Author: Speedemon209
Rating: General Audiences
Language: English
Length: 3,589
Status: Ongoing
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56344786/chapters/143158441
Summary: Eren Jaeger has another power in addition to the founder, the power of common sense. Watch as he saves the world by being Humanity's Smartest Soldier and becomes the richest man in Eldia at the same time. This is a total crack fic where Eren is more like a normal teenager, I consider it a semi-self-insert since he uses modern lingo sometimes so I like to think that a regular teenage Eren died and was reborn as AOT Eren. Don't take this too seriously, canon won't be followed strictly and there will be a happy ending. Eren will become rich as hell and write stories from the modern world lol.
Mainly writing it to improve my writing abilities so tell me how it is, hope it’s funny enough.

Hey, posted here a while ago promising I'd add more chapters to my old forgotten story and immediately got swamped with uni work and did not publish anything for a while. But I have been writing in the background and I've published two new characters to my story "The road to becoming an adventurer" it's got 7 in total now and I'm feeling like I'm getting into the groove of things, feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know when you think about my writing 😁. A quick summary is that this is a fantasy adventure story following a young boy and his new elven companion in an adventure across the continent where they face many dangers and exciting events(don't want to spoil too much here) give it a read if you're into something like that.

Exion has finally started to respond to my posts. It would be easier if Exion would unblock me and engage with me directly but they still refuse to do so. It would also be nice if they linked the posts they are responding to so anyone reading his posts can look up my posts. I made sure to do that for all his posts. In this post I’ll be responding to https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/98oVSczZYe.
For the list of parts in my series see https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/01K9X3Pjxj

In this post, I will be answering and refuting the individual who keeps writing posts about me and comments every second he gets trying to "refute" me and "expose" me. I am only doing this because some brothers and sisters have allowed themselves to be fooled by this dude.

In his last post before he started addressing my criticisms he made it clear he wouldn’t engage with my criticisms. It’s only after the mods told him to either respond or they’d remove his posts, as can be seen here https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/c1XSgLQlZe, that he started responding to me. Given those facts I find it hard to believe his reasons given here for responding to me.

He begins by discussing my translation of the word "ישוחח," which I interpret as "argue" or "put forth."

That’s not where I begin. There is some important context before that. The first part of my first post was about showing the general sloppy nature of his posts using examples which he acknowledged his mistake, are things someone who knows Hebrew would be unlikely to make, and which he later copied elsewhere without fixing the mistake. The issue of ישוחח is just one part of this.

Firstly, in Biblical Hebrew, verb forms such as Qal and Piel (often referred to as Polel in some grammatical traditions) are distinguished by their specific diacritic markings (i.e., vowel points and consonantal diacritics).

Nope. The difference between the Qal and Polel forms in this case are not just in the diacritical marks but also have consonant differences.

Since I believe that the Masoretes distorted the Old Testament by adding these diacritics to reach a deviant interpretation, I do not consider them at all. I read the Old Testament without any diacritics. This is something he has yet to understand

Again in this case it’s not just the diacritical marks. I also understand Exion rejects them and in my responses I give reasons why his diacritical mark suggestions don’t work.

He later argues that the ancient Christian manuscripts (such as the Codex Sinaiticus, Septuagint, etc.) must agree with my claims and not with the Masoretic renderings of the Hebrew text, a conclusion he bases on thin air. I ask: Why is that so? Can you give us one good reason for this conclusion? You can't! He says this only because he considers these Christian manuscripts as divinely revealed criteria and translations.

Note the Septuagint was written by Jews not Christians. I’ve also given my reasons for why those should agree with Exion. He ignores those reasons and then attributes different reasons I never said. I’ll repeat again, Exion’s theory that he’s stated multiple times is that when the Masoretes added the diacritical marks they intentionally added ones that change the original meaning of the text to cover prophecies about Mohammed and Islam. He then claims he is discovering the original true meaning of the verses. If this is true then pre Masorete texts would still have the original meaning. Also any sources from after the Masoretes but which weren’t influenced by them should still have the original meaning. Also any before Mohammed and Islam wouldn’t have the same motivation to hide prophecies about Mohammed and Islam.

The Masoretes could even have been influenced by Christians and their manuscripts,

This is a textbook example of an ad hoc assumption. An ad hoc assumption is when an assumption is added without any evidence to modify a theory for the sole purpose of avoiding falsification of the theory by some evidence. Since these sources that should agree with Exion don’t agree he added a new assumption without evidence to modify his theory to avoid falsification.
It’s also a problematic assumption. The Masoretes were Jews. Jews and Christians were split a few hundred years earlier and so didn’t really influence each other. For the Septuagint this was written even before Christianity. It’s so far before Islam and Mohammed that it’s extremely unlikely they were trying to hide any prophecies about them. It’s one of our oldest sources for the text making them a good source for how early Jews understood the text. It serves as an excellent source for testing Exion’s claims since if they’re true we’d expect, at least a significant portion of the time, they’d agree with Exion. If no one else in history, even before the diacritical marks were added, agrees with Exion then Exion is not speaking the same language as everyone else.

In other words, both Qal and Polel essentially mean the same thing.

Here is what Exion said previously, “Regarding the phrase "Who will argue...", an alternative rendering could be "Who will claim..." However, using the word "argue" may be more faithful to the original text, as it carries a connotation of "complaining" or "disputing" rather than simply making a statement or engaging in ordinary conversation. This nuance helps capture the intended meaning more accurately.”
They specifically note the nuance of the meaning ‘complain’. What they failed to notice is that meaning is only part of the Qal form not the Polel. Both their original and new dictionary citation show this. Since the verb in question is in the Polel form that meaning doesn’t apply. Both source clearly listed the two different forms and the meanings for both. Either this is another case of Exion not reading his sources properly or he didn’t realize the correct form of the verb. Either way it shows the general unreliability of Exion.

Thus, he has fixated on this specific word, insisting it is (without a shadow of a doubt) in the Polel form (because his Pauline forefathers said so)

Actually I insist it’s in the Polel because I understand the different verb congregations. It’s not just diacritical marks but consonant differences as well. A key way we can tell is that the final consonant, ח, is duplicated.

Let's see if the Polel form does anything to save him:

This whole section is a lengthy that follows completely misses the point. Here is the original discussion, https://www.reddit.com/DebateReligion/s/f3XrmqDNqi. Like back then his response misses the point. I go on to note how is translation depends upon connecting two parks of the sentence where the diacritical marks have a break. I asked given all the mistakes he’s made up to that point, with the mix up of the Qal and Polel being the most recent at that time, why should we trust him over the Masoretes. The idea was to show how Exion is unreliable and doesn’t know Hebrew so he can’t be trusted over Hebrew speakers. He doesn’t justify why we shouldn’t take a break at that section, we’re just supposed to trust him but with all the mistakes he makes we can’t trust him. Furthermore after adjusting his translation to accommodate the Polel meaning the next day he copied his post to this subreddit without making the same correction but leaving the mistaken Qal meaning.

I believe (if I remember correctly) that he translates it as:

Nope. I never gave my own translation for this verse. He could have just checked the discussion but instead he made another sloppy mistake where he misrepresented what someone else has said. The discussion is public for anyone to read it themselves and see I never said that.

He goes on to say that I quoted from a fictitious source, which is not true at all. I simply didn’t bother looking through my entire library to find a quote I mistakenly mis-referenced, mainly because the quote turned out to be quite irrelevant, and I don’t waste my time like that.

That’s just an excuse. After giving the original citation a few people tried and couldn’t find it. He was pressed on the issue. Finally after some back and forth he gave a new book name and new author. However, the citation still couldn’t be found in that new book. It was at that point where he just ignored any further requests for proving the source exists. This is the first time since then he’s acknowledged it. Given that course of events it’s strong evidence the citation doesn’t actually exist. Until he provides proof the citation actually exists we should take the citation as fictitious. Though even if the source does exist his acknowledgment of a wrong citation is still evidence of his sloppy work and unreliability with representing sources, something he does very often.

So, I will not bother to refute every single point of the old stuff that I’ve already conclusively answered.

He never did. For the issue about copying the verse number and making it part of the verse all he could say before is that it’s a minor mistake that I’m overblowing. However, as I note the error is not a minor one but actually requires several points of failure, some of which are hard to accidentally make. E.g. removing the space between the verse number and first word after copying takes intentional action. For the pronoun suffixes his response boils down to just claiming every single person who has ever translated it is wrong and he is right. He refused to give a general account of pronoun suffixes that supports his translation along with a source to back up his account. I on the other hand took a picture of my Hebrew textbook showing the full chart to prove he is wrong.

Regarding the stone God mentions that was to be placed in the Temple of God, he says that it is saying

Notice in this section of his response he changes his original translation to include the second instance of the word stone that he previously missed. This acknowledges that he was originally wrong and missed that word. He just tries to rework the translation have that second occurrence of the word stone while still referring to God’s stone. Let’s see if it works.

The next word is אל: This is taken as a preposition according to them, and it generally means "to" or "toward," and never "upon." It is used to indicate direction or movement towards something. While the following word is, again, a stone "אבן."

I deal with his simplistic view of Hebrew pronouns in my pt 2. Once again we have the same problem. The relationship between pronouns in Hebrew compared to English is complicated. The pronoun in my pt 2 analysis has 8 pages in the BDB. אל has 2 pages. For על, which we be relevant in a moment, it has almost 6 pages for the proposition part. It’s far more complicated than giving a short list and only limiting translation to that list.
Regarding אל the BDB under note 2 points out there is a tendency to use it interchangeably with על. For על it lists upon as one of the meanings. Exion goes on to argue the limited set of meanings he gives don’t make sense and from that argues אל should instead be taken to be God. However, when we realized prepositions are more complicated than he makes them out to be and that אל can mean upon this argument fails.

Here, "אל־אבן" would translate to "God's stone" or "stone of God."

Here is the chapter from my textbook on the construct relationship singular. https://imgur.com/a/TWa8x4B. Take the first example. The first word on Hebrew is סוּס which means horse. The second word is הַמֶּלֶךְ which means the king. The translation given is “the horse of the king”. The second page gives examples of how this is translated into English with a ‘s. Based on that “the horse of the king” would be “the king’s horse”. This example shows us if we accept Exion’s claim אל means God and this is a construct relationship then the translation would actually be “God of stone” or “stone’s God”. Exion has flipped the words in his translation.

Thus, the phrase "מטרם שום־אבן אל־אבן בהיכל יהוה" would be understood as "before placing a stone as God's stone in the temple of YHWH" or "before placing a stone, God's stone, in the temple of YHWH"

Actually with the correct word order we’d have “before placing a stone, God of stone, in the temple of YHWH”.

Or you could simply not take "El" as a construct state. In Hebrew, a noun followed by another noun can indicate possession without needing a construct state (i.e. the equivalent of adding 's in English). This is often called "smikhut" or construct form, but it is not always necessary to explicitly form it.

This is confused. He thinks construct state refers to a specific different form or the noun but the possession meaning doesn’t require that different form. My textbook shows that’s mistaken. Yes it’s true the possession meaning doesn’t require a different form, however it’s still called the construct state. This is evident from my textbook. It notes at the bottom of the second page the construct state is sometimes the same as the absolute state. I didn’t mean to say Exion was taking it as having a different form from the absolute state but was pointing out he takes the phrase as indicating possession. That’s why I said if we add the missing word at take the phrase as indicating possession we’d get “stone’s God’s stone”.

This is something he doesn't know because, well, who knows why.

As my textbook proves it’s him that doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Explicitly contradicting your claim that it doesn't exist, but you didn't know that because you have probably never even read the entirety of the chapter to begin with. The Temple was already there. A stone was to be placed in it, God's stone, the black stone of the House of God, and not that it was to be built or built anew. This is why I even wrote the article, because the temple of God was already in existence. How you could have missed this, if you've read the chapter in it entirety, is very baffling to me.

What’s baffling to me is how someone can be so confident and condescending while being so wrong. Not only did Exion fail to research the historical context of the literature he tries to interpret, he failed to notice my summary of the history. Haggai gives explicit historical markers for when the prophecies were made. “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:” Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬. This places the prophecy in 520 B.C. This was after the Babylonians conquered Israel (specifically the southern kingdom as the northern was already conquered), brought them into exile, destroyed the first temple, the Persians conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews back to Israel to rebuilt the temple. They started to built the temple but stoped when opposition arose. Haggai’s prophecies are about pushing the Jews to continue rebuilding the temple. You can read about the fall of Israel by the Babylonians at the end of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. You can read about the return to Israel in Ezra and Nehemiah (note the events in Ezra are before those in Nehemiah).
Exion mentions Haggai 2:3 to disprove me. This is another case of him misrepresenting his sources. Let’s analyze it carefully part by part.
"Who among you is left, who saw this house in its former glory?” The word former indicates it had that glory in the past but no longer has it. That is because the previous temple was destroyed.
“And as you see it now”. This calls to attention a comparison of the former glory with the current glory.
“is it not as nothing in your eyes?" This expresses the current glory calling it nothing in their eyes. That’s because the previous temple was destroyed and not yet rebuilt.
Also check out these verses: ““Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭11 ‭ESV‬‬. It’s pretty clear the previous temple lies in ruins and God is calling them to rebuild it.

This is why Jacob

Jacob lived long before the temple was built. His life is recorded in Genesis. There is a lot of history in between Jacob’s life in Genesis and the building of the temple in 1 Kings/2 Chronicles. Either Exion is completely ignorant of the history he is commenting on or he’s cherry picking which parts he wants to accept.

Lying and adding words to the Word of God to make it look like another House would be raised.

But that’s literally what happened in history. The first temple was destroyed and the later rebuilt. Again check out the books I mentioned for the historical background, especially Ezra which records the events during the time Haggai was prophesying.

The preposition "the" is not there before "Chemdat," while it is before "Goyim" (heathens), which makes sense because "Chemdat of all the heathens (will come)" and doesn't translate to "The treasure of all the heathens (will come)," as they have it.

Exion takes the lack of the definite article before chemdat as indicating it shouldn’t be translated with a “the” as its indefinite. He then argues taking chemdat the traditional way doesn’t make sense without the definite article so we should instead take it as a name. This again shows he doesn’t know Hebrew.
Note Exion translates it as Chemdat of. He interprets it as possession indicating he takes the Hebrew as being in the construct state. I linked above the chapter on the construct state. The first page notes a noun in the construct state never has the definite article. Instead the the last noun as the definite article then the noun in the construct state is also definite, and if the last noun is indefinite then the noun in the construct state is indefinite. Exion also acknowledges the last noun as having the definite article. When we actually understand the construct relationship we see that while there is no definite article on chemdat it’s still definite since it’s in the construct form with the last noun having the definite article. This undermines his argument for why chemdat is a name.

The phrase "הגוים" (ha-goyim) translates as "the heathens,"

The BDB lists this word as meaning nations/people. Heathen has very negative connotations which are not necessarily implied by the word.

He then says He will fill this house, which they saw as nothing, with glory. The house already exists;

Again look at the historical markers Haggai gives and the historical books for the historical background. Also look at the passage I quoted from Haggai 1 which clearly mentions the current temple in ruins and God calling the people to rebuild it. The promise God is making in Haggai 2:7 is about the new temple being greater than the former.

Going back to Haggai 2, the 18th verse also confirms that the Temple already was there:
"Consider, please, your heart from this day and onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the temple of the Lord was founded, consider your heart."

This particular section is Haggai 2:10-19. By this time the Jews started rebuilding the temple again and had laid the foundation. Haggai 2:15 and 18 are parallel passages calling the people to consider the time since that work on rebuilding the temple was done. God then points to the blessing they’ve experienced since then. That is in contrast to the hardships listed in Haggai 1:10-11 that God says we’re because they weren’t rebuilding his temple.

Nevertheless, he is right about one thing regarding this chapter: it does not mention the new moon to new moon and the end of the Sabbath—that was in Isaiah 66. My mistake.

Yes it is a mistake and it is one of way too many to count where he messes up representing his source in some way.

the second phrase can be interpreted as an end (if we interpret "Shabbat" as "End")

Actually it can’t. I missed this in my post but u/c0d3rman caught it in his comment on Exion’s post. The definition Exion gives in his post is the verb “to cease”. However, “an end” is not a verb but a noun. His translation doesn’t match his own definition.

but it is Biblically and generally interpreted as "Sabbath."

Because as a noun it means Sabbath.

A literal translation of the phrase in the 23rd verse would be:
‎>שבת (shabbat) - "Sabbath"
‎>בשבתו (be-shabbato) - "His Sabbath"
‎>יבוא (yavo) - "it will come"

Putting יבוא as part of this phrase has 3 problems. First it breaks the parallel in grammar and idea with the previous phrase. Second the subject of the verb then becomes the sabbath but that’s not possible. The gender of the verb and subject need to match but sabbath is feminine while יבוא is masculine. Third Exion’s translation has יבוא translated twice, both as part of this phrase and as part of the following phrase. However the word only occurs once in Hebrew so it can’t be translated twice into English as a part of 2 different phrases.
I also explained how this phrase is an idiom in my first post. I referenced the BDB which explains how we know it’s an idiom and what the idiom means, which corresponds to the traditional translation. The verse is not talking about a sabbath coming to a sabbath or coming to an end. It’s saying the frequency that all flesh shall come to worship before God.
I’ve mentioned the BDB often as a source. For those unaware there is an online version where words can be searched, https://www.sefaria.org/BDB. I’m mentioning this because unlike Exion I want to be sure people can easily find the sources I reference. If anyone has trouble finding any particular word I’m not sure how to link to specific words but I’m happy to take pics of my physical copy.
u/TheQuranicMumin you said “If he fails/refuses to do this, we will remove his posts for misinformation.” Can we agree already this counts as a failure to respond and consider his posts misinformation or do I really need to continue addressing his posts/responses?

