One thing seemingly unites millennials and Gen Z with respect to their socioeconomic political outlook. That is the younger generation’s consistent trend towards socialist policies. Many younger people today would agree that higher taxes, more government services, a universal income, more regulatory agencies, and debt forgiveness are ideal policies. However, these policies would all need to be carefully administered by a federal bureaucracy already criticized for being bloated and corrupt. Curious then why a society so distrustful of government is demanding that government secure more money and gain more authority to regulate the economy.
The reason for this apparent dissonance is the fact that many, if not most, young people have absolutely no clue about how finance actually works. Federally funded education has failed many generations of students and is a good example of why government programs are inherently bad. Taxpayer funded programs are inherently flawed because there is no private mechanism to ensure success; all public programs are run by people who don’t want to lose their jobs. There is fundamentally no incentive for a public program to solve the problem it was mandated to solve.
Rather, all public programs, including education, are incentivized to follow this cycle: (1) perpetuate low level crises in order to justify the existence of the institution, (2) solve some aspect of the problem, to justify the continued appointment of present leadership, (3) lobby for increased funding to solve the problem during an election/voting cycle, (4) fail to solve the problem while still using limitless tax dollars, (5) repeat. The department of education, along with all other institutions, follow this model. There may be Boy Scouts who work for the government who truly want their agency/department to eventually be shuttered or streamlined due to the unparalleled efficiency, competence, and efficacy of their work. But most bureaucrats simply want to keep their jobs forever.
All this to say that socialist policies which require government oversight are fool’s errands on their face because no public administration can avoid corruption due to the nature of public institutions. Private institutions, which are bound by market forces, may be corrupt, but if there is sufficient competition then corruption is literally impossible. Free, capitalist markets with sufficient competition cannot be corrupt simply because any inefficient allocation of capital via corruption will undermine the company’s ability to compete among other enterprises that dont waste money/resources this way. Obviously reality is more nuanced, but this law is essentially true, also public institutions don’t compete with private ones because public institutions are often funded with infinite public dollars and therefore don’t rely on the “rational consumer.”
The rational consumer is integral to this entire scenario I’m describing. Free market competition cannot exist without a rational consumer who ensures that this competition exists by making reasonable choices about how he spends his hard-earned money. While most economists, have always agreed that the “rational consumer” is a figment of our collective imagination, the premise has always been broadly assumed. The assumption is that people are generally wise enough to understand how finances and market forces work and allocate their money accordingly.
This could not be further from the truth. Scores of youth are suckered by tiktok and YouTube gurus who lie about financial topics to desperate people in to get ad revenue. The youth today are seeing their American dream collapse, in part because most young people graduate high school without even an iota of an understanding about what a “premium” is or how “interest” actually works. People don’t know the difference between a stock and a bond, or that a “401k” doesn’t mean $401,000.
This ignorance of basic economics causes the world’s largest consumer economy, the US, economy to behave monstrously inefficiently because few sectors are competitive and populated by rational consumers. Rather, most markets consist of fools with borrowed money, and corrupt, colluding companies willing to leech and fleece children and adults alike. In turn, this inherent market failure caused by a failed education system, produces a bastardized economy which creates appalling wealth inequality and public hatred of “capitalism” as a concept.
Thus, most young people who are NOT rational economic actors have a tendency to distrust capitalism despite not understanding how finance or “capital” actually works, and therefore they favor socialism or even communism as an answer to a failed economic system despite the fact that public institutions have for more opportunities to be corrupt than competitively private ones do. So you can mark my words, the youth in America will succeed in pushing the US towards socialism, ON BOTH SIDES, because very few people actually understand how finance works yet are enraged by the current order, so the political left and right support candidates who lobby for sweeping political control over the economy.
TL;DR: the DoE has failed several generations and the entire system of American capitalism by not ensuring that graduates understand basic macro/micro economic terms along with personal finance because capitalism requires rational consumers/actors to maintain efficiency yet the average consumer is constantly fleeced out of their money by corporations who are far more sophisticated than zoomer who doesn’t know how compound interest works.

Just wanted to post a ChatGPT recipe for this to give everyone a high level overview of what we are looking at...
The scope of this is insane, but we have exponential power to leverage. The important thing is to just take action, one step at a time... Look for anything you can do, if you can invite 1 person, that's awesome!
https://chatgpt.com/share/49a80474-d5d5-43fc-ad2b-0422464220a1
Creating a grassroots movement for a mass awakening of humanity is a significant and ambitious endeavor. Here are some steps to guide you through building this movement from scratch, focusing on creating an effective organization structure:

1. Define Your Vision and Mission

• **Vision**: Articulate a clear and compelling vision of what a "mass awakening of humanity" means. This should be a long-term goal that inspires and motivates people.
• **Mission**: Outline the specific purpose of your movement. What are the immediate and medium-term objectives that will lead towards your vision?

2. Identify Core Values and Principles

• Establish the fundamental beliefs and ethical principles that will guide your movement. These values will help attract like-minded individuals and maintain consistency in your actions.

3. Formulate Key Messages

• Develop clear and concise messages that communicate the importance and benefits of a mass awakening. These messages should resonate with a wide audience and be easy to understand.

4. Organizational Structure

• **Founding Team**: Assemble a diverse and committed founding team. These individuals should share your vision and bring various skills to the table.
• **Advisory Board**: Form an advisory board of experts and influential figures who can provide guidance and lend credibility to your movement.

5. Legal Structure

• Decide on the legal structure of your organization (e.g., non-profit, NGO, social enterprise). This will affect how you raise funds, pay taxes, and operate legally.

6. Establish Operational Roles

• **Leadership Roles**: Define key leadership roles such as Executive Director, Outreach Coordinator, Communications Director, etc.
• **Volunteers and Committees**: Create committees or working groups focused on specific areas such as advocacy, education, fundraising, and events.

7. Develop a Strategic Plan

• Outline a strategic plan with specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. This should include a roadmap of activities, milestones, and timelines.

8. Build an Online Presence

• **Website**: Create a professional website to serve as the central hub for information, resources, and updates.
• **Social Media**: Establish a presence on major social media platforms to engage with a broader audience, share content, and mobilize supporters.

9. Engage and Mobilize

• **Outreach**: Conduct outreach campaigns to raise awareness and recruit supporters. This can include workshops, seminars, webinars, and collaborations with other organizations.
• **Community Building**: Foster a sense of community among supporters through online forums, local meetups, and interactive events.
• **Storytelling**: Share stories and testimonials that highlight the impact of your movement and inspire others to join.

10. Fundraising

• Develop a fundraising strategy that includes diverse sources of income such as donations, grants, crowdfunding, and merchandise sales.

11. Measure Impact

• Establish metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your initiatives. Regularly review and adjust your strategies based on feedback and outcomes.

12. Stay Adaptive

• Be prepared to adapt and evolve your strategies based on changing circumstances, feedback from your community, and new opportunities.

Example Structure

**1. Founding Team** - Visionary Leader (Executive Director) - Outreach and Engagement Coordinator - Communications Director - Fundraising Manager - Volunteer Coordinator
**2. Advisory Board** - Experts in relevant fields (e.g., social change, psychology, education) - Influential figures who support your vision
**3. Committees** - Advocacy Committee - Education and Training Committee - Fundraising Committee - Events and Activities Committee - Communications and Media Committee
By following these steps, you can build a solid foundation for your grassroots movement and effectively work towards a mass awakening of humanity.

im new to this sub after years of finding myself here whenever i search in vein for answers as to why my mom is Like That™️.
On a certain level, i don’t think i have an Nmom. On a million other levels, i do. but i think a small part of me wants to believe she doesn’t act the way she does out of narcissism—she just “lacks self-awareness” or “is selfish” or “does things considering herself first and foremost.”
she’s never been verbally or physically abusive, but she was extremely emotionally neglectful growing up, putting me in daycare from 3 months until i was about 11-12 (i aged out of the daycare and that’s when she finally decided to start “trusting me at home alone”.) She always took control over raising me and my brother, seemingly so she could make us into carbon-copy good little christian girls (didn’t work). and now, as an adult, i can see she’s always had bad work-life balance and doesnt see a problem in it.
now that im an adult and back from time living abroad, she’s trying to help me find a job but seems to think she has a total understanding of the work landscape despite not having actually applied for a job in over a decade. With encouragement from my therapist, i finally stood up to her and told her to stop helping me since her help never amounts to anything, and she essentially told me no because “everyone needs help.”
this turned into a vent, and i could go on further but my phone is dying and i wanna share this so it doesnt all get delete lol.

(Skip to the end to see the informal poll and avoid the anxious ramble)
My first year of teaching was a disaster from beginning to end. I know most teachers’ first year is the worst and you feel like you don’t know what you’re doing bc you don’t know what you’re doing and there’s so much pressure. Etc.
Even beyond the more typical misery was a lot of personal life tumult and turmoil and trauma and chaos going on, including a debilitating (somewhat unofficial but more or less confirmed based on symptoms) diagnosis I have to live with now without having much insight as to prognosis. And a lot more discomfort involving loved ones.
Reflecting on this year is almost as traumatic as the experience itself. I had next to zero support, with the exception of about 2 weeks under the guidance of an amazing master teacher. But that was it. The morale at the school was beneath rock bottom. Every single day was worse than the day before. I tried to go in positive. But with very few exceptions, everyone was miserable and no one tried to hide it. People were directly rude to me, condescending, sarcastic, openly comtemptful, angry, hated the kids and cursed about them and screamed at them (“shut UP!!!!” “MORON! GET OUT!” “You’re STUPID, I should have LET that student hit you!” “I woulda hit you in the face too if you’d done something like that to me!” Just a few quotes off the top of my head, not to mention one slamming the door on my sped teacher’s face along with our sped students, which the principal did absolutely nothing about despite his friendship with the sped teacher). Discipline/behavior was an absolute JOKE. I think I’ve painted an accurate picture of how awful it was.
I guessed my way through everything but did my absolute best and figured everything out. A bit of productive struggle and hey, by the end of the year I was an expert in a lot of things I knew nothing about months earlier. My rapport with my students was great, to give myself some credit. They loved me. Albeit too much—they thought of my softness as a doormat. They felt free and liberated in my classroom bc I seldom raised my voice. Unfortunately what they’re accustomed to is only listening when yelled at, and as a new teacher, I did not have better tools to manage classroom behavior, beyond building relationships, and my class was a bit out of control. It became all about getting through the curriculum through the 3rd quarter.
My benchmark scores went up, which was pretty amazing considering everything. However at the very beginning of the 4th quarter my principal informed me that he wasn’t renewing my contract and that he would never let me teach 4th grade again, that “I don’t know if I would ever let you teach any grade level, maybe try pre-k—you get nap time and someone is always with you.” So he wrote off my career as an elementary teacher after just a few months of teaching. I could go in about how he had covertly brought in his very own former student (who had only recently began prepping to take the Praxis) as my replacement, unofficially “employed” but “technically not.” But I don’t want to get into that, as furious as it made me. I just stopped writing lesson plans bc no way was I gonna train her for free when they gave me zero support through the year.
I had way more bad days than good—the kids and my para got me through it! I was grateful for that. They were wonderful and I miss them. But I was made to feel incompetent. I slowly started to realize that him booting me was a blessing in disguise, especially after learning how many students I’d have had next year. And some other changes that won’t be helpful.
There’s also a lot of BS going on in our state regarding education. So things are not exactly going to get easier. Alas, I need a paycheck and I went to school and passed praxis to be a teacher. I’m 44 so it’s not like I have many options.
But I did actually finally get an interview at a library last week! I’d applied for 6 years and never got so much as a phone call. Unfortunately it’s part time and drastically less pay (which is honestly pitiful). And it would take me years to make close to what I make now. And I was just getting into certification so as a teacher I’d get a $10k raise. Buuut I really don’t want to miss a rare opportunity to get my foot in the door at the library!
I’ve got dozens of job offers in my district. I had 6 principals call me and email me yesterday alone! I know I could make decent money. But I don’t want to turn down the library job, which absolutely would not cut it financially.
I forgot to mention a key component of this dilemma: Teaching is extremely overstimulating to me. I’m autistic/adhd. This was part of my misery. Between my loud a/c units in my classroom and the kids noises desks constantly clanking and kids constantly talking over me etc etc etc, and the awful attitudes of most coworkers and all the other stuff, I barely made it to the end of the year. I know most of us actually feel that way, but my day to day in the classroom is beyond awful. I cried constantly, I had panic attacks going in every single morning during the 4th quarter after years of reduced panic attacks, most days I felt frustrated, and some days I even had moments where I could not even talk anymore and had to go home (these days where at least one kid told me to “Shut the f- - k up b-tch!” or fought or both plus admin treated me like crap and I had enough). Not to mention spending entire weekends and weeknights writing lesson plans, creating lessons, grading, entering grades, etc etc etc. All I could think about every day was how much I wished I could get a library job!! I even had a student tell me I would make a better librarian than teacher. She was excited when I got the call about the interview lol.
But what if my next school is better? What if I go in knowing expectations and having a better idea of how to do things and how to establish classroom procedures, what if it’s better? What if it’s stupid to give up on a better paying job? I’d love to get my MLIS but realistically, there aren’t very many librarian jobs and moving isn’t an option. The day to day would almost be worth the paycut. I’ve contemplated doing both, just for one year. I know that sounds nuts, and it’s risky, but what’s more important? My paycheck, or my mental health?! I honestly don’t know! I need the money. But I also need a peaceful environment.
Here are my options:
A) Substitute w library for almost the same money as I made uncertified, which was barely enough
B) Library + teaching full time bc you’re insane and unrealistic
C) Library only + MLIS bc it’s your dream & short term paycut is worth long term happiness.
D) Girl, are you insane?! Teaching only bc it’s the smart move!

