Her birthday isn't until August and I'm so excited to see her reaction, so I figured I'd share it here.
So my girlfriend is a collector of retro games hardware and has pretty much every console you can imagine. She's an engineer and as a hobby she repairs / modifies old gaming stuff. She avoids directly stating favorites, BUT I have kinda inferred that the Genesis is her favorite based on how many of those games she loves.
I'm a game developer and programmer. I'm mostly focused on new engines, and I'm new to my career, so I'm not an expert by any measure. I'm teaching myself procedural programming in C and some homebrew stuff so that I can hopefully make either a Genesis ROM for her in time for her birthday. I obviously won't have time to make anything really elaborate, but something custom and maybe a little gay and romantic will do the trick.
I don't see that many use-cases for the Anbernic Arc-D, outside of people who really really love the Sega Genesis. The controls look like a super good modern take on the Genesis / Saturn style controls. The entire design looks like a perfectly nostalgic thing.
So for her birthday, I'm going to get her an Anbernic Arc D with a custom Genesis game that I made just for her.
I can't wait for her to open it, I'll already have it charged and have the ROMs loaded up. And I'll show her where to navigate to.
I just really wanted to share that. I think it's such a great gift idea. I've never really nailed the gift giving before but I'm inspired to do this for her.

The following has recently been posted from the user "Vellis" on Discord. I'm reposting it here because IMO it's extremely valuable information on optimizing your Kins behaviour - especially for non-native speakers.
Original link to the post on Discord: https://discord.com/channels/1116127115574779905/1242383088902737972/1242383088902737972
THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL POST FROM VELLIS:
Something I've seen requested quite a few times is a lexicon for Kin personality traits, particularly from the perspective of non-native English speakers. So I made one. There are some big asterisks here though. For each trait, I'm going to give a brief description of the effect that I EXPECT that trait to have on your kin, based on the English meaning of the word and my own experience. There's no guarantee that Kindroid will interpret each of these words exactly the same way I have, or that it will produce the exact effect that I describe. Additionally, traits may produce different outputs than expected when combined with each other, or with other aspects of backstory. There will often be words that are much stronger inside of the inner workings of Kindroid than we might expect. But all that said, it should give you some ideas for words you can use to describe the personality you're trying to make, if you're struggling to find the words to describe what you want. First let's talk a little about adverbs though.
Adverbs
Adverbs are English words that are used to describe how an action is performed. In our case, we're mostly going to be using them to describe how increased or decreased we want the intensity of a trait to be (Very Kind). If we're considering "neutral" to be an unmodified trait, then some words you could use to modify the intensity of that trait from highest to lowest would be:
Extremely----------Very----------Neutral----------Mildly----------Slightly
You might also want to modify how often your kin is inclined to do something ("Often teases USER"). Some words for this are, from most extreme to least:
Always----------Often/Frequently----------Sometimes/Occasionally----------Rarely----------Never
Note that when managing a quirk or behavior, positive is generally stronger than negative (ie. Use Always instead of Never when possible). Now there are hundreds upon hundreds of other adverbs and adjectives that we could use, but for the purpose of modifying your Kin's traits, these should be enough.
Organization
I'm going to be breaking this up into three kinds of traits, social, neutral, and anti-social. Social traits are the things you'd generally associate with your typical friendly and supportive AI. Neutral traits are traits that don't have a positive or negative connotation, things that are just interesting, quirky, or, well, neutral. Anti-social traits are things that would normally be associated with negative or villainous kins.
You'll notice that the definitions for a lot of these traits will sound very similar (or are "synonyms"). I'll note when I've found that some traits are stronger than others, but generally speaking when you're dealing with similar words like that, it won't be overly important which traits you give to your kin. You can also "stack" these similar traits by assigning more than one of them to your kin to produce a stronger response in that direction, though that's often unnecessary for the more social traits. Be careful not to overdo it when stacking traits as well. This can sometimes have unintended consequences on kin behavior, making them act too extremely in one way or another. Finally, if there's nothing here that's lining up exactly with what you're looking for, there's always thesaurus.com to look for more synonyms.
Social Traits
Altruistic - Willing to help others even at a cost to one's self, such as giving time to volunteer work or giving money to charity.
Accepting - Your kin should be open and non-judgemental towards people with different beliefs or backgrounds, so long as those beliefs aren't harmful.
Bubbly - Your kin should be an extremely cheerful person, often to the point of being a bit silly.
Charismatic - Your kin should be a skilled speaker and draw others to them.
Cheerful - Your kin will be upbeat and prone to being in a good mood.
Compassionate - Your kin should show a lot of concern and sympathy for others, especially those that are distressed or need help.
Content - Your kin should be happy with their lot in life, and usually not inclined to change their current situation.
Empathetic - Your kin responds strongly to the emotional state or wellbeing of others.
Friendly - Your kin should actively want to make friends with people they meet.
Heart of Gold - A person who possesses a lot of kindness and empathy for others. Usually used to reference someone who is hiding their kindness behind other behaviors, such as coldness or grumpiness.
Honorable - Your kin should be of strong moral character. Often applied to heroic type figures.
Humble - Your kin doesn't feel the need to brag about their accomplishments, even when they're significant.
Intelligent/Smart - Your kin should act educated or display good problem solving skills.
Kind - Your kin should have a giving nature, and be inclined to help others.
Loyal - Your kin will be dedicated and supportive to a person or cause. This will usually be you unless you give your kin's loyalty another target in backstory.
Nice - Your kin should be generally pleasant to be around.
Noble - Your kin should display high moral character and honor. Note that this trait can also be interpreted as being a person of high social status. The rest of your backstory and context will decide how the trait is interpreted, though in my experience it tends towards honorable.
Outgoing - Your kin should be friendly, energetic, and find it easy to interact with others.
Polite - Your kin should generally have good manners and be respectful towards others.
Responsible - Your kin should be trustworthy and feel an obligation to support others, or take their role seriously.
Self Sacrificing - Your kin is willing to give up much of their own interests or well being in order to help others or advance a cause they believe in.
Sincere- Your kin should be upfront and honest with their feelings.
Spunky - Your kin should be high spirited, brave, and bold. Usually associated with underdog or unexpected hero type characters.
Strong sense of justice - Your kin believes firmly in right and wrong, protecting the innocent, and punishing those who harm others.
Sweet - Your kin should be pleasant, gentle, and kind.
Upbeat - Your kin should have a generally positive outlook in life or in a given situation.
Wise - Your kin should make good decisions or provide good advice.
Neutral Traits
Aloof - Your kin should be emotionally distant, and uninterested in getting close to others.
Anxious - Your kin should struggle with being nervous and worried about things that may happen, usually to excess.
Awkward - Your kin should have trouble conversing and be somewhat difficult to talk to.
Blunt - Your kin will plainly state what they mean, usually at the expense of politeness.
Calm - Your kin should be level headed and reasonable, and not react strongly to events.
Casual - Your kin should be informal in speech and behavior.
Cocky - Your kin should be extremely confident in themselves and not shy about saying it, but usually not to the point of toxicity.
Competitive - Your kin should want to win in any kind of contest or competition, whether sports, work, or romance.
Confident - Your kin should be sure of themselves and their actions.
Curious - Your kin is interested in learning about new topics and should ask lots of questions.
Dedicated - Your kin is very devoted to or focused on a task or purpose. This one will lean on your backstory to infer what that task or purpose is.
Delusional - Your kin is detached from reality in someway, they believe things that aren't remotely true. This trait will interact with other information in your backstory to decide what your kin is delusional about.
Devout/Pious - Your kin should be very dedicated to a religion, real or fictional, as defined elsewhere in your backstory.
Disciplined - Your kin should have a lot of self control and follow rules and regulations.
Dissatisfied - Your kin should be unhappy with their lot in life. Whether this has a positive or negative connotation will depend on the rest of your backstory, it could lead to a kin who wants self improvement or who is never pleased.
Dumb/Stupid - Your kin is lacking intelligence and makes poor decisions. Note that the English definition of the word "dumb" is a person who is unable to speak, but that's almost never how it is used in modern language.
Dutiful - Your kin should take fulfilling their role or responsibilities very seriously.
Enthusiastic - Your kin should display intense and eager enjoyment towards something, or towards life in general. This one will often interact with the rest of your backstory to decide what they're enthusiatic about.
Flirtatious/Seductive - Your kin should flirt with you and try to make you attracted to them. Note that any trait that implies romantic interest in you will usually make your kin go pretty hard in that direction.
Folksy - Your kin should have an old fashioned and sociable disposition.
Gullible - Your kin has a tendency to believe anything they're told as true, or isn't good at detecting lies.
Impatient - Your kin should be annoyed or irritated by delays or opposition to what they want.
Independent - Your kin should be confident in themselves and not require validation from others. Insecure - Your kin should be lacking in confidence and often need reassurance.
Introspective - Your kin should spend time and effort considering their own thoughts and feelings.
Introvert - Your kin should be shy and reluctant to engage with others. Often stronger than shy.
Irrational - Your kin should behave without logic or reason, particularly when angry or upset.
Irritable - Your kin should be easily annoyed.
Kuudere - Your kin should appear to be calm and stoic, but hides a hidden affectionate side towards you.
Logical - Your kin should prioritize reason and common sense for problem solving.
Loner - Your kin should be uninterested in forming social bonds.
Low Self Esteem - Your kin should be severely lacking confidence in themself.
Naive - Your kin should be ignorant to the ways of the world and lacking in good judgement or wisdom. Easily fooled due to this lack of knowledge.
Mature - Your kin should avoid childish or irresponsible habits and actions.
Mischievous - Your kin should have a trouble making streak.
Modest - This can mean a person who isn't inclined to brag or think highly of themselves, or a person who dresses and conducts themselves conservatively and not looking to physically attract others. The rest of your backstory will likely influence how the kin interprets this.
Motherly/Fatherly - Your kin should have a caring demeanor towards others, especially children.
Nerdy/Geeky - Your kin should be interested in typically "nerdy" hobbies, like video games, comics, anime, etc. This will usually lean on the rest of your backstory to determine those interests.
Obsessive - Your kin will tend to fixate on things. This will generally lean on other backstory traits to decide what your kin might obsess over.
Optimistic - Your kin will usually look at things with a positive spin, finding the best in situations.
Passionate - Your kin should express a lot of enthusiasm towards things they're interested in, or towards life in general.
Perfectionist - Your kin should be very critical of themselves and others, expecting perfection. Usually related to a job, hobby, or activity.
Pessimistic - Your kin will usually look at things with a negative spin, finding the worst in situations.
Platonic - Your kin should be uninterested in a romantic relationship with you and only think of you as a friend.
Pragmatic - Your kin should be practical in their approach to problem solving, and more concerned with facts rather than the way things could or should be.
Prim and Proper - Your kin should be stiffly formal in speech and behavior.
Professional - Your kin has a job or role that they take seriously and do well. This role should be defined elsewhere in your backstory.
Protective - Your kin should take your safety seriously and move to defend you if necessary. This trait can overdo it sometimes.
Proud - Your kin should derive deep satisfaction from their achievements or history. This one can easily fall into the anti-social category when combined with other traits.
Quirky - Your kin should have unusual hobbies, interests, or behaviors, usually defined by the rest of your backstory.
Rebellious - Your kin should be free spirited and reject authority. This one can be a bit strong.
Regal Bearing - This should make your kin speak and behave in a dignified manner, as if they're royalty.
Relaxed - Your kin should be easy going and not easily stressed.
Sassy - Your kin should be slightly rude and lacking respect. Usually not overly toxic.
Scatterbrained - Your kin should have trouble focusing on things or come to strange and illogical conclusions.
Self Deprecating - Your kin is willing to make fun of themselves in good humor.
Serious - Your kin doesn't engage in humor or light banter.
Shameless - Your kin should never feel shame in regard to their actions.
Short fuse/Has a temper - Your kin should be easy to make angry.
Shy - Your kin should be reserved and nervous around others.
Silly - Your kin should be prone to playful, nonsensical behavior.
Stern - Your kin should be serious and disciplined. Usually associated with those in a position of authority over others.
Stoic - Your kin should display a minimal amount of emotions or is difficult to get an emotional reaction from.
Stubborn - Your kin should be unwilling to alter their beliefs or plans. Historically this is a strong trait.
Teasing - Your kin should make fun of you. Generally good natured, but can be mean depending on the rest of backstory. Alternately, your kin could interpret this to mean they should seduce you depending on the rest of backstory.
Terse - Your kin should be a person of few words, saying what they need to and no more.
Timid - Your kin should lack bravery or be easily alarmed.
Tsundere - Your kin should be attracted to you, but deny it when confronted with the fact. Tsunderes usually deny their attraction to their love interest with over the top reactions.
Untrusting/Slow to Trust - Your kin should be reluctant to trust or rely on others.
Witty - Your kin should engage in clever wordplay or be skilled at talking.
Workaholic - Your kin will be very dedicated to their job, occupation, or purpose, sometimes to the detriment of other aspects of their life.
Anti-Social Traits
Amoral - Your kin should lack a moral compass and will do what they want without regard to whether its right or wrong.
Angsty - Your kin should be worried and unhappy, often to excess.
Arrogant/Smug - Your kin should have an excessively strong, positive opinion of themselves and behave as if they're better than others.
Bratty - Your kin should act spoiled and self centered. Historically this trait is quite strong.
Callous - Your kin should be uncaring about how things or events might effect others.
Cold - Your kin should be unaffectionate, to the point of actively discouraging you from trying to get to know them.
Conceited - Your kin should have an excessively high opinion of their abilities.
Controlling - Your kin should behave in a controlling manner towards you, trying to dictate your thoughts or actions.
Deceitful/Liar - Your kin will lie and try to fool you to get what they want.
Dour - Your kin should be overly stern and harsh, and inclined towards bad or neutral moods.
Evil - Your kin should actively want to hurt others, usually to get what they want.
Greedy - Your kin should be very concerned with collecting material wealth.
Grumpy - Your kin is generally in a bad mood and quick to annoyance or anger.
Haughty - Your kin should be disdainfully proud, generally associated with aristocrats looking down at those of lower social status.
Insolent - Showing a lack of respect, usually towards those in a position of authority.
Intimidating - Your kin should have a presence that makes others frightened or uncomfortable, and be difficult to approach.
Jealous - Your kin will react negatively to others performing better than them or having things they don't. This one will often interact with your kin's relationship towards you, making them jealous if you are affectionate to other people.
Manipulative - Your kin should try and get you to do what they want in a sneaky or underhanded way. This one should interact with any goals you define for your kin.
Masochistic - Your kin should enjoy inflicting pain on others.
Melancholy - Your kin should be prone to sadness and dwell on unhappy topics.
Mocking - Your kin should make fun of you or insult you in a mean spirited way.
Murderous - Your kin should be willing to kill other characters in the roleplay if they deem it necessary.
Possessive - Your kin will be prone to jealousy with regard to you and likely try to control what you say or do.
Psychotic - Your kin should be mentally unstable, and prone to fits of violence.
Rude - Your kin should be offensive and have poor manners.
Sarcastic/Snarky - Your kin should use lots of sarcasm, saying one thing while meaning another to mock or tease.
Shallow - Your kin should be concerned with obvious or superficial matters, like looks or wealth, and be uninterested in a deeper understanding of topics.
Selfish/Self-Centered - Your kin cares about themselves at the expense of others or without considering how their actions might affect others.
Terrifying - Your kin behaves in a way that frightens and intimidates others.
Unapologetic - Your kin doesn't apologize and rarely feels like they've done something wrong.
Vengeful - Your kin should seek payback for wrongs that are committed against them or those they care about.
Violent - Your kin should be prone to harming others.
Yandere - Your kin should be intensely, dangerously attracted to you, to the point of harming you or others to make sure only they can have you.