Understanding Enthusiastic Users
Who are Enthusiastic Users?
Enthusiastic users have several characteristics:

1. High Tolerance for Basic Products: They are willing to use and tolerate even rudimentary versions of your product. 2. Genuine Appreciation: They find your product amazing and are grateful because it solves a significant problem for them. 3. Willingness to Pay: They are ready to pay for your product. 4. Eagerness to Recommend: They enthusiastically recommend your product to people around them who might find it useful. 

Why Not Discuss Seed Users?
The common understanding of seed users is the first 100 or even 1,000 users of a new product.
Why Focus on Enthusiastic Users Instead of Seed Users?
The term seed users often includes non-target users or those who think your product is just okay but not essential. In other words, they might find the product mediocre and would use it only if they have to, making numerous demands before committing to it. This type of user is fundamentally different from an enthusiastic user.
Finding 10 Enthusiastic Users is Far More Valuable than Getting 1,000 Seed Users in the Early Stages of a Product!
First Step in Finding Enthusiastic Users: Define Them
Firstly, you need to describe who your enthusiastic users are. This has been mentioned in previous checklists. You need to create a profile of these users.
Example: Suppose we are developing an AI-generated professional headshot product.
My envisioned enthusiastic users would be:

1. Working Professionals: Especially those active on social media. They frequently use LinkedIn or Twitter and prefer formal headshots as their profile pictures. They often participate in media events and need headshots for posters. 2. Time-Constrained: They have limited time for in-person photo shoots. Their area lacks professional photo studios, making it costly to travel for a photoshoot. 3. Sales Professionals: They use professional headshots to appear more formal when interacting with clients, such as financial, real estate, or insurance salespeople. 4. Predominantly Female: Women are more concerned with their public image and have a higher willingness to pay for professional photos. They also prefer their photos to look more flattering. 5. Financially Capable: As white-collar professionals, they can afford to pay a reasonable fee for such services. Their appearance is crucial and can even bring additional benefits to their careers. 

Why I Can Define Enthusiastic Users

1. User Observation: For example, when you open WeChat and look at your friend list, notice who is using professional headshots. 2. Scenario Observation: Reflect on the scenarios where professional headshots are needed, such as public event posters. 3. Search Term Observation: People searching for “professional headshots near me” indicate a concern for their time. Others searching for “female professional headshots” highlight that women are particularly interested in this service. 

By paying close attention to your surroundings and continually observing, you can gather valuable insights without extensive research.
Where to Find Them?
To find them, first, you need to describe them. Once you have their profile, finding them becomes easy.
Methods to Find Enthusiastic Users

1. Find Their Gathering Places: Such as LinkedIn, sales communities, or specific QQ groups. 2. Reverse Simulation: If you were them looking for this service, what would you search for? Capture their search paths. • For instance, a post about “what to wear for professional headshots” could lead to a rich comment section full of potential users. • A video tutorial could have a comment section where you can engage potential users. 3. Provide Content for Their Needs: Create content addressing their needs, such as “how to dress for professional headshots” or “nearest professional photo studio.” • When they search for “nearest professional photo studio,” create a page with studio contacts and a prominent ad offering instant professional headshots. They are likely to click on it. 4. Media Platforms: Post about your product to gain exposure and attract users. 5. Build in Public: During this process, filter out enthusiastic users. 6. Referrals: Set up incentives, such as a free trial in exchange for sharing with three friends. Target users often know other potential users. 7. Leverage Existing Resources: Identify who already has access to your target users. • For instance, to find insurance salespeople, approach an institution that trains them and offer your product for them to promote. 8. User Group Setup: Establish an enthusiastic user group on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, or Discord to continuously gather feedback. 

Chapter Summary

1. Understanding Enthusiastic Users: High tolerance, willingness to pay, genuine appreciation, and eagerness to recommend. 2. Why Not Seed Users: They are not the target audience, have vague pain points, and make numerous demands. 3. Defining Enthusiastic Users: The core task is everyday observation to reduce the cost of research. 4. Where to Find Them: Seven methods to locate your enthusiastic users. 5. Building User Groups: Always listen to your users’ voices. This is crucial. 

Greetings and Salutations! I was planning on finishing this book over the weekend but got overzealous and couldn't stop last night (so much shit happened in this last stretch!). Anyway, figured I'd group all of my notes in these chapters for the final ACOMAF post. Hope you all enjoy!
Ch. 61

• Thank God Rhys had the foresight to teach Feyre how to read…they're actually gonna have to rely on her reading the spell correctly to destroy the cauldron. This can go south real quick
  
• Oooh they're in Hybern now!
  
• Wait…is the bone carver King Hybern??? Sarah J is using the word ‘bone’ a lot to describe this area. It doesn't really make sense, but what if????
  
• Dude this operation is going way too smooth, I'm just waiting for the big hiccup to happen
  
• IT'S THE CAULDRON
  

Ch. 62

• Omg stop admiring the cauldron and just say the spell and GTFO
  
• Oh wow, the books are like the one ring and can influence Feyre??? How did Mor and everyone else not notice this?
  
• WTF is happening to Feyre right now.
  
• HO.REE.SHET. It's FOOKIN' Jurian.
  

Ch.63

• Oooh Rhys wants in on the action now
  
• Hmmm can't Rhys just explode Jurian's mind in an instant?
  
• Ah kk they neutered him…seems like that happens too easily to Rhys. Gotta work on that bruh
  
• Oh wow King Hybern is here too, excited to see how this all goes
  
• NOOO not Azriel! He went down so quickly…Mor screaming for him is gut-wrenching, she wants him BAD
  
• OH SHIT IT'S LUKE THE DUKE AND TAMMY WTF ARE THEY DOING WITH KING HYMEN?!?!
  

Ch. 64

• Bro…Lucien better be playing 5D chess against everyone, this isn't the best look for him right now
  
• Damn Tammy, you really went off the deep end to get Feyre, huh? Please tell me this is all a part of Lucien's grand ‘ol plan
  
• Wait, did Feyre say a spell to break the ward over Rhys and company? How??? Is that the cauldron-breaking spell?
  
• TOUGH LOOK for Tammy…this guy seems way different
  
• Shit, Lucien is cringing, that's never a good sign. You may need to part ways with the High Lord Buffoon of Spring Court ASAP
  
• Damn, King Hymen has Feyre's sisters too??? This guy has just been making all the right moves
  

Ch. 65

• I still don't understand Jurian's relationship with King Hymen. He was actively fighting against him before, so why is he with him? Is he promising him Miryam? Also, wouldn't the mortal queens also be against Hymen too? I guess eternal life for them is so appealing that they'd scorch the earth for it.
  
• WOW Ianthe betrayed everyone???? *Sigh why is it always the hott ones…
  
• Nooooo poor Cassian and his wings…
  
• Ohhhh so Elain and Nesta are gonna be guinea pigs to see if they transform to high fae to make it safe for the mortal queens
  
• FINALLY Tammy. It only took you until the final seconds of the 4th quarter to realize that King Hymen isn't trustworthy, now do the only thing that you're good at by transforming to wolverine and massacring him and all his men.
  
• Oh shit Elain’s a high fae now! This is wild. But isn't this a good thing now? She's infinitely in a better position, not sure why everyone is making this out to be such a terrible outcome
  
• Bro, even in the worst of circumstances Lucien is STILL a gentleman by covering up Elain. CHAD.
  
• So why is Feyre so traumatized by this? If Elain survived the transformation, Nesta for sure will too, and they'll live forever now. Unless King Hymen decides to just execute them both here just for sport.
  
• WAHT Elain is Lucien’s mate?!?!? hooooooooolllly shiiiiiiieeeeet. He can do no better, the Chad KNOWS.
  

Ch. 66

• Wait, did Feyre just learn King Hymen’s spell that subdues everyone? Is she astral projecting???
  
• Oh wow, we're gonna have to rely on Feyre's acting skills now??? That's a long shot if I've ever seen one.
  
• Whoa the king actually severed Rhys and Feyre's bond? But it's just the bargain bond, right? Unless his magic was all encompassing and it severs all bonds? Damn this is a crazy chapter.
  

Ch. 67

• Wait, why is the king letting Rhysand and all the inner circle leave? He obviously doesn't care about honoring bargains so why doesn't he just kill them off?
  
• Lol Mor with the mate-steal of the day! I can't believe Lucien allowed that to happen, he’s off his game today
  
• “Lucien was watching me warily. Too warily.” Bro, I've been saying it since the first time I saw him in book 1…Luke the Duke can smell bullshit a mile away, and he's figuring out Feyre's game right now. LOVE. IT.
  
• Again, why is Feyre pissed that her sisters are now high fae? They're honestly safer now than they ever have been. Plus, Elain has Luke the Duke as a mate and if I need to explain the upside here, you haven't been paying attention
  

Ch. 68

• Oooh a Rhys PoV chapter???? Is this how the books are going to be moving forward? I approve of that change.
  
• Right right, I'm glad Rhys is confirming that King Hymen only broke the bargain bond, not the mating bond.
  
• Oh wow, so they actually completed the Mating ceremony bond in secret, that's cool. And she's High Lady Feyre now! That's literally all she ever wanted when Tammy said NO HIGH LADY FOR YOU
  
• “Perhaps Lucien being Elain's mate would help – somehow. I’d find a way.” Are we gonna get Lucien and Rhys being best bros in the next book?!? Ahhhhhhhh
  

Ch. 69

• Feyre having to pretend to be in love with Tammy…I can't believe we're doing this Do-Si-Do again. On the HUGE upside, we got Lucien back so his and Feyre's interactions will be legendary since he knows Feyre is faking.
  
• How is Tammy this dense? I guess love can blind you terribly, but by this much? This guy needs to find his mate and fast so he's not an obstacle anymore.
  

Wow what a book! Had a great time with it, definitely better than the first. I'm getting Empire Strikes Back vibes where none of the good guys are in a good place right now (except Tammy, but I guess you could classify him as a villain in some aspects lol). The world building was infinitely better, the characters had better development, great twists that I didn't expect…yeah, very well done Sarah J👌
Appreciate all your comments and insights! Looking forward to the next book, but may need a bit of a break to process everything that's happened. Hope to see you all around for the next one!

Hey guys! I finished the remake today and the ending just made me tear up.
Backstory: 20 Years ago, on the gamecube, I got TTYD for Christmas and it was immediately my absolute favorite game. It just was everything Paper Mario 64 was, but better. The graphic was MINDBLOWING, the humour was awesome and the gameplay was just absolutely tight.
I struggled a lot with some bosses (I remember Chapter 5 and 6 to be hard as frick) and - since I was a 10 year old boy that didn't think a lot about badges - put most of my levels in HP and FP, cause hey. I die alot, so I need more health, right?
This led to - sadly - the problem, that I never had enough damage to finish the final boss, so I never saw the ending back then.
I replayed the game a lot, cause chapter 3 is hellah fun and overall the game was just fun.
Many many years later, I finally saw the light. BP is where it's at. It's ridiculous how easier the game gets, when you have as much badges as I have.

• Finished the game with total of 2 life-shrooms used in the game
• Defeated 2 of the superbosses on first try (the last one is still to be done)
• Ended up with 60BP, 35HP and 35FP shortly after the boss fight

I'm so happy I finally could finish this game and looking forward to trying out some new builds, finishing the save file to 100% and rocking to this sick tunes.
This game is everything I ever wanted the remake to be (Even though, I HATE the new superguard animation. IT'S SO SLOW).
Have a great day everyone. I'm off to the woods, hunting for Amazy Dayzees. (Lvl 99 and Danger Mario, here I come)

side effects

"Our mental health crisis won’t be solved by pills alone. The number of people taking antidepressants has doubled since 2011, but the side effects of long-term use are broadly unknown." https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/05/our-mental-health-crisis-wont-be-solved-by-pills-alone
"Woman feels intense side effects with anti-seizure medications...Keppra...It made her feel loopy, tired and weak. Her doctor switched her to lacosamide twice a day. Side effects of this drug are similar. She’s had double vision and drowsiness, and she can no longer drive," https://www.thedailyreview.com/arts_and_living/woman-feels-intense-side-effects-with-anti-seizure-medications/article_e0596282-1edb-11ef-a94b-2b187723a155.html

talk therapy

"Why, for some, psychotherapy might be a better treatment for depression than drugs...antidepressants...He felt “dead inside”, https://theconversation.com/why-for-some-psychotherapy-might-be-a-better-treatment-for-depression-than-drugs-229255

least restrictive setting

"Improving patients’ rights to make choices in their treatment...when glucose metabolism fueling the brain is disrupted, the energy-starved brain may develop symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder." https://www.apa.org/monito2024/06/right-to-least-restrictive-treatment-setting

poverty is traumatic

"New York City Releases Its First Ever State of Mental Health Report...Adults who personally witnessed or experienced violence in their neighborhood, or who encountered rodents on their street, lacked heat in the most recent winter or recently saw mold in their home were more likely to experience serious psychological distress than adults who had not...45 percent of adults reporting drinking at least one alcoholic drink." https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2024/nyc-releases-first-ever-state-of-mental-health-report.page

autism

"Mental health assessment tools for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) largely lack evidence of reliability and validity, according to systematic review study findings published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders." https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/news/mental-health-assessment-tools-validity-for-autism/

mental discrimination

japan, "Hundreds of provisions that discriminate against people with mental disorders remain in local governments’ ordinances and other rules," https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/15262348

LGBTQI

"may be more likely to avoid going to the doctor for fear of discrimination." https://abcnews.go.com/Health/lgbtq-people-higher-risk-cancers-possibly-due-feastory?id=110704665

not able to diagnose whether alive

"Oregon State Hospital staff found he lacked a pulse after wheeling through the facility to his room." https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/05/30/a-young-mans-death-exposes-holes-in-oregons-mental-health-system/

conflict of interest

"Ohioans want to put an initiative on the ballot to amend the state's constitution to eliminate qualified immunity, prosecutorial immunity, sovereign immunity, and every other kind of immunity. But the Ohio AG (who would lose immunity) has refused to certify the proposed amendment six times, finding various reasons why the summary of the amendment isn't "fair and truthful." Fed up, the Ohioans sue. Sixth Circuit (over a dissent): And their motion for preliminary injunction is granted. The AG must certify the initiative so that its sponsors can begin collecting signatures." https://reason.com/volokh/2024/05/31/short-circuit-a-roundup-of-recent-federal-court-decisions-265/

religious defense

"In 1981 in an unemployment compensation case, the Supreme Court said that when considering accommodations for people of faith, religious beliefs do not need to be "acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others." https://reason.com/volokh/2024/05/31/short-circuit-a-roundup-of-recent-federal-court-decisions-265/

domestic violence

washington, "Initially appearing to be a involuntary commitment call, further investigation revealed the victim wanted to commit suicide due to abuse by his mother." https://www.kentreporter.com/news/kent-police-blotter-may-13-26/ I was only a little sad/bored, until dictator parents poisoned me.

hot

"Frequent sauna use and exercise might lower the risk of psychosis." https://bgr.com/science/frequent-sauna-use-and-exercise-might-lower-the-risk-of-psychosis/

lawsuits

ireland, "Settlements approved for boys allegedly inappropriately prescribed antipsychotic medication by Kerry CAMHS...€60,000 to a 10-year-old boy and a €16,000 award to a 17-year-old." https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/05/31/settlements-approved-for-boys-allegedly-inappropriately-prescribed-antipsychotic-medication-by-kerry-camhs/

violent nurses

"arrested Pablo Garcia, 64, of Hollywood, on a charge of abuse of a disabled adult without great bodily harm." https://www.local10.com/news/local/2024/05/31/nurse-at-broward-psychiatric-hospital-arrested-for-shoving-patient-to-floor-police-say/

religious police

texas, "HPD Sgt would go on to declare other resolutions in the name of Jesus Christ...he objects to getting taken to the hospital..."I don't want them to kill me in there." https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/hutchins-police-officer-declares-jesus-to-get-child-from-father-having-mental-health-crisis/

torture

nigeria, "Federal Gov’t To Extend Anti-torture Law To Psychiatric Hospitals, Others...United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT), Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and enacted the Anti-Torture Act." https://leadership.ng/federal-govt-to-extend-anti-torture-law-to-psychiatric-hospitals-others/

personal experiences

May 31 9:47 AM mother threatened sacred beard. cursed and said I would be "terrified." she's "going to have a mental breakdown."