1. Divide and Conquer - 4/5 (Slapper intro. Pretty good for a pilot episode, but it felt like they rushed into character drama a little too quickly. Like, I only JUST now met Robin and Cyborg for the first time, so this big breakup doesn't really hit as hard as I imagine it could had it been a later episode. The animation of this show is very fun and different from typical action cartoons, though. Stuff like the characters turning into chibis and going horrendeously off-model for gags is great stuff.)
2. Sisters - 3/5 (Immediately more character conflict and drama. I'd say this one works a little better, but again, I only really now just met Starfire, so there's not a hugely established friendship between her and the Titans enough yet. On the other hand, perhaps that's for this episode's benefit, as it's about her feeling replacable, which would not be very realistic after having been established as BFFs for several seasons. And I did think her and Robin's chat was really sweet, so whatever. Also, Blackfire is just a color swap of Starfire. Sunny Tennyson much?)
3. Final Exam - 4/5 (So this episode was the first to air, but is not the "real" pilot. Strangely enough, it would almost have worked better as a pilot, since it introduces the characters in their HQ immediately followed by showing how they work as a team. The H.I.V.E. aren't the most interesting villains but Gizmo was pretty amusing. What was with the lighting in the scene where they get out of the water though? Looked strange.)
4. Forces of Nature - 4/5 (Thunder's Sonic eyes is freaking me out. Please separate them... Anyway, decent episode, even if it's mostly just Thunder and Lightning wreaking havoc and getting moral lessons from Beast Boy.)
5. The Sum of His Parts - 5/5 (Fixit. Wow, clever name. Sarcasm aside, pretty great episode. It's interesting to see Cyborg's abilities explored, and the eerieniess of Fixit about to forcibly make him a full robot was highly engaging. Although while that IS the main story, the majority of this episode is spent with the other Titans fighting Mumbo Jumbo for some reason. Not that it's back, since I liked the zany wackiness of it. But it definitely didn't need take up that much time. Also, he briefly became a Canadian from South Park.)
6. Nevermore - 4/5 (Thunder and Lightning, Mumbo Jumbo, and now Doctor Light? So far this show has had really lame villains. Not that it's a huge detriment, because unlike other superhero cartoons, the focus in most episodes seem to be more on the inner workings of the Titans themselves as opposed to whatever villain they're facing, so I guess they just pick goofy ones to jumpstart the actual plots. Which in this episode was pretty amusing. Raven's a lot more mellow than her appearance would let on. I thought she would nearly murder Cyborg and Beast Boy for breaking into her room, but she was just slightly upset. Oh and, uh, what was up with intro being in Japanese?)
7. Switched - 4/5 (Just as I mentioned the villains being "lame" in the last episode, I thought Puppet King was pretty interesting. He's not like, compelling as a character or anything, but I found the puppet schtick fairly amusing to watch. As for the actual story, while "body swap" is not the most original idea for these kinds of shows, I still found it endearing how Raven and Starfire learned about one another. But the fact that they still keep their voices makes me go grrr.)
8. Deep Six - 3/5 (There's that Japanese intro again! Apparently it's used for episodes that are more comedic, while the English is for the "serious" ones. Guess I'll see if that assessment holds up under scrutiny. So this is mostly an underwater episode, which, while not a bad setting by default, feels pretty uninspired when it's nothing but blue backgrounds and rocks. Raven horning for Aqualad sure was a sight to behold, though. Felt a bit out of character.)
9. Masks - 4/5 (Wow, Red X was Robin? No way. It's not like they had the exact same voice or anything. Anyway, as good as this episode might be, it's really just some setup for Slade's schemes, which is really only vaguely hinted at whatever it is. As a result, I don't really have much to say. Starfire's lecture about Robin not trusting them was a bit "wha" though, because, yeah, if they knew Red X was Robin, they would've held back, and it would not be convincing.)
10. Mad Mod - 3/5 (Sheesh, this episode hurts my eyes. It's a funny one, though. And it has the Japanese intro, so I guess that fact about it was true. It's nothing but the Titans chasing some Brit for the entire episode. 20 minutes of pure zaniness. And Mad Mod was a pretty amusing gag villain. I also really liked the song "K2G" that played during that Scooby-Doo parody montage.)
11. Car Trouble - 3/5 (Gizmo drove away with Cyborg's car JUST as he arrived to confront the guys who initially stole it. He would have been right in the vicinity of it, how did he not notice it driving away? LOL. Also why do the two crooks calmly tiptoe around and vaguely say they "lost it" instead of just "some guy drove away with it right behind you like 10 seconds ago!".)
12/13. Apprentice - 5/5 (Slade merely wanting an apprentice is a bit of a confusing motivation. Like, for what purpose? Once he's fully molded Robin, what does he intend to do next? Take over the world? Not that it matters, since the conflict of Robin having to betray his friends to save their lives was thrilling enough. Although part 2 is obviously the better half, because the first is mostly just setup for that. Robin also makes a sick Batman reference, but can't directly mention him because of the Bat-embargo. LOL. Side note, the effect of the probes being the characters becoming...orange with a buncha circles wiggling around them was odd.)
14. How Long is Forever? - 5/5 (Robin just brooding in front of the speakers was funny. LOL. Anyway, the way time travel is handled here is confusing. I suppose it always is, but here it seems to function so that during the period Starfire was travelling 20 years, she simply did not exist during them. But she came back to the past in the end, meaning historically, she always returned. So instead of time travel looping around itself, I guess in this series when you travel, you're just gone. And if you return, the timeline you go back to will be a completely different one. That aside, it was neat to see the future Titans, although sheesh my guy Beast Boy aged horribly. And I find it hard to believe the entire city would become a dystopia like this, considering the Titans aren't the only heroes around.)
15. Every Dog Has His Day - 5/5 (Pretty solid for a zany comedy episode. Beast Boy becoming a dog to get bitches (pun intended) was funny. And the whole schtick of the Titans mistaking an actual green dog for him lent itself to a lot of good comedy. The reveal that that the dog is actually intelligent and can speak sort of "ruins" what made that aspect funny in the first place, but it doesn't affect the episode's quality or anything, so that's just a nitpick. Soto was pretty freaky though. Reminded me of Tiny from Ben 10.)
16. Terra - 4/5 (Yikes, Terra is scrawny. She's like a walking stick. I guess she has earth powers, although it's not really explored how or why. Though, at this point in the show, I've obviously learned that stuff is not something it prioritizes. Anyway, this episode is very good, but it's mostly just introduction to Terra and then a teaser that she is Slade's new apprentice victim. I'm interested for where that goes, but I don't have much else to say about this one specifically.)
17. Only Human - 4/5 (Not to go all Facts & Logic:tm:, but humans also have a limit to which they can use their muscles, so on a technical sense, Cyborg's conflict in this episode doesn't make much sense. Especially since he exceeds 100% by the end anyway, showing it was always possible. Not to diminish the story or anything, because I did find his conflict around it genuinely engaging. And the moment when he rises up to the challenge to actually beat Atlas is obviously very cathartic and rewarding. But also LOL that Atlas picked a beef with Cyborg over losing in a video game.)
18. Fear Itself - 4/5 (Here I spent the entire episode expecting the "obvious" reveal that everything scary that happened was a prank by the Titans to prove to Raven that she can be scared. Guess I was a little overconfident in that since it turns out she was just accidentally doing it herself.)
19. Date with Destiny - 4/5 (Hey, it's Spider-Man. I mean, Fang. That was a pretty freaky character design. Just a guy with a huge spider as his entire head. This episode felt like it ramped up the wacky animation to 11, particularly with nearly every motion Kitten makes. And that bit with Starfire's mouth falling into the punch stuck out, too. That aside, pretty cute episode. Starfire's jealousy is amusing.)
20. Transformation - 3/5 (Does the Titan Tower only have bathroom? That's ridiculous. It's huge! Anyway, not to complain about power inconsistency or whatever, but Starfire being able to instantly fly several hundred thousand kilometers away from Earth pretty much instantly, not to mention be able to breathe in space is a bit excessive. She's not Green Lantern... That aside, this was alright. It's neat to find out more about Tamaranians, but Starfire has already learned the "my friends will like me no matter what" lesson before.)
21. Titan Rising - 4/5 (Why is Raven so pissy at Terra? Like, I know she's moody and has a low temper, but raging at someone just trying their best? A bit out of character. That said, I still enjoyed the rivarly. I like Terra on the team. It's fun that they're expanding the roster.)
22. Winner Take All - 3/5 (Why does the Master of Games need people to lose a battle before he can absorb them and their powers? Why doesn't he just do it to all of them on the spot? I found it funny that Beast Boy lost the first round. When the episode began I was expecting some epic final battle between the three main characters. But nope, he just loses and is gone for the rest of the episode.)
23. Betrayal - 4/5 (That was a bit of a rushed betrayal. Terra is introduced in one episode, instantly leaves within the same one, makes a big comeback 4 episodes later, and betrays them in the very next while it's treated like some devastating loss to the team. Well, there is the game episode in between. But also she isn't even in that save for a silent cameo in one shot in the end, so that barely counts! That said I still liked the emotional beats of the story from Beast Boy's perspective and such, so I'm not hating on how this was done. I just think this could've meant more if she actually was a member of the Titans for the episodes leading up to this betrayal. On a lighter note, I liked Beast Boy's theatrical scenarios of how he should have asked her out.)
24. Fractured - 3/5 (So in-between the previous, serious, dramatic episode, and the upcoming 2-part finale which will obviously be about Terra, they felt they needed an episode about some annoying imp doing zany nonsense. Not that the show is a stranger to that stuff, but this wasn't nearly as charming as Mad Mod.)
25/26. Aftershock - 4/5 (Pretty standard "epic finale" fare, but obviously it's good because I liked this Terra arc, as rushed as it may have been. Her turning on Slade and even being the one who ends up killing him was pretty thrilling stuff. I didn't think they'd actually go that far, considering he's like the main villain of the series. But while that final battle between Beast Boy and Terra was pretty great due to the resonance and such it contains, I feel like the episode took up a lot of time having the Titans fight various miscellaneous characters leading up to it, that just wasn't as interesting. Side note, Raven and Terra just being colored completely brown to simulate being muddy stuck out to me. I don't know why. Mainly because most shows would draw wiggly lines to simulate the muddiness, not just one blank color.)
27. Deception - 4/5 (I know this show is episodic so stuff like this is bound to happen, but it is a bit eyerolling that characters seem to just learn the same lessons over and over. Like in this episode, Cyborg is beating himself up over being a cyborg, but by the end he accepts himself the way he is. A lesson he has learned in 2 episodes prior to this already. Not that I didn't think it was well done. His chat with Starfire was sweet, and the whole thing about him being undercover was entertaining too, so it's not much of an issue.)
28. X - 4/5 (So some guy steals Robin's Red X costume and takes up the mantle... But he also conveniently sounds exactly like Robin? Sure, because THAT makes sense. For the most part this episode is just baiting you into wanting to know who Red X is, but then NEVER answers it. Pretty rude. Nevertheless, it was still interesting. Also Professor Chang's design reminds me of Inspector 13 from Ben 10.)
29. Betrothed - 3/5 (Titans just casually flying to another planet like it's a mere road trip. OK. Is The Batman funding this or what? Also, that scene of Robin outside the spaceship made me LOL. Anyway it's interesting to see Tamaran thoroughly explored upon and such, but it's a bit absurd that every single person on the planet wears basically the exact same outfit.)
30. Crash - 4/5 (Cyborg's cybernetic features are confusing. Firstly, how could a digital virus affect his brain, which is clearly a biological component? Second, how and why are there red blood cells flowing in the "veins" of his mechanical parts? Nitpicking logic in a goofy joke episode aside, this was great stuff. I liked that they had to reluctantly get Gizmo to help, and Cyborg going nuts was just entertaining in its own right. I think the interior of his cybernetic parts were interestingly designed, and Beast Boy as an amoeba is just absurd but fun. Although it's inconsistent that he's able to talk while in that form, since he can't when he's any other animal.)
31. Haunted - 5/5 (This was pretty grim, but very thrilling. Given Slade was established as like the main villain of the show, even though it seemed obvious he was imaginary, I kept asking myself if he was actually real or not to come capacity, since I doubt the series would get rid of its main villain that easily. And well, they DID imply somebody else activated the hallucination chemical from the mask, so, like, yeah, he's clearly coming back. That said, if it was all in Robin's head, how did he get all those bruises and rips in his clothes? By punching the air? And why did Beast Boy have a cold in this episode? I guess they needed some comedic relief so it wouldn't be too grim for Cartoon Network.)
32. Spellbound - 4/5 ("Kardiak, you're under arrest". I get it. Because he is a heart. Pretty amusing. Anyway, yikes, Beast Boy sure was mean for NO reason. But the way they made up in the end with Raven even joining him and Cyborg's game of "stankball" was cute. As for Malchior, well, I thought he was a girl until he spoke.)
33. Revolution - 3/5 (Pretty much a rehash of the first Mad Mod episode. He has the Titans trapped in a maze of illusions and they chase him around and defeat him. Which I get is the whole gimmick since he's just a joke villain, so yeah. This was good, but not AS good. The pop-art backgrounds were pretty cool, and I liked how the British flag was the sky in the background the entire time. Plus, British Beast Boy was funny. The "message" about patriotism, democracy or whatever, felt a but muddled.)
34. Wavelength - 3/5 (I guess Brother Blood is growing to be Cyborg's arch nemesis or something. This was pretty average, so I barely got anything to say. Aqualad asks for help, so they take down Blood's underwater weapon and...Yeah. But I liked Bumblebee, and her fight scene with Cyborg had a lot of funny visuals. The bit where he shuts the door on her was amusing too.)
35. The Beast Within - 5/5 (This was great. You'd think it would be fairly predictable to tell a werewolf story with Beast Boy, but the execution really makes it work. Yeah, it's obvious he's acting strange because of the chemicals from the beginning. But his gradual shift from acting macho, to asshole, to picking a physical fight with Raven for NO reason was interesting because of how bizarrely out of character it is. Especially when his "beast" form took the Raven beef to the next level. But on top of that I especially enjoyed the twist that the Adonis guy from the beginning was a second werewolf, and the actual culprit. Robin seemed awfully quick to immediately lock Beast Boy away or straight up murder him though. For a guy who himself was blackmailed into being evil, you'd think he would be more considerate to other possibilities.)
36. Can I Keep Him? - 3/5 (This was alright. Pretty simple concept for a comedy episode is all. Beast Boy fosters a giant maggot and then it becomes bigger and dangerous. Kind of amusing how Starfire got more attached to it in like a day than Beast Boy did while hiding it for months. As a sode note, I liked the design of Rancids robot dog and dinosaur.)
37. Bunny Raven... or ...How to Make A Titananimal Disappear - 3/5 (Pretty good for a zany episode. The Titans as animals were amusing designs, and Beast Boy becoming a lamp instead was funny. Mumbo's song was catchy.)
38/39. Titans East - 4/5 (I like the concept of Titans East, although the only member I find particularly interesting is Bumblebee. I'm always fond of shrinking abilities for the potential practical uses that often go unacknowledged. She never really does anything with it besides shoot some lasers in the bad guys face, though. Speedy and Aqualad are kind of generic, and Más y Menos are just gag characters, so yeah. Cyborg's conflict here was pretty interesting, but the way he gets decapitated piece by piece was pretty brutal. But him sticking it to Brother Blood was pretty awesome, and I liked the sweet ending where he decides to stick with the Titans.)
40. Episode 257-494 - 3/5 (Steve Irwin gets mauled by a bear. Anyway, this episode is decent, but it's just an endless stream of references to other things, many of which I am not familiar with, so even as a comedy episode, a lot of the jokes don't work very well. That woman from the lame soap opera was still with Cyborg in the real world by the end because THAT makes sense. But it was funny.)
41. The Quest - 4/5 (Yeah, it was pretty obvious the old lady was the great master. Robin going through challenges was pretty entertaining though, but that snake one... He won by merely grabbing the snake? Sure, okay. The rest of the team dressing up as and pretending to be Robin was probably the best part, especially even Raven joining in.)
42. Birthmark - 4/5 (Welcome back, Slade. This was a very thrilling episode. Really just has you asking tons of questions. Like how is Slade back, why is he targeting Raven now, etc. But also, it was interesting how this potrays Robin and Raven as having a very close friendship. I mean I guess all the Titans are good friends, but these two haven't been explored as a duo at all, so it was interesting, if not a bit awkward.)
43. Cyborg the Barbarian - 4/5 (Silly concept, but I like it. Though given how time travel has been established in this show, Cyborg can't really do anything to affect the future, because everything he will do has already happened in the past. I like the design of the demon... Thingies)
44. Employee of the Month - 4/5 (I found it interesting how this acknowledges Beast Boy a physical task, as opposed to Raven or Starfire's breezy levitating. Beast Boy working at a meat shop itself was pretty funny, and the Tofu villain in the end sells the whole thing for me. LOL.)
45. Troq - 3/5 (The racism episode. The fact that we know what word "troq" is supposed to represent makes it very weird how often we see it used. I mean imagine an episode where they used the actual word this much... Yeah. I think this is pretty well done and what not in terms of being sweet and emotional, especially Cyborg's talk with Starfire and Robin instantly changing his mind on Val-Yor once he finds out. But the action plot they wrapped all this around didn't really have me hooked, and it's a pretty big chunk of the episode.)
46. The Prophecy - 3/5 (This is neat and all, but for the most part it really feels like nothing but setup for a grander plot than something to stand on its own. So while I'm sure the context of this will make the season finale more rewarding, this is just okay. I did get a kick out of Raven pulling up Slade as he was trying to leave just to jerk him around a little.)
47. Stranded - 4/5 (This is a fun episode, but it has one of the worst common TV tropes of all time; Character refusing to explain an easily explainable situation this creating conflict because of misunderstanding. I mean, yeah, Starfire DID describe what a "girlfriend" was, but then she just described what could also be platonic. Robin could have easily explained to her that there's a difference between platonic and romantic.)
48. Overdrive - 3/5 (I like the Billy Numerous theme music, but that's about it really.)
49. Mother Mae-Eye - 3/5 (Well, funny at times, I'll give it that. But ehhhh. Yeah, I don't know, there isn't much to be said here. Liked the scene where Robin spiked up his hair.)
50/51/52. The End - 5/5 (Yeah, pretty epic. The Titans using Raven's power was also cool. I was hoping to finally see Slade's face when his mask was knocked off, but I suppose a creepy half decomposed skeleton is also interesting... Don't really understand Trigon's motivation for, well, all of this though. He wants to take over the Earth and get rid of all life on it, just so he can sit in a giant chair and relax? I mean, the real story here is supposed to be about Raven, so I know it doesn't matter, but that's pretty thin for what's supposed to be the most threatening villain of the show to date.)
53/54. Homecoming - 3/5 (I love specific character focused episode where we see something more personal to them, but Beast Boy's background isn't that interesting and most of the team besides Elastigirl weren't very interesting. But I do find Negative Man's powers cool. Brain is a pretty cool villain too, I love his voice, really intimidating vibes. How are any of the Doom Patrol alive after what happened though? Never explained)
55. Trust - 4/5 (An entire Hot Spot episode? Interesting, since I always find it fun when shows divert from the main cast. Overall fun, but that ending was pretty frustrating though. Hot Spot was so obviously Madame Rouge!)
56. For Real - 3/5 (I do like the Titans East, but this was disappointing. I was hoping for more of a genuine episode in their own town, seeing their feats as a team and friends, as opposed to goofing off with Control Freak. Also one of the villains Brain had lined up two episodes ago is in jail here?? Were Más y Menos permanently translated to English for the audience to understand them? I mean I guess I prefer it, since having them two speaking what sounds like gibberish to the rest of the team makes it hard for them to appear as genuine friends, especially since they're mostly attached to each other as opposed to the whole team.)
57. Snowblind - 4/5 (Already loved Red Star and then he's immediately killed before my eyes!! Whyyyy! I was hoping he would gain control of his powers and aid the Titans. How has he still been getting tanks to fill up with radioactive liquid for so many decades though? And that's a pretty small room for two tanks a day over the span of decades.)
58. Kole - 3/5 (This entire season so far the Titans have just been around the world, given last time they were in what appears to be Russia, and now it's somewhere in Scandinavia. It's been an interesting change of pace, sure, but this episode wasn't terribly interesting. They meet some caveman with a little girl, Dr. Light is up to no good, etc.)
59. Hide and Seek - 3/5 (Bobby turning out to be real was a pretty fun "twist". Got dragged out for a while though.)
60. Lightspeed - 4/5 (Another non-Titan focused episode. Kid Flash is randomly horning on Jinx because why not, I guess? This Jinx redemption came out of absolutely nowhere, given how little we've seen of her prior. But Kid Flash is fun, so whatever.)
61. Revved Up - 3/5 (This episode is neat, but given how they are racing for the entirety of it, the constant action was pretty exhausting to sit through. Why did Raven sneezing and Starfire saying the Tamaranean equivalent of "bless you" inform all the villains they are Titans though? Also, infuriating we never got to see what's in the briefcase.)
62. Go! - 5/5 (Love seeing the origins of the team, though it's pretty oddly convenient that these 5 superpowered people (well 4 with powers) just so happened to stumble upon each other, same day, same time, same situation. I imagine shortly after this they occasionally stumbled upon each other trying to fight the same bad guy every so often and decided to start a team. Which would have been more realistic for their first interactions, not all 5 meeting at once. Pretty on the nose Batman reference but they still absolutely refuse to mention Batman.)
63/64. Calling All Titans!/Titans Together - 5/5 (Why is Beast Boy climbing up the mountain as a goat instead of just... Flying? This was quite the epic episode, I enjoyted the intensity of seeing nearly every hero be ambushed separately by different villains. It's a bit strange for the final part to mostly be from Beast Boy's perspective, and with the strange heroes he ends up meeting. I was expecting to see how the rest of the Titans made it to the Brotherhood of Evil base, but it's probably better this way, since it leaves it up to imagination, and it doesn't really matter. Seeing the brain finally defeated when all heroes went into battle was satisfying. Jericho's powers were pretty cool.)
65. Things Change - 4/5 (The amount of quiet and awkward scenes with that sad music was... Well, very strange. The whole Terra thing is a bit weird like, sure, if someone you don't know jumps up to you, acts as if they know you and tells you you've gotten amnesia, you'd think they were insane. But Beast Boy surely has photo proof? Or if not, he could get testimony from the rest of his team?? No??? It doesn't have to jog her memory back, but at the very least she'd realize the truth and know who she was instead of just being so vague and saying cryptic things. Some things she said implied perhaps she did know, because any real person would just yell out the weirdo stalking them, not give emotional speeches about the girl you once knew being gone etc. But all that aside, why did Slade send a robot out just to tell Beast Boy that he had nothing to do with what's happened to Terra? Also, that creatures ability to turn himself into any matter he touches is really cool.)
Movie: Trouble in Tokyo - 3/5 (This has pretty much one of the things I dislike most about movies based on TV shows; Instead of actually focusing on the iconic aspects of the series in question, it goes out of it's way to be as far removed from it as possible by setting it in a whole other country. Bummer, because an ideal Titans movie would really focus on the whole team, and THEIR city. Instead, they're just in Tokyo stopping a corrupt commander (who I knew was gonna be the bad guy from the get-go) who's creating crimes to be a hero. And the thing is with these kind of movies is, perhaps if they actually did focus on the characters relationships, it would be good. But instead they are mostly separated the entire time, just goofing off. And cue the obligatory relationship between Robin and Starfire. I mean, it was obviously going to happen, so it's not as if I mind it, but the drama feels pretty forced. They're heroes, yes, but they lounge around and take time off all the time when criminals aren't around. There really isn't much more to say about this. High-tier average. Although, admittedly, I was finding myself ready to close my eyes and fall asleep nearing the hour mark.)
-The Lost Episode - 3/5 (It's half the length of a normal episode, so it's hard to judge it, given it's not even serious at all. A fun little watch, for sure. Beast Boy walking around with a boombox on his shoulders was funny because of how dated it is.)
-New Teen Titans Shorts (Can't really rate them since they're just shorts, but here's a few throwaway thoughts: I like the artstyle. The lowercase T tower is a funny visual gag. Was Blackfire just killed? So, they finally actually showed Batman on screen (technically)? The hell was up with Cyborg's voice in one of these?)

I have been applying to consultant roles like crazy and I'm not making any headway. Can anyone think of ways I can improve what I have below or what other career avenues I should pursue?
EXPERIENCE
Homecare Homebase, LLC, Dallas, TX Implementation Training Consultant, Jan 2022 - Present
Provide quality implementations and ensure the adoption of products within health agencies across the country,
Guide customers and internal training teams through the deployment of the software for multi-site locations across the United States, Lead clients through training of the software and support clients throughout onsite and remote deployment,
Assist in making customizations to clinical content (i.e., visit types, pathways, and assessments) to ensure the environment is ready for testing and training,
Collaborate with internal staff on training preparations for assigned projects, including completing preparation of training database prior to customer deployment,
Communicate effectively and understand the customer's needs, goals, and strategies, as well as communicate those needs to the internal HCHB project team for action and/or resolution,
Independently researching customer inquiries and determining sources of issues. Independently researching data functionality and reporting problems to the customer support team with needed steps for customer resolution,
Maintaining product knowledge as new enhancements and functionality are released in the application,
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS, DIVISION OF ADVANCEMENT, Denton, Texas Student Assistant, May 2019 - Aug 2020
Operate office equipment such as fax machines, copiers, and phone systems, and use computers for spreadsheets, word processing, database management, and other applications,
Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals,
Set up and maintain paper and electronic filing systems for records, correspondence, and other material,
Maintained scheduling and event calendars, Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations,
CORELOGIC, Irving, TX Operations Specialist, Jul 2014 - Jul 2018
Conducts research of data, perform factual analyses of loan histories to assess appropriate resolution and compile all corresponding supporting documentation for review,
Leverage all available resources such as existing databases, third-party sources, and/or public information on the internet,
Utilize tools to analyze, query, and manipulate data according to defined business procedures,
Extract and enter appropriate data onto application, other form, or database, Process payments that may require preparing, balancing, and submitting complex wire disbursements for mass manual payments,
Proofread documents for grammatical, mathematical, typographical, and composition errors adhering to standards and guidelines, Perform root cause analyses of all discovered errors in order to identify areas requiring development or enhancement of training, policy, or procedures,
Adhere to all required company and client driven Service Level Agreements, Perform duties such as maintaining all levels of files, searching and investigating information contained in files, processing departmental documents requiring more specific knowledge of functional operations, and entering report results into tracking systems,
Track progress and provide status report to management on achievement of daily and weekly team goals,
Act as Subject Matter Expert on internal and client projects, making recommendations to these processes,
Able to develop and maintain business relationships with individuals representing other departments and/or representing outside organizations,
Maintain detailed and comprehensive records for all complaints, including error findings, during the complaint investigation process and document corrective actions taken,
EDUCATION
University of North Texas Denton, TX
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) History (Apr 2021) GPA: 3.2
University of North Texas Denton, TX
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Digital and Print Journalism (Apr 2021) GPA: 3.2
Relevant Coursework: Strategic Social Media, Principles of Public Relations, Applied Design for Advertising and Public Relations,
ADDITIONAL SKILLS Microsoft Office MSP Fiserve Black Knight HTML Search Engine Optimization Adobe Suite Oracle ERP BlackLine