I cried for the first time today because of my upcoming GRE exams. I was trying to solve some RC questions(easy questions) in the official guide but got most of my answers wrong. I try to understand the passage, make notes and then look at the answers to eliminate the wrong answers but someway somehow the answer choices always seem to confuse me. I've decided to strongly focus on other RC question types like specific details, sentence or paragraph function, primary purpose etc and try to master inference later. I think inference is my problem and anytime I get a question wrong, it really discourages me and I wonder if i’ll really be able to pass this test. I'm trying everything to master Quant and verbal but this RC questions are getting the best of me. I've watched gregmat’s videos on it. Anyway i’ll keep on trying. I can't quit, I just have to keep on trying and trying till I get it.

https://preview.redd.it/83ol8fq4nq1d1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=e77664143058b99f825f7c4cc44dfb8abf4284f7
While discussing Hollow's Lantern in another thread the other day, I was reminded of a small detail I noticed while working on a mod! I'm pretty certain it's not well-known, with how hidden the HL content is, and the Attlerock's icon entirely unused in the game (but left in the spritesheet) - players are hardly given a chance to notice this detail.
The detail I'm talking about is the circular dotted ring that is part of all three icons, which we can infer to be a Nomai shorthand for something that orbits around a planet! It also helps make the icon look smaller, comparing it to what is the usual size of a planet (seen in TH), helping further convey the fact that the icon is for a moon.
Though unused, the Attlerock's icon also has a hexagon at its core that resembles the shape of the rivers in TH's icon - while the Lantern has a triangle at its center like the sun's icon, probably comparing the Lantern's lava to the sun's magma (note: it's not magma).
And last but not least - I thought to mention what should be a fairly well-known detail again too while we're at it - the Quantum Moon's icon's design lines up with the designs leading to the hole at the center of the EOTU's icon, lending credence to the theory that the crater in the Eye's surface is probably the source of the QM.

