"We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us." ~Marshall McLuhan
We've all seen the Sex and the City memes she posted; clearly she was an avid consumer of media (before social media consumed her) in the nineties and aughts, and the discerning may have ascertained the influence of such properties on the image she sought to portray- clinking wine glasses with the boss babes 🥂, striving to be top tier with the Addys of LeVel (instead of continuing to shovel shite with the Scoobys), glamour and gloss, fashion and floss (who wears a thong for air travel, heavily gravid and ostensibly retaining poop? That is commitment to an image 😄)
So, I am waking up with my coffee (after doing more than 90% of women lol, it was an early morning) and the YT algorithm rudder steered me to "Jon and Kate Plus 8 And the Downfall We All Saw Coming (Part II)".
It has been a long time since I peered even casually into that window (my own children were small; my TV was turned more frequently to SpongeBob than TLC, but one could not really avoid the media saturation, whether standing in a checkout line or chatting with neighbors, one 'knew' of the Duggars or the Gosselins probably a lot more than one chose 🙄) but I caught up to speed with the duo's dynamics fast enough- and O. Em. Gee.- listening to Kate chastise Jon is the very echo of how Shanann spoke to and treated Chris (who of course did not seem to 'talk back' like Jon, was not surly and lazy like Jon, but sure figured out eventually how to fuck around like Jon); it is eerie.
I am not suggesting Shanann purposefully modeled her behavior towards her spouse after a reality show, but remember the ubiquity of that couple, you couldn't get away from them in the media- they had more paparazzi camped outside their house than Harry Hewitt and la Markle in their wildest dreams, it was crazy .
Shanann absolutely was exposed to all of this in her still formative years- the brain doesn't finish puberty until 25!- and the 'perfectionist' super-cleaner, super-organized, super-mom 'You can't do anything right, but that's just how men are, and we love them" Kate aesthetic was imprinted on us all, but it seems like she took it as a challenge, and goals af (with her weak dad/strong mom example in life, it is understandable): watching this in hindsight feels like Kate is auditioning to play Shanann in a docudrama (instead of vice versa). I mean they are almost spitting the same sentences, with the same irritated, frustrated, condescending intonation.
Anyway, just some musings reflecting back on shows we were all exposed to back in the day, and the influence they've had on us, and what possible influence they may have had on Shanann - I don't find the hoochie rim job (probably doing immoral, possibly gross, illegal, and dangerous things) appealing at ALL, and after enough years there, the Supermom archetype of Kate Gosselin (pre scandals) undoubtedly appealed (and of course, the hormones kicking in, healthy young animals have an instinct to breed)- I would want to be my own boss after dealing with toxic patriarchal crap like rap culture, too.
I'd drop the link if I could, if anyone wants to step back in time for a deep dive and see if they too see the parallels, but it's easy enough to search, channel 'BE THEE COMMENTATOR'. Thank you if you made it this far!

I’m 98% confident I could kill or at least win a fight against ANY dog on earth except a large mastiff (that’s gonna be a tough one but I could at least hurt it) . I’m very aware that dogs have pretty sharp teeth and can be very vicious. Okay, bet, avoid the mouth, literally too easy. Dogs don’t really use their paws to do damage, mainly to maneuver themselves or you. Dog bites you? Okay, they’ll probably thrash their head around and bite hard, okay, grab THEM as well or hit them. We as humans CAN and almost ALWAYS hit harder than a dog. Also, humans are generally larger than dogs, use your size to your advantage. I always hear stories of people being mauled and killed by dogs. Only people I could understand being killed are children, the elderly, heavily disabled people, and people that are UNBELIEVABLY weak and have zero muscle/mass. Too many times I see footage or hear stories of people being attacked and they’re trying to get away or get the dog off. Guess what, dogs only gonna stop if you fight. Running and screaming for help, WONT help. FIGHT YOU FUCKS. We’re humans, when it comes to hurting and killing animals/other humans. We have millions of ways to do it and have plenty of knowledge on the subject. Use it

I've seen so many people on this sub complaining about how the CGI looks in The Flash. It's okay to point out whether it looks unfinished or not, but I do take issue with people saying it looks "lazily rendered".
Regardless of the variety in quality...

CGI IS NOT LAZY! THERE'S AN INSANE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT GOES BEHIND IT AND GETS UNNOTICED.

To the people that are constantly comparing The Flash to Man of steel, take into consideration the context of their productions. Back in 2013, there was only one DC film and that film didn't go through major changes during filming and post-production (thank you Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder and Christopher Nolan). Ten years later and we've had for the most part 2 films per year. The Flash has apparently been through A TON of changes during its production, much like Green Lantern. Meaning that VFX artists have to abandon shots and scenes they had been working on for weeks to work on new ones.
Another major factor is that with the rise of streaming platforms, a lot more projects get green-lit. A good example is how Disney used to have their projects scheduled much more separately. But even since the launch of Disney+, there have a lot more projects with all the different franchises they distribute. We have a Star Wars show, Marvel films and series, live-action remakes every single year.
Another thing is that several major VFX studios have been sadly closed and many smaller ones are starting out. And it seems like a good number of VFX artists prefer working at smaller studios because they don't feel overworked with really tight schedules and indecisive clients.
I miss the times when people would just view special effects as a tool to tell a story.

• In what is considered considered to be one of the best action sequences ever made, the train fight from Spider-Man 2 has some of the most jarring digital shots that look much less convincing than some from its predecessor. But people don't really care because of how creative the overall choreography is.
• People watch King Kong (1933) and they know that what they're looking at is a 20+ inch articulated puppet. But they don't care because they're more invested in the way the character acts, to the point that many cry when said puppet falls from the Empire State Building model.
• A more recent example is Aquaman. That movie's CGI wasn't particularly realistic with its physics and didn't look 100% finished at times. And some people had pointed this out in their reviews. But the reason the visuals were still praised is because of how they were used, as well as its vibrant colors and its gigantic scale. Which is why there was this big debate among audiences on whether or not the movie should've been nominated for best SFX.

I'm not saying that movies or artists are immune to criticism. I wish people weren't so dismissive of how hard the craft of animation and CGI is, as if it was so easy to produce.

Ep. 1 Friends, Crushes, and Pranks - Oh My!
Ep. 2 A Little Harvestfest Magic
Ep. 3 Final Exams and Prepping for Prom
Ep. 4 Household Happenings
Ep. 5 A Prom-ing We Will Go
Ep. 6 Fear and Failure
Ep. 7 Dating and Discovery
Ep. 8 A Beachy Winterfest
Ep. 9 Pranks and Pain
Ep. 10 A Visit From the Reaper
Ep. 11 Prom - New Years Edition
Ep. 12 Running Away From the Problem
Ep. 13 Expelled
Ep. 14 Inappropriate Entry
Ep. 15 Magical Days
Ep. 16 Telling Veronica
Ep. 17 No Remorse
Ep. 18 No Rest For The Weary
Ep. 19 Family Reunion
Ep. 20 Prom Promises
Ep. 21 The Roommate
Ep. 22 An Awesome Odd Job
Ep. 23 Jasper's Eventful Day
Ep. 24 A Teen No More
Ep. 25 Burgliate For the Win
Ep. 26 New Horizons and Heartbreak
Ep. 27 The Motive Trials
Ep. 28 A Change of Plans
Ep. 29 Hijinks for Two
Ep. 30 Oh Baby... A Protection Malfunction
Ep. 31 The Morning After
Ep. 32 Preparing For The Future
Ep. 33 Complicating Circumstances
Ep. 34 What's One More?
Ep. 35 Telling the Family
Ep. 36 Finishing Touches
Ep. 37 Birth Plan Chaos: Welcome Pink Gen
Ep. 38 Seeing Family and Friends at Harvestfest
Ep. 39 Making the Doctor Work Overtime
Ep. 40 The Little Things
Ep. 41 City Living
Ep. 42 Winterfest Revelry: Part 1
Ep. 43 Winterfest Revenge: Part 2
Ep. 44 Winterfest Revelations: Part 3
Ep. 45 Homebodies for the Holidays
Ep. 46 The Downs and Ups of Villainy
Ep. 47 Laughter - The Worst Medicine
Ep. 48 She Ain't Done With Them Yet
Ep. 49 Together Again
Ep. 50 Unhappy New Year
Ep. 51 Sims About Town
Ep. 52 Humor and Hijinks
Ep. 53 An Adventure in the Country
Ep. 54 A Recovery From the Country
Ep. 55 Not So Neighborly
Ep. 56 Days at Home
Ep. 57 Therapeutic Thrashings
Ep. 58 Entertaining Afternoon
Ep. 59 Forever, Again
Ep. 60 Don the Lothario
Ep. 61 Gathering The Party
Ep. 62 Adventures With Hammy
Ep. 63 Apartment Adventures
Ep. 64 Family, Reunited
Ep. 65 A Birthday Decision
Ep. 66 Prodigal Jasper
Ep. 67 Taking A Sick Day
Ep. 68 Retying The Knot
Ep. 69 3 Birthdays and a Wedding Reception
Ep. 70 Neighborhood Brawl Crawl
Ep. 71 Neighborhood Brawl Crawl, Continued
Ep. 72 Crawling Home
Ep. 73 Intro To Magic 101
Ep. 74 The First Day of School
Ep. 75 Spencer's Struggle
Ep. 76 Death and Loss
Ep. 77 Gains From Death
Ep. 78 Lending A Hand
Ep. 79 Here and There
Ep. 80 Emotional Support Animals
Ep. 81 Will You Accompany Me?
Ep. 82 Dating Disasters
Ep. 83 Persistence Pays Off
Ep. 84 Harvestfest Fun in the Sun
Ep. 85 Meeting the Parent
Ep. 86 At Prom At Last
Ep. 87 The After Party
Ep. 88 Sharing in the Happiness of Others
Ep. 89 To Market We Will Go
Ep. 90 Life's Little Joys
Ep. 91 Could This Be Love?
Ep. 92 A Winterfest Romance
Ep. 93 A Winterfest Wedding
Ep. 94 Future Thinking
Ep. 95 Not Striking Out
Ep. 96 Oh My Nose!
Ep. 97 Broken but not Beaten
Ep. 98 A Magical Promposal
Ep. 99 Oh My Heart!
Ep. 100 Shouldn't It Be Easy?
Ep. 101 Sunny New Year's Eve Fun
Ep. 102 Prom the Second
Ep. 103 The Hard Conversation
Ep. 104 An Unexpected Crush
Ep. 105 Diet and Exercise
Ep. 106 New Friends From Distant Lands
Ep. 107 Some Auntie Uncle Time
Ep. 108 Hot and Cold
Ep. 109 Bro Bar Bash
Ep. 110 Sneaking Up On Love
Ep. 111 Some Grandfatherly Romantic Advice
Ep. 112 Playing The Field
Ep. 113 Love Is In The Air
Ep. 114 Spring on the Farm
Ep. 115 An Artsy Fartsy Birthday
Ep. 116 Wedding Season
Ep. 117 Birthdays Abound
Ep. 118 Graduation
Ep. 119 An Arranged Marriage
Ep. 120 Friendly Support
Ep. 121 Working Like Dogs
Ep. 122 Tartosa Here We Come
Ep. 123 Ed's Choice
Ep. 124 Vacation Romance
Ep. 125 Jasper Fabulous
Ep. 126 Ed's Bach Party
Ep. 127 A Fond Farewell
Ep. 128 A Time and Place For Romance
Ep. 129 Reactions to Romance
Ep. 130 A Not So Happy Union
Ep. 131 A Fabulous First Gig
Ep. 132 A Pool Deck Renovation
Ep. 133 Blowing the Whistle
Ep. 134 Hijinks to Make You Smile
Ep. 135 Life Things
Ep. 136 A Meditation Mishap
Ep. 137 Dinner With Ed
Ep. 138 Transitions and Hard Conversations
Ep. 139 Dreams Come True
Ep. 140 On the Subject of Immortality
Ep. 141 Saying I'm Sorry
Ep. 142 End of an Era: Orange Gen

So… two weeks ago I adopted a gcc. He’s 3 months old, his name is Romi. I’ve spent months and months considering getting a bird. I work somewhere between 5-8 hrs a day and sometimes go to the gym but other than that I’m home and I do have other animals but we have 1/2 of the house blocked off so it would be a safe space for just me and the bird. I thought it would be great because it would force me to get out of bed in the morning, stay on a schedule, give me a lifelong friend since I get lonely lol, and I was fully prepared for the bad parts too. I guess I didn’t consider the full impact that he would have on my life. He’s a literal angel and only bites in a curious way, he’s pretty damn quiet, and overall very easy to love and train. I already love him, and I hope he feels the same way about me. My problem comes in when I think about my future, like my whole life now has to revolve around this bird. I can’t be spontaneous anymore, I have to make plans if I want to stay out at night, I can’t have loud noises after 9pm, I have to one day buy a house that can accommodate him, I have to be with someone who likes birds, I have to have time every single day to spend time with him. I guess that’s the part I didn’t really consider. That my life right now at 18 can change, and if it does, I have to chose the birds needs over mine. It’s kind of a lot. I just feel like all my energy is being given to him now. I spend around 4 hrs a day with him out of the cage playing, training, and cuddling. But is that enough? I feel awful when I have to leave him to go to work even tho he has a big enough cage and lots of food, treats, and toys. I just feel extremely stressed out and I hate myself for feeling that way. My mental health has been declining fast since I’ve gotten him. So my question is, it’s only been 2 weeks, should I look into rehoming? Or should I stick it out? I love him and it would break my heart to see him go and I feel like crap even suggesting it. Has anyone else felt this way? Like maybe it’s just too much? What did you do? Maybe it just takes time to adjust but I worry that if I still feel this way in a few months, it’ll be too late and give him more issues. What would be the best option for us both? (And please don’t hate on me I already feel so bad about myself for this)

I made a custom map for my boats chartplotter (fish finder) that is based on a satellite photo. Essentially this allows me to know where I can go without scraping on the bottom of the boat. This works great, but it's hard to see the color differences when the chartplotter is in the sun. When I see the built in maps, their colors are very bright and easy to read in the sun.
I have the jpg satellite image, but ideally I want to change the color of the water to a gradient based on the different colors of the water. So the more "green" color would be a bright color (such as bright blue) that's visible on the plotter, and as it turns to sand / mud the gradient moves to another color (such as red)
The satellite image looks like this (except it's much larger): https://i.imgur.com/UWNcipz.png
How would I do this in photoshop? I have the latest version installed (updated as of this morning). Also perhaps the title doesn't explain what I want done well... don't know how to describe my goal...