11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
When I woke up, I was in such a haze that I couldn’t make out where I was at first. My vision was a blur and all I could hear was the sounds of rushing water. I tried to move my limbs, but each muscle down to my little finger felt like lead weighing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like forever before the ringing in my ear was slowly swallowed out by a voice crying out from what sounded like a distance only to grow louder as it seemed to approach me from the void I had woken up in. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I recognized it was Kate’s voice, pleading and filled with tears.
I blinked away the blur, finding myself staring up at a water damaged ceiling, a single yellow light brightening the room. My head was pounding and my body still felt heavy, but I moved my head enough to turn and see where Kate was calling from. It took a moment, but I soon realized that she was lying on her back, strapped by her arms and legs to a metal table, looking to me with wide terrified eyes.
“Detective, please help!” She cried out. “Please don’t be dead! Please help me!”
“Bl-Black…Well…” I groaned out as I tried, painfully, to pick myself up off the stone floor, “Black…Well… Ah… Shit… Shit! Ms. Blackwell-“ I was gaining consciousness minute by minute as I finally took in the situation and got to my feet. However, the moment I had gotten to my feet and began running to Kate only to immediately fall back to the floor once again, my ankle getting caught by something heavy. I turned to see my ankle had been shackled to the floor by a cuff and chains. I searched my person to find my coat, along with my Glock had been taken, blood decorating my pants and sleeves. I placed a palm to my forehead to find blood when I lowered it down to look at the warm liquid slithering down from my scalp.
“Ms. Blackwell,” I returned my attention to her, examining what I could from my place on the floor, “are you alright, are you hurt?”
“I… I… I don’t… Don’t think so…” she managed to whine out.
“Where’s Mr. Raines?”
To this question, Kate looked away from me, sobbing being her only verbal response.
I went back to the shackles on my ankle and began trying to yank the chains off from the floor, but they had been well maintained and were too strong for me to simply yank out of the stone. I then quickly looked around the room to find we were in a different basement from the one in Cabin #3, though it had the same kind of layout, the table the only major difference. I also took note of the blood stains that trailed from the sides of the table and the dried pools below.
“I want my mom!” Kate cried out, her voice echoing in the empty room.
“I’ll get you to her, I will, I promise,” I assured her, trying to find something, anything to get us out of this, “do you remember how we got down here?”
“I… I… I just re-remember… Remember you g-getting knocked out… Knocked out by someone and them… Them putting a rag over me… Then everything went black… Then I woke… Woke up… H-Here…” Kate answered, trying to breathe with each sob she let out. “I… I th-thought… y-you… You were d-d-… Dead!”
“I’m not, I’m very much alive and I’m going to get you out of here and back to your parents,” I vowed as I continued looking for a way out of this situation, “we’re going to get you out of here, get you home, and we’ll make sure no one ever gets hurt here ever-“
The sound of the basement door from the splintered wooden steps cut me off. I listened as feet descended down the steps to the basement below, Kate’s ragged breaths the only other sound. The person who came down was a woman. The same exact woman from the photo I had found in her house. She looked as if she had not aged since that photo was taken, despite how long ago it seemed the photo was taken. She had the same exact long, white hair, same tired looking eyes, and same disgustingly pale skin as in that photo and on her profile picture. It was Mrs. Larson.
“Deeeeeetectiiiiiiive,” she spoke in a hoarse voice mixed with what I assumed was her own and several others, both male and female, adult and child, “youuuuuuu shouuuullld haaaaaaaaave juuuuuuusssssst giiiiiven herrrrrrr toooooo meeeeee… Youuuuuuuu diiiiiiiiid nooooooot haaaaaave toooooooo ssssssseeeee thiiiiiissssss…”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, beginning to charge at the elderly woman only to be yanked back by my shackles. “Let us go, right now!”
“Nnnnooooo,” Mrs. Larson replied harshly as she stepped over to loom over Kate.
“Stay away from her!” I barked, trying desperately to break free of my shackles.
She ignored me as she ran a shaky hand down along Kate’s trembling face. “Ooooooooohhhhh, Kaaaaaate… Sweeeeet, sweeeeeeeet, Kaaaaaaaaaate…” Mrs. Larson cooed as she went on stroking Kate’s wet cheek. “Doooooo noooooooot crrrrrrryyyyyyy, dooooooonnnnnn’t thiiiiiiiiiinnnnk oooooofff iiiiiiiit aaaaaaaassssss dyyyyyyyyiiiiinnnnng, thiiiiiiiiinnnk ooooooooffff iiiiiiit aaaaaassssss ssssssssaaaaaaaaaviiiiiiinnng aaaaaannnnoooootherrrrrrrrr liiiiiiiiife.”
“I-I… I d-don’t… Don’t under-understand… w-what th-that… That m-means…” Kate cried, her hands gripping the sides of the metal table beneath her, “P-Please, d-don’t… Don’t kill me… L-Let… Let us-us go!”
“Nnnnnoooooo,” Mrs. Larson answered in the same harshness she used on me, “IIIIIIIII neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuuu,” she then shot a death glare my way through tired, silver eyes, “aaaaaaaannnnnnd heeeeeeeeee’ssssssss beeeeeeeeeennnnnn nnnnnnnoooooooothiiiiiiiiinnnnnng buuuuut aaaaaa thooooooorrrrrrnnnn iiiiiiinnnnn myyyyyyyyy ssssssssiiiiiiiide siiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnccccccce youuuuuu eeeeeessssssscaaaaaaped meeeeeeee.” She then looked back to Kate with a softer look. “Aaaaaaaassssss fffffoooooorrrrr whaaaaaaaat youuuuuuu caaaaaannnn’t uuuuuunnnnnnderrrrrrssssssstaaaaaaannnnnnd, IIIIIIIIII nnnnnneeeeeeed yourrrrrrrrrr heaaaaaaaarrrrrt tooooooo ssssssssaaaaaavvvvvvve myyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiisssssssterrrrrrrr.”
“The fuck does that mean?” I demanded, still trying to vain to pull my ankle from the chains. “How the hell will Kate’s heart save your sister?”
“Diiiiiiiiidnnnnnn’t nnnnnnneeeeeeed toooooo beeeee Kaaaaaaate’sssssss,” admitted Mrs. Larson, “buuuuuuuut sssshhhhhheeeeee hiiiiiiiiid theeeeee ooooooootherrrrr giiiiirrrrrrllllll ffffffrrrrroooooommmmm mmmmmeeeeee.”
“S-Son… Sonja…” Kate sniffed, the tears still streaming down her face.
“IIIIIIII oooooooonnnnnlllllyyyyy neeeeed fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllle,” Mrs. Larson dismissed Ms. Greymoore’s name, “ffffffeeeeeeemmmmmaaaaaallllle heaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtsssss toooooo rrrrrrreeeeeetuuuuurrrrrrnnnnn mmmmmmyyyyy ssssiiiiissssssterrrrrrrrr toooooo theeeeeeee giiiiirrrrrllllll ssssshhhhhheeeee uuuuuuuusssssed tooooo beeeeeee.”
“That’s a fucking joke right?” I asked. “The hell makes you think eating a female heart will turn your sister back into a human woman? Have you seen what’s happened to your sister?”
“IIIIIIIII knnnnnnnooooooow beeeeeeecaaaauuuuusssssse iiiiiiiiiiit wooooooorrrrrked ooooooonnnnn mmmmmeeeeee,” Mrs. Larson explained, “IIIIIIIIIII waaaaaasssss aaaaaaablllllllle toooooo reeeeeeetaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn thiiiiiiiiiisssssss huuuuuummmmmmaaaaaannnnn fffffffooooorrrrrrmmmm ffffffrrrrrooooommmm eeeeeaaaaatiiiiiinnnnnng theeeeeeee heaaaaaaaaarrrrrtsssss, sssssspecifffffficaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllleeee sssssssooooooo IIIIIIIIII mmmmmmaaaaaayyyyyy rrrrrreeeeetuuuurrrrrnnnnn toooo beeeeeiiiiinnnng theeeeeeee giiiiiirrrrrrrllllll IIIIIII uuuuuuusssssed toooooooo beeeeeee.”
“You were dead,” I pointed out, “they found your body up here, you were buried.”
“Theeeeeessssssse sssshhhhheeeeeellllllsssss arrrrrrre mmmmmeeeeeerrreeeellllyyy veeeeeessssssellllllssssss ffffffoooooorrrrrr theeeeeeee sssssspiiiiirrrrriiiiiitsssss weeeee hiiiiiiiiiiide beeeeeneeeeaaaaattthhhh,” Mrs. Larson responded, finally turning her gaze to me, “IIIIIIII haaaaaaad tooooooo maaaake peeeopllllle beeeelieevvvve IIIIIII haaaaaad diiiiiiied tooooo keeeeeep frrrrroooommm theeeee poooooollllliiiiicccce ffffrrrrrrooooommmm pooookiiiiiinnnng aaaaarrrrouuuuuunnnnd aaaaannnnnd rrrrruuuiiinnnnniiinnnng eeeevvvveeerrrrryyythiiiiinnnng.”
“So, let me just get this whole thing straight,” I began as I started rubbing my temples, "when you and your sister starting into… Whatever the hell that thing you call your sister is-“
“Ooooouuuurrrrr sssssspiiiiiirrrrrriiiiiit,” Mrs. Larson corrected.
“Whatever!” I shot. “You found out that eating female hearts turns you two back into human women and to keep police from suspecting you, you pretended to be dead and… What? Just hope a shitty real estate agency would buy your property and you could just… Kill people, people with lives and families outside the mountains?”
“Thaaaaaaaat iiiiiiisssss cooooorrrrrreeeeect…” Mrs. Larson admitted, narrowing her eyes at me.
That’s when I began laughing hysterically, holding my sides that hurt with each harsh breath of a laugh I took. Both Mrs. Larson and Kate looked to me as if I had lost my mind and at this point I was starting to believe I had. Everything I had seen and heard about this entire case would put anyone in the looney bin. And I’m the damn fool who dug too deep into something he had nothing to do with.
“Whaaaaaat’s ssssoooo ffffuuunnnny?” Growled Mrs. Larson, stepping around Kate to stand between us.
“I don’t know what’s fucking funnier, honestly,” I chuckled, running a hand through my hair, “the fact that you thing people won’t be poking around even more when they discover not only is Blackwell missing, but so is a detective and escaped convict all of whom now have ties to these fucking mountains and those cabins, or that you thing I’m more afraid of what you plan on doing with me more than I am when her father finds out I got her in this situation in the first place!”
“Heeeeeee wooooonnnnn’t beeeee aaaaabllllle toooooo doooo aaaaaannnnnyyyyythiiiiiinnnng aaaaaaafffffterrrrrrr IIIIIIIII’mmmmm dooooooonnnne wiiiiiiiith booooooth ooooooooffffff youuuuuuuuu,” Mrs. Larson hissed as she inched closer, “fffffffiiiiiiirrrrrrssssst, IIIIIIIII waaaaaannnnnt youuuuuuuu toooo waaaaaatch mmmmmeeeee kiiiiiiillllll herrrrrrr,” she turned her head to look to Kate who was now just shaking, her eyes seemingly gone dry from the crying, Mrs. Larson then looked back to me, “sssssseeeeecooooonnnnd, IIIIIIII wiiiiillllll ssssssaaaaave youuuuu fffffooooorrrr mmmmmmyyyyy sssssiiiiiisssssterrrrr, oooooonnnnne heeeeaaaaart wiiiiilllll nnnnoooot ssssssaaaaaatissssfffffyyyy herrrr huuuuuunnnnnger.” She took another step. “Uuuuuuuunnnnnllllliiiiiike sssssssoooooommmme ssssssiiiiiibllllliiiiiiinnnnnngsssss, IIIIIIIII caaaaaarrrre aaaaaaboooouuuuut mmmmmmyyyyy ffffffaaaammmmiiiiilllllyyyyyy.”
She stared into my eyes, expecting a reaction and while my blood did somewhat boil at the accusatory statement, I didn’t fully understand what she was getting at. Not until she used that voice. Not until she relived that day with those two familiar child-like voices.
“Screw you, Liam!” She cried out in a voice I remember from my childhood. “I hope you drop dead!”
“Stop.” I demanded.
“Piss off, Ryan!” She shot back in a second boy’s voice.
“I said stop!” I began shouting.
“Help me, Ryan! Please, help me! I’m sorry! Please, Lucky Dime, help me!”
I then lunged toward her, reaching my hands out toward her neck only to be stopped by the shackles as she swiftly, almost without even moving, stepped just out of my reach.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed out.
“If only you really cared about me, Lucky Dime,” sighed Mrs. Larson as she turned and began making her way to the side of the room where a cart stood in the shadows. She pulled it over to Kate’s side, the cart covered in rusted medical tools.
“P-Please,” Kate wheezed, “p-p-please… I… I d-d-don’t w-want… Want t-to d-d… D-Die, I… I w-w-want m-m-m… My m-mom!”
“Dooooonnn’t woooorrrrryyyyy,” Mrs. Larson soothed, using that mix of different voices, “mmmmmmaaaayyyyybeeee sheeee wiiiillll cooooommmme loooookinnnng ffffooooorrrr yooouuuuu aaaaannnnnd sheeeeeee caaaaannnnn joooooiiiiiinnnn youuuuuuu.”
Kate began to sob, begging and pleading for Mrs. Larson to let her go, thrashing around in her restraints. Telling the older woman that there was no saving her sister and that she was too far gone for this sick ritual to work anymore. I tried to yank at the chains once more, trying to loosen it at least enough to break free and grab at Mrs. Larson.
“Rrrrrrreeeeellllllaaaaax,” Mrs. Larson ordered as she began filling a syringe with some kind of clear liquid from a small bottle, “yoooouuuuuu woooooonnnn’t eeeeeveeennn fffffeeeellll iiiiiiit, thiiiissssss wiiiiiillllll puuuuuut youuuuu toooo ssssssllllllleeeeeep aaaaaannnnnnd wheeeeeennnnnn youuuuuu waaaaaake uuuuuuuup, youuuuuuu’lllllll beeee iiiiiinnnnnn heeeeeaaaaaaveeeennnnn… Uuuuuunnnnnnnllllllessssss youuuuuuu weeeerrrrrrre aaaaaa haaaaaarrrrrlllllooooooot, iiiiiiinnnnnn whiiiiiiiich caaaaaassssssseeeee, mmmmmaaaayyyy Goooooood haaaaaaaave mmmmmmmmerrrrrrrcccccyyyyy ooooonnnnn youuuuuur ssssssoooouuuuullllll… Aaaaannnnnd baaaaaaasssssed ooooonnnn hoooooow youuuuuu drrrrressss aaaaannnnnd theeeee coooommmmpaaaannnnyyyy youuuuuu keeeeeep,” She added as she eyed me, “IIIIIII ssssssaaaaaayyyy youuuuu haaaaaave aaaaa lllllloooooot ooooooffff fooooooorrrrgiiiiiviiiiinnnnng tooooo dooooo.”
Kate continued to cry as Mrs. Larson pushed the needle of the syringe into her arm, pushing down on the plunger as it pierced the flesh. Kate’s loud screams soon turned quieter and her red eyes began to glaze over, but she continued to stay awake, tightening her grip on the table and still begging to be let go.
“IIIIII waaaaannnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch, Detective,” Mrs. Larson spat out my title in Mr. Blackwell’s voice, “IIIII waaaaannnnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch herrrrrr fffffaaaaaade aaaaaannnnnnd mmmmmeeeee rrrrreeeemmmmooooove heerr heeeaaaarrrrrt toooooo ffffffeeeeeed tooooo mmmmmmyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiissssssterrrrrr,” she then pulled out a recorder, “theeeeennnnnn wheeeeeennnnn IIIIIII ssssssuuuuummmmoooooonnnnn herrrrrrr aaannnnd sheeeee fffffiiiinnnniiiishessssss oooooofffffff heeeerrrrr heeeaaaaarrrrrt, youuuuuuu’llllllll beeeeee neeeeeext.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, “I hope you and your sister burn.”
“IIIIIIIII’mmmmm gooooonnnnnaaaaa gooooo aaaaallllllerrrrrrt mmmmmyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiissssterrrrrr,” Mrs. Larson turned and began making her way to the basement steps, “ssssseeee youuuuu boooooth ffffffoooooorrrr diiiiiinnnnnnerrrrrrr.”
She then pressed the play button on her recorder and a small, little girl’s voice echoed in the room before Mrs. Larson vanished up the steps.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
Then the door slammed shut.
“De… Tec… Tive…” Kate squeaked out, her breathing slowing.
“Stay awake, Blackwell,” I ordered her gently, looking around frantically for anything to get us both out of this alive, “I’ll get us out of this, I promise, just stay awake, we’ll get out of here, I just need-“
“I’m… S… Sorry…” she breathed out. “I’m… So… Sorry… For… Get… Getting… You… In… To.. This…”
“No, no, this is not your fault!” I assured her. “That psychotic bitch got us both into this shit and I won’t stop until I get us out and put her and her fucking sister are six feet under!”
“W…Wha… What… H… Hap… Happened… To… To L… Liam…?”
I stopped struggling with the chains and turned to look to Kate. Her head was turned to me, her face wet, hands clenching as hard as they could to the table beneath her, the light in her eyes slowly fading second by second. She was trying desperately to stay awake. The medication Mrs. Larson taking hold of her as the minutes ticked by.
I dropped the chains that were in my hands, looking away from her, wanting to stare at anything other than another person I had failed.
“He was killed,” I answered, “we were fishing at a lake nearby… Lake Gaagige… We got into a really stupid ass fucking fight about how which fishing pole we were going to use. I wanted to use our dad’s, but Liam was older and said only men could use dad’s fishing pole… I told him… To drop dead and stormed off… When I got home, my parents dragged me back to the lake and scolded me for leaving him…” I trailed off, swallowing all the tears and screams I’d bottled up since that day. “When… We found… Him… The autopsy… Said he was mauled by a bear… I’ve blamed myself for leaving him there alone… For letting him die and getting killed like that… The last thing I ever told him was to drop dead… I was a shitty brother and now I’m a shitty detective…”
“Is… Is he… Why… You became… A… Detective…?”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the tears again. “No, Blackwell,” I answered, “he’s not why I became a detective… I already knew what had killed him… It was my fault… If I hadn’t been such a brat and stormed off… He might still be alive… And now… What that bitch said…” I replayed Liam’s screams that escaped Mrs. Larson’s mouth. “I’m starting to think I’m getting what I deserve. Karma’s back to kick my ass…”
“H… How… Old…?”
“I was six… Liam was eight…”
“N… N… Not your… F… Fault…”
I turned to look to Kate, her eyes on mine, however faded.
“Y… You were… Only… A k… Kid…”
I took another intake of what little air there was down in that basement. I had spent years trying to convince myself of the same thing, but those moments never got easier for me when those thoughts returned.
“I think you’re just being nice,” I laughed painfully, “but I’m afraid I- and my folks- don’t share the same sentiment.”
I was staring down at where the chains were coming from in the ground, Kate not saying a word for over a couple of minutes. I spun to see if she had fallen asleep and immediately tried to find out how to wake her up again. However, once I our eyes met, I saw that she was still fighting sleep, the last of her tears rolling down across the bridge of her nose and into her hair.
“I… I… I had… Had a c… Crush… O… On… J… Jasper…” she confessed, her voice getting quieter and higher. “P… Paul and… And Son… Sonja knew… I never… Never c… Cared f… For Luke… But I’m… Sure… S… Sonja t… Told him…” she looked like she was going to sob again. “I… I never g… Got the… Ch… Chance… T… To tell J… Jasper… I… Was… Scared… He… He and… P… Paul were friends… And I… I kn… Knew… How P… Paul f… Felt… A… About m… Me… I… I did… Didn’t wa… Want to… R… Ruin… Anyth… Anything…” She took a gulp of air. “I… I ha… Hated L… Luke… I… A… Always… Kn… Knew… He… He was a… Player… B… But Sonja… Said… Said she was hap… Happy… So… So I did… Didn’t wa… Want to g… Get in… H… Her way… B… But Luke d… Didn’t l… Like h… How cl… Close… We… Were… I d… Didn’t w… Want him to make… Make her th… Think I… I was l… Leading her o… On… T… To get them… To b… Break up… Th… Then… That n… Night… Sh… She w… Wanted to… To leave…” She let out two pained gasps of breath. “I… I let them down… I let them all down… Luke pro… Probably thought… Thought I w… Was the one who… Who f… Filled Sonja’s mind… With thoughts of… Of him ch… Cheating… Th… Then I… I got them… All killed…
I… I didn’t deserve them, d… Detective…” she went on, looking away from me to stare up at the water damaged ceiling, “I… I… I was a… Terrible… Terrible friend…”
“Did you read their guest book entries?” I asked.
“N… No… D… Didn’t w… Want to… To r… Read any… Anything p… Private…” Kate answered.
“Jasper didn’t blame you,” I assured her, remembering what he had written in his entry during his time watching Mrs. Larson just outside the cabin, “even when he heard the voices- when he heard Mrs. Larson- telling him to, he didn’t. I don’t think the others blamed you either. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ms. Blackwell, there’s no way you could have known any of this would happen.”
“K… Kate…”
“What?”
“C… Call… Call me… Kate…”
“Aright, Kate,” I let out what little laughter I had left inside me, “so long as we’re the last people we’ll be chatting with, call me Ryan.”
“R… Ryan…”
“If we at all live through this, I’m going to need a long vacation after this,” I said as I turned to look at my shackles again, looking around myself to try finding anything to Get free since a vacation sounded like something to die for at that moment, “do you know any good vacation spots I can book for the fall?”
“Y… You’re… You’re a… Dick…” Kate struggled to laugh.
“I also enjoy pineapple on pizza,” I winked as I reached down to my ankle, ready to break it just to taste that sweet combination of tomato sauce and fruit.
“G… God… I… I c… Can’t… Believe… I th… Thought y… You w… Were c… Cute…”
I sat down on the floor, grabbing my ankle with both my hands. Needing to hype myself up enough to do what I was going to do, I began removing my shoe and sock from the foot, rubbing and squeezing my way up and down the ankle to my toes. I had never broken a bone in my life before this and I definitely never thought I’d do it of my own volition, but this was a desperate time and it definitely called for desperate…
“Wait what?” I turned to look to Kate, finally registering what she had said.
However, just before I could be sure of what I heard, the sound of a hunting rifle going off just above our heads right before we heard the door to the basement swing open and immediately be slammed shut. Both Kate and I turned to see someone stumble down the wooden steps, his clothes torn and body scratched and cut to a nearly deadly degree. I was even shocked he was still breathing.
“M… Mr… R… Raines…?” Kate gasped out.
“What’s left of me at least,” Mr. Raines grumbled as he limped over to Kate and quickly began undoing her straps to the table, “damn thing almost ripped my head off, but one swing of the barrel to its eye and I was able to get away… Can’t say it didn’t do its damage though… I’m… Getting really fucking hungry…”
He shook his head violently before limping over to me. He then raised an eyebrow at me when he saw how I was positioned still on the floor with a bare foot in my hands shackled to the floor.
“I… I was… I… I thought you were-“ I stammered.
“I am,” Mr. Raines interrupted, “at least, I’m on my way there anyway.” He then retrieved my Glock from his back pocket. “I don’t know what that thing did to me, but I’m not gonna make it out of this alive, or the way I came in. It’s a massacre out there by the way. Lot of men in blue bodies out there… Very… Hard to ignore… Sure more will be on their way. So.”
With that, Mr. Raines pointed at my chains and pulled the trigger on my clock, barely giving me time to cover my ears as the sound rung out loudly in the basement. I shook my head, trying to undo the blurry and ringing side effects of the sound of a gun going off near your head. I gave the older man a glare before standing and snatching my Glock from his hands. That’s when I saw Kate shifting herself to the side of the metal table she was no longer tied to, trying to get her limbs to comply with her to help her off and on to the floor.
I ran over and grabbed her just as she nearly stumbled face first to the floor and lifted her up to her feet, her body heavy with lack of keeping herself up.
“Do you think you can walk?” I asked, trying to keep her on her feet.
“I… I don’t… I…” Kate stammered as she tried to push herself off of me while also using using me as a crutch until she could stand on her own. However, she didn’t seem to be able to put any kind of pressure on her legs without falling down.
“Kate?” A girl’s voice called out from above us.
Feeling Kate shudder, I realized that it must have been the sound of Sonja’s voice and Mrs. Larson was using her to keep Kate from running. I quickly swung my arm down behind her knees, pressing the other down on her back as I lifted her up off the floor, my Glock at the ready as I kept it pointed in front of me while my arm held up Kate’s knees.
“She must have heard the gunshots,” I pointed out, “how’d you get past her in the first place?”
“I set the other cabins on fire,” Mr. Raines answered as if it were the simplest of answers, “I had to distract her somehow and give those bodies she’d been eating a better fate than becoming her shit.”
“Are you planning on setting this place on fire too?” I asked.
“‘Course I am!” Mr. Raines exclaimed, seemingly offended I’d even ask. “I already doused it in gasoline, I ain’t wasting all that time!”
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice cried out, getting closer to the basement door. “Are you seriously leaving me here to die alone again!”
“Please… Make it… Stop…” Kate sniffed as she gripped my shirt and burying her face into the fabric.
“Let’s get you two out of here.” Mr. Raines began leading the way to the basement stairs, cocking his rifle as he did so.
“What about you?” I asked, immediately following after him.
Mr. Raines didn’t answer as he stomped up the stairs and kicked the door open to the first floor of the cabin. The stench of the gasoline he had spilled hitting me harshly in my face.
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice, along with a different crescendo of male voices shrieked out as Mrs. Larson appeared from the corner of the hallway where the basement was located.
“Leighton?” A different woman’s voice asked the moment the old woman’s eyes spotted Mr. Raines. I then watched in both shock and confusion as it almost looked like the very skin on the woman melted off to reveal a much younger woman. The woman I recognized as Bonnie Collins. “Leighton… Love is that you?”
Mr. Raines kept his rifle on the vision of the woman he once loved before her murder, but didn’t move or speak.
“Darling, I’ve missed you so much!” The fake Bonnie cried out as she began making her way to Mr. Raines with arms open wide to hug him.
Mr. Raines then lifted his gun up higher, placing his finger on the trigger which caused the vision to stop in her place.
“Leighton?” The fake Bonnie asked. “Baby, it’s me… Bun-Bun… Don’t you recognize me…?” She began to tear up.
“You’re not my Bunny,” Mr. Raines growled before he shot once at the woman.
The fake Bonnie swiftly dodged the bullet, an inhuman hiss coming from an unhinged mouth, revealing a row of long, sharp teeth. The skin of Bonnie then melted off to reveal another woman, a lot younger than the first one it intimidated. The face of one of the victims upon being brought on this case.
“Kate,” the fake Sonja called out, “Kate, what are you doing? Who are these men? Why are they trying to hurt me?”
Kate let out a sobbing gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder with her arm wrapped around my neck.
“Didn’t I suffer enough?” The fake Sonja asked. “First my boyfriend and now you? Why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”
“Shut up!” Kate demanded. “You’re not Sonja! You killed her, you killed all of them! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not letting their memories end with you!”
Kate then snatched my Glock from my hand under her legs and shot directly at the fake Sonja’s head. Again the shot missed as the fake vision of the girl slithered out of the way, a frustrated growl of a dog and human escaping it’s mouth. It then zipped to the side, cowering with its back to us on the floor.
“Lucky dime…” A child’s voice then took over. The vision’s skin melting now to a much smaller figure. “Is this what you want? To kill me all over again?” He turned to look up at me, Liam’s face forever eight-years-old staring up at me. “It’s no wonder mommy and daddy hate you now… You were always a shitty brother… Now, I’m gonna starve to death because you’d rather help a couple of strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I replied, everyone, including the fake Liam looking to me in surprise, “I left you alone out here and that’s what got you killed by that thing out there and I’m sorry. But, if I’d stayed it may have been both of us and then mom and dad would have no one left to blame but each other. If you had left and I was the one killed, you’d probably be in my shoes instead. I’m sorry for letting you get killed, but I’m gonna make up for it now.”
I then took my Glock back from Kate and pointed it to the vision of Liam.
“Good bye, Liam.”
I shot the gun once again, missing the creature again, however, this time I just kept shooting, Mr. Raines following after. Our different bullets just kept firing, the thing dodging and trying to get closer to us. The creature screeched out at us in a myriad of different voices both familiar and unknown. It wasn’t until one shot from my Glock struck the creatures shoulder and Mr. Raines’ rifle struck its head when the skins of everyone it was trying to turn into all melted off, revealing Mrs. Larson once again.
However, this time, she looked shriveled, older than she looked before. Her face looked deformed, beginning to grow furry, her eyes growing nothing but red, no irises, no pupils, just red. Her hair grew longer, branches like antlers growing painfully out from her skull, breaking the skin as they grew larger. The lower half of her face grew elongated, turning into that of a muzzle of fangs and a drooling mouth.
“You… All… Have no rrrrrrriiiiiight!” A different, unknown voice snarled out from what used to be Mrs. Larson. “People liiiiiike you all… Abandoned me and myyyyyyyyy sister!” The fur growing around this thing grew out short and shaggy, the cloths it was using melting off with the skin and flesh it was wearing. It now didn’t look anything like a human woman. It now took the form of a large wolf mixed with that of a deer, it’s body dog-like with hooves, antlers, and a long, scraggly tail. “You lot abandoned us here! You left us all here to diiiiiiiie!”
Guilt was weighing down on me with each syllable it was growling. Kate looked away from it, burying her face in my neck as Mr. Raines lowered his rifle.
“Nooooow, you’re bringing more here to just leave and let die out here!” It went on, it’s horrifying, broken body shuddering. “Why let them just vanish and die up here when they can bring people like my sister and I back? Give me Kate’s heart and fix what you threeeeeeeeee failed!”
Mr. Raines then handed over his rifle to Kate, placing it down on her stomach as her hands were still wrapped around my neck. The older man made his way over to stand over the thing, its neck creaking like a rusted door as it turned its wolf-like head to look up at him.
“Leighton…” Bonnie’s voice came from the creature. “Give mmmmeeeee her heart aaaannnnd we can be togetherrrrr again… If you eat the deeeeeetective’s we can saaaaaave you tooooooo…”
“My Bunny’s dead,” Mr. Raines told it as he dug in his pocket and took out a carton of matches, “and so am I.”
“You’d burn your wife?” A mix of Bonnie and Mrs. Larson’s voices shrieked as it glared at the match he took from the match box.
“You’re not my wife,” Mr. Raines told it, “and I’ll never see her again.”
“Fooooooool,” Mr. Larson’s voice chuckled, “you’llllllll killllllll us both!”
“With the shit I’ve done in my life, I know you’re taking me to Hell with you,” Mr. Raines growled back as he struck the match on the box, “so I’m sure as fuck not afraid to burn here on Earth with you!”
Mr. Raines then dropped the match to the floor right before the creature and everything around the two of them immediately went up in flames, the fur of the creature catching quickly and engulfing it. An agonized shriek echoed out all around us, the creature thrashing in the fire it had gotten swallowed up in. Mr. Raines then grabbed it by it’s long, furry throat and swung it down back flat the floor, jumping to pin it down.
“Get out!” Mr. Raines cried out to me. “Leave here!”
Not needing to be told twice, I held onto Kate tightly and bolted past the two burning bodies, jumping over the fire as it began growing fast throughout the cabin. I quickly got to the front door and stopped to look back to see Mr. Raines fighting the creature and preventing it from coming after us, it begging for me to bring Kate back and that it would die without her.
“I’ll clear your name,” I called back, trying not to reel back in horror as I saw Mr. Raines skin begin to melt off, “I’ll let people know you didn’t kill Bonnie!”
“I’ll let people know you didn’t… Kill… Liam!” Mr. Raines’ voice called back, him thrashing around with Mrs. Larson as he said my brother’s name in my voice.
I turned back and kicked the front door open, rushing Kate out of the burning cabin. I ran until I got far enough from the smoke, turning back to see all three cabins now on fire, the area around them all ablaze. The only place untouched was Mrs. Larson’s house, all the evidence remaining. I could hear sirens in the distance coming closer. The sounds of shouts from the surviving officers sounding much closer.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
I looked to the front porch of Mrs. Larson’s house where her recorder continued to call out for her sister. I set Kate down at the base of a nearby tree and ran to snatch the recorder, shutting it off. I searched around, looking for any signs of Prudence, but it appeared that the fire and the sounds of sirens and voices had scared her off. I ran back to Kate, her eyes closed and her not responding to me calling to her, but after checking her pulse and breathing, I found that the medication Mrs. Larson had given her had finally taken over and she was now fast asleep, the rifle Mr. Raines gave her still sitting on her rhythmically rising and falling stomach.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I leaned against the same tree I set Kate down on and slid down to the ground next to her. The first two cabins were already practically nothing but ash, the last still blazing as I heard the slowly fading screams of Mrs. Larson and Mr. Raines coming from inside.
When the screaming ended all together, the smoke turning blacker as it rose from the flames, I got to my feet and took out my pack of cigarettes as I approached the fires, staying far enough away not to get burned. I opened the pack up before stopping myself as I reached for one of the ten remaining cigarettes inside. I then flung the entire carton into the fires without taking one.
“Save one for me down there, you old bastard,” I told Mr. Raines before making my way back to Kate’s side.
It wasn’t long before the remaining officers found us, looking in confusion at the fires and to me with a sleeping victim in a homicide case on the ground. I told them we’d need to call an ambulance for Kate and that we needed to keep the flames from getting to Mrs. Larson’s house as it held evidence on the case. One officer retrieved his radio and called for an ambulance while a group ran to the house and another went to try controlling the fire as best they could by yanking out any bushes near by and throwing them away from the area around the house.
Luckily, the fire trucks were called long before the fire spread too far, residence noticing it practically the moment Mr. Raines set the first cabin on fire.
As I sat there, keeping Kate held up against the tree we sat under, I listened to the crackling of the fire, the sirens of fast approaching fire trucks and the ambulance, and the sounds of distance, coyote, almost human, howling.

