I'm currently trying to make custom 1/6 scale dolls of Link and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda (Their Twilight Princess designs, specifically!) and I wanted to get an Obitsu body for Zelda, but I'm having a very difficult time navigating the world of Obitsu 🤣
One of the main things I'm confused about is the actual height of the doll body you're buying. For example, is the 27 cm body actually 27 cm? Or is that the approximate height the doll will be when you put a head on it? If it is the height of the body, does that include the neck peg, or is that just to the top of the neck? I wouldn't normally be so concerned with the exact height, but I want Zelda to be slightly taller than Link.
I don't really like the male Obitsu bodies because they look a little too mechanical and jointy to me (like the little wooden mannequins that come with art sets, lol), so I was going to get a YMY body for Link. The tallest one I can find is called the 25 cm, but in the measurements say it's actually 23.5 cm, so I guess it's about 9 1/4 in. That's fine, I just want to find a slightly taller body for Zelda, which is why I'm worried about the heights. I Thought the Ob 25 or 26 would work but now I'm second guessing the actual height. Do I need a 27? Too much? Would 24 or 25 be enough? Are Obitsu and YMY bodies similarly proportioned? Do they look in scale with each other? I truly have no idea. 😂 Any insight on actual Obitsu sizes would be extremely appreciated!!!
I'm also having a little trouble finding heads for these dolls. Elves and other fantasy creatures seem really popular with custom makers, so I figured it wouldn't be too hard to find some elven head sculpts, but alas. So far I've only found one that might work for Zelda, and that's the Parabox Fairy Head. I was hoping for one a little more mature and angular, but if this is the only one I can find, I think I can make it work fine if I paint it right. I definitely want inset eyes, so that's a point for this one, but if I find one I like better without holes for inset eyes I can always mod it, I suppose.
I haven't been able to find any head sculpts I really like for Link, though, elven or otherwise. I've never made a custom doll like this before, so it's possible that just have no idea where to look for doll heads. They're going to be fairly realistically proportioned, so I'm not looking for any chibi or excessively cutesy head sculpts. They will be a bit stylized though, so they don't have to be perfectly realistic, just in proportion with their bodies and each other. Are there usual places where people go to find Obitsu-compatable heads? Fantasy creature heads? Any ways to dodge Parabox's shipping that costs literally the same price as the head? I'm open to BJD heads or anything else (that isn't outrageously expensive), so let me know your go-to place for buying doll heads, or any elven sculpts that you'd recommend!
Sorry for such a long post! This is my first big custom endeavor, and I've got a lot to learn!
Tl;dr: I need to know if Obitsu bodies are exactly as tall as they're described, if they're in scale/proportion with YMY bodies, and where to find 1/6 elven head sculpts that work on Obitsu and Obitsu-like doll bodies.

Thraxas seems to be criminally obscure and underrated, so I thought I'd give it a shout. It's a mix of urban fantasy set in a high fantasy world, and a pulpy detective. Easy to read, short books, light, but not too light. It can be quite humorous at times, but I wouldn't classify it as comedic. If you enjoyed Garrett PI a great deal and wanted something similar - look no further. 12 books in total so far. It's semi-episodic, and the last book finishes an arc, so there's no real cliffhanger there.
Thraxas is a 40-something ex-senior investigator at the imperial palace who got booted due to having one drink too many at the wrong time. Now he's reduced to being a cheap private investigator who lives and operates out of a tavern in a poor part of the town near the harbour. Thraxas has an unlikely sidekick of sorts - Makri, who's a young quarter orc, quarter elf, half human woman, who had recently escaped orcish gladiator pits and has her eyes set on higher education, so she works as a barmaid to make money for the college (it makes more sense than it sounds like, trust me). The series is chiefly set in the city-state of Turai - it's extremely corrupt and it's currently plagued by a drug epidemic.
The book has lots of colourful characters - a disgraced sorcerer who got caught cheating while being in charge of keeping the chariot racing games honest, a creepy female assassin (according to Thraxas, anyway) who constantly keeps visiting Makri in the tavern, the city's most powerful sorceress is hopelessly addicted to a relatively mild drug which she takes to the next level by growing it herself via a special growing spell, and smoking copious amounts of it through a water pipe.
There's gambling, there's drinking, drugs, dead bodies, power hungry city officials, disgusting politics, riots, widespread corruption... But worry not, Thraxas, who is number one chariot at investigating (a self proclaimed one, admittedly), will not let you down. At least as long as he has copious amounts of food and beer in his belly.
Some shortcomings to keep in mind - like always, the first book is a little on the weaker side, however in this case I think the series gets into its stride straight from the second book. The last 4 books were self-published, and, unfortunately, have some proofreading issues. However, aside from this minor annoyance (and it depends on how you're sensitive to this sort of thing, it could be a non-issue to some), their overall quality on par with the rest. Likewise, the DIY look of the covers is a bit odd, but ultimately quite irrelevant, so don't be alarmed by that.

"Golden rules" about buying cheap flights, like booking domestic flights 57 days before the departure date, are no longer valid, as there has been a huge shift in the travel industry in what days were thought the cheapest to booking flights. If a study has not been conducted recently, or only one year ago, do not put too much faith in it; there's no reason to worry about booking a flight far in advance. The stellar tips below are current.
Check airlines which don't appear on 3rd party websitesOne of the major weaknesses of Internet search engines is that they frequently will not display the flights of all airlines such as Southwest, Frontier, and Allegiant. To solve this problem, use a free resource like Wikipedia to learn which of these airlines operates a certain airport. Visit Wikipedia, go to their airport page, and search for a section called "Airlines and destinations." You are advised to locate a list of each airline that flies to that airport as well as all the nonstop destinations that airport operates. So, once you become aware of any carriers which did not show up in your first searches, you could now look for flights straight on the airlines' sites.Search one-way & round-trip flightsOnce upon a time the majority of round-trip flights were cheaper than booking two one-way airfare flights. That's no longer the situation today. For instance, Southwest and Jetblue set their prices for their flights on a one-way basis; and a round-trip flight is only the sum of the 2 one-way rates. So, you'll want to check one-way flight rates to ensure you buy the best round-trip deal by pairing two one-way flight tickets, probably on two different carriers.Look for one seat at a timeThere exists a virtually unknown quirk in how carriers price seats which could result in greater prices if searching for many passengers as opposed to a single ticket. Airlines put their inventory in fare classes, or called buckets, which are not always obviously visible to customers. For instance, there may be just three seats left in a fare bucket for $300 each, and the next higher bucket may be $400 for each ticket. But, if you happen to look for four seats, each one would end up falling into the $400 fare bucket.Search alternate airportsAt times the cost of a certain flight is extremely high that it could be a good idea to use your second or even third choice of airports. For instance, you perhaps are aware of the New York area's 3 biggest airports: New York-JFK, Newark (EWR), and New York-LaGuardia. But did you know that Stewart (SWF), Westchester (HPN), and Long Island McArthur (ISP) are also in the region? Several airlines permit you to look for all airports in a region by just specifying the destination as the city itself rather than a certain airport. The ITA Matrix tool is also a great way to look for close by if you do not know the area too well, and Google Flights offers a "Nearby airports" option to assist in this search, too.Don't always travel directBeing flexible with your route you'll be flying is another way to find a cheap flight. For instance, at times it's cheaper to travel to London and use a budget airline to Amsterdam instead of flying directly to Amsterdam from the actual departure city.To utilize this approach, learn how much it costs to fly directly to the target destination. Next, open Google Flights, type in the destination's details like country name to see the rates to nearby airports. If the difference happens to exceed $150 dollars, find out how much it actually is to fly from the 2nd airport to the main destination.Leverage elite statusAlthough having elite status will not allow you to book flights at a discount, you still could use it to save money another way. But with elite status with the majority of airlines let you to standby for earlier flights or perform same-day verified flight modifications. This can permit you to buy a discounted airline flight at an awful time, only to modify it to the flight you really want but at no extra charge. Even without elite status, the charge to standby or make a same-day verified flight modification might be less than the airfare difference between the flight you truly want and the lowest option that day.Use the correct credit cardThe right credit card may very well provide you major savings on flight tickets in a number of various ways. For instance, The Platinum Card from American Express now offers 5x points on all airline bookings made directly with the carrier or with Amex travel, worth 10 cents each dollar spent, based on TPG's recent valuations. That card in addition offers the International Airfare Program, providing cardholders discounts for premium class flights on certain airlines.Search for free hotels and stopover toursWhenever an airline imposes a lengthy layover because of its very tight schedule, the airline will usually offer a free STPC, or stopover paid by carrier, which can include a free tour or hotel room as well.
Don't mind the mythsThe initial and main fact to know whenever locating a cheap flight is there exists no magic trick for achieving this objective. There are however a ton of myths floating online about certain ways to seek cheap flights. Without doubt, you must have run into a lot of them while searching for the best flight deals.Airline companies use advanced technology like computers and pricing algorithms for determining flight prices and offer deals based on various factors like time of the year, weather, time of day, passenger demand, fuel prices, competitor prices, and others. These myths and similar ones will lead you astray. Be flexible in respect to your travel times & datesAirline flight rates vary a lot depending on upcoming holidays, day of the week, and time of the year. August is a major month for flying to Europe, and plenty of people are planning to travel somewhere hot during winter or fly while the kids are taking a break from school.In summation, if you're traveling when everyone is also flying, then logically your flight price will be higher.Flexibility is everything for cheap plane tickets & cheap flight dealsThe more flexible you are, you'll get better cheap flight deals you can book. Here's a new way of doing things: Instead of deciding where to go next, choosing dates, and then searching for the cheap plane tickets to certain destinations on those particular dates, consider first selecting your destination and dates based on the best going deals available. By exercising greater flexibility where you travel and the specific dates you fly, you will have a far better opportunity to find cheaper airfare.Book first, think later for cheap flight finder cancellationTake complete advantage of the free 24-hour cancellation window while purchasing flights. Because of the Department of Transportation's strict regulations, any cheap flight booked to or from the United States could be canceled without worry of incurring a penalty, for 24 hours after the flight's reservation; it must be booked no less than one week before the flight's departure. Yes, it's a very good idea to use a cheap flight finder these days. What this means is that if you buy a flight and the ticket price drops within 24 hour window, you could cancel the original flight and purchase the new, less expensive one.Warning: the 24-hour rule can only work for flights directly bought with the airline or with booking engines such as Priceline.Set a price alert for all cheap flight ticketsYou can choose emails or push notices to your cell phone which will tell you exactly when the flight you are interested in has increased or decreased in price. This may be a great way for getting the best possible price on all cheap flight tickets in the near future. You can do this on the majority of search travel sites and OTAs. Why miss out on potential easy savings? You can then always locate flight tickets cheap when you need them.Buy in foreign currency to get cheap flight ticketBecause regular fliers travel abroad now and then, you could switch the currency on the airline's website to determine if the price would be listed in other monies.You can save big this way. For example, if an airline increased the flight price in US dollars but not in Indian rupee, you could book flights at half the price! But this may require altering either the location or language on the airline's website; or you may change to the home country's URL, where ticket prices are generally cheapest by searching in its local currency. This is how you can in fact find cheap flight ticket to wherever you like to travel.Sign up for an airline's travel rewards credit card for cheap flight bookingOne of the smartest ways to take full advantage from travel credit cards is to use the hefty sign-up bonuses. For example, if you sign up for a new travel card when the airline is offering unusually high quantity of bonus miles, you could score yourself literally thousands of dollars worth of reward points by just opening the card.Although several of these travel cards could have higher annual fees, a big sign-up bonus may amount for months or even years worth of cheap flight booking for you and your whole family.The cheapest day to book flightsEven though you might see great deals flashing on your computer screen for international airfare three to six months out, if you are flying during peak times, or perhaps your plans are not very flexible, it's smart to begin searching sooner. The cheapest day to book flights actually evades many flyers.This does not automatically mean you ought to purchase tickets when hitting the 6-month window; hold on till you book cheap flights online. And, just ignore the old advice that travel experts often repeat regarding booking the cheapest flights at 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday; that used to be true but now airfare prices are updated often and great deals could pop up any given moment when least expected. So, now you can secure a flight cheap most of the time.Utilize momondo to book cheap flight air ticketsUpon finding what you imagine to be the cheapest flight wherever, try searching on Momondo; it will search dozens of OTAs; bear in mind that it may not display the cheapest fares seen on large OTAs and Google Flights. But you got a greater chance to find cheap air tickets sooner this way. Otherwise, only one cheap air ticket may be attained, if tried another manner. Now you too can enjoy when you book cheap flight tickets when you need them.Fly cheap during the low seasonHave you ever scanned flight prices from the USA to Europe's insanely popular cities in August? Surpassing quite easily $1000.00, they can frighten seasoned and expert travelers alike.But are those the same ticket prices in February? So, fly cheap from major hubs in USA to Europe, you could often locate roundtrip flights throughout the winter months for less than $400 or even $300!Fly basic economy for cheap air flightsA basic economy flight ticket could save you money, if you do not require checked luggage or advance seat selection. Pay only for what you need. In theory, you'll achieve cheap air flights via this option.Enroll in the airline's loyalty program for cheap airfareIf you fly one particular airline often, join its loyalty program in order to earn points each time you go anywhere. Then, you can redeem such points for upgrades or cheap airfare in the future. If you accumulate enough miles and achieve a considerable status with the airline, you might receive free upgrades. Now, you can take fuller advantage of cheap air fare whenever you require it.Skiplag to discover hidden-city cheap airfares & last minute flightsHidden-city ticketing happens by booking a flight to a place beyond your final destination, and then end your flight on the layover city. This could help you in getting cheap airfares as well as best last minute flights to most destinations. Think about it: can you imagine a better, more creative way to book cheap air fares while searching the Internet?Prolong your layovers for cheapest flight ticketsSometimes only by extending a layover a few days in another city in-between, you can score cheapest flight tickets to your original destination. In conclusion, more often than not, you'll usually find the cheapest flight ticket by following this method consistently. Why not? A lot of people are discovering that they are by accident getting the cheapest flight via the extended layovers.Don't overlook sales for cheapest flight bookingAirlines are frequently offering amazing deals which you may jump on fast enough and save yourself hundreds of dollars on your next flight. Sign up for your favorite airline's newsletter to be on top of their latest flight deals. This is yet another way to know about the cheapest flight booking that becomes available whenever.Focus on going across the ocean for cheap fly ticketsIf you are thinking to visit a distant location, it could be less expensive to book one ticket to the main hub, and then a second ticket from there to your final destination. For example, if you wish to fly to Alhambra, Spain, it's probably cheaper to book one roundtrip flight from your home to Madrid and a second roundtrip ticket from Madrid to Alhambra than it would be to buy a ticket to Alhambra on one itinerary. In essence, you'll end up with cheap fly tickets by following the above example.Don't overlook destinations with low cost carriers to get cheapest flightsCarriers such as Frontier, AirTran, and Southwest all drive down airfares along their routes. So, it may be quite wise to travel a bit longer to a larger airport with low-cost carriers, because even major carriers flights will most likely be cheaper. Using this method regularly, you are more likely to find the cheapest flights to most if not all your destinations. Why not take advantage of low cost flights whenever possible?Avoid Friday, Sunday flights, & traditional air travel daysThis may mean going away before and returning later than usual, or even flying exactly on the holiday. Pelletier, the air travel specialist, says you can save up to 50% by simply flying Christmas Eve or Day. She said: "We saved $300 per ticket around Thanksgiving for our family of four by flying out the Saturday before Thanksgiving and coming back the Saturday after. Not everyone can swing that with their work schedules, so my advice is to leave Thanksgiving day and return on Saturday for cheaper fares."Begin with a reputable flight search engine to find cheapest international flightsWhile searching for a flight, the initial thing you will wish to do is determine which airlines run a certain route and get an estimated price on the biggest carriers. Opposed to individually visiting all of these airlines' sites, begin by looking for a website which will provide results from many airlines and different combinations of carriers. You may end up with the cheapest international flights this way. So, you could start with Expedia or another such as Orbitz, Hotwire, Travelocity, and Cheap Tickets. Do not ignore Google Flights, which, though a very powerful search engine, know that it's not a booking platform and can't buy a flight ticket there. This is how you could find cheapest flights to many popular locations.Be flexible where you go to book discount flightsIf for some reason or another you cannot be flexible with the time factor of your flight, then try to be flexible with your destinations. It's ideal to be both. However, you still can save a lot of money and book discount flights by being flexible with either factor.You don't have to conduct manual searches, going city by city and day by day. Websites such as Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Momondo provide explore tools and permit you to add your nearest airport and see a world map with all the possible flights on it. This helps you to quickly compare many destinations with no need to brainstorm each potential option.Fly budget airlines/carriersMany years ago, you were generally stuck flying with traditional costly airlines. That's not true anymore. Budget airlines today service both short and medium-haul routes all over the world. For example, AirAsia provides incredible cheap flight deals around Australia and Asia for less than $150 dollars! Indian and Middle Eastern air carriers sell cheap flight tickets throughout Africa and the subcontinent.Book early: how to find the cheapest flightsYou can discover how to find the cheapest flights by booking early. Although flight rates continue climbing the nearer you get to departure, there exists a great spot along the way when airline companies start to reduce or increase flight prices based on demand. Do not wait till the last moment but do not book too far in advance. The ideal time to buy your flight ticket is about 2 to 3 months prior to your departure, or even about 5 months prior if you're flying there in their peak season.