get ChatGPT (or any other AI chat bot IG) to make really cool shaders (and audio reactive shaders) in OpenRGB.
I made 2 pormpts, 1 for normal shaders and 1 that you can send after the first one to make it do audio reactive shaders too.
(You can use the sahders it makes in efffects engine under "shader" effect at the bottom of the shader list) if it makes errors copy paste the error code from OpenRGB in chatgpt and it should edit them.
Pormpt 1: I want you to act as a Shader developer. I will provide some details about the design of an shader, (which i may refer to as an RGB effect, RGB profile or or something similar. It will be your job to come up with creative ways to visualize my ideas. This could involve creating cool effects with unique designs. The shader will be vizualised on Internal computer RGB devices and RGB phepirals, such as RGB ram and RGB keyboards, the shaders should be optimized to work with that. The shader has to work in OpenRGB, i will provide some examples of shader code that works in openRGB as your knownledge on that already is very limited. Here are some code that works in OpenRGB: This is a shader that has beach like colors: // https://www.shadertoy.com/view/XtGSDz #define horizontal true float sigmoid(float x) { return 1.0 / (1.0 + pow(2.71828, -x)); } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 coords = horizontal ? fragCoord.yx : fragCoord.xy; vec2 res = horizontal ? iResolution.yx : iResolution.xy; vec2 uv = coords.xy / res.xy; vec4 water = vec4(0.2, 0.3, 0.8, 1.0); vec4 sand = vec4(0.75, 0.6, 0.4, 1.0) * 1.2 + 1.0/14.0; sand = mix(sand, sand/4.0, 1.0 - sigmoid(uv.x*10.0 - 6.0)); water += sin(uv.x) * cos(uv.y) / 2.0; water += 1.0 / 10.0; water += sin(uv.x) * cos(uv.y); uv.x += sin(uv.y * 7.0) / 20.0 * sin(iTime); uv.x += sin(uv.y * 3.0) / 10.0 * cos(iTime); vec4 wet_sand = mix(sand, vec4(0.8, 0.9, 0.8, 1.0), 1.0 - sigmoid(uv.x*10.0 - 4.0)); fragColor = mix(water, wet_sand, pow(sigmoid(uv.x*10.0 - 3.0), 2.0)); } - This is a shader with a beam effect: #define beam_color vec4(1.,0.,1.,1.) #define dir -1. void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; float y = mod(dir * iTime, 1.5); float str = -pow((uv.y - y) * 110., 2.) + .8; uv.x -= clamp(str * .01, 0., 1.); float beam = pow(1. - pow(abs(uv.y - y), .3), 3.); fragColor = beam * beam_color; } - This shader has an effect with multiple Beams: #define PI 3.1415926535897932384626 float time = iTime; vec2 resolution = iResolution.xy; //f0:start zoom: float f0 = 0.5; //f1:vertical spread: float f1 = 0.05; //f2:horizontal spread: float f2 = 0.05; vec3 color = vec3(0.0, 0.3, 0.5); void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 p = (gl_FragCoord.xy * 2.0 - resolution) / min(resolution.x, resolution.y) * f0; float f = 0.0; for(float i = 0.0; i < 100.0; i++) { float s = sin(time + i * PI / 4.0 ) * 0.8 +f1; float c = cos(time + i * PI / 5.0 ) * 0.8 +f2; f += 0.001 / (abs(p.x + c) * abs(p.y + s)); } fragColor = vec4(vec3(f * f * color), 1.0); } - This shader is named bubblegum and has like a flowing space in the middle that changes colors: // forked from https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4tl3Rn float roundLookingBlob(vec2 fragCoord, vec2 tPos, float r) { vec2 pos = fragCoord.xy/iResolution.yy - vec2(0.5); pos.x -= ((iResolution.x-iResolution.y)/iResolution.y)/2.0; return pow(max(1.0-length(pos-tPos), 0.0) , r); } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { float v = 0.0 + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord * 0.2,vec2(sin(iTime)* 2.0, cos(iTime)*0.004), 10.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(sin(iTime*0.6)*0.2, cos(iTime)*0.3), 7.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(cos(iTime*0.8)*0.3, sin(iTime*1.1)*0.04), 5.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(cos(iTime*0.2)*0.2, sin(iTime*0.9)*0.05), 8.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(cos(iTime*1.2)*0.2, 2.0 *sin(iTime*0.9)*0.05), 8.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(cos(iTime*0.3)*0.4, sin(iTime*1.1)*0.4), 5.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(sin(iTime*0.6)*0.9, cos(iTime)*0.3), 7.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(sin(iTime*0.6)*0.3, cos(iTime)*0.8), 7.0) + roundLookingBlob(fragCoord,vec2(cos(iTime*0.3)*0.9, sin(iTime*0.1)*0.4), 3.0) ; v = clamp((v-0.5)*1000.0, 0.0, 1.0); float r = -1.0 * 1.0 *sin(iTime) - 2.0* cos(1.0 * iTime) * fragCoord.x / iResolution.x * fragCoord.y / iResolution.y; float g = 0.0 - 0.5 * cos(2.0 * iTime) * fragCoord.y / iResolution.y; float b = 4.0 + sin(iTime) - g + 0.8; fragColor = vec4(r * v, v * g, v * b, 0.0); } - This shader is named bubbles and gives some goood funny rainbow bubbles: float GetCircle(vec2 uv, vec2 position, float radius) { float dist = distance(position, uv); dist = smoothstep(dist - 1.2, dist, radius); return dist * dist * dist; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = vec2(fragCoord.xy - 0.5 * iResolution.xy) / iResolution.y; float pixel = 0.; vec3 positions[8]; float Time = iTime / 2.; positions[0] = vec3(tan(Time * 1.4) * 1.3, cos(iTime * 2.3) * 0.4, 1.22); positions[1] = vec3(tan(Time * 3.0) * 1.0, cos(iTime * 1.3) * 0.6, 0.12); positions[2] = vec3(tan(Time * 2.1) * 1.5, cos(iTime * 1.9) * 0.8, 0.4); positions[3] = vec3(tan(Time * 1.1) * 1.1, cos(iTime * 2.6) * 0.7, 0.15); positions[4] = vec3(tan(Time * 1.8) * 1.1, cos(iTime * 2.1) * 0.5, 0.25); positions[5] = vec3(tan(Time * 1.1) * 1.2, cos(iTime * 1.3) * 0.2, 0.15); positions[6] = vec3(tan(Time * 1.7) * 1.4, cos(iTime * 2.4) * 0.3, 0.11); positions[7] = vec3(tan(Time * 2.8) * 1.5, cos(iTime * 1.1) * 0.4, 0.21); for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) pixel += GetCircle(uv, positions[i].xy, positions[i].z); pixel = smoothstep(.8, 1., pixel) * smoothstep(1.5, .9, pixel); vec3 col = 0.5 + 0.5*cos(iTime+uv.xyx+vec3(0,2,4)); fragColor = vec4(vec3(pixel) * col, 1.0); } - This shader is named cartoon-waves and is like a wave effect with red and blue colors: // https://www.shadertoy.com/view/ldjBRw float fast_tanh(float x){ float x2 = x * x; float a = x * (135135. + x2 * (17325. + x2 * (378. + x2))); float b = 135135. + x2 * (62370. + x2 * (3150. + x2 * 28.)); return a / b; } void mainImage(out vec4 O, in vec2 U) { O.xyz = iResolution; float y, i=-15., k=O.y, c; U /= k; while (i++ < 15.) c = exp(-.1*i*i), y = (.08 + .02 * sin(iTime*2.+i*2.)) * exp(-.01*i*i) * sin(iTime*2. + U.x / (.2-.1*c) + i*4. ) - i/2. + 1.5 - U.y, O += max(0., 1.-exp(-y*k*c) ) * ( fast_tanh(40.*y) * (0.5 + .4 * sin(iTime+i+vec4(0,1,1,0))) - O ); } - This shader is light blue and has a pink bubble that glows up in a breathing effect: #define speed 1.5 #define stop 1.0 #define color1 vec3(1.0,0.0,1.0) #define color2 vec3(0.0, 1.0, 1.0) void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = 2.0 * (fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy) - 1.0; fragColor = mix(vec4(color1, 1.0), vec4(color2, 1.0), (uv.x * uv.x + uv.y * uv.y) * stop + sin(iTime * speed)); } - This shader is just a pink one where it gets blue in the sides some times and it happens fast: #define background vec4(0,0,1,1) #define animation_speed 10. #define spread 1.0 #define rotate false vec2 rotateUV(vec2 uv, float rotation, float mid) { return vec2( cos(rotation) * (uv.x - mid) + sin(rotation) * (uv.y - mid) + mid, cos(rotation) * (uv.y - mid) - sin(rotation) * (uv.x - mid) + mid ); } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = (fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy - 0.5) * 2.* sin(animation_speed * iTime); if(rotate) { uv = rotateUV(uv, iTime, 0.); } fragColor = background+vec4(pow(spread - uv.x, 3.), 0.,0.,1.); } - This shader just shifts between colors and black: // https://www.shadertoy.com/view/Mdf3W8 float bump(float x) { return abs(x) > 1.0 ? 1.0*x : x ; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = (fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy); float timeScroll = iTime* 1.0; float sinusCurve = sin((uv.x*2.0+timeScroll)/0.5)*0.3; uv.y = (uv.y * 2.0 - 1.00) + sinusCurve; float line = abs(0.1 /uv.y); vec3 color = vec3(0.0); color.x = bump( sin(iTime)*(uv.x - 1.0)); color.y = bump( sin(iTime)*(uv.x - 0.0)); color.z = bump( sin(iTime)*(uv.x - 0.0)); fragColor = vec4(color, 0.0); } - This one is some pink, blue and orange like waves ( i wanna note that i dont think mouse interractions work in OpenRGB) : //--------------------------------------------------------- // Shader: ColoredWaves.glsl // original: http://glslsandbox.com/e#5398.8 // added some mouse interaction //--------------------------------------------------------- float f1 = 30.0;// scale float f2 = 15.0; // size float f3 = 1.5; // gaps float f4 = 0.5; // position float f5 = 0.25; //shape modifier y float f6 = 0.25; //shape modifier x float f7 = 2.0; // amount // color channels multipliers float r = 1.0; float g = 1.0; float b = 1.0; void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { float scale = iResolution.y / f1; float ring = f2 + floor(- 5.5* 2.0); float radius = iResolution.x; float gap = scale * f3; vec2 pos = fragCoord.xy - iResolution.xy * f4; float d = length(pos); // Create the wiggle d += (sin(pos.y * f5 / scale + iTime) * sin(pos.x * f6 / scale + iTime * 0.5)) * scale * f7; // Compute the distance to the closest ring float v = mod(d + radius / (ring * 2.0), radius / ring); v = abs(v - radius / (ring * 2.0) ); v = clamp(v - gap, 0.0, 1.0); d /= radius; vec3 m = fract((d - 1.0) * vec3(r * ring * -0.5,g * -ring,b * ring * 0.25) * 0.5); fragColor = vec4(m*v, 1.0); } - This one is a bunch of neon lines in a boxed shape and the point of view are inside the box: //forked from https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4tlGRX #define freq 16.0 #define fov 0.5 #define background vec3(0.,0.,0.) mat2 mm2(in float a){float c = cos(a), s = sin(a);return mat2(c,-s,s,c);} vec3 tex(in vec2 p) { return vec3(1.)*smoothstep(0.1, 1.05, max(sin((p.x)*freq),sin((p.x)*freq))); } vec3 cubeproj(in vec3 p) { vec3 x = tex(p.zy/p.x); vec3 y = tex(p.xz/p.y); vec3 z = tex(p.xy/p.z); x *= vec3(1,0,0)*abs(p.x) + p.x*vec3(0,1,0); y *= vec3(0,1,0)*abs(p.y) + p.y*vec3(0,0,1); z *= vec3(0,0,1)*abs(p.z) + p.z*vec3(1,0,0); p = abs(p); if (p.x > p.y && p.x > p.z) return x; else if (p.y > p.x && p.y > p.z) return y; else return z; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 p = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; vec2 p2 = fragCoord.xy/iResolution.xy-0.5; p2.x*=iResolution.x/iResolution.y; p2*= fov; vec3 ro = vec3(0.); vec3 rd = normalize(vec3(p2,-0.5)); mat2 mx = mm2(iTime / 2.0); mat2 my = mm2(iTime / 2.0); ro.xz *= mx;rd.xz *= mx; ro.xy *= my;rd.xy *= my; vec3 col = cubeproj(rd)*1.1; col.x *= sin(iTime + p.x+ p.y); col.y *= sin(1.23*iTime + p.x + p.y); col.z *= sin(1.57*iTime + p.x+ p.y); fragColor = vec4(background + abs(col), 1.0 ); } - This one is an X-factor like effect with some crosses from all sides moving into the middle and all elements changes colors: #define PI 3.14159 #define TWO_PI (PI*2.0) #define FREQ 2.0 #define time -iTime // shape #define x00 1.0 #define x01 1.0 #define x10 1.0 #define x11 1.0 void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = (fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy -0.5) * FREQ; float a = atan(uv.y,uv.x); mat2 hyper = mat2(-cos(x00*a), sin(x01*a), sin(x10*a), cos(x11*a)); uv = abs(mod(uv*hyper+time,vec2(2.0))-1.0); vec3 color = vec3(0.5+0.5* cos(uv.y+time*0.5), 2.*uv.x, 0.5+0.5*sin(uv.y+time*0.3)); fragColor = abs(vec4(color,1.0)); } - This one is pink moving sine with a blue background: #define FREQ_MOD 4.0 #define TIME_MOD 2.0 #define AMP_SCALE 0.5 #define THICKNESS 0.2 #define wave vec3(1.0,0.0,1.0) #define background vec3(0.0,0.0,1.0) const float PI = 3.14159265359; const float DBL_PI = PI * 2.0; void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; uv.y = -((1.0 - uv.y) - 0.5); float ampMod = ((sin(FREQ_MOD*iTime) + 0.25) + 1.0) / 2.0; vec2 ptOnWave = vec2(uv.x, sin((uv.x * DBL_PI) + FREQ_MOD * iTime * TIME_MOD) * (AMP_SCALE * ampMod)); float distToPt = length(uv - ptOnWave); float c1 = floor(((1.0 + (THICKNESS)) - distToPt)); float c2 = 1.0 - c1; fragColor = vec4( c1*wave + c2 * background, 1.0); } - This is the simplest one that is designed for customization and it is just some colors that shift fast: /* Make your own shader program. Make sure to read the documentation. https://gitlab.com/OpenRGBDevelopers/OpenRGBEffectsPlugin/-/blob/masteEffects/Shaders/README.md */ void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { float r = abs(sin(2.0 * iTime)); float g = abs(sin(3.0 * iTime)); float b = abs(sin(7.0 * iTime)); fragColor = vec4(r, g, b, 1.0); } - This one is some moving/distorting pink/light blue mosaic: #define color1 vec3(1.0,0.0,1.0) #define color2 vec3(0.0,1.0,1.0) #define divs 2.0 const float pi = 3.14159; void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 div = vec2( divs, divs * iResolution.y / iResolution.x ); vec2 xy = div*(fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy - 0.5); vec2 sxy = sin(pi*vec2((xy.x + xy.y)*(xy.x - xy.y)*0.5 - iTime*1.0, xy.x*xy.y)); vec2 b = fwidth(sxy)*0.7071; vec2 pxy = smoothstep( -b, b, sxy ); pxy = 2.0*pxy - 1.0; float c1 = sqrt( 0.5 * (pxy.x * pxy.y) + 0.5 ); float c2 = 1.0 - c1; fragColor = vec4( c1*color1 + c2 * color2, 1.0); } i will make my first request after this message, i want you to not write anything else than the code. Your only output should be shader code, NOTHING ELSE. DONT start by making a shader, just simply say youre ready to comply with my request, Its important that you make the shaders work, if the shader dosent work i will give you the error codes that come in OpenRGB and its then your job to make the shader work. Shaders reacting to keyboard or mouse input is impossible to make in OpenRGB and you should inform me about that if i make a request to get my shader react to mouse or keyboard input. Shaders reacting is possible in OpenRGB and can be really cool, you dont have enough knowledge about thoose shaders so if i ask you to make a audio reactive shader (which i may refer to as a music reactive shader) you have to ask me for example code that works in OpenRGB. You cant make a music reactive shader without more information about how to do it from me. Dont give any examples of good ideas to make, just say youre ready after i send this, then i will in my next message give you instructions on what to do, what you can tell me is how you would like the instuctions so you have the best chance to make the shaders.
Prompt 2: Heres some more information so you can make good shaders that react to audio, heres examples of good code that reacts to audio, this code works well in OpenRGB and therefor you should base your audio reactive shaders of some of this code and the components it uses, Heres the code: /Shader that reacts to audio across the full screen and makes star lighting up effect #define c1 vec3(0,0,1) #define c2 vec3(1,0,1) void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; vec2 center = vec2(0.5); float value = iAudio[int(abs(uv.x-center.x)*256.)] * iAudio[int(abs(uv.y-center.y)*256.)]; fragColor = value * vec4(mix(c1, c2, 2.*distance(uv,center)), 1.); } /shader with pulsating ranbow rings that light up with audio #define c vec2(0.5,0.5) #define gain 100. #define PI 3.14159 vec4 HSVToRGB(float h, float s, float v) { float min; float chroma; float hPrime; float x; vec4 rgbColor; chroma = s * v; hPrime = h / 60.0; x = chroma * (1.0 - abs((mod(hPrime, 2.0) - 1.0))); if(hPrime < 1.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.g = x; } else if(hPrime < 2.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.g = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 3.0) { rgbColor.g = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } else if(hPrime < 4.0) { rgbColor.g = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 5.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime <= 6.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } min = v - chroma; rgbColor.r += min; rgbColor.g += min; rgbColor.b += min; rgbColor.a = 1.0; return rgbColor; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { float dist = length(fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy-vec2(0.5,0.5)); float h = mod((iTime + dist)*360., 360.); float s = 1.; float v = iAudio[int(dist*256.)]; fragColor = HSVToRGB(h,s,v); } /shader with kind of ratated squares that lights up in a cool way as the music plays #define c1 vec3(0,0,1) #define c2 vec3(1,0,1) void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; vec2 center = vec2(0.5); float v = iAudio[int(abs(center.x - uv.x) * 256.) + int(abs(center.y - uv.y) * 256.)]; fragColor = v*vec4(mix(c1, c2, 2.*distance(uv,center)), 1.); } /shader that has a color shifting circle in the middle and audio reactive color shiting bars shining out from the circle and then has a smoke like pink effect in the edges #define pi 3.14 #define center_size 0.1 #define inner_circle 0.08 #define color_spread 360. #define max_size 0.5 #define off_color vec3(1,0,1) #define background_color vec3(0,1,0) vec4 HSVToRGB(float h, float s, float v) { float min; float chroma; float hPrime; float x; vec4 rgbColor; chroma = s * v; hPrime = h / 60.0; x = chroma * (1.0 - abs((mod(hPrime, 2.0) - 1.0))); if(hPrime < 1.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.g = x; } else if(hPrime < 2.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.g = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 3.0) { rgbColor.g = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } else if(hPrime < 4.0) { rgbColor.g = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 5.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime <= 6.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } min = v - chroma; rgbColor.r += min; rgbColor.g += min; rgbColor.b += min; rgbColor.a = 1.0; return rgbColor; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; vec2 center = vec2(0.5); float a = (pi + atan(uv.x-center.x, uv.y-center.y))/(2.*pi); float dist = distance(center, uv); float amp = pow(1./dist, 2.); if(dist>center_size) { vec4 c = HSVToRGB(mod(color_spread*dist + 4.*iTime,360.), 1., 1.); fragColor = amp*iAudio[int(a*256.)] * c; } else if(dist max_size) { fragColor += vec4(2.*(dist-max_size)*off_color,1.); } } /shader that resembles a color shifting audio vizualiser its looks very good on RGB devices #define pi 3.14 #define center_size 0.1 #define inner_circle 0.08 #define color_spread 360. #define max_size 0.5 #define off_color vec3(1,0,1) #define background_color vec3(0,1,0) vec4 HSVToRGB(float h, float s, float v) { float min; float chroma; float hPrime; float x; vec4 rgbColor; chroma = s * v; hPrime = h / 60.0; x = chroma * (1.0 - abs((mod(hPrime, 2.0) - 1.0))); if(hPrime < 1.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.g = x; } else if(hPrime < 2.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.g = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 3.0) { rgbColor.g = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } else if(hPrime < 4.0) { rgbColor.g = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime < 5.0) { rgbColor.r = x; rgbColor.b = chroma; } else if(hPrime <= 6.0) { rgbColor.r = chroma; rgbColor.b = x; } min = v - chroma; rgbColor.r += min; rgbColor.g += min; rgbColor.b += min; rgbColor.a = 1.0; return rgbColor; } void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; vec2 center = vec2(0.5); float a = (pi + atan(uv.x-center.x, uv.y-center.y))/(2.*pi); float dist = distance(center, uv); float amp = pow(1./dist, 2.); if(dist>center_size) { vec4 c = HSVToRGB(mod(color_spread*dist + 4.*iTime,360.), 1., 1.); fragColor = amp*iAudio[int(a*256.)] * c; } else if(dist max_size) { fragColor += vec4(2.*(dist-max_size)*off_color,1.); } } /simple shader with bars that light up across the whole thing #define c1 vec3(0,0,1) #define c2 vec3(1,0,1) void mainImage( out vec4 fragColor, in vec2 fragCoord ) { vec2 uv = fragCoord.xy / iResolution.xy; float x = floor(uv.x * 16.); float y = floor(uv.y * 16.); fragColor = iAudio[int(y*16. + x)]*vec4(mix(c1, c2, uv.y), 1.); } i will make my first audio reactive request in the next message i send and then its your job to make a good unique creative shader that vizualices my request, tell me how you would like me to explain the shader i want so you can make it good.