What is Bhagwa Atheism ?

A hypocritical and privileged form of atheism that is critical against any religion (particularly Islam), but harbours sympathy for his religion in which they were born i.e. Hinduism.

Why is this sympathy?

The answer is simple ...casteism, we shall discuss this later on how this is deeply rooted in caste based privileges that facilitates such thinking. To understand this let me explain from my point of view:

According Marxism, in a feudalist/semi-feudalist/capitalist society there are two types of classes mostly, namely: the Bourgeois (the ruling class who controls the means of production and generates profit from the exploitation of working classes labour power) and The Workers (or Proletariats) (who do not own any means of production and has no power to purchase labour power of others, and they survive solely by selling their own labour power).
These classes emerge only at a certain stage in the development of the productive forces and the social division of labour, when there exists a social surplus of production, which makes it possible for one class to benefit by the expropriation of another. The conflict between classes there begins, founded in the division of the social surplus, and constitutes the fundamental antagonism in all class.

This holds true in case of several capitalist nations such as US, Canada, South Korea, etc. But however in case of India this classification becomes complicated due to yet another form of classification which effectively nullified any form of possible class conflict, 'Casteism'.

What is Casteism in Hinduism ?

Hindu Casteism (from material basis) is a form of hereditary class based on hierarchal order which ensures the flow the capital to the top most caste order and control over modes of production with the help of religious decrees itself.
It's a classification which sets 'permanent classes' based on their 'assigned' modes of production and their position within it's societal superstructures according to their hierarchy set by the 'permanent' ruling classes.
Once you take birth in one of these castes (hereditary classes), you'll be automatically assigned to the forces of production according to the 'order', which you'll do for the rest of your life.
Unlike Class, Casteism severally restricted upward mobility of people belonging to the lower strata of the Caste order, exception being a few handpicked intermediate 'gate keeping' castes loyal to this system. Who were sometimes rewarded by promotion, to become ruling classes itself.

So what changed this ?

Pre-arrival of British colonisation, caste and class were very much indistinguishable. Apart from ruling class there were hand picked bourgeois intermediate classes (vaishya) who were in direct service to the upper caste (sometimes the roles were reversed). The proletarian class (shudra and pariahs) were pretty much same as their european counterparts, lacked capital and hence no control over their means of production, in addition to that they also faced inhumane discrimination because of the caste in which they were born in. Thus were looked down upon as inferior subhumans.
This discriminatory system ensured poverty of the lower caste and prosperity of the top order, despite the lower caste comprising 90% of the population, as well as guaranteed cheap labour and exploitation of the working class 'caste'.
However with the introduction of colonial capitalism by Britishers the modes of production of old feudal order 'fused' with it to become a semi-industrial semi-feudal economy. This is when for the first time the European styled working classes began to take shape in India, parallel to hereditary classes that is casteism. This also introduced new bougeois classes within every community irrespective of their caste, but it's topic for another discussion.
Irrespective of the changes the older hereditary classes still affected this new order, those belonging to upper caste still had access to privileged jobs, better positions and capitals, hence were comparatively in better & prosperous position to that of those belonging to the lower strata of the older caste based order. With the introduction of 'English Education Act 1835' and later 'Macaulay Committee 1854' by Britishers, it further cemented caste order within this new colonial administration, ensuring the hierarchy of the upper caste and exploitation of oppressed castes.

Privileged classes and Caste blind class struggle

In words of Thomas Babington Macaulay:

"We (Britishers) should try to create a class of people, who would work as translators between the people who we are ruling and us, even though they may look like Indians by color; but their likes and dislikes, morals and thinking will be like an Englishman"

As, we can see the British were ok with the casteism as long as it ensured their hold and smooth management of their empire. Sure they helped abolishing the gut wrenching misogynistic practices such as 'Sati' but made almost zero effort to abolish caste system and untouchability (as this would mean they'll loose insubordination of intermediate 'gate keeping' classes that were in service to the British crown.
This new Intermediate urban classes had privileges to several rights within colonial administration in comparison to ordinary classes, however as we have mentioned earlier that with the introduction of colonial capitalism majority of castes further split into binary classes, economically forward and backward classes (note : this was only in case of upper and intermediate castes, majority of oppressed castes were still under poverty). The economically forward classes were infact the privileged classes and the economically backward classes began to fall in the borderline category between Upper-intermediate castes and Lower castes.
And this where 'caste blind' atheism, secularism, and socialism originates from. Who saw capitalism as well as colonialism as cruel system/occupation with respect to their material conditions but failed to emancipate and recognise inhumane treatment faced by those below their classes.
But does this mean that they were barred same as oppressed communities in upward mobility within this colonial capitalism?
No, They still had access to capitalist progress and upward mobility within the society. Simply put,

Casteism filtered oppressed castes from upward mobility within this new capitalist order while capitalism ensured that there will be limited progressiveness within the upper caste friendly circles.

So, whenever an economically backward class member transitioned into economically forward class they carried out his former progressive social ideas to their new found social position within society, while simultaneously giving up their resistance to capitalism. This new default ideology was known liberalism.
British colonial administration in India had many parallels with Apartheid system, but that is debate for another topic.

Consequences of Caste blindness in other '–isms'

With important positions still in access to powerful 'caste blind' and 'casteist' members of the society, they began to clash for power struggle. But they all had one commonality, they didn't gave up their caste identity.
During independence this power struggle began to materialise in two types of ideologies basically – 'caste blind' Leftism and 'meritocracy' based liberalism/conservativism but non of them were seriously against at each others throat as they were getting equal opportunities for their personal betterment.
But, what did the oppressed caste proletariats gain from this? Nothing.
They only got a chance at betterment when Dr. Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Savitri Bai Phule,etc began to make efforts at upliftment of them. However their efforts lacked anti-capitalist approach which emphasized less on capitalist oppression more on caste based emancipation. Which later proved detrimental in their efforts.

Modern day India and caste based wealth inequality

After the ( ½) implementation of Mandal Commission and Naxal Uprising, it began to perturb this harmonic 'clash' between conservatives and progressive left-liberal dynamics as it began to inject more and more political conciousness within the oppressed communities for reservations and political participation.
This is where the concept of savarna meritocracy, comes forth.

Illusion of Meritocracy

Meritocracy is a belief that affirmative actions results in positive results and vise versa in reality is a capitalist hypothesis, a fallacy which fuels the illusion that we are in a merit-based system.

Meritocracies tend to stratify over time. Successful people will pass on their wealth and privileges to their children and can perpetuate a widening inequality of opportunities. It can lead to the misplaced belief that only their talents and hard work account for their success, neglecting the support they have received. — Chan Chun Sing, Min. of Education, Singapore

This meritocratic illusion began to impose predetermined conditions which were biased and opaque on underprivileged candidates, missing to match their criterion in fixed amount of time means ruining of candidate's dreams. In other words it was an underhand tactics to filter out 'representation based/unfavourable candidates' and simply stereotyping them as 'unworthy', disregarding the unequal support the competing candidates got due to their material conditions and pretends that they 'reward the best of the best,' also overlooking the possibility of discrimination faced by oppressed caste students at hands of Upper caste dominant faculties.

After 1960 more and more population of the United States spent more than one-fourth of their entire lifetime in schools, from ages two to twenty-two. As on so many other levels and ways of mass democracy, inflation had set in, diminishing drastically the content and the quality of learning: more and more young people, after twenty years in schools, could not read or write without difficulty. Schools are overcrowded, including colleges and universities. In this increasingly bureaucratized world little more than the possession of various diplomas mattered. Since admission to certain schools-rather than the consequently almost automatic acquisition of degrees-depended on increasingly competitive examinations, the word “ meritocracy“ was coined, meaning that the rising positions to be acquired in society depended on the category of the degree and on the category of the college or university where from one graduate. In reality the term “meritocracy“ was misleading. As in so many of these spheres of life, the rules that govern the practices and functions of schools and universities were bureaucratic rather than meritocratic. It is bureaucracy, not meritocracy, the categorizes the employment of people by their academic degrees. The number and the variation of degrees awarded by higher institutions grew to a fantastic, and nonsensical, extent. Besides being custodial, the purpose of institutional education was now the granting of degrees to provide instant employment. – John Lukacs (At the End of an Age)

Final Conclusion

Provided all factors what we can conclude that Bhagwa Atheism, is form of Hindu upper caste exceptionalism (Agonistic Atheism) which believes in:
•the illusionary meritocracy that their material conditions is due to the (upper) caste in which they were born in.
•hating all religious dogma belonging to all faiths (including hinduism) but still hold dear to their caste based identity, hence the sympathy for hinduism.
•merit based order, refuses to acknowledge caste discrimination and caste wealth gap, sees it as inherited inability.
•convenient switching between Atheism and minimal Hinduism.
•convenient switching between liberalism and conservativism.
Thus, it's a type of agonistic atheism which does more & more damage to gnostic atheist beliefs and their critical thinking potential, making them more and more susceptible towards theism. In case of ex-hindus it's hinduism.