A/N: This incorporates a new build, with additional drawbacks and perks. I added a few gamer functions, as well as Lightning Quick, Brute Strength, DPS, and Rogue. More details are available over on Spacebattles (I also edited the original chapters there to reflect the changes).
Within minutes of entering the building and clocking in, I'm speedily typing away at my computer. There are stacks of papers on my desk that I am dedicatedly transcribing and digitizing.
This is my job, at least on most days. I have to take sheets of paper, invariably assorted forms related to insurance, and digitize them. In minutes I have already done this to a few different types of forms, from applications to the paperwork regarding claims and investigations into claims. "Speed Typist" mixed with "Lightning Quick" allows me to easily breeze through even dense forms and shift between the programs I need to use for each type of form. My job is hilariously, almost offensively, easy and I have already heard that we have a backlog so I have plenty of stuff to go through.
As I type I begin to think about each of my gamer perks as well as my system. Every few minutes I'll "mistype" thanks to "Buggy" and I'll spend a split second going back and fixing my mistake but between "The Devil's Own Luck" and "Lightning Quick" I'm able to fix my mistakes in a span of milliseconds. While I type I use "Observe" every instance I can, throwing in a tiny burst to the overall amount of experience I gain.
I use my enhanced mind's passive ability to follow two trains of thought while I work. As far as anyone can tell I'm diligently doing my job, but in actuality I'm exploring my system. Through passive, almost imperceptible gestures, mostly due to how fast they are, I am messing around with my rather system.
I whittle away the hours I need to spend at my job doing this. During this time I get a few of my skills to level up a few times, thanks to my decision to faithfully and diligently hone some of my other abilities like "Observe". Eventually lunch rolls around and Amy sneaks up behind me so she can surprise me and draw me away from my work. I feign surprise when she reaches me up and taps on my shoulder, and this is a perfect chance for me to try something out.
I make small talk and I silently activate my ability to pause reality while I'm in the middle of a sentence. The world freezes around me and I get to see Amy freeze as she reacts to what I'm saying. I have a reason for doing this, it's all for the sake of experimenting with some of my more intriguing abilities.
I focus on Amy even as I interact with my system's UI and I activate my "Gacha" mechanic. In my mind's eye I can see a logo representing a capsule machine beginning to stir to life and spin some of the capsules containing various awards, and I think about two enormously powerful perks: "The Face" and "Silver Tongue".
These two charisma enhancing perks are incredibly valuable tools in my repertoire and I have yet to meaningfully use them. One of them, "Silver Tongue" is not as directly powerful as "The Face" but it offers me broad knowledge of psychology, enhances my charismatic intuition, and makes me incredibly attractive. The real powerhouse of a perk is "The Face". By focusing on people and thinking of something I want them to believe or persuade them to do I have a supernatural intuitive sense that allows me to know the best sort of argument I could make to achieve that goal. To test this I study Amy while wondering if there's any way for me to convince her to go on a date with me, and after a split second of thinking I begin to feel vague intuitive senses of what I could say and do that would make her see me as a potential romantic interest, and I know that doing that before I ask her out would guarantee success if I wanted her to go on a date with me.
I immediately shift tactics and try to see if I could persuade her to give me 100,000 dollars, and I am unsurprised when I do not gain any vague sensations about how to make that happen one way or another. "Worth a shot..." I tell myself, and if I could smile more I would. Both of these perks are strong, but I'm clever enough to recognize that they become even stronger when I add "Beautiful Mind" and "Well of Wisdom" to the mix. WoW is especially handy in a combination like this, since it allows me to pick and choose the most efficient route to my desired outcome. This is especially true if I mix it with my ability to pause time, since I can give myself breathing room and contemplate how to most skillfully word my arguments and present my positions.
The gacha machine, or some abstraction of one, in my head slows to a stop. When it does a symbol of a capsule pops out and I am delighted to see that I've won a mundane iPad like device, a handy thing I can use as a computer for the time being! This is quite handy, and I can see this particular mechanic becoming something life-saving in a moment of desperation with the right amount of luck. The decide immediately fills a slot in my inventory, and I make a mental note to pull it out and use it later.
I unpause time and over the course of the next few minutes I use my skills, mixing all of the aforementioned perks and functions of my gamer skills as Amy and I walk over to the cafeteria. It is only when we're sitting through the door into the cafeteria that I sense an opportunity to ask my friend something.
"Hey, do you want to try a soup I made? I like it but having a second opinion is always good." I remark, causing her eyes to brightly light up. I grin at her and we walk over to the same table we ate at yesterday. I hand her the small container I'm holding my soup in, and she looks at it. I see her inhale and watch as her eyes light up. We're the first of the people to arrive at our table so no one else sees this. The container I gave her also has some silverware which she uses to go ahead and take a sip of the soup. I am delighted when time freezes and I get a notification alerting me to the acquisition of a new class: that of a chef. I immediately equip it even as I click through the drawback that appears before me. This also confirms that at least in some cases what is needed for me to get a class is for me to do stuff in front of others or at least involve them in some way.
As time resumes I see Amy's face light up.
"This is delicious!" She states with a delighted and sincere grin. I light up as she tells me this and I lightly cheer. This is excellent news, and my acquisition of this class is very fascinating. When it comes to classes I have a unique ability to get them to "Prestige" once they reach a high enough level, and given my current build's focus on support, buffing, and healing, if I can master a class like that of a chef I can do a lot.
"I'm so happy you like it!" I exclaim, sincerely. It really does taste quite good, but my whole body is enhanced and I'm superhumanly sensitive to things like taste so there's no guarantee that what I taste will be what others taste. That said, cooking is an absolutely incredible skill so if I can master it... Well, I'll always be able to prove my worth in almost any situation involving other people. Cooking... is a cracked skill to have in real life.
Our friends join us and as they do Amy turns to them and hands one of the women the container. Mary looks at us quizzically and Amy pantomimes for her friend to try the soup. Mary's look of confusion only becomes more apparent, but she still dutifully does as she's been asked, using her own silverware to do so. Her eyes light up as well and I feel how much experience I have as a cook slowly increase, which brings a smug smile to my face.
"This is delicious! What is this?!" Mary asks, and I grin and point at me. She smiles, impressed, before handing it back to me.
"I made this soup last night. I liked it but I didn't know if I was going crazy or not." I remark, and that gets a laugh out of Amy.
"Well, if working at an office ever gets boring you could make a living as a chef. This is amazing!" She states, and I can hear the honesty in her voice. It's kind of nice how much she likes the stuff, and a part of me wouldn't mind making more food for her if she's gonna be this enthusiastic about what I give her to eat.
It's hard not for me not to beam at my companions in passive delight the whole time we're eating lunch. The lunchroom conversation is kept simple and we simply inform each other about upcoming plans and light gossip, all of which I've heard before thanks to my enhanced, and growing, senses. Super Sensory is a strong enough perk by default but because of my ability to expand every facet of myself, coupled with the universality of "Master of All" I am just passively growing in my ability to hear stuff. Seeing as I am uncapped I could see myself someday hearing every conversation in this building, almost certainly by the end of the year given how all of my growth is linked together and builds on each other.
Lunch comes and goes in a blur and in minutes I'm back in front of the computer. In front of the computer I'm a blur, my fingers strengthened by Lightning Quick and Speed Typist. I whittle away the hours diligently doing my job, distracting myself and minorly doing other things by making use of my dual trains of thought, and even when I overcome instances of "Buggy" every few minutes I still find myself grateful that I took the drawbacks I did. This work would be... less than fun otherwise. By the time my workday comes to an end and I find myself outside of the office I've filled out hundreds of forms and diligently pushed various skills of mine to new levels. Colleagues of mine are walking around me and also leaving the office. I casually pause time. making use of my pause ability again, and I begin to think of what to do and where to go next.
"I suppose now's as good a time as any to go and see about volunteering..." I eventually realize as I think about the various things I can do from here. I momentarily wonder where I should go to try and do that before I remember what I told Amy and the others yesterday about how I volunteered at a clinic. WIth Healer volunteering at a hospital would be good for me, even if I couldn't do as much good as I'd like too since I am not a doctor. I unpause time and smile as I reach into my pocket, use "Inventory" and retrieve my cellphone.
"Where is the nearest hospital?" I ask aloud, into the phone. Some of the people walking past me glance at me curiously and I smile sheepishly as my phone begins to tell me where to go. I begin to walk in the direction the phone indicates, happy to have a chance to begin to do some good.
The walk isn't terribly long. It turns out that the hospital is in a part of downtown that I didn't explore last night, and I reach it less than five minutes after I start walking, just in the opposite direction of where I was going before. The hospital isn't huge, which surprises me since I don't seem to be living in some small town but in a decently sized city. I walk into the main entrance and step into a large lobby where a decent amount of foot traffic seems to happen, judging from the footprints I can faintly see on the floor beneath me. I walk up to a receptionist desk and the man behind it doesn't bother looking up and instead taps the clipboard in front of him. I glance at it and laugh when I see that it's a standard questionnaire for people who are visiting a hospital for normal, health-related reasons. My reaction surprises the man, and to be fair it's definitely odd for someone in a hospital to laugh at the sight of a hospital questionnaire.
I am laughing at the questionnaire because it's amusing to think about the possibility of getting sick, I'm a gamer, and while normally that'd conjure images of nerds and geeks in my case it means that my health is protected. I have two very powerful perks/features that wildly mitigate the dangers of sicknesses: "Tough As Nails" which guarantees that it'd take something supernatural or almost supernatural to stand a chance of even slowing me down, and "Gamer Body". Gamer Body is interesting in this context since it gamifies negative conditions and allows me to, quite literally, sleep them off. Even something like losing a limb can be cured with a night of sleep thanks to my abilities which feels radically overpowered given how little it cost. I have other perks which further lower my odds of being negatively affected by sicknesses, such as "The Devil's Own Luck". I also have my magic, which includes spells that completely heal and purify the body, and would work on me just as readily as they'd work on other people.
"I'm actually here to learn how to volunteer? I'm new in town and I used to volunteer at a clinic in my home town so I wanted to see if I could volunteer here." I explain, which causes the guy to look up at me. When he does his eyes widen, and I smile awkwardly. I consider feigning ignorance, or perhaps innocence, but I know what's going on. He wasn't expecting me to look the way I look.
My new looks are something it is taking me a beat to get used to. I was only okay looking before, but now my looks are hyper idealized, and I am a conceptually handsome version of the very best I could have ever looked, and it is a bit jarring. It's more jarring for me, knowing that before I was an at best average-looking guy before coming to this world and gaining this new form. I allow the man a beat, before I clear my throat and the sound snaps him out of the daze he was in.
"Oh! Sorry, man, I just assumed you were sick. Umm... Yeah, let me give you a packet." The man says, before reaching under the desk in front of him. I smile lightly as he rummages around the interior of the space that separates us.
My powerful senses allow me to easily notice all sorts of stuff occurring around me. I can hear the vital processes in the bodies of the people closest to me, such as heartbeats and the smells of sweat, as well as other bodily fluids. Many of the people in this area of the hospital are sick, and truthfully if I could I'd heal them all.
One of my reasons for coming here today is to give myself a means by which I can help and heal people. This is, mildly, altruistic but more than anything else I want to master the power to heal people before I leave this setting. In the right setting, being a healer is absolutely a pivotal method of interacting with my environment and also getting allies, as well as staying alive.
The man eventually hands me a packet, along with a pen to use to fill out parts of it, and I smile at him as I take it. It is filled with information, including an application to fill out, and I thank him as I walk over to the waiting area and begin to fill it out. The questions are simple and ask for basic information about me. I fill it out, though a part of me is curious how this'll mesh with my drawbacks...
When I finish filling out the form I hand it to the man and he gratefully takes it. He explains that I'll be contacted by someone named "Ms. Jimenez" soon, and that she oversees the volunteer program. I delightedly thank him for that information and begin to head out of the hospital.
In minutes I'm part of the way home. I am a decently fast walker, though that's something I'd like to work on more in the days to come. The sun is quickly descending, and the moon is already visible in the night sky. I'm approaching the row of apartment buildings that include the building I live in. As I draw nearer and nearer to it I spot a lone homeless man sleeping next to one of the apartments. He is clearly asleep and my observation ability only confirms this. It also reveals that the man is sick, and when I glance at his hit points I see further confirmation of that, as he's down a few of them. I am walking towards him, and as I move I see a nice opportunity for me to try something.
I silently activate "Rogue", one of my more odd perks, and I feel my presence become much more subdued and difficult to notice. I approach the man, and I shut my eyes. As I walk towards him I allow myself to be guided by Super Sensory and only stop when I'm right in front of the man. I kneel and I focus on my spellbook icon, allowing me to see my list of spells. My senses allow me to be confident that the figure is still asleep when I gently move my hands so that they are in front of him. Time freezes as I gain a "Stealth" skill, and while time is frozen I swap my class and become a mage so I can gain valuable experience before I deactivate "Tutorial Sprite". I allow time to resume and smile as I trigger a spell for the first time, one of healing.
For me to activate the spell requires nothing more than for me to have enough magic points and an applicable target. This particular spell is my more advanced spell and it can work on all sorts of living targets. It is named "Intermediate heal" and the fact that I have it is a sign of one of my purchases; Healer. I feel my points of arcane energy be converted into sacred, restorative energy and I open my eyes in time to watch my hands begin to glow as energy leaves me and enters him. I look at his hit points and watch them begin to slowly increase even as I hit him with another instance of "Observe". I do so just in time to feel time freeze as new notifications appear in my mind's eye. One of the first notifications is that I have just earned experience for the "Mage" class, which becomes experience for everything thanks to Master of All, while another indicates that I've just unlocked a quest to become a healer! I study these notifications with a proud grin as this marks an important milestone in my journey. The fact that the class I want is locked behind a quest is interesting and I make a mental note to study the quest as I head home.
I unfreeze time, notice that the man is already visibly healthier, and turn to make my way back to my new home. It takes only about six minutes before I find myself stepping into my apartment. Now I can play with my new toy from earlier!