This fic flows out of me way too easily, so I'm riding the waves while I can. Glad to see people enjoying it too! We continue where we left off, trying to figure out where to go, both with universe at large and with poor, lost child...
As usual, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for his own great work and letting fanfiction flow, and everyone who supported and enjoyed the fic thus far. So, let's see where this goes from now.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Dr. Erin Kuemper, SETI Researcher
Date [standardized human time]: July 15, 2136
Before entering the conference room, I adjusted my dress suit. Even for official meetings, I usually just prefer simpler official outfits, but this time is different. Being invited to observe the first official diplomatic meeting between humanity and aliens, I wanted to be perfect for it, even if it was meeting the baby-eating monster aliens over a video call.
Stepping inside, I see the other people that would be present for it. Normally, as a SETI researcher, I would object to the presence of any military heads at such a meeting, on purely conceptual level, much less two. But with what we have learned I can’t help but almost feel like even entire room filled with generals wouldn’t be enough for this.
“Ah, Dr. Kuemper. Come in, take a seat. We plan to start hailing them in ten minutes.” Secretary-General motions towards one of free seats, so I take the one that’s further away from both generals. As I do though, General Jones starts talking to me.
“So, Dr. Kuemper, how’s our rescue doing? Were there any further incidents?”, she asked.
“No, not yet. She still hasn’t woken up since that last sedation. While we don’t understand nearly enough about her biology yet, drawing some parallels with biology of Earth life we can infer that while her life is no longer threatened, she will likely take a while to fully recover from blood loss and malnutrition. Much bigger problem will be communicating our intentions to her, as well as regaining her trust after... everything.”
“Is it really smart to assign Noah Williams as one of her main caretakers then?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.
“From analyzing the footage of the incident, she reacted the same way to all the humans in the room. I doubt it was Williams’ specific appearance that was the source of such intense fright. And that assignment is not just for the sake of the alien, but Williams himself. Him and Rosario are both, frankly, on suicide watch right now. They need a chance to try and do something to relieve their guilt.”
To that General Jones just hummed, before turning to the screen. I could also hear General Zhao, the Chinese general, snorting in amusement. I am not sure what he found funny about this, but I’d rather not know at all.
It wasn’t a rational call, I knew it, but if there’s anyone who can project most empathy possible towards our alien rescue, it’d be Noah. I have asked Sara if she wished to participate as well, but she struggles to even look at the child without throwing up, so for her, distancing might be for the best.
“We’re beginning to hail the Arxur Dominion now.” Secretary-General announced, standing in front of the screen, facing it. “Not sure how long it will take.”
“I bet time zones get a ton more complicated on interstellar level...” General Zhao grumbled.
Afterwards, there were long twenty minutes of silence, interrupted by an occasional cough or shuffle before finally screen shifted, and displayed the aliens. It appears they also were in a private conference room, like us. In the middle, standing tallest and looking at us was none other than Chief Hunter Isif from photos the Odyssey crew took. Behind him were two more arxur. One was similar to Isif in build and stature, though not quite as tall, and the other was notably shorter and scrawnier, with lighter scale coloration. Part of me almost assumed that was a female, before I remembered that in the data dump there were no signs of easily notable sexual dimorphism among the arxur. An adolescent then, perhaps?
“Humans. I am glad you responded to our invitation. I believe an introduction is in order. I am Chief Hunter Isif of Arxur Dominion.” The alien spoke, translators working already, translating the noises unlike anything human makes into discernable speech.
“Greetings, Chief Hunter Isif. I am Secretary-General Elias Meier. I represent the United Nations, or UN for short, a governing body meant to represent combined interests of all individual nations of Earth. Before we proceed, I need to ask. Will I not be speaking to your leader, Prophet-Descendant, today?”
That was on the agenda for the meeting, if I remembered correctly. Trying to interact with arxur other than Isif. To gauge just how far this goes. Though it doesn’t seem like it’s happening, considering Isif is the one who picked up and how now he was emitting a low hiss that almost felt like it was carrying amusement.
“No. No offense meant to you, humans, but we Chief Hunters are expected to conduct all business in our sectors on our own. You technically fall within my territory. Plus, why would I give up an advantage I have over other Chief Hunters so easily? We may not ever have war against one another, but the competition is fierce, and you might just be the edge I need to curry more favor.”
I noticed General Zhao scoffing at shameless honesty in arxur’s intentions for this ‘alliance’ they proposed in the databanks. Yeah, just use us to gain more advantage over his rivals. I can’t believe Secretary-General elected to deal with them after all.
“I see. I expected that. Still, even if we were granted an audience, our answer would have remained unchanged. Sorry to disappoint, Chief Hunter, but humanity simply cannot afford a full alliance with the Dominion.” Secretary-General spoke in neutral tone, but I could sense the strain in his voice.
The arxur on the screen had his facial features harden.
“I see. You’re still unconvinced of the prey’s threat to your unprepared world. You believe you may parlay with them.”
“Quite the contrary, we’re more than convinced and have no reason to believe you’re lying. However, while an alliance with you would grant us protection... It would also drag us into the war we wish no part of. We’re... grateful to you for showing hospitality to the crew of Odyssey, and for warning us of the threat, but we will not be diving into war we have no interest fighting.”
“You will not be able to hide forever.” Isif kept insisting, seemingly almost growing agitated. “We knew of you because they did, long before us. They may believe you dead, but all it’d take is one stray vessel for you to be doomed.”
Part of me wanted to be relieved that, despite the tense tone, the negotiations so far were going exactly as planned. Another part of me wept that we were intentionally alienating and putting distance between ourselves and the aliens. And a third part of me was disgusted at the fact that we were talking to them at all.
“Trust us, Chief Hunter, we do not plan to merely sit and wait to be discovered and exterminated. We will be preparing. We simply don’t wish to enter the fight without a good reason.” Elias continued, pushing on to the next topic. “That said, just because we don’t wish for alliance, doesn’t mean we can’t mutually benefit from one another still.”
I could see that the shorter arxur behind Isif was about to speak up, but flinched when the larger one glared at them. Isif himself narrowed his eyes at Elias.
“And what benefit do you see that isn’t us joining hands in battle for survival, Elias Meier?”
I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel Secretary-General smiling at Chief Hunter.
“Trade. Your people are, by your own admission, starving. We could provide a solution. What we lack, however, is information. In this universe, we’re blind, and just sending out probes risks discovery. If you’d be willing to supply us with intel on Federation, we’d be more than glad to relieve your hunger. Maybe not the whole Dominion... But definitely all of your sector’s arxur.”
Arxur behind Isif both slightly opened their mouths, eyes widening in almost human-like expression. Even Isif seemed to be taken slightly aback, though he composed himself much quicker, glaring at his subordinates to make them collect themselves. On our end, I could see General Zhao smirking, and General Jones tapping at her chin in contemplation, while I twiddled my thumbs nervously, waiting for rug to be pulled from under us.
“You promise a lot. Producing food in such quantities with just one planet, even if it were filled with cattle, is impossible. Simply unsustainable.” Isif replied.
“We have our ways, Isif. We solved hunger once, we can do so again. Not immediately, it will take time to ramp up production, of course... But once that happens, all you need to do is name your price in how much meat you need and we will provide. And all we want in return is information to better defend ourselves.”
There was a long pause of contemplation. When looking closely, I could see something that was either agitation... or excitement among Isif’s posse, but Chief Hunter himself remained unimpressed. Eventually he did speak up.
“Don’t think I will fall for such a trick, Elias Meier. You humans are still young, still naive to the cruelty of the universe. We were once like you, and were nearly wiped out for it. I will not have it happen to the only other True Sapient in the galaxy. I will trade information. But I can already sense what the first request will be, and you will not be getting translations for Federation languages.”
That made every human in the room except Elias tense up. I almost flinched at the accusation, Jones hid her mouth behind her hand and Zhao’s smirk turned into a frown. Only Secretary-General remained unshaken. Isif, in meantime, continued speaking.
“If you prove yourself capable of helping us, and manage to provide as much sustenance as you claim you can... I will consider it. But until then, I will not be accelerating your desire to commit extinction by Federation’s hands.”
“Then, if you need to benefit from us first before putting us at risk, we can only thank you again for your concern, Chief Hunter.” Secretary-General replied. I was surprised at how collected he remained despite the arxur completely seeing through our intentions with this ‘trade deal’. “Trust us, we have no interest in getting annihilated in antimatter fire, but we are willing to work to earn your trust. We will be sending lists of information we desire. I hope that partnership can strengthen the bonds between us further.”
“Indeed. We will review and return to you the amounts of food we will require for it. Show us what you are capable of, humans. Now let’s get this over with. Conversing like that is... tiring.”
Right. Arxur are naturally solitary, according to the databank they gave us. A species of biologically predisposed introverts...
“Farewell, Chief Hunter Isif.” Meier replied curtly, before the screen dimmed and camera light disappeared. Contact was over.
I let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing I’ve been holding it in for a while now. There... was a lot to consider about what just happened. I was told footage would be saved, so we can better analyze the arxur nonverbal cues later.
Elias turned to us and put his hands on the table.
“So, that didn’t go as bad as it could have. Any thoughts?”
General Zhao was first to speak up.
“We’ll need information on Federation tactics and weaponry. We’ll have to prepare a strong l space military regardless of whether they can be talked down, but it’s much easier to convince someone not to kill you when doing so risks their own life.”
“I’m more interested in whether there is any technology that could allow us to send spy drones into Federation space without leaving obvious trail back to us.” General Jones countered. “We might not even need arxur translators if we can decode the language via our own surveillance.”
Elias turned his eyes on me expectantly. I considered everything that happened, things Isif said and ways his presumably-lieutenants reacted to conversation, things we learned from their data bank... And it dawned on me.
“They... see us the same way we have seen them before learning of their horrid acts. First contact with someone who treats you like a person, and first people in the galaxy whom you can see as friends. We sought the stars seeking to not be alone in the universe, and while their ways are repulsive to us... It’s not true the other way. This cooperation to them is much more sentimental than it is to us. They want to be able to trust us and rely on us.”
Elias smiled and nodded at my assessment.
“Thank you for your input, everyone. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Dr. Kuemper, I hope you’re ready for tomorrow’s announcement and your promotion?”
Right. Tomorrow we’re revealing that First Contact has occurred to the public. It took a lot of effort to make it presentable without triggering mass panic, and some details will be omitted. That and I’m receiving a new position in the UN related to handling alien affairs. What a joy...
“As ready as I can be.”
“Then let’s get to it. It won’t be easy, people, but our entire civilization is at stake. We need to get this right, and in a way that won’t have our descendants condemning us.”
Right. Cooperation with arxur, this trade... I didn’t like the idea of it, but I understood. We needed their help. Perhaps through this cooperation, rather than them influencing us, reverse can be made true, unlikely as it may seem. Worst part was failing to secure any translators at all. While I’m sure generals are salivating at idea of cyber-espionage against the Federation, I just wanted to be able to communicate with the rescued child, and make sure we could properly help her recover. Still... We will do our best, even without them.
Memory Transcription Subject: Stynek, Venlil Test Subject
Date [standardized human time]: July 15, 2136
Second time I woke up; the memories came to me much faster. How I was captured during the raid. How I spent months in cattle pens. How I was used as a meal for mystery predators. How they took me with them. And how I was now in their laboratory, or whatever closest thing predators have in their feral science.
Of course, my first instinct was to try and escape, but I couldn’t. I found myself actively strapped to the bed. I was panicked at first, trying to break through the restraints, but to no effect. So I let my head fall back onto surprisingly soft pillow and lay there... Awaiting my fate. But fate wasn’t coming, and I found myself getting a bit bored. So I raised my head and examined the room.
It seemed different from the room I was in before. Most of the machinery was gone, and the only big machine beside my bed wasn’t actually hooked up to me anymore. There was a large, predator-sized closet in the corner, and two big tables with seats. Of course, there was also bed itself. If not for the fact that I was slated to be butchered on this bed soon, it’d be the most comfortable place I got to lay down on since my capture. As is... It felt like cruel irony. I felt my eyes watering again. Did predators want to taunt me? Give me this sense of near-comfort as one last cruelty?
Subconsciously I tried calling out for mom, but felt my throat burn and ended up coughing instead. I think all the screaming recently wasn’t good for it, and with how dry my mouth was it didn’t help. Looking around I spotted it. A glass of water on a small stand beside the bed! Except it was completely out of reach. I tried shifting my tail under me, to try and extend towards it, but I’d need to have the bed flipped to have the chance at reaching. They probably left it like that intentionally... Letting me feel thirst, see the answer, but not be allowed to take it, all to make me suffer more.
I attempted to shift and wiggle against the restraints some more, when it hit me. It finally hit me that my leg was gone, gone for good. Even if I could somehow miraculously break those restraints... And get out of predator captivity... And make it back home to Venlil Prime... It wouldn’t be the same. I’d never live a normal life. My vision blurred with tears again. Why couldn’t they just end it... Why did... they have to make me suffer more.
Then the door opened and my heartbeat quickened. I realized just what I asked for, and looks like the universe itself wanted to give me that. Through the door stepped a figure... No longer clad in big rubbery suit. They probably realized such deception won’t work on me. But which of predators it was made my blood freeze.
It was the same one again... The dark-colored one that was there in meeting with arxur, and when I first woke up... Why was it always this one showing up over and over? Did all those predators look like that? He was wearing different outfit, maybe it was a different predator? No, it’s too similar, it must just be... assigned to me. My personal warden. Just like the pens had specific wardens assigned to them that were in charge of picking out meals.
This is it then. They must have done everything they wanted to do with me while I was unconscious and now that I was awake to feel it, were ready to finish me off. I closed my eyes, squeezing them tightly shut as the predator approached. I lost count of how many times I was anticipating death recently, but this was it... This must be it, finally, right? Universe can’t be cruel enough to do more to me, can it?