 ---- Minecraft Crash Report ---- // You should try our sister game, Minceraft! Time: 2024-06-01 06:30:21 Description: mouseClicked event handler java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: 'net.minecraft.class_339 net.minecraft.class_442.method_25411(net.minecraft.class_339)' at net.minecraft.class_442.handler$dom000$gbfabrictools$addConfigScreen(class_442.java:1530) at net.minecraft.class_442.method_25426(class_442.java:156) at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25423(class_437.java:297) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1507(class_310.java:1080) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_49296(class_8032.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_25419(class_8032.java:90) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_48639(class_8032.java:74) at net.minecraft.class_4185.method_25306(class_4185.java:94) at net.minecraft.class_4264.method_25348(class_4264.java:56) at net.minecraft.class_339.method_25402(class_339.java:189) at net.minecraft.class_4069.method_25402(class_4069.java:38) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1611(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25412(class_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1601(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22686(class_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class_1255.execute(class_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22684(class_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwPollEvents(GLFW.java:3403) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.pollEvents(RenderSystem.java:201) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.flipFrame(RenderSystem.java:219) at net.minecraft.class_1041.method_15998(class_1041.java:288) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1523(class_310.java:1241) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1514(class_310.java:802) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Head -- Thread: Render thread Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.class_442.handler$dom000$gbfabrictools$addConfigScreen(class_442.java:1530) at net.minecraft.class_442.method_25426(class_442.java:156) at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25423(class_437.java:297) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1507(class_310.java:1080) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_49296(class_8032.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_25419(class_8032.java:90) at net.minecraft.class_8032.method_48639(class_8032.java:74) at net.minecraft.class_4185.method_25306(class_4185.java:94) at net.minecraft.class_4264.method_25348(class_4264.java:56) at net.minecraft.class_339.method_25402(class_339.java:189) at net.minecraft.class_4069.method_25402(class_4069.java:38) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1611(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25412(class_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1601(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22686(class_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class_1255.execute(class_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22684(class_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwPollEvents(GLFW.java:3403) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.pollEvents(RenderSystem.java:201) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.flipFrame(RenderSystem.java:219) -- Affected screen -- Details: Screen name: net.minecraft.class_8032 Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.class_437.method_25412(class_437.java:409) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_1601(class_312.java:98) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22686(class_312.java:169) at net.minecraft.class_1255.execute(class_1255.java:102) at net.minecraft.class_312.method_22684(class_312.java:169) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.callback(GLFWMouseButtonCallbackI.java:43) at org.lwjgl.system.JNI.invokeV(Native Method) at org.lwjgl.glfw.GLFW.glfwPollEvents(GLFW.java:3403) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.pollEvents(RenderSystem.java:201) at com.mojang.blaze3d.systems.RenderSystem.flipFrame(RenderSystem.java:219) at net.minecraft.class_1041.method_15998(class_1041.java:288) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1523(class_310.java:1241) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1514(class_310.java:802) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) -- Last reload -- Details: Reload number: 1 Reload reason: initial Finished: Yes Packs: vanilla, fabric, Moonlight Mods Dynamic Assets, Essential Assets, essential Stacktrace: at net.minecraft.class_6360.method_36565(class_6360.java:49) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1587(class_310.java:2413) at net.minecraft.class_310.method_1514(class_310.java:821) at net.minecraft.client.main.Main.main(Main.java:250) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.game.minecraft.MinecraftGameProvider.launch(MinecraftGameProvider.java:470) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.Knot.launch(Knot.java:74) at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClient.main(KnotClient.java:23) -- System Details -- Details: Minecraft Version: 1.20.1 Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.1 Operating System: Windows 11 (amd64) version 10.0 Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft Memory: 16734346176 bytes (15959 MiB) / 24092082176 bytes (22976 MiB) up to 40869298176 bytes (38976 MiB) CPUs: 16 Processor Vendor: AuthenticAMD Processor Name: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor Identifier: AuthenticAMD Family 25 Model 33 Stepping 2 Microarchitecture: Zen 3 Frequency (GHz): 4.20 Number of physical packages: 1 Number of physical CPUs: 8 Number of logical CPUs: 16 Graphics card #0 name: Virtual Desktop Monitor Graphics card #0 vendor: Virtual Desktop, Inc. Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 0.00 Graphics card #0 deviceId: unknown Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=10.54.50.446 Graphics card #1 name: Parsec Virtual Display Adapter Graphics card #1 vendor: Parsec Cloud, Inc. Graphics card #1 VRAM (MB): 0.00 Graphics card #1 deviceId: unknown Graphics card #1 versionInfo: DriverVersion=0.45.0.0 Graphics card #2 name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Graphics card #2 vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de) Graphics card #2 VRAM (MB): 24095.00 Graphics card #2 deviceId: 0x2684 Graphics card #2 versionInfo: DriverVersion=32.0.15.5585 Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #0 type: DDR4 Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #1 type: DDR4 Memory slot #2 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #2 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #2 type: DDR4 Memory slot #3 capacity (MB): 16384.00 Memory slot #3 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.60 Memory slot #3 type: DDR4 Virtual memory max (MB): 85532.29 Virtual memory used (MB): 51955.71 Swap memory total (MB): 20096.00 Swap memory used (MB): 74.20 JVM Flags: 4 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance_javaw.exe_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx38976m -Xms256m Fabric Mods: ad_astra: Ad Astra 1.15.5 ad_astra_giselle_addon: Ad Astra: Giselle Addon 5.6 additionallanterns: Additional Lanterns 1.1.1a advancednetherite: Advanced Netherite 2.1.0-1.20.1 adventurez: AdventureZ 1.4.20 alloy_forgery: Alloy Forgery 2.1.2+1.20 another_furniture: Another Furniture 1.20.1-3.0.1 appleskin: AppleSkin 2.5.1+mc1.20 archers: Archers (RPG Series) 1.2.1+1.20.1 com_github_zsoltmolnarrr_tinyconfig: TinyConfig 2.3.2 structure_pool_api: Structure Pool API 1.0+1.20.1 architectury: Architectury 9.2.14 archon: Archon 0.6.2 cardinal-components-base: Cardinal Components API (base) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-entity: Cardinal Components API (entities) 5.2.2 saflib: SafLib 1.1.0 artifacts: Artifacts 9.5.7 expandability: ExpandAbility 9.0.4 step-height-entity-attribute: Step Height Entity Attribute 1.2.0 attributefix: AttributeFix 21.0.4 azurelibarmor: AzureLib Armor 2.0.3 backpacked: Backpacked 3.0.0-beta.2 mm: Manningham Mills 2.3 bcc: BetterCompatibilityChecker 4.0.8 bclib: BCLib 3.0.14 wunderlib: WunderLib 1.1.5 beaconoverhaul: Beacon Overhaul 1.8.4+1.20 reach-entity-attributes: Reach Entity Attributes 2.4.0 betterdeserttemples: YUNG's Better Desert Temples 1.20-Fabric-3.0.3 org_reflections_reflections: reflections 0.10.2 betterdungeons: YUNG's Better Dungeons 1.20-Fabric-4.0.4 betterend: Better End 4.0.11 betterendisland: YUNG's Better End Island 1.20-Fabric-2.0.6 betterfortresses: YUNG's Better Nether Fortresses 1.20-Fabric-2.0.6 bettermineshafts: YUNG's Better Mineshafts 1.20-Fabric-4.0.4 betternether: Better Nether 9.0.10 betteroceanmonuments: YUNG's Better Ocean Monuments 1.20-Fabric-3.0.4 betterstrongholds: YUNG's Better Strongholds 1.20-Fabric-4.0.3 betterthirdperson: Better Third Person 1.9.0 betterwitchhuts: YUNG's Better Witch Huts 1.20-Fabric-3.0.3 biomemusic: Biome Music Mod 1.20.1-2.3 blur: Blur (Fabric) 3.1.0 midnightlib: MidnightLib 1.4.1 satin: Satin 1.13.0 bookshelf: Bookshelf 20.1.10 bosses_of_mass_destruction: Bosses of Mass Destruction (Beta) 1.7.5-1.20.1 maelstrom_library: Maelstrom Library 1.6.1-1.20 multipart_entities: MultipartEntities 1.5-1.20 botanypots: BotanyPots 13.0.33 botanytrees: BotanyTrees 9.0.11 botarium: Botarium 2.3.3 team_reborn_energy: Energy 3.0.0 bountiful: Bountiful 6.0.3+1.20.1 cardinal-components: Cardinal Components API 5.2.2 cardinal-components-block: Cardinal Components API (blocks) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-chunk: Cardinal Components API (chunks) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-item: Cardinal Components API (items) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-level: Cardinal Components API (world saves) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-scoreboard: Cardinal Components API (scoreboard) 5.2.2 cardinal-components-world: Cardinal Components API (worlds) 5.2.2 charmofundying: Charm of Undying 6.5.0+1.20.1 spectrelib: SpectreLib 0.13.15+1.20.1 chefsdelight: Chefs Delight 1.0.3-fabric-1.20.1 chimes: Chimes 2.0.1 cloth-config: Cloth Config v11 11.1.118 cloth-basic-math: cloth-basic-math 0.6.1 clumps: Clumps 12.0.0.4 collective: Collective 7.61 combatroll: Combat Roll 1.3.2+1.20.1 comforts: Comforts 6.3.5+1.20.1 continuity: Continuity 3.0.0-beta.5+1.20.1 coroutil: CoroUtil 1.20.1-1.3.7 cristellib: Cristel Lib 1.1.5 blue_endless_jankson: jankson 1.2.3 croptopia: Croptopia 3.0.3 ctov: ChoiceTheorem's Overhauled Village 3.4.3 culinaryconstruct: Culinary Construct 5.2.1+1.20.1 cupboard: cupboard 1.20.1-2.6 darkpaintings: DarkPaintings 17.0.4 darkutils: DarkUtilities 17.0.3 decorative_blocks: Decorative Blocks 4.1.3 deeperdarker: Deeper and Darker 1.2.6 customportalapi: Custom Portal Api 0.0.1-beta64-1.20 dimdoors: DimensionalDoors 5.3.5 com_flowpowered_flow-math: flow-math 1.0.3 com_github_dimensionaldevelopment_poly2tri_java: poly2tri.java 0.1.1 org_jgrapht_jgrapht-core: jgrapht-core 1.1.0 distanthorizons: Distant Horizons 2.0.4-a-dev doubledoors: Double Doors 5.7 dragonfight: Dragonfight Mod 1.20.1-4.5 dummmmmmy: MmmMmmMmmMmm 1.20-1.8.17b dungeonnowloading: Dungeon Now Loading 1.5 dungeons_arise: When Dungeons Arise 2.1.58 dungeons_arise_seven_seas: When Dungeons Arise: Seven Seas 1.0.2 durabilitytooltip: Durability Tooltip 1.1.5 dynamictrim: DynamicTrim 1.4.1 mixinsquared: MixinSquared 0.1.1 easymagic: Easy Magic 8.0.1 ecologics: Ecologics 2.2.0 elementa: Elementa 647 elytraslot: Elytra Slot 6.3.0+1.20.1 enchantedlib: Enchanted Lib 0.3.1 enchdesc: EnchantmentDescriptions 17.0.15 endrem: End Remastered 5.2.4 ends_delight: End's Delight refabricated-1.20.1-alpha-1.0 epherolib: EpheroLib 1.2.0 essential: Essential 1.3.2.5+ge4fdbcd438 essential-container: essential-container 1.0.0 essential-loader: essential-loader 1.2.3 everycomp: Every Compat 1.20-2.6.56 porting_lib_tags: Porting Lib Tags 3.0 expandeddelight: Expanded Delight 0.3.1 omega-config: OmegaConfig 1.4.0+1.20.1 explorify: Explorify v1.4.0 fabric-api: Fabric API 0.92.0+1.20.1 fabric-api-base: Fabric API Base 0.4.31+1802ada577 fabric-api-lookup-api-v1: Fabric API Lookup API (v1) 1.6.36+1802ada577 fabric-biome-api-v1: Fabric Biome API (v1) 13.0.13+1802ada577 fabric-block-api-v1: Fabric Block API (v1) 1.0.11+1802ada577 fabric-block-view-api-v2: Fabric BlockView API (v2) 1.0.1+1802ada577 fabric-blockrenderlayer-v1: Fabric BlockRenderLayer Registration (v1) 1.1.41+1802ada577 fabric-client-tags-api-v1: Fabric Client Tags 1.1.2+1802ada577 fabric-command-api-v1: Fabric Command API (v1) 1.2.34+f71b366f77 fabric-command-api-v2: Fabric Command API (v2) 2.2.13+1802ada577 fabric-commands-v0: Fabric Commands (v0) 0.2.51+df3654b377 fabric-containers-v0: Fabric Containers (v0) 0.1.64+df3654b377 fabric-content-registries-v0: Fabric Content Registries (v0) 4.0.11+1802ada577 fabric-convention-tags-v1: Fabric Convention Tags 1.5.5+1802ada577 fabric-crash-report-info-v1: Fabric Crash Report Info (v1) 0.2.19+1802ada577 fabric-data-attachment-api-v1: Fabric Data Attachment API (v1) 1.0.0+de0fd6d177 fabric-data-generation-api-v1: Fabric Data Generation API (v1) 12.3.4+1802ada577 fabric-dimensions-v1: Fabric Dimensions API (v1) 2.1.54+1802ada577 fabric-entity-events-v1: Fabric Entity Events (v1) 1.6.0+1c78457f77 fabric-events-interaction-v0: Fabric Events Interaction (v0) 0.6.2+1802ada577 fabric-events-lifecycle-v0: Fabric Events Lifecycle (v0) 0.2.63+df3654b377 fabric-game-rule-api-v1: Fabric Game Rule API (v1) 1.0.40+1802ada577 fabric-item-api-v1: Fabric Item API (v1) 2.1.28+1802ada577 fabric-item-group-api-v1: Fabric Item Group API (v1) 4.0.12+1802ada577 fabric-key-binding-api-v1: Fabric Key Binding API (v1) 1.0.37+1802ada577 fabric-keybindings-v0: Fabric Key Bindings (v0) 0.2.35+df3654b377 fabric-lifecycle-events-v1: Fabric Lifecycle Events (v1) 2.2.22+1802ada577 fabric-loot-api-v2: Fabric Loot API (v2) 1.2.1+1802ada577 fabric-loot-tables-v1: Fabric Loot Tables (v1) 1.1.45+9e7660c677 fabric-message-api-v1: Fabric Message API (v1) 5.1.9+1802ada577 fabric-mining-level-api-v1: Fabric Mining Level API (v1) 2.1.50+1802ada577 fabric-model-loading-api-v1: Fabric Model Loading API (v1) 1.0.3+1802ada577 fabric-models-v0: Fabric Models (v0) 0.4.2+9386d8a777 fabric-networking-api-v1: Fabric Networking API (v1) 1.3.11+1802ada577 fabric-networking-v0: Fabric Networking (v0) 0.3.51+df3654b377 fabric-object-builder-api-v1: Fabric Object Builder API (v1) 11.1.3+1802ada577 fabric-particles-v1: Fabric Particles (v1) 1.1.2+1802ada577 fabric-recipe-api-v1: Fabric Recipe API (v1) 1.0.21+1802ada577 fabric-registry-sync-v0: Fabric Registry Sync (v0) 2.3.3+1802ada577 fabric-renderer-api-v1: Fabric Renderer API (v1) 3.2.1+1802ada577 fabric-renderer-indigo: Fabric Renderer - Indigo 1.5.1+1802ada577 fabric-renderer-registries-v1: Fabric Renderer Registries (v1) 3.2.46+df3654b377 fabric-rendering-data-attachment-v1: Fabric Rendering Data Attachment (v1) 0.3.37+92a0d36777 fabric-rendering-fluids-v1: Fabric Rendering Fluids (v1) 3.0.28+1802ada577 fabric-rendering-v0: Fabric Rendering (v0) 1.1.49+df3654b377 fabric-rendering-v1: Fabric Rendering (v1) 3.0.8+1802ada577 fabric-resource-conditions-api-v1: Fabric Resource Conditions API (v1) 2.3.8+1802ada577 fabric-resource-loader-v0: Fabric Resource Loader (v0) 0.11.10+1802ada577 fabric-screen-api-v1: Fabric Screen API (v1) 2.0.8+1802ada577 fabric-screen-handler-api-v1: Fabric Screen Handler API (v1) 1.3.30+1802ada577 fabric-sound-api-v1: Fabric Sound API (v1) 1.0.13+1802ada577 fabric-transfer-api-v1: Fabric Transfer API (v1) 3.3.4+1802ada577 fabric-transitive-access-wideners-v1: Fabric Transitive Access Wideners (v1) 4.3.1+1802ada577 fabric-language-kotlin: Fabric Language Kotlin 1.11.0+kotlin.2.0.0 org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-reflect: kotlin-reflect 2.0.0 org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib: kotlin-stdlib 2.0.0 org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib-jdk7: kotlin-stdlib-jdk7 2.0.0 org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib-jdk8: kotlin-stdlib-jdk8 2.0.0 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_atomicfu-jvm: atomicfu-jvm 0.24.0 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm: kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm 1.8.1 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8: kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8 1.8.1 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-datetime-jvm: kotlinx-datetime-jvm 0.6.0 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm 1.6.3 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm 1.6.3 org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm 1.6.3 fabricloader: Fabric Loader 0.15.11 mixinextras: MixinExtras 0.3.5 fallingleaves: Falling Leaves 1.15.6 fallingtree: FallingTree 4.3.4 farmersdelight: Farmer's Delight 1.20.1-2.1.1+refabricated porting_lib_accessors: Porting Lib Accessors 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_base: Porting Lib Base 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_attributes: Porting Lib Attributes 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_common: Porting Lib Common 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_entity: Porting Lib Entity 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_fluids: Porting Lib Fluids 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_mixin_extensions: Porting Lib Mixin Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_transfer: Porting Lib Transfer 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_utility: Porting Lib Utility 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_client_events: Porting Lib Client Events 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_config: Porting Lib Config 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_extensions: Porting Lib Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_lazy_registration: Porting Lib Lazy Register 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_loot: Porting Lib Loot 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_networking: Porting Lib Networking 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_recipe_book_categories: Porting Lib Recipe Book Categories 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_registries: Porting Lib Registries 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_tool_actions: Porting Lib Tool Actions 2.3.4+1.20.1 porting_lib_core: Porting Lib Core 2.3.4+1.20.1 forgeconfigapiport: Forge Config API Port 8.0.0 framework: Framework 0.7.6 com_electronwill_night-config_core: core 3.6.6 com_electronwill_night-config_toml: toml 3.6.6 org_javassist_javassist: javassist 3.29.2-GA friendsandfoes: Friends&Foes 2.0.10 geckolib: GeckoLib 4 4.4.2 com_eliotlash_mclib_mclib: mclib 20 geophilic: Geophilic v2.2.0-mc1.20u1.20.2 goblintraders: Goblin Traders 1.9.3 graveyard: The Graveyard 3.0 guardvillagers: GuardVillagers 2.0.9-1.20.1 handcrafted: Handcrafted 3.0.6 hybrid-aquatic: Hybrid Aquatic 1.3.2 iceberg: Iceberg 1.1.18 illagerinvasion: Illager Invasion 8.0.5 extensibleenums: Extensible Enums 7.0.1 immediatelyfast: ImmediatelyFast 1.2.16+1.20.4 net_lenni0451_reflect: Reflect 1.3.3 immersive_aircraft: Immersive Aircraft 1.0.1+1.20.1 org_mariuszgromada_math_mathparser_org-mxparser: MathParser.org-mXparser 5.2.1 immersive_armors: Immersive Armors 1.6.1+1.20.1 incendium: Incendium 5.3.5 indium: Indium 1.0.30+mc1.20.4 inventorysorter: Inventory Sorter 1.9.0-1.20 kyrptconfig: Kyrpt Config 1.5.6-1.20 iris: Iris 1.7.0+mc1.20.1 io_github_douira_glsl-transformer: glsl-transformer 2.0.0-pre13 org_anarres_jcpp: jcpp 1.4.14 org_antlr_antlr4-runtime: antlr4-runtime 4.11.1 itemborders: Item Borders 1.2.2 jade: Jade 11.8.0 jamlib: JamLib 0.6.1+1.20.x java: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 17 jei: Just Enough Items 15.3.0.4 justenoughbreeding: Just Enough Breeding 1.2.1 justenoughprofessions: Just Enough Professions (JEP) 3.0.1 kambrik: Kambrik 6.1.1+1.20.1 kotori316_version_checker: ForgeLikeVersionChecker 2.4.0 kotori_scala: Scalable Cat's Force Fabric 2.2.0 org_scala-lang_scala-library: scala-library 2.13.12 org_scala-lang_scala3-library_3: scala3-library_3 3.3.1 org_typelevel_cats-core_3: cats-core_3 2.10.0-kotori org_typelevel_cats-free_3: cats-free_3 2.10.0-kotori org_typelevel_cats-kernel_3: cats-kernel_3 2.10.0-kotori lavender: Lavender 0.1.9+1.20 lavender-md: lavender-md 0.1.1+1.20 lavender-md-owo-ui: lavender-md-owo-ui 0.1.1+1.20 leavesbegone: Leaves Be Gone 8.0.0 lootintegrations: Loot integration Mod 1.20.1-3.7 lootr: Lootr 0.7.33.81 magistuarmory: Epic Knights Mod 9.8 magnumtorch: Magnum Torch 8.0.2 majruszlibrary: Majrusz Library 7.0.8 majruszsaccessories: Majrusz's Accessories 1.5.3 majruszsdifficulty: Majrusz's Progressive Difficulty 1.9.10 mcdar: MC Dungeons Artifacts 4.0.3 mcdw: MC Dungeons Weapons 9.0.4 mcwfences: Macaw's Fences and Walls 1.1.1 mcwfurnitures: Macaw's Furniture 3.2.2 mcwlights: Macaw's Lights and Lamps 1.0.6 mcwpaintings: Macaw's Paintings 1.0.5 mcwpaths: Macaw's Paths and Pavings 1.0.5 mcwroofs: Macaw's Roofs 2.3.0 mcwtrpdoors: Macaw's Trapdoors 1.1.3 mcwwindows: Macaw's Windows 2.2.1 mes: Moog's End Structures 1.3.1-1.20-fabric minecraft: Minecraft 1.20.1 mobsunscreen: Mob Sunscreen 3.1.0 modelfix: Model Gap Fix 1.15 moonlight: Moonlight 1.20-2.11.30 more_armor_trims: More Armor Trims 1.2.0 moremobvariants: More Mob Variants 1.3.0.1 moretotems: More Totems 2.16.0 mousetweaks: Mouse Tweaks 2.26 mr_dungeons_andtaverns: Dungeons and Taverns 3.0.3.f mutantmonsters: Mutant Monsters 8.0.7 mvs: Moog's Voyager Structures 4.1.2-1.20-fabric naturalist: Naturalist 4.0.3 netherdepthsupgrade: Nether Depths Upgrade fabric-3.1.6-1.20 nyfsspiders: Nyf's Spiders 2.1.1 oceansdelight: Ocean's Delight fdrf-fabric-1.0.2-1.20 org_jetbrains_annotations: annotations 23.0.0 overloadedarmorbar: Overloaded Armor Bar 1.20.1-2 gbfabrictools: GBfabrictools 1.2.2+1.16 owo: oωo 0.11.2+1.20 paraglider: Paragliders 20.1.3 patchouli: Patchouli 1.20.1-84-FABRIC fiber: fiber 0.23.0-2 phantasm: End's Phantasm 0.3 philipsruins: Philip`s Ruins 1.20.1 pigpen: PigPen 15.0.2 player-animator: Player Animator 1.0.2-rc1+1.20 polymorph: Polymorph 0.49.5+1.20.1 prism: Prism 1.0.5 projectile_damage: Projectile Damage Attribute 3.2.3+1.20.1 puzzleslib: Puzzles Lib 8.1.20 puzzlesaccessapi: Puzzles Access Api 8.0.7 quarryplus: QuarryPlus 20.1.1159 ranged_weapon_api: RangedWeaponAPI 1.1.1+1.20.1 rare-ice: Rare Ice 0.6.0 resourcefulconfig: Resourcefulconfig 2.1.2 resourcefullib: Resourceful Lib 2.1.25 com_teamresourceful_bytecodecs: bytecodecs 1.0.2 com_teamresourceful_yabn: yabn 1.0.3 rightclickharvest: Right Click Harvest 3.2.3+1.19.x-1.20.1-fabric runelic: Runelic 18.0.2 runes: Runes 0.9.11+1.20.1 sawmill: Universal Sawmill 1.20-1.4.1 sdrp: Simple Discord Rich Presence 4.0.3-build.40+mc1.20.1 com_github_jagrosh_discordipc: DiscordIPC a8d6631cc9 com_kohlschutter_junixsocket_junixsocket-common: junixsocket-common 2.6.2 com_kohlschutter_junixsocket_junixsocket-native-common: junixsocket-native-common 2.6.2 org_json_json: json 20210307 simplylight: Simply Light 1.20.1-1.4.5 simplyswords: Simply Swords 1.55.0-1.20.1 spruceui: SpruceUI 5.0.0+1.20 skinlayers3d: 3d-Skin-Layers 1.6.5 smallships: Small Ships 2.0.0-b1.2 smarterfarmers: Smarter Farmers 1.20-1.8.2 sodium: Sodium 0.5.8+mc1.20.1 somanyenchantments: So Many Enchantments Mod 0.4.1 soulsweapons: Marium's Soulslike Weaponry 1.1.3-1.20-fabric sound_physics_remastered: Sound Physics Remastered 1.20.1-1.4.2 spell_engine: Spell Engine 0.14.3+1.20.1 spell_power: Spell Power Attribute 0.10.2+1.20.1 starterkit: Starter Kit 6.7 stoneworks: Stoneworks 8.0.0 structory: Structory 1.3.5 structory_towers: Structory: Towers 1.0.7 structureessentials: Structure Essentials Mod 1.20.1-3.3 supermartijn642configlib: SuperMartijn642's Config Lib 1.1.8+a supermartijn642corelib: SuperMartijn642's Core Lib 1.1.17 supplementaries: Supplementaries 1.20-2.8.11 suppsquared: Supplementaries Squared 1.20-1.1.14 t_and_t: Towns and Towers 1.12 terralith: Terralith 2.5.1 things: Things 0.3.3+1.20 totw_additions: Towers of the Wild: Additions 1.3 totw_modded: Towers Of The Wild: Modded fabric-1.20.1-1.0.5 trashcans: Trash Cans 1.0.18 travelersbackpack: Traveler's Backpack fabric-1.20.1-9.1.13 travelerstitles: Traveler's Titles 1.20-Fabric-4.0.2 treeharvester: Tree Harvester 8.7 trimeffects: Trim Effects 1.1.1-fabric trinkets: Trinkets 3.7.2 twigs: Twigs 3.1.0 universalcraft: UniversalCraft 337 veinmining: Vein Mining 1.4.1+1.20.1 vigilance: Vigilance 297 villagernames: Villager Names 7.3 villagersplus: Villagers Plus 3.1 villagesandpillages: Villages&Pillages 1.0.0 villagespawnpoint: Village Spawn Point 4.2 visuality: Visuality 0.7.1+1.20 visualworkbench: Visual Workbench 8.0.0 watut: What Are They Up To 1.20.1-1.1.1 weaponmaster: YDM's Weapon Master 3.0.5 wirelesschargers: Wireless Chargers 1.0.9+a wizards: Wizards (RPG Series) 1.2.0+1.20.1 yeetusexperimentus: Yeetus Experimentus 2.3.1-build.6+mc1.20.1 yet_another_config_lib_v3: YetAnotherConfigLib 3.4.4+1.20.1-fabric com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-image: common-image 3.10.0 com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-io: common-io 3.10.0 com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-lang: common-lang 3.10.0 com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-core: imageio-core 3.10.0 com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-metadata: imageio-metadata 3.10.0 com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-webp: imageio-webp 3.10.0 org_quiltmc_parsers_gson: gson 0.2.1 org_quiltmc_parsers_json: json 0.2.1 yigd: You're in Grave Danger 2.0.0-beta.13 fabric-permissions-api-v0: fabric-permissions-api 0.2-SNAPSHOT libgui: LibGui 8.1.1+1.20.1 jankson: Jankson 6.0.0+j1.2.3 libninepatch: LibNinePatch 1.2.0 yungsapi: YUNG's API 1.20-Fabric-4.0.5 yungsbridges: YUNG's Bridges 1.20-Fabric-4.0.3 yungsextras: YUNG's Extras 1.20-Fabric-4.0.3 Loaded Shaderpack: (off) Launched Version: fabric-loader-0.15.11-1.20.1 Backend library: LWJGL version 3.3.1 SNAPSHOT Backend API: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090/PCIe/SSE2 GL version 3.2.0 NVIDIA 555.85, NVIDIA Corporation Window size: 1024x768 GL Caps: Using framebuffer using OpenGL 3.2 GL debug messages: Using VBOs: Yes Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'fabric' Type: Client (map_client.txt) Graphics mode: fancy Resource Packs: fabric Current Language: en_us CPU: 16x AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-Core Processor 