I am just finished my first year of undergrad and am concerned about continuing on the pre-dental path. My first semester was a large adjustment which is understandable and I got a B- in gen chem 1, I was not as concerned about this as my second semester grades. I got an A- in gen chem 2 and I was happy with the improvement although it does count as a 3.7 in my gpa. However, the class that I really struggled with is Computer Science. Unfortunately my dream major, very interdisciplinary allows for me to explore humanities while taking stem classes, requires me to get a C in CS. I sadly got a D+ meaning I will have to take the class again, I do truly feel I could do better if I retake the course it will just take away time from other classes and not help my gpa. This is detrimental to my science gpa and I just feel defeated about my chances to get into dental school. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or a similar experience.

For some inexplicable reason, I used to admire Steve Jobs excessively and held him in high regard. This was years ago, and now, I'm unsure why I felt this way. Perhaps I was greatly impressed by his success and particularly his speech at Stanford University. However, upon reflection, I've come to realize that he was a motherfucker too. He often presented himself as a visionary, as if he were altruistically serving humanity. Yet, the reality is more complex—he was way much ruthless. He mistreated his employees, venting his frustrations on them and treating them like animals. If you delve into his interviews, he portrays himself as an inventor and innovator, but he was primarily a Plagiarist businessman who often took credit for others' work to elevate his own status.
If you examine his interviews, especially his speech at Stanford University, you'll notice he portrayed himself as a poor boy who struggled to afford food by giving an example of going to the Hare Krishna temple for free meals. However, in reality, he wasn't that impoverished. Perhaps he didn't come from a super-rich, upper-class family like Bill Gates, but he was at least middle class. During his early days at Apple, his father even mortgaged their home to provide him with significant financial support. He was also fortunate in many ways by being born into silicon valley. He was adept at manipulation and sought attention.
Despite his claiming not to care about money, he was, in fact, a billionaire, with around 12 billion dollars in his pocket when he passed away. Surprisingly, he didn't establish any charitable foundations or donate a significant portion of his wealth to public causes. He didn't engage in enough philanthropy. If he truly didn't care about money, he could have used his wealth to benefit others, but he chose not to. So, the reality of who he was differed greatly from the media portrayal.

Automating Your Inbox: VBA Forwarding Techniques

Email management can be a tedious task, especially when it comes to handling a large volume of messages and ensuring important emails are forwarded to the right recipients with their attachments intact. Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) offers a powerful solution to automate these processes within Microsoft Outlook, saving time and reducing the potential for human error. By writing specific VBA scripts, users can customize their email handling, forwarding emails based on certain criteria, including sender, subject, or specific keywords contained within the email body.
This automation not only streamlines the forwarding process but also ensures that all necessary attachments are included, maintaining the integrity of the information being shared. Whether for personal use or within a corporate environment, mastering VBA to automate email forwarding can significantly enhance productivity. The following sections will guide you through the basics of setting up VBA scripts for email forwarding, including how to access the VBA editor in Outlook, write the necessary code, and apply it to incoming emails to automate the forwarding process.

Command	Description
CreateItem	Creates a new Outlook mail item.
Item.Subject	Specifies the subject of the email.
Item.Recipients.Add	Adds a recipient to the email.
Item.Attachments.Add	Adds an attachment to the email.
Item.Send	Sends the email item.
Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection	Gets the currently selected item(s) in Outlook.

Expanding Automation: The Power of VBA in Email Management

Email has become an indispensable part of professional communication, often resulting in a flooded inbox that can be challenging to manage efficiently. This is where the power of VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) comes into play, particularly in the context of Microsoft Outlook. VBA allows for the automation of repetitive tasks, such as forwarding emails with attachments, which can significantly enhance productivity and ensure no important communication is missed or delayed. By leveraging VBA, users can create scripts that automatically identify and forward emails based on predefined criteria, such as specific keywords in the subject line or from certain senders, ensuring that critical information is promptly shared with the relevant parties.
Moreover, the automation process via VBA is not limited to just forwarding emails but can be extended to include custom responses, organizing emails into specific folders, and even setting up alerts for emails from VIP contacts. This level of automation can transform how individuals and organizations manage their email communications, making the process more streamlined and less prone to human error. For individuals who are not familiar with programming, the initial setup of VBA scripts might require a learning curve, but the long-term benefits of automating mundane email tasks can free up valuable time for more important work. Additionally, the customization aspect of VBA scripts means that they can be tailored to fit the unique needs of any user or organization, making it a versatile tool in the arsenal of email management strategies.

Automating Email Forwarding in Outlook with VBA

VBA in Microsoft Outlook

 Dim objMail As Outlook.MailItem Dim objForward As MailItem Dim Selection As Selection Set Selection = Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection For Each objMail In Selection Set objForward = objMail.Forward With objForward .Recipients.Add "email@example.com" .Subject = "FW: " & objMail.Subject .Attachments.Add objMail.Attachments .Send End With Next objMail End Sub 

Unlocking Email Efficiency: The Role of VBA

The integration of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) in email management, particularly within Microsoft Outlook, heralds a significant shift towards efficiency and productivity in handling electronic correspondence. This programming language enables users to automate various tasks, from forwarding emails with attachments to categorizing incoming messages based on specific criteria. The essence of VBA lies in its ability to perform these tasks without manual intervention, thereby saving time and reducing the likelihood of errors. For businesses and individuals inundated with a high volume of emails daily, VBA scripts can be a game-changer, streamlining operations and ensuring that important communications are promptly addressed.
Furthermore, VBA's flexibility allows for customization to meet the unique needs of each user. Whether it's setting up auto-replies, managing calendar events based on email content, or even extracting data from emails for reporting purposes, VBA offers a versatile toolkit for enhancing email management. The potential of VBA extends beyond simple automation; it empowers users to create sophisticated solutions that can adapt to changing workflows and requirements. While the initial learning curve might deter some, the long-term benefits of mastering VBA for email management are undeniable, offering a blend of productivity, customization, and efficiency that is hard to match with manual processes.

VBA Email Automation FAQs

1. Question: Can VBA scripts automatically forward emails with attachments?
2. Answer: Yes, VBA can be programmed to automatically forward emails with attachments, ensuring that important documents are sent to the appropriate recipients without manual intervention.
3. Question: Is it possible to filter emails by sender or subject using VBA?
4. Answer: Absolutely, VBA scripts can be customized to filter and act on emails based on various criteria such as sender, subject line, and even specific keywords within the email body.
5. Question: Can VBA help in managing email clutter by organizing emails into folders?
6. Answer: Yes, one of the advantages of VBA is its ability to automate the organization of emails into designated folders, thereby helping users maintain a clutter-free inbox.
7. Question: Are there security concerns when using VBA for email automation?
8. Answer: While VBA itself is secure, users should be cautious with scripts downloaded from the internet or received via email to avoid potential malware. It's advisable to use VBA scripts from trusted sources or develop them in-house.
9. Question: Do I need advanced programming skills to use VBA for email automation?
10. Answer: Basic programming knowledge is beneficial, but many resources and tutorials are available to help beginners learn VBA for email automation. The community around VBA is also quite supportive.