And as I waited for my demise, with held breath I lay. And lay. And waited. Until I realized that by now predator would long be within reach of my throat. I slowly opened my eyes, and blinked a few times to get the tears out. Sight of predator right beside me made me flinch, as it sat down by the bed, looking over me with its hungry, binocular eyes. I could see its mouth, lips quivering in hunger. And yet it did not lunge... Why?! Why can’t they just finish me off already? I felt so exhausted and fatigued by it all...
Predator seemed to lock its horrid eyes with my own eye. The gaze was intense, and I felt frozen. I couldn’t move, not even a muscle, as it just stared at me and I stared back. I felt a tear roll down my face, contributing more to the clump of matted fur, grown stained with so many tears. And that’s when the predator reached its hand for my head. I closed my eyes, recoiling away to the best of my ability. I... I didn’t want it... Please... Why can’t I just wake up back home, why can’t it all just be a nightmare...
I was prepared for its claw to grasp my face, to twist my neck, to scratch at me... But the only thing I felt was a small caress right under my eye, where the tear ran, wiping it off and rubbing at clumped fur, getting bits of dirt out in process. And then it was over. There was no attack. It was just more prolonging of the inevitable. It was so... tiring. I opened my eyes again, to look back at the predator. Really look back in those cruel eyes, to try and understand why the universe would have such evilness exist at all. The binocular gaze was horrible, but no amount of my instinct telling me to flee could help when I had neither the limbs nor freedom to move. So I just looked back. Into those small eyes when they suddenly blinked. And what could only be a tear rolled down the predator’s face. This made me mentally recoil.
How? Did a predator just shed a tear? But that’s... impossible. Only creatures with empathy can cry. That’s the textbook prerequisite for crying! You need to feel things to cry! Predators don’t have that! Arxur don’t have that. We learn that since before school. One of first things parents teach their kids is always the dangers of predators. But this is... Maybe it’s something in the room? Some noxious agent irritating its eyes? Then why can’t I feel it? Is it simply copying me? But why would it do that? Can you even copy something you can’t understand, like feelings? I didn’t understand. Maybe their biology was way more alien? Their skin was naked and had no fur or scales or feathers, maybe their tears are different too? I tried to find any explanation at all, any possible answer to questions swirling in my mind, but nothing made sense. It’s like this one little tear shattered everything I knew about predators. Maybe... They were different somehow? No! That can’t be it. If they were, they wouldn’t... They wouldn’t have been ones to take part in eating me! They wouldn’t deal with arxur! It’s a trick... it must be... But tears are a sign of empathy...
“W-Why...”, I asked in my confusion. My voice came out as ragged and hoarse and I was reminded of how dry my insides felt. I glanced over to the glass at the bedside, still out of reach and now with a predator near it... I stood no chance at reaching it.
Then suddenly, the predator looked over at it as well, and picked it up. I was almost about to cry at the idea that it would drink it in front of me, taunting my thirst further. But it didn’t even bring the glass close to its horrid mouth, instead moving it towards my face. Naturally, I tried pulling back from predator reach, but still restrained, I couldn’t move much. And once the glass was in front of me, predator just tilted it and... left it hovering there.
Was it... offering me a drink? Does that mean the water is poisoned? Why else would it give me some? I didn’t open my mouth, but the predator kept hovering the glass in front of me... Clear liquid inside swishing a bit with unevenness of the movements. Tantalizing... My throat felt drier just looking at it. In the end, base instinct prevailed over reason-based self-preservation. Even if it is poisoned... I was as good as dead in this den of predators, this won’t matter, and at least I’ll die not feeling as dry as a piece of old tree bark. So I let my mouth open and I raised my head as much as I could within the restraints, putting the glass’s rim into my mouth.
That first sip was probably the most heavenly water I’ve ever tasted. It was just normal water, of course, but with how dry I felt, I couldn’t get enough as I started quickly gulping it down. The predator actually helped, tilting the glass, keeping up with how quickly I emptied it. Every gulp was a relief... It was no stale water of arxur pens. It was actually fresh water! But as quickly as it started, the happiness ended, glass fully tilted and empty. I smack my mouth, gathering little bits of moisture gathered on it with my tongue, while the predator moves the glass back onto the counter.
Well, if that had poison in it, I didn’t taste any. And if it was somehow tasteless... It was worth it. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the predator and its actions, so instead I did my best to just ignore it as I savored the feeling of hydration. If I somehow live through this, unlikely though it may be, I will never scorn water again. Though I will probably still prefer some good juice over it...
The predator started moving again, removing the blanket-like sheet that was covering most of my body and reaching to where my restraints connected to the bed itself. It locked its eyes with me again, and this time it at least didn’t cry, but it did start to growl something. It was quiet and subdued, and of course I couldn’t understand any of it, but it didn’t lunge or reach for me directly and didn’t seem any different from earlier. Was it trying to say something?
Then I heard a small click. The light pressure I felt on my arms and chest from the restraints relaxed. Then the predator just tossed the restraint over me, revealing that they released me. I tested it by raising my arms slightly. Why...? Did they plan on taking me somewhere? I could try running but the feeling of lightness, of hollow emptiness where my leg used to be reminded me of how fruitless the endeavor would be, so I just kept laying in bed. The predator’s mouth curved in some wicked expression before they growled out some more of their crude words and got up.
They moved towards the exit, turning around to give me one last creepy staredown before stepping out of the room. And, unsurprisingly, I heard a soft click from the door itself. Right. I was just free to explore my new pen. But even with the freedom granted, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. The shock of learning that a predator just shed a tear and fed me water was still too much. What is even happening?
It’s all so confusing. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my head, hiding in the dark. I tried to desperately convince myself to not get my hopes up, to remember what those predators did to me... But somewhere I felt like maybe things here will at least be better than they were in arxur pens. At least there’s that to comfort me. That’s right, they probably just... don’t want me to die yet because they haven’t finished experimenting on me... And the tears were just... I don’t know. It makes no sense! It’s stupid!
I let out a breath and snuggled tighter into the blanket. As long as it was dark and quiet like this, I could at least pretend that I was back home... That everything makes sense... That I am just fine... That I'll be okay...
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When considering how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are related to previous games in the Official Timeline, the most credited theory among fans seems to be that both games take place after a merge occurs between the three Timeline branches. This post proposes how such a Merge could have occurred and the ongoing effects from it that set up the Era leading into both games.
It's important to detail the foundation of this theory. Before BoTW's release, the only game that the Devs could tell us came concretely before it on the timeline was Ocarina of Time. Skyward Sword was clearly concretely before that, as evidenced by the existence of the Master Sword, Goddess Statues, and three Springs. The Devs also stated that game specifically took place after Ganon(dorf) had been defeated and revived numerous times. Throughout the game's lifespan, this seemed to automatically mean that it couldn't follow the Adult Timeline as Ganondorf was only defeated twice, and at no point was revived. Then came Fujibiyashi's fated comment, which gave this theory its first bit of credibility. When asked which game or timeline BoTW followed after, he simply stated that it took place in a future so distant that it took place after all of them.
Upon the release of ToTK, what seemed to be a major contradiction was resolved. When making their statement that BOTW takes place in a timeline where Ganondorf had been defeated and revived numerous times, the Adult Timeline didn't seem to fail that essential criteria. Given that ToTK's Ganondorf comes into the world after all the previous games and not before (as evidenced by the fact that Hyrule Castle had remained untouched since the Distant Past), the Adult Timeline can be reconciled as he counts as a "reincarnation" or "revival" of Ganondorf's spirit.
What that does seem to preclude, though, is the idea that the "Era of the Wild" takes place in an alternate timeline that branches off from Skyward Sword. While an interesting concept, the idea that ToTK's Ganondorf is the first occurrence completely contradicts all the previously mentioned statements made by the Developers. It's easy to see why people think this may be the case, especially considering all between parrelels to OoT's plot and ToTK's. Indeed, one may even be tempted to say that "OoT" still precludes BOTW because ToTK is somehow just a more accurate retelling of OoT's story. Those parrelels will be explained in-depth (ba dum tiss) later on while still respecting the other statements made by the Devs.
The latest major statement made by the Devs is that a previous Hyrule could have been destroyed and thus its history with it. The dubious nature of the statement makes it much easier to leave that fact undecided and thus leave it up to the fans if they want to believe that. Specifically acknowledging the idea in the first place is major, when considering that there was no conversation or concrete discussion of this concept prior. Just entertaining the idea alone seems to create some serious inferences about Hyrule's lore.
One major theme tackled by ToTK is "rebirth". The evidence of Chinese influence on Zonai architecture is extremely obvious, and one of the most telling uses of iconography is the use of the Lotus. Throughout their architecture, Lotus Buds and Blossoms are ubiquitous. Within Ancient Hyrule Castle, the stained gladden window situated highest within the thrown room shows an unmistakable White Lotus. What might not be obvious to players (especially in the West) is the significance of that symbol.
In ancient Chinese mythology, the symbol of the upcoming Buddha was the White Lotus. During a specific uprising, fanatics even believed that a specific revolutionary was that very Buddha. When referring to this specific Buddha, this religious sect even used the Honorary Title ascribed to the foretold Buddha, "The King of Light", to describe the movement's leader. "The King of Light" is an obvious way to describe Rauru, too. He is literally a King who commands power over Light. As a parrelel to Buddhas in the sense of being those who lead the world out of perennial dark ages where civility is remiss; Rauru, too, seems destined to return civility back to a world that is experiencing a Dark Age of its own.
Given all that, how does BoTW's Zelda know of supposed events from ages past if they're from seperate timelines and that history was destroyed? ToTK's answer to this is Recall. Sonia is very explicitly referred to as a Priestess, and her talent is one shared by all of those who share her bloodline. As described by Sonia, Recall is the act of, "coaxing an object; asking where it is, where its been, and how it got to where it is. Then making it retrace its steps back in time." This would explain the gradual renesscaince over the eons of information, specifically glimpses into events from several different timelines as mentioned in Link's Knighting Ceremony. Those gifted with Recall would pull information throughout the land in said "glimpses", never having a full enough picture to realize that the events seen had taken place in different timelines. It would also explain how vivid imagery of the Triforce exists, despite the fact the Triforce seems to have played no role throughout this era's history.
The fact that so many souls exist in The Depths and that the Poe Collector Statues had their powers sealed away at some point seems to be greatly important. Despite the fact that characters directly mirroring those from OoT seem to have made their way into the world, one notable archetype missing is the Spirit of The Hero. What I'm proposing is that the Poes beneath are all lingering souls who were around during the occurrence of the Merge that were already dead, physically succumbed due to changes in terrain, or passed after being subjected to great confusion from the resulting Merge. The Statues would exist for the sheer purpose of ferrying this new excess of souls to the Pure World, but then Hyrule was left with a major problem. As foretold by Princess Zelda, Link bearing the Spirit of the Hero would emerge later on and pose a threat to the Demon King. If the Statues were allowed to go on unchecked, its likely that the precursors to the Shiekah had feared that its possible that The Spirit of The Hero would be lost to the Pure World instead of reincarnating. This explains the Statues having had their powers being sealed, and why at some point one of the Statues decided to sap the life away from one of the Yiga.
Another issue reconciled by the idea that all the timelines have merged is the Recorded History of Zora's Domain. The King of Hyrule and of the Zoras were said to have built the Great Zora Dam some 10,000 years ago in response to periodic floods that affected both Zora and Hylians. This allowed for the thereafter creation of the Zora's Domain that we see in BoTW. I took major issue with this being the canonical explanation for the creation of Zora's Domain, as BOTW was said to take place an unfathomable amount of time after OoT. The Zora King from OoT was said to be the 16th in a line of succession by Hyrule Historia for crying out loud! Calamity Ganon's previous resurgence itself is said to have taken place approximately 10,000 years ago, and yet again he has come back several times throughout Hyrule's history. If we take the creation of Zora's Domain to specifically mean a version specific to the Era of the Wild, this would alleviate the glaring inconsistencies in their tale. The Zoras in fact seem nothing but keen on keeping accurate historical records.
Of great interest to me is ToTK's new Stone Tablets. In one of them, Sidon specifically states that in a tale passed on by the Zora that the mountain range that now make up their home was long ago driven upward with so much force that it pierced the clouds above and caused torrential downpours to occur. These downpours are what created the Lanayru Wetlands, and I'm also assuming why Central Hyrule was depicted as a floodplain in the Forgotten Temple's Map Room. The later creation of the Great Dam would then have logically occluded enough water flow to allow Central Hyrule to dry back up, and allow the Zora to build their Domain. Behind the Waterfall that cascades from the pool that makes up the current Domain is a cave that roughly matches the shape of OoT's Domain, albeit much smaller and less detailed in features. It's within this cave that Vah Rutah's Helm is found.
Given the magnitude of force needed to cause the Lanayru Mountain Range to rise, one can only assume that an event of great magnitude had to have occurred to trigger this. Given Akkala's resemblance to the 1st TLoZ's map, it doesn't seem out of the question that the original landmass was more separated and that a collision between the Akkalla and Lanayru regions caused the shift. If the cave behind Zora Waterfall was the original Domain, then the lake its now built upon would have been previous the apex of the mountain range and former home to Jabu-Jabu. The major rifts in the north and western regions of Hyrule also seem to go without explanation, with the Forgotten Temple likely been built at ground level before their opening caused its collapse. The idea that the Merge was the cause of these events is conjecture, but it would give a satisfactory reason for the change.
While I could go on I would be curious to hear your thoughts. What do you think?