Only Europe Please - short note - If you're not into reading or receiving long messages,don't read any further + Please If you don't want to read everything because of my post being too long for you & instead of reading It all - ..skip some parts - find another person to talk to.Let's respect each other and our free time. All people criticizing/making fun of me & other people - will permanently be blocked.Pretty much as people questioning my post and giving me unsolicited advice.I'm not here for any conflicts and I know I can't please everyone - I know I never will.. However It's me who should feel comfortable in my new potential friendship & obviously someone interested in being my friend - not the whole world which is why I don't need any advice from people who don't even want to be a part of my life. The amount of rude people on Reddit always criticizing others and making fun of them is unbelievably high but let me tell you something - NEVER let anyone make choices for you and criticize you only because you're different! Always fight for your dreams and never let anyone make you think you're worthless! It's your life and you're the one deciding what's best for you - If you want to judge me despite not even wanting to talk to me or give me avice better block me
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Hello guys! 🙂 (read everything before you decide to send me a message) Please send me a message ONLY If you're in the same situation and If your expectations are the same as mine.I want to find like minded people from Europe (Why Europe? Read my post to find out) I'm looking for something permanent (remember - you can feel lonely even If you're surrounded by others - If there's no emotional bond) I'm fed up of meeting people who never make any time for me & only text me once or twice a week to ask me "what are you up to?" Out of boredom.I don't want to meet people asking others a million of questions like "what's your favorite movie?" Just to give you one word answer and ask you another question "and music? Your favorite song?" I'm looking for something "deeper" & different🙂What kind of friend would I like to find? Someone to talk to on a daily basis - Someone who needs It & wants It just as much as me
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What are my expectations? I would like to meet someone in a similar situation – why? Because I honestly feel like only a person with the same expectations and a similar outlook on life would get along with me & because I feel more comfortable talking to people like me..Friendless people who need a strong bond - people without friends and without partners..Don't get me wrong…Most people deserve to be happy and It's good to have friends but people who have friends or families in real life are usually more focused on them ( which is completely understandable) & have less time for others + I simply don't want to be replaced by anyone..I kind of envy people who can call others , true friends given I don't have an emotional bond with any of my acquaintances. Whenever I hear that others have friends I simply get sad because (believe it or not) If I had to choose between 20 people to talk to (Acquaintances) and one special person - I'd choose that one special person without any hesitation .
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I also want to talk to others on a daily basis mainly because..I want to see someone’s effort & be someone's first choice - not another person to have random conversations with..Why I'd rather talk to people from my continent? Well..Mainly because I would like to see someone I'd get along with - In the far future - face to face :) + I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to receive a message - Especially given most people are always available on social media sites & keep their phones in a pocket.Once you receive & open my message - get back to me (If you're as serious as I am & really need a true friend) waiting 6 hours to receive a message is more than enough
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I'm by no means criticising people who don't want to talk to others often / People who really are super busy & People who want to find someone to have non important conversations with - I'm aware that not everyone has the same expectations which is why everything you're reading now - is here for a reason.All I'm suggesting is - I don't want anything temporary and I don't want to be the one always giving more than receiving.Listen people - I used to ignore being..ignored by others..always being just an option to talk to during tough times or moments of boredom.I was too young to realize that I was never important enough for most people that were a part of my life I don't know who needs to hear this but..No one is too busy to make time for you! People make excuses to avoid others because they prioritize everything and (maybe) everyone..over them. It's true that most people really are busy - but It takes only a few seconds to start a conversation (If you're into short messages) and a few minutes (1-10/15) to type a long message Don't let anyone lie to you.
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Truth is that most people either don't like you enough to make time for you or just simply - feel no need to talk to others often but are they too busy? No..You don't need to send me a message just to ask me and tell me "Do you really want to talk daily? I like long messages but I can't promise to contact you often" If you really are unsure please don't send me a message.I don't need more acquaintances aka people to talk to - occasionallyI'm not trying to sound rude - I just don't want to meet new people and get emotionally attached - only to end up being left alone after weeks or months of daily conversations.I'm sick of that never ending story and always meeting people who ghost me without a single word (even if everything seems to be ok) or people who "change priorities" over time & become like strangers…I don't want to go through this ever again.Let me tell you one thing – A true friend would never just give up on you for no reason :)It’s always possible to find someone to have a random conversation with – someone willing to send you one message once or twice a week..but..It’s almost impossible to find people willing to make time for you.
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I’m not asking a busy person to make time for me by changing some plans! Absolutely not! I’m here to find someone who wants to talk daily (throughout the day or maybe even night) of one’s own will.Someone looking for the same kind of connection.Strong friendships are based on mutual support. One of the best things you can do for a friend in need, is just to be there for them when they want to talk.I often see posts from people who always say how friendless they are because they don't feel loved or appreciated by their "friends" remember! A true friend - someone who truly likes you or someone who wants to get to know you - will always find time for you. 🙂
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I'm not really interested in small talk/short messages - I love long and meaningful conversations. It's so easy to find someone who loves abbreviations and questions like "How are you?" How was your day? Or what are you interested in? But so hard/almost impossible to find a person who knows how to keep a conversation going & show others some effort.Building and maintaining friendships takes time and effort.Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relations with other people.Close friendships are so important to us because they are so difficult to form + Having friends can help you feel as if you belong to something that brings purpose and connection to your life
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• I do NOT respond to any „Hey,hmu” or „u want to talk” type of messages (super short messages or messages full of abbreviations – I literally can’t stand abbreviations and acronyms in text messages) ALL messages full of abbreviations will immediately be ignored.I also don't like it when people ignore everything I say in private messages just to focus on some question or? Start talking only about themselves.. I love conversations with people refering to every part of my messages - not just some question.
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• No dirty messages PLEASE.I'm not looking for anyone to flirt with and I'm not looking for a partner either. No NSWF profiles..I always check people's profiles (Even comment history) - To avoid guys,trying to get inappropriate photos from adult women or? flirt with them & If your comment history is full of rude comments - you and I wouldn't get along! I can't stand people who judge other people and use vulgar words to describe them or? Make fun of them.Respect is very important
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• If both (you and I) are from the same country (I live in a non-English speaking country ) - I want to communicate with you in our first language! No - Not because I don't understand English because as you see - I do. Why then? English is simply overrated and people don't appreciate other languages as much as they should. So.. If we're from the same country and you want to talk only in English (which is quite common on reddit) - Talk to someone else. I just simply don't want to talk to a person from the same country - in a foreign language as It's just something I don't understand even If all you want is to practice your english
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• Please only adult people 18-36 age range (I'm 27)
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• I don’t respond to messages I don’t find interesting even If they're long - If after receiving and reading your message I don't feel comfortable or think "I wouldn't get along with him/her" I simply do not respond (what I’m suggesting is that I don’t always respond to someone’s first or second message because..sometimes you just know If you’d get along with someone or not- I’d never ignore anyone after days or weeks of daily conversations though) just because I don’t want to do anything forcefully & because I don’t want to lead anyone on. I read all messages but I definitely don't respond to all of them! I want to make it clear because I don't want to be accused of not responding and not reading people's messages! - Some people don't message me back as well and even though It is a bit disappointing I'm ok with that! - as long as there's no emotional bond - I think it's ok to not respond to someone's first or second message If people think they wouldn't get along! I can't stand being ignored after days or weeks of daily conversation and seeing people changing priorities but that's something different - something I don't want to go through ever again for real If I'm really interested in someone's message - I respond within a matter of minutes - max 6 hours (If I'm in bed - just sleeping) you won't even hear from me "I'm too busy" because I know myself and If I really was too busy to make time for others - I wouldn't be here. I either want to talk to someone..or not.I don't want to pretend someone I'm not and always try to find some cheap excuses to avoid others. (unlike some people)
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• Don’t ask me “Can you tell me something about yourself?” If you really want to get to know me - you can ask me questions :) I'm an open book.
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• It would be better If you guys were into emojis - just like me - just to describe your emotions through text. Two emojis - 🙂 and 🙁 are completely enough I just don't like emotionless messages.I also don't like it when people say "yeah" or yea"as it sounds dismissively.
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• I want to talk on reddit first (just to make sure If I'd get along with you ) before moving to Discord or some other app
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• Time response matters to me a lot! It matters to me whether I get a message back after one hour,three hours,6 hours or..12 hours and even..after a couple of days..And If you're another person just looking for one day conversation and then? "Disappear" for some amount of time longer than one day to come back and apologize me for being busy - don't even leave me a message.I just want to be honest with you from the start.I'm interested only in daily conversations
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Why can’t you see any of my interests listed down below? Because what really matters to me is..who you are (If you’re honest,talkative,understanding,caring and trustworthy – for example) just simply – It matters to me what you’re like! not what you like.Don’t get me wrong – you can tell me what your hobbies are but in my personal opinion,common interests are important mainly when you want to find a gaming buddy (for example) or If you want to meet someone to hang out with in real life and..go bowling for example.What most people seem to care about are other people's interests – I don’t. I get along with other people despite having completely different hobbies but I absolutely don’t get along with people way different than me (different expectations and outlook on life– way different sense of humor or personality traits – It’s just an example) It doesn't make ANY DIFFERENCE to me If you're a gamer or? Someone interested in photography! It doesn't make any difference - > as long as you're talkative and kind and If you also want to find someone willing to stay in your life..for good - But If you're into small talk and all you want is to...type and receive super short messages or If you're here only because you're bored and don't know what to do + If you're a very sarcastic person - I'm definitely not for you!I don't get along with overly sarcastic people turning everything into a joke. Friendships should be natural – not forced.
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Both people wanting to be friends should feel comfortable and have something in common. No - not necessarily a similar taste in music or movies but something else..Most friendships don't fizzle out because of people not having the same hobbies but..because they just simply have different expectations when It comes to something important.I'm not here out of boredom and trust me - I'm not here to meet as many people as possible.I choose quality over quantity.I higly value myself and my time & Sometimes one person but a person who makes you feel comfortable and understood - is more than enough :) We ALL can choose what kind of people we’d like to talk to and maybe even become really good friends with and I? I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.We all have some expectations after all.I know that people don't have to talk everyday to be friends but I'm interested only in daily conversations with someone also interested in talking dailyIf you really need someone to talk to due to loneliness and If you have time to talk to me daily (throughout the day and maybe even night)I always make time for others.I'm literally always available.I could even stay up all night long only to talk to someone. I’m ready to commit but only If there’s some chemistry between me and someone else.I don’t do anything forcefully.
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If you want to talk to me tell me your story - tell me why you're here, what kind of friend would you like to meet :) Et cetera.Such messages are way more interesting to me than...someone's long list of hobbies. I know! It's unusual on reddit but I don't make friends based on hobbies..I want to meet someone with the same mindset as mine to finally feel understood and get close to someone new.You can share your problems with me - I absolutely don't mind "complaining" as I've been through a lot in my life.What do people usually tell you when you tell them that's something's wrong? "Don't complain" or "Life's not over yet - one day you'll be happy" or "There are worse situations than yours" and..obviously "Find a therapist" Life's not a fairytale and sometimes things don't go as planned.Emotions shouldn't be bottled up.I'm sick of people always telling others "everything's gonna be ok" move on " & more..Trust me people - not everyone wants to hear "Just believe in yourself and everything's gonna be ok" Some people take it as reassurance. But others see it as false hope. Imagine being told that things will be okay, only for them to get worse..Do you guys know why telling someone "everything's gonna be ok" Is wrong? Because you can't see the future.
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You can't guarantee others that one day they'll finally be happy + when It comes to social interactions - We're only responsible for ourselves - not for others & as you guys know people let us down quite often (sometimes even when there's no reason) so instead of telling people how they should move on,forget everything and be happy or asking them to find a therapist - be there for them! Always be willing to listen to them If you really like them or want to get to know them & don't suggest everyone in a tough situation to find a therapist because a therapist won't ever replace a true friend + It's quite normal to be disappointed If people always do something to hurt you.Sharing your hardships with other people in a very similar situation or exactly the same one - is VERY helpful If the other person understands you & wants to start all over by just letting it all out & feeling emotional support instead of always hearing some "positive quotes" or someone saying "Stop complaining let's talk about something else"Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on. I appreciate sensitive people who always try to understand others.Empathy is everything
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Our world needs more peace 🤗 I've seen a lot of rude comments on reddit.If you don't agree with me - OK but please don't criticize me + Not everyone is here to ask for advice.Listen people - I know how different my post is & I know It won't be easy for me to find what or rather who - I'm looking for BUT I always want to be myself instead of pretending someone I'm not and lying to others.I know It would be easier if (like others) I had less expectations but I I know what I want and honestly? If my post was different..I wouldn't be me.Even If I won't meet a person I'd get along with - that's ok! but don't give me any unsolicited advice because I wouldn't change for someone who doesn't even know me pretty much as I wouldn't want to change anyone else.I'm not trying to "fit in" and be like everyone else - just to get more attention.Accept me for who I am or let go - is my motto.I'm not here to argue with anyone and to make fun of others.
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Please - If you're a completely different person than the described type of person I'm looking for (If you love abrreviations,If you don't need an emotional connection,If you're sarcastic and quiet) or If you simply disagree with my post - don't force yourself to send me a message.I want my new potential friendship,to be natural which is why I want you to contact me If your needs are the same - I don't want you to try to change yourself only to please me - Pretending to be someone you're not - is the worst.I know It's possible to find what I'm looking for as I had conversations with people looking for exactly the same thing and being nice to me - I want to believe in my luck again as I had it a few times on reddit - I've recently lost someone I thought could be a friend of mine (such a perfect match) and I'm sad but I want to finally be happy again & find someone always wanting to talk - sending me random pictures throughout the day - food pictures or pictures of some animals and what is the most important to me? To find people who value online friendships as much as they would value real life ones as there's another human being on the other side
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No comments please.Only Private messages and chat requests.I don't really like public conversations and I also do not respond to comments so If you want to send me a message just do it without saying "You can DM me" + I'm online almost all the time and yes - I am very selective but If I had to choose between having another (new) acquaintance and being in the same situation as I currently am - I'd always choose second option.I don't need more people to talk to every now and then and any chit chat so please think twice before you decide to send me a message

A little over a week ago my dad died. It's obviously not easy. I am sad about it, I wish it didn't happen. The other day I had the most painful cry of my life, I get depressed out of nowhere, and i really miss our talk, i feel alone. But that's it.
Ever since he passed I've started noticing the way other people grieve, I know everyone grieves in there own way, but I feel I'm not hunting enough from this. I've had soo any people, people I haven't talked to in years reach out and ask how i am doing, i feel this pressure to be more depressed, I feel I need to be heart broken, depressed, and miserable, but I'm not. In truth I've had a pretty good week, I've spent the whole week hanging out with family and friends, and I'm not super overworked.
I think alot of it isn't that I'm not sad, it's a mixture of denial, and anger. I hate to say it, because I don't want to speak I'll of the dead, but my dad and I had our ups and downs. 1 i hadn't seen him face to face in like 6 years, 2 he was abusive, as a kid he was mentaly and physically abusive, and after my parents devorce, he basically went crazy, he was incredibly abusive. I went through our texts recently and I have so many messages from him calling me a demon, calling me dumb, gay, and alot more. I don't want to deminsih the good, because man was there alot of good. For a large part of my life, he was a great father and my hero, I don't know anyone i can talk to who really is able ti compreheand everything i want to talk about, idk anyone who knows as much as him, I mean anything you wanted to know he knew, and any skill he had. He was a artist, carpenter, programmar, marksmen, Archer, and alot more. When I was a kid we used to make all sorts of stuff, wooden swords, a full real chainmail vest, a bow and arrows, and so many more. It really sucks because I'm so torn.
One part of me hates him for, saying the meanest things, hitting me, hitting my mom, being homophobic, being transphobic, being racist and all the other horrible stuff he did.
And the other part of me misses him so much, I miss the 4 hour long conversations about random shit like anime, philosophy, games or whatever else we come up with.
I'm really thankful the last month we talked we got along so well, he really made progress and right when I thought I got through all his depression, pain and alcoholism, he's taken away from me.
I feel so wierd, like I need to cry, scream, and laugh at the same time. Socially tho I feel I'm handling this to well, I don't even know if I'll cry at his funeral, everhthing feels so fake. its so hard to believe when there's no difference in your day yo day life, and then there's all these people I've never met telling me about how great he was and I dont even know how to feel. I think I need to just try and remeber the good, but it's hard when I go through our messages and all i have are messages about how I'm possessed by a demon, and am going to burn in hell for all of eternity. It's rough. Like j said tho our last month was so great, we got along so well .