I normally play on Forge, but I gave Fabric a try and ended up getting back handed with this lmao

Good Morning Patriots
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Free place to chat and a good place to discuss whatever you like with other sub users
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2024 Opponents Set.

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Patriots front office tracker

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Meet New England’s 2024 Rookie Class.

Patriots updated depth chart

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New England Patriots News Catchup Links - OTA observations: Solid day for young rookies; QB throwdown

• Evan Lazar shares five observations as rookie QB Drake Maye and WR Javon Baker impress in second open OTA practice. 1. A ‘little things’ throw by Maye gets kudos from Jacoby.
• Mike Dussault finds Brian Belichick back where he’s happiest and grateful to be back coaching the Patriots safeties despite significant turnover across the rest of the staff and roster.
• Press Release: The Patriots and Beasley Media Group’s 98.5 The Sports Hub announce multi-year broadcast extension.
• Press Conferences: Jerod Mayo - Bailey Zappe - Chad Ryland - Jacoby Brissett - Jabrill Peppers - Deatrich Wise - Bryce Baringer - Brian Belichick - Dont’a Hightower - DeMarcus Covington - Jeremy Springer.
• Patriots Playbook: Takeaways from recent OTAs, Rookie expectations, potential changes to offseason schedule. (2 hours)
• Taylor Kyles’ Observations from Day 2 of open OTAs: Young offensive weapons made some big plays; Keion White assuming larger role in year 2; More.
• Mike Kadlick’s Patriots OTA Notebook: Tyquan Thornton is having another impressive spring; Maye’s footwork continues to be slower than the likes of Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe, but the focus on honing in that part of his craft is there; Chad Ryland finished practice hitting 4 of 5 field goal attempts; More.
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry’s Wednesday OTA observations: Drake Maye starts slow, finishes strong; QB snap breakdown; More.
• Doug Kyed’s Patriots OTA Notes: Rookie WR Javon Baker impresses, Drake Maye sees more work; Sidy Sow’s lack of participation saw some reshuffling on the offensive line. Atonio Mafi and veteran guard Michael Jordan saw an increase in reps; More.
• Chris Mason gives us 7 takeaways from OTAs: Zappe over Maye in QB reps; Strong day for Tyquan; Guard rotation continues; More.
• Alex Barth’s OTA notebook: Spreading things out on offense; Cadence work; Hangtimes; Attendance; More.
• Nick Stevens notes rookie WR Javon Baker highlights a solid day for Patriots offense at OTAs
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry share their observations of QB Drake Maye from yesterday’s OTA practice session. “I’d give him an A-, B+ relative to what I would expect from him.”
• Matt Dolloff’s Mayewatch: Rookie QB Drake Maye looked solid in his latest open OTA practice, despite appearing to remain behind in the pecking order.
• Doug Kyed reports how Jacoby Brissett’s familiarity with the Patriots offense gives the entire unit an advantage.
• Karen Guregian says it isn’t a big deal why Drake Maye is still getting reps behind Bailey Zappe.
• Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry discuss Bailey Zappe’s role with the Pats, noting that Zappe has received more reps than Drake Maye this spring.
• Mike D’Abate observes QB Bailey Zappe “having fun” while competing for a spot on the depth chart.
• Andy Hart says the elephant in the QB room is the question of where Bailey Zappe fits on the QB depth chart.
• Alex Barth reports second-year defender Keion White was an early ‘surprise’ for Jerod Mayo.
• Chris Mason highlights kicker Chad Ryland eager to attack 2024 after a trying rookie season. “I’m no coward to a challenge.”

Hey guys! I've just been feeling kind of out of it and forgot to post yesterday, but I don't think the results changed very much. Here are your nominees for Best Hairography:
Best Hairography

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 Loco Loco by Hurricane - Serbia 2021 🇷🇸
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Amazing! Now, as it's the last nomination, I think that I've saved the best for last. Cringiest Performance. I'm also tacking along the sub title Aged The Least Well, because some entries just don't hit the same way. Also because we only have like, two entries from the 1900's, and I was expecting a few more, but that's besides the point! The rules are below:
You can comment a Eurovision song from 1957 - 2024 you think fits the category of the day best (for example, Albania 2012). If a song is already nominated for another category, you can put it up for consideration in another category also. If somebody has already posted a song you wanted to post, DO NOT post that song. If you are going to comment, do it in this format: Song Name + Artist - Country + Year. It should look like this: Suus by Rona Nishliu - Albania 2012. You can also upvote the posts that you think should be part of this category. At the end of two days, the four songs with the most upvotes will be nominees for the categories we have, which we will eventually vote on. Have fun!
Categories So Far:
Best Vocals

• 🇪🇪 La Forza by Elina Necheyeva - Estonia 2018 🇪🇪
• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021 🇨🇭
• 🇪🇪 Bridges by Alika - Estonia 2023 🇪🇪
• 🇳🇴 Ulveham by Gåte - Norway 2024 🇳🇴

Best Staging

• 🇲🇩 My Lucky Day by DoReDoS - Moldova 2018 🇲🇩
• 🇦🇺 Zero Gravity by Kate Miller-Heidke - Australia 2019 🇦🇺
• 🇷🇸 In Corpore Sano by Konstrata - Serbia 2022 🇷🇸
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮

Best Choreography

• 🇧🇪 Rhythm Inside by Loïc Nottet - Belgium 2015 🇧🇪
• 🇨🇾 Fuego by Eleni Foureira - Cyprus 2018 🇨🇾
• 🇪🇸 SloMo by Chanel - Spain 2022 🇪🇸
• 🇲🇩 Soarele şi Luna by Pasha Parfeni - Moldova 2023 🇲🇩

Best Costume

• 🇫🇮 Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi - Finland 2006 🇫🇮
• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇮🇸 Hatrið mun sigra by Hatari - Iceland 2019 🇮🇸
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮

Best Hair

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇬🇧 Space Man by Sam Ryder - United Kingdom 2022 🇬🇧
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Best Prop

• 🇷🇺 Party for Everybody by Buranovskiye Babushki - Russia 2012 - Oven 🇷🇺
• 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN WOMAN by Manizha - Russia 2021 - Moving Dress 🇷🇺
• 🇦🇺 Promise by Voyager - Australia 2023 - Car 🇦🇺
• 🇫🇮 No Rules! by Windows95man - Finland 2024 - Jegg and Jorts 🇫🇮

Best High/Long Note

• 🇪🇸 Do It For Your Lover by Manuel Navarro - Spain 2017 🇪🇸
• 🇮🇱 Set Me Free by Eden Alene - Israel 2021 🇮🇱
• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021🇨🇭
• 🇵🇹 Ai Coração by Mimicat - Portugal 2023 🇵🇹

Catchiest Song

• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇷🇺 Uno by Little Big - Russia 2020 🇷🇺
• 🇲🇩 Trenulețul by Advahov Brothers and Zdob și Zdub - Moldova 2022 🇲🇩
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Lyrics

• 🇲🇪 Euro Neuro by Rambo Amadeus - Montenegro 2012 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 In Corpore Sano by Konstrakta - Serbia 2022 🇷🇸
• 🇸🇪 Hold Me Closer by Cornelia Jakobs - Sweden 2022 🇸🇪
• 🇪🇸 ZORRA by Nebulossa - Spain 2024 🇪🇸

Best Rapping

• 🇷🇺 RUSSIAN WOMAN by Manizha - Russia 2021 🇷🇺
• 🇺🇦 Stefania by Kalush Orchestra - Ukraine 2022 🇺🇦
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇺🇦 Maria & Teresa by alyona alyona and Jerry Heil - Ukraine 2024 🇺🇦

Best Party Song

• 🇺🇦 Dancing Lasha Tumbai by Verka Serduchka - Ukraine 2007 🇺🇦
• 🇺🇦 SHUM by Go_A - Ukraine 2021 🇺🇦
• 🇲🇩 Trenulețul by Advahov Brothers and Zdob și Zdub - Moldova 2022 🇲🇩
• 🇪🇪 (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5miinust and Puuluup - Estonia 2024 🇪🇪

Best Use of Instruments

• 🇧🇬 Water by Elitsa Todorova and Stoyan Yankulov - Drums - Bulgaria 2007 🇧🇬
• 🇲🇩 Runaway by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Saxophone - Moldova 2010 🇲🇩
• 🇮🇸 10 years by Daði og Gagnamagnið - Keytar - Iceland 2021 🇮🇸
• 🇪🇪 (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi by 5miinust and Puuluup - Talharpa - Estonia 2024🇪🇪

Most Charismatic

• 🇳🇴 Fairytale by Alexander Rybak - Norway 2009 🇳🇴
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇦🇲 Jako by Ladaniva - Armenia 2024 🇦🇲
• 🇭🇷 Rim Tim Tagi Dim by Baby Lasagna - Croatia 2024 🇭🇷

Best NQ'd Song

• 🇱🇻 Eat Your Salad by Citi Zēni - Latvia 2022 🇱🇻
• 🇱🇻 Aijā by Sudden Lights - Latvia 2023 🇱🇻
• 🇨🇿 Pedestal by Aiko - Czechia 2024 🇨🇿
• 🇸🇲 11:11 by Megara - San Marino 2024 🇸🇲

Most Emotional Song

• 🇨🇭 Tout L'univers by Gjon's Tears - Switzerland 2021 🇨🇭
• 🇳🇱 De Diepte by S10 - Netherlands 2022 🇳🇱
• 🇵🇹 Saudade, saudade by MARO - Portugal 2022 🇵🇹
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Opening Song

• 🇲🇩 Runaway by Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira - Moldova 2010 🇲🇩
• 🇱🇹 Discoteque by The Roop - Lithuania 2021 🇱🇹
• 🇨🇿 Lights Off by We Are Domi - Czechia 2022 🇨🇿
• 🇦🇹 Who The Hell Is Edgar by Teya and Salena - Austria 2023 🇦🇹

Best Closing Song

• 🇸🇲 Adrenalina by Senhit ft. Flo Rida - San Marino 2024 🇸🇲
• 🇦🇺 Promise by Voyager - Australia 2023 🇦🇺
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇳🇱 Europapa by Joost Klein - Netherlands 2024 🇳🇱

Best Looking

• 🇮🇹 Måneskin - Italy 2021 🇮🇹
• 🇸🇮 Joker Out - Slovenia 2023 🇸🇮
• 🇦🇲 Ladaniva - Armenia 2024 🇦🇲
• 🇮🇪 Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪

Craziest Performance

• 🇺🇦 Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) by Svetlana Loboda - Ukraine 2009 🇺🇦
• 🇦🇺 Zero Gravity by Kate Miller-Heidke - Australia 2019 🇦🇺
• 🇭🇷 Mama ŠČ! by Let 3 - Croatia 2023 🇭🇷
• 🇫🇮 Cha Cha Cha by Käärijä - Finland 2023 🇫🇮
• 🇫🇮 No Rules! by Windows95Man - Finland 2024 🇫🇮
• 🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue by Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪

Most Innovative

• 🇸🇪 Waterloo by ABBA - Sweden 1974 🇸🇪
• 🇫🇮 Hard Rock Hallelujah by Lordi - Finland 2007 🇫🇮
• 🇮🇪 Doomsday Blue by Bambie Thug - Ireland 2024 🇮🇪
• 🇨🇭 The Code by Nemo - Switzerland 2024 🇨🇭

Best Hairography

• 🇲🇪 Space by Slavko Kalezić - Montenegro 2017 🇲🇪
• 🇷🇸 Loco Loco by Hurricane - Serbia 2021 🇷🇸
• 🇨🇿 My Sister's Crown by Vesna - Czechia 2023 🇨🇿
• 🇱🇻 Hollow by Dons - Latvia 2024 🇱🇻

Every single day there is a question from someone here saying "where do I start for AWS Solutions Architect Associate" when there are a few hundred articles from those who passed already.
So here is a master list of resources to help those who have this question.
Cloud Practitioner version of this is here
If you find this post useful - upvote. I am happy to take feedback / suggestions / changes etc - please comment!

tl;dr

1. Get 1 video course and watch it end to end - the subreddit favourites are below / scroll down further for links
   • I cannot afford any courses / need a free option - get Andrew Brown's YouTube course
   • I want to just learn bare minimum to pass exam - Stephane Maarek on Udemy
   • I really want to learn this AWS and cloud stuff well and be good at it - Adrian Cantrill
2. Read whitepapers / review new announcements from re:Invent 2023
3. Do one decent set of practice exams from one provider- subreddit favourites below / scroll down further for links
   • Tutorialsdojo (personal favourite - I passed ALL my exams using "TD")
   • Udemy (Stephane Maarek)

Take and Pass exam!

Subreddit Search

Following my own usual guidance, you can always use the subreddit search feature and read articles from everyone in the last month who posted about this exam / passed it. There is a wealth of detail / experience here to learn from :
Link : https://www.reddit.com/AWSCertifications/search/?q=saa+solutions+architect+associate+pass&type=link&t=month

Exam Details

If you have absolutely no clue about the exam - start here.
The exam code is SAA-C03
AWS page with all the details : https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-associate/
Always read the Exam Guide (tells you whats in / out of scope) : https://d1.awsstatic.com/training-and-certification/docs-sa-assoc/AWS-Certified-Solutions-Architect-Associate_Exam-Guide.pdf

Minimum Viable Path to Certification

Most people usually need 3 things to pass the exam

1. A single video based course introducing AWS and all the key exam topics

Typically these are courses where someone reads from some slides, shows you the AWS console and how to use it and then gives you tips on what to remember - there are free and paid versions of these.

1. Additional material on key topics.

For SAA-C03 - there are some recommended whitepapers on WAF and also since 6 months have passed since the last re:Invent 2023 - any of the major announcements from then now are in scope for the exam. You wont see too many new things but there is a chance there are some random questions that were not covered in any practice exam / course.

1. One good quality practice exam

Note : do not fall for some random "dump" found on internet or a file your mate gave you to study.
Also note - you do NOT need more than 1 of each category. You can buy more than one practice exam for sure but doing one is enough IMHO.