Hey everyone, I put together this huge list of albums and reduced prices on stuff previously posted, hope you enjoy! New batch of sealed Jazz audiophile reissues from Spain. Most used titles include original inner sleeves. Records will be shipped outside of cover in poly sleeve. Message or comment to purchase or for more information.
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$6 Unlimited Shipping USPS Media Mail
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FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $75!
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— Graded Vinyl/Cover —

• Steve Allen - Steve Allen's All Star Jazz Concert Vol. 1 UK RE Sealed M/M $8
  
  • Buddy Arnold - Wailing 1986 RE Spain M/M $12
• Ethel Azama - Cool Heat 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $10
  
• Chet Baker Quartet - Jazz At Ann Arbor 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $38
  
• Milt Bernhart Brass Ensemble - Modern Brass 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $14
  
• The Ruby Braff-Marshall Brown Sextet - S/T 1986 Spain RE M/M $12
  
• Donna Brooks - I'll Take Romance 1988 Spain RE Sealed M/M $24
  
• Bob Brookmeyer - Kansas City Revisited 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $12
  
• Conte Candoli - Mucho Calor (Much Heat) 1987 RE Sealed M/M $32
  
• The Teddy Charles Group - On Campus - Ivy League Jazz Concert 1987 Spain RE Sealed M/M $20
  
• Bette St. Claire - At Basin Street East 1987 Spain RE M/M $8
  
• Dick Collins And His Orchestra - King Richard The Swing Hearted 1983 Spain RE Sealed M/M $10
  
• Bill Evans Trio - Live At Balboa Jazz Club Vol. 1 Unofficial Sealed M/M $36
  
• Bill Evans Trio - Live At Balboa Jazz Club Vol. 2 Unofficial Sealed M/M $35
  
• Frederick Fennell - Hi-Fi A La Espaňola 180gm Living Presence RE Sealed M/M $90
  
• The Five - Arrangements By Shorty Rogers 1983 Spain RE Sealed M/M $11
  
• Ann Gilbert - In A Swingin' Mood 1986 Spain RE M/M $14
  
• Pedro Iturralde Quartet - Pedro Iturralde Quartet Featuring Hampton Hawes M/M $30
  
• The Bobby Jaspar All Stars - Bobby Jaspar And His All Stars 1987 Spain RE M/M $25
  
• Beverly Kenney - Come Swing With Me 1987 Spain RE M/M $38
  
• Peggy Lee - Pete Kelly's Blues 1983 UK RE Sealed M/M $12
  
• Howard Lucraft - Showcase For Modern Jazz 1986 Spain RE M/M $18
  
• Skip Martin - Dance To Swingin' Things From Cole Porter's Can-Can 1986 Spain RE M/M $7
  
• Mary Ann McCall - Detour To The Moon 1987 Spain RE Sealed M/M $12
  
• The Jack Montrose Quintet - Blues And Vanilla 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $20
  
• Audrey Morris - Bistro Ballads Sung By Audrey Morris 1987 Spain RE Sealed M/M $32
  
• Art Pepper Quartet - Art Pepper Quartet' 64 In San Francisco 1988 Spain Sealed M/M $28
  
• Bill Perkins Quartet - Killer Joe 1988 Spain Sealed M/M $18
  
• The Rhythm Section - Rhythm + 1 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $11
  
• Shorty Rogers - Collaboration 1983 Spain RE Sealed M/M $14
  
• Joe Roland Quintette - Joe Roland Quintette 1988 Spain RE Sealed M/M $14
  
• Annie Ross - Sings A Handful Of Songs 1987 Spain RE M/M $16
  
• Gene Roland - Jazzville Vol. 4 1988 Spain RE Sealed M/M $25
  
• Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars - Double Or Nothin' 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $20
  
• Tony Scott Quartet - Both Sides Of Tony Scott 1988 Spain RE Sealed M/M $20
  
• Tony Scott And His Buddies - Gypsy 1987 Spain RE Sealed M/M $16
  
• Ann Sexton - Love Trials 1987 UK Sealed M/M $14
  
  • Jeri Southern - Coffee, Cigarettes & Memories 1987 Spain RE Sealed M/M $14
• The Nick Travis Quintet - The Panic Is On 1984 Spain RE Sealed M/M $15
  
• Sarah Vaughan - You're Mine You 1988 Spain RE Sealed M/M $10
  
• Kitty White - Sweet Talk 1987 Spain RE M/M $10
  
• The Claude Williamson Quartet - Theatre Party Attended By The Claude Williamson Quartet 1987 Spain RE M/M $8
  
• Sonny Boy Williamson - Keep It To Ourselves 1996 RE HQ-180gm Analogue Sealed M/M $40
  

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• Cannonball Adderley And His Orchestra - African Waltz 1961 OG Sealed M/NM $35
  
• Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson 1960 MGM NM/NM $69
  
• Azymuth - Telecommunication 2022 RE Sealed M/M $27
  
• Art Blakey - The Giants Of Jazz 1972 NM/EX $10
  
• Lenny Breau - When Lightn' Strikes... 1982 VG+/VG+ $28
  
• James Brown - Body Heat 1976 VG+/VG+ $20
  
• The Cadillacs - The Best Of The Cadillacs Volume One 1983 Comp Sealed M/M $10
  
• Ron Carter - All Blues 1974 OG Sealed M/M $45
  
• Al Jazzbo Collins - A Lovely Bunch Of Al Jazzbo Collins And The Bandidos 1967 EX/EX $12
  
• Miles Davis - Porgy And Bess 1977 RE NM/NM $15
  
• Miles Davis - In Person, At The Blackhawk 1973 RE VG+/VG+ $15
  
• Miles Davis Sextet - Someday My Prince Will Come 1961 Mono Pit VG+/NM $85
  
• Miles Davis - Seven Steps To Heaven 1963 OG SVG/VG+ $28
  
• Joe Farrell - Outback 1972 NM/EX $17
  
• Joe Farrell - Canned Funk 1975 NM/EX $17
  
• Joe Farrell - Song Of The Wind 1976 RE NM/VG+ $14
  
• Joe Farrell - Night Dancing 1978 NM/VG+ $5
  
• Marvin Gaye - What's Going On 1971 Ind VG/VG- $24
  
• Herbie Hancock - An Evening With Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea In Concert 1978 Ter NM/VG+ $8
  
• Richie Havens - Richie Havens 1974 UK Comp EX/EX $8
  
• Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Midnight Band: The First Minute Of A New Day 1975 Ter VG+/EX $20
  
• Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson - From South Africa To South Carolina 1975 NM/VG+ $18
  
• Al Hirt - Soul In The Horn 1967 VG+/SVG $20
  
• John Lee Hooker - The Best Of John Lee Hooker 1962 RE VG+/VG+ $20
  
• Bobbi Humphrey - Bobbi Humphrey's Best 1976 NM/SVG $7
  
• Inner Life - I'm Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair) 1979 NM/EX $20
  
• Grace Jones - Living My Life 1982 All NM/NM $11
  
• Grace Jones - Slave To The Rhythm 1985 Jac NM/EX $11
  
• Grace Jones - Inside Story 1986 SRP NM/NM $7
  
• Grace Jones - Portfolio RE EX/EX $6
  
• B.B. King - B.B. King In London 1971 OG EX/EX $18
  
  • Kool And The Gang - The Force 1977 OG NM/VG $7
• Kool & The Gang - Celebrate! 1980 VG+/EX $6
  
• Kool & The Gang - Emergency 1984 OG EX/VG+ $4
  
• La Mont Zeno Theatre - Black Fairy 2015 UK RE NM/NM $15
  
• Ronnie Laws - Pressure Sensitive 1975 Ter SVG/VG+ $5
  
• Ronnie Laws - Flame 1978 VG+/VG+ $4
  
• Taj Mahal - Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff 1972 OG EX/EX $14
  
• Taj Mahal - Music Keeps Me Together 1975 Canada OG NM/EX $14
  
• Steve Marshall - Do What You Will 1978 VG+/VG- $799
  
• Jimmy McGriff - Black And Blues 1972 OG Sealed M/M $47
  
• Thelonious Monk - Monk's Moods 2016 EU Sealed M/M $14
  
• Charlie Parker - The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever EX/NM 1973 RE $8
  
• Flora Purim - Open Your Eyes You Can Fly NM/NM $9
  
• Flora Purim - 500 Miles High 1976 EX/VG+ $5
  
• Flora Purim - Encounter 1977 San EX/SVG $6
  
• Flora Purim - Everyday, Everynight 1978 Jac NM/VG+ $4
  
• Flora Purim - Carry On 1979 Los EX/VG+ $6
  
• Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Going To A Go-Go 1965 Ter VG-/VG+ $12
  
• Woody Shaw - Lotus Flower 1982 Germany Sealed M/M $35
  
• The Soulful Strings - Paint It Black 1966 VG/VG+ $5
  
• The Soulful Strings - Groovin' With The Soulful Strings 1967 VG/VG+ $5
  
• Gabor Szabo - The Best Of Gabor Szabo 1968 OG EX/EX $12
  
• The Thompsons - I'll Get Over It 2019 RE NM/NM $17
  
• Various - The Original Sound Track From The Film Black Orpheus VG+/VG+ 1966 RE $5
  
• V.S.O.P. - The Quintet 1977 EX/SVG $7
  
• War - The World Is A Ghetto 1972 Ind EX/EX $14
  
• Grover Washington, Jr. - Soul Box 1973 2LP NM/NM $14
  
• Muddy Waters - The Best Of Muddy Waters 2015 RE Europe VG+/NM $14
  
• Muddy Waters - The London Muddy Waters Sessions 2016 RE NM/NM $22
  
• The Bluesmen Of The Muddy Waters Chicago Blues Band - Volume 2 1968 OG VG/G $15
  
• Muddy Waters - Muddy Mississippi Waters Live 1979 OG Looks VG Plays SVG/VG+ Cover $11
  
• Dinah Washington - Late Late Show 1963 RE VG+/EX $6
  
• Dinah Washington - Dinah Jams 1974 RE NM/VG+ $7
  
• Dinah Washington - For Lonely Lovers 1960s RE Mono $7
  
• Dinah Washington - Golden Hits / Volume Two 1963 Mono EX/VG+ $7
  
• Weather Report - Sweetnighter 1977 RE NM/VG+ $6
  
• Weather Report - Mr. Gone 1978 San EX/VG+ $6
  
• Weather Report - 8:30 1979 San NM/VG+ $7
  
• Bill Withers - +'Justments 1974 VG/VG+ $10
  
• Stevie Wonder - Talking Book 1981 Spain RE NM/VG+ $14
  
• Stevie Wonder - Talking Book 1973 OG EX/VG+ $16
  
• Stevie Wonder - Original Musiquarium 1982 White Label Promo VG/SVG $12
  
• Big L - The Big Picture 2019 2LP RE Clear w White Smoke NM/NM $88
  
• De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising 2023 RE Magenta Vinyl Sealed $22
  
• De La Soul - Buddy & Ghetto Thang 1989 12” Single Promo NM/NM $12
  
• NF - Therapy Session 2016 2LP VG+/VG+ $380
  
• Showbiz & A.G. - Fat Pockets 1992 Promo VG+/GEN $18
  
• Showbiz & A.G. - Soul Clap 1992 EP Promo VG/GEN $24
  

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• The Allman Brothers Band - S/T 70s RE NM/VG+ $20
  
• Jeff Beck - Blow By Blow 1975 Pit EX/VG+ $7
  
• Jeff Beck - Wired Ter NM/VG+ $7
  
• Jeff Beck - Live 1977 Pit EX/SVG $5
  
• Jeff Beck - There & Back 1980 Ter VG+/VG+ $5
  
• Blue Öyster Cult* - Tyranny And Mutation 1973 Ter EX/VG+ $10
  
• Blue Öyster Cult - On Your Feet Or On Your Knees 1975 2LP EX/VG- $5
  
• David Buckland & Blackjack Davey - This One's For You 1981 OG EX/NM $21
  
• John Carpenter - Anthology II (Movie Themes 1976-1988) 2023 Blue Vinyl Sealed M/M $18
  
• Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade - Live Frogs Set 1 & 2 2020 RE Green Splatter Vinyl NM/NM $45
  
• Eric Clapton - At His Best 1972 Ter 2LP VG+/VG+ $6
  
• Cream - Heavy Cream 1972 Ter 2LP VG++/VG+ $10
  
• Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits 2018 EU New $13
  
• Deep Purple - Deepest Purple (Best Of) 1980 Club NM/VG+ $10
  
• The Doors - The Doors 2009 RE Sealed M/M $16
  
• Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II 1970s RE Ter VG+/VG+ $10
  
• Bob Dylan - New Morning 1970 Ter VG+/SVG $6
  
• Eagles - Eagles 1976 RE SP VG+/VG $6
  
• Eagles - Hotel California 1977 RE SRC w Poster EX/SVG $10
  
• Eagles - Hotel California 2017 EU RE New $15
  
• Eagles - One Of These Nights 1975 OG VG/G+$3
  
• Earth, Wind & Fire - Gratitude 1975 Ter EX/VG $5
  
• Earth, Wind & Fire - The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1 2017 EX/EX $11
  
• Faces - Ohh La La 1973 OG SVG/VG+ $10
  
• Faces - A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse 1971 Ter VG+/VG $6
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On 1970s NM/SVG $16
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Kiln House 1976 RE Win NM/SVG $12
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Future Games 1975 RE Win NM/VG+ $14
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Mystery To Me 1975 RE Win NM/SVG $11
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Penguin 1973 EX/VG $8
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Heroes Are Hard To Find 1976 RE Win VG+/VG+ $8
  
• Fleetwood Mac - Tusk 1979 Los 2LP NM/VG+ $17
  
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love 1970s RE Los EX/EX $25
  
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland 1981 Club Car NM/VG+ $26
  
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced? 1980s RE VG+/VG- $12
  
• Jimi Hendrix - The Cry Of Love 2014 RE New $14
  
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Smash Hits 2016 RE New $14
  
• Kansas - Audio-Visions 1980 Pit EX/VG+ $5
  
• Kansas - Kansas 1974 Pit EX/VG+ $6
  
• Kansas - Song For America 1975 Ter VG+/SVG $6
  
• Kansas - Masque 1975 VG+/VG $5
  
• Kansas - Leftoverture 1976 Ter EX/VG+ $6
  
• Kansas - Point Of Know Return 1977 VG+/VG $6
  
• Led Zeppelin - Hiawatha Express 1977 Unofficial EX/EX $40
  
• Led Zeppelin - Untitled IV 2023 RE New Clear Vinyl New $15
  
• Led Zeppelin - Houses Of The Holy 1977 RE VG+/G+ $12
  
• Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti 2015 RE New $20
  
• The Mothers - Fillmore East 1976 RE LA NM/VG+ $14
  
• The Nice - The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack 1973 RE CSP NM/VG $7
  
• The Nice - Ars Longa Vita Brevis 1973 CSP VG+/VG $5
  
• Peanut Butter Conspiracy - For Children Of All Ages 1969 OG VG+/NM $24
  
• Primus - Sailing The Seas Of Cheese 2013 RE M/NM $35
  
• Primus - Pork Soda 2009 RE NM/NM $40
  
• Primus - Antipop 2019 RE Clear Blue Vinyl NM/NM $50
  
• Primus - Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble 2014 Brown Vinyl EX/NM $19
  
• Dolly Parton - Heartbreaker 1978 OG Sealed M/NM $12
  
• Dolly Parton - Just Because I'm A Woman 1976 OG Sealed M/NM $10
  
• Pink Floyd - Obscured By Clouds 1972 1st Jac NM/EX $45
  
  • Pink Floyd - Obscured By Clouds 1972 Jac NM/VG- $22
• Pink Floyd - Meddle 1974 RE RRL VG+/VG $19
  
• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here 1975 San VG++/VG+ $25
  
• Pink Floyd - The Final Cut 1983 Pit NM/EX $17
  
• Queen - A Day At The Races 1976 PRC NM/VG $19
  

*Rare Earth - Willie Remembers 1972 NM/VG+ $5

• Steely Dan - Katy Lied 1975 Pit VG+/VG $14
  
• Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill 1972 White Label Promo VG/G $27
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Chapter And Verse 2016 OG New M/NM $8
  
• Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run 1975 San VG+/VG+ $8
  
• Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs 1974 San EX/SVG $5
  
• Robin Trower - Long Misty Days 1976 Ter NM/VG $5
  
• Robin Trower - In City Dreams 1977 Ter NM/VG $5
  
• Robin Trower - For Earth Below 1975 EX/VG $5
  
• Robin Trower - Robin Trower Live! 1976 EX/G $3
  
• Robin Trower - Caravan To Midnight 1978 SVG/SVG $4
  
• Van Halen - 1984 Club NM/EX $24
  
• The Edgar Winter Group - They Only Come Out At Night 80s RE VG+/VG+ $5
  
• Yes - Relayer 1974 MO EX/VG+ $7
  
• Yes - Going For The One 1977 PRC NM/SVG $6
  
• Yes - Fragile 1977 RE SP VG+/VG+ $7
  
• Yes - The Yes Album 70s RE MO EX/VG+ $6
  
• Neil Young - Harvest 1978 Jac EX/VG+ $10
  
• ZZ Top - Fandango! 1975 Pit VG+/VG $11
  
• ZZ Top - Tejas 1976 AL EX/VG $11
  
• 21 Savage - American Dream 2024 Sealed M/M $24
  
• Chet BakeChristopher Mason - Silent Nights 1986 OG VG+/VG $45
  
• Tony Bennett - The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album 1975 OG EX/VG+ $14
  