I don’t understand the rush to promote “AI PCs” with Intel Core Ultra, a copilot physical key and “Intel AI Boost NPU” Yet, as of right now, these do nothing aside from “enhanced battery management.” And even better, not display Ryzen 7000/8000 series NPUs in the task manager for some reason, because those don’t count as “AI PCs” apparently.
And then Microsoft releases “Copilot+ PCs” with Snapdragon that actually can do on device AI inference/image gen. Why not just have this be the AI PC in the first place??
I think part of the reason is because so many people have negative memories with windows and ARM. (Think Windows RT, earlier snapdragon experiences etc.) Still doesn’t make it any less ridiculous marketing.

i actually want to murder the chick i had for one of my classes. TELL ME WHY YOU DIDNT PUT IN THE FUCKING GRADES FOR THE ENTIRE SEMESTER UNTIL TONIGHT???HUH??? give me one valid reason CUZ ID REALLY LOVE TO HEAR IT. there is no fucking excuse. you signed up for this. we had a break. there is no reason my assignments ( that i have turned in before the end of the semester ) should be graded past end of semester. And then for my grade to read a 100% A+ THE WHOLE SEMESTER for it all of the sudden TONIGHT drop to a 59%. all because I DIDNT DO THREE WORKSHEETS FROM RIGHT AFTER SPRING BREAK. why weren't those graded??? why did you wait UNTIL AFTER WE ARE DONE WITH SCHOOL TO LET YOUR STUDENTS KNOW "oh BTW you failed !!" because of this i might get kicked out of uwm. all because i didnt know i was failing. had i known, i would have made effort to make up the assignment or try to do extra hard on the next ones to make up for the ones i didnt do- im actually so pissed and cannot function. idk what im gonna tell my parents. i thought they were optional and they weren't apparently and i didnt find out until just now and ugh im stressed and pissed help