1. Video Courses

Free Video based Courses

Free from AWS's own training service (Skillbuilder) :
There is an "Exam Prep" course from Skillbuilder but note that this just covers the high level domains but is not a comprehensive deep dive.
https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/course/external/view/elearning/14760/exam-prep-aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03
Optional : There is a slightly extended version of this in the paid tier with additional exam-style questions, flashcards and more importantly FREE hands on labs and the official practice exam.
https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/course/external/view/elearning/14776/exam-prep-aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03-with-practice-material
There is a 7 day (extended to 10 days sometimes) free trial for the paid tier which can help you cram this. You can subscribe, immediately cancel but still enjoy 7 days free.
Please note that this course is not enough on its own to pass and you may want to try additional material below.
YouTube based video course
This course below is a better alternative to the SkillBuilder course above but is about 50 hours.
Andrew Brown is an AWS community hero who runs his own training site called exampro.co but offers most of the material for free on FreeCodeCamp's YouTube channel.
The 2024 refresh of the SAA course is here : https://youtu.be/c3Cn4xYfxJY
Andrew also has additional (free / paid) content on his site to check out.

PAID Video based courses

Adrian Cantrill's courses :
Adrian Cantrill is an independent content creator and has his own site from where you can obtain courses.
His courses go above and beyond what the exam needs and this is exactly why the community loves these courses as you get more practical knowledge than just cramming for the exam. The additional coverage means these courses are longer and not as cheap as other courses that cover just the exam material but in the general opinion of everyone who has taken the course it is absolutely worth it.
Link : https://learn.cantrill.io/
Udemy Courses :
Udemy is a marketplace for courses created by independent authors.
Two of the well known authors are mentioned below but please note that Udemy's pricing model can be a bit weird. One day it may show 150 USD for a course and another day 15 USD. This price it high and discount it heavily model catches out most people - so NEVER pay more than USD 20 for anything on Udemy.
Just wait for a day or so and prices may change. Opening Udemy in another incognito browser etc usually yields a different price or follow the authors on social media for codes that shrink the cost.
Stephane Maarek :
Go via his site : https://courses.datacumulus.com/ for links to his Solutions Architect Associate with the best available coupon.
Neil Davis :
https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-hands-on/
Either one of these Udemy courses is sufficient. You still need to combine it with practice exams but you do not need more than 1 video course.
Other sites :
Exampro.co
As mentioned above Andrew Brown has his own site with additional material over his YouTube course.
Cloud Academy
https://cloudacademy.com/learning-paths/aws-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03-certification-preparation-for-aws-1-7446/ has both a learning plan and a practice exam at the end.

2. Additional Material

I will update this section soon with some additional guidance soon as I am not happy yet (please let me know in comments if there are key additional coverage I should include) - I am scouring recent exam pass posts to see whats current and also want to add links to re:Invent 2023 announcements. I also am thinking of adding in links to "cheat sheets" / docs - let me know if this would be useful.
WAF - Well Architected Framework
https://aws.amazon.com/architecture/well-architected/
You need to know at some decent depth on what the pillars are and what they do.
Read the whitpapers from https://aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/
Specifically I found the Reliability and Cost Optimization white papers very useful.

3. Practice Exams

Please do NOT fall for "dumps" - if anyone offers you the EXACT list of AWS questions or guarantees the question bank matches the exam - these are dumps. The links below are either official or well regarded sources.
Free :
AWS skillbuilder has one free official exam with just 20 free questions.
To be honest its not really worth it - you can search for "Official practic exam skillbuilder SAA-C03" using your favourite search engine to find it.
exampro.co
Has 1 free practice exam you can sign up to.
Paid :
Official Practice exam
https://explore.skillbuilder.aws/learn/course/external/view/elearning/13593/exam-prep-official-practice-exam-aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03-english - there is a free 7 day trial available for you to use as this exam may not be worth a month's subscription fee
Tutorialsdojo.com
Highly recommended independent resource for practice exam questions with a very useful "review mode" and every question comes with detailed explanations on answers
Udemy
Stephane Maarek : again go via his site : https://courses.datacumulus.com/
Neal Davis : https://www.udemy.com/course/aws-certified-solutions-architect-associate-hands-on/
Other popular sites :
Exampro.co
Andrew Brown has I believe 3 practice exams as well on his site. One is free - the other two you pay for.
Whizlabs
I havent used them personally but https://www.whizlabs.com/aws-solutions-architect-associate/
Cloud Academy
https://cloudacademy.com/learning-paths/aws-solutions-architect-associate-saa-c03-certification-preparation-for-aws-1-7446/ has both a learning plan and a practice exam at the end.

Not Recommended sites :

Sites that are sadly NOT recommended anymore - Avoid A Cloud Guru / Pluralsight as their courses are not considered the best anymore. They used to be leaders but somehow have fallen behind and their subscription model doesnt work in a world with cheap one time purchase courses.
If you want a sandbox to experiment - then ACG offers one but so do Whizlabs and Tutorialsdojo.

Optional / Complementary material

I have an article where you can find complementary / alternatives to the Solutions Architect Exam - most are free and includes the "AWS Knowledge : Architecting Free Digital Badge"
https://www.reddit.com/AWSCertifications/comments/1d1o522/no_payment_options_to_learn_aws_with_digital/
This material isnt exam focused but if you want some free alternatives / cannot afford to pay for the exam - then check out the link.

FAQ

1. Do I need ALL this material?

No. Just one of each is fine. Example : just Adrian's Course + tutorialsdojo

1. Do I really need to do hands on work?

Yes - it is recommended that you get some hands on work at the Associate level. You can use one of the sandboxes but be careful using your own free tier account that you dont end up with leaving resources running too long and getting a big bill. Always secure your account and set billing alarms and dont create an account till you know how to do these!

1. Where can I find vouchers for the exam?

Check this thread : https://www.reddit.com/AWSCertifications/comments/18woit6/2024_aws_vouchers_exam_discounts_othe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

1. Can I cheat my way using Dumps that I found online / my mate gave me / found on GitHub / YouTube?

Using dumps there is a high chance you fail and/or get caught / banned - the risk isnt worth it. Stick with genuine resources.

1. Can I pass with just free resources as I cannot afford the resources?

Its possible but please it is recommended to atleast spend on decent practice exams. If you cannot afford the exam / resources - just get the free digital badges (Architecting) for the interim

1. I skipped CCP / CLF - is that okay?

Yes - its okay to have skipped the foundational level - almost all the courses above teach you from scratch.

1. Can someone who is new to IT do this exam?

Yes - Many people start from scratch and get to the Associate level. Just make sure you are investing the time required.

1. Is it worth it?

Plenty of threads on this subreddit covering this. You have to make up your own mind if its worth it to you or not.

1. Do I need to do coding?

While there is no coding involved in the course - knowing how to use the AWS CLI / being able to do some basic scripting would be very helpful anyway. You can also use free tools like CoPilot / Code Whisperer to help you with pieces you struggle with.

1. Can I use ChatGPT / Amazon Q etc to learn?

Many of these Generative AI tools can still give you incorrect answers. So do not rely on them fully. If it helps you to quickly get the concept, use them but make sure to double check the results against official docs.

1. Are there books to learn from instead of videos?

Books get out of date too quickly and I do not recommend learning from them. However there is an official Sybex Guide to the exam. Tutorialsdojo and Neal Davis (Digital Cloud) also have an ebook. You can google for links to these.
Good Luck folks!