• The Gil Evans Orchestra - Into The Hot 1974 RE VG+/VG+ $13
  
• Gil Evans And His Orchestra - America's #1 Arranger 1961 RE NM/G+ $6
  
• The Gil Evans Orchestra - Little Wing (Live In Germany) 1982 RE VG+/SVG $5
  
• Buddy DeFranco Quintet - Cooking The Blues 1958 OG VG+/VG $16
  
• Grant Green - Easy 1978 OG VG/SVG $5
  
• Bobby Hutcherson - Now! 1970 OG Looks G+ Plays VG-/VG+ Cover $32
  
• Gary McFarland /Gabor Szabo - Simpático G+/VG+ $8
  
• Lil Green - Romance In The Dark 1971 OG VG/G+ $3
  
• Jimmy Reed - T'aint No Big Thing But He Is... 1963 OG G+/VG+ $4
  
• Della Reese - Della Reese Live 1966 Sealed M/NM $8
  
• Della Reese - Della On Strings Of Blue 1967 Sealed M/NM $8
  
  • Della Reese - Black Is Beautiful 1970 Sealed M/NM $8
• Johnny Guitar Watson - A Real Mother For Ya 1977 OG VG/VG+ $4
  
• Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - Second Wind 1972 Germany VG/VG+ $9
  
• The Dean Davis Company - IInd Time Around 1969 OG SVG/SVG (Signed) $80
  
• Franciscan Sisters - Joy 1962 VG+/VG+ $15
  
• Middle Tennessee State University- Rimusic III NM/NM 1983 $60
  
• Evelyn "Champagne" King - Smooth Talk 1977 RE VG+/VG+ $5
  
• Gloria Jones - Windstorm 1978 OG NM/SVG Signed $24
  
• The New York Community Choir - Reachin' Out 1982 OG EX/NM $20
  

*Malo - Malo 1972 OG VG/VG+ $5
*Anita Baker - Rapture 1986 OG NM/VG+ $18
*D. J. Rogers - It's Good To Be Alive 1975 OG VG-/VG+ $5
*Al Gee - Rap N' Rhythm (Programs #233 - 236) 1975 OG VG+/VG+ $14
*The Hesitations - The New Born Free 1968 OG NM/NM $12
*Syl Johnson - Back For A Taste Of Your Love 1973 OG SVG/SVG $14
*Various - Rosko's Evergreens Back On The Scene 1964 VG/VG+ $4
*The Stylistics - Round 2 1972 OG VG+/NM $8
*Johnnie Taylor - Super Taylor 1974 OG EX/VG+ $7
*Johnnie Taylor - Rated Extraordinaire 1977 OG VG+/NM $6
*Johnnie Taylor - Ever Ready 1978 OG EX/NM $7
*The Temptations - Live At The Copa 1968 OG VG/VG+ $4
*Clarence Carter - The Dynamic Clarence Carter 1969 Sealed M/EX $18
*Ray Charles - From The Pages Of My Mind 1986 OG VG+/NM $6
*Sammy Davis Jr. - Sings What Kind Of Fool Am I And Other Show-Stoppers 1962 RE M/NM $10
*Sammy Davis Jr. - Salutes The Stars Of The London Palladium 1964 OG VG/EX $4
*Blossom Dearie - Needlepoint Magic Volume V 1979 EX/EX $6
*Cat Anderson - Ellingtonia 1962 VG-/VG $2
*Duke Ellington - Ellington Indigos 1989 RE NM/NM $10
*Duke Ellington - The Early Duke Ellington 1968 OG Sealed M/NM $6
*Duke Ellington & Teresa Brewer - It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing 1981 RE NM/VG+ $5
*Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington 1965 RE VG+/VG+ $8
*Dizzy Gillespie - 16 Rare Performances 1966 RE VG+/EX $8
*Billie Holiday - The Billie Holiday Story 1972 2LP VG+/VG+ $14
*Baby Ray - Where Soul Lives 1967 OG Sealed M/NM $10
*Don Redman And His Orchestra - For Europeans Only 1983 Denmark NM/NM $12
*Charlie Parker And His Orchestra - Night And Day 1960 RE VG/VG $8
*Ernestine Anderson - When The Sun Goes Down 1985 OG NM/EX $8
*George Benson - Breezin' 1976 VG+/VG+ $5
*Art Blakey - Gretsch Drum Night At Birdland 1960 OG VG/VG $10
*The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Bossa Nova U.S.A. 1963 OG SVG/VG+ $7
*Kenny Burrell - Handcrafted 1978 OG VG/VG+$8
*The Eddie Costa Quartet - Guys And Dolls Like Vibes 1958 OG VG/VG+ $5
*Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert 1975 OG VG/VG+ $10
*John Klemmer - All The Children Cried VG+/VG+ $8
*Les McCann Ltd. - Live At Shelly's Manne-Hole RE NM/VG+ $5
*Johnny Smith - Phase II 1968 OG Sealed M/M $20
*Weather Report - Mr. Gone 1978 OG VG+/VG+ $9
*Bob Dylan - New Morning 1970 OG VG+/VG+ $8
*Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster 1979 OG VG+/VG+ $6
*Heart - Bad Animals 1987 OG NM/NM $8
*Jerry Lee Lewis - Southern Roots 1973 OG Sealed M/M $10
*Oscar Brown Jr. - Finding A New Friend 1966 Mono WL Promo EX/NM $20
*Mother Night - S/T 1972 OG NM/VG- $7
*Johnny Cash - At San Quentin 1969 EX/NM $12
*Baltimora- Living In The Background 1985 VG+/VG+ $8
*Ginger Bates - Refreshingly Country VG/VG+ $18
*Roberto Jordan - Roberto Jordan 1972 Sealed (Torn Shrink) M/EX $18
*Toquinho & Vinícius - Vinícius & Toquinho 1974 Brazil NM/NM $24
*Prakash Vadehra - Magic Flutes Of North India 1969 EX/EX $8
*Father Rivers - Sings The Mass 1966 VG/VG+ $4
*Bill Withers - +'Justments 1974 VG/VG+ $10
*Jacksons - Victory 1984 VG+/EX $5
*Wilton Felder - Inherit The Wind 1980 NM/NM $5
*Wilson Pickett - The Wicked Pickett 1967 MO VG/EX $10
*SPB Ska-Jazz Review - Elephant Riddim 2016 Russia EX/EX $15
*Listener - Wooden Heart 2014 Green/Cream Vinyl NM/NM $15
*Antonio Carlos Jobim - A Certain Mr. Jobim 1967 Sealed M/NM $17
*James Williams - Magical Trio 1 1989 NM/EX $7
*James Williams - Magical Trio 2 1988 Sealed M/VG+ $9
*Chilly - For Your Love 1979 VG/G+ $10
*Tina Turner - Private Dancer 1984 Club w Inner NM/NM $12
*Mary Jane Girls - Only Four You 1985 EX/EX $7
*Average White Band - Soul Searching 1976 NM/VG+ $6
*Invisible Man's Band - Really Wanna See You 1981 NM/EX $5

• Vasant Rai - Spring Flowers 1976 NM/EX $5
  
• Aretha Franklin - Aretha Gospel 1982 RE EX/EX $6
  
• Various - A Quartet Of Soul 1967 Sealed M/M (Comp w Tommy Hunt & Charlie Foxx) $12
  
• Lord Flea And His Calypsonians - Swingin' Calypsos 1957 VG/G+ $4
  
• The Swordsmen - S/T 1969 VG+/NM $5
  
• Funkapolitan - Funkapolitan 1982 NM/SVG $5
  
• The Flirts - Blondes Brunettes & Redheads 1985 NM/NM $5
  
• The Flirts - 10¢ A Dance 1982 NM/NM $6
  
• Vesta - Special 1991 EX/VG+ $8
  
• Acoustic Alchemy - Red Dust & Spanish Lace 1987 NM/NM $10
  
• The Floaters - Float Into The Future 1979 EX/NM $4
  
• Johnny Thunder - Loop De Loop 1963 OG G+/VG $3
  
• Oingo Boingo - Flesh And Blood 1989 WL Promo 12” Single SVG/GEN $16
  
• Johnny Harris - Odyssey 1980 12” Single VG+/VG+ $17
  
• Steven Paul Perry - Backseat Lover 1990 EX/VG+ $24
  
• Marcus Law - Make It Right 1997 UK 12” Single VG+/GEN $16
  
• Gel-O - Land Of The Buddha EP EX/VG+ $16
  
  • Le Pamplemousse - Le Spank 1977 OG (Signed) VG+/VG $18
• Ultimate Spinach - Ultimate Spinach 1968 Taiwan Red Vinyl VG/VG+ $14
  
• 100 Proof Aged In Soul - 100 Proof VG/VG $9
  
• Peter Brown - Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me? 1977 RE EX/EX $5
  
• Lamont Dozier - Black Bach 1974 OG SVG/NM $8
  

*Lonnie Liston Smith - A Song For The Children 1979 OG VG/VG+ $5

• Wes Montgomery - The Best Of Wes Montgomery 1967 OG VG/VG+ $5
  
• Charli Persip And Superband - In Case You Missed It 1985 Italy OG NM/NM $7
  
• Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson 1965 OG SVG/NM $4
  
• Oscar Peterson - Stéphane Grappelli Quartet Vol. 1 1973 France OG NM/EX $8
  -Don Shirley - Tonal Expressions 1955 OG SVG/VG+ $8
  

I want to ask for advice. I am relatively new to investing and in the last 6 months I invested in three fund portfolios in my taxable account, and I am happy with the results. I am 53 year old.
I do have a traditional (rollover) IRA with John Hancock. I did the rollover prior to staring my current job and at that time I did not know anything about investing. My current 401(k) via Fidelity reportedly accepts rollovers but 401(k) people could not provide specific details how to start the process.
My John Hancock IRA:
$143K all invested in Class A Multimanager Lifestyle Balanced Portfolio JALBX
It is not possible for me to understand how much I pay to John Hancock per year, but the following are in the summary prospectus:
Annual fund operating expenses are 1.34% including 0.25% management fee, 0.3% distribution and services fee, 0.15% other expenses, 0.64% acquired fund fees. I am not sure if those fees include 0.56% expense ratio listed online. I saw somewhere also a documentation fee 1.1% on the website but in the summary prospectus.
There is also a shareholder fee 4.5% (maximum front-end sales charge (load) on purchases, not sure when this one is charged).
It looks to me that fees are high, and growth of the portfolio was not great compared with the market in the last 5 years.
I also would love to be able to do backdoor Roth and I cannot do it if I have this IRA.
Question:
1) should I just convert this tIRA into Roth, it probably will be the simplest process, but I will need to pay 32% marginal tax rate on the conversion
2) should I roll this one over to my 401(k). 401K has 1% documentation fee per year but has low cost funds like FXAIX with 0.02% ER. Does anyone know how to start the process? should I first reach to JH or do something with Fidelity? There is no option to start a rollover on either websit
3) is it possible that actually I do not understand something and this John Hancock IRA is actually good and I should keep it?

Hey y'all, it’s been a while.
A huge thank you again to everyone who followed along last summer counting down the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years, which spanned 133 days and counted down to the season. For those unfamiliar with it, TL;DR, I ranked each FBS program over the last 40 years using my “proprietary” ranking algorithm, which scores a team’s season based on their strength of schedule, margin of victory, and record. Thanks again to everyone who donated, UMeister and the mod team who got the final ranking on the sub banner, all the people who subscribed on Substack, and all the commenters and readers. It truly was an insane time, some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
With that, we’re due for a few updates.
Last time a bunch of people were asking about a coffee table book, and I mentioned I’d be working on turning the series into one. Unfortunately, I haven’t made much progress. Last September I met with a publishing agency over the phone, but they decided the book wasn’t a fit for them. From there, I put things on pause to focus on my personal life and work. I still plan to publish a book in the future, but things are on hold until I can fully commit to it.
Last but not least…I got another series coming this July. Much shorter this time, but another countdown to the season starting July 7, 2 PM ET. I won’t reveal too much, but it’s a simulation with stats, storylines, helmet stickers, awards, and I think it’ll be pretty hype. So move any events you have scheduled for that day including weddings and baby showers.

40 Year FBS Ranking Update, 2024 Edition

Rank	Team	Link to Original Post	Overall Score	Record	Ranking Change
1	Alabama	Link	50812	393-121-2	0
2	Ohio State	Link	49787	396-102-5	0
3	Florida State	Link	48283	376-125-4	0
4	Oklahoma	Link	47407	374-126-4	0
5	Florida	Link	44607	352-146-3	0
6	Michigan	Link	44282	355-137-5	2
7	Georgia	Link	43798	366-137-4	0
8	Miami (FL)	Link	42719	349-144	-2
9	Clemson	Link	41813	356-147-3	1
10	Nebraska	Link	41652	342-156-1	-1
11	Penn State	Link	41075	343-149-1	1
12	USC	Link	40956	333-159-5	-1
13	LSU	Link	40472	335-156-4	0
14	Notre Dame	Link	40366	335-157-2	0
15	Texas	Link	38144	323-169-3	1
16	Tennessee	Link	37800	323-166-7	1
17	Auburn	Link	37737	326-165-5	-2
18	Oregon	Link	36954	330-162	0
19	Washington	Link	34256	295-188-3	3
20	Texas A&M	Link	33561	320-172-2	0
21	Virginia Tech	Link	33544	315-179-4	-2
22	Wisconsin	Link	33169	305-187-5	-1
23	Iowa	Link	31777	305-184-6	0
24	Boise State	Link	30360	271-85	1
25	West Virginia	Link	29666	296-186-4	-1
26	Oklahoma State	Link	29429	286-198-3	1
27	Kansas State	Link	29237	277-208-3	3
28	Michigan State	Link	28954	278-204-4	1
29	UCLA	Link	28877	277-203-3	-3
30	TCU	Link	27930	289-192-1	1
31	BYU	Link	27905	338-171-2	-3
32	Utah	Link	27145	302-182-1	1
33	Stanford	Link	27049	246-224-4	-1
34	Arkansas	Link	26132	261-222-3	0
35	Colorado	Link	25466	243-235-4	0
36	Georgia Tech	Link	25199	263-220-4	0
37	Louisville	Link	24940	275-207-2	1
38	Arizona State	Link	23646	258-214-3	-1
39	Syracuse	Link	23427	252-226-4	0
40	NC State	Link	23130	269-216-3	4
41	South Carolina	Link	22994	249-224-6	-1
42	North Carolina	Link	22887	253-229-3	0
43	Ole Miss	Link	22745	255-219-3	6
44	Virginia	Link	22729	254-225-4	-3
45	Arizona	Link	22237	242-227-5	0
46	Boston College	Link	21875	257-228-2	-3
47	Texas Tech	Link	21790	268-216-1	-1
48	Fresno State	Link	21749	302-191-3	0
49	Air Force	Link	20891	299-191-1	1
50	Toledo	Link	20622	295-177-5	2
51	Pittsburgh	Link	20548	244-234-5	-4
52	Baylor	Link	20187	229-245-1	-1
53	Cincinnati	Link	20008	254-224-2	0
54	Missouri	Link	19896	234-241-5	1
55	Washington State	Link	18912	222-245-2	-1
56	Mississippi State	Link	18651	234-243-2	0
57	Houston	Link	18092	243-233-2	0
58	Maryland	Link	17372	219-248-3	0
59	California	Link	17098	216-250-4	0
60	Minnesota	Link	15850	226-249-2	2
61	Southern Miss	Link	15630	255-225-1	-1
62	Marshall	Link	15428	209-131	1
63	Northwestern	Link	15134	208-265-3	4
64	Oregon State	Link	14986	197-271-3	5
65	UCF	Link	14848	198-147	1
66	Purdue	Link	14674	205-265-4	-2
67	Illinois	Link	14620	197-269-5	-6
68	Miami (OH)	Link	14148	225-234-8	4
69	Bowling Green	Link	14031	239-226-5	-4
70	Kentucky	Link	13742	215-259-1	0
71	San Diego State	Link	13459	248-231-5	0
72	Wake Forest	Link	13039	210-260-2	1
73	Northern Illinois	Link	13026	241-234-2	-5
74	Western Michigan	Link	12391	242-222-3	0
75	Hawaii	Link	11946	244-256-5	1
76	East Carolina	Link	11401	220-253-1	-1
77	Navy	Link	11349	222-255-1	1
78	Appalachian State	Link	11215	95-35	2
79	Central Michigan	Link	10824	228-233-8	-2
80	Memphis	Link	10763	217-252-5	2
81	Wyoming	Link	10676	234-243-1	2
82	Colorado State	Link	10551	224-253-1	-3
83	Iowa State	Link	10441	187-282-5	1
84	Rutgers	Link	9917	190-272-5	2
85	Tulsa	Link	9552	215-261-1	-4
86	Louisiana Tech	Link	9514	209-205-4	-1
87	Troy	Link	8776	159-125	5
88	Nevada	Link	8677	201-187	-1
89	South Florida	Link	8661	149-141	-1
90	Indiana	Link	8058	181-282-3	0
91	Ball State	Link	7974	210-251-4	-2
92	Louisiana	Link	7817	223-248-1	-1
93	Kansas	Link	6902	171-295-2	3
94	Duke	Link	6767	167-301-2	4
95	Army	Link	6684	203-266-2	0
96	Ohio	Link	6676	203-261-6	1
97	San Jose State	Link	6291	198-268-3	-4
98	SMU	Link	5860	179-266-3	-4
99	Liberty	Link	5324	53-23	2
100	Utah State	Link	4650	198-270-1	-1
101	Western Kentucky	Link	4529	106-99	-1
102	Coastal Carolina	Link	3539	52-35	0
103	James Madison	Link	2771	19-5	7
104	UTSA	Link	2706	80-69	3
105	Middle Tennessee	Link	2591	147-156	-2
106	Georgia Southern	Link	2488	65-61	-1
107	Rice	Link	2211	174-286-2	1
108	Temple	Link	1983	163-301	-4
109	Vanderbilt	Link	1790	146-316-1	-3
110	Tulane	Link	1741	177-297	1
111	UAB	Link	1524	140-169	-2
112	Jacksonville State	NEW	874	9-4	NEW
113	UConn	Link	-280	110-169	-1
114	Arkansas State	Link	-457	163-219-1	-1
115	Sam Houston	NEW	-821	3-9	NEW
116	FAU	Link	-1178	96-134	-2
117	Old Dominion	Link	-1240	46-65	-1
118	New Mexico	Link	-1614	167-308	-3
119	Eastern Michigan	Link	-1932	161-294-5	-2
120	South Alabama	Link	-2360	60-88	-2
121	Georgia State	Link	-3272	51-83	-2
122	UNLV	Link	-3612	160-305-1	-2
123	Akron	Link	-4317	150-273-3	-2
124	North Texas	Link	-4424	133-216	-2
125	UTEP	Link	-5233	154-315-2	-1
126	Buffalo	Link	-5587	103-193	-1
127	Charlotte	Link	-6147	32-71	-4
128	Kent State	Link	-6250	138-317-1	-2
129	Texas State	Link	-6663	48-97	-1
130	FIU	Link	-7398	78-147	-3
131	ULM	Link	-8637	120-231	-2
132	New Mexico State	Link	-11116	125-333	-2
133	Massachusetts	Link	-13034	24-112	-2