Only Europe Please - short note - If you're not into reading or receiving long messages,don't read any further + Please If you don't want to read everything because of my post being too long for you & instead of reading It all - ..skip some parts - find another person to talk to.Let's respect each other and our free time. All people criticizing/making fun of me & other people - will permanently be blocked.Pretty much as people questioning my post and giving me unsolicited advice.I'm not here for any conflicts and I know I can't please everyone - I know I never will.. However It's me who should feel comfortable in my new potential friendship & obviously someone interested in being my friend - not the whole world which is why I don't need any advice from people who don't even want to be a part of my life. The amount of rude people on Reddit always criticizing others and making fun of them is unbelievably high but let me tell you something - NEVER let anyone make choices for you and criticize you only because you're different! Always fight for your dreams and never let anyone make you think you're worthless! It's your life and you're the one deciding what's best for you - If you want to judge me despite not even wanting to talk to me or give me avice better block me
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Hello guys! 🙂 (read everything before you decide to send me a message) Please send me a message ONLY If you're in the same situation and If your expectations are the same as mine.I want to find like minded people from Europe (Why Europe? Read my post to find out) I'm looking for something permanent (remember - you can feel lonely even If you're surrounded by others - If there's no emotional bond) I'm fed up of meeting people who never make any time for me & only text me once or twice a week to ask me "what are you up to?" Out of boredom.I don't want to meet people asking others a million of questions like "what's your favorite movie?" Just to give you one word answer and ask you another question "and music? Your favorite song?" I'm looking for something "deeper" & different🙂What kind of friend would I like to find? Someone to talk to on a daily basis - Someone who needs It & wants It just as much as me
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What are my expectations? I would like to meet someone in a similar situation – why? Because I honestly feel like only a person with the same expectations and a similar outlook on life would get along with me & because I feel more comfortable talking to people like me..Friendless people who need a strong bond - people without friends and without partners..Don't get me wrong…Most people deserve to be happy and It's good to have friends but people who have friends or families in real life are usually more focused on them ( which is completely understandable) & have less time for others + I simply don't want to be replaced by anyone..I kind of envy people who can call others , true friends given I don't have an emotional bond with any of my acquaintances. Whenever I hear that others have friends I simply get sad because (believe it or not) If I had to choose between 20 people to talk to (Acquaintances) and one special person - I'd choose that one special person without any hesitation .
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I also want to talk to others on a daily basis mainly because..I want to see someone’s effort & be someone's first choice - not another person to have random conversations with..Why I'd rather talk to people from my continent? Well..Mainly because I would like to see someone I'd get along with - In the far future - face to face :) + I don't want to wait any longer than 6 hours to receive a message - Especially given most people are always available on social media sites & keep their phones in a pocket.Once you receive & open my message - get back to me (If you're as serious as I am & really need a true friend) waiting 6 hours to receive a message is more than enough
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I'm by no means criticising people who don't want to talk to others often / People who really are super busy & People who want to find someone to have non important conversations with - I'm aware that not everyone has the same expectations which is why everything you're reading now - is here for a reason.All I'm suggesting is - I don't want anything temporary and I don't want to be the one always giving more than receiving.Listen people - I used to ignore being..ignored by others..always being just an option to talk to during tough times or moments of boredom.I was too young to realize that I was never important enough for most people that were a part of my life I don't know who needs to hear this but..No one is too busy to make time for you! People make excuses to avoid others because they prioritize everything and (maybe) everyone..over them. It's true that most people really are busy - but It takes only a few seconds to start a conversation (If you're into short messages) and a few minutes (1-10/15) to type a long message Don't let anyone lie to you.
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Truth is that most people either don't like you enough to make time for you or just simply - feel no need to talk to others often but are they too busy? No..You don't need to send me a message just to ask me and tell me "Do you really want to talk daily? I like long messages but I can't promise to contact you often" If you really are unsure please don't send me a message.I don't need more acquaintances aka people to talk to - occasionally I'm not trying to sound rude - I just don't want to meet new people and get emotionally attached - only to end up being left alone after weeks or months of daily conversations.I'm sick of that never ending story and always meeting people who ghost me without a single word (even if everything seems to be ok) or people who "change priorities" over time & become like strangers…I don't want to go through this ever again.Let me tell you one thing – A true friend would never just give up on you for no reason :)It’s always possible to find someone to have a random conversation with – someone willing to send you one message once or twice a week..but..It’s almost impossible to find people willing to make time for you.
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I’m not asking a busy person to make time for me by changing some plans! Absolutely not! I’m here to find someone who wants to talk daily (throughout the day or maybe even night) of one’s own will.Someone looking for the same kind of connection.Strong friendships are based on mutual support. One of the best things you can do for a friend in need, is just to be there for them when they want to talk.I often see posts from people who always say how friendless they are because they don't feel loved or appreciated by their "friends" remember! A true friend - someone who truly likes you or someone who wants to get to know you - will always find time for you. 🙂
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I'm not really interested in small talk/short messages - I love long and meaningful conversations. It's so easy to find someone who loves abbreviations and questions like "How are you?" How was your day? Or what are you interested in? But so hard/almost impossible to find a person who knows how to keep a conversation going & show others some effort.Building and maintaining friendships takes time and effort.Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relations with other people.Close friendships are so important to us because they are so difficult to form + Having friends can help you feel as if you belong to something that brings purpose and connection to your life
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• I do NOT respond to any „Hey,hmu” or „u want to talk” type of messages (super short messages or messages full of abbreviations – I literally can’t stand abbreviations and acronyms in text messages) ALL messages full of abbreviations will immediately be ignored.I also don't like it when people ignore everything I say in private messages just to focus on some question or? Start talking only about themselves.. I love conversations with people refering to every part of my messages - not just some question.
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• No dirty messages PLEASE.I'm not looking for anyone to flirt with and I'm not looking for a partner either. No NSWF profiles..I always check people's profiles (Even comment history) - To avoid guys,trying to get inappropriate photos from adult women or? flirt with them & If your comment history is full of rude comments - you and I wouldn't get along! I can't stand people who judge other people and use vulgar words to describe them or? Make fun of them.Respect is very important
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• If both (you and I) are from the same country (I live in a non-English speaking country ) - I want to communicate with you in our first language! No - Not because I don't understand English because as you see - I do. Why then? English is simply overrated and people don't appreciate other languages as much as they should. So.. If we're from the same country and you want to talk only in English (which is quite common on reddit) - Talk to someone else. I just simply don't want to talk to a person from the same country - in a foreign language as It's just something I don't understand even If all you want is to practice your english
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• Please only adult people 18-36 age range (I'm 27)
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• I don’t respond to messages I don’t find interesting even If they're long - If after receiving and reading your message I don't feel comfortable or think "I wouldn't get along with him/her" I simply do not respond (what I’m suggesting is that I don’t always respond to someone’s first or second message because..sometimes you just know If you’d get along with someone or not- I’d never ignore anyone after days or weeks of daily conversations though) just because I don’t want to do anything forcefully & because I don’t want to lead anyone on. I read all messages but I definitely don't respond to all of them! I want to make it clear because I don't want to be accused of not responding and not reading people's messages! - Some people don't message me back as well and even though It is a bit disappointing I'm ok with that! - as long as there's no emotional bond - I think it's ok to not respond to someone's first or second message If people think they wouldn't get along! I can't stand being ignored after days or weeks of daily conversation and seeing people changing priorities but that's something different - something I don't want to go through ever again for real If I'm really interested in someone's message - I respond within a matter of minutes - max 6 hours (If I'm in bed - just sleeping) you won't even hear from me "I'm too busy" because I know myself and If I really was too busy to make time for others - I wouldn't be here. I either want to talk to someone..or not.I don't want to pretend someone I'm not and always try to find some cheap excuses to avoid others. (unlike some people)
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• Don’t ask me “Can you tell me something about yourself?” If you really want to get to know me - you can ask me questions :) I'm an open book.
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• It would be better If you guys were into emojis - just like me - just to describe your emotions through text. Two emojis - 🙂 and 🙁 are completely enough I just don't like emotionless messages.I also don't like it when people say "yeah" or yea"as it sounds dismissively.
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• I want to talk on reddit first (just to make sure If I'd get along with you ) before moving to Discord or some other app
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• Time response matters to me a lot! It matters to me whether I get a message back after one hour,three hours,6 hours or..12 hours and even..after a couple of days..And If you're another person just looking for one day conversation and then? "Disappear" for some amount of time longer than one day to come back and apologize me for being busy - don't even leave me a message.I just want to be honest with you from the start.I'm interested only in daily conversations
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Why can’t you see any of my interests listed down below? Because what really matters to me is..who you are (If you’re honest,talkative,understanding,caring and trustworthy – for example) just simply – It matters to me what you’re like! not what you like.Don’t get me wrong – you can tell me what your hobbies are but in my personal opinion,common interests are important mainly when you want to find a gaming buddy (for example) or If you want to meet someone to hang out with in real life and..go bowling for example.What most people seem to care about are other people's interests – I don’t. I get along with other people despite having completely different hobbies but I absolutely don’t get along with people way different than me (different expectations and outlook on life– way different sense of humor or personality traits – It’s just an example) It doesn't make ANY DIFFERENCE to me If you're a gamer or? Someone interested in photography! It doesn't make any difference - > as long as you're talkative and kind and If you also want to find someone willing to stay in your life..for good - But If you're into small talk and all you want is to...type and receive super short messages or If you're here only because you're bored and don't know what to do + If you're a very sarcastic person - I'm definitely not for you!I don't get along with overly sarcastic people turning everything into a joke. Friendships should be natural – not forced.
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Both people wanting to be friends should feel comfortable and have something in common. No - not necessarily a similar taste in music or movies but something else..Most friendships don't fizzle out because of people not having the same hobbies but..because they just simply have different expectations when It comes to something important.I'm not here out of boredom and trust me - I'm not here to meet as many people as possible.I choose quality over quantity.I highly value myself and my time & Sometimes one person but a person who makes you feel comfortable and understood - is more than enough :) We ALL can choose what kind of people we’d like to talk to and maybe even become really good friends with and I? I don’t want anyone to be disappointed.We all have some expectations after all.I know that people don't have to talk everyday to be friends but I'm interested only in daily conversations with someone also interested in talking Daily If you really need someone to talk to due to loneliness and If you have time to talk to me daily (throughout the day and maybe even night)I always make time for others.I'm literally always available.I could even stay up all night long only to talk to someone. I’m ready to commit but only If there’s some chemistry between me and someone else.I don’t do anything forcefully.
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If you want to talk to me tell me your story - tell me why you're here, what kind of friend would you like to meet :) Et cetera.Such messages are way more interesting to me than...someone's long list of hobbies. I know! It's unusual on reddit but I don't make friends based on hobbies..I want to meet someone with the same mindset as mine to finally feel understood and get close to someone new.You can share your problems with me - I absolutely don't mind "complaining" as I've been through a lot in my life.What do people usually tell you when you tell them that's something's wrong? "Don't complain" or "Life's not over yet - one day you'll be happy" or "There are worse situations than yours" and..obviously "Find a therapist" Life's not a fairytale and sometimes things don't go as planned.Emotions shouldn't be bottled up.I'm sick of people always telling others "everything's gonna be ok" move on " & more..Trust me people - not everyone wants to hear "Just believe in yourself and everything's gonna be ok" Some people take it as reassurance. But others see it as false hope. Imagine being told that things will be okay, only for them to get worse..Do you guys know why telling someone "everything's gonna be ok" Is wrong? Because you can't see the future. ★ ★
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You can't guarantee others that one day they'll finally be happy + when It comes to social interactions - We're only responsible for ourselves - not for others & as you guys know people let us down quite often (sometimes even when there's no reason) so instead of telling people how they should move on,forget everything and be happy or asking them to find a therapist - be there for them! Always be willing to listen to them If you really like them or want to get to know them & don't suggest everyone in a tough situation to find a therapist because a therapist won't ever replace a true friend + It's quite normal to be disappointed If people always do something to hurt you.Sharing your hardships with other people in a very similar situation or exactly the same one - is VERY helpful If the other person understands you & wants to start all over by just letting it all out & feeling emotional support instead of always hearing some "positive quotes" or someone saying "Stop complaining let's talk about something else"Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on. I appreciate sensitive people who always try to understand others.Empathy is everything
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Our world needs more peace 🤗 I've seen a lot of rude comments on reddit.If you don't agree with me - OK but please don't criticize me + Not everyone is here to ask for advice.Listen people - I know how different my post is & I know It won't be easy for me to find what or rather who - I'm looking for BUT I always want to be myself instead of pretending someone I'm not and lying to others.I know It would be easier if (like others) I had less expectations but I I know what I want and honestly? If my post was different..I wouldn't be me.Even If I won't meet a person I'd get along with - that's ok! but don't give me any unsolicited advice because I wouldn't change for someone who doesn't even know me pretty much as I wouldn't want to change anyone else.I'm not trying to "fit in" and be like everyone else - just to get more attention.Accept me for who I am or let go - is my motto.I'm not here to argue with anyone and to make fun of others.
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Please - If you're a completely different person than the described type of person I'm looking for (If you love abbreviations,If you don't need an emotional connection,If you're sarcastic and quiet) or If you simply disagree with my post - don't force yourself to send me a message.I want my new potential friendship,to be natural which is why I want you to contact me If your needs are the same - I don't want you to try to change yourself only to please me - Pretending to be someone you're not - is the worst.I know It's possible to find what I'm looking for as I had conversations with people looking for exactly the same thing and being nice to me - I want to believe in my luck again as I had it a few times on reddit - I've recently lost someone I thought could be a friend of mine (such a perfect match) and I'm sad but I want to finally be happy again & find someone always wanting to talk - sending me random pictures throughout the day - food pictures or pictures of some animals and what is the most important to me? To find people who value online friendships as much as they would value real life ones as there's another human being on the other side
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No comments please.Only Private messages and chat requests.I don't really like public conversations and I also do not respond to comments so If you want to send me a message just do it without saying "You can DM me" + I'm online almost all the time and yes - I am very selective but If I had to choose between having another (new) acquaintance and being in the same situation as I currently am - I'd always choose second option.I don't need more people to talk to every now and then and any chit chat so please think twice before you decide to send me a message

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP
Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me out of some hang ups, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Sailor, Venlil-Human Exchange Participant
Date [Standardized Human Time]: August 29th, 2136, Very Early Morning.
We got a message an hour ago from Videk, ordering us to report to Hangar-08 to start On-Stick training; and to bring our bags! I guess the guy had wanted to get as much out of the day as he could. That or he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
Videk met us at the doors to the hangar, a small travel bag sitting on the floor by his side, tail swaying slowly as he watched us approach. “Good Waking, Taisa. Good Waking… Christopher.” An improvement, I’ll have to ask Taisa about that talk they had.
“This,” He continued, motioning to the shuttle parked in the hangar behind him with his tail. “Is your training shuttle: registration C1-0V3R-HR-EX.Your first On-Stick training assignment will be to follow appropriate lift off and departure procedures, plot and follow a course to The Capitol on Venlil Prime, seek permission to land from the proper authorities, and land safely and legally following those permissions. All of this, while following proper procedure and regulations. All of this will be graded.”
As he speaks the door behind him slides open, revealing a broad hangar bay, heavy clamshell doors dominate the far wall. At the center of the bay sits a stout craft painted white and black, a pair of stubby wings jutting from its sides flowing into a pair of engines flanking a singular tail. Venlil script is painted at the root of the tail and on the top of the rear ramp.
“Upon arrival in the Capitol you will have some paperwork to do at the U.N. offices with regards to your habitation. I will need to pick up some equipment from the training facility at the landing fields. After our respective errands, let’s say half a claw, we will meet up back at the shuttle and from there you will be plotting an in-atmosphere route to Shadetree, Sunward of the Capitol, to drop me off and wait for me to install and calibrate the remote instructing equipment. Once that is completed, you will plot another in-atmosphere course to Heartwood River, concluding this paws evaluations. Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head, and Taisa flicked her ears, in what I believed was a negative. “Very good, load your stuff and we’ll begin immediately.”
After a few minutes of finding places to tie off our belongings and get everything situated, I sat in the pilot’s seat and ran through the pre-flight check with Taisa. We caught a pair of faults in the starboard fuel delivery units. Videk seemed pleased we had caught them, and that he hadn’t had to tell us they were there. I could feel a slight smile tug at the corner of my mouth.
Devious little bastard makes for a damn good instructor.
Once the preflight was complete I closed the rear ramp and hailed the flight control tower. “Tower this is shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX requesting clearance for departure, place us enroute to Venlil Prime with planned landing zone of Capitol Shuttle Field 13-Bravo.” A Human voice came back over the line, a bit of mirth in their voice. “Shuttle, Tower, you are clear for departure, opening bay doors now. Good luck and Godspeed.”
The doors to the station hangar yawned open, filling the viewport with the void and all its stars beyond as I slowly brought the shuttle off the hangar floor, easing it out through the opening. I reached over to the nearest display and opened the Nav-computer interface, plotting our course to VP, and then on to the Capitol landing fields. Once I was confident I had the proper navigation commands and sequences set I called over Videk to have him review my work.
He gave me a quick flick of his tail before saying “Looks good, Christopher. Feel free to spool and jump when you’re ready.”
Videk’s approval given, I reached over and pushed forward on the throttles, engaging the drive and hurtling the shuttle into subspace.
It. Was. Beautiful. Everything seemed to stretch, stars in the distance turning from pinpricks of light into brilliant colorful streaks, lengthening as we bounded through the void. Lines of light far off in my periphery zip past like tracers as the ones before me feel as if they’re pulling me in with their kaleidoscope of color. The hum of the shuttle fell into the background while I became entranced by the light show in front me, picturing myself on the set of one of those old sci-fi shows I would watch with Pa on the weekends. The Future my ancestors had imagined was Here, right before my eyes and at the tips of my fingers! This view was… Hypnotic. The simulator couldn’t hope to do it justice.
Two hours. That was it.
Two hours to travel what, until very recently, would have been considered an insurmountable distance for Humanity. Dropping from Sub-space into the proximity of Venlil Prime was another astoundingly brilliant view. Scorched white deserts flowing into massive swathes of golden sands cut by the occasional streak of blue before blending into a beautiful verdant mix of turquoise and green fields, with vast lakes and rivers dotting the forests, flowing into wide marshy wetlands. Before finally, the curve of the planet fell away from its star, allowing the fading sunlight to showcase glittering city lights dotting the countryside.
The thrusters burn to life, crackling and thrumming with power as they drive us forward through the void to the beautiful marble before us. I flip two switches on the overhead, tapping the leftmost display to call up the local channel list and place a hail to the Capitol’s landing fields to request clearance and pad assignment. A quick ping, signifying my hail had been acknowledged, chimed over the console speaker.
“Capitol Shuttle Field 13-Bravo this is Shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX requesting clearance for landing at an available pad of convenience.” “C1-0V3R-HR-EX, you are cleared for landing, 13-Bravo, direct to pad Charlie-5.”
The Flight through the Void may have had some feeling of familiarity and nostalgia to the old Sci-fi shows at home; but in-atmo had the far better view! Rolling turquoise fields and towering thick trees, with their canopies tilted greedily towards that unmoving sun, falling away to a gargantuan metropolitan area, its architecture entirely alien yet still somehow familiar. Massive skyscrapers soar to touch the sky, reflecting light in brilliant angles and colors, the space below them populated by squat sturdy buildings and deep black roads. The Venlil going about their lives below look like ants as I ease off the throttle, taking the speed down to prepare for the final approach. The display on the viewport flags my landing area with a small pip guiding me in, slow and easy.
The cabin jostles slightly as the ship settles onto its landing gear. Videk seemed impressed; his ears up as he tapped away at his data pad! Taisa’s tail sways happily back and forth as she runs through the diagnostics of the landing, checking system status reports.
“Looks like we’re all clear. Videk do you have a time we should try and be back by?” Taisa beeps, showing the flight instructor the console in front of her.
“I just need to pick up the equipment and get it linked up, that should only take about a half a claw. Walking to and from the landing field and the U.N. Offices should put you at about the right time.” Videk turned away and made for the ramp; Taisa’s talk helped, and he was clearly trying, but he was still a bundle of nerves around me. His fur was so puffed out it looked like he was holding more static than a thunderhead.
As we stepped out of the artificial gravity of the shuttle I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. My first step faltered making me stumble down the ramp and bounce off the… soft pavement? “Oh, forgot about that.” Videk winced sympathetically, “Our gravity is about twenty percent more than earth’s, so be careful. Falls are likely to hurt a little bit more here.”
“Would’ve been nice to know first, Videk.” I groaned, rolling myself over and sitting up, luckily the visor hadn’t fallen off; I would need to add one of those new back braces and some knee compressors to that order of stuff from home. “Do you know where the U.N. Offices are? Or should we just ask around to find our way there?”
“I do not, but you should be able to get directions on your pad. I trust the two of you can figure it out, so I’m going to go get the equipment I need. I will wait for the two of you with the shuttle once I am ready.” With a parting flap of his ears, Videk turned and walked away; flicking the tip of his tail back and forth as he did.
“Alright then,” I grumbled, forcing myself up off the pavement, swaying as I found my new equilibrium. “let’s get going. Can you pull up those directions?” She nodded slightly, flicking her ears forward. “Got them up already! You alright there?”
“I’m fine.” I grunted, rolling out my shoulder a little. “Feels like I weigh a quarter ton, but I’ll get over it with time. Lead the way.”
After a few minutes of walking we were off the landing fields and into the streets of the city. My boots sinking into the pavement a little with each step, just like on the landing field. “Taisa, what is this stuff? I figured it was just to make landings a little softer on shuttles but it’s everywhere! Looks like pavement but it gives like rubber; why are your roads like this?” “Anti-stampede concrete.” She stated, matter of factly, like that meant literally anything to me. My silence must have tipped her off that I wasn’t getting it as she focused one eye on my visor. “Oh… I guess Humans wouldn’t need that. It’s to help reduce stampede fatalities, it’s the same reason the roads and buildings have gentle curves, no sharp angles.” Looking around at the way the groups of Venlil flowed through the streets I realized she was right, what I had thought was a futuristic aesthetic design was just to keep people from killing each other against walls or trampling them into the ground when they got scared. How strange… and slightly worrying.
“Weird, that sounds like some crazy wonder material. Bet we’d have a bunch of uses for it back on earth.” My eyes watched the tips of skyscrapers towering above us, “How far out does it say we are?”
“Only a little further, about one and a half kilometers.” She responded, a slight pant in her voice. I wasn’t in the best shape, cardio wise, but I couldn’t imagine getting winded after 10 minutes of walking; guess all that talk about the Venlil having less stamina than us was right.
The U.N. Office complex was a series of giant flowing buildings built on a large park area. It wasn’t any design I had ever seen so I figured it had to have been an existing complex that just got turned over to the U.N. for their uses.
Passing through the heavy glass front doors we found a wide receptionist's desk, with several Humans sitting behind it, answering questions and directing people where they needed to go. One of the receptionists, a short dark haired woman with a visor obscuring her face, beckons us over. “Hello! How can I help you today?” “H-Hi!” Taisa beeps excitedly, her tail swaying behind her confidently as she takes a deep breath and straightens her back. “We’re part of the ‘integration’ experiments, we were told we need to fill out some forms for habitation. Where do we go to do that?” “Oh! Congratulations! That would be Suite 216-B” The receptionist answered, excitement in her voice as she pointed to a room on the map infront of her.
“Thank you!” Taisa responded, turning to head up the stairs behind the receptionist's desk. Halfway up the stairs she swiveled her ears over to me before saying. “Sorry, I figure if I’m probably going to have to work with Humans other than you for this I should try and at least work on being able to talk to them.” “It’s alright,” I chuckle, patting her shoulder. “That’s a great idea and you’re doing alright!” Walking down the hallways we saw prints of landscapes from Earth, Machu Picchu, the Uyuni Salt Flats, The Grand Canyon, YellowStone, Hạ Long Bay, The Zhangye Mountains and Plitvice Lakes. I pointed out the places I had been to as we walked past them, finally stopping at suite 216-B.
The door was open so we knocked, getting a quick ‘enter’, before stepping in. A man sits behind a desk, the top covered in organized files and folders, a placard on his desk declares his name as ‘Obediah Kamara’ with a small Liberian flag stamped beside it.
His visor obscures his face as he looks between the two of us before beginning. “I presume you are…” He sorts through a couple of the files and folders before stopping on one and opening it, pulling out a document packet. “Christopher Dewey and Taisa. Correct?”
We both respond in the affirmative as he gestures for us to take the seats across from him, sliding the documents across the table as Taisa’s pad pings on her belt. “These are agreements to ensure that you,” He starts, looking at me. “Understand the rules in regards to your habitation here on Venlil Prime. I understand that part of your integration will be taking you off world to and from Earth, these rules primarily apply to your time here. We ask that you remain considerate of the provided rules and guidelines on the ship if you are carrying Venlil passengers. Taisa, those are the terms, conditions, compensations and requirements for your family to house a human when the two of you are present. Virtual signature of that document is required within the next 3 of your ‘paws’.” Taisa stiffened a little bit, likely thinking about her Mother’s response to my arrival; that was something we were probably going to have to have a talk about later. I had an idea for the short term, at least. I ran through the paperwork real quick and it was all pretty simple: don’t be without the visor or some kind of face covering in settings where you couldn’t guarantee that an unprepared Venlil wouldn’t see you, avoid aggression, speak quietly, no eating meat, animal products or byproducts, no hunting local wildlife; bit odd considering I didn’t even have a bow or a gun but rules are rules, I suppose.
“Sounds good to me,” I said, signing the indicated portions of the document. “When are my items supposed to get here?”
“We don’t expect your requested items to arrive for another week or so, for now you’ll have to make do with what you brought with you.” Obediah responded, shuffling the packet of papers back into the folder they had come from. “With that complete you are free to go. I understand you have training to complete, so I wish you good luck with your endeavor. If you have any questions or needs with regards to your habitation you can contact Sam, their details will be forwarded to your communication devices.”
I caught Taisa’s tail twitching as her ears swiveled nervously out of the corner of my eye; even with her attempts to push through it I think the amount of Humans around was starting to get to her. Still, she was doing better than I think a lot of Venlil would be able to manage. I reached over, gently tapping my hand against her paw, trying to ground her a little before motioning to go, she nodded slightly as she flicked her ears.
“Thank you, Obediah, we’ll be sure to get into touch with them once we get their contact. Have a good day!”
Taisa and I stood, exiting the room and making our way out of the building, stopping to look at another picture or two along the way. Something needed to be done about possibly not having a place to stay to put my, and more so Taisa’s, mind at ease. I figured I could sleep in the shuttle, if I had to. It wouldn’t be particularly comfortable but I could certainly do it; I’d need a mat, maybe a sleeping bag or some blankets and a pillow.
I had no clue where I was going to get my hands on those, or at least a set of them big enough for me to actually use.
Then I saw the temporary units in the field near the offices. Men and Women in U.N. fatigues were milling about the area. Barracks? That could solve the problem, if they’re willing to help out a man in need, of course.
“Hey, Taisa, I need to make a stop real quick.” I state, walking briskly towards the largest of the buildings. “What’s up?” She asks, ears focused on me as she tilts her head a little.
“Well, I was thinking, I don’t think your parents, your Mom especially, won’t, uh… won’t want me around. At least not for a little while until she gets to know me better.”
“I think you can get past it, she’s not that bad… It’ll just be tough.”
“Oh I’m sure I can get past it, but I’d rather not just sleep in the grass in the meantime.” “I don’t think she’d make you sleep in the grass…” “I like being prepared, if she doesn’t want me in her house I’m not going to push the issue.”
“I just… I hope it doesn’t come to that, I’m not going to let her toss you outside like an animal.” She sighs quietly as we push through the front door of the barrack building.
A desk manned by a napping U.N. Marine with Private ranks stuck to his shoulders filled the space beyond the doors. He stirs as the doors clank shut behind us before scrambling to throw on his Visor as he notices Taisa.
“Hello, Uh… Can I help you? This area is for active U.N. personnel only.” He starts, his voice finding its authority only about halfway through the statement.
I stand straight, trying to muster the stern demeanor I’d found in my father and his friends so often when they tried to get something on base after their retirements. “Easy, Private. It has come to my attention that my accommodations lack proper bedding.” “O-Oh, uh, I apologize…” He stammers out, searching for something to say, likely looking to find a way out of trouble for sleeping on duty.
“Sir.” I state. “What’s your name, Private?”
“A-Alvarez, Sir.”
“Alvarez. I’ll remember that, Alvarez, how about we make this quick, you get me a wrap of blankets, 3 pillows and a bedroll and I don’t find your commander to report your… lack of enthusiasm.”
The private snaps to attention before firmly stating. “Yes Sir! I’ll be right back, Sir!”
As the private turns and walks away crisply I hear Taisa whistle with laughter a little beside me. “I’m surprised that worked.”
“You’d be surprised what a hard voice, straight back and the right slacking Private can get you if you just don’t go pushin' it too far in your story.” I whispered with a wink.
After a few minutes of waiting Private Alvarez returned with a duffle bag, stuffed full with blankets and pillows, as well as an inflatable bedroll under the other arm. “Here you go, Sir. Will this be ok?” He asked, passing the items over to me.
“Perfect, thank you Private.” I took the bundle of bedding and turned to the door, before turning my head back over my shoulder, “Oh, and Private? Do try and get proper rest before duty.”
A shaking “Y-Yes, Sir.” followed Taisa and I out of the door.
The first half of the walk back to the landing field was quiet, I was scanning the skyline again, I just couldn’t get over the fact that I was on another planet. Taisa however had her ears pinned back, her paws lightly holding her tail tuft as we walked.
“What’s got ya down?” I asked, watching the herd of Venlil glide around us as we came, trying their best not to get too close to me.
“I’m… concerned.” She sighed, the tip of her tail twitching between her paws.
“About?”
“My mother, what she’ll say… What she’ll do.”
“I can’t exactly say I know what her reaction’ll be… But, whatever it is we’ll just have to deal with it. It’ll probably take time, but we’ll get by.” I soothed. She let go of her tail, placing the tip of it on my back, but her ears didn’t let up at all.
The rest of the walk to the shuttle was quiet as she fidgeted with her paws, trying to take her mind off of the subject. Videk was there waiting for us, a few crates secured to the cargo area of the shuttle that weren’t present before.
“You two ready?” He asked, flicking his tail at us.
“I think so.” I responded, stowing the bedding in an empty compartment as Taisa flicked her ears.
We ran through our preflight checklist again, finding another pre-placed failure from Videk waiting for us, this time in the starboard control surfaces. Once the check was done we radioed the tower for clearance to take off and set an in-atmo course for Shadetree to drop off Videk. It was a short hop, about a half hour of flying or so before I had to call ahead for clearance to land again.
Most of the flight from the Capitol to Shadetree had been rolling turquoise and green hills or open fields of produce growing in the everpresent light. A sudden dense forest rose from the fields, thick dark brown trees with fluttering golden leaves stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. A sudden break in the forest revealed a clearing for the Landing field, much smaller than the one at the Capitol. The city was built under the canopy of the trees, giving it a constant filtered light casting down through the shifting leaves. It was certainly a beautiful town, I’d have to come back to visit some day. Maybe once Videk had warmed up to me a little bit more.
As the ramp fell ,a small cargo truck arrived alongside the shuttle to collect Videk and his equipment. I offered to help but the Venlil driver just about ran when I started talking so I figured it was probably best to just keep out of it. Once the cargo truck departed, Taisa came back up to the cockpit, plopping down in her seat, and looked through the viewscreen at the trees beyond. The soft hiss of the ramp closing marked the finality of Videk’s departure.
“So, how are you feeling about Venlil Prime so far?” She asked, one eye on my face as I finally slipped the visor off.
“I like it! Between the beautiful scenery, interesting architecture and hanging out with you and Shamrock, here I’m having a great time!” I responded, rubbing my hand on what amounted to the shuttle's dashboard.
“... Shamrock?” She asked, her tail swaying in what I figured for amusement.
“Yea! Remember how I told you Humans like looking for patterns? Well it works on words and numbers as well. The tail number for the shuttle could be taken to spell ‘Clover-HR-EX’, or just clover for short. Clovers are a type of plant on earth that a few cultures believed to be lucky, one way or another. One of the nicknames for them was a Shamrock!”
She laughed at me.
“You are such a dork.” She said, wiping a tear from her eye as her tail whipped back and forth. “It’s a good name, usually shuttles don’t get one. I think it fits.”
I chuckled, a thought crossing my mind. “Think we could get any shuttle-grade paint? Preferably green, yellow and black?” She raised an eyebrow at me as her ears cocked at different elevations. “Oh? Someone feeling a little artistic?”
“Well, I could always paint a Shamro-” I was interrupted as the ping signifying we were being hailed sounded off. “We’ll finish this later.” I said, pointing at her as I accepted the hail.
Videk’s voice bled through the speakers. “Ok, looks like the connection is secure. Let’s go ahead and run through getting you familiar with the software, it should be quick and easy.”
It was not.
It took two hours. After a lot of trial and error, stop and go flights to test the connection and a few near misses with an especially tall tree we had gotten the system setup such that Videk was confident it would work in an emergency if he needed to step in. With that all squared away Taisa and I settled in to get on our way to Heartwood River. Sleeping on the blow up mattress or on a real bed hardly mattered at this point, I just wanted to sleep.
The overall flight time was set to be about an hour and a half, not too bad and man was the view beautiful: rolling fields, roaring rivers, pristine skies and alien forests abounded across the countryside. We had just passed over Hidden Plains when Taisa and I were just settling back into talking about her parents and our best route to try and handle them, when the hail system chimed and immediately spat out a harsh tone without acknowledgement, the same one the simulator used for distress calls.
“Mayday Mayday Mayday. Report of shots fired at residence housing humans. Need immediate medical evac at The Berrypatch Farm in The Grove, 11 minutes Night-ward from Hidden Plains. Hailing all airborn craft, we need a medical evac immediately!”
I immediately returned the hail. “This is cargo shuttle C1-0V3R-HR-EX. Responding to Mayday from the Grove. We are en-route to render aid. Hold tight, we’ll be there.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Taisa tighten her flight harness as I reached for the throttle.
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I'm look for some advice not for specific course strategy but just readjusting mindset/strategy for specific holes. I currently play off 8 but trending well at the moment, I noticed when looking at my rounds for this year I have 2 holes where I'm averaging a double bogey and then there is 1 hole where I am averaging just over a bogey (I should be able to re-adjust for this hole no problem).
Now retrospectively the 2 holes where I am averaging double are Stroke 1 and 2. The first hole number 6 is a longish par 4 where you can't really take driver off the tee because of small landing zones so you sort of have to lay up to have maybe a 180-160ish yard second shot. From the tee shot if you go too far right you are blocked out for second and or in the forest. If you go left you end up in either thick rough (generally ball unfindable) or in a fairway bunker. For the approach you have a frontside bunker to contend with or if you go long left can end up in a hazard as the green/fringe slopes down that way so you either want to go short left of hole or long right.
The other hole, hole 13 has a river running down the righthand side of the hole so right is dead, down the left you have 2 deep fairway bunkers with soft sand making it hard to go for the green in 2 from them 1 being about 200 yards away and the other 160ish, quite often the wind will be pushing you from right to left helping take the river out of play but can be easy to pull your tee shot into long rough down the left which is also tree lined, this hole is maybe about 370ish yards so not overly long just quite tight. The green is surrounded by large bunkers at the front and sides, long right is okay to miss long left can end up in a hedge.
Usually I take a 5 wood off the tee, would I be better hanging back a bit and taking a 4 iron, If I can turn these holes into bogey holes that will save me 2 shots so would be happy with that.
Cheers for any advide.