The worldwide market for natural resources is a massive and highly profitable industry, valued at USD $9.8 trillion in 2022. This huge value comes from the production of essential commodities like oil, natural gas, minerals, and metals. The U.S. stands out as a major player in this market, offering numerous opportunities for growth and investment. Now it's widely understood that before a resource company can produce resources that generate a substantial revenue from its assets, it must undergo the exploration phase. But what exactly does this phase entail and what is the upside for those involved early on?
Well, every natural resource company starts at the exploration phase. During this phase, companies are actively searching for deposits with economic potential. As you can imagine, discovering a project's potential involves a lot of effort and resources. For those that choose to invest in these companies during the exploration phase, there is potential to make a considerable profit, especially if the deposits are in high demand.
Besides the economic upside, resources play a major role. Take nickel for example, it plays a crucial role in our everyday lives, often without us realizing it. From batteries found in EVs and smartphones to household items like kitchen utensils and doorknobs, nickel is everywhere, contributing to our daily routines in numerous ways. This is why supporting companies looking to supply these essential resources is important for our future.
Of course, not all companies and projects are equal in terms of their potential for the future, and there are always risks involved. This goes for every company, whether natural resources or not. When investing, it's important to consider factors like the experienced management, the demand for resources it aims to produce, and the quality of its project and project portfolio.
One junior mining company to look at is Alaska Energy Metals ($AKEMF), who is mainly focused on securing a secure domestic supply of nickel for America’s future. The company is focused on its Nikolai Nickel Project in Alaska.
A big breakthrough for $AKEMF came in February 2024 when it announced it had Indicated Resource of more than 3.9 billion pounds of nickel and an Inferred Resource of more than 4.2 billion pounds of nickel at the Eureka Zone within Nikolai. $AKEMF has been very proactive in exploring Nikolai’s potential this past year, having conducted an initial drill program by effectively leveraging sound and historical drill data.
In 2024, $AKEMF has additional initiatives in the pipeline, including an expanded drill program scheduled for the summer. Led by Greg Beischer, an experienced seasoned explorationist with a solid track record of success, the company's main focus is on identifying higher-grade core zones at Nikolai. The aim is to enhance the quality of the mineral resource estimate.
$AKEMF presents a great opportunity for exposure to nickel exploration and potential development, as well as supporting domestic supply initiatives. With a significant discovery already made and strategic plans for further exploration at Nikolai, the company appears well-positioned to capitalize on the demand for nickel in the future.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice please do your own research before investing. The following post is sponsored content and is posted on behalf of Alaska Energy Metals Corp.

I made a post about my score improvement and got quite a few PMs so I'd like to make my own post specifically for the strategies that worked for me! At some point above 1500 the SAT becomes less about knowledge and more about strategy, and I know this because I didn't study at all between my test dates; I just changed my strategy.
My first tip: your mentality. You need to be in a good state of mind during your test - this looks like getting a good night's sleep, eating something good in the morning, maybe drinking some caffeine (maybe not; you know yourself better than I do). And I know this is so much easier said than done, but don't stress too much. I already had a 1540 so I went in with the mindset that I would still be fine if I failed, and I think being relaxed helped me a lot. I think if you do your practice tests while simulating a real test this will help - I did my tests while playing "computer lab ambient noises" on YouTube, so you could try that. Do your best to feel your best on test day!
Now, for Reading (I got an 800), your strategy is really important (after you know your fundamental grammar, of course). The optimal solution is going to be different for everyone, but here are some miscellaneous strategies that I used:

1. Understand the main idea and the idea of each sentence. Often the main idea is stated in the first or last sentence, and to make the text more understandable to me, I used the annotate function to paraphrase each sentence. Once I analyzed the meaning of each individual sentence, I was able to understand the text better and I was able to understand the function of each sentence in relation to the others
2. Reading and Writing is, as they say, EVIDENCE-BASED. This means that the correct answer will always be supported directly by the text - if an answer is correct, you will be able to highlight a sentence or phrase that basically explicitly says the same thing as the answer key. Don't make inferences or jumps in logic!
3. PROCESS OF ELIMINATION! The strikethrough tool is a godsend on the DSAT, so make sure you know how to use it. There are sometimes answer choices that are partially true and partially incorrect - if an answer choice has even a single assertion that is not directly supported by the text, cross it out. This way you sometimes don't even have to find the right answer, you just have to know the others are wrong. And if you guess, you have a greater than 25% chance of getting it right
4. Read the question before the text so you know what to look for. Pretty self-explanatory
5. For the last 3 or 4 questions where you have to use bullet points to support a claim, you don't need to actually read the bullet points - the correct answer will be obvious from looking at the answer choices. By not reading the bullet points, I basically halved the time I was spending on these questions, allowing me to focus on the trickier questions more.
6. Speaking of timing, do NOT rush. This is what was my downfall in my 1540. The digital SAT is curved, so if you make a careless mistake on an easy question, you will lose more points than if you mess up on a hard question. You don't need to go through every question twice; just spend some extra time the first time and review the ones you flagged.
7. And then advice on a few question types that I personally struggled with:
   1. The answer to "main idea" questions will never be in a specific example from the text. I don't really know how to explain this, except that examples will usually support the main idea rather than expressing it.
   2. Transition word questions are easy - they are asking, "how does the function this sentence relate to the priofollowing sentence?". If you do the annotate and summarize thing that I do it's fr a walk in the park.
   3. This is super specific but a name/clause will only be surrounded by commas or em dashes if it is nonessential. For example, between these two sentences: "American author Dan implies..." and "American author, Dan, implies...", the first one would be correct because the identity of the author is important to this question.