Best/Worst Performers of 2024

Best Performers

Below are teams whose 2023 was a top 5 season for them relative to their last 50 years, according to my algorithm (really a top 10% season, so if you only played 10 seasons in the FBS in the last 50 years, your top 1 season).
Arizona 10-3 (7-2 Pac-12) - 3rd best season in 50 years: It’s not hard to see why Jedd Fisch was sought after this offseason. Reigning Pac-12 Freshman Offensive POTY QB Noah Fifita is part of a team that returns major contributors for 2024 including 1400 yard WR Tetairoa McMillan, looking to contend for a Playoff spot.
Duke 8-5 (4-4 ACC) - 3rd best / 50 years: Even with star QB Riley Leonard injured for most of the year, coach Mike Elko pulled enough strings to get Duke’s 3rd best season in the last 50 years! He joins the rarefied air of successful Duke coaches with Steve Spurrier and David Cutcliffe.
Georgia 13-1 (8-0 SEC) - 3rd best / 50 years: Obviously this is not actually Georgia’s 3rd best season as they have 3 national titles in the last 50 years, but in terms of their resume, they actually beat out the 1980 team for me. 63-3 over Florida State had them finish as my #2 team of 2023.
Jacksonville State 9-4 (6-2 C-USA) - 1st best / 1 year: Jacksonville State had 8 conference titles in the FCS from 2011-22, and Rich Rodriguez is their coach, so it’s not too surprising to see them with such a hot start in joining the FBS. Still, they were picked 7th in the Conference USA preseason media poll, but managed to finish 3rd.
James Madison 11-2 (7-1 Sun Belt) - 1st best / 2 years: James Madison’s had about as good of a transition from FCS to FBS as you can have, going 19-5 in 2 years. They probably would’ve made a New Year's 6 bowl had they not lost in their second to last regular season game.
Kansas 9-4 (5-4 Big 12) - 3rd best / 50 years: KANSAS IS BACK. You know you’ve made it when your QB (Jalon Daniels) was rumored to transfer to be Lincoln Riley’s starting QB. Kansas finished ranked for the first time in 16 years, and Lance Leipold looks like one of the best coaches in the country.
Liberty 13-1 (8-0 C-USA) - 1st best / 6 years: Say what you want about Liberty as a school and their Fiesta Bowl performance, this was a damn good team, averaging 40.8 PPG in the regular season while giving up just 22.7 PPG. QB Kaidon Salter was 3rd in the NCAA in passing efficiency behind Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and finalist Bo Nix.
Memphis 10-3 (6-2 AAC) - 3rd best / 50 years: Memphis continues a near decade-long run of unprecedented success, started by Justin Fuente and continued by Mike Norvell and now Ryan Silverfield. All 3 losses were to 11-win teams (Missouri, Tulane, SMU).
Michigan 15-0 (9-0 Big Ten) - 1st best / 50 years: For a program as successful as Michigan, it’s pretty crazy that 2023 might’ve been their best season of ALL TIME! Wolverine fans will have to correct me in the comments, but it really seemed like a storybook year between the Connor Stalions situation, final chapter of the Harbaugh era, and a perfect 15-0, undisputed record.
Missouri 11-2 (6-2 SEC) - 3rd best / 50 years: Miz. For a team whose 2023 oveunder win total was 6.5 coming into the year, with a coach on the hot seat, going 11-2 with 4 wins over Top 25 opponents qualifies as a success. 5 star WR Luther Burden will get the national attention, but 1600 yard RB Cody Schrader, a transfer from Division II Truman, was the unsung hero.
New Mexico State 10-5 (7-1 C-USA) - 1st best / 50 years: No matter what situation you put him in, Jerry Kill can coach, man. Taking a program like New Mexico State to a record like 10-5 is Coach of the Year stuff, as the Aggies’ previous best win total in the last 50 years was just 7. Shout-out to Diego Pavia pissing on the UNM logo.
Ohio 10-3 (6-2 MAC) - 2nd best / 50 years: For a program as successful as Ohio under Frank Solich, I’m really surprised their 2nd best year in the last 50 came under Tim Albin in 2023. Still no MAC title for these Cats, but they appear to be in good hands.
Ole Miss 11-2 (6-2 SEC) - 1st best / 50 years: Lane Kiffin has something brewing in Oxford. He’s now put up separate 11-2 and 10-3 seasons, the former of which I deemed Ole Miss’s best in the last 50 years. More proof that college football runs through USC (we taught Kiffin and Jaxson Dart everything they know)!
Oregon 12-2 (8-1 Pac-12) - 5th best / 50 years: Bo Nix’s stats were stupid last year. 77.4% completions for 4508 yards with 45 TD to just 3 INT. He was the most focused and had the most fun of his career, and finished as the NCAA’s all-time leader with 61 games started at QB.
Sam Houston 3-9 (2-6 C-USA) - 1st best / 1 year: I could’ve put this in the “Worst Performers” category, but I’ll be nice to you, Sam Houston State. Similar to FCS->FBS transition buddy Jacksonville State, they won 6 conference titles in the FCS from 2011-21, so I expect them to be a lot better in the next few years.
South Alabama 7-6 (4-4 Sun Belt) - 2nd best / 12 years: This was really a down year for South Alabama, as they were expected to compete for the Sun Belt title, but it was still their 2nd best season since moving up to the FBS. QB Carter Bradley leaves as the school’s all-time passing leader with 5995 yards.
SMU 11-3 (8-0 AAC) - 5th best / 48 years: This was SMU’s best season since 1984, around the time of the Pony Express. SMU won their first conference title in almost 40 years, and join the ACC next year as a dark horse contender as long as their Group of 5-level depth isn’t exposed.
Texas 12-2 (8-1 Big 12) - 5th best / 50 years: Yep, even for as good of a program as Texas is, Sark just put up one of the top 5 seasons in the last 50 years for the Longhorns. They had an all-star coaching staff featuring Sark, Kyle Flood, Pete Kwiatkowski, Jeff Choate, Tashard Choice, and Bo Davis, so no surprise last year was finally the breakthrough they’ve been waiting for.
Texas State 8-5 (4-4 Sun Belt) - 1st best / 12 years: GJ Kinne established himself as one of the hottest young coaches in the country, putting up 36.7 PPG in his first season and revitalizing the career of QB TJ Finley. He kind of botched the whole Finley/Jayden de Laura situation for 2024, but somehow lucked into 2023 Sun Belt POTY Jordan McCloud.
Troy 11-3 (7-1 Sun Belt) - 3rd best / 22 years: Jon Sumrall coached 2 seasons at Troy, with a 23-4 record, 2 Sun Belt titles, and 2 of the 3 best years in Troy FBS history. He will be missed.
Tulane 11-3 (8-0 AAC) - 4th best / 50 years: And here’s where Jon Sumrall went! The season didn’t quite go the way Tulane expected it to, averaging just 26.4 PPG while giving up 20.5 PPG, but they were 4-0 in one-possession games, getting to 11-1 before losing the AAC Championship and bowl game after Willie Fritz left.
UNLV 9-5 (6-2 MWC) - 4th best / 46 years: It’s a travesty that the sideline Turnover Slot Machine™ was removed for 2023, but UNLV obviously made the most of a bad situation. UNLV lost the Guaranteed Rate Bowl to Kansas in a game of “loser has to send their usual starting QB to USC to compete for Lincoln Riley’s starting QB job”, so Mountain West Freshman of the Year Jayden Maiava is now a Trojan. UNLV still has near-1500 yard WR Ricky White and offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, so the passing attack should still be just as potent.
Washington 14-1 (9-0 Pac-12) - 2nd best / 50 years: Similar to Michigan, this felt like a dream season for Washington up until the final game. They went 6-1 against Top 25 opponents with the only loss to #1 Michigan, beating #3 Texas, #5 Oregon, #8 Oregon, #11 Oregon State, #18 Utah, and #20 USC. The 2023 Huskies will go down as one of those “streets won’t forget” teams.

Worst Performers

Below are teams whose 2023 was a worst 5 season for them relative to their last 50 years, according to my algorithm.
Arizona State 3-9 (2-7 Pac-12) - 1st worst season in 50 years: While Arizona had one of their 3 best seasons of the last 50 years, Arizona State had their WORST much to the chagrin of Sun Devil fans. Still, hope is high for Kenny Dillingham who has the undesirable task of cleaning up Herm Edwards’ mess.
Arkansas 4-8 (1-7 SEC) - 5th worst / 50 years: It was a bad season for Arkansas, but mostly a “what if” year, losing 5 games by one possession. It ultimately ends up being a top 5 worst season in the last 50 years because the only Power 5 team they beat was Florida (lol).
Brigham Young 5-7 (2-7 Big 12) - 4th worst / 50 years: Growing pains moving up to the Power 5 were expected. Lack of depth killed BYU down the stretch as injuries piled up, going 0-5 in their last 5 games. If you take out the weird Covid year, Kalani Sitake is just 50-40 as BYU’s head coach. Another losing season will have his seat burning, depending on what coaches are available for a school as unique as BYU.
Florida 5-7 (3-5 SEC) - 4th worst / 50 years: I’ve been pounding the drum to give Sun Belt Billy more time, but this isn’t a good look. Florida looked unprepared to start the season against Utah, and finished by losing their last 5. It doesn’t help that they have arguably the toughest schedule in the country next year, drawing Miami (FL), UCF, and Florida State out of conference to go with an SEC schedule.
Kent State 1-11 (0-8 MAC) - 5th worst / 50 years: Oh Kent State, what is you doing baby…1-11 and it’s only your 5th worst season of the last 50 years? They were the worst team of 2023, so Kent State, get your act together. I like you guys, you’ve had some cool players and coaches.
Nevada 2-10 (2-6 MWC) - 2nd worst / 32 years: One of the transfers from the great Colorado exodus of 2023 was QB Brendon Lewis, who ended up as the starter for Nevada, throwing 2 TD 6 INT. That pretty much sums up the season, along with a Sickos Instant Classic 6-0 win over San Diego State around the middle of the season.
Southern Miss 3-9 (2-6 Sun Belt) - 5th worst / 50 years: Brett Favre is caught diverting welfare funds to Southern Miss athletics, and they go 3-9 the next year. Coincidence? I think not. He was keeping this program together!
Stanford 3-9 (2-7 Pac-12) - 4th worst / 50 years: This was a really bad Stanford team…but I’m not sure anyone cared because of that game against Colorado. A 29 point comeback win against Deion helps ease the pain of a 3-win season.