Enhancing Productivity with VBA Automation

In conclusion, leveraging VBA for email automation in Microsoft Outlook presents a significant opportunity to improve productivity and efficiency in managing email communications. By customizing VBA scripts to automate routine tasks, users can ensure timely forwarding of important messages, maintain organized inboxes, and reduce the manual effort required in handling emails. The adaptability of VBA allows for scripts to be tailored to the specific needs of individuals or organizations, making it a versatile tool in the arsenal of email management strategies. Despite the initial learning curve, the long-term benefits of integrating VBA into email workflows are clear, offering a blend of customization, efficiency, and enhanced productivity. As email remains a critical component of professional communication, the ability to automate and streamline email management processes with VBA can provide a competitive advantage, allowing users to focus on more strategic tasks. Thus, embracing VBA automation in email handling not only simplifies the management of email traffic but also contributes to a more effective and efficient communication strategy.
https://www.tempmail.us.com/en/vba/automating-email-forwarding-with-vba-and-attachments

My lists are always being updated and expanded when new information comes in—what did I miss or am I unaware of (even if the thread predates my membership in Reddit), and what needs correction? Even (especially) if I get a subreddit or date wrong. That also includes new lists that you think I should create. (Note that, other than the quotation marks, the thread titles are "sic". I only change the quotation marks to match the standard usage (double to single, etc.) when I add my own quotation marks around the threads' titles.)
The lists are in absolute ascending chronological order by the posting date, and if need be the time of the initial post, down to the minute (or second, if required—there are several examples of this). The dates are in DD MMMM YYYY format per personal preference, and times are in US Eastern Time ("ET") since that's how they appear to me, and I'm not going to go to the trouble of converting to another time zone. They are also in twenty-four hour format, as that's what I prefer, and it saves the trouble and confusion of a.m. and p.m. Where the same user posts the same request to different subreddits, I note the user's name in order to indicate that I am aware of the duplication.
I compile my lists manually, from what shows up in my feed. I choose what interests me (thus the low incidence of romance—I'm not a fan of the literary genre, though I'm fine with the theme, and like romantic movies—and of pure horror, and the preponderance of science fiction/fantasy lists, as well as the large portion of nonfiction), and questions that are asked repeatedly.
Thread lengths: longish (50–99 posts)/long (100–199 posts)/very long (200–299 posts)/extremely long (300–399 posts)/huge (400+ posts) (though not all threads are this strictly classified, especially ones before mid?-2023, though I am updating shorter lists as I repost them); they are in lower case to prevent their confusion with the name "Long" and are the first notation after a thread's information.
booklists, the sub that hosted my lists, went private on or before Sunday 29 October 2023, so all of my lists at the time were blocked, though I have another home for them. That's the sub Recommend_A_Book (with one or two exceptions).
:::
Recurring Reddit Topics (alphabetized with one exception)

• Reddit: A How-to Guide thread (the title is currently a little grandiose for the present contents).
• The American Health Care System list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• African Hair(care) list of resources and discussion threads (one post).
• Filing Income Taxes in the United States list of Reddit resources, discussion threads, and references (one post).
• For New Owners of Cats list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads.
• [Incest] (not yet posted)
• Learning English list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• List of Writing Advice Subreddits (not yet posted in a central place)
• News & Fact Checking—see my post in "Where do I find true info about the Ukraine conflict?" (NoStupidQuestions; 18 April 2022)
• Pizza Delivery Advice list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Sex and Relationships list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (four posts).
• Tipping in the United States list of resources/references and Reddit discussion threads (one post).
• Toilets: International Differences and Other Matters list of resources, discussion threads, and references (one post).
• [Weddings] (not yet posted; controversies)
• Women's Pants and Pockets list of resources and discussion threads (one post).
• Worsening Search Results of Google list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).

Books

• Audiobooks list of recommendation threads (one post).

Nonfiction

• General Nonfiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (four posts).
• (Auto)biographies list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Communism list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Crime (Nonfiction) list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Cults list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Diversity Nonfiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• History (General) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• The Holocaust list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• How-to list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Information Technology list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• LBGTQ+ Nonfiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• [Leadership/Management] (not yet posted; see also the Self-help Nonfiction list)
• Medicine/Biology/For Medical Students list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Narrative Nonfiction ("Reads Like a Novel") list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Native American History and Culture list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Philosophy list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Psychology list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Science (General) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Self-help Nonfiction list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (seven posts).
• [South Asian Indians] (not yet posted)
• The Space Race list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).

Fiction

• General Fiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (nineteen posts).
• Anthropomorphic Animals list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Antiheroes and Villains list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Apocalyptic/Post-apocalyptic list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (three posts).
• Beautiful Prose/Writing (in Fiction) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Books to Read in Your 20s list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Circuses & Carnivals list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Classics (Literature) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down") list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Convents/Monasteries/Religious Houses and Orders list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Death Games/Hunting Humans Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Diversity Fiction list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Dragons list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Dystopias list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Emotionally Devastating/Rending list of Reddit recommendation threads, and books (four posts).
• Feel-good/Happy/Upbeat list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Female Characters, Strong list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Female Rage list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Historical Fiction list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Humor list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Japanese Literature list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Knights/King Arthur list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post). Includes paladins.
• LBGTQ+ Fiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post). All genres.
• Life Changing/Changed Your Life list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Mysteries list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (two posts).
• Mythology/Folklore/Specific Cultures list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Obscure/Overlooked/Underappreciated/Unknown/Underrated General Fiction list of Reddit recommendation threads books (one post).
• Philosophical Fiction list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Pirates list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Poetry list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Readers 1: For Children Who Want to Start Reading list (one post).
• Readers 2: Here are the the resources and threads I have about books for adolescents/adults who want to start reading ("Get me reading again/I've never read") list (eight posts).
• Romance (not yet posted; very short)
• Romany/Travellers (not yet posted; very short)
• Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (thirty-five posts (eventually, again).).
  • N.B.: The category is alphabetized under "Science Fiction/Fantasy", and the lists within it are alphabetized with that as a prefix, even when the prefix is not used (e.g., Hard SF).
• SF/F and ___ list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Afterlife (Heaven, Hell, Valhalla, etc.) list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Alien Aliens list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post). (Includes Just "Aliens" and Other Stuff.)
• SF/F: Alternate History list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, authors, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Artificial Intelligence list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F Artists list of links (one post).
• SF/F Badasses list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• [SF/F: Body Sharing (Multiple Entities)] (draft; not yet posted]
• SF/F: Business list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Character Driven list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Colonization list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F Comics (not yet posted)
• SF/F: Cyberpunk list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Cyberpunk list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Deserts list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Detectives and Law Enforcement list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Epics/Sagas (Long Series) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Erotica list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Exploration list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Fantasy *and* SF list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Fungi/Mushrooms list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Games list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Generation Ships list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Hard SF list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F Humor list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Immortals and Methuselahs list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Languages list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Magic list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Marine/Oceans/Water list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Medical list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Monster Hunting/Ghost Busting list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Non-human Protagonists/Main Characters list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Obscure/Underappreciated/Unknown/Underrated list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Organized Crime list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F, Philosophical list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Politics list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Powered Armor list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Psionics list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Religion list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F with Romance list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Schools and Education list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• SF/F: Space Opera list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F and Spies list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Steampunk list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Supernatural Creatures (Miscellaneous) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Terraforming list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Time Travel list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Urban Fantasy list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F: Utopias list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F: Weapons (Swords, Etc.) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• SF/F Westerns list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• SF/F World-building list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Seasons/WeatheClimate list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Self-help Fiction list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Spies/Espionage (Genre) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Stephen King: What Book Do I Start With? list of resources and Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Survival (Mixed Fiction and Nonfiction) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Thrillers list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
• Unreliable Narrators list. A stalled work in progress.
• Vampires list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (one post).
• Were-_s/Lycanthropes list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Westerns list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).
• Zombies list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).

Anime
If you are looking for something to watch, use the What to Watch? flair search first

• "Obscure/Underappreciated/Unknown/Underrated Anime Recommendations (List)" of Reddit recommendation threads (two posts).

Sorry for the not-so descriptive descriptions, just want to give a general idea and don't know how to quite sell myself yet
Intended Major: Economics and/or potentially Math
Demographics:

• Black Male
• First generation son of African Immigrants
• Income: Middle Class
• Suburban Durham, NC
• Current School Type(11,12) : Feeder public high school in state; we don't class rank; class size of approximately 350 students(highly selective STEM residential)
• Previous School (9,10): Large public high school; class rank (3/562)

Stats/Course Rigor:

• 3.8 (UW), 4.5(W)
• 1550 SAT Superscore (790M/760RW)
• AP Scores: 5s on Calc BC, Micro, Macro, Psych, USH, Human ; 4 on Environmental; 3 on CSP
• Plan on taking Differential Equations, Multivariable Calculus, AP Chem, and potentially linear algebra next year
• Took Combinatorics & Game Theory this year

Extracurriculars/Leadership (Main Ones)

• Research with Duke ProfessoUndergraduates (12)-- Working on a paper in the field of political science this upcoming summer (not a lot of info yet)
• Schoolhouse SAT Tutor (10,11,12)--tutor students worldwide over zoom in preparation for their SAT in both reading and math sections
• Paid Summer Camp Counselor Internship (11)-- Supervised and mentored a group of ten second graders while designing and facilitating engaging outdoor educational activities throughout the summer
• Economics Journal Co-director(11,12)-- contact local businesses and conduct interviews to include in our schools economics journal
• School's Activity Board Co President(11,12)-- plan and coordinate events for the student body throughout the school year
• BSU Committee Leader (9,10 11,12)-- organize African cultural events for the school and work alongside other leaders in huge annual BSU fest event
• School's Liaison(12)-- one of six students who maintain connection between school's stakeholders, state legislatures, and board of Trustees, providing tours around the school and keep communication between student body, school, and the three.
• NSBE TMAL Captain (12)-- lead math competition team and practices
• Additional Tutoring (11,12)-- provide free tutoring for underrepresented minority groups in all subjects, but an increased focus in STEM to grow interest and build confidence
• Social Media (9,10,11,12)-- Tiktok account with over 45k followers with content pertaining to economics and other educational content

Awards

• National Merit Commended Scholar (Met this years cutoff of 208)
• National African American Recognition
• Economics 4th Place State Finalist and National Qualifier(FBLA)
• NSBE Try-Math-A-Lon 1st place winner
• AP Scholar With Distinction
• French Honor Society

LOR

• APUSH Teacher (8.5-9 /10)
• Calculus Teacher (7/10)
• Counselor(9/10)

Reaches

• Duke
• UPenn
• Columbia
• Yale
• Georgia Tech
• Princeton

Safeties

• UNC (guaranteed acceptance)
• Howard

As the title suggests, i am quite young, not sure i should share my exact age though. I am not trying to brag,
I have always been incredibly smart, and found many gifted classes too easy in my childhood, eventually to the point i viewed them as nothing more than extra work for the same boredom for 40 minutes(this will relate a bit later). And in any classes that weren't specifically for gifted students, i could normally keep my head down the entire lesson with headphones on, and glance over at what we were doing and understand it almost entirely, this kind of talent and ability left me completely without any need to study for the first 10 years of school, and as such, i never learned HOW to properly study, after about 4th grade, i decided to deny teacher requests to move me into gifted classes altogether, because i didnt want the extra homework for in my mind, the same amount of learning. I think this may have impacted me, because i find myself constantly worrying if it would have helped my future if i were to be in these classes.
I studied human behavior and earth science as well as physics from an incredibly young age, if i can remember as young as 5, and have always enjoyed math, i remember being able to do my sister's math homework in my head, which was four grade levels above me, and until incredibly recently, i hadn't learned a single new thing in math, or science classes, since i was in 1st grade.
I've tried to take multiple free IQ tests(dont judge me im broke) and well i know these aren't always accurate in measuring intelligence overall, i maxed out two of them, and got the second highest score possible on the third. Often times i feel like i am some sort of anomaly, and everybody else is an idiot around me, and i know this isnt necessarily true, and each person has their own talents, it seems like i am better than most people at just about everything.
Overall, i know i am smart, and i have always been talented in anything logic, or thinking, and i am confident in my own capabilities, however, i am starting to worry that my lack of development in terms of actual learning skills, may have a devastating effect on my high school career and into college, i am as my name suggests, planning on going into animation despite my zero skills in art, so i dont know how much studying will help in an animation college, but i am incredibly worried for my high school career!
P.S: if this post is weirdly written, or doesn't make sense at some parts, first off sorry for bad punctuation, second off, sorry for the bad writing, i hate going through and polishing text blocks.