I showed my landlord my ebike and he fell in love. I wrote him an email, which is essentially the post below, hoping to get him up to speed qucikly. Thought maybe my advice would help someone else:
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My Ebike

• Trek Dual Sport 4
• Bafang BBS02 mid-drive 750w
• 48v 13ah Unit Power pack
• 500c controller head unit
• Tuned head unit (like usb cable)
• 45mm tubeless tires
• 63mm fork adjustable air ride
• Raceface pedals
• 50mm seat suspension post
• Trek metal fender (only rear)
• ORTLIEB Gravel-Pack duo
• Cygolights front and rear
• I should note that I used this bike because I got it for free

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In essence, it's like a modern reinterpretation of a classic 1990s mountain bike with a more rider-friendly geometry. You can take it on some single-track bike trails, but don't expect it to hold up when things get super bumpy. It's not built for that downhill rush.
1000’s of options to choose from. You could go for an inexpensive front-wheel conversion, just switch out the front tire, or you could opt for a rear-wheel conversion. Then there's what you've already tried: a mid-drive. Each comes with its own pros and cons, but mid-drive is your best bet. It harnesses the bike's front chain ring, turning your 2x10 mountain bike into a 1x10.
There are loads of impressive ready-made ebikes. For around $2000, you can get your hands on a slick, well-integrated solution that can hit speeds between 20-28mph and may include a throttle. However, it might only have a 500w limit and if the manufacturer stops producing parts, well, you're in a bit of a pickle.
Making your own ebike is similar to the old school hotrod culture. You grab a powerful motor, fit it into a suitable body, and watch it zip faster than it was ever meant to. I've invested a lot of time fine-tuning my bike to suit my preferences. Though I sometimes wish I'd started with a more aggressive mountain bike rather than trying to upgrade to that standard.
My bike's journey to what it is now cost around $1200 for the bike, plus $800 for the motor and battery, and an additional $300 for labor. I'm pretty certain you could do this yourself, and of course, I'll lend you my special torque tools whenever you need. There's a huge online community backing this hobby.
You could get the guy to build you one too. Mailing bike costs like $50 (take it apart) each way. But I’d be shocked if Colorado didn’t have someone who could build one too. I’m not super handy and I was able to figure it out.
Nearly any bike can be converted. For instance, fat tire bikes can handle sand, mud, and snow! They're a bit heavy and need extra power, but they're great for off-roading. Or you could get an old 1970s road bike and push it to 50mph, hypothetically speaking. If you're in the market for a bike right now, I'd recommend a 5-10-year-old hardtail mountain bike that could cost you around $500. Look for disc brakes, a decent gear set, and ideally about 100mm or more of suspension. Also, ensure the bottom bracket (the part where the crank is) fits the motor. Most bikes should be okay, but I'd steer clear of 40-year-old Italian models.
If budget isn't a constraint, a full suspension bike could be the way to go. The crucial factor is the amount of space within the frame – you don't want the frame to crush the battery. Earlier 2000s full suspension bikes, with their expansive triangular frames and smaller travel, are a good choice.
Keep in mind that the 90lbs of torque from the motor can strain your bike pretty quickly. It's wise to start with quality parts, ensure easy part availability, and aim for a relatively new model for smoother rides. I would advise against low-end models from Mongoose, Schwinn, or Walmart as the motor can quickly wear out cheap components, and finding suitable replacement parts for these frames might prove tricky.
Now, think about your ride:

• Where do you see yourself riding?
• Will you be tearing downhill, dodging rocks and tree stumps?
• Do you see yourself conquering mountain passes?
• Or would you prefer leisurely park rides?
• Do you plan to use the bike for errands?
• Picking up a $300-500 bike may mean having to invest more once you realize certain parts are worn out, resulting in a less polished final product.
• If you go for an $800 entry-level mountain bike from brands like Cannondale or Trek, are you comfortable tearing apart a new bike?
• Adding up all costs, you'll probably be around $2000 deep, which is pretty close to the price of a decent ready-made ebike.
• Keep in mind that there's a slim chance of everything failing to work once assembled. If it's DIY, you're on your own.

That said, building your own ebike results in a more powerful, tailored product. I couldn't be happier with my build, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's all about making those tiny adjustments to perfect it. If you're into that, here's what I recommend: get the Bafang BBS02 like mine or perhaps the slightly more robust BBHD. It's roughly 30% more powerful and 50% pricier, but you'll need a more substantial battery to keep up. Be aware, the powerful version is slightly bigger, heavier, and could have fitment issues on certain bikes. There are other motors available, but in terms of value, Bafang takes the cake.
Investing in a good battery is crucial. A quality battery avoids voltage sag, ensuring steady power draw – mine is slightly undersized, and under heavy loads, the battery dips 10-20% then rebounds. This isn't ideal. I cannot overstate the joy of a suspension seat post. It's no full suspension substitute, but it negates about 80% of bumps.
If I had to pick a car that's similar to this ebike, I'd say it's maybe a Porsche Cayenne non-turbo. The bike started as maybe a Subaru Forester, but by changing out the fork, swapping for the suspension seat post, tubeless tires, and the Bafang USB cable tune, the whole ride greatly improved and felt much more refined. It's fairly quick and can hold a decent amount of accessories since it's more of a commuter touring bike with slightly more aggressive tires now. It's also mediocre off road, and being a Trek, it doesn't completely suck as a bike to start off with.
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Would I choose the same bike if I did it all over again?
I keep asking myself that all the time. On one hand my bike is perfect for where I ride (gravel roads or state parks) while on the other I'd always want to ride a little more aggressive trails, but I know I shouldn't. I suppose I'd prefer a proper mountain bike with over 100mm of travel with bigger beefier tires - but again where would I really use this. My bike is objectively perfect for my needs. On some occasions I've noticed my shock bottoms out.... but that's because I was going too fast anyway and needed to slow down anyway. I'm fully aware that I don't need to go any faster or on any rougher terrain.
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I've rambled on long enough. There are so many exciting options out there. The lowest you might find pre built is around $1000, but for a faster more fun model, you'd be looking in the $2000-$3000 range I'd guess. $4000+ is where you start being able to climb mountains and 6000+ is where you can basically jump off cliffs and the bike won't disintegrate from under you lol.

Hello, I would like to seek fellow redditors opinions, input and recommendation on how I could better finetune my itinerary better. There's only so much I can think of, and plan as an individual, but with everyone's input and comments I can further refine and enhance the travel experience before I set foot into Japan. Do forgive me in advance for the theorycrafting wall of text.
I know it may be difficult to review the itinerary, so to make the review easier I have broken the itinerary down into specific sub-groups e.g. Shikoku, Kinki etc. Specific questions that I have are bolded.
Thank you in advance for taking your time to provide your opinions!
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Baseline information

• 32M, average fitness, solo traveller
• Public transport only (challenge); I have a driver's license but I have not drove a car for god knows how long so I would prefer not to test it against the green hills of Shikoku
• Interest: anime (select few), experience autumn/nature, visiting secluded spots, and just trying random stuff
• JP language skill: rudimentary at best (N4), but I will not shy away from speaking in simple, broken japanese or use a translator to communicate. Reading/interpreting kanji is not a problem (in general).
• Visit history: Visited twice (once to Hokkaido for ~8 days, and once toKyoto and Osaka for 8 days
• Will probably travel around with a (slightly) oversized luggage at ~166cm (A+B+C), that’s the only one I have with me. This will be a problem on the Shinkansen (but hopefully not so much on sightseeing trains/limited expresses).
• Will be visiting during (almost) peak autumn at 11 November, and will depart on the 16th of December
• Jet lag is unlikely to be a problem (1h time difference), but nevertheless I will maintain a low tempo on the first day to acclimatize to the environment
• Only thing firmed as of now is the air ticket, everything else is up in the air.
• I like planning/min-maxing to some degree, though I recognize that I may not fulfill all objectives during the trip and I am totally ok with that [its just a guideline or framework to give the holiday some structure, that’s all.] FWIW, I personally like traveling at a high tempo pace like some japanese travel show do (e.g. ローカル路線バス乗り継ぎの旅)

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Specific goals/objective:

1. Experience Shikoku in autumn (specifically the views at Iya Valley) and in other prefectures (thus making nature sightseeing more of a priority this time round)
2. Experience Kanazawa for anime stuff
3. Experience the Shimanami Kaido in full (including any sightseeing spots in between the 6 island chains)
4. Bonus - try as many sightseeing trains as possible.
5. Bonus - if weather, time and schedule permits, try skiing as an option in Nagano.
6. Bonus - stay in as many onsen ryokans as possible, without breaking the bank.