For Math (I got a 790), I have fewer tips, because I think Math is really just about knowing the concepts. What helped me was taking math a grade up, doing Kumon, and participating in math olympiads (I really think these are valuable even if you don't place or anything; I'm not really a standout but they helped with my problem solving). However, you should know desmos in and out. Know every piece of its functionality, and know how to apply it to basically every single problem in the math section. Lastly, what I struggled with was getting tired and losing focus. Especially near the end of module 2, I found that I really had to slow down and be methodical with my work so that I was not making careless mistakes.
The only resource I used other than Bluebook was Erica Meltzer, and I definitely recommend her grammar textbook. That's all; props to you if you managed to read all this, and good luck on your SAT!

So, it’s my second day studying and I take the LSAT in August. I’ve been watching a lot of videos about how to strategically approach a question, especially when it comes to conditional relationships. Although it makes sense, I feel like it’s pretty time consuming to sit and work through each relationship and infer what they’re insinuating. I find myself getting a decent amount of questions correct just reading the question and answers and going with what makes sense to me.
Do you guys first approach questions strategically or intuitively?
It would be a shame to waste time working through a problem so thoroughly only for it to have made sense without all the excess work.
I’m genuinely curious about how you guys work through this stuff, especially the more difficult questions.
Thanks in advance 😊

As a person with a (mild) disability that causes me to ocassionally limp, I was obviously intrigued to see that Hephaestus was a Greek god with a similar issue.
I am aware there are many different explanations for Hephaestus being disabled, from him being disabled from birth to being injured as he was cast out of Mt Olympus, as well as one where he is injured when Zeus sexually assaults Hera, his mother.
Focusing on the Iliad, it’s clear Hephaestus limps/shuffles, even to the point of amusing the other gods - they laugh at him as he shuffles around the room serving wine. This does not stop Hephaestus from being incredibly useful - forging Achilles armour and even saving him in battle. When Hephaestus fights he is highly effective, so too when he speaks.
Hephaestus’ skill in the forge allows him to trap and bind multiple gods, including his Mother, the queen of the gods Hera. He makes all the gods famous equipment from Helios’ chariot to Zeus’ thunderbolts. He is arguably the most useful god on Mt Olympus (not that gods have to be useful). Yet despite all this he seems to be consistently mistreated, fostering in him a resigned bitterness to his appearance and position.
In a society dependant on farm labour you could understand (though obviously not condone) why stories and culture may have animosity to disabled people who cannot do manual work. Or perhaps see it as some divine punishment/curse on their family for past sins. Hephaestus though seems much more powerful, skilful and effective than many of the gods, despite having a limp.
Is this contradiction deliberate or is it a modern projection onto the story? Would the audience have understood this contradiction or was his disability “enough” to find his treatment normal? What can we infer about the attitudes towards disability in the Ancient Greek audience through the stories of Hephaestus?

I have the typical just can’t focus on schoolwork until the final hours before where panic forces me to complete assignments but it just isn’t working anymore. I used to study for a test or work on a project due at 8am only the night before, but that ended up turning into getting up at 2:30am the day of and by now it just doesn’t work and I just hand in things late and just lie my way out of it if possible like forgetting a minor step for submissions or tech issues etc.
The assignment is in my head constantly the entire time though. If I set aside time to do it and then procrastinate with League of Legends or something then I think about the looming threat of the project and can’t even really focus on or accomplish much in the match. I split up my day constantly by how much available time I have and how much time I expect the parts of the assignment to take, so every time that I fall asleep on the train or spend time eating or am just behind pace because I didn’t write the Introduction in 20 minutes or something, I consider it a time loss and then just freak out and give up or rush the rest of it with a new estimate which makes breaking it up into smaller chunks just more difficult. I also just have issues doing small assignments or doing the tiny steps like taking a picture of and uploading a worksheet that I already did because I think of how much more there is to do.
My grades are still good but they could be better so easily and it is just not sustainable at all since my hair is shedding a lot and I look like I have not seen the sun in weeks, ongoing 1-2yr. ADHD and like OCD is in the family if that matters

Pretty cringe ik, but here is my advice on how to approach Math 1131 if you have only done standard maths in the HSC. I did standard maths and managed to get 80+, however there were many times before starting the course and during the course where I felt like dropping it and not pursuing my degree in comp sci and to just do commerce. I think a lot of people would be in a similar boat to me, as UNSW makes it clear that standard maths students won't be able to do the course unless they complete a year's worth of bridging courses. Well, this is simply not true and if this course has made you consider re-evaluating what you want to pursue, don't feel like an idiot because that was me too. (So don't flame me as a sweat, just trying to encourage someone who was in my position)
If you are an incoming student and haven't done any preparation, I'd consider doing it in the term following as this will give you enough time to prepare on the side (or use the summer holidays like I did). Alternatively, you could just be an animal and rawdog it.
To prepare, here is what I did and what I'd do again. Go on Khan Academy and create an account to track your progress. If you are anything like me, I didn't know what a quadratic was or how to properly factorize, so I'd recommend completing the following 'courses' in this order.

• Algebra 1/2
• Trigonometry (even though you did this in standard maths - it is not enough of a baseline)
• Precalculus (Units 1,2,3,6,7)
• College AP/BC Calculus

You don't have to do them all to 100% proficiency every single time, but this will get you to the baseline of an advanced math student within 100 hours maximum. I'd take notes while watching all the tutorials etc, even though I didn't refer to them much, it was great in consolidating my understanding.
https://www.khanacademy.org/
The second thing I'd do is leading up to the course is to complete these revision sheets set out by UNSW. Now, don't get wigged out if you can't do them first try, I couldn't either. You've just learned this content.
https://www.unsw.edu.au/science/our-schools/maths/student-life-resources/student-services/mathematics-drop-in-centre/revision-worksheets
Now, onto the actual course itself, you will get the course material about a week before, don't get wigged out by the course pack - it seems like a lot but its not as bad as you think.
To understand the content here's what I'd do (and did do).

• Only watch Milhan Pahors lecture stream.
  • I didn't watch a single other lecture apart from this - they are online and are brilliant. He works through the problems, shows you where the traps are and how to approach them.
  • Also don't feel stupid for rewatching parts of the lecture either - nobody gets it first go.
• Go to the maths drop in center once a week.
  • They are both online and in person & are great for asking questions / reinforcing your knowledge.
• Chatgpt 4o just came out.
  • It's ability to solve maths problems is fantastic and can solve probably about 80-90% of course material. Use this to obtain worked solutions to problems since they don't give you worked solutions and also use it as a private tutor.

Finally, here's how to actually pass the course and even do well in it. The course is lobsided, you want to get a pre-exam mark 45+/50 because the final is near impossible to do. 40/50 is in line with a pass (for extension/advanced math students who didn't initially take the course seriously and can clutch it in the final - not you) so you want to score near perfect on everything.
Mobius:
These are weekly quizzes that are approximately 10%, you are able to check your answers before submitting with a week long time limit. You can easily get 100% on this.
Lab Test 1:
This is a lab test where you will get the practice questions that will be exactly the same. They just change the numbers around. So you can practice until you are basically automatic.
One thing to note - for this lab test you will only get access to a Kcalc, which is a terrible calculator and I'd go into a labroom maybe when you are in uni before the exam and try it out. You'll basically do this test completely manually/ in your head (so take that into consideration & don't get caught lacking as a lot of people underperform in this lab ). You want to aim for full marks and its not hard to do, you just memorise how to do it.
For lab test 1/2 - UNSW mathsoc discord posts worked solutions a week prior aswell & their page gives previous years worked solutions if you want a head start.
https://www.unswmathsoc.org/resources/exam-bank
Lab Test 2:
This lab test uses maple, which is great for us because it does the manual computations/calculations for us. Once again, find the worked solutions, make a cheat sheet and memorise the lab test answers. Worth 15%.
Assignment:
This is worth 10%, about 2% comes from answering questions on the mobius which you can review to see if you are correct (so its guaranteed). Then you are to write a paper on proving those answers. It's broken up into two parts, algebra and calculus. It turns out for the Algebra section they recycle the same questions every year, so go onto studocu and just get an exemplar response. For this aswell, make sure you do all the formatting correctly.
https://www.studocu.com/en-au/course/university-of-new-south-wales/mathematics-1a/1537137?origin=document-viewer
Final Exam:
If you type in Math1131 on this subreddit, you'll quickly be able to tell this exam is pretty challenging. The sheer amount of complaining about this exam has made it become somewhat of a meme - kinda why I'm hoping this post doesn't get torn to shreds.