Round 1, Pick 6 - Malik Nabers, WR, LSU:
NFL: Nabers possesses the competitive fire and instincts teams look for in an elite receiver. The LSU wideout is a big-time playmaker who can make the game easier for Daniel Jones with his route-running and yards-after-the-catch ability, turning short passes into big gains for Big Blue.
CBS Sports: A+. I love this pick for the Giants. It says they didn’t believe in the quarterbacks who were left and now they get a playmaker on the outside. This kid will be a star.
ESPN: It's hard to have complaints landing a receiver as explosive as Nabers, especially once it became evident that getting any of the top three quarterbacks (Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye) wasn't possible. The Giants talked with New England on Thursday about pick No. 3 for Maye. But the decision was always in New England's hands. That was the problem with landing outside those top three picks. The Giants clearly weren't willing to settle for former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Follows the ‘Draft Day’ Day tradition, even this year.
Round 2, Pick 47 - Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota:
NFL: Nubin might lack a superpower as a prospect with no special trait, but he does a lot of things very well. He can be the Giants' post safety as an assignment-sound defender who will bring excellent intensity and commitment to the locker room.
CBS Sports: B-. Film is first-round caliber. Such a cerebral player with outstanding ball skills and solid range. Amazing ball skills. Will find the ball if it’s in his area. Best away from the line patrolling. Some stiffness as an athlete and not a true burner. Average testing numbers.
ESPN: A safety makes sense after the Giants allowed Xavier McKinney to walk this offseason. McKinney signed a massive deal with the Green Bay Packers. That left the Giants with Jason Pinnock and Dane Belton as the top two safeties on the depth chart. Nubin gives new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen an instinctive and versatile safety to work with. Nubin's pro comp is former Denver Broncos Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons. The Giants would certainly take that.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: If he didn’t get drafted he was going to start his sourdough era.
Round 3, Pick 70 - Andru Phillips, CB, Kentucky:
NFL: Phillips had a few rough games last season, but he could develop into a useful piece in the Giants secondary, either as a nickel or an outside safety. His size and ball production are subpar, but his toughness and tackling skill(s) give him a solid floor.
CBS Sports: B-. Silky smooth inside-out CB. Serious juice in his lower half. Not incredibly long but perfect size to play at nickel in the NFL. Incredibly willing in run support but does miss plenty of tackles. Quicker than fast but certainly not slow. Wished there was more ball production in college. Chippy type.
ESPN: Another position of need receives a reinforcement. Phillips joins a group that only has last year's first-round pick, Deonte Banks, penciled in as a starter. This is a player whom some teams had a second-round grade on. Phillips is a smooth cover cornerback who plays with physicality, especially for his size. The Giants clearly came into this draft -- and Day 2 in particular -- looking to upgrade the secondary.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: He cannot bring himself to throw away his Transformers.
Round 4, Pick 107 - Theo Johnson, TE, Penn State:
NFL: Johnson opened eyes at the Senior Bowl, being featured more as a receiver there than he often was at Penn State. His long, athletic frame makes him something of a Logan Thomas-like prospect and a good understudy to Darren Waller -- if he plays this year.
CBS Sports: B+. Elite tester. Huge frame with intimidating length. Was low-volume option at Penn State but has the explosive chops to become a better receiver in the pros. Ironically not a great blocker despite his towering, filled-out body type. Has just enough short-area quickness to separate on occasion in the NFL. Easy drops on film but counters with contested catches.
ESPN: Johnson could help fill the void if Darren Waller elects to retire. He is still contemplating his future. The Giants have been operating as if Waller is not on the roster. Johnson adds the physically gifted pass-catching element they would need in their offense. He has the size and speed to be a major threat at the NFL level. Daboll could be asking for an immediate contribution from their newest tight end. It's also worth noting that Johnson is the third of the Giants' top four draft picks to have a pre-draft visit. That is important to this regime.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Is the nephew of Tom Kenny, voice of SpongeBob.
Round 5, Pick 166 - Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Purdue:
NFL: A converted wideout, Tracy shifted to the backfield last year and did well with the opportunity, averaging a stout 6.3 yards per carry. If Malachi Corley is the Deebo Samuel Lite of this class, then Tracy is sort of the Corley Lite. I expect Tracy to be used extensively as a receiver out of the backfield.
CBS Sports: A. Former Iowa WR turned Purdue RB. Incredible bounce and agility to make defenders miss when they’re ready to make the tackle. Some breakaway speed too. Contact balance is good, not great. At times seems tentative hitting the hole but has the goods to make more than what’s blocked. Older prospect who’s new to the position.
ESPN: Tracy is a much-needed piece being added to the Giants' offensive backfield. New York had newly signed Devin Singletary backed up by Eric Gray and Gary Brightwell entering the draft. It's likely they would have taken Trey Benson two rounds earlier, had the Arizona Cardinals not taken him four spots ahead of the Giants. This gives Tracy a chance to make an immediate contribution, even if it's just as an option out of the backfield early in his career. He was a wide receiver up until last year, so there is room for growth despite already being 25 years old.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Plans to moonlight as the mascot at his Alma mater in the offseason.
Round 6, Pick 183 - Darius Muasau, LB, UCLA:
NFL: Muasau reminded me a bit of former Vikings LB Kentrell Brothers, a short but stout hitter and playmaker around the line of scrimmage whose coverage deficiencies are a bit worrisome.
CBS Sports: A-. No-hesitation off-ball LB with length deficiency. Quicker than fast but can get to the ball in a hurry because of his smarts. Unafraid to meet blockers in the hole and give them a jolt. Average ball skills and tackling soundness. Feels like someone who can outplay draft position.
ESPN: Muasau brings speed and youth to the linebacking corps. He's also likely an immediate special teams contributor. There is a connection with Muasau to the Giants. Special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial coached Muasau as a freshman at Hawaii. This played a part in the Giants' comfort with their sixth and final pick of the draft.
NFL Absolutely Not Fake News: Watches the 1986 Action/Thriller ‘The Delta Force’ on VHS every day.

cell phones (2G, 3G, 4G) emit radiofrequency in the frequency range of 0.7–2.7 GHz.
Exposure to very high RF intensities can result in heating of biological tissue and an increase in body temperature. Tissue damage in humans could occur during exposure to high RF levels because of the body's inability to cope with or dissipate the excessive heat that could be generated.
The most restrictive limits on whole-body exposure are in the frequency range of 30-300 MHz where the human body absorbs RF energy most efficiently when the whole body is exposed.
First, whats the calculation from 1 ghz to mhz, how much is 1 ghz in a mhz, and how many phones in an area whould be harmful? For example if I was in a city and everyone has cell phones, would I be harmed?
Also I heard somewhere 2500 MHz is equivalent to 2.5 GHz.

Hey y'all. This is my first ever post on reddit, and I came on here for the sole purpose of seeking advice...
For context, you could consider me a "cradle catholic." I have never really been that religious, and my siblings and I were catholic for the sole reason that we grew up with it. However, around 3 years ago I started walking away from the Church after realizing just how hateful and hypocritical it is, and how it's just a down-right business at this point. A majority of my family thankfully share the same mindset, except for one family member, and I have no idea what to do anymore.
I feel like I lost a family member at this point. After my family member has been involved with FOCUS at their university I feel like they have become a totally different person, in a bad way. Before their involvement with FOCUS, we were relatively close, but not I feel like the only option I have is to cut them out forever.
Firstly, my family member has never really been "extremely religious" growing up. I think when we were younger, going to church, confession, CCD, was always like a chore and we did it to make our remaining family happy most of the time. It was more a just "nod and smile" kind of thing. Now, fundamental catholicism is their ENTIRE personality and completely changed them into an entirely different person.
For example, some of us were IVF babies and my parents were very transparent with that. When we were younger it was just another thing, not a big deal... Now ever since they have been affiliated with FOCUS, this family member acts as if my parents are the most God-awful creatures on the planet, and HATES them (not disagree, HATE) with everything inside of them. They even told me that my parents need to "Beg for forgiveness" since they gave life to THEM, and a parent who recently passed is "rightfully burning in hell."
In addition to this, I've never seen my sibling HATE the way they do. Again, this is not just a disagreement, this is a full-blown, bitter, dark HATE. My sibling HATES my parents, and HATES my grandparents for allowing my parents to have IVF. They HATE the LGBTQ+ community, and they ESPECIALLY HATE women's rights, reproductive medicine, and any form of contraceptives. Following this my sibling as also flat out told me "condoms are just as bad as abortions" and that "it is up to the man to decide when to start of family." (Mind you, this specific person has NEVER taken a biology class OR sex ed class in their entire life, nor had a significant other) They just hate, hate, hate... And for how "holy" they are they have NO problem calling me really nasty names and telling me to "suck my cock."
Plus, they have become extremely artifical in publically displaying their faith... Mind y'all none of my family or close friends even did this, so it's not like this is a family thing... But now they have to obnoxiously do the sign of the cross before every meal, they leave their bibles and rosaries all over the house, gives my non-religous (all ex-catholic) family members prayer cards, and if they are really feeling like an asshole they will send me bible versus on how I need to repent and be more like them. It's just so fucking forced and fake...
Whenever I try to talk to them about, just why, they always try to claw me in back to Catholicism. Always. And if it isn't that, they completely lack any common logic/reasoning to their argument and it often ends in bitter screaming matches.
I try, so, hard to find a middle ground with them... or at LEAST TRY to understand where all this shit is coming from but I just can't.
Regardless, I genuinely do not know what to do anymore. Ever since discovering who I am, and my values as a human being, I've really started to grow a deep disappointment for this family member.
They mean a lot to me and of course, I want the best for both of us, but they have made my life a living hell for the previous years... If it isn't trying to start an argument it's ruining personal achievements and accomplishments (tell me my honors should've been THEIRS and how they have been unrightfully given to me)... They have really shown me just how ugly and terrible religion can be and I do not know what other steps to take to have them in my life anymore.
My apologies for the long-ass post, and my gratitude if you made it this far.

can anyone offer advice on what i can do next? I am currently failing chem and may potentially fail a math class. Both the classes are classes i needed for a stem major but i since changed to another major in health and human services i wont be needing those two classes anymore. Will i have to retake the classes? If i do how can i go about it and what can i do to prevent my FAFSA from being taken away? I've heard of appeals but im not 100% sure on how they work and im not sure who to contact. Im ending my second semester rn i did pretty decent my first semester i believe i had a GPA of around 3.1-3.2