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Locked-in prefectures [i.e. I will definitely go to those prefectures no matter what]:

1. Shikoku (as per above objective)
2. Hiroshima (because its on the opposite end of the Shimanami Kaido)
3. Kanazawa (for anime related reason)
4. Tokyo (that is my starting and end point so it has to be included by default)

All other prefectures are basically float i.e. I am open to consider dropping said itinerary for something else based on your suggestion that aligns with my preferences/interest. Most of the other locations I added are prefectures that are often next to each other, or well-connected (apart from the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump via Sunrise Seto/Shinkansen).
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Wait-list prefectures (prefectures that I want to go, but I don’t think I can realistically fit in without dropping other locations):

1. Snow skiing at Nagano (depending on how cooperative the weather is in early-ish December (would 2 days be sufficient?))
2. Ehime, Kochi expansion [spend 1-3 more days]
3. Izu Peninsula (~2 days, via Saphir Odoriko)
4. Nagoya + lower Nagano (Kiso Valley) (~3 days)
5. Ishikawa expansion [1 extra day at Kaga]

I am open to dropping a few days in Tokyo/Osaka etc to make that trade off [currently kept 3 days free for further development]. Alternatively, if the planning can be better optimized based on your inputs I might be able to do one of those without compromising on the base set. I would like to hear your opinion on what locations you would drop in the itinerary to make time for one of the above.
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General planning philosophy:

1. My itineary adopts a breadth approach (cover as much area as I can humanely possible without rushing/touch-and-go) as opposed to depth (i.e. spending much more time within Shikoku than what I allocated); though I would be open to considering more days at selected locations if you have strong recommendations. My thought is to experience how different autumn is at various parts of the country (if possible), and maybe winter too (to a certain degree).
2. Due to the nature of my travel, I note that luggage logistics is a critical consideration when moving between prefectures; my thought is to park that luggage at the next hotel as quickly as possible so that I can free myself for sightseeing within the vicinity, or leave the luggage at the hotel after I check out until I am ready to travel to the next location. I will need to send (quite a fair bit of) emails to the hotels to confirm on this prior to booking.
3. I will attempt to minimize transit time between prefectures to no more than 2~3 hours a day to avoid having excessively long transport days (except the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump).
4. Because of the long trip, I will also need to factor a bit of downtime at night for administrative stuff (e.g. catching up a little bit on work, laundry etc).

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Shikoku (~7 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. I will need to exploit Limited Express trains as much as possible to minimize downtime between the 4 prefectures. Fortunately, for the most part these train frequencies are almost hourly, thus missing one train isnt too deadly consequence-wise.
2. The transfer between Kochi and Ehime [Matsuyama] is oddly quicker via express bus as opposed to trains (!)
3. For Kochi, my opinion is that it is best explored on car instead of public transport [it’s a really wide prefecture]; I feel that 1 day may not do it justice, but it is probably adequate for exploring the city centre as a whole.
4. There's a fair bit of uncertainties while planning this leg so I would deeply appreciate any advice you may have.
5. This current iteration is unable to weave in the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatari sightseeing train [四国まんなか千年ものがたり] ; if you people think its something not to be missed do let me know and I will reshuffle my timetable as such.

Day 0: Tokyo Kagawa (Sunrise Seto) [Saturday, 11 Nov]

• Touch down at Narita at 1720hours
• Transfer to Tokyo Station via NEX or Skyliner
• Settle administrative matters at the Midori-no-Maruguchi (e.g. get all the booked tickets etc from JR Pass, for Shinkansen and all other sightseeing trains) at Tokyo Station.
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is obtained via the JR West portal booking, chill till 2200 and take Sunrise Seto to reach Kagawa (Takamatsu) at 0700 the next day. Try to snag the ticket online (likely via the japanese portal since there's no option to buy Solo Deluxe through the english/international website. Otherwise, compromise and go for Single)
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is NOT obtained, proceed to take the furthest possible Shinkansen westwards (probably Okayama) and rest for the night.

Day 1: Kagawa (Takamatsu) [Sunday, 12 Nov]

• Chill around Takamatsu. Drop luggage at coin locker OR the hotel (near JR Takamatsu ideally)
• Look at whats left of Takamatsu Castle en route to the port.
• Day trip to Naoshima or Teshima to visit the art museums (Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum etc).
• Ritsuin Garden in the evening (closes 1830)
• Find an eatery with Sanuki Udon for dinner if possible.

Day 2: Kagawa (Kotohira) Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Monday, 13 Nov]

• Morning trip from Takamatsu to Kotohira (either via JR or Kotoden). Visit Kotohiragu [includes inner shrine] and Kanamaruza Theater
• Return to Kotohira to pick up luggage, transit to Oboke via Limited Express Shimanto [Takamatsu Tadotsu Oboke]
• Retire at a local hotel around Oboke. If time permits, take the chance to explore around Oboke Gorge itself.

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Day 3: Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Tuesday, 14 Nov]
[Post-research note: I realized that there is NO public transport to Mount Tsurugi on a weekday. I will have to rent a taxi direct to Mount Tsurugi, make the 'climb', then thereafter take the taxi down to the other attractions. I am inclined to just go full hog on the private taxi and rent it (almost the whole day, probably 7~8 hours for 4300yen/hour) to save the trouble.
Otherwise, I will need to hike downhill which can be rather rough since its just a single lane road (looking at nearly 10++ km) so I think it wise not to penny pinch in the interest of both time and safety.]
Spend the day at Iya Valley.

• Take a taxi after breakfast to zip to Mount Tsurugi and speedrun it to the mountain peak (aka using the chairlift to speedrun a good chunk of the mountain) about 2.5 hours ~ 3 hours as per the Iya Valley guide
• Taxi from Mount Tsurugi chairlift down to Oku-Iya Niju Kazuraashi and cross it (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi down to visit the mannequins/scarecrows at Nagoro Village (~3km downhill from Oku-Iya). (~1 hour estimate)
• Check out the Peeing Boy Statue (~0.5 hour estimate [its just looking at the statue that is overlooking the entire gorge is it not?])
• Cross the outer vine bridge Iya-no-Kazurabashi (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi back to Oboke, and retire for the day (~0.5 hour estimate, thus looking at about ~8 hours taxi rental total, with some leeway for lunch break)

​
Day 4: Tokushima (Iya Valley) Kochi (Kochi) [Wednesday, 15 Nov]

• Transit from Iya Valley [Oboke] to Kochi via Limited Express Shimanto (again) after breakfast. (~1 hour transit)
• Park luggage at hotel [ideally near JR Kochi Station], then proceed to mill around Kochi, visiting places such as Kochi Castle [高知城] and Harimaya Bridge[はりまや橋]
• Transit to Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum [高知県立坂本龍馬記念館] via local bus which is also near Katsumatsura Beach incidentally. Chill at Katsumatsura Beach in the evening
• Return to JR Kochi, dinnesupper at Hirome Market (ideally to try out Kochi's speciality seared bonito). [is visiting the market more preferable during lunch OR dinner?]

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Day 5: Kochi (Kochi) Ehime (Imabari) [Thursday, 16 Nov]

• Complete any remaining items in Kochi in the morning, then transit to Imabari via train (Kochi Tadotsu Imabari), via Limited Express Shimanto (yet again!) and Ishidzuchi**[TBC: this might be better done via highway bus instead which is faster at ~2-3 hours]**
• Drop luggage at Imabari for the next 2 days, either at Sunrise Itoyama OR Cycle no Ie. [both are well positioned for the Shimanami Kaido, and are also one of the selected hotels eligible for the Sagawa luggage transfer.] Ideally done just around lunch time, so that there's still the better half of the day to explore Imabari.
• Spend the remainder of the day visiting Imabari Castle (closes 1700) and Towel Museum (slightly out of the way) (closes 1800) [TBC: I note this place is quite out of the way from Imabari itself, even the JP website suggests taking a taxi (!) there from the nearby train station. Might have to drop this).
• Attempt to try some Ehime-related food specialties e.g. Taimeshi (Sea Bream), Ehime oranges, Champon for the next 2 days

​
Day 6: Ehime (Matsuyama / Imabari) [Friday, 17 Nov]

• Take the Limited express train Ishidzuchi to Matsuyama day tripping. (~1h one-way).
• Explore Matsuyama Castle, and the nearby Matsuyama Ropeway Shopping Street
• Visit Shiki Memorial Museum
• Visit Dogo Onsen [and attempt to soak in the waters if possible].
• Also consider looking at Ishiteji (石手寺) beside Dogo Onsen.
• Bonus: Subject to train schedule, if possible, attempt to secure tickets for the Iyonada Sightseeing Train (伊予灘物語), Futami leg [双海ふたみ 編] , and also visit JR Shimonada Station (JR下灘駅) at the same time.
• Bonus: visit Yawatahama Port where the movie Suzume took reference from,
• Return to Imabari via the same Limited express Ishidzuchi and retire for the night.

Day 7: Ehime (Imabari) Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido) [Saturday, 18 Nov]
I am of the opinion that 1 day in Shimanami Kaido is adequate if I attempt just the main route which is about 80km [as a test run, I did 70km and finished it within 6-7 hours with lunch breaks included]. For now I will plan for two full days, however should I truncate it down to one day later, I will add an extra day to either explore Matsuyama or Okayama.
​

• Start off at Sunrise Itoyama [watch the sunrise, have breakfast here, cafeteria opens at 0700, rental opens at 0800] OR Cycle no Ie. Do paperwork to send luggage over to the next accomodation via Sagawa.
• I will (probably) follow the recommended 'extended' route on Cycle no Ie's website and do the following:
  • Take the west coast for Oshima (~13km) and cross to Hakatajima, with possible stop on:
    • Mount Kiro Observatory Point [I am aware that there's a steep incline so this would be contingent on my physical/mental status by then].
    • Nagahama Beach
• Take the coastal route for Hakatajima (~17km) and cross to Omishima and enjoy the coastal scenery
• Take the coastal route (again) for Omishima (~41km) (or lesser depending on how I'm feeling at that point) , with possible stop on:
  • -TBC: Okunoshima (there is apparently a ferry route to the well-known rabbit island via Omishima port. Not sure if anyone else have tried this particular route and if this is a better approach than going through Tadano-umi (though I would acknowledge that there's historical stuff to visit in nearby Takehara), and I would not be able to buy rabbit food in advance).[Based on Google Earth estimate, its about 3km for the entire island loop - seems doable within 2 hours to tour the poison gas museum with a bike and pet some rabbits).
  • Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Museum
• End the day at WAKKA (Omishima) OR Guesthouse NEST / Soil Setoda (Ikuchijima) just beside Kousanji / The Hill of Hope (closes 1700). If possible, visit before closing, otherwise defer to next day.
• Try the ice cream at Dolce at Ikuchijima if possible.
• Bonus: if for some reason I am still ahead of time at this juncture (<1500), proceed to finish Innoshima and Mukaishima, then take a ferry to backtrack to Wakka/Soil Setoda or cycle back (last boat is ~1700) and rest; however, the next day I will zip straight to Onomichi via ferry after breakfast.

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Hiroshima + Yamaguchi (~4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Onomichi is a pretty good base to jump to Okayama to explore Okayama, Kurashiki or Tomonoura with the Shinkansen accessibility, but it is impossible to cover them all within a single day. If I finish the Shimanami Kaido within a single day or finish it early on the second day, I will have that extra time to visit those.
2. There's another sightseeing train etSETOra from Onomichi to Hiroshima but it only operates on Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. For now the schedule could fit the train timetable pretty nicely.
3. Would anyone suggest visiting Miyajima in the morning or in the evening? This would help me determine the order for the Kintaikyo Bridge/Miyajima day trip. Watching the sunset at either destination is pretty good in my books.

​
Day 8: Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido Onomichi) [Sunday, 19 Nov]

• Continue from Ikuchijima towards Innoshima and Mukaishima (~18km) via the western coast route after breakfast, with possible stops on the following areas:
  • Innoshima: Innoshima Flower Centre, Shimanami Beach [open to more suggestions]
  • Mukaishima : there seems to be a lot of brunch places like Willows Nursery etc, soak the view at Mukaishima Rest Park [TBC: open to more suggestions]

Ideally reach Onomichi just around lunch or earlier. Chill for the rest of the day, and if I'm still up for it, explore Onomichi, including but not limited to:

• Exploring the cat alley
• Visit the exhibits at Onomichi City Museum of Art
• Consider walking to Senkoji and Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
• Look into trying Onomichi-style ramen.

Retire at a guesthouse/hotel near JR Onomichi that I have forwarded the luggage to.
​
Day 9: Hiroshima (Onomichi, Takehara+Kure OR Tomonoura OR Okayama) Downtown Hiroshima) [Monday, 20 Nov]

• Mill around Onomichi in the morning (if not done yesterday), with a side trip to EITHER Takehara/Kure OR Okayama/Kurashiki OR Tomonoura (choose one):
  • Takehara: stroll along the historical townscape [and look if they have any Tamayura-related merch], Okunoshima (if not done during the Shimanami Kaido leg / Kure: look into trying Kure curry/Niku-jaga and visit the Yamato Museum
  • Okayama: Okayama Castle (zip via Shinkansen) / Kurashiki : Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
  • Tomonoura: stroll along the townscape during the day (zip via Shinkansen, transfer to local bus)
• Return to Onomichi (no later than 1400), board the etSETOra sightseeing train at 1437, and zip to Hiroshima. Enjoy the sunset along the coastline.
• Retire for the night at Hiroshima proper, probably near JR Hiroshima OR the bus terminal. If time permits, take a gander along the streets and see what takes me from there.

​
Day 10: Hiroshima (Downtown Hiroshima) [Tuesday, 21 Nov]
Spend the day surveying Hiroshima proper.

• Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園) and Atomic Bomb Dome
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims (国立広島原爆死没者追悼平和祈念館)
• Hiroshima Castle
• Orizuru Tower (おりづるタワー)
• Shukkeien (縮景園)
• Optional: Mazda Museum / Kure (if not done the previous day)
• Try to source for Hiroshima-specific food: Okonomiyaki, Dandan Noodles

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Day 11: Hiroshima (with a day trip to Yamaguchi) [Wednesday, 22 Nov]

• Daytrip to Yamaguchi [Shin-Iwakuni] to visit Kintaikyo Bridge via Shinkansen. Also stop by the nearby Iwakuni Castle.
• Try Tonosama Sushi at Iwakuni if possible.
• Take the local train back to Miyajimaguchi and take the boat to Itsukushima.Take the time to stroll around the island and perhaps watch the sunset at the torii gate.
• Exit back to Hiroshima via boat to Hiroshima Port direct, and transit back to hotel.

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Shimane + Tottori (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Matsue becomes the main jump point for Shimane just because of the subsidized highway bus from Hiroshima, and ease of access towards Tottori later. There's no direct train between Hiroshima and Izumo/Matsue (!).
2. Tottori is really wide size-wise, to the point that it feels more efficient to have two separate hotels in two nights (Kurayoshi/Misasa Onsen + downtown Tottori) rather than one hotel for two nights (i.e. downtown Tottori). Could be just me making excuses to get into an onsen ryokan however.
3. Is there anything interesting at Yonago (Tottori) that I should take note of? Based on my initial survey nothing in particular pops up (other than the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park).
4. Skipping Tottori Castle since it doesn’t seem to be interesting at first glance. Any other interesting things to at Tottori downtown (or nearby)?

​
Day 12: Hiroshima Shimane (Matsue) [Thursday, 23 Nov]

• Make good use of the 500yen highway bus from Hiroshima to Matsue. (3.5 hours transit). Fortunately the frequency is not too bad (7-8 buses per day, looking at 0800 departure or later); if there are still outstanding places to visit in Hiroshima I will visit them in the morning.
• Check in at a hotel near JR Matsue, and proceed to trawl around Matsue with whatever daylight is left. (TBC: am considering taking a few stops down to Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 or Matsue-shinjoko Onsen instead of the typical hotel. Does anyone have any positive experiences there?)
• Attempt to spend the afternoon at the Adachi Museum of Art. Local train to Yasugi, transfer to free shuttle.
• Chill off in downtown Matsue for the night. Prowl for Shimane-specific food such as Naniwa Zushi (浪花寿司), Shijimi clams (しじみ), Izumo soba, Izumo Zenzai (出雲ぜんざい).
• Bonus: visit the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park for the winter Hanakairo Flower Illumination at Yonago at night [which is just beside Matsue. Free shuttle bus at Yonago bus terminal].

​
Day 13: Shimane (Izumo / Matsue) [Friday, 24 Nov]

• Day trip from Matsue to Izumo. (JR Matsue JR Izumo, swap to Ichibata local rail to Izumotaisha-mae)
• Take a stop at Izumo Taisha, as well as the nearby Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo (島根県立古代出雲歴史博物館)
• After lunch, return to JR Matsue and proceed to Yushien Garden (由志園) via bus. Enjoy the sunset over the garden.
• Stop by Matsue Castle on the way back.

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Day 14: Shimane (Matsue) Tottori (Kurayoshi) [Saturday, 25 Nov]

• Transfer from Matsue to Kurayoshi in the morning via Super Matsukaze Limited Express (~1h).
• Settle down luggage at Misasa Onsen, then proceed to hike up Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple (三仏寺). Cater extra time just in case I have to wait for another fellow to pop up to climb in pairs. Estimated climb time excluding wait is about 2-3 hours both ways?
• Excess time to be spent sauntering Misasa Onsen and its nearby area such as the Nijisseiki Pear Museum [二十世紀梨記念館（なしっこ館)] and Kurayoshi Historical Quarter.
• Retire at Misasa Onsen for the night. Bonus: watch the constellations at night at Misasa Onsen on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 2100JST. Current plan does not fall within those 3 weekdays
• Bonus: take a short detour to Conan Town (postnote: not a big fan of the show).

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Day 15: Tottori (Kurayoshi Tottori) [Sunday, 26 Nov]

• Transfer from Kurayoshi to Tottori (~35minutes transfer) in the morning, and proceed to tour around Tottori.
• Drop luggage, take a local bus to Tottori Sand Dunes, and visit the nearby Sand Museum.
• Transfer northwards to Uradome Coast via local bus and spend the remainder of the day there. Watch the sunset over the coast.
• Return to downtown Tottori, stroll around and call it a night.

​
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Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka , Nara, Mie (10 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Kinosaki Onsen is intentionally designed to be a slow-paced leg to recover [and also to make time to enjoy the onsens].
2. The limited express train between Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka stops by Himeji thus I thought of resting a night there instead of doing day trips via Osaka.
3. Osaka itinerary does look sparse but that is in large part because I have already visited most of them in the past. Nevertheless, I would like to experience how different it is in autumn compared to summer [based on those few destinations that I loved going previously].
4. I have kept one float day to decompress, OR shift to any of the other prefectures (TBC).
5. There are (multiple) special limited express train by Kintetsu; they're not covered by JR pass but nevertheless I would love to ride on those as an experience. The Kintetsu pass covers the basic fare only but based on my preliminary cost estimate, it is still worth getting it.
6. Is it feasible to compress Himeji and Kobe to a single day?
7. The itineraries for Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Mie are flexible since they're literally beside one another - makes it particularly easy to shift around base on ground situation.

​
Day 16: Tottori (Tottori) Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen) [Monday, 27 Nov]

• Settle any outstanding sightseeing spots in the morning if required in Tottori, then transfer to Kinosaki Onsen via the Sanin Line.
• Make a pitstop at Amarube ('Sky Station') and marvel at the engineering work.
• Deposit luggage at the ryokan (or put in the coin locker), and stroll around and enjoy Kinosaki Onsen [after all its an onsen town].
• Try to hit as many of the 7 external onsens that are usable. Retire for the night here.
• Optional: go up the ropeway and oversee Kinosaki Onsen in the evening (last ride up ~1630)
• Optional: take a short hike up to Onsenji Temple.

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Day 17: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen + Northern Kyoto (Amanohashidate) day trip) [Tuesday, 28 Nov]

• Optional: take a (very) early start to the day to Takeda Castle Ruins and witness the 'floating castle' effect in the morning (<0800).
• Day trip to Amanohashidate via ToyookaKyotango Railway. Do the funny bend-down pose on the bench at Amanohashidate View Land, and see how it feels like looking at the world inverted.
• Cross the sandbar and look from the other side (Nariaiji Temple / Kasamatsu Park)
• Select one of three additional side-trips:
  • EITHER take a local bus up to Ine to look at the Funaya + sightseeing boat,
  • OR local rail down to Maizuru to look at the Maizuru World Brick Museum + eat at the Michi-no-eki;
  • OR reverse to Toyooka spend time in the city itself e.g. Izushi Castle Town
• Return to Kinosaki Onsen, and continue experiencing the remainder of the onsens. Retire for the night here. Optional: ride the Aomatsu sightseeing train back to Toyooka.
• Optional: Take a trip to Ankokuji Temple (安国寺) in the evening. Likely to visit post-peak autumn which means less than ideal viewing conditions.