Another Witcher book and another set of reflections. This time again I'll comment on some fragments of the novel in a non-comprehensive manner because I think it's very fitting (and at the end, I'll explain why) and then I'll summarise the book as a whole.
"The Blood of Elves" starts with a scene where a crowd listens to one of Dandelion's songs about Geralt and then engages in a discussion first about witcher and then about politics. Sapkowski does several things in this scene and I couldn't help but be stunned by how well he did it. He introduces the main characters of the story, paints the society with all the divisions between certain groups, and explains the most recent political history of the region and much more distant history. Only at the end of the scene, I realised that what I read is one gigantic infodump, but it's conveyed so well, it doesn't feel like an infodump at all. Another thing I've noticed now but didn't see in the past is that Sapkowski started his meditation on myth creation already here not in the last book of the series. Some people claim that Geralt is made up of characters others that he died or that he's never found Ciri, yet all of them are his contemporaries. And already there are several versions of the events. This shows how easily myth separates from history.
Later on, we observe Ciri's training under witchers in Kaer Morhen. I like two things about this section of the novel. First is how Ciri confessed to Triss about her period and how Triss scolded the witchers for lack of imagination and consideration. It's something so natural in this context that's great that Sapkowski put it in the novel. Ciri's reactions are so child-like, she's probably one of the best-written children that I found in literature. And it's not surprising that witchers didn’t think about Ciri's physiology because their interactions with women are usually very short and very intense without any space for deeper conversations. And besides the whole sequence is hilarious.
Another fragment I want to highlight is a set of scenes where Ciri trains under witchers and Triss. They're pure dialogue without even one sentence of description of what characters do, how they behave, whether are they annoyed or not, etc, yet there's no problem imagining how everything plays out, and dialogues are very natural. It's a sign of true mastery of the craft.
Later on Geralt, Triss and Ciri leave Kaer Morhen to deliver Ciri to Melitele temple. They soon join a company of dwarves led by Yarpen Zigrin who are escorting important delivery. This section of the novel Sapkowski uses to paint complex social interactions between humans and non-humans and within non-humans as well as many flavors of racism (or ethnic discrimination, because I'm not sure if it can be called racism, later on, I explain why I think so). Nilfgaard incites non-humans to rebel against northern kingdoms. While non-humans in Nilfgaards have full rights, empire actions are not selfless. It uses non-humans as a tool to stir chaos in the north. In my opinion, it's a very cynical example of racism. Nilfgaard, despite its laws, views non-humans not as equals but as disposable tools. Non-humans themselves aren't a homogenous group. They disagree on how they should interact with humans. People like Yarpen believe that only through genuine devotion they will be able to gain full rights and respect for humans. The Squirrels think that they have to fight for it, and everyone who disagrees with them has to die. Geralt on the other hand believes that taking sides is the problem because by rebelling against the overwhelming number of humans elves will lose their most precious resource - their young ones and as a consequence the future of their kind. Readers observe this Gordian knot through Ciri's eyes, who, as a child, sees everyone as a friend and can't understand where is the problem. Because there isn't any real problem only prejudice and malice that tainted the minds of adults and led to horrible things in the past. The chapter and with a battle between Squirrels and the convoy, where a lot of non-humans die, and it's revealed that the "important" delivery was just a set-up to test Yarpen's loyalty because he's non-human and cannot be fully trusted. And since the majority of his company consists of dwarves, it wouldn't be a big loss if they died during battle. Another flavor of racism.
I spent so much space to describe this fragment because it strays away from the usual depiction of racism in culture and there's good reason for that. Sapkowski again draws from polish history, especially the WW2 period. Nilfgaard inciting non-humans against humans reminds me of nazis doing the same with Ukrainians setting them up against Poles. It led to the terrifying slaughter of Poles by their ukrainian neighbours. This event is still an inflamed wound that taints polish-ukrainian relationships. Poland insists that it was genocide while Ukraine doesn't want to admit any wrongdoing. Now, I don't want to paint Ukrainians as villains. The resentment they had for Poles didn’t come from nowhere. In previous centuries polish nobility were treating ukrainian peasants horribly. Polish noble was "pan" - the lord. The problem is that polish nobles treated polish peasants equally badly and the victims of the slaughter were descendants of those peasants, not polish lords. But this is typical of any ethnic cleansing - victims were never responsible for what they were killed. The way Yarpen wants to prove his loyalty to humans and how suspicious they are reminds me of Jews trying to do the same in Poland in the years leading to the war. Yeah, you speak Polish, dress polish, and you're even baptised and attend Sunday's mass in church with us, but you're not really polish. And it wasn't only a jewish experience. I can imagine that many nations can relate to that. Finally, Geralt's perspective on the pointlessness of elven young rebelling reminds me of the Warsaw uprising during WW2. The point of the uprising was to liberate Warsaw from nazis by Poles themselves before the Soviets came, so when they eventually did Poles could greet them as equal allies, not liberators. Leaders of the uprising were hoping this move would secure polish independence from the USSR. But it was an idiotic fantasy. The fate of Poland was decided elsewhere and the uprising led only to the decimation of polish youth. The whole generation was lost and Warsaw was leveled to the ground. A lot of people (myself included) consider the Warsaw uprising a war crime, but not committed by nazis but by the leaders of the uprising. It's not a super-popular perspective. Warsaw's uprising is still treated as a heroic act and few remaining veterans as heroes. Sapkowski could choose this perspective as an inspiration for Geralt's worldview but he opted for something much more tragic.
Ok, I'm done with this lengthy (and probably boring) history lecture, but before I go further, I just want to explain why I wrote it in the first place. While I disagree with the people who think The Witcher series is Slavic, it's definitely polish as hell. In my opinion, Sapkowski translated parts of polish history into fantasy really well, so my historical lecture isn't necessary to understand the events of the novel, but it may help to understand why Sapkowski wrote them this way. Non-humans call discrimination they experience from human racism, but it is based on different types of ethnic discrimination that English readers might not be familiar with due to different cultural and historical backgrounds. It might be confusing for them why Squirrels are depicted as morally grey at best, why their fight is pointless and tragic, and why some groups of non-humans decided to stand with humans. Well, this is why. Sapkowski could obviously try to please polish readers by using a more cheerful view of polish history to construct his world, where Poles were always noble purely innocent victims etc, but he chose a much more complex and darker version. And I admire him for that.
Moving on. The letter Yennefer sent to Geralt is pure gold. It's soaked in venom so toxic, it would be enough to kill a middle-sized town. You don't call Yennefer "friend" not after being with her. It's almost a life sentence.
During Dandelion's adventures in Oxenfurt, he briefly mentions the "bench ghetto" at the university. This is another reference to polish history, where during the pre-WW2 era Jews had to sit in designated areas of a room during classes. It's a symbol of polish antisemitism of that time, sort of similar to segregation in buses in the US during the 50s.
Later on, Sapkowski presents the gathering of nordic monarchs, who were debating on possible war with Nilfgaard. It's another great scene because from the start Sapkowski emphasises the fact that there's no good side in the upcoming war. Kings treat Cirtians as pawns and don't care about their fate at all and decide to slaughter all non-humans in ghettos to prevent them from getting "funny ideas", which is another type of racism. Foltest claims to be tolerant and empathetic towards non-humans, but. Yeah, there's always some kind of "but". Yet again, it isn't the purely ideological type of racism, but, I don't know, practical I guess? Foltest wants to get rid of the problem before it even appears, sort of like we are decimating mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria. Non-humans are not beings in their own right, but problems that need solutions. It's dehumanising.
Finally, in the last chapter of the novel, where Ciri meets Yennefer for the first time. I really like that they start as sort of rivals for Geralt's attention. Even if they weren't aware of that Nenneke diagnosed their dynamic correctly, which probably helped them get along with each other much faster. Their relationship is initially cold but slowly gains some tenderness and peaks when Yennefer calls Ciri's daughter after a failed lesson. I don't know why, but these moments of kindness towards Ciri always get me. They get me hard. I don't know if it's because of nostalgia for the series or simply because it's so damn good.
Ok, I'm done with my impressions, now it's time for a summary. After so many praises I've written above, one may think that "The Blood of Elves" is a masterpiece. Everything is superb: writing, dialogues, characters, and themes, but the question is: "Is it a great novel?" Well, I have mixed feelings about it, let me explain, why. Initially, I wrote that discussing separate fragments of the books seems fitting. It's because "The Blood of Elves" works at the level of fragments and chapters, but it doesn't work as a novel.
It starts well. The reader has a sense of direction: Geralt brings Ciri to Kaer Morhen, trains her, lets Triss examine her, and finally decides to bring her to Melitele temple. Chapter 4 ends when the protagonists are in the middle of the road to the temple and suddenly in chapter 5 Geralt is on a boat setting a trap for people who look for him and Ciri. What? How? From the first chapter we know that Rience is after Ciri and finding him would be the natural direction for the novel after Geralt leaves Ciri with Nenneke. The problem is, that Sapkowski cut the whole chunk of the novel. Or at least he concluded that he had nothing interesting to write about this part of the journey. But because of that the rest of the novel also falls apart. The scene on the boat is entertaining enough due to Sapkowski's humor and mastery in writing dialogues but ultimately feels redundant. The only point of it is for Geralt to catch a trail, which he thinks he does with Temeria thugs. But during a conversation between Dijkstra and Jaskier, the master of spies reiterates the scene and gives additional, much more relevant context. So the scene of the boat could be cut completely. Later on, we get a bunch of scenes when big players of the world are discussing politics. For me, at least, those scenes were interesting and necessary for the plot, but they also cover the fact that Sapkowski wrote only a few more pages in the main plotline. And then we get the chapter with Ciri and Yennefer, which is great on its own, but it isn't connected to the rest of the novel. It's called a chapter, not an epilogue so it should be an integral part of the story. But I don't see the reason why (actually I see and explain in a moment) it couldn't be the first chapter of the next novel. It would fit them perfectly.
Now, I don't want to sound like "The Blood of Elves" and huge step back from the short stories. There's a lot of good here. Sapkowski grew as a writer and the prose in his first novel surpasses even the best pieces from short stories. He utilizes several writing styles, especially in those fragments of fictional books at the beginning of each chapter and in dialogues to give each character a distinct way of speaking (I wonder if the translation gives him justice). The novel as a whole works well as an introduction for the saga - it presents the first pieces of lore, sets up pawns on the political board, and most importantly serves as a reminder of the good times for Ciri and readers as well, when all hell is let loose in next parts. I think, Ciri here builds core memories of the last time when she felt safe and loved and was just a child. And that's why the last chapter also fits here (loosely but still) not in the next novel: as chapters with other witchers help Ciri to develop good memories.
So, is it a good novel? Depends on reader preferences, I guess. I can totally understand people who’d complain about the structure of the book, but for me, there’s so much good stuff inside that I couldn’t care less. But, obviously, it’s a very subjective opinion.
Ok, I think it's more than enough writing. Sorry for such a long post. I hope someone will read it and find it at least mildly interesting. And I'd be happy to hear your opinion on The Witcher series.

Another Witcher book and another set of reflections. This time again I'll comment on some fragments of the novel in a non-comprehensive manner because I think it's very fitting (and at the end, I'll explain why) and then I'll summarise the book as a whole. "The Blood of Elves" starts with a scene where a crowd listens to one of Dandelion's songs about Geralt and then engages in a discussion first about witcher and then about politics. Sapkowski does several things in this scene and I couldn't help but be stunned by how well he did it. He introduces the main characters of the story, paints the society with all the divisions between certain groups, and explains the most recent political history of the region and much more distant history. Only at the end of the scene, I realised that what I read is one gigantic infodump, but it's conveyed so well, it doesn't feel like an infodump at all. Another thing I've noticed now but didn't see in the past is that Sapkowski started his meditation on myth creation already here not in the last book of the series. Some people claim that Geralt is made up of characters others that he died or that he's never found Ciri, yet all of them are his contemporaries. And already there are several versions of the events. This shows how easily myth separates from history.
Later on, we observe Ciri's training under witchers in Kaer Morhen. I like two things about this section of the novel. First is how Ciri confessed to Triss about her period and how Triss scolded the witchers for lack of imagination and consideration. It's something so natural in this context that's great that Sapkowski put it in the novel. Ciri's reactions are so child-like, she's probably one of the best-written children that I found in literature. And it's not surprising that witchers didn’t think about Ciri's physiology because their interactions with women are usually very short and very intense without any space for deeper conversations. And besides the whole sequence is hilarious.
Another fragment I want to highlight is a set of scenes where Ciri trains under witchers and Triss. They're pure dialogue without even one sentence of description of what characters do, how they behave, whether are they annoyed or not, etc, yet there's no problem imagining how everything plays out, and dialogues are very natural. It's a sign of true mastery of the craft.
Later on Geralt, Triss and Ciri leave Kaer Morhen to deliver Ciri to Melitele temple. They soon join a company of dwarves led by Yarpen Zigrin who are escorting important delivery. This section of the novel Sapkowski uses to paint complex social interactions between humans and non-humans and within non-humans as well as many flavors of racism (or ethnic discrimination, because I'm not sure if it can be called racism, later on, I explain why I think so). Nilfgaard incites non-humans to rebel against northern kingdoms. While non-humans in Nilfgaards have full rights, empire actions are not selfless. It uses non-humans as a tool to stir chaos in the north. In my opinion, it's a very cynical example of racism. Nilfgaard, despite its laws, views non-humans not as equals but as disposable tools. Non-humans themselves aren't a homogenous group. They disagree on how they should interact with humans. People like Yarpen believe that only through genuine devotion they will be able to gain full rights and respect for humans. The Squirrels think that they have to fight for it, and everyone who disagrees with them has to die. Geralt on the other hand believes that taking sides is the problem because by rebelling against the overwhelming number of humans elves will lose their most precious resource - their young ones and as a consequence the future of their kind. Readers observe this Gordian knot through Ciri's eyes, who, as a child, sees everyone as a friend and can't understand where is the problem. Because there isn't any real problem only prejudice and malice that tainted the minds of adults and led to horrible things in the past. The chapter and with a battle between Squirrels and the convoy, where a lot of non-humans die, and it's revealed that the "important" delivery was just a set-up to test Yarpen's loyalty because he's non-human and cannot be fully trusted. And since the majority of his company consists of dwarves, it wouldn't be a big loss if they died during battle. Another flavor of racism.
I spent so much space to describe this fragment because it strays away from the usual depiction of racism in culture and there's good reason for that. Sapkowski again draws from polish history, especially the WW2 period. Nilfgaard inciting non-humans against humans reminds me of nazis doing the same with Ukrainians setting them up against Poles. It led to the terrifying slaughter of Poles by their ukrainian neighbours. This event is still an inflamed wound that taints polish-ukrainian relationships. Poland insists that it was genocide while Ukraine doesn't want to admit any wrongdoing. Now, I don't want to paint Ukrainians as villains. The resentment they had for Poles didn’t come from nowhere. In previous centuries polish nobility were treating ukrainian peasants horribly. Polish noble was "pan" - the lord. The problem is that polish nobles treated polish peasants equally badly and the victims of the slaughter were descendants of those peasants, not polish lords. But this is typical of any ethnic cleansing - victims were never responsible for what they were killed. The way Yarpen wants to prove his loyalty to humans and how suspicious they are reminds me of Jews trying to do the same in Poland in the years leading to the war. Yeah, you speak Polish, dress polish, and you're even baptised and attend Sunday's mass in church with us, but you're not really polish. And it wasn't only a jewish experience. I can imagine that many nations can relate to that. Finally, Geralt's perspective on the pointlessness of elven young rebelling reminds me of the Warsaw uprising during WW2. The point of the uprising was to liberate Warsaw from nazis by Poles themselves before the Soviets came, so when they eventually did Poles could greet them as equal allies, not liberators. Leaders of the uprising were hoping this move would secure polish independence from the USSR. But it was an idiotic fantasy. The fate of Poland was decided elsewhere and the uprising led only to the decimation of polish youth. The whole generation was lost and Warsaw was leveled to the ground. A lot of people (myself included) consider the Warsaw uprising a war crime, but not committed by nazis but by the leaders of the uprising. It's not a super-popular perspective. Warsaw's uprising is still treated as a heroic act and few remaining veterans as heroes. Sapkowski could choose this perspective as an inspiration for Geralt's worldview but he opted for something much more tragic.
Ok, I'm done with this lengthy (and probably boring) history lecture, but before I go further, I just want to explain why I wrote it in the first place. While I disagree with the people who think The Witcher series is Slavic, it's definitely polish as hell. In my opinion, Sapkowski translated parts of polish history into fantasy really well, so my historical lecture isn't necessary to understand the events of the novel, but it may help to understand why Sapkowski wrote them this way. Non-humans call discrimination they experience from human racism, but it is based on different types of ethnic discrimination that English readers might not be familiar with due to different cultural and historical backgrounds. It might be confusing for them why Squirrels are depicted as morally grey at best, why their fight is pointless and tragic, and why some groups of non-humans decided to stand with humans. Well, this is why. Sapkowski could obviously try to please polish readers by using a more cheerful view of polish history to construct his world, where Poles were always noble purely innocent victims etc, but he chose a much more complex and darker version. And I admire him for that.
Moving on. The letter Yennefer sent to Geralt is pure gold. It's soaked in venom so toxic, it would be enough to kill a middle-sized town. You don't call Yennefer "friend" not after being with her. It's almost a life sentence.
During Dandelion's adventures in Oxenfurt, he briefly mentions the "bench ghetto" at the university. This is another reference to polish history, where during the pre-WW2 era Jews had to sit in designated areas of a room during classes. It's a symbol of polish antisemitism of that time, sort of similar to segregation in buses in the US during the 50s.
Later on, Sapkowski presents the gathering of nordic monarchs, who were debating on possible war with Nilfgaard. It's another great scene because from the start Sapkowski emphasises the fact that there's no good side in the upcoming war. Kings treat Cirtians as pawns and don't care about their fate at all and decide to slaughter all non-humans in ghettos to prevent them from getting "funny ideas", which is another type of racism. Foltest claims to be tolerant and empathetic towards non-humans, but. Yeah, there's always some kind of "but". Yet again, it isn't the purely ideological type of racism, but, I don't know, practical I guess? Foltest wants to get rid of the problem before it even appears, sort of like we are decimating mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria. Non-humans are not beings in their own right, but problems that need solutions. It's dehumanising.
Finally, in the last chapter of the novel, where Ciri meets Yennefer for the first time. I really like that they start as sort of rivals for Geralt's attention. Even if they weren't aware of that Nenneke diagnosed their dynamic correctly, which probably helped them get along with each other much faster. Their relationship is initially cold but slowly gains some tenderness and peaks when Yennefer calls Ciri's daughter after a failed lesson. I don't know why, but these moments of kindness towards Ciri always get me. They get me hard. I don't know if it's because of nostalgia for the series or simply because it's so damn good.
Ok, I'm done with my impressions, now it's time for a summary. After so many praises I've written above, one may think that "The Blood of Elves" is a masterpiece. Everything is superb: writing, dialogues, characters, and themes, but the question is: "Is it a great novel?" Well, I have mixed feelings about it, let me explain, why. Initially, I wrote that discussing separate fragments of the books seems fitting. It's because "The Blood of Elves" works at the level of fragments and chapters, but it doesn't work as a novel.
It starts well. The reader has a sense of direction: Geralt brings Ciri to Kaer Morhen, trains her, lets Triss examine her, and finally decides to bring her to Melitele temple. Chapter 4 ends when the protagonists are in the middle of the road to the temple and suddenly in chapter 5 Geralt is on a boat setting a trap for people who look for him and Ciri. What? How? From the first chapter we know that Rience is after Ciri and finding him would be the natural direction for the novel after Geralt leaves Ciri with Nenneke. The problem is, that Sapkowski cut the whole chunk of the novel. Or at least he concluded that he had nothing interesting to write about this part of the journey. But because of that the rest of the novel also falls apart. The scene on the boat is entertaining enough due to Sapkowski's humor and mastery in writing dialogues but ultimately feels redundant. The only point of it is for Geralt to catch a trail, which he thinks he does with Temeria thugs. But during a conversation between Dijkstra and Jaskier, the master of spies reiterates the scene and gives additional, much more relevant context. So the scene of the boat could be cut completely. Later on, we get a bunch of scenes when big players of the world are discussing politics. For me, at least, those scenes were interesting and necessary for the plot, but they also cover the fact that Sapkowski wrote only a few more pages in the main plotline. And then we get the chapter with Ciri and Yennefer, which is great on its own, but it isn't connected to the rest of the novel. It's called a chapter, not an epilogue so it should be an integral part of the story. But I don't see the reason why (actually I see and explain in a moment) it couldn't be the first chapter of the next novel. It would fit them perfectly.
Now, I don't want to sound like "The Blood of Elves" and huge step back from the short stories. There's a lot of good here. Sapkowski grew as a writer and the prose in his first novel surpasses even the best pieces from short stories. He utilizes several writing styles, especially in those fragments of fictional books at the beginning of each chapter and in dialogues to give each character a distinct way of speaking (I wonder if the translation gives him justice). The novel as a whole works well as an introduction for the saga - it presents the first pieces of lore, sets up pawns on the political board, and most importantly serves as a reminder of the good times for Ciri and readers as well, when all hell is let loose in next parts. I think, Ciri here builds core memories of the last time when she felt safe and loved and was just a child. And that's why the last chapter also fits here (loosely but still) not in the next novel: as chapters with other witchers help Ciri to develop good memories.
So, is it a good novel? Depends on reader preferences, I guess. I can totally understand people who’d complain about the structure of the book, but for me, there’s so much good stuff inside that I couldn’t care less. But, obviously, it’s a very subjective opinion.
Ok, I think it's more than enough writing. Sorry for such a long post. I hope someone will read it and find it at least mildly interesting. And I'd be happy to hear your opinion on The Witcher series.