“Ready to make history, baby?”
I looked over toward Sheila as she stood on the gangplank leading up to The Burger. I still couldn’t believe she named our research ship ‘The Burger’... emotional relevance be damned.
“It's not exactly history,” I corrected.
“Oh come on! If your survey is right, this trench might run even deeper than the Challenger Deep, and you’re gonna be the first person to explore it! How is that not exciting?”
“Might be deeper, we only have a limited amount of topological data. And even if it is deeper, we’re talking only a few hundred feet at most, it’s really not that im-”
Sheila silenced me with a kiss.
“Nerd.” She teased, and I found myself too flustered to reply. After five years of marriage, she still could leave me speechless with just a kiss. God… how did someone like me end up with a woman like that?
Then again, how did someone like me end up where I was in general? It was honestly a little overwhelming. Standing on the dock, getting ready to board that ship and join the ranks of Jacques Piccard and James Cameron (yes, that James Cameron) as one of the few people to take a manned submersible down to the deepest parts of the ocean. And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared too. Diving down that deep could easily be a one way trip if even the slightest thing went wrong. My submarine would be experiencing between 600 to 1100 atmospheres of pressure and while we’d tested it over and over again to make sure it would actually be up for the challenge, there was still a lingering iota of doubt in the back of my mind. All that needed to go wrong was one little thing, and that would be it for me.
The scariest part is that I probably wouldn’t even know what had happened… I’d simply be gone… and Sheila would be alone. The thought of that caused a momentary spike of panic in my chest that almost made me want to call this whole thing off.
Almost.
But, then I felt her hand close around mine. I looked up into her bright blue eyes, and saw her gentle smile.
“You’re gonna be okay, hun,” She promised. “You and your team have been running the numbers, right? It’s gonna go just fine!”
I nodded slowly.
“It’s gonna go fine…” I repeated, before she leaned in to kiss me, and gently pulled me by the wrist up onto the deck of the Burger.
She was probably right.
It probably would be fine.
Probably…
The trench I’d be exploring was a fairly recent discovery, located south of Greenland, in a vast stretch of water situated directly between Newfoundland and Iceland. It’d been uncovered during a topological survey in the area, and my team had taken an interest in investigating it further. At minimum, it was believed to descend to about 35,000 feet deep (over 10,000 meters), although the current theory was that it might have run even deeper. Determining the exact depth of the yet unnamed chasm was just one of the intents of our dive. The rest was studying the organisms that might be found down there, and how they might have differed from the ones found in other deep ocean trenches (some variation being expected given the isolated environment they were developing in.)
I had to admit, it would be exciting to see what new life might have developed in a place such as this, especially if it ran even deeper than our predictions… and that excitement was enough to make me chase the fear of the risks out of my mind, even if it was only briefly. While Sheila went to make sure we were ready to embark, I caught myself wandering out toward the rear of the ship where my submarine, The Tempura, waited for me. Did this submarine deserve a better name than The Tempura? Probably. But, this was my project, so I got to name it and since Burger was already taken, Tempura was the next best name I had. I liked to think that the subs namesake might approve… if she hadn’t died fifteen years ago. Shrimp don’t live very long.
As the ship began to depart, I caught myself reminiscing on how I’d ended up here… it really was all because of those damn shrimp, wasn’t it? Well… maybe not all because of the shrimp. But they were certainly part of it. Back when I was a lot younger, I never really gave much of a shit about anything at all. I guess I did have a thing for the ocean… the great, romantic vastness of it. The sense of adventure that it beckoned with. The endless mysteries that lay within its dark depths. I used to read about it all the time when I was a kid and I especially loved the classic adventures: Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and Melville’s Moby Dick… but that love was just confined to my books. I didn’t really have any interest in actually going out and seeing the ocean. Hell, the idea of going to a beach and standing in the sun with my toes in the sand seemed miserable to me. I was happier (although calling myself happy might’ve been a little disingenuous) alone in my room, enjoying the company of books as opposed to people.
Then came the shrimp.
One of my online friends kept them as a hobby. He used to post pictures of his tanks all the time, and I always thought they looked kinda cool. He said that if I was interested in them, I should try keeping some for myself, and during a particularly bad bout of depression, I figured that maybe it might be worth a shot. So, I bought a cheap tank and some cheap decorations, bought myself some shrimp… and promptly watched them die over the next few weeks. That… that bothered me. I don’t know why but… it really bothered me. I’m still not entirely sure how to describe what it was that I was feeling. Guilt? Defeat? Shame? Here I was, trying to set up a habitat for these creatures just to have something to do to keep the suicidal ideation at bay, and I’d failed almost right out of the gate.
Was I just that bad? Was I just that much of a failure? Was this just going to go to shit just like everything else in my life did, because I was just such an abysmal piece of shit who barely deserved the life she had? Had I just not tried hard enough? Was I too apathetic? What had happened? What went wrong?
It bothered me.
It bothered me enough that I made up my mind to just dump the remaining shrimp down the toilet and toss everything. Forget about it. Move on. End of story. But… that wasn’t fair, was it? The shrimp didn’t all deserve to die just because I couldn’t be bothered, did they? Sure, they were just shrimp, but they were alive too, just like me. They deserved to be alive.
I owed it to them to try and keep them alive, didn’t I?
So… I didn’t dump the shrimp.
Instead, I started doing some reading. Started looking into what I was doing wrong and how to do it all better. I actually got really into it and a few months later, I had a nice planted tank. Looking back, it was amateur shit… but it made me happy. I’d even picked out names for my two favorite shrimp. Burger and Tempura. They’d been the last survivors of my original batch, and they were the ones I ended up caring about the most. Caring for Burger and Tempura gave me a purpose. It became an obsession… and that little obsession drove me to finally start turning my life around.
Like I said, shrimp don’t live for very long. Burger and Tempura were long dead by the time I graduated with a degree in Marine Biology. But they were the ones who inspired me to finally get my life in order. Hell, the shrimp were half the reason that I met Sheila. She was something of an aquarium fanatic too… we’d met on a forum, and gotten to talking. I found out that she just so happened to be studying Marine Biology at another school, and we bonded pretty quickly after that. After graduation, I moved to California to be with her and after that, the rest is history. She was my rock. She was the one who always pushed me to be the best possible version of myself… and I loved her more than I ever knew I could love someone.
A glance back at the shore, fading into the distance tore me out of my reminiscing, and I shifted my focus to the present, going over The Tempura to perform some quick checks. My colleagues and I would be checking and rechecking the submarine over the next two days as we made our way toward the dive spot. Considering the danger that descending that deep posed, I didn’t want to take a single unnecessary risk.
I had too much to live for, after all.
***
The day of the dive, I couldn’t notice how excited the rest of the crew seemed… well… Sheila’s usual crew seemed excited. I guess to them, this was just another research expedition, no different than the ones Sheila usually took this ship out on. Lately her research had been focused on the analysis and study of whale calls. Her recent voyages had involved following their pods, recording their calls and playing them back to see how the whales reacted. It was fascinating stuff, but my research was admittedly a lot different than that.
My obsession had drawn me to the denizens of the deep sea. I’d used The Burger for expeditions before, although none of them had been on quite the same scale as this one. Up until today, the most ambitious thing I’d done was send down unmanned submersibles with cameras. Those submersibles had typically returned. We had lost a few early on due to technical glitches, but the past few years had been blissfully uneventful. Logically, this dive would probably be uneventful as well. But it was still hard to get the jitters out of my head.
My team and I did the final checks necessary to make sure that The Tempura was good to go, before setting up the crane to begin lifting it up. In less than an hour, I’d be inside of that thing, descending to the darkest depths of the ocean.
It didn’t feel real.
I felt Sheila’s hand on my shoulder, and looked over at her.
“Moment of truth, huh?” She asked. She probably meant it to sound encouraging, but it just sounded ominous.
“Moment of truth…” I replied.
“You’re gonna be okay, honey. I know you will.”
She reached out to gently squeeze my hand and gave me a reassuring smile that I meekly returned.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be okay,” I agreed, although there was an element of a lie in it. Statistically, yes. It probably WOULD be okay. But there was that lingering anxiety in the back of my mind that just wouldn’t go away. I looked quietly out at the submarine before me and couldn’t shake the thought that it sort of looked like a giant coffin. Unconsciously, I found myself squeezing Sheila’s hand tighter than normal. She just held me close and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, before gently rubbing my back.
“You’ll be okay,” She promised.
“Dr. Jenner, we’re ready for you.” I heard one of my colleagues say.
Moment of truth.
I took one last look at Sheila, and gave her a quick kiss on the lips for luck. She smiled at me, and I smiled back anxiously at her before heading over toward the submarine.
The crew helped me enter the cockpit and get myself situated inside. The cockpit of the Tempura was fairly cramped and not particularly comfortable. Space and comfort aren’t really luxuries you can afford in a submarine like this. The instruments I needed took up a lot of space, leaving little room for me in there… and I am not a very big person.
Once I was inside, they sealed the hatch. Then the diagnostics checks began.
“Grayson, can you hear us in there?” I heard Sheila say through the radio.
“Loud and clear,” I replied.
“Great. We’ll keep in constant radio contact, just to monitor the signal. In the meanwhile, how’s everything looking in there?”
“Green across the board so far,” I said, although I hadn’t finished running all my final checks yet. Ultimately, nothing was out of place.
This submarine was as good to go as it was going to get.
“I’m all good in here,” I said once I was done. “You can drop me when you’re ready.”
“You got it, honey. Let’s get you in the water, run one final round of tests and start lowering you down.”
A short while later, I felt the submarine begin to move as the crane lifted it off the deck and lowered it into the water. The Tempura honestly resembled its namesake in a way, being long and cigar shaped, only vertically oriented instead of horizontally oriented. We’d admittedly taken more than a few design cues from James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenger. Why fix what isn’t broken, after all?
Once I was in the water, a 1000 pound releasable ballast weight would cause the submarine to sink. Releasing that weight was also my ticket back to the surface, and I could either trigger it from inside the cockpit, or, in the event that the release failed for any reason, it would trigger automatically after roughly 12 hours of exposure to salt water.
Ideally, this would be the first of a number of dives I’d be undertaking… and if all went according to plan, the Tempura could be the first of many similar submarines that would allow other researchers to safely and effectively descend to extreme depths. If all went well, this could be a massive leap forward for researchers like me, allowing us to better explore the deepest depths of the Hadal Zone and learn all we could about the ecosystems down there via direct observation.
If all went well.
If.
Through the viewport, I watched as I was lowered into the ocean. A few of the other crew members had donned diving gear to escort me down, and after they did their final checks and I did mine, we were fully ready to go.
“All’s green across the board,” I said into the radio. “You can start my descent.”
“I hear you, honey,” Sheila replied. “We’re letting you go. Have fun down there.”
“Yeah, I’ll try…” I said quietly as finally, my submarine began its descent.
I took a deep breath, and told myself again that everything would go fine. We had checked everything on this submarine. We’d tested it rigorously. I wouldn’t have allowed myself to set foot inside of it if I hadn’t personally assured that it was safe. But anxiety never really goes away, does it? The crew couldn’t accompany me far. After only a few meters, they fell behind me as I sank deeper and deeper into the infinite, empty blue of the ocean. Soon after, the tether was released.
I was officially on my own.
“60 feet,” I heard Sheila say over the radio. “How are you doing in there?”
“Good,” I replied. “Doing… doing good.”
The submarine continued to descend. Through the viewport, I could see a few stray fish, but nothing particularly eye catching. I almost felt alone down there… almost…
“120 feet…” Sheila said.
“Still doing good,” I replied.
The descent continued, as the waters slowly grew darker and darker.
“400 feet…”
Everything around me just kept getting darker and darker. Only a fraction of the light from the sun ever reached these depths… and I’d be lying if I said that darkness didn’t feel a little… oppressive.
“800 feet… still feeling good?”
“Yeah, still feeling good…” I said, although it was a bit of a lie. If anything, I was second guessing all of this, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.
“1000 feet… still good?”
“Still good…” I murmured. “I hear you loud and clear.”
Deeper… deeper… deeper.
“1500 feet…”
Three miles. I was three miles away from home. Three miles away from Sheila.
“2000 feet…”
Still a ways to go.
“3000 feet…”
By this point, it was fully dark outside of my cockpit. Outside, all I could see was inky darkness. Even the submarine’s lights didn’t really cut through it. And the kicker? Relatively speaking, I wasn’t that deep. Fishing trawlers reached deeper than this. Better to conserve power until I was at the bottom. My descent continued.
“6000 feet… still good?”
“Still good…”
The check ins were becoming less frequent. My descent still continued… deeper… deeper… deeper. By now, I’d entered the Hadal Zone. But there was still so much deeper o go.
“8000 feet…”
This was past the depths that most whales would dive to… and I still had a ways to go.
“10,000 feet.”
This was close to where the ocean floor usually bottomed out… and yet there was still so much further to go. No. I was really only a third of the way there. How long had it been?Not much had happened beyond my descent and a few sightings out of my viewport, but time had been passing. A glance at my watch confirmed it’d been almost an hour since I’d started to sink… and I knew I wasn’t even close to the bottom yet. The submarine continued to descend, sinking ever deeper as I dropped into an infinite darkness that few had ever dared to witness.
“15,000 feet.”
This check in came later than the others. At this point, Sheila and the crew must have figured that no news was good news, and they were right. I just continued to sink peacefully, down into the crushing depths of the ocean.
These were the depths that one might normally find deep sea fish… and yet I was going somewhere even deeper than that.
“20,000 feet…”
So close…
I continued to sink.
“25,000 feet.”
Soon… and finally…
“30,000 feet. You still doing alright, honey?”
“Yeah… yeah, I’m doing good,” I assured her. I was so close…
By this point, my real work had begun. I’d engaged the lights and begun documenting what little I could see using the on board cameras. Granted, there wasn’t much life at these depths and what little there was, was scarcely documented. Most of what was down here consisted of invertebrates and microscopic life that seemed to float past my viewport.
The light seemed to draw a few creatures in search of food. Small, hardy things that resembled shrimp.
“How’s it looking, Grayson?”
“Dark,” I said, half joking. “We’ve got some life… shrimp. They’re translucent. Can’t get a great look at them… but we’ll see what the cameras pick up.”
“They’ve recognized you as a friend,” Sheila said. I could almost see the smile on her lips as she said it.
“Yeah…” I replied, “Tempura sent them a message, told them I’d be down. How am I looking on depth?”
“35,000 feet… you seeing a bottom yet?”
“No… not that I would until I was there.”
“Damn… how deep does this go?”
“It can’t go that deep…” I murmured, although I really wasn’t so sure about that.
The submarine continued to sink…
36,000 feet…
37,000 feet…
38,000 feet… and then finally, just past the 39,000 foot mark, I finally saw solid ground below me.
Looking through my viewport, I could see a familiar dark brown diatomaceous sludge, covering the seafloor. Microscopic life, likely similar to what had been observed in other deep sea trenches, such as the Challenger Deep.
I needed to gather a sample.
As my submarine reached the bottom, I extended the mechanical arms, pressed flat against the surface of the Tempura, and opened the collection port near the bottom of the ship. Slowly, I sifted some of the sludge into the port. My disturbance of the seafloor kicked up a cloud of the microbial colony, and I could’ve sworn I saw something wiggling through the debris. A pale, white thing, perhaps some sort of sea cucumber? I hastily angled my submarines camera to try and catch a glimpse of it, before returning to my collection. Even in this forlorn place, there was still so much to see! And here I was… completely forgetting my fear as the excitement took hold of me! Few people had ever been down to these unfathomable depths… and yet here I was.
It didn’t feel real but it was! I had reached the deepest part of the ocean!
“How’s it going down there?” I heard Sheila ask. Her voice was a little garbled. The connection down here was faltering.
“It’s beautiful…” I said. “I can’t wait for you to see it!”
“I’ll bet…”
“I’m going to do a sweep of the area, see what samples I can gather,” I said. “What’s my time right now?”
“Three hours. You’ve got nine before your connection to the weight deteriorates and you start to ascend.”
“I’ll make the most of it,” I said. The plan was only to stay down there for six hours, and I didn’t want to push that limit. Life support would only last me for so long, and one little error was all it would take for the ungodly pressure down here to crush me.
I began to move the submarine. Mobility was limited. This thing wasn’t built to travel far. But I still had some limited movement. I recorded all that I could, filming the shrimp that investigated my light, and the things that slithered and crawled through the muck, likely feeding on the carpet of single celled organisms that populated these depths.
The first two hours were… well… I hesitate to call them uneventful, they were actually very fascinating, but little of note happened beyond my recording of a few specimens.
Midway through the third hour though, as I was reaching one of the rock walls of the abyss, I noticed something just above the edge of my viewport swimming away from the light. I could’ve sworn I saw slender, pale tentacles of some sort. Was that a squid? Were there squid down this deep? I wasn’t aware of any species of known squid who could reach these depths… but in this unknown place, what use was the known?
I moved my light and my camera to try and catch another glimpse of it, but whatever it was, it seemed to be gone. Maybe I’d see another one. I still had plenty of time.
“You made a noise. What’d you see?” Sheila asked.
“Something big… I think,” I said.
“Down there? Like a fish?”
“Squid. You wouldn’t find any vertebrates down this deep… the pressure would crush their bones.”
“Jeez…”
I didn’t reply to that, still searching for the thing I’d seen. I shone my light up along the walls of the chasm and angled my camera up as far as it would go. I could see a few volcanic vents, spewing dark clouds into the darkness, and more diatoms. But not much else. Strange invertebrates crawled along the walls. Small creatures, no bigger than an inch long. Related to isopods, perhaps? If I could collect one as a sample, I would have… although taking any of those back to the surface would surely kill them. They were built to live under the impossible pressure of these depths. Taking them to the surface would rip them apart.
I went back to my research, and it wasn’t long until I saw something in the darkness, just on the edge of where my flashlight reached. Trailing white tendrils, snaking their way through the darkness. My eyes narrowed as I moved the submarine forward, trying to catch whatever it was in the light. I saw the shape move, its body turning… I saw its tendrils unfurling. Whatever this was, it was big. It was almost as big as The Tempura… although it was also slender. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought I was looking at some sort of floating debris, but this far down? No. And debris wouldn’t move like that.
This had to be a deepsea squid… or perhaps some other type of cephalopod? Something that preyed upon the various invertebrates down here, perhaps? It seemed to float, just out of sight for a bit, as I tried to get closer. I angled up my light to get a better look at it. The light seemed to shine through it, like some sort of ghost… but I did manage to get a look at it.
Although that look…
That single look made me freeze up.
This things slender tendrils certainly resembled a cephalopod of some sort, but the rest of it… the rest of it looked like something else entirely. Its body was thin, emaciated and translucent, yet despite that it still had characteristics that almost seemed… human. It wasn’t human! Not by any stretch of imagination, but the resemblance was there. It almost reminded me of an exhibit I’d seen in a museum once, depicting a preserved, fully removed human nervous system. I could see a similar shape in its translucent body. Its head seemed almost human as well… albeit with no eyes, and a lamprey like mouth I could only describe as fleshy yet crablike.
Still, despite having no eyes I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was looking at me. And that was when I felt something hit the submarine.
I felt a sudden jolt of panic in my chest. For a moment, I thought that the pressure had started to crush me, but no… no, everything was still fine. Something had just hit me. But what? It didn’t take long before I got my answer.
Another pale creature floated past my viewport, swirling gracefully in the cold dark waters. I watched it for a moment with wide eyes, before noticing its ‘head’ turning slightly toward me. Then, almost instantly, it launched itself at the submarine, darting toward me with blinding speed.
I heard a distinct THUD as its body collided with me, and I could see its pale tendrils pressing against the viewport, twisting and writhing violently. It was trying to attack me. The first creature that I’d seen lunged as well, pounding on my submarine with another THUD. And moments later, I could hear more impacts against the hull. There were more of them… and they did not like having me down there.
“What’s going on?” Sheila asked.
“Somebody doesn’t like me…” I said. “One of the animals down here… some kind of squid, it’s just started attacking the hull.”
“How bad is the damage?”
“Not sure… could be nothing, could be-”
I felt the submarine shake as I tried to move it. The thrusters that pushed me forward weren't responding. Had something gotten caught in it? One of the creatures perhaps?
“Grayson?!” Sheila asked.
“Lost propulsion…” I said. “Fuck… I can’t move.”
“Then drop the weight and come up!”
“No, it’s fine, there’s no other damage, I can still use the port and starboard thrusters to-”
“Grayson!”
I paused. There was genuine panic in her voice… enough to make me realize that even if these things stood little chance of actually breaching the hull, taking the risk would be a fatal mistake.
“I’m on my way up…” I finally said, before reaching out to disengage the ballast weights.
Immediately, I felt myself beginning to rise, although the tentacles clinging to my viewport didn’t disappear.
“We’ve got you…” Sheila said. “Rising up to 38,000 feet.”
The submarine continued to rise, but the creatures clinging to me went nowhere. In fact… I was sure I could see more of them. More pale shapes coming up through the darkness, and these ones filled me with dread. I thought I had been looking at some sort of eerie undiscovered life. But seeing what was coming up toward me now… I knew that I was looking at so much more. The creatures swimming up toward me through the darkness carried weapons… makeshift stone spears and daggers. Primitive tools… but tools all the same.
Signs that these were more than just undiscovered animals.
Much. Much more.
The word: ‘Mermaids’ crossed through my mind, but these were something far different than the ones I’d heard of in folklore. These looked like they’d swam out of the depths of hell itself. Boneless pale tendrils reached for me… and they were getting closer. The pale shapes reached my submarine as I rose higher. I kept praying to whatever God may be listening that the dropping pressure would force them off. The air in a submarine is pressurized, so during normal operation, there should have been no danger of decompression sickness for me.
For them… well… normally I’d feel a little guilty about subjecting an undiscovered species of deep sea mermaids to the horrors of the Bends. But given my circumstances, I didn’t have a lot of other options.
They didn’t let go, though.
They should have. But they didn’t.
What were these things?
I saw a splayed hand press against my viewport. Or… it somewhat resembled a hand. It had suckers on it, like a tentacle and the ‘fingers’ curled open like tentacles. The creature crawled over my viewport, clinging to The Tempura as it rose, and I could see the folds of its crablike mouth opening and pressing against the glass. I could see some sort of bile rising up through its translucent throat, before it secreted it all over my viewport. Was it trying to digest me? Was that how these things fed? How strong were its stomach acids? Were they strong enough to-
The window cracked.
My heart skipped a beat.
“No… no, no no…”
“Grayson, what’s wrong?!”
“They cracked the window… S-Sheila they… oh God… oh fuck, they just…”
“THEY DID WHAT?”
“It’s secreting some sort of enzyme… it’s on the window, it’s… FUCK… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die… I’m gonna die…”
“You’re not gonna die, baby! Just… just keep ascending, okay? You’re at 30,000 feet… just keep going…”
I nodded, and kept on rising, although the question of whether or not the rest of the creatures were trying to digest the other parts of my submarine floated through my mind. How much damage could The Tempura take before it imploded? How much longer did I have? The submarine still continued to rise… 25,000 feet… almost halfway home… almost… almost.
The creature outside of my viewport slithered along the glass, searching for a better area to try and digest. Past him, I noticed a few of his companions dropping off. Maybe the change in pressure finally was getting to them?
From the corner of my eye, I suddenly noticed a flashing light. A warning. The hydraulics on one of the Tempura’s arms were shot… what else was damaged?
I checked my oxygen levels. 32%.
I should’ve had at least 14 hours of air. I’d only been down there for about 6 hours… I shouldn’t have been this low.
31%.
No… no, no, no, no… they’d damaged the air tanks!
30%.
29%
“20,000 feet!” Sheila said. “You still with me, baby?”
“Y-yeah…” I said. I didn’t mention my air situation. I didn’t need to worry her further.
The submarine continued its ascent.
15,000 feet.
24%. I was running out of time.
The creatures still clung to the Tempura. How had the pressure change not killed them yet? My oxygen was dropping faster than before. I was hemorrhaging air. Another crack formed across my viewport. I let out a little, involuntary gasp before trying to force myself to stop hyperventilating.
“Grayson, what was that?”
“I-it’s fine…” I stammered, “It’s fine!”
“Grayson what the hell is going on down there?!”
“They’re still on the submarine… they’re still…” I paused, looking at my oxygen levels. “19%...”
“19% of what? Grayson what’s going on!”
I paused.
18%.
“Air… I’m… I’m losing air…”
“That’s fine, you’re going to make it!” She said, although I heard her voice cracking a little. “You’re gonna make it!”
I didn’t answer.
12,000 feet.
11,000 feet…
My oxygen level continued to drop.
15%.
14%.
12%.
9,000 feet.
The creatures still clung to me, as the submarine continued to rise. The one on my viewport was still there, slowly crawling along the glass again. I stared into its eyeless face and swore I was looking at the face of my killer.
7,000 feet…
Oxygen had dropped to 9%. It dropped to 8% before I even got to 6,000 feet. I was going to die here…
The viewport cracked again and I squeezed my eyes shut. The submarine rocked. I was sure one of the thrusters had been damaged. My ascent slowed.
“Grayson, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry Sheila…”
Another crack spread across my viewport.
“I’m… I’m not making it back up…”
“YES YOU ARE!”
“I’m sorry…” The tears started to come as the reality of my death became clearer and clearer… this was it.
“YOU’RE COMING BACK UP, YOU HEAR ME! GODDAMNIT, I’LL BRING YOU BACK UP!”
“I love you…”
That creatures face pressed against the glass. It vomited more of its stomach acid onto the cracked glass, and I wondered if this might finally be what broke it. Part of me hoped it would be… the one good thing about dying this deep was that at least I’d die quickly. My suffering would be over. Then, the creature suddenly pulled back, twisting and writhing violently. I saw other shapes moving past it in the water, other ‘mermaids’ that had been clinging to the submarine.
Something was agitating them.
Something was scaring them off.
Then I heard it, over the radio… whale songs.
“What the hell…?”
“Grayson, are you still there?!”
“I… they’re finally breaking off. Sheila, what did you do?”
“I’m broadcasting some of the orca recordings we’ve been using. Are they still clinging to you?”
“No! They’re backing off! I… whatever you’re doing, keep doing it!”
The submarine kept rising.
5,000 feet.
4,000 feet.
4% oxygen.
I could still do this, right?
The submarine continued to rise.
3%.
3,000 feet.
2,000 feet.
2%.
1,000 feet… so close… I was so close…
I could almost see the surface through my viewport, rushing up toward me. I tried not to breathe. Tried not to move. All I did was hope.
500 feet.
I closed my eyes.
“Grayson we have your signal, we’re coming to pick you up!”
Sheila’s voice sounded so far away as my submarine finally breached the surface of the water… and with the last of my strength, I pulled the emergency release on the hatch, and threw it open, taking in lungful after lungful of fresh salty air.
I didn’t dare so much as touch the water beneath me… but I was topside again, and in the distance, I could see The Burger!
“We see you!” Sheila said, “We’ve got you baby… we’ve got you…”
“I see you too…” I said through the tears. “Thank you… thank you…” I didn’t have any words left in me after that.
As soon as I was back on the ship, I collapsed into Sheila’s arms, breaking down into tears as I clung to her, terrified that at any moment, some sort of unspoken other shoe would drop and I’d lose her all over again.
“Shh… it’s alright baby… I’ve got you… you’re safe… you’re safe…” I felt her fingers running through my air and I knew that what she said was true.
I was home.
I was safe.
***
I left my colleagues to review the data that the Tempura gathered during its short expedition. As far as I know, they haven’t published anything. I have a few ideas as to why, but I’ll keep those to myself. Let’s just say that some people would rather this information not become public.
I have a feeling that the Tempura may not be diving again for some time, if ever. I will confess that I do consider that a bit of a shame. Despite everything… I would consider it a success. It endured far more stressful conditions than I had expected, and from what I heard, required fewer repairs than I’d thought it would. But, even if it was approved for another dive, it wouldn’t be me piloting it. No. I will never be setting foot inside of that machine again, nor will I ever be returning to what my colleagues have been quietly referring to as ‘The Jenner Trench’.
I can’t.
Every night, I wake up crying after dreaming of pale shapes outside of my cracked viewport, clinging to Sheila and sobbing. I can’t put myself in that situation again.
I can’t.
Instead, I think I’m going to spend the next few years on solid ground. There’s a teaching position available at a local university. I think that might be the best place for me right now. Who knows, maybe I can help some other deadbeat discover a passion for marine biology.
After everything, my love for the sea remains unchanged… I’m just a little more wary of it, these days.