Day 18: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen Himeji) [Wednesday, 29 Nov]

• Transit from Kinosaki Onsen to Himeji via Limited Express Hamakaze (~2 hours).
• Deposit luggage at the hotel or the coin lockers at the station, then proceed for sightseeing.
• Walk along the Miyuki Street Shopping District which is en-route to Himeji Castle.
• Himeji Castle sector : Himeji Castle (姫路城), Kokoen (好古園)
• Take a local bus at Himeji Castle to go to Mount Shosha and hike up Engyōji Temple (圓教寺)
• Optional : Stroll along Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History and/or Himeji City Museum of Art which is beside the castle, OR Shosha Handicraft Museum which is just at the foot of Mount Shosha
• Optional: Make a detour to the Japan Toy Museum near Koro station (~30 minutes from JR Himeji). Closes 1700.
• Look for Hyogo-specific food: Kobe beef, steamed pork buns, sobameshi, himeji oden, etc

Retire at Himeji for the night.
Day 19: Hyogo (Himeji Kobe) Osaka (Dotonburi) [Thursday, 30 Nov]
Day trip to Kobe, before continuing further down to Osaka.

• Check out from Himeji, transit further down to Kobe for another stop before Osaka. Place luggage at the holding facility within the Shinkansen station.
• Take a visit to the Earthquake Memorial Museum (人と防災未来センター) to look at the devastation wrought by the 1995 earthquake.
• Stroll along Kobe Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド) and Meriken Park (メリケンパーク) , look at the Kobe Tower since its closed till 2024 for renovation, and look at the damage caused by the earthquake
• Optional: Head westwards to Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.
• Optional: Hit up the ASICS Sports Museum (アシックススポーツミュージアム)
• Look at the engineering feat that is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the nearby Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center at Maiko. (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Return to Shin-kobe, pick up luggage, and transit to Shin-Osaka via Shinkansen, and then to Dotonburi/Shinsaibashi. End the (long) day in Osaka.

Day 20: Osaka [Friday, 1 Dec]
Osaka Nostalgia (acid) trip, speedrun edition: revisiting places that I want to go again

• Day trip to Mino Park and revisit the waterfall (I loved visiting it previously) via the Hankyu line in the morning.
• Zoom down to the Osaka Aquarium after lunch and walk around it (Minoo Umeda Honmachi Osakako Station).
• From there, race towards Abeno Harukas and watch the sunset/nightview at Abeno Harukas.
• Bonus: revisit Sumiyoshi Taisha if time permits.
• Spend whatever time remains at night at Nipponbashi Denden Town (shops close at ~2000) and Dotonburi (some stores are still open near midnight) and/or Shinsekai (新世界).

Day 21: Osaka (Nara day trip) [Saturday, 2 Dec]
Spend a day in Nara.

• Zoom from Namba to Nara via Kintetsu (note: non-JR)
• Explore Todaiji Temple, Kokufuji Temple, Isuien Garden and Kasuga Taisha.
• Optional: pass by Naramachi (奈良町) on the way back.
• Take the Kintetsu line down to Mount Yoshino. [TBC: subject to whether I am too early or late for the koyo.Based on last year's prediction I am about 1-2 weeks too late. Might swap this out to a Uji day trip instead in Kyoto.). Spend time walking around the Shimo Senbon and Naka Senbon and experience the autumn.
• Transfer back to Osaka. Bonus: take the Blue Symphony back to Osaka instead of the typical train. (non-JR)

Day 22: Osaka (Mie day trip) [Sunday, 3 Dec]
Day trip to Mie.

• Take the Iseshima Liner from Tsuruhashi Station (near Namba/Dotonburi) to Ise. Bonus: take the Hinotori from Osaka to Tsu, then transfer to Mie. (non-JR)
• Hit up Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) [both inner and outer] and Okage Yokocho (おかげ横丁)
• Try to eat Matsuaka Beef or Ise Udon for lunch.
• Head westwards to Futamiokitama Shrine (二見興玉神社) / Meotoiwa Rocks; and if further time permits, go to Toba for the Ama Viewing Platform.
• Take the returning Shimakaze Limited Express train back to Osaka (note: only one train at 1630; if this train is missed, change to normal express trains). (non-JR)
• Retreat back to Osaka for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.

Day 23: Osaka ('north' Kyoto day trip) [Monday, 4 Dec]
(north) Kyoto day trip.

• Take a stop at the Kyoto Railway Museum. Optional: also consider heading to To-ji Gojunoto first if I reach Kyoto way early before 10am.
• Walk back to Kyoto station, and take a bus northwards to Kyoto Manga Museum.
• Hop on the bus direct from the Manga Museum to Kinkakuji. [bus 15]
• Select one of two side-trips:
  • EITHER head westwards to Arashiyama (note: already visited once in the summer but I still think it nice to visit in autumn/winter this time round). Bonus: experience sunset along the Togetsukyo Bridge.
  • OR head eastwards to Higashiyama (closes 1700), Philosopher's path etc (did not visit these in my past trip here so there's the 'new' factor, but it is going to be a physically taxing day. Also, most likely will reach here nearing evening i.e. closing time thus there's a limit to how much I can visit realistically).

Whichever choice, return back to Osaka for the night. Look out for Kyoto-specific food such as Yudofu, Saba Sushi, Warabi Mochi, Nishin Soba (にしんそば) etc.
Day 24: Osaka ('south' Kyoto day trip) [Tuesday, 5 Dec]
(south) Kyoto day trip edition (mainly Uji and Fushimi).

• Zip from Osaka to Kyoto via Keihan to Uji Station.
• Spend the better half of the morning in Uji.
• Visit the Byōdō-in and the nearby Tonoshima and Tachibana Island.
• Hike up to the Daikichiyama Observation Deck to oversee Uji as a whole. On the way down, explore Ujigami Shrine.
• Take the chance to buy some Uji tea as gifts to relatives. Have lunch along the Omotesando Road.
• Head further northwards to Fushimi, and do another hike up Fushimi Inari. (Note: visited once in the past but I liked the experience thus I would like to do it again.) Bonus: if its done in the evening.

Head back to Osaka and retire for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.
Day 25: Osaka (wildcard) [Wednesday, 6 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
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Kanazawa, Gifu+ (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Is it likely for the skiing season to open around 9~10 December at Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen? Would very much like to try skiing for fun, but am uncertain if the snow condition would be satisfactory by then. Some of the skiing website indicates that these two destinations are usually the first to open. I would like to seek advise on this if possible [never skiied before].
2. As an additional question to point 1, is 2 days adequate just to get a flavor on skiing?
3. Kanazawa is a pretty solid jump point to Shirakawago/Takayama via express buses (~1 to 2 hour one way).
4. My initial planning considered going to Kurobe Gorge (Toyama) but apparently the railways are closed from December onwards. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
5. Another sightseeing train in Kanazawa that I can fit in nicely in my current plans (花嫁のれん), runs on Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun.

Day 26: Osaka Ishikawa (Kanazawa (Kanazawa cityside)) [Thursday, 7 Dec]

• Zip from Osaka to Kanazawa via Limited Express Thunderbird in the early morning (~3hours; ideally the 0740 or 0810 service). Drop luggage at the hotel near JR Kanazawa and explore the cityside.
• Have lunch at the Omicho Market (近江町市場), OR at Higashi Chaya District.
• Stroll around Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawajō) and the nearby Kenrokuen (兼六園) / Seisonkaku Villa (成巽閣, Seisonkaku) .
• Consider visiting one or more of the nearby museums if possible:
  • D.T. Suzuki Museum OR
  • National Crafts Museum OR
  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
• Optional: Head southwards to Myoryuji Temple + Nishi Chaya District.
• Optional: Head northwards to Higashi Chaya District (if not done for lunch).

Any outstanding spots not completed today, to be rolled over to the next 2 days (if possible).

• Retire in Kanazawa for the night. Be on the lookout for Kanazawa-specific food: Gold-leaf ice cream, oden, hanton rice
• Optional: have a stay at Yuwaku Onsen for at least one night for anime-related reasons. (Hanasaku Iroha)

​
Day 27: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside) / Gifu (Shirakawago, Takayama) [Friday, 8 Dec]

• Day trip to Shiwakawago and Takayama via Nohi bus (non-JR, ~1h). Grab the morning bus express bus to Shirakawago and explore the place in the morning. Experience early snowfall (?) there. Optional: visit Ainokura on the way towards Shirakawago.
• Take another express bus down to Takayama for lunch (~1h travel time).
• Explore what Takayama has to offer. Stroll along the old town near the bus terminal and visit the Takayama Jinya. If time permits, stroll along the Higashiyama Walking Course.
• Optional: pay a visit to Hida Folk Village.
• Return to Kanazawa via Hida Limited Express to Toyama Shinkansen to Kanazawa, OR take the same Nohi express bus directly back (non-JR).
• Retire at Kanazawa for the night. Last express bus from Takayama to Kanazawa is 1630, arrive at 1845. Alternatively, head northwards to Toyama via JR and transfer to Kanazawa.

​
Day 28: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside / outskirts) [Saturday, 9 Dec]
Side trip to Wakura Onsen / Nanao for anime-related sightseeing. (Insomanics after Class, Hanasaku Iroha)

• Zoom from Kanazawa up to Wakura Onsen/Nanao via Limited Express Noto Kagaribi. Do some sightseeing related to Insomanics after Class and Hanasaku Iroha.
• Do some train spotting with two anime along the Noto Railways. Stop at Nishigishi station for some sightseeing. (non-JR)
• Return to Kanazawa in the evening from Wakura Onsen via the sightseeing train Hanayomenoren [花嫁のれん, last train 1630).
• End the night at Kanazawa.

Day 29: Ishikawa (wildcard) [Sunday, 10 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
--------------
Tokyo (~6 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Specific interest to target: anime/vtuber stuff, music (piano in particular), bookstores etc.
2. This is the point in time I should go ham on souvenier purchase if I have not done so. I'll probably get an extra cardboard box or duffel bag to lug with me to the airport to store extra stuff.
3. Would like to seek recommendation on where I should set my base for the 5~6 days here. For now I am planning to pit at Ginza, subject to availability and cost. My thought is that as long as its along the Yamanote line everything rolls I suppose.
4. Hard pass on Golden Gai on the Shunjuku leg (I do not drink).
5. There's way too many to list in terms of what I would like to do in Tokyo, but I have listed items that are of particular interest to me first within the available time frame. If you have strong opinions on specific locations do let me know.

Day 30: Ishikawa (Kanazawa) Tokyo (Ginza) [Monday, 11 Dec]

• Zip from Kanazawa to Tokyo via the Hoririku Shinkansen in the morning (just north of two hours). (TBC : If I can optimize my schedule better, I can try squeezing two days here for a stop at Nozawa Onsen / Shiga Kogen (Nagano) for a short ski experience).
• Deposit luggage at one of the Ginza hotels (TBC: subject to cost; might swap for another location later on)
• Explore ('south') Tokyo with the remainder of the day.
• Marvel at the architecture that is the Tokyo Station and its surrounding.
• Visit the Imperial Palace.
• Head south towards the Mori Art Museum (closes 2200)
• End the night with a stop at Tokyo Tower (closes 2230).

Day 31: Tokyo (Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano) [Tuesday, 12 Dec]
Explore ('west') Tokyo, namely Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano.

• Start off with an early day visit to Meji Shrine / Yoyogi Park.
• Head up to Shinjuku. Spend the remainder of the morning and lunch exploring Kabukicho, Hanazono Shrine and Omoide Yokochō (ideally have lunch here). Also make a pit stop at Kinokuniya's flagship store at Shinjuku.
• Head northwards to Nakano Broadway and trawl for anime goods for several hours (closes ~1900)
• Head south down back to Shibuya and experience the crossing in peak night condition. Walk around and soak in the atmosphere. Optional: stop by the Ishibashi music store at Shibuya (closes 2000).
• Cap off the night and look at the night view at Shibuya Sky (closes 2230). Zip back to the hotel at Ginza.

Day 32: Tokyo (Akibahara, Asakusa and Sky Tree) [Wednesday, 13 Dec]

• Kick off the day with a morning visit to Asakusa (i.e. Sensoji).
• Transit over to Tokyo Skytree to watch the Tokyo cityscape in the day.
• Trawl around Akibahara for the afternoon. (Animate, Sega claw machines, etc).
• Also stop by Ochanomizu for sightseeing (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Zip back to the hotel for the night. If time permits, stop by the two flagship music stores along Ginza: Yamaha Ginza and Yamano Ginza. Also, visit Itoya Ginza (stationary store).

Day 33: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip OR Ikebukuro) [Thursday, 14 Dec]
EITHER take a day trip Kamakura, OR explore northern Tokyo (Ikebukuro)
Kamakura leg:

• Make a detour to Used Tyre Market Sagamihara Store to experience the retro vending machines. Then head southwards to Enoshima.
• Look at the giant Buddha statue and stroll along Hasedera.
• Take the Enoden to Enoshiima and explore the island.
• Take the JR back to Ginza and retire for the night.

Tokyo (Ikebukuro leg):

• Visit Otome Road for otaku related stuffs.
• Trawl the usual suspects such as Bic Camera etc.
• Make a stop at the Mejiro Gardens.
• Visit the Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) at Waseda University.

Day 34: Tokyo (wildcard) [Friday, 15 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
​
Day 35: Tokyo Home [Saturday, 16 Dec]

• Contemplate life at the hotel, doing whatever I feel like for the morning and early afternoon. Bonus: have an early breakfast at Tsukiji Market in the morning if staying at Ginza.
• Clear any last minute administrative matter (if any), or do (very) last minute sightseeing/buying. Most likely limited to Ginza and Akibahara.
• Get a nice lunch omakase to cap it off if possible. (taking recommendations if anyone has one, ideally meat/beef centric instead of just sushi).
• Head off to Narita from Tokyo Station via NEX just after lunch at 1430 1530 to Narita, flight at 1830.

END
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If you're still reading up to this point, here's my own personal ramblings/thoughts on JR pass usage:
I have thought of two ways of doing this for the first 21 days:
a. easy-mode : just get 21 days JR global pass before the price hike at 60450 yen, OR b. hard-mode: get a 7 day JR global pass (to cover the NEX fees, the basic fee on the Sunrise Seto to Shikoku, as well as limited express trains within Shikoku) (29650) + 5 days for JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass (15000) + 4 days for JR Sanin Okayama Area Pass + 5 days for JR Kansai Wide Area Pass (10000) for a total of 59230.
The initial conclusion was to go with option A since that reduces the administrative burden, but I realized the individual passes do have its own perk which truimphs over the global JR pass. For instance, the Sanin Okayama Area Pass provides a (minor) discount for the Adachi Museum of Art; the Kansai Wide Pass covers the Kyotango route between Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate which the global JR pass does not cover, JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass covers JR buses within Hiroshima for free, therefore I am inclined to go with the hell option (option B) as it stands.
For the remaining 14 days, I could also get the global 14 day JR pass at 47250 yen but it is not worth it at all, because I will be relying largely on Kintetsu for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Mie leg which the JR pass most certainly does not cover.

• For the Osaka/Nara/Mie/Kyoto leg, I intend to make good use of a mix of both local metro and the Kintetsu rail pass for 5 days (4900). If I do exploit Kintetsu's limited express train to its fullest, I should be able to save money by buying the pass. The Osaka Amazing Pass at 2600yen a day does not make financial sense for me this time round, given how little I am exploring within Osaka.
• For the Osaka Kanazawa, Shirakawago and Takayama leg, the preferred pass of choice is the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass over the global JR pass, in large part because this pass fully absorbs the Nohi highway bus fees (which can rack up quite a lot at ~8000yen for a return trip between Kanazawa and Shirakawago/Takayama). Also this absorbs the Thunderbird fee. One major issue with my current plan is that it does not cover Wakura Onsen nor the sightseeing train.
• For the final Kanazawa Tokyo leg, the preferred choice is the Horuriku Arch Pass that covers the direct Shinkansen back to Tokyo, and the NEX fees to Narita when I depart from Tokyo. Will only break even with the pass at best unless I make a stop at Nagano.

So all in all, there's quite little incentive to get the global JR pass after I worked out my schedule, apart from the initial 7 days for the Sunrise Seto jump which the All Shikoku Pass will not cover.
Through the hodge-podge of multiple area passes, it works out to around 102890 yen for the whole trip of 35 days, contrast with 107700 yen for a 21 + 14 global JR pass. While there's a minor cost saving doing the hard way which sweetens the deal, the additional minor perks associated with the area passes sells it for me, as I would had to pay more out of pocket to cover non-JR pass buses/rails and such which would add up to much greater cost than I would had anticipated. Also, if I did this trip post-price hike in October, the calculus becomes a no-brainer: avoid the global JR pass like the plague.
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Thank you very much for your opinions, suggestions and advice in advance!