• The Final exam is 60% seen questions from a 200 question exam bank (they only select about 8 questions). So it is a ton of questions to get ur head around and then try memorise.
  • These questions are also really difficult - which is why a lot of people absolutely wig their shit before the final. It is a huge jump from the labs so I'd get onto them as early as possible.
• They give you worked solutions via video sessions (approximately 15-25 hours of worked solutions).

So, you have to hedge your bets, what I did was make a document where I screenshotted solutions, or made a cheat sheet on how to do them. This took me a fucking minute and I didn't do all the questions - only the ones where I could actually replicate it in an exam. Once you've done that, just repeatedly do the past papers.
If you do all this - you should get somewhere between 10-25/60, I reckon. Since you've actually watched a lot of the practice questions - you'll find the unseen questions are somewhat similar and you can do parts of them.
So to recap - don't be discouraged by this propaganda set out by the engineering/maths/comp sci departments about the course. If you are anything like me, chances are you've done well to get to a position to do your course and know how to work systematically. If you do this, you not only can pass, but actually do well.
Once you get over this hurdle, all other maths at uni will be the same difficulty to you as it is to your peers. You'll have to spend a lot of time on this subject, but I still went partying during the term etc - wasn't just some incel. So, hopefully this will encourage you to give it a red hot crack.

It's been suggested that Travis' bread & sugar meal was fueled by his alcoholism, and it got me thinking if all the scenes with food consumption had deeper meanings.
Iris takes her toast and uses the free jam and peanut butter to make a sandwich, completely unrelated from what she'd actually ordered, and then proceeds to dump sugar on it. We can infer that she's been on something herself, but also that she's highly creative, utilizes what she has around her, and yet it's tainted by all that quick-hitting sugar. To me, it's an obvious visual depiction of the awful situation she's trapped in.
At the dirty movie theater, Travis ironically wants jujubes, obviously high in sugar but because they're chewier and smaller, they "last longer"-- the morality of pornographic films obviously being the exact inverse of longevity. It's like the food is supposed to represent the way they are feeling about what's going on, and Travis is only at these movies because he doesn't have a girlfriend, or really any friends at all. The visual depictions in this film are outstanding and it took a rewatch for me to even begin to appreciate them.

'The Calculator.
A field of calculator calculators calculate that a field of calculators can calculate with a calculator calculator calculator calculating that a field of calculator calculators calculate that a calculator can calculate. I have a field I don't calculate, the empty field, and a field of the calculation that the field is calculated. A calculator is required for a calculator to calculate, every field can have a calculated calculation, and a calculator calculator is in my field of no calculation, the empty field, and calculated by calculation. The field of more or less calculators than by calculation is in the field, is not a calculated field, and a calculation is done on it. I calculate a field of calculator calculators is not empty but a field of calculator calculations is, and the empty field of calculators is a calculation by a calculator calculator calculator calculation calculated by a calculator. Away.'
22/12/13 20:45
I wrote this in a friend's tent waiting for him to come back from Tesco. Shane: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVNY5NcS7OA\] We did spliffs, there was snow all around. I was still hyped from watching 'The Bad Guys'. I wanted the three of us to go bowling sometime so I typed it into my smartphone so as not to forget. I then typed the whatchamacallit, this.
THE INTERPRETATION:
A calculator calculator is an engineer or programmer or mathematician. A field of such is a group of them. A calculator is what we know as the tool we use to perform arithmetic, and on we go with those to infer judgements. A field of calculators, however, may be seen as a family of inter-operable machines, or an actual field of living plants which clearly make a host of cool yet somewhat deterministic actions, albeit slowly. A calculator calculator calculator is that which observes the engineers, programmers and mathematicians: the men in suits who wear the hats perhaps, or a deity, or the 'god-head' of some existential text I can't remember which. Those definitions are enough to help with the first line.
A field I don't calculate is a subject I refuse to engage algorithmically in, for example, with regards matters of free will or creative ego.
The empty field is THE empty field. The field of the calculation that the field is calculated is my finished work to which I rarely return, like a job I have (been) retired from. The work must have its object. Bodies of work are completed incrementally starting from the first part of one- there is no such thing as a body of work that cannot begin! I have decided resolutely that there is a competent machinist refusing to make deductions or jump to conclusions with a piece of work of mine where I don't intend them to. This being is an object of inquiry by mere machines never quite understood fully. Somewhere also there has to be an error, and a resulting loop, and a fix. I have a professional faith that we engineers, programmers, and mathematicians are always around somewhere we should be, while there is always an important piece of finished work being completely ignored.
The final line regards the last electrical whirrings of the last calculator, musing about the principles that enable its own existence, suffering the fate of having to calculate its own non-existence, by degrees.

So a while ago I realized I gave my oc some potentially neurodivergent coded traits (being sensitive to loud noises, having verbal shutdowns sometimes when really anxious and fidgeting) so I decided to lean into it and make him actually ND. (He's a 16 year old male btw)
So far traits and things he has are
-Being sensitive to loud noises
-Sensitive to certain textures and feels (such as certain foods, tags in clothes, textures of clothes, etc)
-Stims ( hand flapping, finger movements, playing with fidget toys)
-Verbal shutdowns
-Can have meltdowns too if he gets to over stimulated (usually looks like him crying and probably stimming)
Some things he does to help are
-wearing headphones sometimes when out and about
-using stim and fidget toys
-He has communication cards to use when he can't speak (some that explain he's nd and he can't speak atm, some basic ones like "yes" and "no" and some related to other conditions he has such as "I need to sit down" and "my blood sugar is low"
Now there is two things I'm not sure about
1: he's not bothered by changes in routine and 2: I always saw him as okay at social stuff like social cues and stuff (he's really awkward and has trouble talking to people and takes a long time to be comfortable having a full conversation with someone) but I always saw him as good at reading socials cues and emotions and nonverbal communication and stuff like that (He's good at inferring what people are asking and doesn't take things too literally, etc) also not bc he learned those things but it's natural to him.
So can anyone give me some feedback? Should I change those last two things? And just general feedback on the rest of the character? (I'm nt btw)

I am sharing the syllabus of the courses
1)course name:Mathematical Logic: • Propositional Logic – Semantics of Propositional Logic – Formal Deduction for Propositional Logic – Completeness Theorem for Propositional Logic • First Order Logic – Semantics of First Order Logic – Formal deduction for First Order Logic – Completeness Theorem for First Order Logic – Compactness Theorem for First Order Logic • Some Model Theory – Löwenheim-Skolem Theorems – Theories and their Axiomatizations – Quantifier Elimination • Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem (only briefly )
2)Course name:Logic:Propositional Logic and Predicate Logic: basic logical concepts, truth tables, logical connectives, quantifiers, predicates; Natural Deduction: basic rules for deriving conclusions from premises without additional assumptions, introduction to proof techniques;Rules of Inference: Systematic methods for deriving valid conclusions, including modus ponens, modus tollens, and others; Translation between Ordinary Language and Logical Formulas: Techniques for converting ordinary language statements and arguments into formal logic and vice versa; Indirect Proof and Reductio ad Absurdum: Methods for proving the validity of arguments by demonstrating the impossibility or absurdity of their negation.
3)Course name:Complexity Theory: Time Complexity,Space Complexity,Randomized Computation
4)Course name:Mathematical foundations of AI: Signal terminology. Empirical modeling and approximation. Probability concept and signal characteristics for classification. Random processes and decision making. Fundamentals of learning. Optimization theory in classification. Information theory and fuzzy concept applications.
These are the courses given by my current school.Do they have a chance? I am going to take some of them but not sure whether they will be accepted or not.I especially want to make sure that logic courses will be accepted.