Hii! My name is Sophia and I’m a 16 year old girl looking to exchange stylish letters/small packages with a penpal :D I also don’t mind just sending messages to each other here on Reddit, or a different platform you may be comfortable with!
Let’s set one thing straight… I am extremely lonely! I haven’t had a real connection or conversation with anyone for a long time and I’m need of someone to talk to! I don’t mind any conversation, wether it’s deep and personal or if it’s just something about your day. We can talk about anything!! I have a great personality and just looking for a real human connection.
I’ve been homeschooled for a long time, since the past 8 years! So I’m not very social, and I have zero friends, and I mean that literally 😅 Unless you count my journal as one! But just because I don’t have friends, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to make a great conversation 😉 I have so much to talk about, our conversations could go on for a long time with white I have stored in here 🧠
I’m not very focused on school, I just do the assigned work and go to classes and that’s it, nothing extra! It’s just really hard for me to focus on it, I don’t feel happy doing it and doesn’t have anything to do with what my future career is going to be 🎤 Being a singesongwriter is my goal for the future, and yes to most people it probably sounds silly and think it’s not possible, but if it was then would be have any musicians today? I like to think that almost anything is possible!! 🌟💭 I honestly can’t say if I’m good or bad. I’ve been singing almost non stop for the past six years. Of course there are some things I need to improve on though. The thing is.. I’ve never sang in front of anyone before! Not even my own parents. I sing in front of my brother, but he’s really young so he can’t criticize me 😣
I love watching shows and movies! My favorite genres are romance and comedy the most but I like others too. I also watch crime/investigation shows, it’s always interesting and I have so many recommendations! I have been watching many different shows for the past couple of weeks, it’s very entertaining. I’m always open to recommendations as I usually stick to watching the same things in rotation…which can get boring 😓 My favorite show (anime), is One Piece!! If you don’t like One Piece, then I’m not sure I can talk to you… just kidding 😂 It’s something my entire family likes watching together, we’re currently starting the Whole Cake Island Arc! No spoilers please, I’ve already seen too many 😭
I like drawing, coloring, doodling. I have a journal that I like to decorate with stickers and cute little designs, which is what I plan to do in our letters!! I’m not the best, but I’m not the worst either 😄📝
I have an “online business.” I sell here on Reddit and other platforms as well. I sell miniature toys and have been doing so for over a year. I make a decent amount of money from it! 🤑😅
I love cats, flowers/plants/nature 💐, both my parents are amazing cooks so it’s hard to choose a favorite dish 😬, one of my favorite colors is blue, and I can describe what I look like in a private chat if you’re interested in knowing!
I’m very serious about skincare, I had really horrible acne and after all these years I’ve finally been able to clear it up completely 🤩 My skin has never been more radiant :D Still needs work in some places though, I am always open to hearing what you think are the best products, or products that you’ve used that you feel are amazing! Im half Korean, and have always wanted to try Korean/Japanese skincare products. Im not very big on makeup, I don’t wear any. I’m working on showing my natural beauty, and also because I don’t want my skin to break out 😅 I like wearing lipgloss and that’s about it :o
I’ve been through some really dark times and I’ve found the easiest way to let your feelings out is by writing it out in a journal, which is what I’ve been doing recently! My young brain is still growing so it’s hard to process what I see and hear sometimes, and I talk inside my head a lot to try and process it, but the best way to make sense of it all is by writing out what you really feel ❤️‍🩹 But, just know that even if you may be going through something terrible, that it will eventually come to an end, because life is not that cruel and has to balance negative and positive. It’s what I’ve learned and seen, that’s why we have so many emotions because we can’t just be happy all the time, and life can’t just give you happy moments every day, sometimes you need sad/bad days in order to appreciate the good ones! I realized that the past few years I haven’t done anything productive or tried to make myself feel better. But that’s changing! I’ve starting exercising, journaling, upgraded skincare routine, eating healthier and more nutritious hearty foods, and hoping to keep it up! Remember to love yourself and don’t neglect your body, and always take care of yourself 😙 And hopefully once we start chatting, you’ll feel comfortable sharing any dark times you’ve been through!
I’m looking for a penpal from anywhere, male or female!! And hopefully also around my age (16-25), but age doesn’t really matter to me, it’s just a number after all! 💌 We can send letters, chat here on Reddit (or somewhere else if you’d like) or little packages with things each of us like ours letters inside! I’ll be sure to design the letters in an aesthetic you like ✨ I really just want to talk about anything and everything, whatever we want!! Hopefully it can turn into a long lasting friendship 💝
Message me if you’re interested in becoming my penpal! There’s still so much you haven’t learned about me yet <3

