left to tie in with the existing pattern.. anything could happen.

Basically, this is a perfect illustration of what goes on behind the scenes of this blog when I’m quieter for a while. =) I sometimes get my ass in trouble with bigger projects like this one!