Prev Next Patreon Ko-fi Discord
PRs: u/anakist & u/BroDogIsMyName
- - - - -
Ceele strolled through the damp grass along the outskirts of the village, a spring in her step and the dwindling scent of dew following behind. It rained yesterday, which had prevented her from going out to gather supplies, but the mild morning air had been accommodating enough for her to get an early start and make the trip. She was glad she did.
One hand clutched her new prize to her chest, while the other held a fraying wicker basket filled with herbs and some edible roots she gathered by exploring the forbidden forest. Despite her reservations regarding where she chose to go, her excitement now lingered like a steady thrum of shifting stones, giving her energy that defied how long she had been walking. She all but pranced beneath the burgeoning night's sky, gleefully toeing the line between the dirt pathways of the settlement’s outskirts and the trees of unclaimed land. Normally, her path back home would never be so close to the village, but she was far too gleeful to mind. She had come back with a sense of fulfillment and a rare object—or if not rare, then hopefully of great value.
It was hard to point to any one specific reason that she came across the orb. There had always been a ‘draw’ during her travels, urging her that there was something missing in her life, yet it was no more than a mild whim to walk in a particular direction more often than not. Once she reached this part of the continent, she was compelled to wander, never quite able to explain why she obliged the sensation besides having nowhere in particular to be. Even when she finally settled somewhere, it stayed in the back of her mind, suggesting that she was close to whatever would make the pit of vacancy go away. She ignored it, purposefully distracting herself with her work and responsibilities, yet that could only last so long. When she awoke this morning with plans to resupply, and all of her newfound spots had been picked clean by wildlife, she turned to the depths of the forest where she was warned not to tread. It was all too easy to follow the subtle tug in her chest through the loose justification.
The urge to be somewhere grew unbearable with every step closer to the forbidden area. That sense of having a direction she needed to go became stronger and stronger, until she was well into land long since forgotten. She came across an overgrown depression in the hillside, and was entranced by the foreboding image. Something about the cave just…beckoned her. She was far too weak to resist.
Horrible tales echoed into her ears as whispers of fearful voices, warning and unending, yet but a dull drone compared to her hammering heart. She navigated the trees and brushed aside unkempt vines, stepping into the cavern with a mix of expectation and trepidation, then laid eyes on the small obsidian stone perched atop a crumbling pillar. The feeling of needing to travel somewhere…stopped.
The pull was absent, which was why she held the orb close instead of placing it into her basket. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she recalled overheard tales of hidden gemstones, deep cavernous expanses, and the untold terrors that lay within. Comparing the scenes of those fables to the cave seemed foolish now; it wasn’t some torturous chamber, but a dusty depression in a small hillside. Besides, anything this pretty was sure to be worth a fair sum, and she needed the coin. Yet the thought of selling the precious-looking stone was a conflicting one. She shook off the thought for the time being, turning her attention back towards where she was going.
Shadows stretched and faded as the moon stole the last of the illumination afforded by the sun, replacing it with a calming glow that caressed the log frames and thatched roofs of various homes. A star-filled sky came into prominence as clouds lazily drifted away, revealing the promise of tomorrow’s fair-weathered arrival. It was too late for anyone to notice her treading on the edge of their town while lost in thought, but she was still careful not to get too close to the houses or livestock pens where people might be finishing the evening’s duties. It was best that they didn’t see her returning from a place she was told not to go. Still, her feet carried her near the dwellings as she took in the noises.
Ceele enjoyed the comforting chatter from a distance. Indistinct words floated freely. Meaningless gossip and warm goodbyes were exchanged between friends and family. Places of various occupations were dark and quiet, only the faint contented mewls and clucks of livestock coming from their pastures as they ate what was recently put out for them. No metal rang throughout the streets as it was struck inside a centralized smithy, no heated bartering came from an overactive trade house, and the crunch of dirt beneath transport or merchant wagons was absent, replaced by the rapid steps and yelps of children rushing to their homes before it got too dark out. It was all just gentle conversation and life drifting through the wind, taking the rustle of leaves along for the ride, just so she could hear it. Tranquil, in a word.
She wondered what it would sound like if she were yet one more voice within that crowd of kindness. Would it be loud like the larger cities? Would she struggle to maintain a thought with so many stray topics floating about? Would she once more yearn for the peace and quiet of solitude that she had grown used to, or would she immerse herself, free of judgment and laughing like the carefree young that scampered about? Did thinking about it even matter?
Her smile fell from its genuine intensity—still worn, but not as fully. She glanced downward as her stride lost its jubilant bounce, her tail losing its sway as her grey eyes examined the dry black scales that adorned her body against her wishes. It was the ugly hue of tarnished oil, unlike the skin of any other kobold she had met. Some had reds or greens, yellows or whites, while most were between a sandy tan or earthen brown. The rainbow of peculiarities was displayed by the lucky few, and she was one of them…
…Yet she was different in the worst of ways.
Even if she would rather any other colour, she supposed it was that way to make sure no one came near without accepting the unspoken risks. That was what her mother always said, anyway, though the woman hardly feared much of anything in her old age, and dedicated herself to giving her offspring all the love she had left to give—a perk of living a full life. She would always help her daughter bathe, complimenting the colour of what most were unnerved by. That was more than a decade ago now, however. Ceele’s parents had passed on while she was still young, and she took to travelling not long after, working at what she could to afford what little she needed. Never for long, though—just enough to get to the next town between where she was and where the urge to go lay. There were certainly moments she looked back on fondly, but the journey had taken its toll.
The crude material of her ‘dress’ was coarse, old, and heavy, but it helped ease the worst of spring's chill—even if it was more of a modified sack than proper attire. Still, it was all she had after the last of her clothing fell apart, and giving the repurposed material a name that reminded her of something else made it less uncomfortable to wear, somehow. It would have to do until she could afford a pitying seamstress or the like. Until then, she would pretend she didn’t look so desperate, even if it only highlighted her status and made finding work difficult.
But it did. The dishevelled garment was a far cry from the wonderful silks or breathtaking designs she had seen some women wear, harshly marking the distinction between herself and those of affluence. The clothing of commoners was also a leap in style and quality, so she couldn't say her attire was up to even modest standards. No matter how hard she squinted, and no matter how much she fantasized otherwise, she seemed every bit like the vagrant she was, down to the soil embedded in the curvature of her claws and the stains throughout her fabrics. She looked like a serf from the more oppressed lands, yet they too wore crude cottons, which said a lot about how she appeared to those who had never lived a life of servitude. It was obvious that she was an outsider. That she didn't belong amongst the rest. It made changing something as simple as her appearance all the more difficult; prospective employment always saw a young woman who seemed more likely to steal or swindle than make an honest day’s living.
There was one good twist of fate in recent memory, however, and she came upon the result of it after leaving the slowing bustle of the village behind. Her steps carried her through a small copse of trees on the outskirts of town, the small shaded path leading to the back of a large, carefully pruned clearing, a scattering of fruit-bearing trees providing even darker shadow than the already dim moonlight. She skirted along the aging fence on the border that kept predatory animals away, carefully hoisting herself over the barrier where a large vegetable garden she was responsible for tending resided. If one were to tell her she would be living in such an area several months ago, she would have smiled politely and walked away, yet here she was.
A modest, warmly lit home occupied the middle of the clearing, sitting front and centre when one approached from the village path. It looked quite cozy, surrounded by berry bushes that were just beginning to bloom as the last dregs of winter slipped away. A front patio displayed a nice table and well-loved chairs, the rustic appearance only adding to its charm as a place where friends and family spent the warm summer afternoons. A smithy to the left of the house functioned as an additional heated building during the colder months, but usually served as a storefront and to muffle the sounds of hammered iron, though that had become less common. An old stable was nearby, close enough to be accessible, but not so close as to disturb the once occupying animals with sounds of iron craft. It hadn't seen a horse in quite some time, apparently, so it was mostly a workshop for whatever tasks didn’t require fire or metal.
There was a long history attached to each little detail—from the scuffs along the wooden siding to the depressions in the ground where daily routine wore into the earth. Every fault suffered throughout the years was matched by a thousand quirks that made it feel welcoming, like the house itself was merely waiting for the next friendly face with one of its own. She knew that the inside of each building would look just as cared for.
Her concern lay outside, however. It was a comparatively miniscule space just barely visible through the sheltering trees, true, yet it was where her efforts turned into tangible results, and where a stranger’s trust was painstakingly repaid. Once overgrown grass had been laboriously trimmed, the weeds plucked and disposed of, and now nothing distracted from what she could claim she had done.
The small plots of rock-bordered soil had little buds of growing vegetables, a sense of pride never failing to bloom in her breast with the knowledge that it would be barren without her touch. When her troubles and concerns grew heavy, and fears of the future or spectres of the past loomed over her head, she could look at where she had brought life where it wouldn't otherwise be. Some days, that was enough. She smiled in appreciation at what was admittedly amateur work, the night’s sky helping to hide any inevitably made mistakes.
She enjoyed the sight for a moment longer, then turned to walk towards a neglected old tool shed that was well out of sight within the trees, far away from whatever warmth and comfort the larger house offered to everyone and anyone. She put a hand on the degrading wood of the entryway, giving one last sad smile at the garden as she dismissed selfish thoughts of taking the eventual harvest for herself. A breath cleared the uncertainty from her voice, and she pushed open the door.
“I'm home!”
= = = = =
It took a while for Altier to adjust to his situation, and even once he accepted that his mana wasn't being siphoned, he was still reeling from confusion. He had spent centuries with every year passing by without his notice, yet now he was painfully aware of each creeping second languidly dragging on with the expediency of growing grass. It was as disorienting as it was painfully nostalgic.
Time was something he was never good with, and it only got worse as a dungeon. He'd get lost in creating rooms, corridors, creatures, and whatever else needed doing, only pausing to watch or listen to the few adventurers he became interested in. There was a stint where he spent what felt like hours agonizing over new abilities or options while he let the system manage things in the background, though he supposed it might have been much longer. So many wasted days, yet he still hadn't managed to try everything he had gained access to. Some abilities were simply too niche, came with concerning titles, or held descriptions that made him wary. Anything with ‘Decay’ in the name was instantly ignored—he didn't need more reasons to fear his affinity, and from the few he took the effort to read through, they were always vile.
But his existence for the moment was no longer like those endless stretches spent pondering the minutiae of what would help his adventurers grow stronger. Now, he could follow the rhythmic sounds of footsteps and steady breathing that set a calming pace. They were someone else's, yes, but they contextualized how easy it was to slip away without the subtle noises of life that he had long since surrendered to help his family. Of course, there were more differences that he noticed since being removed from his crumbling cavern, and his sight was the newest change.
He never gave much thought to how far he could see before. Why would he? As a man, his world extended as far as he could fathom, yet was also confined to the room where he spent his days, and as a dungeon… Well, who was he to consider distance when an event happening miles away could be seen with a flicker of thought? Nothing was too far when it was within his creation. Or his ‘body,’ he supposed. Sadly, his entire perception currently consisted of the small sphere of his obsidian core, and maybe a finger's length beyond it—which is to say, not much. He could make out the fine details in the dirty burlap he was held against, and how pale moonlight slowly took over the blurred reds of sunset, but hardly anything more. It was all just frosted colours after a certain point, and he found it infinitely frustrating. He just wanted to peer beyond the haze and scaly hand holding him to confirm that the sky he remembered was still there. Alas, the sunlight faded at too quick a pace, yet one oh so agonizingly slow.
The ensuing darkness gave him nothing to do but think about where he was, not that he had any ideas. He was too curious about why he wasn't dead to bother much with his blurry surroundings after the soft-spoken kobold abducted him, thus why he only belatedly noticed how limited his worldview had become. There might have been a forest beyond his cave, but the greens and browns were gone, and the sounds of steps through brush was replaced by the distant din of a village. An idle curiosity pondered if he would recognize any descents of his ‘family tradition’ adventurers there, but he was being carried by what most considered a monster, so likely not.
That short musing was short-lived, however, and he brought his focus back to the matter at hand. He supposed he was being taken somewhere specific, but that was an obvious deduction, considering he was taken at all. The why of the matter was less so; for what purpose would someone want a Decay-aligned core? He hadn’t heard of them before…well, before he was made into one, but he couldn’t imagine many uses. Maybe he was being sold? His…kidnapper? His sudden companion seemed rather pleased by their discovery of him, so that might be the case, and it was morbidly amusing to think that a frail, sickly young man might one day become a coveted, highly valuable item. His abduction could also be a part of some cult’s nefarious activities, but he didn't want to think about that too hard. He experienced enough odd ceremonies from the adventurers who took the time to tell him their tales.
Either way, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, and he couldn’t see where he was going. He tried to query his menu to glean an answer, but was met with a scrambled mess he suspected read ‘Synchronizing…’ and little else. It gave him a headache trying to make sense of it—which he didn't know was possible anymore—so he dismissed the text and distracted himself with blurs from whatever diluted senses he still had. There wasn’t much to observe other than the constant footfalls and the flicker of shadows on his companion’s burlap garment. They might have travelled through brush again, but it was too dark to really say for certain.
Eventually, there was something new. He heard an old latch rattle and rusted door hinges groan, then a shuddered clack that confirmed he was now in a building. His kobold acquaintance gently cooed at something before moving about the nearly pitch-black space, finally setting him down on a… He wasn’t sure what it was, besides old and wooden.
[D$#@m$n E@$*ded]
The headache from before became a blinding migraine that suffocated him under a flash-flood of suffering. Seconds passed in abject torture until it blissfully abated, the mental blinks clearing his mind enough to notice a change in his existence. Specifically, he could actually see something besides the rotting wood grain he was placed on top of.
And it wasn’t anything promising…
He was more or less in the centre of a room no bigger than twelve paces by maybe ten. Not a terrible size for a space, but it was clearly never meant to house someone. His resting place looked about as neglected as he surmised; it was an upturned feeding trough, he supposed, since calling it a table seemed too generous. The surface was rife with holes and degraded iron, so it was something that once saw regular use before being replaced and tossed into storage, never to see the light of day again.
Actually, most things in the room seemed to fit that description. The window shutters were installed with metal hinges that had since rusted them closed, the misalignment letting in a draft—and whatever weather was outside as well, most likely. A poorly carved bowl sat on the floor, the stain beneath it hinting that it collected any rainwater that slowly dripped from the leaky roof. The wooden floorboards looked old, splintered, and in need of maintenance or replacement, though an effort had been put into abrading it somewhat smooth lately.
A tiny and decrepit fireplace was to the left of the door upon entry, its brickwork slowly crumbling due to weathering and age. It was sized more for keeping the room warm during mild days than to keep away the frigid chill of night. Its base only held cold ashes, but there was a collection of deadwood and scraps nearby, so that would probably be rectified soon. A small wheel-less cart had been turned into storage against the opposite wall, some herbs and other foraged items stowed away in it for future use. Various things he remembered seeing his father and brothers use in the fields were scattered about, too. It was nostalgic to see, honestly, even if his recollections had blurred over time.
Bundles of tattered blankets formed a pair of nests in the far corner, the smaller of the two had a pile of rough plants nearby. That answered his silent pondering of the room's purpose somewhat, though he was pretty sure the bedding material was salvaged, and there didn’t seem to be any hay or padding underneath whoever was sleeping on it. He didn’t know what to think about the weeds; they were purposefully placed there, and whoever did so had taken the time to wash them, but it was still strange.
He couldn’t see a doorway besides the entrance, yet most of the hallmarks of residency were put where space could be afforded, however crude. All in all, he surmised that it was a gardening shed of sorts, and his new acquaintance apparently lived here. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when a creature he had only read about came into his dungeon, but it wasn't being brought to a rundown and decrepit shack for unknown purposes.
Even if he had been raised by parents who made a humble living at the best of times, and they had emptied their coffers for unsuccessful attempts to ease his ailments, his acquaintance's living space made him uncomfortable. His family's house was never anything fancy, true—it shared some of the worn qualities that inevitably gathered over the years—but it was never this bad. His home benefited from a father's touch keeping it robust and a mother’s love keeping it warm, whereas this place had seen neither in quite some time. Oh, there was evidence that such was once the case; a wall was adorned with carefully made and well-spaced hangers for the various gardening tools, though the implements themselves had become a victim of neglect. That being said, he could make out the fresh soil and recent scratches exposing furrows of silver, so they were seeing use again.
A scrape and clack of flint drew his attention to his kobold companion. They were kneeling in front of the fireplace, methodically sparking life back into a dead flame with twigs and dried leaves. A slow, steady breath into the reddened base illuminated its face with a dull orange glow, revealing its weary visage and the permanently etched smile that rested beneath its cold grey eyes. The black-scaled kobold looked tired, if he were to guess—much the same as Altier did when he spent countless days watching everyone living a life he could never have through the mossy window of his bedroom. He was probably humanizing it too much. Still, he was surprised by the muted pang of sympathy, and how he would feel much more than blithe curiosity after spending so much time alone in the crumbling crypt of his own making.
A mental breath cycled through him as he looked at the odds and ends yet to be observed. Hardly anything else was of note—everything else was degraded and neglected, too. He did notice a nest of blankets move though, which was as good a distraction as any. The answer to his previous ‘pile of weeds’ inquiry poked a tiny nose from a crease in the fabric, then rapidly pawed at the blankets to dig itself out. Altier stared at the creature in both recognition and confusion.
It was a rabbit…or at least it looked like one, assuming you were to also describe a porcupine and a sea urchin as well. He was pretty sure he didn’t remember any hare that had jagged metal-tipped fur, nor that had said fur arranged into a row of spiked horns that flowed down its spine, terminating at a large fluffy tail, which was equally bizarre to see. The whole of its coat could double as a weapon, with semi-sharp barbs sticking off seemingly at random, yet he remembered an adventurer saying most animals used that sort of thing defensively. He increased his focus as he tried to make sense of the odd creature. Surely he would have heard about—
[Hoppittttttt#%%÷ — Ferro-o-orabbit-it (Ma%$le)
Abil—]
[Null]
[Er0Rrrrrrrr—]
[Und#$f—]
He bit back the pain caused by the sudden intrusion of his menu, blanking out the text and mentally retreating to hide from the source. Did he just inspect something? How? Shouldn’t his entire…‘framework,’ was it…? Yes, that was it. Shouldn’t that have been corrupted? Why could he see the creature’s information when his entire framework was damaged? That was the first ability he lost, so why is it the first to be functional? How was it functional? Was it? It did just spit garbled text at him, but it was something, and that was more than he had gotten from it in a very long time. If it was somehow working—no matter how poorly—then that left the question of why he hadn't heard of anything called a ‘ferrorabbit’ before, assuming he read that correctly.
A soft thud vibrated the tro— table, startling him out of thought. He turned his attention to the button nose wiggling erratically at him, the short, stubby muzzle leading to surprisingly expressive and curious red eyes. Dull brown fur jutted off in random tufts and patches, changing to a darker tint on its paws and the upper half of its ears, while the tips of its spikes were a muted hue of iron. It still seemed just as soft as the less pointed variety he remembered, if a touch dirty. Upright ears twitched this way and that way as its head vigorously shook, eventually settling on pointing in his direction when it calmed down enough.
It was apparent that he had its undivided attention…for all of a few seconds. His scaly companion called something out in their foreign tongue, and whatever conclusion the pointy-furred animal came to, it seemed more interested in the kobold, parting from him after nudging his core with its nose.
[Cre-e-e—]
[Errrrrrr0r: Undefiiiiiiii—]
[Acceeeeep-t-t-t??]
[Yeeee— s s / Nnnnnnn—]
He winced at the intrusion, but the contents detracted from the pain. He couldn’t remember the system ever asking him a question without his explicit intent being involved. It wanted him to…accept something? Was it the system prompting him, or the animal? What was he to accept?
[Creatuuuuu—]
[Acce-e-e-%#@ed!]
…What?
= = = = =
“Hoppit, that's not food!” Ceele admonished half-heartedly, placing a larger branch on the burgeoning flame before she got to her feet. She wasn’t actually that worried; the stone was as big as his head, and she was pretty sure he couldn't bite into it. Hopefully. “Come here, momma has a treat for you!”
The ferrorabbit playfully bumped the gemstone and jumped off the low table, landing with a soft thud that belied how heavy he was for his tiny size. He wiggled in excitement, his ears flailing and releasing a slight clack whenever the two connected. It got even louder when she grabbed her basket and put away the useful herbs, taking out a specific item that she had gathered just for him. The little bun wasted no time in scurrying over and standing tall on his hind legs to judge if the offered plant was to his liking—and it was, based on how he dug in with enthusiasm. She stifled a laugh as she contentedly watched him nibble away on the treat, ignoring the guilt that came with knowing she couldn't afford proper vegetables for him. He had a hard life too, and it tore at her to have so little to give.
She came across Hoppit a year ago, during a storm that worsened while she was travelling between towns. The day had darkened to night in spite of it still being about noon, but the weather didn't care for how bright it was supposed to be. Wind and rain became a typhoon, forcing her to seek shelter in a thankfully abandoned den of what was probably a larger animal. She was fine with waiting out the squall, since the stone roof over her head was more than she usually had back then, but the sounds of dull bangs and thuds near her hideaway was followed by cries of animals yelping in pain. Curiosity won over reason, and she left the safety of her shelter to see what was causing the disturbance. Truthfully, she was hopeful that she'd come across scraps or the like, her hunger driving her forward, and she could always turn back if it seemed dangerous. Yet when she arrived at the source of the commotion, she found herself thinking of anything but food.
Two predators had fought over a small burrow, both trying to dig out a meal and taking offence to the other doing the same. What they didn’t know was that they were assaulting the home of ferrorabbits. Specifically, the home of an angry, protective, and well-fed mother that was keeping her newborns safe from the storm when predators decided to try their luck. From the scene Ceele came across, it was certainly obvious why most people dislike trying to hunt the creatures.
Sadly, the rabbit didn't survive an attack from two predators, but she did make their victory pyrrhic; neither could do much about their hunger with their bodies full of cuts and holes, and it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to blood loss or infection. The mother's sacrifice meant that the babies had avoided the imminent threat, but they were left unattended as a consequence, and it took an opportunistic bird swooping down to shake Ceele out of her shock. Despite her subsequent hurry, she only acted in time to save one of the orphaned young. The warren was new and barely dug out, which meant that it didn’t take much effort for the kits to be found—by both her and hungry maws. All she could do was scoop the ball of fluff into her arms and run back to the cave before anything else tried to eat it.
In retrospect, it was a stupid decision for a number of factors. She barely had the resources to supply herself, and an attempt to raise offspring of any type would only make the inevitable heartbreak worse. But when she saw how quiet and scared he was… How his tiny, shaking body calmed in her arms, those terrified red eyes seeking comfort… She should have just walked away when she knew there wasn’t going to be anything to fill her stomach. She should have put the baby animal down and let nature take its course…yet the preciously furry face stole her heart far too quickly for it to grow so cold. The next day was spent backtracking to the nearest town to get him something suitable to eat, which used most of her meagre savings. Still, it was worth every coin.
Hoppit had been accompanying her ever since. He grew quickly, transitioning from something she saved that stormy night into a presence she had grown to love like a child. The little lagomorph would bounce along beside her during her travels, then ride in her arms as he rested—though the latter happened with worrying frequency as of late. She hadn’t learned much about the springy herbivores, but she knew enough to say that he wasn't as big as he should be, nor was his fur as sharp. No matter how startled he was, his spiky coat never managed to do more than stiffen slightly, which was apparently a side effect of poor diet, according to snippets of conversation she had overheard on the topic. She wanted him to be healthy, but she didn't know what he needed. Not many farmers raised ferrorabbits, and those that did were far away, so she didn’t have anyone to ask what she should be doing. Her best course of action was to give him what little she had.
Ceele was well aware of how he would be better off on his own, but he followed her whenever she tried to set him free. Hoppit just kept launching into her arms and wiggling his ears, ecstatic that he was with her again, uncaring that food was scarce and that they spent most of their days travelling. No amount of cold nights spent bundling up under the tattered blankets she managed to find ever dampened his spirits, and he was content to eat the grass or flowers whenever he felt like it, oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t getting enough nutrition. He would dig and excitedly drag back oddities that he found, and the one time he found a plant that looked particularly good for him, he insisted that it be shared with her.
A black pit still lingered in her chest when she recalled how pleased he was while he munched on the rare vegetable he discovered, then how distressed he became when she wouldn’t have any as well. He bumped and nipped at her, all but begging her to eat. His ears pinned back against his head, his fur bristled in a way she hadn’t seen since. It was only when she took a small bite and let him inspect the new teeth marks that he seemed to calm down, but perhaps she had been looking too deep into the actions of her tiny friend. All she could say for certain was that he was scared she was going hungry.
A morbid thought wondered if his first mother had refused food shortly before being attacked, and he—as small and simple as he was—had connected the two events in his mind, making him absolutely terrified that something would happen if Ceele didn’t have something too. All of that fear, and desperation overwhelmed him, just because she was happier watching him eat. She was determined to erase that issue. She would find something that needed a worker and earn enough to feed them both. One day, she would be able to smile at how big and healthy her little fluffy boy had become, but until then, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think about how she was spending so much time growing vegetables and fruit that he couldn’t have…
Every morning was an exercise in tending to the gardens while actively shoving down images of a pleased ferrorabbit happily eating the results. That never went well; no matter how determined she was to complete her duties without a single selfish thought, most tasks were done while picturing his full belly and delighted bounces. There were a few weeks until the fastest of the crops would be ready for harvest, and Ceele would have to collect them while fighting the urge to bring back just a few for him.
She couldn’t, because she knew exactly how quickly that could escalate. It would start small—A vegetable here, a fruit there—but seeing Hoppit happy was one of the precious few good things she had in her life. Crossing the line would only become easier each time. They couldn’t risk losing their new home over greed, and she was already betraying the trust given to her by housing a wild animal, especially one known to be a pest for crops. She didn't want to know how angry it would make her benefactors if she was caught taking their vegetables for one.
No matter how tame and precious Hoppit was, and no matter how well he listened, they would only see him as the same creature that ruined harvests in droves. Thus was why she had to tell him to stay cooped up by himself while she was working or scavenging. And to her surprise, he did.
Honestly, she had made the initial request with the expectation of needing to carry him back into their home until he understood that she wasn’t leaving him forever. There wasn’t much she could do to stop the ferrorabbit from digging through the old wooden building if he wanted to get out. He wouldn’t need to damage anything either—a rotting board on the door only needed a little push to nudge it out of the way, and his natural curiosity made sure he was aware of it. But no, Hoppit was well-behaved as always, keeping hidden until she walked through the door, where he would leap from the shadows to personally show her how good he was and how he stayed put like she asked him to. It never stopped amazing her that he had such a surprising level of understanding despite being an animal, and that was to say nothing of how young he was.
All that intelligence, joy, and companionship he offered her…and yet the best she could give back to him was the weeds from the garden and the odd plant she found while scavenging…
Soft clacks of flicking ears dragged her from her pondering, her mind returning to the present. Hoppit finished his treat of the small plant, then bounced in place and scurried over to his bowl of water, perfectly happy to have eaten only that. He was so joyful with how little she provided, approaching every day of scarcity with the same enthusiasm she could never muster, as if certain that everything would be alright.
“It’s bedtime, Hoppit,” Ceele announced through a soft sigh, stoking the fire with enough branches to hopefully last the night. The ferrorabbit perked an ear in her direction, then sat on his haunches to extend the rest of himself up, his two little forepaws adorably held to his chest as he inspected the room like he always did. She smiled and made sure everything was stored away, then laid down on her bundle of blankets, covering herself with the warmest one. Hoppit bolted over to snuggle once he decided everything in the shed was up to his standards, throwing himself to the floor in a dramatic flop of comfort. Her quiet laughter subsided as they both settled in for the night, her tail completing the rabbit’s encompassing cuddle, but her eyes fell towards the obsidian orb on the table, her thoughts following suit.
It sat there, just as she left it, as benign as anything else ever placed atop the improvised furnishing. Yet there was a sense of ease and purpose as well. The old wooden trough seemed…important with its adornment firmly laid upon its surface, and she couldn’t puzzle out why. She was starting to doubt her earlier excitement.
Should she sell it? Would anyone know where it came from? Would anyone know what it was, or if it was worth anything? If she could get even a modest sum for it, she would be able to buy clothing, food, and new bedding. It would be easier to convince someone to give her work if she was dressed better and wasn’t so thin, and then she would have the income to slowly improve both of their lives. She could pay for a wandering merchant to ask a ferrorabbit rancher about the animal, even if it would take time to get back to her, or maybe she could hire a local if they needed to go near one for some reason. The cost didn’t matter to her as long as it happened.
But there was something else bothering her about the idea of selling the stone. She had travelled so far with a tug in her chest, only for the feeling of wanderlust to dissipate as soon as she held it. Was that a sign? She was never one for things like ‘fate,’ but a niggling doubt in her mind discouraged the idea of making a profit off her discovery. Even if what she could gain was so very tempting, and even if Hoppit would be happier if she did…
She tore her dampened eyes away and closed them, ignoring the burning trails running across her face. It would be another early morning, and she needed to sleep so she could take care of the garden. Decisions like this could wait. Once she had nothing else distracting her, and she had time to properly think about it, she would see how she felt about the stone.
Eventually, she dozed off with Hoppit pressed against her chest, and a longing in her heart.
Next
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A/N: Patreon and Ko-fi will be 1 chap ahead this time around, and I've set it so everything from the lowest tier up can read the newest trashfire! Anything above that is sheer show of love. Hope you enjoyed!

English: for section 1 question a on paper 1 use pqe, point quote explain, nake one point use a quote to back it up and explain, leave extra space after each point incase you have extra time to spend on it,alternatively a kind commentor added fhe following:Can I add one to English, from an English teacher. Instead of PQE, use PEEL . Point, Evidence, Explain and Link (to the next paragraph/back to the question). Will boost C mark.
Question b of that same question make sure if you write the text of a speech the whole text is said speech and if you have to for example write the text of a speech from a famous person you never step out of character. Your opening line should be basically a rephrasing of the question eg:write an article for the local newspaper, you should say "I am writing for the x newspaper to tell you about...", even if its unrealistic they still look for this in regard to your purpose mark.
For the composing:make sure there are famous people you can talk about a lot, also just a few topics that youve got some bit of knowledge on e.g ai might be handy
personal essay: use anecdotes even if they're made up
Short story:I'm avoiding this personally but make sure you show don't tell and alsondont leave plot holes, from what I've heard people who do this already have things like settings, characters and storylines planned out before the exam
Opinion essay: chose for or against and be strongly for or against, if im not mistaken you can be neutral but it's a lot harder
For the single text your first quote shouldn't be from act 1 scene 1 or your texts equivalent,your answer shouldn't be a summary
For hamlet: have lots of quotes, back in as many points as possible with quotes, remember the word regicide and antic-disposition, if the question asks about Claudius' role as villain if must only be his direct wrong doings (laertes, elder hamlet) and not the ones he indirectly caused by making hamlet mad (ophelia, polonius etc).
Comparative:constantly compare your 3 texts,(this next tip only applies if parf of your comparative course is never let me go) MOST of the time if you are doing the question 1 which is split up into a and b where a is in relation to 1 text and b is 2, never let me go will be in part a as it is hard to compare to other texts, this obviously depends on the question but if in doubt do that
Unseen poetry:I'm absolutely useless at this but on my mock I completely misunderstood the poem and got 17/20, waffle with confidence, don't spend too long on it as 20 marks is sweet fa in your English paper and the difference between spending 20 mins and 25 mins is no more than 3 marks. As a kind commentary added(soz days are long cba tagging everybody) backup using any poetic technique you can
Poetry: have one poem you can talk for days about no matter what, they will more than likely come up. Have 3 more you understand to be able to answer a question, then your perfectly covered. If you want to be more confident you can learn 2 poems to perfect 50/50 but from here to Thursday time management is important
History: if your a slow writer like me learn a metric fuck tonne of good quotes they're the quickest way to pick up marks, here's a few if you want them
Oh little sputnik flying high/with made-in-moscow-beep/you show the world its a commie sky/and uncle Sam's asleep-mennen Williams,democratic governor of michigan
The United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external and internal forces-the turman doctrine
We are kings men and well be with you to the end -james Craig (not precisely a long one but so many essays it could be used in)
I want dr king to know that I didn't come to selma to make his job difficult, I really did come thinking I could make it easier. If the white people realise what the alternative is, perhaps they will be more willing to here dr king-malcolm x
Also know the 3 document essays off by heart as one will defiently come up,somebody mentioned about knowing every case study off by heart and learning information rather than essays but that's more long term advice than last minute, still tho
Geography: from here to friday dedicate 10 minutes to aerial photography, it's 8 marks waiting to be claimed. Nows probably too late for flashcards but if it isn't fucking use them for srps
Maths: nows not too late to print off a mock or past paper, see what needs the most work and make sure you fully understand them
Irish: if your like me and haven't done a scratch there's still more than a week, predictions are your best friend, learn one essay, one poetry notes, one story notes and one play notes and let God decide how well he wants you to do
French:be able to write about the Olympics as if your fluent, its probably going to come up. Know your tenses and your subjunctive. Learn off a few proverbs they add marks to any essay. "Je suis tout à fait d'accord avec le declaration Ci dessus","il est neccesaire de pesser le pour et le contre", "n'oublions pas le proverbe" and "a Mon avis" fit into most opinion pieces, know them(get correct spelling aswel mine was affected by autocorrect). Also if your down to the wire learn diary phrased, even if you write a bad diary you will get marks for the phrases.
Somebody has pointed out its the 70 year anniversary of the d day bombings so bare that in mind too
Accounting: final accounts will come up,know 2/3, learn all your ratios and all the theory they will come up, know either budgeting or costing as one of each will come up, that leaves the second 100 marker, it will most likely be suspense as that comes up every second year but it could be a 60 marker, I wouldn't even bother worrying about anything else until ratios,final accounts, budget/costing and suspense are up to the grade your hoping for but if all that is sorted learn off maybe 3 other possible 100 markers, that any you have 4 which includes the 80% likely suspense and 2 will come up, the accounting exam is probably the easiest to predict, and for the love of God know your theory. Keep doing exam questions of your struggling, every time you correct one write down your mistakes and have the list of mistakes next to you when doing the next one, then tear it and make a new list of mistakes
Biology: If you know photosynthesis and respiration off from the back of the hand, you are good to go because there is a very high chance one or the other will be asked in some form (could even be a full 30-mark question if you are fortunate enough).
Business: Be 100% familiar with the ABQ strands (the comprehension can help you out a bit in finding the information for each question but you need to know the material that goes along with it from the heart). For Section 3: Defo know Strand 1 or 2 as that comes up as a question 1 or 2, Ratios as that can come up (caught me off guard when I did LC and made the difference between H1 and H2 for me unfortunately) and then would recommend preparing either strand 6 or 7 (or both if you wish for the final question you decide to attempt) Think if I recall you have to do one from Part A, one from Part B and then one other question from either part. Section A is an easy way to pick up marks so if you are struggling bank on Section A and B to get you going and make a decent stab at Section C and know section 1-3 inside out
This is all my experience, I will add any good advice for these subject or other subjects that are provided in the comments, all of these are for higher level except for maths, good luck,don't panic and think about the pint that's instore once this is all over