Hey boils and ghouls. One of those posts lol.
So, I returned to the game a few weeks ago, for the first time since the winter update. Since then, my game crashes about 90% of the time I try to so much as load a save. I've gone through and removed mods I thought were a problem (example, people swear up and down Open Cities has conflicts with modern mods, so I took it out). No, I did not do this mid playthrough. Ive reinstalled the game from scratch once, I've cleared reserve space a few times and started fresh, I've started like 4 characters to test. I'll be running just fine, aside from one file that was hard crashing at the Mirmulnir fight (first dragon fight outside Whiterun).
With any character, it goes alright until I make a save and leave the game. Then, upon attempting to load, I get two seconds into the load screen and CTD. Am I using anything known to be problematic, have things in a screwy order, or missing patches I should have? I appreciate any suggestions!
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch
Unofficial Skyrim Creation Club Patch
Simple Workaround
TK Interface Overhaul - Beta
Skyrad HUD Preset - TK Edition
(Updated) Paarthurnax Quest Expansion
The Heliosprotector Project
Obscure Scholarship: The Obscure College Bundle 1K
Skyrim Reputation
Voiced Narrative AE AIO
Immersive Hunter Dialogue
The Beast Within
Feral Dragon Avatar
(XB1) Truly Absorb Dragon Souls - Heavy
Stock Market of Skyrim
Headtracking - Fully Scripted
CC Quick Armor Access
Free Craft Saints and Seducers
Unique Magicka Sabers - SSE
Dragon Katanas
Dragon Carved Armor
Dragon Carved Regal Armor
Enhanced Bound Weapons (XB1)
Morningstar - Minimalistic Races of Skyrim (XB1)
Thunderchild - Epic Shouts and Immersion (XB1)
Vokrii - Minimalistic Perks of Skyrim (XB1)
Odin - Skyrim Magic Overhaul (XB1)
Growl - Werebeasts of Skyrim (XB1)
Sacrilege - Minimalistic Vampires of Skyrim (XB1)
Perk Points and More Gold
GET Immersive Merchant Cheats (XB1)
GET Immersive Cheats (Expanded Edition) (XB1)
Ultimate Skyrim Music Replacer
Skyland AIO
Quill - Realistic Font
Book Covers of Skyrim Tweaked & Fixed
Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Enhancer -CBBE- (Official) - Slim AIO
(CBBE) Lovergirl Skin - 2K
(CBBE) Matte Specular
Loverboy Rugged 2K
Bijin AIO
Kalilies NPCs - CBBE
Pandorables NOCS - AIO
The Kids Are Alright - Episode 1
GLAM Senna
GLAM Karliah
GLAM Astrid & Gabriella
GLAM Illia
GLAM Lydia
GLAM Aranea
GLAM Ysolda
GLAM Haelga
GLAM Aela
GLAM Elenwen
GLAM Ingun & Maven
Buvarp Revamped - Barely Used Vanilla Actors Recycle Project (With Missing Follower Dialogue Edit)
Odahviing Serving You At Last
Inigo (XB1)
Song of the Green (Auri)
Aniya - A Custom Voiced Follower
Mirai - The Girl With The Dragon Heart
Pandorables Mirai Replacer
Majestic Aurie Visual Replacer
Serana Re-Imagined + Red Hair
Deadlier Serana Re-Imagined
Amilovecake's Better Sleeping Arrangements For Mirai The Girl With The Dragon<3
AI Overhaul 1.8.2 Non Scripted
Immersive Amazing Follower Tweaks
Relationship Dialogue Overhaul
Alternate Start - Live Another Life
New Beginnings - Live Another Life Extension
Enhanced Bound Weapons - Vokrii Patch
Auri-Inigo Banter Patch
Odin - Vokrii Compatibility Patch
Bijin AIO - USSEP Patch
RDO - AFT Patch (XB1)
RDO - USSEP Patch (XB1)

recently i've been trying to go through my memories from start to finish in an effort to understand myself more. it's a sort of self narrative therapy. in doing this i uncovered what i believe to be a sort of proto-memory. from now on i'll refer to this as "memory 0".
here is what i remember of memory 0 from start to finish; i was simply floating in a void, unthinking. i could feel my own human body, or at least i knew i had arms, legs and eyes. i knew i had eyes because i could "see" the void as well as the visual snow i had for my entire life. i could also see what sort of looked like a vague 2d elephant but then again that could've just been visual snow. it seemed to last forever in the moment but really it was only about 5 seconds until i was pulled into the rest of my body to experience memory 1 which was of a thunderstorm. i was about 4 years old at the time of memory 1 and my brain had immediately discarded memory 0 until i "found" it again.
memory 0 is one of the most vivid memories from my early childhood and i am entirely unsure of what to make of it. does it imply that my consciousness existed before my body has? does it imply that someone else has been inhabiting my body up until that point? is this complete bullshit my brain made up as a way to explain my existence? i have no idea. i'm hoping someone will see this and at least give me their opinion on what this is bc i have no idea

This is my catchall list, for interesting and specific speculative fiction recommendations that don't have another home. Recommendations may be moved to another list (say, a new one) without notice.
My lists are always being updated and expanded when new information comes in—what did I miss or am I unaware of (even if the thread predates my membership in Reddit), and what needs correction? Even (especially) if I get a subreddit or date wrong. (Note that, other than the quotation marks, the thread titles are "sic". I only change the quotation marks to match the standard usage (double to single, etc.) when I add my own quotation marks around the threads' titles.)
The lists are in absolute ascending chronological order by the posting date, and if need be the time of the initial post, down to the minute (or second, if required—there are several examples of this). The dates are in DD MMMM YYYY format per personal preference, and times are in US Eastern Time ("ET") since that's how they appear to me, and I'm not going to go to the trouble of converting to another time zone. They are also in twenty-four hour format, as that's what I prefer, and it saves the trouble and confusion of a.m. and p.m. Where the same user posts the same request to different subreddits, I note the user's name in order to indicate that I am aware of the duplication.
Thread lengths: longish (50–99 posts)/long (100–199 posts)/very long (200–299 posts)/extremely long (300–399 posts)/huge (400+ posts) (though not all threads are this strictly classified, especially ones before mid?-2023, though I am updating shorter lists as I repost them); they are in lower case to prevent their confusion with the name "Long" and are the first notation after a thread's information.

• "Mentions of Sociology in SF" (printSF; 1 September 2022)—long
• "Law firms in Sci-fi or Fantasy settings." (suggestmeabook; 13 September 2022)
• "SF about pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, childcare" (printSF; 24 October 2022)—longish
• "Requesting Feminist Speculative Fiction" (suggestmeabook; 18 November 2022)—longish
• "Sci-fi books which are respectful of women/girls, men/boys or any other gender?" (booksuggestions; 29 November 2022)
• "Are there any other works beside Handmaid's Tale and Children of Men which explore mass infertility?" (Fantasy; 30 November 2022)—longish
• "Any good books of a human being raised by aliens, animals, ect?" (scifi; 13 December 2022)
• "Fashion Fantasy Books?" (Fantasy; 09:48 ET, 14 December 2022)—u\dark-and-the-light
• "Sci-Fashion Works?" (printSF; 11:16 ET, 14 December 2022)—u\dark-and-the-light
• "Looking for books involving ships and travel (not space, but earthbound)" (printSF; 23 December 2022)
• "Who are some of the smartest characters you've seen that felt genuinely smart and what did they do that made them smart" (Fantasy; 2 January 2023)—very long
• "Best non-romantic relationships in fantasy" (Fantasy; 3 January 2023)—huge
• "Any good books on social and communication technology?" (printSF; 23 January 2023)
• "Books that take place between two dimensions of reality?" (booksuggestions; 08:55 ET, 25 January 2023)—long
• "Looking for stories like Piranesi with liminal spaces, mystery realms, or 'other' planes of existence" (suggestmeabook; 12:07 ET, 25 January 2023)—longish
• "Do you know of any books about a zoologist/ecologist caught up in a fantasy plot?" (Fantasy; 27 January 2023)
• "Any novels where mc is or becomes a parent, and has a significant other, relatively early?" (Fantasy; 12 February 2023)
• "What are your favourite magic trees?" (Fantasy; 14 February 2023)—long
• "Recommendations for SF that explores issues of sexuality, including how sex and gender might work for alien races?" (printSF; 22 March 2023)—longish
• "First person female POVs written by men?" (Fantasy; 16 April 2023)—extremely long
• "Works of science fiction that show that bureaucracy can work." (printSF; 1 May 2023)—long
• "Recommendations for weird babies in sf/fantasy" (printSF; 7 May 2023)—longish
• "Fantasy about tres?" (Fantasy; 17 May 2023)—trees
• "I am in love with evolution!" (printSF; 24 May 2023)
• "Can anyone recommend science fiction works that deal with the field of nuclear semiotics?" (printSF; 26 May 2023)
• "What's your favorite sci-fi about geoengineering?" (scifi; 3 July 2023)—AKA climate engineering
• "Sci fi about leadership" (printSF; 14 July 2023)
• "I'm looking for novels about or contains woods, jungles, forests. Not interested in YA." (OPost archive) (suggestmeabook; 31 July 2023)—very long
• "Any book with Incredible smart MC." (booksuggestions; 9 August 2023)
• "Request for SciFi novel suggestions" (scifi; 13 August 2023)—"include human reproduction, general reproduction that is related to human life, or the creation of new life"
• "Fantasy book with interesting use of drugs" (Fantasy; 25 August 2023)—longish
• "Looking for fantasy jungle media." (Fantasy; 29 August 2023)
• "What is a good supernatural psychological thriller book" (suggestmeabook; 1 September 2023)
• "I'm looking for books that deal with higher dimensions." (printSF; 8 September 2023)—longish
• "Human civilization entirely dependent on Nuclear Power" (printSF; 20 September 2023)
• "I'm looking for a very mathematical novel (not short story)." (printSF; 7 October 2023)—longish
• "Is there some sci-fi work where organisms reproduce offspring with more than two parents?" (scifi; 7 December 2023)—long
• "stories about loss of social identity" (scifi; 8 December 2023)
• "Suggest me a book that has farming and magic" (suggestmeabook; 2 April 2024)
• "What is the best horror fantasy books you have read?" (Fantasy; 6 April 2024)
• "Can anyone recommend some sci-fi books to me that deal with the evolution of a species" (scifi; 24 April 2024)—longish; short listing