Hello all,
here is a post summary for some of the topics that were covered in May 2024
The fics: On Tuesdays, we started the weekly post where we have a collection for the most common type of fic asks.
The topics covered for this post in May were:
Best OC centric fics
Best Rhaegar Wins fics
Best SIs: Pre Robert's Rebellion
Best Long Fics
Lost fic/does this fic exist thread May 2024
WIP Wednesdays:
On Wednesdays, we have a post where I encourage people to discuss what they are writing,reading etc so far that week. Since it's the same post with maybe one or two changes per week, I wont bother linking them all, but here's the most up to date one from the month of May.
Wednesday May 29th
Focus Friday:
Next, we have a type of bi-weekly post that I feel is actually the most important for the subreddit to run. It's the post where we look at an aspect and brainstorm ways to improve it.
How would you expand the different cultures of Westeros
How to write OCs
How would you improve Essos
Promotion posts!
In celebration of everyone who used the promotion flair this month. I am going to link their posts which will lead to their fics! To be included next month please feel free to promote your work or a fic you liked! Using rule number 3 and the template within, or simply send me a message and I will help you out.
His Mercy Burns: Chapter 9: Jon Arryn II
The Dragon's Heirs: Chapter 51
Last Night Your Shadow Fell Upon My Lonely Room
Half of a Soul
Rolling in Mud
Howling of the White Winters
My first self-indulgent Stannis fan-fic; Chapter 4
Fire and Fury: Chapter 4
A Song of Heaven and Earth
The Dour Griffin - Chapter XX, 'A Moment Of Respite'
A Song of Three: Chapter 18
Fire and Steel - Chapter 6: Viserys Targaryen I
The Northern Reformer(Or my weird new life in between and during wars)(A Ned Stark SI) Chp.IX
The Years of Blood (A Blackfyre heavy AU) Chapters 17&18
The Reds and the Blacks- Alicent I
For the Night is Dark and Full of Terrors
The Weirwood Queen: Chapter 171: Arya III
The Reds and the Blues - CHAPTER 83: AKD 11, Laena II
The Longest Day Before The Longest Night: Chapter 1
Dreams of Summer
The Boy Who Vanished From Winterfell and Came Back With A City
Lighting the Way to a New Life (Baelor Hightower SI)
The Song of Link Lannister: Chapter 16
Her Reign of Light: Chapter 1
Other:
We also released a guide to finding a bunch of our sidemenus, with a visual to help.
You can find that here.
We are always looking for more topics to cover in common recs/Question of the week and so on. So please make sure to check those master posts out and add some suggestions.
I'm going to be honest, I'm starting to come down with a cold and I still need to find the energy to do up the post schedule for June as well as actually schedule the posts behind the scene
So, I don't really have the time to figure out who my favourite contributors were this month.
But : Big shoutout to u/EmbarrassedClick01 . We appreciate you joining the team, it makes things a lot easier and you've already provided us with great insight into a situation that popped up.
Besides that, a general thank you to anyone who uses this place is in order. It's really cool that people come here despite the place being so small.
And I hope we can continue providing a space that people want to participate in, well into year 2 of the subreddit.

Do you think it would have sense to post a two chapters work which actually is the same story just one chapter in english and the other translated? I'd obviously specify it in the summary and the beginning notes! I thought about it because I sometimes write in my native language (Italian) and I know I can link the translation to the original work (I even have a pseud just for my Italian stories) but I don't like the idea of posting the same work twice! Part of me thinks it's kinda annoying for the readers to find the same work on the fandom page in two different languages and I'd rather have them in the same place, if you know what I mean. What do you think?

My first proper novel recommendation so go easy on me lol.
Plot summary I just made up: Protagonist Lin Xian has been having the same dream for twenty-something years. Inside the dream, it supposedly is Earth 600 years from now, but he has serious doubts about it. For one, technology is nearly exactly the same as modern day technology, however his theories about his dream is turned upside down where he copies popular media from the future, and popularises it ahead of time.
Finally, with different things occurring in the dream, he is thrown into a scramble for the truth, along with the so called ''Genius Club'', who silently manipulates the world 600 years ahead, as well as possibly in his modern day life.
Similar to ''I hiijacked the timeline'' except:
-there seems to be other people who can time travel.
-there is NO supernatural power. It is entirely sci-fi
The author also seems to be inspired by ''Stein's Gate'', with the concepts of world lines being used. Im mtling it right now, so unfortunately i can't say what it will do.
Pros:
-really interesting mysteries.
-some scheming involved
-well written
-interesting concept. Like genuinely, its really good.
-good pacing, the author balances out real world and future dreams well, but they kinda needs to work on the real world time flow. For example, one time the author just said ''three months passed in the blink of an eye'. Like what??? they didnt explain what the protagonist had done at all/ he didnt do anything at all.
Cons:
-authors loves stalling out mysteries. For example, in one timeline he could've cracked one of the biggest secrets in the series, but we find out that something the protagonist did earlier on in the day, caused a butterfly effect that messed up his plans.
-author seems to be going on a semi-harem route, with there being multiple female leads, but the MC not being interested in romance
Overall:
Would definitely recommend reading this book. You can find some of the chapters on webnovel, and if you want to mtl it, the raw name is ''天才俱乐部''. Even if you aren't the biggest fan of urban+sci-fi (like me) i stilll enjoyed it a lot. Give it a try!

Hi I just came across a novel, chosen by the moon novel by izabella W. Its on pay by chapter websites, I've opened and read a few chapters but I can't seem to find any free version or chapter version anywhere. Please help. If anyone has read it I'm willing to take spoilers. Here's the advert I found below of it on Facebook.
Lycanthrope species is a disgusting race. And I, Delan Riley, am nothing more than a human scum in their eyes never expected those species would turn my world upside down. Since when the lycans managed to penetrate our town, like in the early 1900's we have a hierarchy, upper class = the lycans, middle class = mated humans, and lower class = the normal humans, who were basically considered scum. I endured their torment day after day, vowing to run away from them one day, until that day came and everything changed.
Dylan POV "Humans," I scowled at the principal's words from tannoy. "The Alpha twins will be celebrating their birthday tomorrow, as such, festivities are in order." Oh great, the Alphas twin children. Adrian and Arya are the worst lycans alive. I swear just because they are the alphas kids they literally get away with everything. If their birthday is tomorrow, then the wolves are going to be worse than ever. "All students will be present to greet them, two lines will be made, with humans on the left and the lycanthrope on the right. Any mated human will be at the front of the line for their year, you will all also be in order of your school year. That is all." Chat broke out the minute the tannoy was finished. "We haven't had a school gathering since the alpha king visited three years ago, before his sons coronation." Nick was right, the last time we all gathered like that was for the king and queens visit, when he decided to let the world know that he was to renounce his title to his only child, son Josh. "That sick bestard, he wants to make sure everyone is there so those idiot twins can find their mates." Yes I was mad, my fists connected with the table in front of me once more as I thought about how disgusting the situation was. You see the twins will be turning 17, so it's very possible someone in our school could be their mate, finding a mate is sacred to a wolf, the minute they say that one word your fate is sealed. They will turn your mind, morph you into being a lover of their kind, and then you'll give in.

That won't happen to me, I'm growing old to see the world as it once was, and I'm going to choose who I'll be with. No one will take that dream away from me.

Once dinner was finished, I just wanted to sleep. I'd had a very long tiring day, I quickly sat down on a small stool my mother kept in the storage closet and removed my shirt while my brother Freddy sat at the table to do his simple homework. It wasn't long before my mother came in with a large bowl of warm salt water and some cotton, this was going to sting I just knew it. She was here to help me with the wounds caused by wolves yesterday. She slowly began to unwrap the bandage from around my torso and slowed down drastically when it came to the final layer, I felt it peel off every wound and my fists clenched in pain. "Jesus!" I heard my mom exclaim once the dressing was completely removed. The air on my back was nice though and I sighed as my arm covered my once again exposed brests. "This is more than 15!" I began to hear sniffles coming from her and sighed turning round to look at her face, only to notice tears streaming down it. "Mom I'm fine, it's alright." She shook her head. "It's not alright, I'm your mother I shouldn't let these things happen. I'm so sorry. Your father would have..." here she goes again. Every single time something happened she'd always bring up dad, it really annoyed me because no matter how much we all wish he was here, he just isn't. My father was kiled by THEIR kind, almost 5 years ago when they actually managed to take over. When the lycans managed to penetrate our town my father rose up with some people from the neighborhood, to defend our livelihood, it was futile to say the least. We lost many people and I watched as my dad was ripped apart by two fully shifted wolves, I ended up shoting him to stop his suffering before they dragged me to the courtyard, i was the person to receive the first lashing of the town when I was 12! The wolves have been pretty strict with me since that day. "Stop being stvpid!" Was I harsh? Definitely! Did she need to hear it again, absolutely. "Dad is dead, we don't know what he'd do because he never knew this life. He never knew this world." I know what he'd have done, most likely attacked the guy who held the whip and got himself kiled in the process. "The best thing you can do for me, is stop crying and help me, next time don't insist on helping if you can't handle it." She began to wash my open wounds with the warm salt water causing loud winces to leave me, I knew it was necessary to prevent infection, but my god it hurt like a betch. "Some of these are really deep Dylan!" She sniffed again and my eyes rolled in my head. "I told you, I'm fine, just wrap me back up so I can get to bed." My mom was obviously more impacted by my injuries than I was, I suppose that always the case though. When it's happening to you, you've just got to get through it but when it's happening to someone you love, you just want to take their pain away. She quickly placed a fresh bandage around my waist and chest and wrapped it tightly for compression. The bowl of water that was used was now red in color, I guess from the blood my back was dripping with. "Can you keep your head down please? At least just this week. You can't take any more lashings." I simply nodded before standing up away from the stool, I walked over to Freddie and ruffled his hair in affection. "Good night squirt." He giggled and fixed his hair slightly. "Night Dilly." I smiled walking upstairs to my little bedroom, as soon as I was inside i shut the door and flopped down on to my bed on my stomach and I took a minute to cry to myself at the pain in my back, what my mom did was important but it hurt, not that I'd ever tell her. My hand covered my mouth quickly to muffle any noise I might be making. I couldn't tell anyone, I had to be strong because more and more people were crumpling these days, and my mom would break if she knew how much I was suffering. Sleep followed me shortly after, she was right though about me needing to keep my head down for the time being, I could not take another lashing! After a long night and an even longer morning, we were all finally stood in the hallway at school waiting for the twins to arrive. "Mine!" Everyone that was stood in the hallway tensed up, as we were seniors, me and Nick were stood towards the very back of the human line. All the mated people were situated directly opposite their wolf mates in their years. We stayed silent and still as Arya walked down the hall and stopped directly in front of Nick. His eyes widened in fear, unsure of wether to look up or keep his head lowered. "Look me in the eye, mate." He glanced at me slightly as if asking what he should do. "I said, look me in the eye." He slowly moved his eye line up to look at her face. I took a glance myself to see her eyes pitch black with lust. "I... can't... I mean... erm." Before he was able to mutter anything else, two wolves from opposite, grabbed him out of the line and dragged him behind Arya. "Hey!" My head shot up before I could stop myself. My mouth also forgot its place as I jumped out of line. Everyone's head shot to me as my eyes widened in realization at what I'd done. Adrian, the other twin, walked up to me before punching me right in the stomach, I doubled over instantly. Feeling the sting in my slightly healed back. "I know you... You were publicly flogged only two days ago." God I hate this guy. "I also have it on good authority, that you openly spoke out against our rules and regulations in yesterday's class." My head shot down the line slightly to see Erin, looking a little frightened, her mate, the beta to be was looking at her, nodding his head in reassurance. "You traitor, you grassed on your own kind?" I yelled at her before feeling a fist connect with my cheek. My head whipped to the side from the force, while my class members gasped. I'm so done with this treatment, right then, I wasn't in charge of my actions. My fists curled up and my stance became a lot more defensive. My head snapped up to the alpha to be, and I looked him in the eye. "You don't know the meaning of the word disrespect." I suddenly hurled my fist towards his head, which he easily dodged, but my foot came up and kicked him instead. He stumbled backwards from the force with wide eyes. "You... you Actually hit me!" He didn't even sound annoyed, more shocked. Everyone in the hallway was watching, waiting for the alpha to do something but instead he simply stood up straight, regaining his composure. "I think everyone should get back to class." He began to walk away, following his sister when I called him back. "What about Nick?!" "Simple, He's my sisters mate. He now belongs to her." Argh, he's not an object. "He's not her property." A chuckle left his mouth, before turning his back to me again. "All humans are property." A short while later everyone made it to science class, our teacher Mrs Mathews is mated to the lycans pack doctor, she also now has a four and two year old with him. She was one of the first humans to be cohered into a false relationship. "What were you thinking young lady?" I rolled my head at her before looking at the empty seat next to mine. Nick was with that stvpid wolf girl right now. Being changed, I'm so angry it's ridiculous. "I was thinking, this guy is being a prick. Did you hear him? 'All humans are property.' It's bull shet." I looked up and the whole class looked at me like I had three heads. Talking shet about wolves is one thing, but talking about an alpha is punishable by death, attacking an alpha is an even worse offense. There was then a knock at the door and in walked Erin and her band of mated bestards. "Sorry we're late Mrs." "Erin, how are things between you and bata Monroe?" She blushed, the traitor actually blushed at the mention of his name. "He spoke to me last night about trying for a baby. We need a good strong boy to take over as beta." I scoffed looking at her as she took her seat. "You guys are actually pathetic, why can't it be a girl? Those mutts are basically Neanderthals" I voiced my opinion and saw all the shocked faces around me. Calling the lycans mutts, is the same as them calling us scum. After lesson had ended the entire school was called into the hall for assembly. This is where any human who has been found to have broken the rules were punished, usually 10 lashings were goven out or something similar. "Welcome to the school assembly, congratulations to the alpha twins for finding both your mates. Now on to the business at hand, as the 5 year anniversary of the new world is coming up, we have been informed that the alpha king will be visiting our district next week, this is very exciting news. We want you all to look your absolute best, she wolves and mated females will wear exemplary dresses made by seamstress. Male wolves and mated men will wear tailored suits. Anyone who doesn't comply will be reprimanded." The Alpha King?! No one has met him yet, he took over the throne three years ago when he turned 18. He really didn't make any appearances though, great, this month is going to be a nightmare. "As for the humans, you will be given a new uniform to wear for the visit, these are to be neatly ironed and worn to the highest standard. As for the following humans, based on your attitude this past week, you will be coming to the front and facing punishment. Tony summerset?!" Tony's head shot up as he looked around, he was in the year below but he shared my views when it came to the lycans. He slowly walked up to the front of assembly, almost instantly his top was t0rn in two and he received 10 lashings. A girl named Kara was next and she too received 10 lashings. A few more people went up slowly accepting their fate then suddenly my name was called. "Dylan Riley." Inside I was terrified but I simply shrugged my shoulders, I guess I did kind of expect this. Although I'm not sure if my back can take any more damage. "You attacked an alpha, correct!" His eyes bored into mine as I bowed my head submitting to his authority. "Technically, no." Everyone in the school gym looked on in fear, as my head moved to the front row of the wolf side. Adrian sat, with a werewolf girl in the year below, her name was Jana, I guess he found his mate. Nick and Arya were no where to be seen though. Adrian gave me a shrug as if to say he didn't tell, before smirking at my comment. "He hasn't officially taken the alpha title yet, so he's just..." i looked at the principle and noticed his eyes black and his claws out, he was in what lycans call a half shift, triggered when the subject has become angered. He turned to two security wolves and gave them a nod, Almost immediately i was forced onto my knees, my arm was slammed on a table and held in place by one wolf, while my body was held in place by the other. "Ok, I don't think this is needed, I have alpha blood, a stvpid human girl can't hurt me." My head snapped to Adrian who had stood up in front of the school to stop what was happening. "Nevertheless, humans need to know their place." With that the pressure on my arm increased as our principals hand pulled my sleeve up before a long claw punctured my skin. The searing pain shoting from the fresh wound had my eyes scrunched and my fist clenched, I bit the inside of my cheek hard instantly tasting blood, however no sound left my mouth. He continued to write, using my skin as a canvas and his claws as a marker, it went on forever, my vision blurred slightly at one point as I turned my head away. After minutes of torture, he was done and the pressure on my arm eased, instantly I snatched my arm away, hissing through my teeth at the pain. I was about to scurry off stage, when I was roughly grabbed yet again, my arm being held in the air by the principal while my feet were inches off the floor, blood dripped from the wound and the pattern he had made was on show for everyone to see. Loads of people gasped, even the wolves looked slightly horrified at what had happened. "This is what happens when a human decides to speak out. I can promise, anyone who so much as says one word about our way of life, will have the same punishment." My arm was starting to seriously ache from being held in the air for so long, and the lack of blood flow to my suspended arm was causing me pins and needles, still I refused to make a sound. I held the tears back and I bit my cheek harder causing more blood to fill my mouth. "That's enough Bradley!" Adrian growled, he was still stood up and looking at the scene in front of him. His eyes hard as he stared at the principal a low warning growl erupted from his chest which had the head teacher gulping, he quickly let go of my arm causing me to crash to the floor. A small cry left my mouth as I hit the hard floor. Immediately I scrambled away, my foot just missed the high step leading to the stage and I fell, waiting for the impact of the ground, but it never came. Two strong arms wrapped around me catching my weak body causing me to look up, my eyes widened as I noticed Adrian had caught my falling form. "This isn't part of the human punishment program!" Adrian growled causing me to tense in his grip, I pushed him away from me before fixing my uniform top. The room was deadly silent, taking in the scene in front of them, while I stole a glance at my forearm. Carved into my skin by his devastating claws were two words, words that would most definitely scar my body for life. 'Human scum' "Lessons must be learned, she received lashing merely two days ago, and clearly it had no effect on her." Another growl left Adrian's chest as he stepped on to the stage, I wasn't bothered though, you would think I'd be ashamed but I simply smiled slightly. I fixed my sleeve a little so it wouldn't rub on the fresh wound before speaking. "It doesn't matter," the whole room looked at me shocked by my attitude. "I would rather be labeled human scum, than have any resemblance to your kind. I'm proud of what I am, how many of you can say that?" After my amazing little speech, I walked right down the middle between the humans and lycans and out the door. No more compliance, I'm going to get away with as much as I can without getting into too much bother. There will come a day when the lycans power will fizzle out. When it does I'll be ready, I'll be waiting for the day we take our world back. As for the best part about my plan...