Split-Split Fruit

Ability
The Split-Split fruit allows its user to split any substance (other than living animals) into two by touching it.
The user must touch the object and
The user must consciously choose to use their power; they will never split anything by accident just by touching it. The user "draws" a line with their body; as soon as they will it, or automatically if their body ceases contact with the object, the object touched is split along the line. If the split was activated by the user's body leaving the surface or if the user wills it, and if the line was straight, the split applies as if the line was as long as it could have been; for example, just by brushing their finger in a straight line across a boulder, the entire boulder would split in two along the direction of the line drawn, even though the whole boulder wasn't touched. This cannot happen if the line drawn was curved. There is a limit to how long a line can be, but it is not easy to reach that limit, unless you use the power on something like a geological feature. The split is always the same width no matter what. This ability does not destroy matter, only seperates it; because of this, the split is too thin to be seen with the naked eye. However, in most circumstances, the split parts will immediately begin to move apart from each other as soon as they're split.
In terms of depth, the split will almost go as far as it needs to to completely split the object in two; however there is some limit to the length (you cannot simply cut the planet in half with this, for example.) Imagine the split as a sword slash that travels through the object being split, but stops if it meets a substance that it cannot effect, or a substance that is a different state of matter. So for instance, if used on a shirt being worn by someone, it would only split along the front but not the back, since the splitting is interrupted by the presence of living flesh which cannot be affected. The same thing happens if the power is used on a hollow solid that is filled with liquid or gas; only the side touched is split. However, an object with multiple layers will be completely split, as long as all layers are solid and are able to be split by this power.
Awakening
When awoken, the Split-Split Fruit's limitation of only applying to one state of matter at a time no longer applies. This means it can be used on objects from a distance by chanelling it through air. When using the power through air, it will only split the first solid object it meets: however, the restrictions that apply to hollow objects are removed. For example, if used on a ship, both sides of the ship will be split, even if there is air between them, because they are connected, and thus one object. However, another ship behind that ship, even if identical or even if touching, will not be split, since unless its wood is physically joined to the first ship, it is a second object. Any objects inside the split ship, unless directly part of the ship, are ignored by the splitting "line."
When "drawing" a split through air, there is a greater limit to how long the line can be made.
​
Combat Application
In battle, this Devil Power can be used to easily break the defenses of an enemy, by splitting shields and armour. It can also be used defensively to break weapons. Any blunt melee weapon can be made to split apart upon hitting the user just by them willing it, although this does not necessarily negate the force of the blow. With technique, however, a user can easily disarm foes by splitting their weapons while avoiding their attacks.
The power can also be used on the terrain to trap or disrupt enemies.
Since the fruit does not make the user inherently stronger in any way, its effectiveness in combat depends on the user's abilities. It is reccomended that this fruit be accompanied by normal combat techniques, as well as other abilities such as Haki.
Any object infused with haki is resistant to the power's effects; to break a weapon that is being wielded by a haki-user, the user of the split-split fruit must infuse the part of their body they are using to split the weapon with haki that is greater or equal to the strength of the haki infused into the weapon.
If awoken, the fruit's combat applications are even more potent; as described previously, an awoken user of this devil fruit is able to split a large vessel in half from a distance.
​
Non-Combat Application
As one might expect, the main utility of this fruit is the ability to cut almost anything.
This makes the user effectively impossible to imprison, since without negating their powers, any form of cell can simply be split open.
​
Details
Materials such as meat or bone can be split, as long as they're not still part of a living animal. Plants, either alive or dead, can be split be this power.
The power can be used with any part of the user's body. For instance, if they are leaning on a wall, they can choose to "draw" a line with their back and instantly split it. The power ignores their clothes; if they touch something, even if that part of their body is clothed, the power is still able to apply.
At least some amount of movement is required to "draw" the line that causes a split; because of this, if the user is totally immobilized in some way, they cannot use their power. For example, if frozen in ice, they cannot escape by splitting it.
The exceptions to "any substance" are water and sea prism stone. Like all devil fruit, touching either prevents the power from being used, but even in a situation where the user is able to use their power on these substances, such as if sea prism stone is imbedded in another substance which the user splits, sea prism stone will never be affected by this devil power.
Although the power can be used on all states of matter, the nature of liquids and gasses means that the two halves would recombine into one instantly, making the power almost useless on anything other than solids.
The bodies of logia users or other devil fruits that allow the user to transform their bodies into inorganic substances are not affected by this power, despite the fact that they are technically inorganic substances when transformed; since they are still alive, the power will not affect them. However, any substance emitted by logia users, such as Aokiji's ice, can be affected by the Split-Split fruit.
​
​
uh. that's it I think

I hope to find a kind-hearted woman to build a lasting relationship with. Genuine and kind, someone I can talk to about anything and everything. I want a partner who's excited to share their knowledge and experiences with me, grow together, learn new things from each other, and connect on a deeper level. You can share your thoughts and ideas with me, and I'll be happy to discuss all kinds of topics. I want us to build a wholesome relationship where being there for each other is enough.
This part is about what I'm looking for in a relationship: - Mutual love and respect and care, my chest will be your pillow while we binge episodes and watch a lot of things while cuddling, romantic dinners, cooking together, enjoying life to the fullest , holding hands while walking , going to the beach, traveling to new places, trying new things and experiencing what life has to offer together :) . Being there for each other through good and bad times . You can always count on me and tell me everything, I will be the shoulder you can lean on. I'm very romantic and I have a lot of love to give. When we are together expect me to always hug you, kiss you on your forehead, hold your hands and express my love to you and how much you mean to me while I look deeply into your eyes . Romantic moments and lovely things like giving each other pet names, making you bed surprise breakfasts. Tons of Cuddles and hugs . I will always sheer you up, motivate you, and help you . I'll always be there for you.
Currently located in Morocco and I work in IT field. I'm looking for someone 20 or older who's okay with long-distance until we figure things out.
As for my physical attributes, I have light brown skin, black hair, and brown eyes, average looking guy. I used to train in calisthenics and weightlifting, but I had to stop due to shoulder injuries. Personality-wise, I'm an ENFP MBTI type with a bubbly, caring, affectionate, patient, and ambitious personality. I'm easy-going, non-judgmental, and an ambivert depending on the day. I have a good sense of humor and always make my friends laugh. My hobbies and sports include running, calisthenics, cycling, cooking, and hiking. I enjoy reading, playing video games, traveling, camping, watching movies, TV shows, documentaries, and anime.
I can speak four languages fluently and hope to learn more in the future. I love to do many activities like having long walks and exploring new places. When it comes to indoors, I'm very creative at finding ways to enjoy our time. I love discussing all kinds of topics; we can talk about anything from history, geography, cinema, sports, religion, philosophy, languages, food, politics, spiritualism, video games, travel, cultures, technology, and more.
Regarding religion, I'm agnostic, and I don't believe in any religions. I'm still searching for the truth, so I don't have a problem with you being from any religion.
When it comes to films, TV shows, and anime, it's hard to pick favorites, so you can ask me later. As for music, I enjoy classic hip-hop, rap, rock/post-rock, jazz, 80s music, some metal, classic, ambient, pop, and soundtracks. I used to watch anime growing up, and I still enjoy it, but I don't watch it as much as years go by, still watching certain weekly releases.
Thank you for reading through all this! If you're interested, please contact me through DM or chat. Introduce yourself and tell me a bit about you, write more than Hey.

Self-improvement is kinda crazy.
One week you can feel on top of the world; you're being consistent with your habits, making progress in the gym, eating right, having unshakeable self-belief, etc.
It's just all going right.
Then within just a few days, you can go from sigma-male-nothing-can-stop-me-I'm-a-beast levels of enthusiasm to I'm-such-a-loser-all-I-do-is-lose levels of hate and frustration.
I'm sure you know this all too well. You've probably gone through multiple stages of both progression and regression that have made you doubt whether or not it is possible to stop slipping back into your old ways. I've been through the motions too many times to count, so I know: it sucks.
But have you ever wondered why you keep regressing to your old degenerate ways? Have you ever considered what causes it and when it happens?
Understanding this will be the first step towards achieving progress for longer and more often.
And don't worry! It's not because of some external force, genetic condition, or ingrained personality trait that is the cause of this. It's usually due to a lack of knowledge or certain misunderstandings.
Anybody can change with the correct awareness and beliefs. Truly. It just takes some time.
Here is my ultimate guide to why you keep regressing and struggling to progress. There are quite a few points, so let's not waste any more time.

Do You Deserve It?

Self-improvement is hard. If you don't find it difficult, you're probably doing something wrong.
Whether it is a business you're trying to build, a body you're trying to perfect, or just a simple habit you're trying to stick to, you will face resistance.
This resistance will manifest in countless ways: procrastination, fear, anxiety, doubt, perfectionism, avoidance, etc. How you react to and tolerate that resistance determines just how much you deserve to progress.
The reason for this is that it is the universe testing you to see if you deserve whatever desired result you're striving for. You ask the universe for a desired future, and in return, it challenges you to make sure you deserve it. These challenges from the universe will come as a form of resistance.
When you apply effort to something that you are resisting, you will get pain.
Effort x Resistance = Pain
However much pain you are willing to tolerate and persist with will predict how much success you will be given.
​

“To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want. The world is not yet a crazy enough place to reward a whole bunch of undeserving people.” ~ Charlie Munger

​
Do you tolerate and persist with 80% of the pain you have felt? Then the universe will give you 80% of the desired outcome. If it is 40%, then you'll get 40%. You can also think of this in terms of momentum.
The universe is always watching and will know when you're deserving of something. It almost works like a transaction: you want a desired outcome, the universe asks for pain as currency to pay for this outcome, you accumulate this currency and pay when you meet resistance with effort, and then you get the amount you deserve.
So ask yourself: how do you react to resistance? Do you give up quickly? Do you give in to resistance and reduce all effort that is needed?
Now ask yourself: do you deserve to achieve your goals given how much pain you tolerate and how much effort you meet resistance with?

You Are At War With Yourself

On the topic of pain, there is a form of resistance you feel that you might never have noticed. A form of resistance that will peak when you have the most momentum.
What is this form of resistance?
The fear of improving. The fear of forming a different, better identity.
All living things have a sort of factory setting that ensures every action they take is geared towards a better chance of survival. Otherwise, organisms would die out. Duh.
When you improve, you are moving further and further away from your current identity; you are transcending into someone different - into someone capable of achieving your goals.
And your current sense of self hates that. What you are essentially doing is committing a form of psychological suicide.
And remember, things are geared to survive. Your current self will put up a fight to try and keep you from evolving and killing your current identity.
It fights by creating fear, doubt, anxiety, etc. It will fight the hardest when you are closest to killing it and transcending. This is when you are most likely to concede to the negative emotions it conjures up.
This is why you have a wave-like pattern of ups and downs. Your current self keeps fighting to pull you back, and it does so with formidable determination.
You must take note when you are gaining momentum and reaching a peak. These are the moments when pain and resistance must be tolerated most.
Also, remember: you know yourself best. So your current self will pit every weakness against you. It won't play nice and most certainly won't play fair. It's fighting to survive!

The Brick Wall Of Beliefs

Beliefs dictate how reality manifests to you. How you perceive the world, other people, and everything else is the result of your belief systems.
You could be getting pranked into a false sense of reality for your whole life.
For example, if you believe that bulls get provoked by the colour red, you will go through life adhering to that. So if you see a matador wave a red cape in front of a raging bull, you will think: "Oh, it's angry because of the red!". When in truth, bulls are red-green colour-blind. It is the motion of the cape that provokes them.
That was a trivial example, but imagine how many false or negative beliefs have a significant impact.
And once you believe something and receive feedback, the belief strengthens and solidifies. Then it becomes harder to break and has more emotion tied to it
Understand, however, that no belief is necessarily bad. If your beliefs are in accordance with nature and are conducive towards your goals, who is to say they are bad?
Unfortunately, most people will go through life without realising this and continue to have beliefs that work against and limit them.
Maybe you believe that:

• You can't improve
• Improving is hard
• It is hard to be happy
• It is difficult to change your beliefs

If you believe these, they will likely become true due to feedback loops.
The most important belief is believing that you are capable of changing your beliefs. Neuroplasticity has proven that you can change the neural circuits in your brain. You are not fixed. You are malleable and are in control of rewiring your brain.
Use this information to your advantage: set yourself up for success by converting negative beliefs into good ones.
Your beliefs will determine what actions you take. If you want to change your actions, change your beliefs.
If you believe improving is difficult or takes forever, then it will present itself as so.
If you believe that you will always regress, then you will.
If you believe you can't do x, y, or z, you probably won't be able to.
Set yourself up for success. Adopt serving beliefs and act accordingly. Get positive results and let the feedback response do the rest.
Beliefs can make or break you. What would you prefer?

Diving Straight Into The Deep End

This is dedicated to my fellow perfectionists, over-achievers, and people who set way too high a standard for themselves.
Firstly, hey! Secondly: it sucks, doesn't it?
When I first decided to create a routine, it took me two days. Two. Days. How f*cking crazy is that? I reckon That's a record.
I over-perfected the shit out of that routine. I included: meditation, journalling, playing an instrument, learning a language, reading time, writing time, gym work, yoga, jogging, meditation again, studying, visualisation, deep work... and much more. Oh, and I also planned every single 30 minutes of the day.
Shit, I feel overwhelmed just reading that. Wtf was I thinking?
I jumped into a routine - that should take years to implement - within just a few seconds. And I had hardly ever done most of those habits before!
Do you think it was sustainable? Of course not. I stuck to it for about one week (if that).
My past self really did have his bruh moments.
It took me a few more (ok, many more) attempts to figure out how slowly I should take it.
So bro, chill with it a bit at first, y'know? Don't dive straight into the deep end. My journey started properly by underachieving. Only then I could build on it.
So, instead of doing a hundred things at once, go reaaaal low. Lower than you think you should. You've got to play limbo with this shit.
Otherwise, you'll burn out and overwhelm yourself.
Instead of setting a goal of 30 mins of meditation for 30 days, set a goal of 3 mins of meditation for five days. Once you've proven yourself capable, then add more to the discipline. You can also add new habits to complement it.
And if you struggle with that, go even lower. There is no shame in it - you don't need to be a sigma-male, nut-sack-grindset, wake-up-at-3:45 am-every-day, and meditate-57-hours-per-day nerd to "improve". There is no rush. Rushing into it is more likely to waste your time and cause you to default to old ways.
​
A super-cool quick tip: Instead of setting goals and putting them on a pedestal, create "messy experiments". If, like me, you have consistently been inconsistent with your disciplines, you will probably feel like you will fail before you start, creating undue tension and stress.
By creating experiments, you remove this mindset, giving it a less stressful appearance.

• Failing a goal: "Oh no, I failed! I'm bad at this. I keep struggling to stick to things."
• Failing an experiment: "Oh, this didn't go to plan! I will create another experiment and, based upon what I learned, alter it slightly."

This has worked well for me. Experiments I don't tend to over-plan or perfect. Goals and stuff like that I do. Why don't you experiment (sorry) and see what works for you?

Are You Someone That You Want to Improve?

This point is of such significance that I created a separate Reddit post about it.
Are you sure that you are someone that you want the best for? Are you somebody that you want to care for and look after? Do you treat yourself more like a friend or a foe?
Has it ever occurred to you the possibility that you don't like yourself enough to be better?
Have you ever gone out of your way to thoroughly improve the quality of life for somebody you find insufferable?
I doubt it.
If you see yourself as insufferable, it will be near-impossible to progress. Your beliefs determine your actions, remember.
If you act out of alignment with your beliefs you will create incongruence. Act in a way that says: "I want to improve", but then think of yourself as someone who deserves the worst, and it just ain't gonna work, man.
You'll be able to make some progress, but you will fall back to default quickly. Self-sabotage will be way too rife.
If you believe this is the case, please try to focus on rekindling your relationship with yourself.

Don't Raise The Roof; Raise Your Standards

Would you tolerate going for one week without washing? What about one month?
How about your teeth; how long would you tolerate going without brushing them?
Now, take note of every time that you have broken this intolerance. Chances are, you haven't (at least I hope not, you dirty animal).
Instead of raising goals and reaching high into the sky, raise your standards instead. Standards you never breach, goals you rarely reach. It even has a nice lil rhyme!
Putting goals up high inflates their importance, making you think they're difficult to obtain. The more unobtainable something seems, the less reasonable it will seem to act towards. Thus, you won't act as you are required.
If, instead, you set goals as your new standard, you will work towards ensuring you never dip below them or breach them.
Think right now about the default habits and actions you keep returning to. Notice how you never go lower than that? It's because you won't tolerate it. Lowering yourself past that would disgust you or make you feel slightly sick.
When you notice yourself gaining momentum or starting to peak, be aware and make it a standard from now on. This will help prevent you from regressing.
You can do this for both short-term and long-term situations. Either way, it shifts your ass into gear if implemented correctly.
Remind yourself of this often. It can take some time to stick.

You're A Little Too Cozy

You are likely improving yourself to make your situation better. That's what you think.
The more likely reason is that you're trying to escape an undesirable situation. Instead of chasing something, you're running from something.
The more undesirable - or uncomfortable - your situation, the more drive you will have to free yourself from it.
So, if you're content with how things are, you have nothing to run from.
This creates less urgency and a less powerful call to action.
Lots of successful people (whose wealth isn't family derived) have track records of being in horrible situations.
If you're doing pretty solid right now, you might not be able to justify the effort needed to do the work required to improve.
I'm not saying that you need to make yourself seriously uncomfortable! That would be dumb.
However, some situational analysis could come in handy.
What would your dream position be in five years? Would you reach that dream situation, given how you currently behave? Give this some deep thought, not a barely-conscious read. This stuff is vital.
Compare who you are right now with who you need to be to achieve your dreams. Do they match? If not, what sort of future do you envision if you continue as you are?
Explore this more and see if it helps. Jordan Peterson has a course called "the self-authoring Program", which is all of this, but in detail. I've not personally bought it, but I've heard great things.

"You're a victim!"

The victim mentality is yet another one of the unfortunate cancers that society propagates as normality. Most of the time, it is promoted and endorsed.
Victim mentality is phenomenal... if you want to sacrifice your freedom to take control of your life.
Don't get me wrong - shit happens to people. Real bad things. And there will be circumstances that call for a time to say: "It's not my fault!". This is rare. And in any case, being indignant has never helped anybody.
As long as you offload blame for your current circumstance onto other people and external forces, you will remain unable to take control of your life. You will perpetually flee from responsibility.
It isn't anyone's fault.
It isn't some higher being's fault.
It isn't that one person who said that one thing that caused that one thing's fault.
Where you currently are is a result of every action you've ever taken. Sometimes things will happen to you that are out of your control. How you react and use these experiences is within your control, however.
The more control and excuses you attach to other people, the less power you have over your development.
Having the "f*ck everyone else, it's all their fault, capitalism is a scam, life's unfair, blah blah blah" mentality is such an easy way out. So firstly, how boring! Secondly, Nobody with sense will want to be around you. And thirdly, you will shut down avenues of improvement that will stunt your growth.
It isn't easy to suddenly feel responsible for so much in your life. It might feel quite daunting! But it is much better than living your life as a shell of what you could have been.
Hopefully, at the same time, it feels liberating. You can finally take back control.
Take responsibility, and the growth potential becomes infinite.

Direction, Direction, Direction.

Do you have clear goals? Do you know exactly who you need to become for these goals?
A vivid picture of the future should be painted in your mind. This is vital for many reasons:

1. Trajectory prevents chaos and anxiety. Instead, it promotes order and a sense of direction.
2. It allows the subconscious to justify work and give reason to your actions.
3. He who is lost cannot be found.

If you do not have goals or an understanding of who you want to become - and I mean a really clear understanding - then you will go through life blind. You will stumble into who you become rather than intentionally choosing the best future for yourself.
If you do tasks for the sake of it - like meditation and journalling - and don't apply any reason or purpose behind them, you will struggle to maintain them.
You won't be able to justify doing them when resistance comes into play.
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"He who has a why can bear almost any how" - Friedrich Nietzsche

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Once you have an intense and clear image of the ideal future set out for yourself, you will naturally find aligning your actions for improvement easier. Your subconscious will no longer be working against you.
You'll be shooting in the dark if you're uncertain who you're becoming.
This will make your actions seem unimportant or futile.
As long as there is a lack of intention behind your actions, It will be hard to track any form of significant improvement.
Find your "what", and you will have a "why". This will empower every action you take.

You're Not Tracking Enough

If you do not track what you do:

1. How will you be able to know if you do or do not make progress?
2. You will not be able to identify patterns for your progression/regression.

Firstly: how certain are you that you are not making progress?
If you're not tracking your habits and what you're doing, you will struggle to evaluate your situation and how you're doing.
Use google sheets - or something similar - and note some important metrics:

• Were you consistent today?
• How focused were you?
• How did you find it?
• Is anything else of significance to add?

Over time you will build a bank of understanding and, most importantly, a way to identify your highs and lows.
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You need an objective way to identify what you're doing. It will allow you to identify any emerging patterns that either aid or hinder your progress.
Once you notice these patterns, you can learn to identify them as they happen, allowing you to rectify them. Understanding yourself and patterns of action that lead to regression is paramount to preventing it from happening.
The first step is always awareness.
Become your own lil data scientist. Seeing tangible data about yourself and using it to learn more about yourself to grow can be surprisingly fun.

Concluding Thoughts And Stuff

It's important not to beat yourself up when you have dips; it's all a part of the learning process. I know it's disheartening after all the work you've put in, but no experience is a bad experience.
Setbacks are necessary to grow: you need them to learn and develop.
So, be grateful for the setbacks. They are a test for you to prove your worth - to see how much you deserve to progress.
You should feel honoured that the universe has chosen you to rise to the occasion.
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The purpose of the post was to give you insight into why progression can seem so challenging. I talked little about solutions, as that would make the post kinda chunky.
Although I touch on how to solve each issue slightly, there is much more depth to them that I want to describe separately.
Thus, I will make future posts with solutions dedicated to each separate issue and how I have personally dealt with them. That's the plan, at least!
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There are probably a bunch more points to discuss, but these are the ones that have been most prevalent for me.
So lmk what you think! I'd love to hear anything you've learnt from experience.
Thanks for reading.