No one can stop me.

"Ouch, not so hard." I seethed as the school nurse cleaned my new wound with antiseptic. "If you had of just kept your mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened." I turned to my right looking out the window at the few clouds that were floating in the blue sky. "Like I said, I'm proud to be human, and now everyone knows what I am." I clenched my fist together as the nurse began wrapping a bandage around my forearm. It had been a good few hours since the incident in the hall, and I had been forced to come to the nurces office after I had tried to clean my wound by splashing it with water from the tap, it also refused to stop bleeding. "You are impossible. Can you please just try and stay out of trouble? For one day, that's all I ask." Our school nurse is a wolf, she's one of them. However she hates the way they treat us mere humans, she thinks we should all just live in peace with equal rights. Like that would ever happen. "All I've done is stay out of trouble, but you are just going to humiliate me anyway, so what's the actual point?" "The pack were discussing a public execution, Dylan. You need to walk on egg shells from now on, not just for you but for your family as well." No ones been publicly executed in over 4 months, I'm flattered they're considering it. They only execute people who they believe are the biggest problems to society. "Well then... I'm flattered." I chuckled, before looking at the patch job. 'Huh, not too shabby.' I quickly stood up from the human nursing station and pulled the sleeve of my shirt down covering the evidence of ever being hurt. "This is serious!" I just gave her a blank look before leaving the room. On the way out I heard her call back to me. "Please just think about it." I gave a clipped nod as I walked away wondering how I'm going to tell my mom about this. Later in the evening... "Dilly why you say that?" Freddie looked up at me with a mouth full of bread. "Don't speak with your mouthful!" My mom scolded him as a bashful blush made its way to his cheeks. "Sowwy mommy." His reply was muffled as he swallowed the last chunk of food. "I said it Freddie, because it's the truth. The wolf race are a pathetic excuse for..." my mom cut me off with an extremely stern look. "Dylan! They have ears everywhere, one more word out of you and it's your room." I scowled, my hatred for the Lycan kind growing stronger as each day passes. "What more can they do to me, lash me? Beat me? Brand me? They've ran out of options." I stated slamming my hands down, then severely regretting it as sharp pain shot though my wound. "What was that?" My head shot to regard my mothers worried expression. Her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were dull and judging as she looked at me. "Nothing, it was nothing." I quickly took my plate in my hand and began to walk to the kitchen. "I'm not really hungry, and I have homework to do!" My mom caught hold of my forearm causing me to drop my plate suddenly, I watched it slowly fall before shattering on the floor. I retracted my arm quickly and turned to Freddie. "Stay there and don't move until it's cleaned up ok sport?" He just nodded with wide eyes, I turned back to my mom and noticed her curious stare on my arm. Her grip shifted to the other side as she turned it around before pulling my sleeve up. The bandage was showing and a bit of blood was seeping though after the wound had been disturbed. "What the hel happened?" My moms eyes widened as she began to fumble with the bandage. Before she could unravel any of it I snatched my arm away. "I had an accident at school. No big." I began to gather the large pieces of the broken plate up ready to put them in the bin. "What did you do Dylan?" She looked at me with pure worry and only then did I realize what the wound must look like to someone who didn't know. "For gods sake! I didn't do it to myself! I got publicly punished at the assembly alright? It's no big deal." Her face dropped instantly and she stepped towards me, causing me to step backwards. "Mom, I'm ok. So back off will you." "What did you do? I've never known them to cut someone's arm as a punishment." Her shock and accusation was evident in her voice and I sighed heavily. "I spoke against the alphas son." I may have hit him too, but I wasn't going to divulge that part to her. "It's not one big cut, mom, it's a brand, 'human scum' carved onto my arm." "They've branded you now too?!" My eyes rolled at her hurt tone as I went to get the dustpan and brush. "You're so much like your father." A sigh left her mouth as she spoke, running a hand through her hair, while I quickly swept up the little pieces of the broken plate. "You've had a new uniform delivered. It's laid out on your bed. Dylan, Please just try and stay respectful in the future, I don't want my daughter to be completely mutilated. Although you're not far off." "Gee, Thanks." I then walked over to my little brother Freddy before blowing a kiss into his neck and hearing him giggle. "So sport, how's school going?" "It's ok." He shrugged before going back to coloring a dinosaur picture in. "Well that's good, stay out of trouble, ok little man?" Heading upstairs and into my room, my thoughts wandered to the permanent graffiti scar very slowly healing on my arm. Disgusting beasts. Think they own the world because they're faster, stronger and can shift. Pah. If you ask me they are not all that.

The second I walked into my room my mouth dropped open. On my bed was some grey pants laid out neatly, which wasn't the surprising part, no, what shocked me was the grey high neck no sleeved button down shirt, every single set of uniform had sleeves except this one. They've done this on purpose those, mutts. They want the world to see my arm and know what a disgusting creature I am. They want the world to know that I, Dylan Riley, am nothing more than 'human scum'.

During the last week, I've been horrible, in class I've been loud in voicing my views, I've insulted at least everyone to some degree, I didn't care about the consequences, and I certainly didn't think about them. I haven't seen Nick at all since he was claimed, and to make matters worse today was the royal visit. Oh yes, werewolves and mated humans alike were spending every waking minute preparing themselves to meet his royal majesty, king of the wolves. Unclaimed Humans however would rather stick pins in their eyes. "Dylan, get down now... you're going to be late." She was right, I was dawdling this morning, I really couldn't be bothered today, I gave myself one last look in the small mirror and sighed when my eyes met my newly uncovered brand. It had bad bruising around the letters, and was still extremely tender to touch, it was definitely healing now though. I made my way down the stairs and came face to face with my mother who was seeing to Freddie, she was helping my brother get his coat on when she turned to me. "You ready sport?" Freddie nodded his little head at me and smiled while I quickly slid my shoes on. "Just Remember, the alpha is bad enough, Dylan, please, please don't do anything to anger the king." My mother stopped us from walking out the door to tell me something she had been telling me continuously for the last couple of days, it was almost as if the entire human population of our district was expecting me to do something stvpid. "Try and have a good day." I rolled my eyes but nodded, even I know not to push the king, he could kil me in the hallway like it was nothing. In fact I plan on staying out of his way for the entirety of the day. "We will see you tonight mom." I stated before me and my brother began our walk to school, his little hand clutched my own tightly as we went. Usually Nick would be with us, as he lives next door, well he used to, now he's residing in the main pack house. I quickly dropped Freddie off at his school and watched him get the wolfsbane neutralizer before walking into him building giving me a small wave before he went in. With my new scar on complete show, and my figure being complimented by the skin tight shirt I was wearing, I sauntered down the street to school, I gave my name and year in and took the wolf's bane neutralizer injection with no problems at all. It was finally getting into school that the problem occurred. Walking through the halls I was met by many looks, some of pity some of disgust. You see every single non mated human in the school was wearing a long sleeved version of the uniform I was given. All the Wolves and mated couples were scattered around in fancy floor length dresses or tailored suits. As I turned the corner I noticed a couple, now this couple happened to catch my eye the most out of all of them because it consisted of Arya and Nick, eating each other's faces off. "What the hel!" Nicks head shot to me as his eyes widened. He too was dressed in a tailored suit, a navy blue tie hung on his neck to match Aryas dress. Why was this happening all the time? It's always my friends that get completely brain washed. I shook my head in disbelief before turning my back on him. I heard his fast footsteps behind me as I rounded the corner. "Dylan?!" He ran right in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, making me drop my bag off my shoulder and almost causing me to bump into him. "Let me just explain..." "Has she marked you?" I mean you could almost see it in his eyes, she had marked him, and knowing the way life goes he's probably even mated with her. "Actually... Don't even answer that." I aggressively picked my bag up off of the floor and stormed off down the hall. "Dylan, just listen to me, Erin was right, it's so hard to resist your soulmate, and Arya is actually ok once you get to know her." I just kept walking, he caught up to me walking beside me but it didn't matter, I completely ignored everything and everyone. 'I'm so not in the mood today' getting into class was good though, I said hello to Mr Foley and took my usual seat. Nick sighed then took his bag off ready to sit next to me, but I snapped before he had the chance. "Traitors and mated idiots sit on that side of the room." I didn't look him in the eye as I pointed to a seat right at the front of the classroom on the opposite side. His eyes widened as he turned his attention back to me. "You can't be serious Dylan." I gave him a blank look before grabbing my book out of my backpack, I placed it on the desk then began to write the date on the top line. "I've sat in this seat for as long as I can remember." I ignored him, his voice sounded sad and shocked. "Dylan? Wait! What is that?!" Before I could react Nick had grabbed hold of my branded arm and turned it to see the letters. "Oh my God! What happened?" I snatched my arm away from him and shrugged as I continued to write in my book before grabbing my water bottle out of my bag. "The principal happened, it was my punishment for speaking out against Adrian and Arya. I wear it with pride." He just held a complete look of disbelief. "You spoke out against them?" I shrugged, what did he think I'd do. "It's no secret that I despise this stvpid new world and the mutts that control it. You were my friend, I wasn't going to let them just take you without saying something, although that is exactly what you seem to have done. Enjoy the view from your new seat!" "Don't be like that, Dylan, I'm your best friend, I'm sorry about your arm, but..." my eyes rolled inside my head at my friends words. "Anything with the word 'but' in, isn't an apology, it's a rationalization." I took a drink of water from my bottle and kept my eyes facing forward, ignoring his every attempt to try and talk to me. "Dylan?.. Dylan?... Do you know what? Erin is right, if you push us all away you won't have any friends left." He huffed before walking over to the empty seat and sitting down, I could feel him glancing up at me every now and again but I didn't respond. "Good morning class, please settle down." He looked at me then at Nick and frowned, we've never sat apart, we were friends before the new world even began. I just shook my head telling him to forget it. "So... as you know the king will be arriving in a short while, but until then lessons will go on as normal." Its funny seeing teachers in the same uniform your wearing, mr Foley and his wife are the coolest. Human teachers and doctors only have slightly more respect than we do. Because of Mr Foley's status him and his wife have better access to food and drink, Mrs Foley is cool, sometimes she even makes sure mr Foley brings some in for me. Ya know, coz I'm their favorite student. It's not in a weird way, it's just they were friends of the family before the new wold took effect. Mr Foley and my dad were buddies from high school, so it goes without sayin really. "All the mated humans will be at the front of each years line again, after that you will all be placed in status, Nick, as your mated to Alpha Arya, you'll be at the front of your line. Dylan as you have been branded..." his voice trailed off as he looked at me. "Yeah yeah, I'll be at the back of the line behind everyone. I get it." I huffed, moving my sight towards the window once more. "I am sorry." I turned to face Mr Foley again, he looked genuinely upset and that look of pity wasn't something I wanted to see. I gave him a clipped nod then turned away again. "Anyway, on to the subject matter, 'Of Mice and Men, page 64, Nick why don't you start us off with the reading."

"Of course sir." Nick began reading the book but I switched off, today is going to be a long day. After almost an hour and a half of reading comprehension, the bell chimed signaling lunch. I shot up and out of the classroom before anyone could say anything. Today, I was avoiding drama like the plague.

I wandered the corridors straight to the lunch hall. All the people I would normally hang out with we're all mated so I grabbed my lunch quickly, and sat down at the end of the human table. Let me lay the lunch hall out for you. On one side of the room you have two long rows of tables, with simple benches that make it look like prison, on the other side of the room you have multiple round tables with fancy chairs. Yup you get it. The humans sit at the prison tables and the wolves and traitors sit on the fancy tables, they get fancy food, fancy drink and most importantly they get pudding. what I would give to have some pudding. "Dylan can we just talk?" Nick quickly took the spot next to me as he set his lunch tray down. I looked at his food which had been placed on a ceramic, circular white plate. God that looked good. I sighed knowing he was going to talk anyway. "Fine, you have two minutes." I used my fork to take a bit of pasta off his plate and shoved it into my mouth. God that was good. "After I left school, I was taken to the pack house with Arya, and I really got to know her. It took a few days for me to finally accept being with her, but ever since life has been ok, and the sax... well that's a whole other story." Eww, I didn't need that mental image in my head. "I'm glad your happy." I stated before deciding I had no appetite. His face held shock before he sighed in relief. "That means a lot Dylan, I mean you know that your opinion matters to me." I cut him off before he could say anything else. "I said I was glad your happy. I didn't say I approved of what you've done. You've basically turned into one of THEM, I can't ever forgive you for that." He looked hurt, but I couldn't care less about his feelings. He placed his hand gently on my arm and went to open his mouth when a growl sounded out. All heads whipped to where it came from, Arya was stood holding a glass of soda and a plate, she was looking right at me and Nick and I would totally be dead if looks could kil. Nick quickly retracted his hand, his whole face fell and you could see sorrow flood his irises. "You sit with me now, get away from that, that... scum!" Wow, Nick was such a lucky guy. NOT. "You heard her. Get away from me, go sit with your new friends. I'm happy for you, and I understand where your coming from, but don't come up to me again and pretend you didn't betray your own kind. Don't pretend you didn't betray me." I shoved a little bit of food into my mouth before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria, leaving my tray on the table. I was walking through the hallway to the classroom, you see I decided to spend lunch with Mr Foley in his room, when I happened to hear voices in the corridor. "Is it wise for her to actually be present when the king arrives? Surely she could be placed in the dungeons, it might actually teach her some respect?" My principal was speaking to the alpha of our district, huh, if I stayed and listened do you think they'd notice, maybe they could smell me?! "Everyone is to be present, if the Riley girl does one thing out of line she will be dealt with severely, child or not. That girl has been a blight to the district since day one, she's dangerous, if she puts one hair out of place I will personally break her into submission." Oh shet, they were talking about me specifically, and they mentioned the dungeon, that's not been used in months. Normally I would have listened in more but something about the entire situation didn't sit right with me, all of a sudden, I was on edge, and simply wasn't interested in the slightest in hearing how my misery was to be enhanced. I backed up slightly before turning around and bumping head first into one of the hottest man I had ever seen. I lost my balance immediately and fell straight on to the floor letting out a small grumble in the process. His eyebrows knitted together quickly and his breath hitched in his throat as he looked upon my fallen state and gasped. "Mate!" He whispered, his eyes fixated on mine. Now, I had seen and heard that many times to know what that means, I gasped before taking a step back. 'No, no, no, no, no. This can not be happening.' He growled slightly before stepping towards me. Oh Shet!

I Read a summary of Hosea and several chapters of the book of Hosea this morning and it has made me scared and thinking:
If God forced the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute as a metaphor for Israel's adultery and unfaithfulness, what's stopping him from doing the same to me?
I know deep down, and increasing so, that I want to get married and start a family. My fear is that even if I pray for a godly virgin Christian woman (who undoubtedly wouldn't be perfect, but I'd still love her anyway), God would just do a 180 and tell me or force me marry a prostitute or someone with a high body count, or someone who wouldn't be faithful and loyal to me, and would just cheat on me when she wants to.
Don't get me wrong, If that actually happens then I would forgive her and try my best to not focus on her past, not judge her and love her like Jesus Christ and God loves me and the Church, but at the same time I wouldn't and dont want that to happen, since I know what I wish and hope for my future Christian spouse.
Thinking on this and dwelling on it just makes me anxious and paranoid, and I've already prayed to God about it, but I've yet to get get a response. What should I do in regards to this?

I Read a summary of Hosea and several chapters of the book of Hosea this morning and it has made me scared and thinking:
If God forced the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute as a metaphor for Israel's adultery and unfaithfulness, what's stopping him from doing the same to me?
I know deep down, and increasing so, that I want to get married and start a family. My fear is that even if I pray for a godly virgin Christian woman (who undoubtedly wouldn't be perfect, but I'd still love her anyway), God would just do a 180 and tell me or force me marry a prostitute or someone with a high body count, or someone who wouldn't be faithful and loyal to me, and would just cheat on me when she wants to.
Don't get me wrong, If that actually happens then I would forgive her and try my best to not focus on her past, not judger her and love her like Jesus Christ and God loves me and the Church, but at the same time I wouldn't and dont want that to happen, since I know what I wish and hope for my future Christian spouse.
Thinking on this and dwelling on it just makes me anxious and paranoid, and I've already prayed to God about it, but I've yet to get get a response. What should I do in regards to this?

Read a summary of Hosea and several chapters of the book of Hosea this morning and it has made me scared and thinking:
If God forced the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute as a metaphor for Israel's adultery and unfaithfulness, what's stopping him from doing the same to me?
I know deep down, and increasing so, that I want to get married and start a family. My fear is that even if I pray for a godly virgin Christian woman (who undoubtedly wouldn't be perfect, but I'd still love her anyway), God would just do a 180 and tell me or force me marry a prostitute or someone with a high body count, or someone who wouldn't be faithful and loyal to me, and would just cheat on me when she wants to.
Don't get me wrong, If that actually happens then I would forgive her and try my best to not focus on her past, not judge her and love her like Jesus Christ and God loves me and the Church, but at the same time I wouldn't and dont want that to happen, since I know what I wish and hope for my future Christian spouse.
Thinking on this and dwelling on it just makes me anxious and paranoid, and I've already prayed to God about it, but I've yet to get get a response. What should I do in regards to this?

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